knit fix

wanna see?

2006-04-21T10:01:00.000-04:00

I finally finished! But if you want to hear about it, why don't you come over to my new blog? pretty please?!

new feed:

New Host!

2006-04-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

and a bit of a new look.

I finally got the site* back up earlier this morning, weird that it happened today no?

Happy Easter! I'm going to rest up and, who knows, maybe work on my poor sockpal's sock.

*some of you may need to update your links

15000

2006-04-13T09:22:00.000-04:00

You guys are amazing and insane! Thank you soooo much for the support, the response has been incredible. I can't believe it. This is the first time that I can finally get on here and post, I'll try to answer each and every one of you later today.

In 24 hours I had over 15 thousand hits. Not what I expected at all. And not something I was able to test. I had to put the store down for maintenance so I can get it to work faster and better (there have been some bugs reported). During the downtime I'll change up some things, like even bigger pictures! You can click on the thumbnails now to make them bigger but somepeople haven't realized it. I'm also going to rewrite a few things so you guys know that you have a coupon in your mailbox. If you have any suggestions let me know now so I can implement them, I want to make this the best site I can for you.

I hope you guys don't hate me! I should be back up in a day or two....and I heard some amazing new products are already on their way.

I'm still baffled and amazed...now back to packing!

little secrets

2006-04-11T16:48:00.000-04:00

I'm not quite sure how to start this post, do I come out with it short and sweet and go back into hiding? or write a long story on how things worked themselves out?

funny enough, today is my blogiversary. I can't believe it's been one year since I decided to start blogging. what a weird thing to just decide and do, let me knit stuff, write about it, and maybe discuss it with other knitters. do we realize how random that sounds? but I'm glad I did! I've learned so much about knitting and have made some amazing friends. who else would understand my yarn addiction or my need to constantly be knitting 20 dollar socks? it's gone beyond that though, to where I know more about my knitting friends' lives, the ones I've yet to meet, than the friends I've made in high school or college. I'll stop myself before I get really sappy here.

anyway, what do I have planned? what's my little secret? no, it's not any sort of contest, I'm not quick enough to think of that (though I was tempted to do one about my name, for Sandra's sake). instead I'll come out with the biggest knitting project I've undertaken....and there were no needles involved. for the last i-don't-know-how-long months, I've been designing a yarn store. let me rephrase that, I've been designing my own yarn store. I started to get the idea last fall when I was tired of not finding what I wanted at other people's yarn stores. why not start my own and carry what I want, harder to find yarns created my smaller companies? simple enough idea, though I had no clue how long it would take. it was pure kismet when purly and I came clean to each other, I finally had someone to be in cahoots with (one of the best people to be scheming with) and the impetus to get going on it.

after months of coding, designing, and waiting for yarn orders to arrive the day is finally here! pureknits is my little baby. I hope you like it. the selection is a little small now, but there's a ton more coming. (if you want to keep updated on this, subscribe to the store blog 's feed)

I really couldn't have done it without purly, knowing that one of my good friends was going through the exact same thing as me was comforting. thanks for being there for me when I would send you all those crazy emails! Amy kicked my ass through all of this too, in the totally encouraging, sisterly sort of way of course. she handled my, 'woe is me' emails like a champ.! she'll always be known as customer #1. now Amy, finish that sweater! Stef's been another little partner in crime, who's been there to figure out all this 'business' stuff with me. I can't wait to finally meet up with her at TNNA! and let's not forget the boyfriend, the poor guy has lost a ton of closet real estate for this little venture and was totally ok when I woke up one morning and said "I'm going to open a yarn store".

ok, so.... let me know what you guys think. and if you have yarn/products suggestions, let me know

Things I do when the boyfriend is gone...again

2006-04-03T15:44:00.000-04:00

1. eat at odd hours, if I eat
2. bake 4 dozen cookies in the middle of the night
3. play with the bf's computer and look through all the fun files he has
4. eat cookies for dinner and lunch
5. knit a hat:

Pattern: Cabled (pdf)
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino in Sealing Wax
Needles: Addi Turbos 4.5mm

I could have finished this last night if it wasn't for number 2 and 3 in the list. I needed a quick knit before I dive back into 'sockpal: the sequel'. Seems I knit this at the right time, today has been a cloudy and cold day. Apparently it's going to be like this the whole week. I'll gladly wear this hat every day, it's super soft and fits me perfectly.

I didn't mean to make any mods, but maybe my bad mojo got into this knit. In the increase round I made a new stitch between every stitch, resulting in 7 pattern repeats instead of the stated 6. I'm not sure if I did that wrong or not. I also omitted the pompom out of sheer laziness.

6. watch an episode or two of "our shows" without him
7. get mad when he mentions seeing meredith knit while he changes the channels at hotel (I haven't seen this episode yet, so everyone just stop talking about it or add a spoiler alert!)
8. watch 'good night and good luck' and wonder if I liked it or not. still not sure
9. actually do the dishes and keep the apartment reasonably clean (this will all change once he's back)
10. listen to all the new podcasts and develop a mild crush on Ricky Gervais

The L Word

2006-04-02T23:27:00.000-04:00

L for looooser. As used in: "I've been a knitting looooser this week."

You wouldn't believe me from my lack of posting, but I've been knitting A LOT this week. Really. I have. I've been knitting, but I haven't knitted anything. Big difference. I think I might have angered the knitting gods this week, they stripped me of any good luck I had in me. Why would they do this to me? Maybe because instead of diligently working on my sockpal socks and casting on for the second one, I tried and tried to get some selfish knitting in. I have no idea why all of a sudden I just needed to cast on for something, ANYTHING, else. Sometimes I would pass the time by staring at my stash, as if somehow enlightenment would strike me. It didn't.

I did finish the first sock in the sockpal marathon:

This week has been a haze, but I think I finished it on Thursday, maybe Wednesday. I knit till I had an 8 " leg, I could have kept going since I still have half an ounce of yarn left from the first skein but my soul couldn't take it. I promised myself, after all the bad knitting mojo, that I would cast on for the second one tomorrow. I'll admit that the sock knits up pretty quickly, it's my lack of attention that's been slowing it down. The easy pattern makes it the perfect "on the go knit", or in my case the perfect "sitting on my ass in front of the computer while bloated Photoshop takes a year to load". Hopefully I'll see some significant progress this week, something like casting on would be good.

For your enjoyment, here are some of my knitting failures and one success (for now):

I swatched for Diamonique last weekend and was so excited when I got gauge right away. In all my glory I forgot to check how much yarn is in the stash. I'm about 200 yards short and I don't have any other yarns in the stash that are the right weight. Thwarted!

Undetered to start something new, I decided to cast on for bpt with no gauge swatch or anything. I had swatched this yarn before, what was I worried about? Do I even need to tell you what happened? Yep, I had swatched for it AND I got the same gauge while knitting this, BUT it's not the same as the pattern gauge. For some reason I had remembered this yarn knitting at 5 spi, though I'm not sure where I got that number from (I could guess where) because this knits at 4 spi. Sure, I could swatch again on bigger needles. I could. The only thing stopping me is that increase row. I nearly died trying to figure out what the pattern wanted me to do. I need to rip this out and come up with my own pattern. I'm thinking a zippered jacket with a high collar. When will that happen? Don't know.

I started to think that maybe what I needed was a palette cleanser. Kerrie had sent me a partial skein of her cashmere sock yarn, in pink no less. The yarn is sooo soft, I constantly stop to pet it. I would be further along if it wasn't for the gripping fear that I won't have enough yarn to knit two ankle socks (with having two feet and all) and the mindnumbingness of straight stockinette. Do I keep going? Or do I knit something else with this yarn? Like what? I think I have just a little over 200 yards and I'm knitting with 2 mm's.

The one winner, which was so close to being a looooser. This is Sauniell's cabled hat pattern. (pdf). I orignially started it on Saturday afternoon, but the first time I twisted the caston, the second time I fell asleep while knitting (I was really tired yesterday) and the third time is what you see. Finally! I love everything about this hat so far. I'm using a lone skein of Malabrigo (sealing wax) that I had in my stash, it works as my first April knit for project spectrum (it's orangey I swear), and I get my cable fix in a quick knit. I'll try to post a detail shot tomorrow because I love the cables. With my luck though I may have to find a kid to give it to.

A Belated FO and the Start of Something New

2006-03-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

Look what we have here! A finished sweater! I've been meaning to blog about this one, but I just haven't had a chance.

