Kool-Aid Acid Test

What do you get when you have a guest blog photographer with a ton of jet lag and a knitter who gets paid to photograph? Pure chaos. I didn't realize how picky I was on how things are photographed and I really don't understand how one takes blurry pics while the auto-focus is on. But look, I have pictures again!!

Atomic River Socks
Pattern: My own
Yarn: SWTC Optimum DK
Needles: Addi turbos US 3 24"
Date Started: September?
Date Finished: 10.23.05

I kept getting sidetracked from these, but thanks to Socktoberfest I got into gear and finally started and finished the second sock. I knit them toe up magic loop style with lace that I borrowed from the River Stole. The yarn was dyed for me by my buddy Illanna and I love everything about it, the colors are fun and crazy, the yarn is extremely soft, and it was a breeze to knit with. I would recommend this yarn to you, but hurry since, apparently, it is being discontinued. These socks took somewhere between two and three skeins if you want to try it.

These are only my second pair of socks ever and were created as a practice run for Anna's socks. These were an exercise in sock math, casting on figure 8 style, and working with the magic loop. The only problem I encountered was with the heel, I couldn't seem to make a nice join once I started working with the instep stiches again. I also kept forgeting to pick up both wraps when I was reactivating the heel stitches, I constantly had to go back and unknit and pick the leftover wrap along with it's mate. I hate unknitting short rows, but I got through it. Does anyone have any suggestions for neater heels when knitting toe up? All in all these were a fun knit and I ended up with some original, funky socks. Want to see another crazy sock?

Life Saver socks
Pattern:Jaywalker
Yarn: Vesper Sock Yarn in Aqua Melon
Needles: Addi Turbos 2.5mm 40"
Date Started: 10.25.05
Date Finished:10.28.05

You may think I'm crazy, a fool, or trying to cheat you here by calling this a FO, but trust me it is. I'm in a sock swap where you only have to knit one sock so no one gets the old second sock syndrome. I was lucky enough to have a partner that has the same foot size as yours trully, I was able to try them on and feel how nice and snug they are.

Don't these look psychedelic? I wasn't sure what yarn or pattern to use, but when I finally decided on the Vesper this pattern begged to be knit. For some reason, anytime I look at these, they scream "1970's!" to me. I'm also reminded of Tom Wolfe's Kool-Aid Acid Test and of the lifesavers wrapper. I hope my partner likes it and doesn't think me an idiot for mailing this to her.

The pattern is easy enough to memorize, but interesting enough to make you knit it. The only changes I made were using Magic Loop instead of DPN's, using 2.5's because I don't own 2.25's, and I picked up the heel flap stitches Grumperina style. I found it to be slightly quicker and the tension was more even.

edit: I added two pics that the bf took.

The Siesta is Over

Sorry I've been away for a few days, I didn't have time to blog while I was away and I didn't feel like posting without pictures (camera eta: 25hrs). Blame Purly though for waking me from my siesta and tagging me with the new knitting meme that's making the rounds. I'll answer now and then fill in the pictures this weekend (25 hrs till my camera boy is back!)

What is your all time favourite yarn to knit with?
If the question was what yarn I would burn, then the answer would come easier. I don't have a yarn that I go back to again and again though I do have many fond memories of some. I do love Blue Sky Alpaca and I'm itching to knit something else with it. The feel of Malabrigo makes me smile and I'm enjoying using their bulky merino as well. Oh, I lied to you, I have used Rowan KSH quite a few times so that easily places it in my fave list.

Your favourite needles?
umm, take a look to the right and you'll find the answer. Here's another hint:



The worst thing you've ever knit?
I think this is pretty bad! oh what I knitted...I had to think about this. My first sweater was from a Yarn Girls pattern. Think bulky, no shape, and beige. That was eventually frogged and turned into a lovely bag and scarf. This wrap is pretty bad, I recently ripped it to reclaim the yarn. Anyone interested in some Rowan Ribbon Twist?


I also found this scarf in my drawer that ranks in the top five worst things I've ever knitted. If I remember correctly, I got the pattern and yarn idea from not martha back when I first learned to knit. The yarn is Geisha, which turned out to be a messy, fuzzy, dense mess. I don't have the heard to rip it out (what would I do with the yarn?!) or throw it out.

