steering wheel cozy #2

See… I have been knitting! Even though it’s been hot, here — too hot to do a lot of wool knitting. #1 Son had admired my steering wheel cozy. One for his car is the perfect finishing touch. (Note how clean it is inside!)

As before, th pattern can be found in Son Of Stitch ‘n Bitch. I know from experience in my own car how nice this cozy feels to my cold hands on a dreary winter’s day and to my hot hands on a toasty summer day.

I did make minor modifications to the pattern. I made it slightly narrower, as #1 Son’s steering wheel is not as fat as mine and the cozy does need to fit tightly. In retrospect this might not have been the best move. But it is on there to stay and doesn’t slip around as much as mine does. (Note that mine does not slip from side to side, so it is safe for driving. But be warned if you knit one – it needs to be smaller than you might think because you want that puppy to really stretch tight.) Mine was tight at first, but over the first month or so it loosened up some. I keep thinking that it would be a good thing to undo the stitching and stitch it up a little tighter. So far inertia has won.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Berroco Suede (100% nylon / 50g, 111m per skein); one skein of 3764, Tombstone, one skein of 3729, Zorro. I had tons of gray left over. I split the skein of black into to parts because it’s impossible to work from both ends with these balls. I have a goodly amount left, but not tons. It might be possible to knit one of these from one skein if you want a solid color and your steering wheel isn’t huge. But I’d suggest buying two balls just in case.
• Needles: Denise Interchangeable Needles, US#6, on a 24″ cable. These turned out to be the perfect needles to knit this yarn with – blunt enough that the ribbon wasn’t split and just the right slickness. My hands and wrists did not suffer at all, as is usually when knitting with a non-stretchy yarn. I have no idea why I haven’t tried this before. My bad. Thank you Denise!
• Steering Wheel Cozy from Son Of Stitch ‘n Bitch by Debbie Stoller. Pattern was knit with minor modifications – two fewer purl stitches to each side of the cable.
• Techniques used: Intarsia, with the cable in Tombstone and the borders to each side in Zorro.

steering wheel cozy

… the one known as #1 Son’s car.

#1 Son left his car in my care. Actually, I insisted. I sort of like to know what’s happening with it when he’s not around. He left it parked at my house with gas tank empty and the seats and floors full of nameless… stuff. I knew I had to drive it at least once or twice a week to keep it in running order. My first priority was to get some gas in it, because it was on fumes. I got in and started the car. With my right hand, I grasped the shift knob…

There was something on the knob. I don’t know what. But it didn’t feel like anything I wanted to touch. I wiped my hand without much effect on the passenger seat upholstery. I dug around in my purse for a kleenex and wiped the knob and my hand off. Then I shifted into drive and away we went.

The steering wheel was greasy. I rolled down the windows, because it stank inside. Unknown things rattled around. I made it to the gas station, filled it, survived the sticker shock (big difference between #1 Son’s Subaru Outback and my Prius), and headed back home.

And there it sat, because… driving it was gross.

But I knew that I needed to drive it again. So, with the long weekend, I decided it was time to clean it up. I started by sorting the contents into three piles: (1) known items to be filed in house, (2) known items to be left in car, (3) a combination of known items that should be discarded and totally unidentifiable things. The third pile was by far the largest. Those items went directly into the garbage without passing Go. The first pile consisted of things that need to be kept, but not in the car. They were brought inside and filed. And that left plenty of room to organize the things that needed to be left in the car, like coins and cassette tapes and CDs and paperwork like the registration and such.

Now that I could see all surfaces, I started to clean. I started at the top, and worked my way down. And it was pretty bad. But I cleaned everything. There was one little horde of pennies that were stuck together by some nameless gunk. I wiped them all off individually. I cleaned the shift knob and the steering wheel twice, just in case. I dug into nooks and crannies. I polished and spiffed until it gleamed. I washed all of the windows. And then I drove it up to the car wash where they have vacuum cleaners strong enough to almost turn the car inside out. And I vacuumed everything – twice. Once home I febrezed all of the upholstery and carpets. Liberally.

