Guess who just did a bunch of work so that you wouldn’t have to?

Click the link, read the steps.

The calculators are not crochet or knit specific. It’s all about yarn, baby.

A 3.5mm stereo plug to dual RCA male adapter.

A small part, cheaply purchased ($5 USD), and now I have the last piece to complete my cassette-to-computer conversion of audio.

That piece connects to a previously purchased ($3-6 USD) male RCA to 3.5mm stereo y-adapter:

Put the male RCA y-adapter, stereo jack side, into the mini-cassette player, plug the male RCA side of it into the female RCA adapter (first image), and then plug the 3.5mm adapter side of the female RCA to the line-in jack of your computer. After that, set your computer audio to allow recording from the line-in, and tell your favorite audio editor to use the line-in as a playback/recording option. From there, it is all VOILA and happiness!

(sound confusing? it’s really not.)

What this means for me is that I can record on my handheld cassette recorder and then transfer it to the computer in order to convert it for the podcast! No more having to wait for people to be asleep. No more restrictions to recording only at the computer. No more delays between episodes because I’ve thrown my back out, or I’m too busy to sit still at the computer long enough. Good news all around.

SO. EXCITING.

Here’s the test clip:

Cassette To Computer Test

My new excel spreadsheet, complete with ticky boxes for fiber content(s). Click on the image and you can see it larger and more clearly. Brand, Name, Fiber, Rec’d Hook, Actual Hook, Gauge, Weight of swatch… I’m likely to add more as I come up with, or remember, them. Any suggestions?

All of this–ransacking my binder of swatches and previous notes–reminds me that I have tons of yarn to unload. Some will go to Yarn Swap when I have the chance to gather all the relevant information, and some will be up for sale.

Say hello to my new crochet tool!

It’s actually for quilting, but the fact that I can count out a 4″x4″ square within this 6″x6″ tool is awesome. I can see through it to count more accurately.

What’s even better is that I’ve managed to lose the clear 12″ ruler I was previously using to measure my swatches and gauge so I won’t feel guilty for using this beauty. I doubt I’ll lose this thing, and if someone steals it, I can use it like a chinese star once I find out who takes it from me!

Also, while I have you here, I’ll admit I am JUST NOW crocheting my 2nd of three swatch for the second class of Art of Crochet’s seminar. It’s nearing ever closer to 2am, and I believe Josi has us starting our 2nd class around 7:30pm CST/8:30pm EST.

Keep that in mind. Visit the Livejournal account of Art of Crochet’s Academy (Art of Crochet) for more information or to participate tonight!

I bought this mannequin head/neck display a couple of days ago via eBay. It’s being shipped to me and is due to arrive this Thursday. That’s exciting, really, because my styrofoam head needs to badly be replaced. Poor thing.

Nothing to report other than that. The pattern for “Pinwheel Beanie” is out with pattern testers, and until I hear back from them and make certain that everything checked out, I have no other news!

I am in the process of looking over some of my sketches to see what I’d like to tackle next.

(Click on the images for larger photos…)

I’ve been working on this crochet hook on-and-off for a couple of days. It will be a gift for Anna Genoese (aka She Who Will One Day Rule the World), as she is one of those who prefers Slytherin to Gryffindor. What better choice than a snake for a Slytherin? (more…)