Your most favourite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)
One of my favorites has been Sylv's shrug, partly because I got to test knit it and edited the pattern. I'm also a sucker for lace.


Most valuable knitting technique?
Depends how you define "valuable". My pick is short rows. I get to use it every time I knit socks, but I could throw it in a sweater for shaping or make one of those loopy scarves that seem to be all the rage. A close second is grafting.

Best knit book or magazine?
The little spiral bound Vogue Reference. Anytime I have no clue what I'm supposed to do, I pray in front of this book and the answers come to me.

Your favourite knit-a-long?
My only "official" kal has been the River along. I had a good time knitting the stole and seeing everyone's variations of it. (hot lava doesn't count since I haven't CO for it yet, more on this later)

Your favourite knitblogs?
This is tough. I have A LOT. If I make a connection with the person, then their blog becomes a must read. I also enjoy seeing a lot of different projects or techniques, I'm a sucker for beautiful images, and sharing a good knitting discussion with a touch of humor helps. A clean layout is also key. Just a few top picks: Eunny is always amazing me with the beauty of her projects and the ease she knits them with (Oh, this sweater knit on 1's? It only took a day!) I swear she knits 24/7. Another speed knitter, Diana has beautiful pictures to go along with her projects. Anna is always creating things I want to knit be it socks, sweaters, or military jackets. Purly and I have a lot in common and she's one of the bloggers that got me into sock knitting. You know I like her if I didn't mind those cat posts (we won't mention those again).

Your favourite knitwear designer?
Is it bad that my non-favorite designer was the first thing that came to mind. I do love Stef's designs. If you notice what's on my needles or what I've knit, then I think you'll find a theme.

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!)
Lately I've been wearing my OSW a lot, knitting it with alpaca really made it perfect for the start of fall. It's nice and warm without being bulky.




But the one knitted item I wear the most has to be the first thing I ever knitted three years ago. My poor rockstar scarf (from one of the first knittys) has seen every winter since it's birth. I'll post a pic later to show you how ratty it is. I still love it and it keeps me warm.



Tag time! Eunny, Anna, Lolly, and Amy.

Bloggers feeding bloggers

Thanks everybody for reminding me to eat, that I'm not exactly boring, and that I'm not the only one that has watched too many horror movies for their own good. I guess all of us go through this once in a while and thankfully I have all of you to entertain me via blogs or emails.

I finally did the dishes after waiting for the non-existent maid to show up. Screw her I say. I've even made dinner a few nights thanks in part to some bloggers. Last night, oh, at around 9:30, my tummy started rumbling and I wasn't sure what to make. I idiotically decided not to go food shopping while the boy is gone to see how long I could go (did I mention said boy doesn't come back till the 28th?). Needless to say things are getting dire over here, but somehow I had some thawed out salmon in the fridge. I also had some miso soup Jennifer, my lovely SP, sent me a few months ago and some seaweed from the sushi making craze the boy went through this summer (don't ask). Combine all three components and you have a tasty dinner in no time, with leftovers even. Tonight was a yummy curry via Leah, not only did she supply the recipe, but she also sent me the tamarind paste I couldn't find in my hood. Now that's love. Maybe I should start a 'bloggers feeding bloggers' program or swap, of course I'm the only one benefiting right now so I'm not sure how that would work out.

This weekend I won't have to worry about making dinner or washing dishes though, since I've been asked to go visit the bf's parents. I think this is some trick though, since out of nowhere I was told I haven't had my teeth checked in a while and oh look how lucky there's a cancellation tomorrow. I have this fear that I'm being duped and this really has to do with my remaining two wisdom teeth that I won't let go of. Did I tell you that the boy's dad has taken my other two out? umm Did I tell you that he took out the first one the first time I went to visit his family and the first time I met his mom? Yep, I now how to impress. The boy and I were headed down from school to meet his friends, but we decided to stay at his parents' house on the way. We get some dinner before I get to meet the mom (the dentist was out of town) and at the end of dinner my mouth starts to hurt. This pain quickly starts to spread to my jaw, then the whole side of my face. In the middle of this agony is when I get introduced to the mom. "Hi! I'm your son's whiny, hypochondriac girlfriend!!" She takes me to her office and looks in my mouth, but doesn't find anything (she's not a dentist). I get pumped up with advil and the next day we are on our way. Of course the pain comes back on the way up to school and the dentist is back in town. After another trip to office I find out that I have to get my tooth ripped out of me stat! No, not an easy extraction, but rather an ugly, messy one where you get to hear the tooth break and struggle and hold on for dear life. The boy almost fainted and I was thoroughly embarrassed.