Yarn: Hipknits silk in "barbie pink" (not really, it was custom)
Pattern: Angelica Tunic
Needles: Addi Turbos 5mm, 24" and 4mm, 24" circs
Date Started: 2.18.06
Date Stated to Ignore: 2.27.06 (a new stat I'm starting)
Date Finished: 3.18.06

Soooo this would have been a fast knit really. The last time I even mentioned it all I needed were the sleeves and maybe to redo the bindoff. Easy enough right? Except for some reason I just couldn't get myself to do it. Actually, that's a lie, I know exactly why I didn't touch it. I wanted to knit the sleeves in the round, BUT I didn't have circs long enough to do it. I never made it to the yarn store to get some AND I didn't have any dpn's in the right size either. So there Angelica sat, next to my bed every night mocking and taunting me. Finally she reminded me that I had a wedding shower to go to and nothing to wear. I really didn't feel like shopping, so I had to knit. The wedding shower was on the 18th, I decided on this brilliant idea on the 15th at ohhh 11 at night.

That night I ripped the bindoff and kept going till just before the hip increases. The next day (the 16th) I started knitting the body again and added a few more increases and also about an inch (maybe 1.5") in length. I was finally ready to meet my nemesis, the sleeves. What did I do? I went and finished the neck trim. I picked up all the stitches that night and finished the knitting on the 17th, when all was left to do were the sleeves. I still didn't have any new needles, so I forced myself to use what I already had. I found some 29" Clovers in the right size. OH. MY. GOD! I hate those damn needles. The join makes it impossible to knit in magic loop with ease. I spent most of my time trying to push the stitches up from the cord onto the actual needles. I never want to see those needles again (if you want them, then let me know). Once I decreased enough stitches I switched to my beloved addis and flew through the rest of the sleeve. By dinner time I was done and ready to start on the second sleeve. I ended up going out to dinner, then watching a movie, and maybe knitting a little just before I went to sleep. Not good! I woke up on Saturday morning extra early to get the sleeve done. I still had to weave in all the ends and seam that little bit in the underarm. The wedding shower was at 5 and we still had to get ready and drive an hour and a half to get there. With three shots of espresso in me I worked on the sleeves till a little past noon. I still had the purl ridges to go! We left the house at 1:30 and in the car I finished the sleeve and just started weaving in ends like crazy. At around 3, we got to our family's house and I seamed the underarms and finished weaving anything in. I forgot something important though, the button. At that point I didn't care, it didn't even faze me. I just looked through my boyfriend's house for a pin and used the best one I could find. Needless to say, there's been no blocking of any sort on this sweater.

After all that, what do I think? I think this was a great knit, an easy piece with some really pretty details. I didn't stray from the pattern at all other than adding some length to the body. I love the fit, I went for zero ease totally ignoring this conversation. The hipknits silk is super soft and easy to knit with. It did fuzz on my skirt a little, but I love the drape and feel of it so I forgive it. This was my first time knitting with a 100% silk and I definitely see myself doing it again. I think I will knit this sweater again, but next time in some cotton (totally ripping Illanna off) and without the neck detail. I hate to admit it, but I really liked the way the sweater looked with a more opened neckline (like Katie's). I really don't mind if it draws more attention to my chest (like I can somehow draw attention away from it, hah!), does that make me a slut or something?

Moving on....

Inspired by Leah, I decided to go around my kitchen and find some pinks and red for you. Of course, I had to throw some yarn in the mix. Can't fault me for that!

I'm sure there's more around here, but I tried to keep it to one room. What you really care about is that yarn, isn't it? I forgot to mention that in my selfless act of ordering some yarn for my sockpal, well, I also helped myself to some luscious colors with no patterns in mind.

Sundara sock yarn in Cherry Blossoms

Sundara sock yarn in cirque

And what became of that gorgeous yarn I showed you the other day?

I think I've frogged this sock maybe three or more times. The first time I had the wrong number of stitches and the rest were just because I couldn't decide on a pattern. I really want my pal to be happy with his socks, but at the same time I want to make sure I finish these in time. I finally decided on a simple mock cable stitch, basically a k3 p2 rib but with a little decreasin-increasin action thrown in. I'm already six inches into the foot, but I'm still having second thoughts. What do you think of this pattern?

Who loves you baby?!

2006-03-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

My dearest sockpal,

I've been a selfish knitter only thinking of me!me!me!! (hence the whole selfish thing, see how that workS?). Sure, I could say I wanted a clean slate when I started your socks, but who would believe that? I mean, let's face it, those last few socks I knit weren't wip's for long. I've been ignoring you, there I said it. Why, you ask? Your feet. I have no concept of what an 11" foot is. What size is that? I already went over that before, so I'll stop holding out. Guess what, I got you some yarn. Yarn just for you, in a color only you can have (well, unless someone decides they like it and goes asking for it. I can't make any guarantees). Want to see?

Isn't that a sexy yarn? Custom. For you. Two gorgeous hanks of sport merino from Sundara Yarn (aka Purly) in a grey, blue, greeny color. I know I don't have the right words to describe the colors other than 'perfect' and 'manly'. This was all Purly's doing, I simply told her what your preferences were and what I had in mind and well she makes me look good. I think this could get me into trouble though, once you go custom can you ever go back? I see a lot more Sundara yarn coming my way, that aran silky merino is calling me. Oh, but this is about you sockpal.

You will love the feel of this yarn, soft is an understatement. Scrumptious would be a better word. Addicting is even better. The whole time I was away this weekend I kept thinking about the yarn and what pattern I would knit with it. As soon as I came back home, I ran in to pet it (stop looking at me that way).

Soon there will be sockapalooza knitting. Soon my pal.

(to see bigger individual images:
1. Sundara sportweight merino, 2. Sundara sportweight merino, 3. Sundara sportweight merino, 4. Sundara sportweight merino, 5. Sundara sportweight merino, 6. Sundara sportweight merino)

Museum Red

2006-03-19T01:04:00.000-05:00

Boston MFA

I'm out of town for the weekend, so no real update tonight. BUT I do have a certain knit finished (which was worn tonight) and maybe, just maybe yarn for my ever-ignored sockpal arrived in the mail before I left (it's quite delicious). All will be revealed and explained on Monday. Hopefully this 'project spectrum' image will do. I took this during our vacation to Boston in the fall.

Red

2006-03-16T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's interesting what we find in our old photos. I didn't realize there was all this red to be found.

le zoom deux

2006-03-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

Yarn: Socks That Rock, Ruby Slipper (one ounce left over)
Pattern: Badcaul
Needles: 2.5mm Addis
Date Started: 3.04.06
Date Finished: 3.11.06

On Friday I finally picked up this project again and started knitting the second sock, by the time I went to sleep I had turned the heel and by Saturday afternoon I had bound off. Anna, what weird voodoo did you put in this pattern? You would think I knit these socks using a sport or dk yarn, each sock only took me two to three days, if that. The combination of knitting an easy six row repeat, toe up, magic loop style created the speed to thwart any notion of second-sock-syndrome. That only wouldn't make a great sock pattern, but the perfect fit and the impressive results do. Can you tell I love these socks?

I still don't buy all the hype surrounding this yarn. It's isn't very soft, which makes it a great wearing sock yarn (yay!), but murder on my hands (boo!). Am I willing to sacrifice super softness for some cool colors? I'm not so sure yet. The colors are pretty cool, if you go on the site Ruby Slippers looks like it's just red and purple, but when you knit with it you find all these different shades of reds, pinks, oranges, and purples. I do have one more skein of STR (in gypsum) in the stash to help me decide later. The yarn isn't rough at all on my feet, unfortunately I don't knit with my feet so there you go. The heat today did make me realize that sock knitting season may be done for me unless I find the cotton version of STR (sock candy), does anyone know where I can find that without having to form a fellowship to go on some sort of quest?

zoooom

2006-03-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

My original intention was to post about what I chose for project spectrum (Badcaul Socks in STR Ruby Slippers),

but then I decided to start knitting and blog about it after some progress (say after turning the heel).

Umm then somehow this happened...

When Leah told me how fast the Badcaul socks were going to go, I didn't think she meant lightening fast! Really, that one sock was knit here and there while watching my boyfriend play videogames or after dinner, but before a movie. This pattern is so quick and it helps that it's easily memorized, I can just walk around without lugging around a chart. The funny thing is that while I worked on this, one of my friends asked me how I had the patience to knit since progress was so slow. Apparently the space/time continuum is quite different between knitters and non-knitters. Dude, this was so freaking fast.

