lolajl: July 2006 Archives

I'm making great progress with this sock (when I actually pick up the needles) and I really like the yarn. I'm using Stahl Wolle Socka, #9125. And using Addi Natura, 3.00mm needles. Pattern used is Here be Dragons.

For Mother's socks, is going to be Wyvern Woman's Sock pattern. Yarn used will be Dalegarn Baby Ull, #4018.

I've finally implemented the ability to record needles. This is Very Important. Especially when circular needles have a tendency to play hide and seek, forcing you to go to the store and surrendering an Andrew Jackson bill, only to discover that that size has be languishing in a 5-year old project.

I've put a lot of time into this Inventory application, and it's truly been a lot of fun. I think Phase I is almost over, as I need to take a break and concentrate on some other ColdFusion geekiness for a while, in the mentime thinking about how I'm going to implement the publications portion of the inventory. I have some of my books recorded in a book inventory program, and I need to massage that set of records into a format that is usable with the database.

Still working on the sock - yes, picture forthcoming. I've also decided on a sock pattern for mother's, and so I hope to get started on it over at mother's later on today. Gotta run now so I can see what new tricks my nephew has come up with, besides trying to figure out how to open that new tv cabinet with an old-fashioned lock-and-removable-key combo. I can tell that this kid is going to keep us all on our toes for the next 18 years . . .

I've been plugging away at this app because I want to get as much finished as possible that I can feel like I've reached a good resting place. I'm halfway through the database structure, concentrating only on the functions that I need right now. Here's a view of the Recipients, where I'll be storing information about people. some of them I may want to knit things for; others I'll want to contact, such as designers. Here in this form, besides the name info, etc, I've added fields for measurements such as neck, arm length, etc. Later on I'll be adding the ability to generate patterns based on these measurements.

It's really very simple; you have only to check out Elizabeth Zimmermann's percentage method (and Meg Swansen's updated percentage method), and other knitting design books. From there it's easy to convert these into mathematic formulas. Some of you may feel at ease figuring it out all on paper. I don't really like to do math, so anything that makes it easier is great for me. And of course, computers are supposed to be good at math, aren't these?

Here's a read-only view that you can print out, with a list of emails and phone numbers. It just occurred to me that I should probably add a couple of tables to hold information for IM accounts. Since people change their phone and email addresses, I've added the ability to edit, add, and delete.

Right now I'm working on the ability to record needles, and then it's on to recording accessory purchases (I've already got the yarn purchases in place). Of course, this means that my knitting time has been taken away somewhat. But I'm still knitting, if only mentally and electronically . . .

What am I going to do with the zucchini? Maybe i should try making zucchini bread. I'm not really into breads like that, but I'll at least give it a try.

Eeek . . . look what showed up in my garden. Yes, this is over 1 foot long. And probably not as edible as it should be, but we'll find out later this week. First, I need to separate it from the umbilical cord and somehow preserve it for cooking later this week. I'm not sure how I accomplished this feat . . . perhaps it could be due to the fact that I've barely used insecticides and only applied fertilizer at irregular intervals. Most of my time has been spent pulling up weeds (ugh).

Lately I've taken to going out to putter around in the garden in the morning after Bruce goes to work. This works out great because I'm refreshed after a good night of sleep, I got no excuse to dawdle around, and I can shower after working in the garden.

I really like the Here Be Dragons pattern - I'm almost halfway through the first pattern repeat and this yarn is a real pleasure to work with after the worsted weight handspun yarn. Don't get me wrong, I love handspun yarn, it's just that perhaps I could have used a larger size so it wouldn't feel like I was wrapping bulky yarn around a slim needle.

I've finally finished hubby's socks, and these fit him perfectly. He assures me that these feel quite comfortable. Now, I need to wash and block these, and put away for fall. I'm going to have to spin up more yarn in the meantime, because I know that he'll wear these out before the cold season is over.

Now, I need to get started on my mother's socks. I have a few patterns that I want to take a look at. I'm thinking, some sort of ribbed socks, or lace socks. I have two skeins of red Dale Baby Ull yarns for this. It'll be interesting to see how this yarn holds up when used for socks - the weight certainly is appropriate enough.

Yes, it's still hot as hades here but it's supposed to cool down next week. I've been trying to stay cool in the meantime. I'm hoping we get a nice thunderstorm tonite or tomorrow - hold the wind, please. And, I heard back from the director with whom I'd interviewed for a position last Monday; apparently they've decided to continue their candidate search because they don't feel I would be a good match for their department. Sigh . . . I know that I can do this work, based on what I'd seen of the website and some of the code they'd showed me. It's getting a bit frustrating.

I did go out and get myself another domain, and space on a cheap hosting service where I can host my ColdFusion codes. At a later date I'll put up my knitting app there for demo purposes, and to show potential employers what I can do, especially since I can't use the code samples I'd created at my previous job due to the confidentiality agreement I signed.

I've neglected the blog for quite a bit, because I've been concentrating on my job search. I've had two face-to-face interviews, but I haven't heard back from them as to whether they want to consider me for the positions or not. Oh, well, I must forge ahead. In the meantime, I've been working on retaining the knowledge of the programming language that I've been working with for the past five years or so, ColdFusion. I've been trying not to let my mind go to rot during these past months that I've been unemployed.