I'll leave you with that gross story and a promise to try to post while I'm up in Christmas City. Maybe I'll borrow a camera and show you some knitting (gasp!). Oh, to show you that I went to an interesting school and that I obviously took the wrong classes, here's a project explanation you might find interesting. Eunny take a look!

eta: guys, don't worry! I'm not in pain, it's just that I eventually have to take them out since they are impacted. And yep, the dad is a dentist. I wouldn't let a strange man put his hands in my mouth on our second meeting, I'm just not that kind of girl! Maybe the third or fourth meeting, but not the second. Dinner would have to be involved as well.

Two days

It took less than that to change my sleeping schedule and eating habits without the boy. Here's a little list to entertain yourselves with, a few things I have learned about myself just from the weekend:

I can listen to NPR all day and now that the boy isn't here I do.
I'm allergic to chocolate, yet I can't stop eating chocolate cookies.
Nothing makes me as pleased as perfectly even st st. I can stare at it's quiet beauty forever.
I'm easily bored, yet easily entertained.
I can't get over that the boy is in a completely opposite time zone than me.
The old "what happens in the future?" joke doesn't get old (he's 12 hours ahead, get it!).
Whoever was doing the dishes before has been slacking lately, I didn't see them all weekend.
I'm running out of glasses, I surely hope whoever cleans comes over today.
I can change from eating dinner at 6pm, to 9pm, and even 11pm with no problems.
My sleeping schedule has changed from going to bed at 11pm, to 1am, to 2am.
The later I stay up, the more paranoid I become.
I have no shame in leaving out all my WIP's.
It's exhausting to see all of my WIP's.
Other than knitting and going on the internet, I have forgotten how to entertain myself.
Living alone and having two weeks alone are very different.
I have become a very boring person.
I find it bittersweet that the weather is finally beautiful after the boy left.

In actual knitting news, I'm halfway through the BMC body and it looks like I may be running out of yarn (I'm still waiting on some more I ordered). I have to retry it on to see if I should rip back a few stitches, I dont want it to be too loose. I find it weird though to try something like this on, since I'm never quite sure what it's supposed to look like at a certain stage and it doesn't stay on easily. How do I know I'm not holding it in a funny to make it look right? I just don't trust myself. I'm very happy with the fabric I'm getting and the color is beautiful, trust me on this. This will definately be a favorite cozy sweater.

Since pictureless posts can be a tad boring sometimes, I figured I would show you my new notions bag that I stick into my knitting bag.



I ordered them from Nordic Section. My favorite part, besides the cute fabric, is the snap closure that keeps eveything safe inside. The little deer bag I use to hold my stitch markers and some other little loose things.

So lonely and bored

oh and frustrated, but I'll get that in a minute.

I dropped the boy off at the airport this morning for his flight to China. I'm going to be all alone for two weeks, I've only been alone for an hour and I'm already bored and lonely. I didn't last long did I? The funny thing is, I've been alone for much longer and thought nothing of it. All of grad school was basically alone time, I was just too busy to notice he wasn't there. For the last year I got used to him waking me up before work and knowing the exact time he was coming back. I like knowing he's home, even if I'm ignoring him with my knitting or he's ignoring me with his video games. Who else am I going to watch all our shows with for the next two weeks? Who am I going to bug and make fun of? I have this fear that my sleeping schedule is going to be totally off (he's the one that "decides" when bedtime is) and that I'll forget to cook or eat. Can someone remind me to eat?