Since the thing was clean, I didn’t feel so bad about driving it. So I drove out to the Oregon DEQ facility – a nice Saturday drive. The car passed the DEQ test with flying colors and has brand new tags and registration.

There was only one thing missing: a steering wheel cozy. So I’ve started one, and should have it finished within a few days – well before #1 Son returns on the 16th. This is Berroco Suede in Tombstone (gray) and Zorro (black). It’s posing in a gratuitous garden shot amongst my hardy fuchsia.

#1 Son called a couple of days ago from Nuremberg. They are having a wonderful time and he loves all the places they have visited so far. He told me that Prague is the most beautiful city in Europe – just like a postcard, Mom – with these crazy castles dotted about and gorgeous architecture.. Having never been there, I have no opinion myself, but it sounds lovely.

I didn’t tell him that he will come home to a car that is full of gas, legally registered for two more years, clean and cozied. We’ll let it be our little secret for now, eh?

Friday night. For many people the work-week is over and it’s time for a bit of amusement — maybe a movie or dinner with a friend or a date. Or a bit of knitting in front of the TV. Me? I take my car apart.

OK. Not the whole car. Just a bit of it.

I drive a 2005 Prius. And I love my car. Love it. It’s my favorite car ever. I love the way that I can run practically the whole car from my cozy-covered steering wheel. There’s just one thing it doesn’t have: an iPod dock (those were added in the next model year). When I bought my car, I didn’t have an iPod so I didn’t really care. Then I got an iPod, and thus began the search for some way to listen to it in the car. I finally settled on an FM transmitter. It worked pretty well, but had disadvantages. I could only use the iPod controls to change songs, etc., which is probably not all that safe when going 70 mph down the freeway. And, if the station faded, so did the iPod. After spending 20 minutes sitting in a rest area trying to find a station that would work, I decided that maybe I should look for another method.

this is how it looked before

The problem, of course, is finding an after-market solution that works with the stereo, doesn’t mess up the gps navigation, and allows the steering wheel controls to change songs, etc. For some cars, there are tons of after-market products that do this. For the Prius, there are only a few. My choice arrived this week. So when Friday night arrived, I gathered up the necessary tools and set to work.

Estimated time to install: The guide said about 30 minutes, so I figured one hour would be sufficient. I’d read through the instructions and it didn’t look that tough.

Tools needed: Long Phillips screwdriver, regular screwdriver, mirror, iPod doohickey and all its cables and parts, iPod.

Step 1: Remove glove box and set aside. Mama always warned me about directions that start out like this. But really, it turned out to be pretty easy.

Step 2: Using fabric-covered screwdriver, gently pry top of vent cover away from dashboard to unclip, then remove vent cover. Again, not so bad. I was on a roll.

the bane of my existence

Step 3: Using long Phillips screwdriver, unscrew the bolt at the top of the scary-looking white box covered with scary-looking wires. (The blue arrow is pointing at the location of the bolt.) Be careful not to mess up any of those wires, or lose the bolt, or any other bad thing. Unscrew bolt. U.n.s.c.r.e.w bolt.

Step 4: Admit that the standard-length Phillips screwdriver I had was just not long enough to get the proper amount of leverage on a bolt that must have been tightened using force approaching that to be found at the center of the earth. Remember that the Phillips who gave his name to this style of screwdriver was actually a resident of Portland and ponder that little bit of synchronicity while searching through tools, finding only standard screwdrivers that are longer than the original Phillips. Curse.

Step 5: Search for tool kit containing socket wrench, not finding it. Vaguely remember that I gave said tool kit to #1 Son, and he took it when he moved out. Curse.

Step 6: Replace vent cover, pressing firmly to engage clips. Replace glove box.

Step 7: Drive to big-box home improvement and hardware store. Purchase smallest possible socket wrench set containing several sizes of sockets and extenders, just in case (on sale! and yes I will use it for other things). Return home.

Step 8: Remove glove box and set aside. Remove vent cover and set aside. Using 10mm socket wrench with 6″ extender, remove bolt at the top of the scary-looking white box with the scary-looking wires. Put the bolt safely in a cup holder. Slide the white box gently to the side, out of the way.

the object of my desire

Step 9: Find the empty port on the back of the stereo where the adapter for the iPod doohickey will be plugged in. It’s circled in the picture. And, yes, the mirror I’m holding is on the handle of a hairbrush. It’s the only one I had that was the right length and that I could get at the right angle. Note that it’s a tight squeeze to that port.