Can I be completely honest with you though? I would have finished this sock faster (and started on the second one) if it wasn't for the yarn. This blogland darling doesn't agree with my hands AT ALL! My index finger feels raw and itchy. Where's this softness everyone talks about? It's apparently missing from my hank. The colors are cool (even the boyfriend likes the yarn) and I like the way the yarn knit up (I think this is the best fitting sock yet), but I really don't think any of that is worth it if I'm going to hate the knitting experience. I'm going to wait a day or two to cast on for the second sock and once I'm done I'll make a final decision on this yarn, but I really don't see it becoming my go-to sock yarn (especially when I know what koigu, claudia's, sundara, and nature's palette feel like).

child's french sock

2006-03-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Child's French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Yarn: Tess Designer Yarn Super Socks
Needles: Addi Turbos 2.5mm
Date Started: 2.13.06
Date Finished: 3.2.06

If it wasn't for that amazing silk that came in the mail (and my wrist acting up), I think I could have finished this pair of socks in two or three days. But nope, I fell for the new yarn while the second sock was ignored. Sorry! The weird thing? The second sock came out a lot better, ie. it doesn't have the loose ankle problem.

This was a pretty fun pattern that you can easily memorize. This was my first Nancy Bush pattern and now I know what all the fuss is about. I followed the pattern faithfully, I didn't find anything I needed to change. Why would I? It was well thought out and easy to follow.

Another first for me was knitting with Tess Designer Yarn or even a superwash yarn. I picked this skein up when I went to Stitches East last year and the poor yarn has been waiting for me to do something with it for five months. That's just not right. I'm glad I waited though, this yarn was perfect for this pattern. I love it's stitch definition (so yummy with all this texture) and the subtle color variegation. I think this last picture is the one truest in color, a little bit of strawberry with some grape thrown in. Oh, a good reason for using this yarn comes to mind....I used almost all 450 yards in the hank for this pair of socks while the pattern requires about 400.

Project Spectrum:

For all of you that are sick of me knitting in reds or pinks, umm you can come back in April. Through no coercing of mine, Lolly made March 'red and pink' month. How lucky is that? This is just a partial selection from my stash* (if I had more than one skein of a certain yarn I only showed one) I get to choose from this month. It's almost overwhelming, almost. I think I know what I'm going to work on this month, but I first want to finish Angelica and then maybe just let the red and pink yarns duke it out for my attention.

*to see what each yarn is, you can follow this link.

The secret's out

2006-03-01T16:01:00.000-05:00

I've been holding this in for what seems like ages. It's been so exciting. What the hell am I talking about?

go to sundarayarn.com to see!!!

trust me, it wasn't always easy, but I was sworn into secrecy and well, I don't doubt Purly would have kicked my ass :)

There's been knitting

2006-02-27T16:58:00.000-05:00

x-posted

I've kinda been out of the blogging world this week, but I have been knitting behind the scenes if you will. On Friday, I was able to bind off the body on Angelica, which gave me hope to finish this last weekend. But alas the bind off was too tight, so I undid the bind off, added an inch of length and bound off again with bigger needles. Still tight! umm me thinks I need to add some hip increases, oops. Oh well, at least that will be fast. I think I'll work on the sleeves though first and then go back and deal with the body. Nothing like false progress to raise the spirits.

So far this has been a relaxing and enjoyable knit, which I really needed this last week. I'm talking about getting both stitch and row gauge people! The fit ... perfect! And the hipknits silk is soooo soft. It doesn't dry my hands out like other silks or silk-blends have.

Just pics today!

2006-02-18T11:38:00.000-05:00

Olympics?

2006-02-14T15:48:00.000-05:00

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Olympics!

Look ma! A heel! No clue how I did this other than I was motivated by some gorgeous silk in the mail and I don't want to leave a half finished sock hanging. Maybe I'll have a finished sock tonight! Who knows! And to think, I'm not in any team or challenge.

I actually can't believe I've been knitting these since it's mostly ribbing (to be technical it would be moss or seed stitch depending on what row you're on), since I think we all know how much I hate ribbing. It must be that little bit of "lace" thrown in there. These are the 'child's french sock' from Knitting Vintage Socks, an 1800's Weldon's pattern Nancy Bush updated to fit an average woman's foot. I like the way it feels for the most part, except I think I should have gone down a needle size for the ankles. My ankles are of the skinny/bony persuasion and the sock feels a little loose around the gusset/ankle area...oops. At least the yarn is springy and is keeping mostly everything in place. Rumor has it that there's some sort of yarn gathering this week, if I were going to said gathering I would pick up a skein or two of Tess Designer Yarns. I'm sure she's going to have a huge a booth right in front. Just saying.

The sockpal-watch continues...I think I should have mentioned that my pal is a dude (I wouldn't go on and on about the size of the foot if it was a girl). A dude that would appreciate some cables. I have a loosely-set game plan in my mind: I'll be knitting with sport or dk weight yarn, I'll make up some pattern that will prevent me from going crazy but will also make my pal happy, and it needs to be green or purple or white uhhh I'm not sure yet. It will be some color. Did you see that some people already finished their socks?! crap

Socks-a-go-go

2006-02-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

I've caught a bug and his name is sock.... what? I don't know either, all I know is that instead of casting on or planning a sweater I wanted to knit I grabbed some yarn from the stash and started some socks. No, not socks for the sockpal I have yet to mention, but rather for my selfish little self.

I've been wanting to use this yarn, Tess Designer yarn, and this pattern, Child's French Socks, for a while now though I didn't think the two would merge. Lucky for me, in my snow induced haze I got perfect gauge with the required needles. Not so great for my sock pal.

Why have I ignored my poor little sockpal? I should be looking for yarn, reading patterns, swatching even! I've been in denial, that's why. Ever since that little email proclaiming who I was assigned to arrived in my mailbox I've been in a size-induced shock. People, I have to knit for an 11 inch foot. Eleven!! I'll wait till that sinks in......ready for more? Cables....CABLES. This person requested cables. I don't like letting people down, so cables or some form thereof they will get. I'll start swatching as soon as I finish this sock, of course the mail man had other ideas by bringing me a long awaited package. I promise nothing sockpal (not this week at least).

Elfine's

2006-02-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

Yarn: Nature's Palette in Mallard
Needles: 2mm Addi Turbos
Pattern: Elfine Socks by Anna
Date Started: 2.04.06
Date Finished: 2.11.06

The second time was definitely the charm! Note to self: DO NOT knit during the holidays or while stressed, you'll just end up with bent needles and an unfinished project. Last time I only managed to make it to the fifth row in the pattern and these poor socks lived in that state for months. I restarted them last weekend in a more relaxed atmosphere (syrah always helps) and let's just say it was for the better. I switched to one sock at a time and used a turkish cast on. I'm still surprised at how fast these socks knit up on 2 mm's (Addi's don't come in 2.25 mm), the lace kept my attention the whole way through. It never got boring to watch the pattern develop, especially with this yarn.

The nature's palette was perfect for these, the slight color variegation kept things from getting or looking boring. I really like the feel of the yarn, slightly crunchy while still being soft. I like my socks to have a little body or weight to them and this yarn provided that.

The color is truer in the top pic, blame the snow for the second one.

What's next?

2006-02-08T08:03:00.000-05:00

My blogging is a little behind my knitting, I restarted the elfine socks and I'm already on the second sock. I really didn't like the way the toes looked the first time around so I decided to use a turkish cast on for a much neater result. I'm not sure why I stalled on these, I think it had something to do with the needles. For some reason I kept bending them and hurting my hands on them, not a good time. Let's call it holiday stress. Thankfully I'm not as stressed now and can actually enjoy knitting these socks. But guess what, this is the last of the ufo's (not counting the mesh tank I need more yarn for)! Aren't you proud? I am! Though once I finish this pair of socks I won't have anything to knit. It's time for project ideas.

In the spirit of stash clearing, I would love to come up with a pattern for this brown and pink yarn. I have no clue what to knit though. Am I pushing my luck by knitting with variegated yarn a third time? Maybe. We'll just have to see won't we. What I do know is that I have a sweater's worth of this yarn just sitting in my stash mocking me. It's got to be used. I like the way it knits up on 5 mm's and I even get gauge for Jemima so that's one possibility. How about a couple more?

I've been eyeing that t-shirt sweater from the Ella Rae book for a while. I don't have a pattern for it, but it looks simple enough to make up. I like Mari's version and have the IK issue she modded from. The sweater under that one looks similar, but with a bigger scoop. I'm not so sure how that would look on a busty girl (who am I talking about?). My guess is: not great.

I love the cardigan to the right, but this is more of a 'well, if I have leftover yarn then maybe I can buy some solid yarn sans guilt and come up with a similar pattern" sort of sweater. The blue, eighties-looking sweater is from a Rebecca issue that I have in my stash and wouldn't mind knitting. I would probably end up making some shaping mods to it, but would mostly follow the pattern.