I should be going to Japan in two weeks and meeting Tom in Tokyo. Notice I said should? Our tickets got totally messed up by the travel agent, he booked me going to Tokyo while Tom is in China and I would be coming back to the states when Tom would be flying to Tokyo. WTF I was going to try and get it fixed, but it's been such a hassle dealing with the travel agent. We are postponing Tokyo till later in the year or in the spring and instead taking a week to drive somewhere (Tom definately doesn't want to fly after he comes back). The top contenders right now are Boston and Providence, any suggestions on what to do in either city?

ps Tom took the camera with him, so I'll be pictureless for a while. Don't hate me!
pps I started the dentist's sock and have no way in knowing if it's right or not : )

A little reprieve

It seems that after working with 'the-yarn-that-shall-not-be-named', I was cursed not to get gauge in any of my nicer yarns for projects I desperately want to knit. Maybe this is a new power I attained, when terrible yarn is near me a scar that looks like a swatch will burn on my forehead. Or maybe I just needed a little sweater break, you know a quick mindless project to raise the spirits. My requirements were simple: a not so boring pattern, yarn from the stash, and the finished product had to be something I would actually use. No dischcloths or cozies of any kind (though iPod cozies are allowed). I came up with the perfect cure, a serpent for any HP fan!

Nah! just fooling you! It's actually a scarf from loop-d-loop.

Project: Lace Leaf Scarf by Teva Durham
Yarn: Rowan Polar in Blast
Needles: 8mm
Date Started:10.12.05
Date Finished:10.13.05

Why did Rowan discontinue this yarn?! Of course I'm in love with it, but all I can do is mourn the loss and be glad that I had a skein of it left in the old stash. I really like it's softness and how it has a bit of shine in it. In this color, it looked like there was some gold in it (and no burrs!). If you see this yarn at your lys on sale, don't hesitate to grab some for scarves, hats, or even a felted bag.

I've had this pattern for months, but either I didn't have yarn for it or it was a million degrees outside and I just wasn't motivated. The dreary weather we are enjoying in the Northeast helped the pattern come out of hiding. The scarf was a super quick knit, I think in total it took me two hours to knit it. I decided to just keep going until I ran out of yarn as part of my 'no more random yarn' mantra. Even finishing it was fast, since there were only a couple of strand to weave in and I lightly steam blocked it to ease some of the rolling and to flatten the leaves. The pattern is definately a contender for quick x-mas presents (it's not too early to think about this), it was actually fun and interesting to knit. I loved seeing the leaf take shape and now want to use the motif in other patterns. Yeah, yeah, I know there's a sweater out there that already has it. But, I'm thinking a thinner sweater or a bag would be cute.

Tomorrow, more sock knitting and perhaps some progress on the BMC.

You didn't really think I knit a snake for HP did you?

Sorry for the weird picture, but I don't usually take pics of myself while holding the camera. I'll try to post a more detailed shot tomorrow.

A festivus for the rest of us!

Come on, someone had to say it! Motivation (or was it peer pressure?) got me going on my lovely Atomic River socks. I LOVE it! It was nice to knit with soft yarn from non-psoriasis suffering sheep. I did miss the burrs though. I finished the first sock today during lunch and I hope to start the second one tomorrow, if not tonight. I can safely say no one has socks like these and that you'll be able to see me from a mile away. Actually, I may get started on the Foliage socks for the dentist just to get some of the gift knitting pressure off my back. I found a chart that converts shoe size to foot circumference once, but of course I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know what I'm talking about or can tell me what size to knit for a man's 9.5 shoe size?

Oh yeah, I finished the cardi with the Yarn-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. It's still a little damp (I'm telling you there's no sun here, only constant rain) and I still have to sew on the buttons (the pink ones), but I figured I would just post about it now.

Pattern: Marylin's NSS
Yarn: Do you need to ask?
Needles: Addi Turbos 4mm 32", 3.25mm 24"
Date Started: 09.15.05
Date Finished: 10.11.05

Did it really take me that long? I didn't even realize it since I was having so much fun! Seriously now, the yarn just kept me away from this project. I think my hate for it has been well documented so I won't bore you with it anymore (though how I managed to grab the yarn made from a little dry-skinned, rolling in burrs, and most likely shunned sheep baffles me). I'm thinking I shouldn' t have blocked this though, the sleeves were nice and tight before it hit the water. Now the sweater is kind of stretched and I don't think it's going to spring back. Actually, I was warned about this yarn's lack of elasticity from a reliable source before I was done and now I'm passing it on to you.

