Update 17 December 2008
Posted by kaitharshayr in Knitting, Warhammer, Work, librivox.add a comment
Not really got that much to say at the moment, it’s all been a bit hectic in someways as I fall into the rythem of getting up for work in the morning and then getting home. All this working means that trying to juggle this myraid of hobbies I have is a bit awkward (Still I’m earning money so this is not really a complaint). Tuesday evenings are taken up by role playing, we’ve just started a Scion game, which is proving to be quite fun, after only two sessions, after Xmas we’ll probably end up alternating between that and Dark Heresy if our two other players become less busy. But Scion is a lot of fun. (Sometimes I wonder what ‘normal’ people think when they hear what plots and plans we discuss, like hunting down serial killers, or trying to protect magical zombie raising chalices which people might think is the holy grail.)
My knitting has slowed down, although I think once I’ve settled in a bit more at work I’ll start taking some socks in, probably after xmas at this rate. Although saying that I think I’ve already settled in in some ways. They’ve all been so friendly, had my xmas meal with them yesterday and am taking part in secret santa. As a company they do have a lot of temps thou, so it’s quite nice.
Hmm what else? Ohh ack I’ve really been negleticting my librivox recording, and tbh I probably need to get up to date with some projects, chase up readers and such. (I think I meant to do some of this the other weekend but it slipped my mind, and I’ve got to find a secret santa gift this weekend).
Finally don’t even get me started on my Tyranids… I haven’t touched them in weeks (I also really need to get a case for them too.) Oh well it’ll get done at some point.. C just keeps hasseling me about it, but.. I do like my Tyranids and I do want to paint them (and well I want to get and paint a chaos army too) but… I want to knit.. and er.. Knitting kind of wins that fight. Plus its cold and dark and painting is fiddly.
Decisions decisions 18 September 2008
Posted by kaitharshayr in librivox.Tags: audiobooks, Books, h rider haggard, librivox, recording, sir walter scott
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So I’ve very nearly finished The Talisman for librivox, I’ve got a bit of editing to do for the last few sections (I swear I remember a time when I had few sections I needed to edit, am I getting more careless? Although only needing to make 1 edit per section is not that bad I guess) and I need to record the introduction. Thats not likely to happen for a week or so for 2 very good reasons. 1) I have to hand my thesis in next thursday so I need to work on that and 2) I now have a cold. Its not too bad yet, but I’m feeling sniffly and bunged up and a bit breathless. And even though I will probably be over the worst of this by next Thursday it’ll probably take ab it longer just to be well enough to record. (Ah but don’t you love the timing of this cold?!)
Anyway, so I’ve started to think about what I want to record next. I’m torn between another Sir Walter Scott book, or maybe a H. Rider Haggard book. I’ve started to read Ivanhoe (not for Librivox, someone else is already doing that but in book form on the tube) and I have to say, that from the two books I’ve read so far Scott’s books take a couple of chapters or so to get into the action, but once their there boy is it fun! 
At the same time I also like Haggard’s adventure stories. So I’m wondering maybe Scott’s Rob Roy or maybe Haggard’s People of the Mist.
And then my mind wondered as I remebered Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. I got the prose version on the advice from a friend who told me it’s a crazy if fun tale. And it is, there’s several stories all going on at once, (which makes it a little hard to keep track of things) crazy magicians and antics as well as one guy who visits the moon. (The tales are set around the time of Charlemagne’s war with the King of Africa, Agramante). I would love to read this for Librivox but there is one small problem, the prose version is NOT public domain, the public domain version is in verse. I am not a huge fan of poetry and I’m not really very good at reading it out aloud. Therefore the idea of reading a poem that has 32 canto’s is… rather daunting. I don’t think I could do it justice. I suppose I could do it as a collaborative at some point. But I have a couple of other idea’s for Collabs, so I’m not sure.
Anyone (out of the few people that I suspect read this blog) have any suggestions? Preferences?
I think I’m leaning towards Rob Roy.. but I’m sure when I had a look at that book a few months back I worked out that the intro was around 22k words(!) which I think may be longer than the actual book…. 
The Talisman 6 September 2008
Posted by kaitharshayr in librivox.Tags: audiobook, Books, sir walter scott, the talisman
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So finally after not really doing anything with my Librivox solo for months, I now only have about 3 sections to record (with 2 already done but waiting to be edited). I can’t believe its taken me so long, I was aiming to finish this in Feb! I’ve never gone over a book deadline for a solo before, I guess there’s a first time for everything, and I have been busy with my Uni work. Although it’s odd, because I did have the time to do some, and yet I didn’t feel like I HAD the time to do it. Still hopefully I can get the rest finished before December.
So what am I reading? The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott, I happened to stumble on it by chance while I was looking for something to record and all I could really find out about it initially was this from wikipedia.
The Talisman takes place at the end of the Third Crusade, mostly in the camp of the Crusaders in Palestine. Scheming and partisan politics, as well as the illness of King Richard the Lionheart, are placing the Crusade in danger.
I also find out there’s some big twist at the end of the book, and I think I know what that twist is.
I have to say that its a really great book, I really like the way Scott writes its not too complex for the time and I found myself quite drawn in and quite excited and worried about what was going to happen to Sir Kenneth in the early chapters. I’m looking forward to finishing this soon, then I can make a start on a new book, wonder what I’ll pick, I may choose a H. Rider Haggard, I love his stuff too. Or another Scott, maybe Rob Roy.. not sure.