Any thoughts, suggestions? Any other patterns I should look at? Should I burn the yarn?

Hourglass Sweater

2006-02-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from LMKG
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Rosa Vivacity (a little over 6 hanks)
Needles: 4.5mm 32" and 47" Addi Turbos
Gauge: 5 spi
Date Started: 11.09.05
Date Restarted: 1.18.06
Date Finished: 2.03.06

I present to you the world's most comfortable sweater. It's sheer luxury putting this on. The Malabrigo is perfect when knit with 4.5mm's, it's squishy (that's a technical term), soft, and cozy. Knitting it at 5 spi alleviated any pilling worries, as did the sweater shaver I bought (from Target) as extra insurance.

I originally picked up this yarn at Stitches East to knit up a 'hot lava' shrug, but thankfully my gauge never worked up for it. If it had, then I would have never decided to return a cone of yarn I got at the same time from Webs and exchanged it for more Malabrigo. I can't imagine not living with this sweater (am I overdramatic or what!?). My favorite part, aside from the softness, the halo, the neckline, and the fit? The little Missoni-esque stripes the yarn formed.

The pattern is zen-like in it's stockinette stitch, some may call it boring, till you get to the neckline hem that is. I HATED sewing it down. No matter how careful and methodical I was, the neckline wanted to turn out. Thankfully a little steam blocking helped things stay flat, which is the only blocking I've done so far.

Get me out of here!

2006-02-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

I was going to post some things about the bulky cabled cardigan, but blogger keeps losing my blog and posts! I need to get out of here. Quick.
Any suggestions? Help?

Soooo, what was I going to say about the sweater? Oh yeah, I got a few emails and comments asking about the sizing and yarn.

Yarn and Ease
The yarn is handpaintedyarn's pure merino bulky 6ply, a yarn much thinner than what Stef used in the pattern. The pattern's gauge is 2.5 spi while mine was around 3spi (it changed a bit after washing). I knew I didn't want to double the yarn, but I also knew what fit I wanted. After looking at the number of stitches left for the body (after separating the sleeves), I knew knitting my size would leave me with four inches of ease. If I knit it at my gauge though I would get negative ease, three inches to be exact. Sounds insane, but that was perfect! I'll always tell you to go with negative ease, I'm all about a more fitted look. "But three inches is too much!" you say. The other thing I say is knit a big swatch and wash it! I knew that my sweater would grow width wise and, to a lesser degree, length wise. After all was said and done (and after adjusting for the button bands) I ended up with only one inch of negative ease. After wearing it for a week (yeah, I've been wearing it all week) it's the same size as my chest (uhh, zero ease?). I could have gone with the smaller size and been just as happy with the end result.

Length
It was all me! It was my mistake when the sweater was too short the next time, not the pattern's. I measured it while it was still on the needle and might have, possibly, maybe stretched it while measuring. Blame the knitter. Try it on as you knit! If you use this yarn, then I'll warn you that it's going to grow after washing. My sweater looked HUGE after I took it out of the water. I figured it was the combination of it being merino, garter stitch, and wet. Luckily it springs back into itself, so all was saved (and my swatch had predicted it!). The cables ended up giving me some more length after they were washed. Washed cables = less puffiness.

Buttons
I picked up the buttons at Kraemer's while visiting for Thanksgiving. Their website doesn't have much, but it's an interesting store. It's a mill that sells it's own yarn while also carrying things like Plymouth, Cherry Hill, and some other brands I don't remember at the moment. Anyway, that's where the mystery buttons are from.

I probably made no sense in this post, but that's because I'm trying to write fast so blogger doesn't lose my post (did I mention blogger sucks?). I hope this is helpful to someone out there! Feel free to ask any other questions.

Tomorrow....Hourglass!

Bulky Cabled Cardigan

2006-01-30T10:42:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Bulky Cabled Sweater by Glampyre
Yarn: HPY 6ply Merino in Velvet Grapes (5.5 hanks)
Needles: 8mm, 7mm, and 5.5mm Addi Turbos
Date Started: 1.05.05
Date Finished: 1.26.05

I've been wearing this all weekend and it feels great. It's comfy, warm, and soft; basically everything I wanted out of it. Hell, I even got a few compliments while out, which is always a boost to the old ego (especially when they didn't assume I made it). My new nifty sweater shaver was a must for this yarn and now I've gone a little crazy with it and started shaving every project or swatch I have laying around. Who knew it could be so addicting?

cables after a little shave

The bulky merino is one of those yarns that scares you after washing. The sweater looked like it grew by six inches while wet and I started to freak out until I remembered my swatch doing the same thing. As it dried, the merino sprung back to the right measurements. I still think I'll reblock it and get a little more length out of the sleeves and maybe the body. Actually, the one thing I want to redo is the buttonhole band. I picked up the same number of stitches and placed the buttonholes as the pattern states, but I'm not feeling that bottom buttonhole. I think I'm going to reknit to space them out differently or at least add another one so I can close up the hem. Well, maybe I'll just sew on another button and just use the stitches as the buttonhole.

The Chronicles of the Bulky Cabled Cardigan

2006-01-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

When we last left off, I was begging all of you for advice, but really I was tricking you into making a decision for me. My plan worked and many of you offered up your advice, thanks! The majority voted for longer ribbing, some warned not to add ribbing to the body without thinking of the sleeves, someone said that I needed to add length to the body, someone mentioned cropped cardigans being in style and some people told me I already knew what I wanted to do. I agree with all the above, well except for that already knowing what I want part but I won't digress into semantics.

I deliberated and finally forced myself to make a decision. I thought of ripping back to the body, but when looking at the yarn again I doubted it could handle it. I haven't even worn this sweater, let alone finished it, and it's already pilling. I love the yarn (hpy bulky merino), but I doubt I will use it again for a sweater since it felts when I look at it funny. Basically all my beautiful knitting and cables, the cables!, look out of focus. Great. Want proof?

This basically decided it for me, but I really did think about adding the length to the body. I wasn't sure if the proportions were right for longer ribbing, but if you look at the top picture you'll see I found a similar sweater with the ribbing you all love. Ok so it works, it helps that this sweater doesn't have any waist shaping to worry about and that it's knit from the top so I can do this sort of thing. I guess I could have left the length alone, but I kept hearing 'fat man in a little coat' in my head. Just because it's short it doesn't mean it's right, it needs to hit at the right spot.

So why am I going on about this? I guess to say that I do think a lot about this stuff, maybe too much, and that I'm very particular about what I like and don't like hence the indecision. The three inches of ribbing was quick enough to add, so I went ahead and knit the button bands. Hell, some could say I'm done, but of course I'm not. I still need to decide what to do with the sleeves; to aggressively block or knit some length into them (and how)? Then we get to do some serious blocking, some possible shaving (target here I come), and then pick some buttons.

We are almost there my friends, almost there.

If you ignore...

2006-01-24T11:32:00.000-05:00

As my indecision grew and more suggestions came in about my cardigan, I knew there was one obvious choice at hand: ignore the whole thing and work on another project. I call this the procrastinator's way and it fits me just fine, thank you.
With Jack Bauer's help (and half of a movie) I was able to get through the soul sucking stst that is the Hourglass' body. I'm finally at the yoke and can attach the one sleeve I have done. It's a little depressing to think that I still have one more sleeve to go, but we carry on! I should have worked on this sweater when I actually started it months ago, I guess I didn't expect my progress to be so fast or maybe I just needed a good show to watch. I'm pretty happy with the way it's knitting up, the malabrigo is incredibly soft and it doesn't look like it will pill as much, or as fast, as I'd imagined. Knitting it at a tighter gauge helps (5 spi on 4.5mm). The colors are captivating, I swear I would have more done if I didn't stop and stare at my stitches and pet the fabric.

It's a good thing that it's a quick knit since I really haven't had much time to work on my projects in the last two weeks. I've been the good girlfriend and entertaining guests from China (for the boy's work) all that time. I've been out to dinner so many times that I'm pretty sick of restaurants, I've done touristy things that I usually wouldn't care to do, and I've been stuck in uncomfortable situations where I swear people are talking about me in Chinese. Somehow I found myself in Atlantic City on Saturday explaining the rules of Blackjack and slot machines to a group of people that gave me blank looks; I'm sure much got lost in translation. Eventually we split up and and I stuck with the slot machines. I managed to lose most of my money and then win 400 quarters to end up in the black (doesn't 400 quarters sound like a ton?).This may sound idiotic, I think I'm going to take a break from ms. stst and go back and finish the bulky cabled cardigan. I want it to be my first FO for '06 and I only have a week to meet that deadline. Hopefully some progress and thoughts tomorrow.