The pattern was alright to knit, nothing really too exciting here. Some of the wording in it confused me at times and other times I either just ignored it or figured out my own way to do it. I didn't make the raglan as deep as the pattern suggested (since I didn't know what it was telling me to do) and in turn I removed some of the ease built into the pattern. Thankfully I did this, since the sweater stretched out quite a bit. Other changes I made were: adding about three inches to the length, using two colors, picking up more stitches at the underarms and then decreasing them (no holes!), knitting instead of crocheting the ruffles, only knitting one ruffle per side vs the two in the pattern.

I'll grudgingly wear this, it's getting cold after all, but it's not my favorite knitted item. Besides the problems I had with the yarn, the resulting fabric is a little too flimsy and has an odd drape for my tastes. I'm also worried about how much stretching this thing is going to get after wear. Actually, I'm more worried about the wet sheep smell that won't go away.

The yarn is a definite loser, the sweater? We'll see, it's in the middle right now heading toward loserdom. It's one of those wear it and see situations. Don't believe me about the yarn? I have two skeins left that you can have for free. Free yarn! All you have to pay for is shipping, which is a small price to pay to proove me right, I mean to test out the yarn.

Ewe Dandruff

Can I tell you how happy I am to be finally done with this project? This yarn from the little dried skinned sheep just has to go. I ended up with two leftover skeins that will either be burned or be given away. The cardi is blocking as we speak; I originally thought I was going to steam block this one, but after all the, arhem, dander and burrs in the yarn I decided to dunk the biatch. I even used scalp revitalizing shampoo to wash it, something the sheep could have used. The water was pretty nasty after rinsing the sweater, I wish I had taken a picture!

While this sucker takes forever and a day to dry (we haven't had sun here since Thursday), I dove in to some old and new projects. The atomic river socks are knitting up nicely, though it was weird to get back into knitting these after so much st st on US 6's. They don't look much longer than before, but trust me I'm working on the leg. Lolly's Socktoberfest has me all sock-happy, which has got me thinking about what other socks to knit. I figure I won't be greedy and knit up two pairs for myself at the same time (that would be unseemly), so why not knit a gift pair? Remember the Foliage I bought at Stitches East? I bought three skeins to knit some bulky socks for the dentist, any ideas on patterns? I'm not sure if I should let the yarn do all the work or make a fun pattern out of it. Are there any "manly"patterns that you know of?

You would think two socks would make me happy, but nope I wanted to get started on the Bulky Mini (aka BMC) right away. I was working out my new numbers, but I think I already messed up on the third row and ended up with more stitches on one of the sections that I should have. I'm guessing it's all the yo's and kfb action going on in the pattern. Any tips on how to apply your stitch ratio to that? Apparently the lack of sun has made me very inquisitive today.

Thinking ahead

What does every knitter do just before completing a project? Join two kals and start swatching for new projects of course! Sure, I could've worked on the cardie and had an FO report today, but nooo I rather laze around and start playing with new yarn. I think the breaking point came when, while knitting up the button band, I thought I had a lot of dandruff on my shirt. Weird, I don't have dandruff really! Umm, yeah it was the yarn!!! WTH. Then I thought I cut myself with it which led to it's banishment. I swear that the Silky Wool is cursed. Today though, nothing but lovely yarn.

I first swatched Glampyre's Bulky Mini Cardy. I've been wanting to knit this one up for weeks, but I was waiting on the main color yarn. It finally arrived on Friday and I couldn't stand it any longer. I got the pattern gauge on US 13's, but the fabric was too loose. I decided to go with US 11's at about 3.5 spi. A little less bulky, but it should still be a quick knit. The cc will be some brown chunky wool I happen to have in my stash; I hope the colors mix well together.