Step 10: While holding the end of the iPod doohickey plug between two fingers, squeeze right hand through vent opening and attempt to plug the wire into the port. Stretch a little further. Squeeze a little tighter. Twist and turn that plug to get it at the right angle. Reach!

Step 11: Realize that the sharp pain in the side of my thumb is probably not something I should ignore because the edge of the stereo enclosure has apparently cut my thumb and reaching further will cut it again. Withdraw right hand. Wrap kleenex around thumb. Curse.

Step 12: While holding the end of the plug, squeeze left hand through vent opening and reach for the cursed port. Feel the plug go in the port. Rejoice!

Step 13: Remove hand. Watch plug fall out. Curse.

Step 14: Repeat step 12, but this time ram that puppy home like there’s no tomorrow.

it works!

Step 15: Carefully move the scary-looking white box back into position, but don’t bolt it down yet.

Step 16: Plug the iPod doohickey cable into the other end of the adapter now attached to the stereo, and run the cable out the side of the vent cover, over where the glove box should be.

Step 17: Connect the iPod cable to the iPod doohickey and plug in the iPod.

Step 18: Cross fingers and toes.

Step 19: Turn the car’s auxiliary power on. The iPod will appear in the device list as MD Changer. Navigate to the iPod and test the functions. Some simple programming may be required.

Step 20: Follow the instructions for the simple programming, which turned out to be actually simple. Watch the iPod and it’s playlists show up on the nav screen. I swear that this song came up totally randomly, but it was pretty fitting I think. (For anyone who wonders, that’s Harry Nilsson.)

Step 21: Play with controls to make sure everything works. Rejoice.

put that puppy to bed

Step 22: Turn off car.

Step 23: Move scary-looking white box covered with scary-looking wires back into place.

Step 24: Using 10mm socket wrench with 6″ extender (I can be taught), replace bolt, being careful not to drop it or tighten it too tightly (not too much fear of that).

Step 25: Carefully replace vent cover, pressing firmly to engage clips but being careful not to squeeze or bend cable. Put the iPod doohickey inside the glove box and then carefully replace glove box, being careful not to bend or squeeze cables, etc.

Step 26: Fasten the iPod doohickey securely inside the glove box. Coil cables and store neatly. Close glove box. (I would show you an after picture, but it looks just like the before picture.)

Step 27: Cross fingers and toes. Turn on car’s auxiliary power and make sure everything still works. Breath a sigh of relief.

Step 28: Put tools away.

Step 29: Enter house, telling surprised cats I rock!

Step 30: Add ice to martini shaker. Apply vodka and vermouth. Shake. Pour. Drink.

Total elapsed time start to finish, including trip to big-box store but excluding 2nd martini: 4 hours.

Being able to run my iPod from the steering wheel while it’s safely tucked away in the glove box: priceless.

I have DVR. I have never had one before.

Last Friday, I disconnected my old cable box and went over to my cable company’s customer service department, where I was met by a big sign that suggested Take A Number. My number was 001. I sat down amongst a bevy of other folks who were waiting for their number to be called.

Now serving 183 at counter 6! blared the loudspeaker.

I hoped that the numbers started over at 199, because there were only 16 people ahead of me. If the numbers didn’t start over until 999, I was in for a long, long, long wait.

But I could knit while I waited. I opened my purse to get the current socks-on-the-needles out. There was no knitting in my purse.

I banged my head against the cable box a few times. Even if I only had to wait through 16 people, it was going to seem like a long, long wait.

It was just under an hour before I heard Now serving 001 at counter 7!

Because I’d called first, the nice person at counter 7 knew exactly what I wanted. He scanned in my old box, looked at my photo ID, and handed me the new box. Total time of transaction: Approximately 2 minutes.

I recorded about 12 shows the first night.