Indecision

2006-01-18T16:37:00.000-05:00

I've always been indecisive, I never know what I want to eat or even if I want to eat. Ask me what I want to do if we go out and all you'll get is a blank stare. Some may confuse this with apathy and sure, maybe it has a tinge of it, but really I'm just terrible when it comes to deciding things. It's so bad that I coulnd't even decide what to title this post, see the witty winner I chose. Anyway, when it comes to knitting, where every step of the way is full of decisions, I usually half ass my way through it and see what happens. My latest question: how many unflattering pics can I take of myself? That was easy, four. But that's not what I really want to know. I finished the sleeves and basically like where they are (I know they will grow when I wash it), but now that I can actually wear the cardigan I notice that the length is all wrong. It's not the fault of the pattern, nope I was just an idiot and measured while I pulled on it... when it was still on the needles. Yep, smart move. I know I need to add at least two inches on this sucker (that's how much extra I thought I had), but the question is where? Do I rip all the ribbing and continue with the body for two inches and then add the waist band? Or do I just tink back three rows to the end of the ribbing and make the waistband extra deep? I think I know what the answer is, but, uhh, I rather hear it from someone else.

I'm so close to finishing, I can taste it. After the length situation, all I have left are the button bands. I just needed to let this sit while I figured out (ie. beg you for advice) what to do next. Well actually there was another reason, a very annoying reason. I couldn't even tell how short it really was till I took these pics. Want to why? No mirrors*! There are no full-length mirrors in my house. I assure you this wasn't my design. In the meantime I picked up my hourglass again and finally casted on for the body.

I was craving some boring stst in the round, especially now that my man Jack is back. I can't afford to look away or not pay attention for a second, so this will be my '24' project. I still havent' finished watching this week's episodes (we decided to split the four hours and just watch one a night, so no spoilers!) so this sweater still has two more hours of growth ahead of it.

To save me some time and aggravation, I decided to cast on using two needles. I'm using the cable of the longer one as a foundation, when I finish the length of the hem I can just fold it and knit the stitches together. No sewing and no provisonal cast on. Genius.

*apparently the boy was traumatized with too many horror movies at a young age, so no mirrors for us except for the bathroom mirror. apparently he thinks one day he'll look and see another face staring back at him. I don't think he understands the whole 'growing old' concept if you ask me.

wisdom in a box

2006-01-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

Dating the son of a dentist doesn't sound exciting or terribly interesting, but somehow I picked the one that keeps supplying me with blog and party stories to no end. Case in point? Before xmas I got a call from the dentist telling me how my tooth was apparently on a tour and everyone was so interested in it (way to make me feel like a freak!). This confused and annoyed me, what the hell was my tooth doing with other people? Hell, why is it even still around? Nevermind that, what really got me was what he said next: "I made you something for xmas!" My response? "It's not a necklace is it?!" I didn't know what to expect. I already hated this tooth for causing me four hours of pain and torture, now I have to wear it like my personal albatross? How do you even match your outfits to a tooth? Maybe it's cool for Angelina to wear a vial of blood around her neck, but I didn't want to go there. (Once you start wearing your teeth as accessories, you need to dress differently, get new friends, get a whole new lifestyle really. That's just too much work for me right now.)

Thankfully, it wasn't a necklace. Instead, I got my tooth back in a weird form of a memento mori (or would it be memento denti?). Maybe he failed to understand that I didn't want my tooth back, I mean if I wanted to keep it then I wouldn't have gone through surgery, right? Anyway, now I have a visual tool for my story of torture, I think it makes it very climatic when I whip this out at the part I say "and after hours of not budging..."

Actually looking at this tooth makes me wonder if it held some sort of magical power that I now lack. I haven't felt like myself since the extraction, my knitting is taking longer, my blogging has taken a nose-dive, and don't even mention housework. Sure, I could blame all of it on work, but no I think it's the tooth. Once it was ripped out of me I lost a little part of myself (har-dee-har-har). I bet this one contained knitting wisdom, which is now stuck in a little clear box. Look at how big that one root is! You can't tell me that wasn't a lot of knowledge in there. I have one more wisdom tooth left, I'm scared to find out what power that one contains.

In the meantime, my knitting continues at a slow pace. I've only had maybe an hour to knit at night, but my progress isn't too shabby. When we last saw the cardigan I had just split the sleeves, I think. It's grown a little since then.

I feel very theo huxtable in this pic, but I do what I have to do. I'm knitting the sleeves flat so that's why the one sleeve looks a little funky. I'm undecided about the length, I'm always undecided about length. I'm going to block it before I pick up the button bands to see if I should add some more or if blocking will add enough. I'm knitting this at a different gauge for my size, making it a few inches smaller than what the pattern calls for. I like my sweaters with little ease, but should bulky sweaters be like that? This is dangerous ground I tell ya. I'll need to think about this over the weekend. I sorely miss that wisdom tooth.

Binge

2006-01-07T22:04:00.000-05:00

"an unrestrained and often excessive indulgence"

I'm a binger, I'll admit it. Especially when it comes to colors, all of a sudden everything must be the same color. This past summer it was red; everything I bought, be it shoes, makeup, vases, or yarn, had to be red. Lately it has all been about purple. How else would you explain my new shoes?

yoga shoes, though I don't practice yoga

and, umm, these?

these look like mini work shoes to me

My obsession carries over to my yarn stash as well.

merino in velvet grapes

I obviously have some sort of problem. To remedy the stash kind, really the only one I can fix, I started knitting the yarn up. After a two week hiatus I finally picked up the needles on Thursday. A sane person would have picked up one of their wip's and gone their merry way. I think we can agree that sane I'm not. Sure I could finish a sweater I already started, but somehow I decided I needed a quick project (shh, don't tell me how if I actually worked on things I started then they would be quick and finished. we don't take kindly to that sort of talk around here). A sweater maybe? How about a cardigan?

I usually wouldn't use a variegated yarn for a project with cables, but I love how this one is working out. This is Glampyre's Bulky Cabled Cardigan that I've been wanting to knit for months now. The yarn is hpy's 6ply bulky merino, which I originally was going to use for one of those UO/Craftster shrugs thing, but my hatred for ribbing kept me from casting on. I'm glad I didn't, this sweater knits up pretty fast (I already have the sleeves on scrap yarn) and is giving me my cable fix. Unfortunately, I won't be able to work on it tomorrow either (I'll explain why tomorrow night) so maybe it won't get done till next weekend or the weekend after that.

A belated post

2006-01-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

After all the holidays, all the family, all the eating, and all the marriage pressure I needed a little decompressing time if you will. I'm finally back and well rested. I was hoping to show you all the fabulous projects I finished while away, but, truth be told, I didn't pick up my needles. I tried, but I just didn't feel like it. Perhaps it was all the commotion and stress that comes with hanging out with both my parents and the boyfriend's parents 24/7. I was tired or busy. Luckily for xmas I did receive some fiber goodness and a spindle; I love having something to ignore people with. My boyfriend's mom picked up a spindle and roving while in Nova Scotia this summer for me, who knew. I don't know anything about the spindle (uhh it's made out of wood) or roving (so it's wool and white) and apparently nothing about spinning.

When I unwrapped my gift I immediately had visions of all the fabulous yarn I would spin and knit up, but more importantly I imagined all the roving I would get to buy. After reading the one sheet this kit came with and some googling this is what I came up with:

I obviously have no clue what I'm doing. It's my first yarn though (can I even call it yarn?) so I love all it's "overspun and not spun at all' character. I'm sure somewhere I could get 20 bucks for it. Or maybe 10?

Break

2005-12-22T09:54:00.000-05:00

I've taken a bit of a knitting hiatus for the last few days, so there's not much new to report. The one or two quick knits I've manged to finish can't be shown since the giftees read the blog. Well, that and I couldn't manage to get a good picture before it was sent off. Here's a color preview at least.

What to do for this post? Answer a meme, of course. Purly and Angela both tagged me with the knitting space meme. I meant to answer a while ago, but I just couldn't get a good pic really and what do you do if you have more than one knitting hot spot?

This is where the planning begins. I sit behind the sofa, dwarfed by my bookcases, looking for patterns I have yarn for or getting new ideas for something later. A couple of shelves above this is my yarn stash, so everything is within easy reach. It's a pretty tight spot, hence the wonky picture, which makes it a really good place to hide from the boyfriend. I'm surprised he hasn't caught on this whole time, he just has to see that the glass doors are opened which must mean I'm there.