The next project on my list is the ever popular Hot Lava, which I'll be knitting in Malabrigo worsted merino in Rosa Vivacity. I still have to tink with the gauge on this one (may even have to whip out "the maths" as I like to call it). The pattern gauge is 3 spi and 5rpi with US 11's. The swatch above is on US 11's but with a gauge of 3.5 spi and 5 rpi, close but the fabric is too loose once again. My first swatch was on 10.5's with a gauge of 4-4.5 spi. I'll keep playing around untill I get a fabric that looks right, but it's a little frustrating since I usually get gauge the first time around. Did anyone get gauge for this pattern or did you just try it on as you went?

Con

It's a pretty grim day today, which is perfect for staying at home, maybe do a little house cleaning (doubtful, though I keep losing things in here) and finish up some knitting (let's hope, shall we?) unfortunately, there was no knitting to be done yesterday. Why? Because I got to hang out at a convetion center full of dentists and hygienist, that' why. Say what?!

Jealous much? The bf's dad came down for the annual meeting, apparently this year they are trying to forge things. I got to hang out all day at the marketplace with the rents. Now these dentists know how to do it right. Just for showing up and pretending I was the office manager I got a new stash; toothbrushes and pastes galore! How come we don't get free stuff at our knitting conventions? Hell, even a bag! Oh, that pretending thing? Well, I noticed early on in the day that my badge was color coded to scream "not in the biz!!" and I lost out on a lot of samples this way. After lunch, the mom and I decided to strategically hide our badges and see what happens. We ended up with free shit left and right, hell, we even got invited to presentations that ended with bags of free samples. Do I need or want all this? No, but it was free! It was more about fooling everyone; I must have been some sort of con-artist in another life.

On to some knitting: both sleeves are now done. Just need to do the neck and button bands. I hope this goes fast since I want to be done already and move on to the Hot Lava. The crappy weather should help my cause. Ignoring the bf is another trick I like to try out.

Any suggestions on which buttons I should use? I don't feel like going out and buying any, but these happened to me in my stash.

If you are thinking of knitting this pattern or if you are in the middle of it, can I give you a suggestion? Well, too bad, I'm giving it to you anyway! For a completely seamless sweater (shouldn't all top-down raglans be this way?) pick up more stitches than the pattern tells you to once you start knitting up your sleeves. On the left is my first sleeve, where I followed the pattern faithfully and ended up with a big old hole. Personally, I don't like sweaters with (unintentional) holes in them and hate to see a sweater start it's life out like that. On the right is the much improved second sleeve. I picked up more stitches than I had in the underarm section and then decreased the extras on the second round! Easy peasy!

To hell with them!

After a lonely weekend, that ended up with me being pissed off at "an inspirational yarn store" and the bf thinking I heard the woman wrong, which I didn't!, it was nice to receive a surprise in the mail yesterday from one of my lovely friends. I so gently hinted that I may not have enough of her dyed yarn to finish my "river socks" and what does she do? She mails me some matching yarn and some needles she made, this is a friend indeed! I promise there was no fake crying involved.

For Illanna, I'm renaming said socks to "atomic river socks" because they are going to be insane. The solid yarn is going to be the cuff, while the rest of the sock will be in the stripey yarn. Look at how sad that little foot looks with no legs or even addis to keep it warm. I had to steal the needles for the never ending cardi, but they will be back in action soon enough. Can I tell you how much I love this yarn? Not only was it dyed for me, but it's also oh so soft Optimum DK. Nice, soft wool with no plant matter in sight, what more could a girl ask for? How about some special needles?

Illanna sent these so I could try them out, aren't they adorable? And they even match my scrap yarn somehow. Wait, is she trying to tell me something by sending me snakes? Maybe she's mad that I tricked a bunch of you into thinking that Tom and I broke up....umm sorry, didn't mean to, I swear! But a lys breakup is almost as bad right?

Breaking up isn't that hard to do

In ninth grade there was a boy, maybe a year younger than me, that liked me and I didn't like him. He had one of those generic boy names, Ryan, Michael, Sean (what I'm trying to say here is that I don't remember) He was really annoying, kind of a perv, and, unfortunately, my best friend's soon-to-be step-cousin. There was no escaping him, most of the times I would come over he would somehow show up and bother us or bother me. One day I had the great plan that if I said yes to him, then the nuisance would stop. We ended up "going out" for a week or two, which consisted of him calling me all the time and me ignoring him anytime I would see him. He must've gotten bored or maybe he wasn't as dumb as I thought and figured me out, because he finally called to break up with me. I got the old "it's not you, it's me" story in freaking ninth grade. What did I do? I cried, I mean I balled, I ugly cried. I didn't really care, but at the same time I couldn't help it. I believe this was my first "fake cry" as a woman. Just like that he started going out with some other girl he could kiss and fool around with (good old three way calling, it doesn't always hang up. I got to hear all about the new girl in his next call).