Then I set the thing up to record more shows every night. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve gotten used to having this thing. Before, if I missed a show it was just too bad. Not that there’s much on to watch right now anyway. But there are, I found out, several shows that are only on during the day that I can record now and watch later. Like Knitty Gritty and History Detectives. I have a nice long list of shows that I’ve recorded now.

How do I get caught up?

finished steering wheel cozy

And here we have the first finished object of 2008.

And what is it? I hear you ask, gentle reader.

This, my friends, is a steering wheel cozy.

As soon as I saw this pattern in the Son Of Stitch ‘n Bitch book while I was doing a little knitting at Tangle, I knew that I needed to knit one because this was simply an accessory that my car needed badly. A cabled steering wheel cozy. Think how nice that will feel to my cold hands on a dreary winter’s day.

Berroco Suede? I queried Alice.

Let’s see what I have back in the back Alice replied. Come with me.

And there in the bin, right on top, were the perfect colors. So what was I to do? I had to knit one. It was fate.

cozy steering wheel

This did take a bit longer to knit than I thought it would. For one thing, steering wheels have a deceptively long perimeter. And the Suede was just not the most pleasant stuff to knit with at the rather small gauge the pattern called for. I had to take frequent breaks to rest my hands.

I can see why the pattern called for this yarn, though. Once stitched onto the wheel, it’s not going anywhere. There’s no movement at all when turning the wheel. I think that a wool yarn would not have been as sticky and would have stretched more as time went on, leading to rather unpleasant consequences should the cozy slip while the driver was, say, trying to turn a corner.

Imagine trying to explain that to a judge. I’m sorry, your honor, I guess I should have cabled tighter.

Be sure to check out the new Finished Objects Gallery 2008. I’m using a new Dreamweaver extension to build it, and I think it’s pretty cool.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Berroco Suede (100% nylon / 50g, 111m per skein); one skein of 3725, Tonto, two skeins I think are 3735, Clint (no ball band on these, so I am guessing). I had tons — tons — left over.
• Needles: Knit Picks Options, US#6, on a 24″ cable
• Steering Wheel Cozy from Son Of Stitch ‘n Bitch by Debbie Stoller. Pattern was knit as written without modification.
• Techniques used: Intarsia, with the cable in Tonto and the borders to each side in Clint.

new on the needles

It’s that time of the year again. Time to look back. Time to gaze forward in anticipation. Let’s look ahead, first, and welcome 2008.

I did not remain sock monogamous to Lenore. I cast on the toes of the Salish Sea Socks, the December Rockin’ Sock Club pattern. The colorway is called Bella Coola / Nuxalk. It’s a Cat Bordhi pattern. The colors are my blog colors, and Cat gave me a nice little shout-out in the pattern notes. So what was I to do but cast them on?

But, I hear you ask gentle reader, what is that other unfinished strip of stripy cabled goodness sharing the picture with the Salish toes?

That was something I was hoping would be the last finished object of 2007. Didn’t make it. It will be the first finished object of 2008, though. I will tell you more later. For now, I will only say that the pattern comes from this book, and as soon as I saw it I knew that I had to knit it. When Tangle had the right yarn, the deal was sealed.

More later.

Also looking ahead: #1 Son left yesterday for a 5-week trip to Brazil. Yeah. South America. I was not allowed to go to the airport, because Moms are so lame at airports and stuff, you know. But he called me from the airport to let me know he was there. And he called me again to let me know they were ready to board. And he called me again to let me know that their flight to Chicago had been delayed. And he called again to let me know that they had landed, finally, in Chicago but missed the connection to Sao Paulo, and now had to stand in a really long line. And then he sent a text message to say that they had tickets on a flight leaving today. And then he sent a text message to say Happy New Year and that he was at a party with Chicago friends. I have not heard yet today. He has promised to call occasionally and maybe send an email now and again. Five weeks is a long time. Brazil is very far away.