Ever wonder why my knitting is a little slow at times? Because one of my other spots is at my desk, where my computer tempts me with it's easy access to bloglines and flickr. I always think I can do both, or that I'll be really quick, but nope I get sucked in by all of your blogs. Maybe this spot needs to be retired for '06. I've been replacing it with the kitchen (no pic), though it doesn't always work since I have wi-fi at home.

The futon, I'm usually here on our boring, beige futon with boring beige pillows. This most likely explains why my projects need to be nice and bright! Needless to say, I didn't pick this one out, but what can you do? I knit while watching tv or "watching" the boyfriend play video games. I'm not sure why he needs me there, but it works out for the two of us.

Thanks everybody for the sweet comments on my mom's shawl. I really do hope she likes it. The parental units fly up tonight and then tomorrow we drive up to stay with my boyfriend's family, needless to say I won't be blogging much for the next week or so (though I'll try to sneak a post in before new year's).

I did want to thank Eunny for the early xmas present she sent me:

I've never had someone go through so much trouble to make me something, especially something as gorgeous as this. It's perfect! I love that I can use it as a purse or as a knitting bag since it's so roomy. I know that I'll be treasuring this for a long time.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Meet Ella

2005-12-18T16:14:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Knitty's Ella
Yarn: HPY Laceweight in Polar Morn (triple stranded)
Needles: 5mm Addi Turbos
Date Started: 12/9
Date Finished: 12/17

My mom's xmas gift is done, with a week to spare to boot! You didn't doubt me, did you? After my last post, I worked 1.5 repeats more and then called it quits for a 65" wide shawl. Not bad, especially since my mom is 5'3" and shrinking. Personally, I would want it a little wider for myself to casually wrap it. As it is, I think I need to wear it super-hero style:

or maybe I just need to learn how to wear shawls. This is probably one of those things that comes with age, along with knowing how to do your taxes, finding the one lipstick that is perfect on you, and, possibly, understanding the true differences between 'casual', 'business casual', 'casual dress', 'business', and 'semi-formal' attire. Anyway, I probably would have kept going if it wasn't for a consultation with the Eunny Hotline, who's sage advice was to "STOP!" and stop I did. Who doesn't enjoy hearing they finished a project earlier than expected?

Ella is a pretty easy pattern, mostly stockinette stitch with a few increases and decreases thrown in. There's nothing really to memorize other than which two rows are the ones with the "YO2". For the rest, I just used the yo's and decreases to tell me how long I should knit straight till the next increase or decrease. The knitting was pretty fast, well, until that last repeat and a half at least. I think if I would have payed more attention to it during the week, then I would have finished sooner. No complaints though since I'm done with plenty of time and I think the final product came out lovely. I really like the neutral color with slight variations, the lightness of the yarn, and the warmth of the wool. In these pictures I was wearing a tank top, but was warm enough with the shawl around my shoulders. Perfect for the very mild winters in Miami or the very cold AC drafts my mom somehow finds herself under.

After wearing it in my apartment for a bit I think I need one of these for myself. I couldn't stop playing around with the shawl and staring at it until I finally boxed it up. I don't usually knit things twice though, so I think I have to find myself a swap where you send yarn to someone and they knit you the pattern you are sick of or never knit for youself. Or I could knit a GGH Soft Kid wrap from Rebecca 24, after talking with Purly about it we found that the patterns are virtually the same except for Ella being set up to widen while the Rebecca one is more of a stole.

RIP Camisole

2005-12-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

Such a dramatic picture for an anti-climactic moment. I knew it was going to happen, but I kept denying it. The camisole and I had a good relationship so I don't begrudge her. Things started off nice, as they often do, with the hopes and excitement that come with something new. She was one of those friends that you imagine becoming best friends with, how could you not with all the fun you were having. You start talking on the phone a lot or hanging out all the time. "She's so cool!", you think. You even get cocky and think "I have some of the best friends around, how did I get so lucky?" Don't worry, we all think this.

Eventually it sneaks up on you, this feeling of friendship ennui. The friendship is played out, the newness is gone. You end up doing the same things over and over again. Little things start to annoy you. You find yourself bored, but you don't say this with that half BFF charm hanging around and all. You start to call less, you are too busy to talk, and you already have plans, sorry. There's still friendliness when you run into each other, with false plans, or is it hope?, that you'll hang out again. Sorry camisole, I moved on. I knew that I would never finish your ribbing and really, I don't think we are that much alike. I was blinded by your coolness, funkiness even, but really we were never that compatible.

Oh, who's this? Just a new friend named Ella. Well, really she's more my mom's friend, maybe even her future BFF. I won't jinx it though. Admittedly, I haven't really been hanging out with Ella that much with catching up with work and all. I mostly worked on her during the weekend and did a few rows here and there during the week. I'm finally at the end of section 2 in the pattern, though that's the section I get to stay in since we are going for a triangle here. Though it's hard to tell from the picture, I have 240 stitches there, which translates to roughly 26" from tip to bottom and, I'm guessing, somewhere around 48" in width. I'm still not sure what finished size I want for this any suggestions? I'll just keep knitting till it's time to pick up my mom at the airport.

Gratuitous reverse shot:

Angela tagged me with the "knitting space" meme a few days ago, I'll try to get those pics posted this week as well.

Birch Interrupted

2005-12-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

What was I thinking? "Oh look, I have all this time in bed, why don't I finish up my xmas knitting by working on my mom's gift? How hard could it be!?" Yeah, never take advice from someone on codeine, especially if the person giving the advice is yourself.

It started innocently enough and, as always, I had the best intentions. Of course I wouldn't be in this predicament if I had started knitting when I got the yarn. My mom and I had consultation phone calls about what to knit for her gift. For some reason I was the one pushing the shawl idea. I guess I really wanted to knit one, but, knowing that I would never wear one, I wanted the chance to pass it on to someone else. She agreed, but then started worrying about color. "Remember I'm a winter!" she said. How could I forget? We got 'typed' when I was four or five, well really she got typed and I sorta walked in on the class (there was a class on this people!) and was immediately picked by the teacher as an example of spring (I think I was the only spring in the room for some reason). My mom still has the little book of color swatches for her 'type' (hmm, I'm starting to think something like that would be handy at the lys), which I'm guessing she refers to for something? Anyway, I digress, Ms Winter wanted something neutral, not too dark, and it had to look good on her. Well, thanks for the advice! I did a little further research into this "winter" matter and ordered my yarn. In the meantime I did a swatch.

Look! It's a 29 stitch Birch, awww!

I was all set to go and even started a couple of weeks ago, but then I wanted to finish other things, Thanksgiving came around, and the whole tooth drama kinda got in the way. This was the week I was finally going to put a big dent in it and get it ready for xmas.

Umm, this is as far as I got before all the mistakes drove me bonkers. Eventhough I memorized the pattern, nothing seemed to line up. Maybe I memorized some other pattern, who knows, but this wasn't working. The needles weren't helping, stupid non-pointy clovers. I was ready to scream everytime the yarn got stuck in the needle join. I obviously didn't have the right knitting mojo for this, at least not this week. So I said bye-bye to the 299 stitches. This works out anyway, I really didn't like my cast on (too messy) and I think I was doing the p2togtbl wrong (stupid pain killers). I needed something mindless, but still shawl like for my winter mom. Bring in Ella.

Doesn't it look like a face, with the lips pursed?

I'll admit that I didn't fall in love with Ella the first time I saw it or even the second time. I wasn't a fan of the color choice in the pictures and I didn't really like the ~~bat wings~~ err v- shape of the design. At times of need beggars can't be choosers. I looked through the pattern and it's easy enough to memorize, very much like crapotee (which worries me, is this going to be just as boring?). Throw in a different yarn choice and get rid of that V, and you have something I actually like. I just have to figure out how many times to repeat section 2 to get a nice size. As it's written, you knit this section a total of three times to get somewhere around 30" (240 sts). I'm guessing if I continue with it two to three more times (or until I run out of yarn) I should have a nice triangle shawl. Any guesses? Did I mention my mom arrives on the 22nd?

They got me!

2005-12-06T14:21:00.000-05:00

Who got me? They did! You know, those doctors I have around here. I won't go into too many details here, but I'll give you some math to ponder. One tooth, two roots, 90 degree angles, four hours.

Let's just say I haven't been feeling well and that's why I haven't been around. If I owe you an email can you remind me? I haven't really left my bed for the last couple of days, which has made my world much, much smaller as you see above. But this isn't a pity party right, let's get on with some knitting.