Then there was W. He really liked me and I thought he was dorky in a cute way so of course I went out with him. All we did was make out; we never really talked be it over the phone or when we were together. Our first time together it just fizzled out, actually the second time it fizzled out as well. The worst part about it? He sounded so sorry on the phone telling me how he "cheated" on me, while I was just bored and not saying anything, which he took for me being heartbroken. I figured, let some other girl deal with it, I knew I didn't want to.

My latest breakup though, this one actually hurts. Not sure why since I was constantly treated like I wasn't wanted or important. I tried to make the relationship work, putting my time and money into it, but it finally broke. I don't appreciate being lied to, especially when it's something I know a lot about, so I'm making a clean break. No phone calls, no "it's not you it's me" b.s. It's over. Things I know a lot about: music, art, photography, designers, food, yarn. Can you guess which is the one I'm referring to now? I'm one lys short, all because of a stupid skein of yarn at the register.

me: this is pretty! what is it?
her: oh, umm, something I'm going to carry, I don't carry it yet. It'll be a while!
me: ok, it feels great. what is it?
her: it's from South Africa
me: ahh, is it be sweet mohair?
her: umm, no it's not Be Sweet.

uncomfortable silence

me: umm, whatever it is, it's really gorgeous!

uncomfortable silence

Did I mention this was happening as I was paying for some overpriced needles, also known as addis? What did I do when I went home? Googled the hell out of it and unless there's some other company from South Africa selling Mohair Magic Balls in a color named "underwater" we can safely say it's Be Sweet! Why did I feel like I was on Seinfeld? Does anyone remember the Tuscany episode?

So I drink to my latest breakup, wearing the last remnant from the relationship and not a great one at that.

short no more

ok kitty-kats! I'm back, did you miss me? This week has been extremely busy with work stuff, comp stuff, and basically life. The boy is gone for the weekend, so I've been able to hang out in my pj's most of the day, knit that whole time, and have no one complain about it. For you I showered (well that combined with the gym made me do it) before I took these pics.

I was hoping to take these pics when the sun was still up, but alas I jump around a lot when I knit. I constantly check my email, check what everyone else is knitting, listen to music, snack, and then knit in between all that. I also took a break before I was done with the body to pick up some longer needles for the sleeves (magic loop baby). You know the annoying part? I was going by the kitchen clock, well, some genius (who is out of town and shall remain nameless) didn't tell me that the clock was set 30-45 minutes behind! The whole day I was in a time fog and I almost didn't make it to the yarn shop. I kinda wish I hadn't made it since I was treated a little rudely, but that's a story for another post.

Let's talk about some knitting ok? I have managed to get something done, see!

Notice that my cardigan looks completely different than Wendy's (and I'm sure you noticed that I'm wearing pajama pants). Mine shall be called the not-so-short cardigan; I added about three inches to the body and actually got rid of some of the ease. I have to be completely honest though, the shrunken ease was sort of done by accident. I had never read "raglan portion of sleeve" in a pattern before and I took that to mean the width of the sleeve. I'm glad I went by the circumference of my arms though, because now it has the slimmer fit that I like to wear. I tried it on at the suggested length but it looked kinda weird ie kinda fugly. Short torso combined with really short sweater is not a pretty sight.

It's hard to tell in the top image, but I made my hem in another color (pink of course!) to add a little variety. The pink yarn doesn't have as many of the scratchy things, but instead it takes me back to the lotiony problem. The body took just a little over three skeins of the main color and each skein has been really different. I'm guessing there's something wrong with the lot I bought, which makes me less confident in the quality control. I'm sure a good soaking when I block this baby will help.

I figure I'll start on the sleeves tonight so, hopefully, I can start on the bands tomorrow. I'm trying to hurry Carrie!