In other non-knitting news, my old lady cat, Phoebe, has been diagnosed as hyperthyroid, thus explaining her weight loss and erratically needy behavior that was so odd in a crotchety cat that mostly just wants to be left alone — except at night, when a great deal of lovin’ is appreciated at bedtime. The good news is that it’s a condition that is, actually, curable in a fairly easy way. The bad news is that the condition may be masking chronic renal failure, which is not curable. So Phoebe is on medication to bring her thyroid levels down to normal so her kidneys can be evaluated. In all of her 15 years, Phoebe has never been sick or required medication of any kind. Since she tends to hold a grudge, I was not looking forward to shoving a pill down her throat offering her medication twice a day. But my vet carries this wonderful invention called Pill Pockets. Slip the pill inside the formed treat and smoosh the end closed, and the designated pet chomps it down. Phoebe loves them. So the only issue is keeping Kidd distracted while Phoebe eats her treat. Moo doesn’t count here, because she doesn’t like treats of any kind. She only eats cat food and yarn.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Now, looking back in farewell to 2007:

In January, I decided to buy yarn. And I kept that promise all through the year. So much so that I think in 2008 I will be a bit more restrained. Blue Moon suffered through their well-publicized bank problems. And my sock class was canceled because of snow.

February saw the Snake River Socks released into the wild, unfortunately, it turned out, with several errors. #1 Son borrowed my vacuum. My brain turned up missing in action as I tried to figure out the right number of stitches to go around a sock leg.

The first Rockin’ Sock Club shipment came in March. I resolved to knit socks only with my classes (resolution soon broken). My socks were lost and then found and, it turned out (via contest), may have been running a little underground resistance movement against sock abuse.

April opened with the Magical Moebius Festival in Newport. Knitting and food and yarn and food and Cat Bordhi and food and whales, and I knit a giant moebius (unintentionally) that 11 people fit into. And it was too far to drive 10 miles to my house, but not too far to drive to Eugene or Seattle.

In May I had the plane trip from hell. While I was in Miami, #1 Son called from Toronto to ask if I could move his car in Portland (it was towed). We lost Grandpa Barney. And I learned that I still remember how to execute a perfect slightly imperfect pratfall.

June found me proving my extreme dorkiness whilst meeting The Yarn Harlot. PDX Knit Bloggers were born (can’t believe it’s only been since June). The Clapotis That Never Ends… finally ended.

In July I visited Boston yarn shops (and my cousins). The PDX Knit Bloggers had their first meet-up at Knit Purl. #1 Son reached v1.9. I was both sorted into Ravenclaw and Simpsonized.

August started with a heelish experience. Sockapalooza 4 finished and I was spoiled nicely. Maia arrived for a PDX Yarn Crawl — on my birthday! I still owe the Bo Diddley sock pattern to several people. A gorgeous new Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One, was published. My name is on page 22. And I was kept suitably humble by my first autograph requestor who said, I have no idea who you are but apparently you’re famous, so please sign my book.

I had more fun with Judy’s Magic Cast-On in September. I also learned that it’s a good thing to pay attention when one is turning cables. At OFFF I met a Rasta sheep and fell off my yarn diet. Hard.

October started with a very interesting computer rebuild. (lovin’ the new computer now, though) I attended the first ever Floating Knitting Retreat with Cat Bordhi and Lucy Neatby and had a wonderful time. I obtained my first ever MP3 player (knitting videos on my iPod!). We planted a tree for Barney and the Ravens landed.

In November, Tina destashed and knitters everywhere helped out. The rose arch finally gave up the ghost. I made a swift from Tinker Toys. I was thankful for finally finishing The Great Green Glob. Not so thankful when it turned out there was a dropped stitch requiring major post-blocking surgery.

I was sick for a lot of December. But I knit a scarf for #1 Son and started The Wings Of A Dream in Blue Moon Silk Thread. I pondered the future of knitting. I made carrot soup instead of carrot pudding. And I was given the gift of snow on Christmas.

Objects Finished In 2007:

9 pairs of adult-sized socks
2 pairs of baby-sized socks
2 iPod Nano socks
2 moebii of the right size
1 moebius bowl
2 baby sweaters
1 Clapotis
1 lace shawl
1 scarf
1 hat

22 finished objects total

In the queue for 2008 or currently on the needles:

4 lace shawls / wraps
2 sweaters
1 blanket
1 bag
1 hat
1 scarf
2 pairs of socks on the needles
a gazillion pairs of socks rattling around in my brain

Chances of finishing this list by 12/31/2008? We shall see.