Pattern: Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran 4 skeins in 502
Needles: 4.5mm (US 7) straights
Date Started: 11.22.05
Date Finished: 12.02.05

I'm not sure what to say about this pattern. I've already mentioned how much I like it, it's fun and interesting and yields a beautiful finished object. Three rare qualities all in one pattern, what more could you ask for? This is probably why it took me a little longer to finish knitting than it really should have, I got greedy having fun with it and didn't want it to stop. If I knit this again I'll probably knit both halves at the same time (isn't that all the rage right now anyway?) just so I can have a scarf faster.

Blocking it made me nervous, I really liked the 3-d quality the scarf had pre-wash. What if the giftee would have liked it better as well? I guess it's easier to wear and tell what it is when it's flatter, but still, it looked so cool before. I left the two halves to soak in the sink in some kokaburra-fied water for maybe ten minutes and then sprawled them out on towels on my kitchen table. I pinned them so that the sides would have slight curves and the flowers would still "pop" after drying. Alright, so blocking it wasn't so bad, but sewing the two pieces together, that's where this pattern gets you. Remember my gripe about why they ask you to practice slipping stitches? umm, do you think they could have skipped that and instead told us how to sew the two pieces together?! Isn't that a little more important? I could stand one less picture of the 'brown-haired' girl if it meant room for this little factoid. oh well. I was going to try an invisible seam, but my plans were killed when I realized that it's not all st st. I couldn't come up with anything better than backstitching, blame the codeine. I hope to steam block the seam sometime this week to see if that helps. If not, then I'll be crawling for help from you guys.

I'm done and right now that alone makes me happy. Though I'll start to worry soon enough about how the giftee will perceive this. Will she like the Uma Thurman of colors that I picked? Will she mind the fuzziness factor of merino? Should I sneak in a sweater shaver with the scarf? We have less than a month till we find out.

A holiday miracle!

2005-11-29T19:30:00.000-05:00

oh no, it's just a hat.

Pattern: Vanilla Bean Hat (ie my own top-down pattern)
Yarn: Cascade 220 in grey and Elann Peruvian Higland Wool in Pumpkin
Needles: US 7 and 8 (4.5 and 5mm) 16" Addi Turbos
Date Started: 11.17.05
Date Finished: 11.24.05

It's finally done! And what happens when it's done? The weather warms up again. But that's ok, this will be worn soon, I'll make sure of that. With all my complaining, this hat really only took a few hours, it's just that I never sat down to focus on it except when watching animes with the boy. I think this was a big mistake because I left myself open (or was I stuck?) to get design ideas.

He's a very specific one, this boy. The original specs were tight, long enough to cover the ears, with a one inch wide orange stripe followed by 3/4" of grey. Mistake number one: I let him tell me when he thought it was wide enough. Boyfriend here doesn't understand the nature of knitted fabric or the concept of stretch; he made me increase a little too much since he thought the hat was small. stupid boy. The hat came out a little wide, not by too much, but this carried over to mistake number two: the hat was really long/low. All I needed to do was cut some eyeholes out and he would be the kid from Fat Albert. This wouldn't be too bad since he planned on rolling it, but it was too wide! I was very thankful for a washing machine. I just threw the hat and some Eucalan in hot water and let the machine do the work. Two cycles later, the hat is the perfect width and length. He can't complain about cold air touching his ears, damn hat is so thick. I did make a teensy third mistake, I knitted up a hem to stop the hat from rolling but in my Turkey and wine stupor forgot to whip stitch it before throwing it in the wash. Oops, he gets an extra orange stripe. The hat would be too short (for his tastes) without it, so really it can't count as a mistake, right?

In other news, I finished the first half of Backyard Leaves over the long weekend. This is one of those projects that you can use to impress everyone with your mad skills, if you are into that sorta thing. Anytime I whipped this out to quickly knit up a repeat I heard gasps and I could definitely sense some jealousy. Maybe not, but you weren't there so you don't know. I'm still in love with the pattern, which is a good thing since now I have to do the whole thing over again.

I'll most likely be stuck at the car dealership all day tomorrow and this little scarf will hopefully keep me in a good mood while I am being bullshitted. Let's just say I'm starting to hate cars, especially American ones.

eta: Carrie and I started a kal for Stef's new pattern for HipKnits. Neither of us has the yarn and probably won't start till after the holidays, so feel free to join us anytime to knit this little beauty. We can figure out yarn subs for the next month at least.

Feeling Better

2005-11-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

and now I was somehow regulated to cleaning the house before we leave for the long weekend. Stupid non-existent maid! Anywho, I survived the ebola/sars/smallpox/polio/bird flu scare you all diagnosed me with and I even got to make some flan (don't ask) today for tomorrow's dinner. Now I have to get the important things packed up, namely what knitting projects get to come with me. I've noticed that anytime I say I'm going to knit while on vacation that, well, it never happens. hmm, I wonder if this time it will be different. Here's to hope. Backyard Leaves is making the trip up, so is the boring hat, the poor neglected elfine socks will get some attention, and I want to finish the second sleeve of the hourglass sweater. Even as I write this I know that I sound dillusional or naive. I'm probably both, but it's not going to stop me from packing all of this.

To distract you from my mental disorder, look! I won a blog contest! Marie, of Brooklyn Handspun, took a little survey and, somehow, yours truly was picked at random to get one of her handspun yarns. She surprised me by sending me an extra skein.

First, she spoils me by sending me over 100 yds of handspun and handdyedoptimum wool. This stuff feels like silk. I've sung the praises of optimum before, so I'm very excited about knitting this up. Any pattern suggestions? Maybe I'll sneak it into some socks or gloves, though for now it will just have to be a little pillow on my desk.

Anyone that reads this blog knows that I appreciate pink. Pink makes me smile. This crazy (in a good way) novelty merino and cotton is destined to become part of a funky hat or scarf, I just have to make a pattern up for it. Thanks again Marie!

In true procrastinator fashion, we aren't leaving till tomorrow. I won't be around though, so Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

ps you can get Brooklyn Handspun yarns at The Point as well, so stop by if you are around.

Bed Knitting

2005-11-22T12:46:00.000-05:00

What does a knitter do when sick? Well, I like to complain and get a lot of sympathy from the bf, but I also like to knit a little here and there. This week's project? A lovely scarf for one of my knitting buddies. Five repeats into Backyard Leaves (from Scarf Style) and I'm loving the pattern. I have it basically memorized, so maybe I'm not sick but rather developing some sort of super-human powers. My powers did fail me at first though when I was reading both the RS and WS rows from right to left. Doh! I was wondering why I didn't see any leaves. Thankfully, I noticed what I was doing after the seventh row, so not much time lost there. To be honest, I thought this pattern would be a little trickier, especially when it comes with the foreboding warning that I should practice the slip-stitch border on a swatch. umm, why? Am I missing something here? I also found it useless to use stitch markers, this isn't the sort of pattern that you have a repeat x number of times in a row.

Knitting for another knitter can be tough though. Every knitter, I think, appreciates something handknit especially for them, so they are going to like it no matter what, right? Ok, maybe not. But the gift should still be something interesting or something they would knit for themselves, if their queue wasn't filled up or if they had the pattern. I'm not saying a pattern needs to be something overly complicated, but when it isn't you need to think about the other factors in the gift. Like I said, this pattern isn't incredibly difficult or customizable (other than length) which really makes my yarn choice the focus (for me!). Of course, I started to freak out, is the color right? Will she hate it? Will she never wear it? Is this her least favorite yarn? I had my heart set on using DB Cashmerino in a nice green, an apple green in fact. This is the closest I found. In the store it had hints of apple, I was told it was apple even, but this is one of those colors that just changes depending on it's mood and the lights it's under. To make matters more confusing let's look at Elizabeth's apple green here and here. Notice that in one it looks like mine and in the other it doesn't. What kind of voodoo did Debbie Bliss conjure up here? Fortunately, the giftee was happy with my choice so onward with the leaves.

eta: I'm making it sound like this pattern is oh so easy and perhaps boring. Far from it! I think the "easy" part comes from the pattern eventually becoming intuitive. Just by looking at the row below you can tell what you currently have to do. The pattern isn't so fussy that you get lost within the row either. Boring? Nope, no monotony setting in here. Each row is different enough to keep your attention, while the length of the repeats makes you feel as if you are constantly doing something new. I just happen to think that yarn and color choices are extremely important, especially when knitting for another knitter. BTW, one skein of DB Cashmerino can get you into the seventh pattern repeat easily.

