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.

Blue Brick Wall socks

When I hopped on the Ferry to go to Friday Harbor, I had a lace shawl and three pairs of socks on the needles with me. So I did what any red-blooded knitter would do.

I cast on another pair of socks.

Because, you know, I had wound up a skein of STR just in case I finished all of my other projects. Ahem.

It was a skein that I had won at Cat’s book signing last fall. Blue Brick Wall.

Maybe it was because I’d been driving all day and was tired. Maybe my blood sugar was low. Or maybe it was just one of those perverse days. Whatever. It was Blue Brick Wall, so I knit a brick-ish sort of pattern. (It’s actually the back side of a basket weave.) And the cuff is moss stitch because, well, moss grows on brick walls, doesn’t it? The socks are posing against my rock wall. Moss grows there. The lovely, thick sock blockers are courtesy of Bobbie’s husband ToolMan.

The really interesting thing about these is that, other than a small splotch of brown over the gussets, there’s no pooling and no striping. I’m so used to STR striping at the gauge I knit it in that I’m not quite sure what to make of it. But I really, really, like the way that these came out.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Socks That Rock Light (100% superwash merino / 4.5oz, 360yds per skein); one skein of Blue Brick Wall
• Needles: a pair of Addi Lace, US#1
• Pattern: My own.

Wings Of The Raven

A fellow retreater snapped these pictures of Wings Of A Raven for me when the sun came out on San Juan Island. (Thank you, again, fellow retreater!)

I love this first picture because it almost shows how the colors shift in the light. See how it looks black across my back, but the left wing has flashes of blue on it?

And my hair is almost behaving itself, miracle of miracles! But I could use a little tan on my arms, it appears.

The second shot of the sun streaming through the lace shows off the feather pattern nicely, I think.

Every place I have worn this shawl I’ve gotten lots of compliments. People just want to touch it and pet it and I do, too. Of all of the objects I’ve knit, I have to admit this is one of my favorite. And I’m going to wear it a lot. Because black, you know, goes with everything. It’s the new black, or something like that.

Wings Of The Raven

On the way home, I stopped in Tacoma for the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I wasn’t signed up for any classes. But I’d heard that there might be yarn involved. And Tina petted Wings Of A Raven and agreed that it was a perfect pattern for that yarn, which was very of cool.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Silk Thread (100% silk / 3.5oz, 1250 yds per skein); Two skeins of Thraven — yarn was held doubled while knitting. I had tons left over and maybe could have done this with one skein.
• Needles: Knit Picks Options, US#4
• Pattern: Wings Of A Dream by Melanie Gibbons. This is the symmetrical, two-wings version of Swan Lake. Pattern was knit as written without modification.
• Techniques used: beaded lace

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.