Is it over yet? 19 March 2008
Posted by kaitharshayr in Knitting, University, librivox.Tags: coursework, exams, librivox, MSc project, ravelry, tired, University, wedding
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My brain tired, I’m tired, my brain is stressed and I’m stressed, we’re both fed up, and we both want this MSc to be over.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the educational value of this course, I’m learning a lot, but gosh I want need a holiday! Christmas barely counts as a holiday as I had a lot of coursework to finish during the break, and it was quite a chore getting it all done. Which is odd really, because it’s not like I didn’t have to do work over Christmas at Keele, I always had exams in January and yet.. I never felt so stressed about them. In fact I never felt so stressed and exhausted at Keele as I do now, was my course easier there? Did I not care as much and thus not work so hard? And yet… I did well in my coursework there usually, not so well in my exams, but that’s exams for you. So it can’t have been that.
At least I’m going away this weekend.. and thats going to have some stress because I’m doing some crazy ass journey to get to Liverpool (stupid engineering works) and then another crazy journey to get to the Brecon Beacons to go to a wedding. I’m totally looking forward to the wedding, but still I have to pack, and I have to get there, and I have a coursework presentation tomorrow. I’m telling you the 5th April cannot come soon enough!! Easter Holidays!! I totally plan to spend that weekend doing NOTHING, absolutely nothing, well maybe some knitting (definitely!), some watching TV (some people on Ravelry have mentioned Doctor who MIGHT be starting that weekend?). Hell at some point over Easter I might actually be able to record something for Librivox, shock horror! I doubt I’ll be able to finish my Solo though, and I really want to, heh my original time to finish that was February.. so didn’t happen, to much uni work, it’ll probably be June/July I expect now.
But I can’t relax over the whole of my 3 week ‘holiday’ I will have coursework for one module, plus I have to write my project proposal up, and that also has me stressed. I have to get it right so that I can pass the PPPP module and do my project, and the person assessing that is not the same person as my project supervisor, and they have different approaches. I’m also wishing that we started our projects later (and finished them later) because when we had to decide what to do there were still things I didn’t know about, and yesterday we just had a lecture on Grid Computing, and it was actually quite interesting. It has made me wonder if that wouldn’t be an interesting project to do.. *sigh* I’m all torn and worn out with not much time to really have second thoughts like this.
I’d better get back to work, I have papers to find.. I was thinking I’d knit on the trains over the weekend, but I may have to take these papers with me as well, I have to do a compare and contrast thing, and I can at least write bullet points of stuff out while I’m on the train.
I really want a holiday.
Cherish and the Bodice of Dooooom 12 March 2008
Posted by kaitharshayr in Knitting, librivox.Tags: cherish, evil bodice, Knitting, librivox, Rowan big wool
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So I’ve finally finished knitting Cherish, just have to block it all and sew it together and find a button. I have to get this done this weekend, I’m supposed to be wearing it to a wedding on Easter Sunday!!
So here’s most of it lying together, I hadn’t finished the final sleeve by this point:
And here are my finished sleeves, gosh these were a hassle!
I decided to knit them in the round, I knit one in the way I was supposed to for the size I’m doing, got to where you do the shoulder bit and just did not have enough yarn. >_< I was about 3 rows from the end, and I knew I couldn’t start another ball of wool because I’d need all that to do the second sleeve. So I cast on with the second sleeve, and did slightly less repeats for the flared bit at the cuffs and then knitted the rest for my size, and I think I actually prefer it this way, saved me yarn and meant my cuff’s aren’t too flared. However I got to the shoulder bit and STILL did not have enough yarn, so I had to cheat a bit. I’ve cut off a few rows at the top of the shoulder decrease, checking with my mum we think it’s still ok and will fit the shoulder seams (I hope!!!!! I don’t have time to mess with re-knitting them both again!!), but even doing that I had to cut yarn that I had left over from a side piece to finish the last 2 rows!! But it does seem to work. So I ripped out the other sleeve and knitted it the same way as my finished sleeve.. and I must have done something differently, maybe its’ not quite as long as the first (although it looks to be the same) because (if you look at the top left of the picture) there’s a fair bit of rolled up wool there. But unfortunately not enough to finish the sleeves off properly.
I am going to have to use different yarn to seam it all together though, although my mum reckons the Big Wool would be too thick to do this with anyway. But it’s quite annoying because the pattern calls for 4 balls, so I got 4 balls, and this clearly wasn’t quite enough. (I needed maybe 60inches more to finish the sleeves properly) Oh well. Nearly done now. I hope.
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Evil Bodice of Dooooom (or Bodice of Evil) doesn’t really matter which, I am just fed up with it. Anyway, this pattern is from Exercises in Knitting by Cornelia Mee which we are recording for Librivox.
I’ve (finally) done the main body.
And here’s my hand so that you can get a feel for just how small it is(!)
So now the pattern says “Then take up the stitches all round the neck, and knit 3 plain rows.” but I’m not sure what it means, I have about 15 stitches on a holder, but I’m guessing it means I need to knit into the whole edge of the neck band? (otherwise I’ll have some strange floppy thing 15 stitches wide at the back of the neck) urgh. That’s a lot of stitches to pick up when I’ve got a really tight gauge on this, dk on small needles. :S
I also really need to re-write this pattern for the modern day, but clever old me hasn’t really been making notes paying attention as I knit….. smart. But I think I can figure out most of it, its just a matter of counting rows and working out when I joined yarn etc etc etc. Hopefully I can have this all done by the summer, and then I can get rid of this chapter for Librivox, luckily I’ve already recorded it! *phew*