And, I have a need to inventory my yarn collection, as well as my needle and accessory collection. And of course, my math isn't that good, so anything that helps to generate a pattern automatically would be good. So, I decided to put two together. I had worked up a little application, but it was very bare bones and I had not worked on it much in its previous incarnation.

So, I decided to refresh for my personal use, and expand on it, while learning Model-Glue, a ColdFusion framework (don't worry, I won't go too geeky on y'all; I'm simply providing a background info for those of you knitting geeks out there). I got the database schema from SQL for Knitters and made modifications to the database to suit my needs (I use MySQL, and there are other bits of information that I wanted to record which did not exist in the schema). For instance, to the table that holds info for people, I added columns for the body measurements that will eventually be used to generate customized patterns, as well as to be used with commercial and shareware patterns that I have in my collection. I should note that I need to update the copyright note to indicate source of the database schema should I ever release my code to the public.

Here's an snapshot of what the page generally looks like. In this view (see above), Knitting Library Administration, I presently have links where I can add Manufacturers (such as Brown Sheep, Skacel, and Jamieson & Smith), Brands (such as Handpaint Original, Socka, etc.), Fiber Types (I guess by now you can figure this out - wool, cotton, bamboo). These show up in other views as picklist where I can select a value, that will be inserted into a record, for instance, Brown Sheep, Naturespun, sportsweight yarn. I have another admin view, Stash Management, where I can create a record for a particular yarn that I have in my stash, and any colors that I own for this yarn, generate a list of contents for each room, and so forth.

In this "List Manufacturers" view, I have a picklist of all the manufacturers that have in my stash. When I click on Go, I get this view, which lists all the brands that I have, as well as all the colors in my stash. I can click on the paper icon below brand name to add a a new color. Beside each color, I can add a new record for whatever purchases I've made. I've chosen to record all the stats that I can possible do so - weight, how much the ball weighs, whether it's been discontinued or not. Very useful, isn't it? Especially if someone is looking for a particular color that hasn't been made for several years.

So what do I do when I need to generate a list of what I own in my stash? Backing up a bit, in this Stash Locations view is where I can add a record for each new locations. Right now, I have three boxes up in the alcove with labels 300, 301, and 302. I have two boxes filled up with sock yarn that need to be recorded, so later on I'll add the boxes to the list and put on labels 303 and 304, and go through the process, creating new manufacturers and brands where necessary.

To get a list of everything in Box 201, located in the Rec Room, I'll go into Stash Management and click on the "List Stash Yarns" link, select the stash location "Rec Room, 201", and bingo, a list is generated. Very useful, isn't it? I still need to figure how to calculate the total number of balls, total yardage, and so forth. But that's an exercise left for later. Especially as it means making the query used to generate this list even more complex (I had to join 6 tables to get all the vital information . . . I'm sure there has to be a more efficient way to structure this query but I'm not a database expert by any means).

This is the kind of stuff I should be getting paid for, eh? In any case, I'm going to use some of the code sample for my portfolio, since I can't use the code I created at my former job due to a confidentiality agreement that I'd signed there.

Oh, yes, and I'm still knitting. Still working on Hubby's socks, and I've turned the heel of the 2nd twin. Hopefully I'll finish it this weekend.

To all Americans here in the United States, and abroad, I wish you all a happy Fourth of July. And please, be safe - don't do dumb things like drink and drive, or go drinking while driving boats and such. And easy with the fireworks . . .

Sorry for being absent all week last week - I was off attending CFUNITED and found it so rewarding; I learned so many new things and finally understood some of the concepts with which I'd been struggling to understand. And being out of work for quite a while, it felt good to be amongst folks with whom I share a common knowledge, and I look forward to attending the conference again next year. Even if I have to take a week off unpaid because my future employer wouldn't pay for it.

Meanwhile, I've made a bit of progress on Bruce's socks. I've got the heel flap done, and ready to turn the heel. I need to adjust the pattern a bit since I didn't cast on the number of stitches called for. Yes, it looks thick, but this is going to be for winter, when Bruce works outside, as he sometimes has to do so for work.

And I've cast on for another pair for Aunt Velma (my parent's neighbor). I took her measurements, and asked her what kind of socks she wanted. Her words? "Surprise me." So, I'm using the basic ribbed socks from Nancy Bush's book (the same one that I'm using for Bruce's socks). I'm using handspun yarn - I think this is from the mini-batt that I got from A Touch of Twist and I think I may still have it somewhere if I need to spin more of it. I like the way it looks, but it is tough going because I'm using size 3.0mm needle and it's making my hands a bit sore. I'm thinking about ripping it out and starting over with needles a size bigger.

Oh, and Linda asked how my vegetables are coming along. With all the rain we've had and sunshine coming out, with the heat, I think we're going to get a lot of veggies. Just in the past couple days I harvested 6 huge cucumbers which I've got chopped up and mixed in with red onions from the store, cider vinegar, dill growing "wild" in my garden, sugar, kosher salt, pepper which we'll be taking over my parent's momentarily for the cookout that they're having. I'm hoping to see my nephew there and see if I can get him to make the same face that he did in the latest pic posted at his photoblog . . .

Alas - no ripe tomatoes yet. Maybe by the end of the week.