A quick post for a quick knit

2005-11-21T15:46:00.000-05:00

All that talk about knitting socks and a hat this weekend and ignoring holiday knits, well you can forget all that. To tell you the truth, there was almost no knitting done this weekend. Can you imagine that, a weekend without knitting?! (collective gasp!) I did work on the hat a bit last night since I kept getting the puppy eyes from the boy, but other than that all I have to show for my weekend is this super-mega-quick project.

Pattern: City Shawl
Yarn: Suss Cousins Nubbly Wool/Acrylic
Needles: Addi Turbos 12mm (US 17)
Date Started: 11.09.05
Date Finished: 11.09.05

I told you this was a quick knit, of course I cheated a bit by using 17's vs 15's and I made the shawl smaller than suggested. I hope I made my calculations right since this is going to someone who is 5" tall on a good day and weighs maybe 90lbs soaking wet. I guess I'm asking you not to judge the shawl from my pictures, since it looks tiny on me and I'm sick (hence the weird pics with messy hair). My finished dimesions were around 3'x3' or 4'x3', do you think this will wrap around correctly on such a small person?

The pattern? A shawl in a day is always a winner with me. Who doesn't like instant gratification?! Especially when it's a x-mas gift. You could definitely crank out a few of these the week before x-mas and just make them all look different by the yarns you use. You could also adapt the pattern however you like since really there's only two "sections" you work in.

I can't stand the feel of chenille, so I used some random yarn that was in my stash. All I know about is that it's from one of those Suss Cousins' learn to knit kits, it's 50% wool/50% acrylic, and that I payed a dollar for the yarn alone. I think a dollar is on the high side with this yarn (it's from the purse kit apparently); at first it was soft and nice, but eventually my hands started to sweat and itch. Sweaty palms are sexy on no one, trust me. Just thinking about it is making my hands sweat again. I washed it and it feels a little better now, but I feel sorry for anyone who buys those kits for twenty dollars or more. I do feel kind of bad that I only spent a dollar and less than a day on this, so I'm sure I'll buy a pretty pin to go along with this. For now, I'm going to drink some tea to get over what I'm sure is the bird flu and perhaps make an appointment for a haircut.

C'est fini le crapotee

2005-11-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: HPY lace pure wool triple stranded in Oceanos
Needles: 5mm (US 8) vintage plastic Boyes
Date Started: 11.09.05
Date Finished: 11.17.05

So does me finally knitting this mean this pattern is dead? Am I officially the last knitter that will work on this until it becomes retro and hip to knit it again? While knitting this I thought I would never finish it, section three became a black hole where I kept going and going and never seeing the end. It felt a lot longer than it actually took, I guess eight days isn't too bad. Not talking about it made things go faster, though I'm glad it's over!

There isn't too much left to say about this pattern right? I wish someone had warned me how monotonous this was going to get though. I've noticed that most people changed the number of increases and decreases, but, for some reason, I did the whole thing. My gauge was 5spi resulting in a long, warm stole, if not a shawl. Pre-blocking the measurements were 18"x58", but after washing it I was able to stretch it out to 20"x60-something" (my ruler doesn't go that long!). It's still drying, but I'm hoping it plumps up a little again. I'm just letting it dry flat on a towel, no pinning this time, which I think will help.

Since there's not much to say about the pattern, let's talk yarn. I was worried that using a worsted weight yarn would be too heavy and I'm glad I went with my instinct. Triple stranding the yarn helped me keep things light while still getting the size, drape, and warmth I wanted. Tripling also helped keep any true color pooling at bay. I had heard of a lot of people buying HPY lace, but I really didn't find anyone knitting it up yet (hoarders!). I'm glad to say that my yarn didn't reek of vinegar, wasn't wet, and wasn't felted. My skeins had a soft halo and the colors had a pretty sheen to them. The colors even matched what I saw on my monitor! I didn't see any color bleeding when I dunked le clap into it's bath. Actually, nothing really happened in the bath, the yarn basically came out the same (which is always a good thing).

On a side note, I switched from Eucalan to Kookaburra and can I say how much better I like it? The smell alone was better, it has a cool little measuring reservoir, and it felt like it was actually softening up the wool. Eucalan never really did anything for me and it didn't suds up enough to feel like it was really cleaning anything. Kookaburra gets my suds quota approval.

One gift done! I'll be taking a break this weekend to knit stuff up for moi until holiday knitting starts up again for mi mama. I'm sure I'll complain about how long that ones takes as well. Till then I have some socks and a boring hat to entertain me.

Halting progress

2005-11-17T16:22:00.000-05:00

I've been getting hints lately from the old bf that he needs a new hat soon and I, like the nice girlfriend I am, have been ignoring them. I smile and nod and figure he can wait till 2006 or '07. The hints have been coming in more frequently and an unfortunate, self-inflicted haircut has made the matter more dire (he has since remedied the hair fiasco by cutting it all off). Apparently boyfriend here doesn't read this blog, is on crack, or a combination of both, how else do you explain him thinking I could add another project to the queue that isn't for me?

After the "haircut", I let him go through my stash and pick out some yarns he would like and was happy when I saw him look at more than one color. I started picturing a fair-isle or intarsia hat, earflaps even!

Nope, he just wants stripes and no earflaps. Ok, so simple ribbed hat? No, no ribbing...anywhere. I see.

So he kept going on with what he wanted. A straight stockinette hat, with two thin stripes knit with a tight gauge AND it has to cover the ears completely. No air should get through. umm ok

I'm thinking boring. I perked up though when I figured out this could be a good chance to try out some new technique. He keeps emphasizing where he wants the hat to hit, so why don't I knit the hat from the top down so he can keep trying it on? Top down? Then, why don't I try a new cast on? A hat is basically a big sock or an upside down bag right? This should be easy.

I know that I basically have to start with a certain number of stiches (8) and start increasing rapidly at first, each subsequent increase needs to get slower and slower till what I have covers the crown. From there I can just knit even till his majesty is happy with the length. The fun part is in picking out how I will cast on.

With my trusty scrap yarn, I first tried out the turkish cast on. As you can see, I didn't really get far into it. It got really annoying needing two circs and switching back and forth between them. I also didn't like how the cast on row looked so we moved on.

I then moved on to working with dpn's, with the idea that I would switch to a 16" circ when I had enough stitches. This could work, but I can't stand that hole in the middle. Sure I could just pull the yarn tight and close it or knit something to cover it, but I doubt boring boy wants some sort of pom-pom on top of his hat. Next!

Ah, my old best friends, figure-8 a la magic loop. That's the ticket. I don't know why I was denying myself, I knew this is how I wanted to do it. All I would have to do is pull those first stitches tight, no holes to hide or embellishments to add. hrm, it does look suspiciously like a sock though.

Here's a shout out to my Jewish friends. You can see a spiral pattern from the increases in this yarmulke, hrm, I mean hat. It must be working, I just have to get crack-boy to approve the gauge. I swear that if he was a knitter he would only knit socks. Very tight socks. On 1.5mm's.

I lied!

2005-11-15T12:12:00.000-05:00

But I didn't mean to.

In my last post, when quickly explaining two socks at once, I said that you need to cast on for one sock, place that one on hold, and then cast on for the second one. Well, why? This really kept bugging me, why can't you just cast on for both at once? I didn't read a tutorial on this before I started, but Angela later found one here (toe-up, figure 8 co) and here (mostly about the heels).

It was bugging me so much that I decided to try it out. I grabbed two skeins of leftover yarn and some 5mm circs. They are 24" so the example isn't perfect, but it will do.

Alrighty, two skeins, one needle, and figure 8 cast on twice. So far so good. I had 24 sts per "sock". I was still worried though about the first two rows of knitting. How would the awaiting red sock do while I was knitting the top of the purple one? And how would both bottom rows handle just hanging out on the cord?

Guess what, it works fine! Two socks cast on at the same time: done. Admittedly not the most beautiful toes, I didn't tighten the stitches and I squished the two socks for the picture, but you get the idea. Now I wonder if this would work with a short row toe.

eta: Here is one of my favorite figure-8 cast on tutorials.

2 on 1

2005-11-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

In a selfless act today, and in a way to ignore crap-o-tee, I casted on for the lovely Elfine socks. I have been thinking about these for months now and even picked up the yarn at Stitches.

That there is some lovely Nature's Palette in Mallard. And to avoid SSS, I'm 'magically' knitting both socks on one 40" circ addi. It's so nice that I don't need two needles for this!

Angela and I are doing a little knit together for these, anyone else want to join? My progress will be slow since I have gift knitting and the whole two socks at once thing. It's pretty easy to do, just cast on for one (I used a figure 8 co) and knit a couple of rows (I kept going till I increased to 24 sts on each needle). Place the first sock on a holder and then work up the second one to the same point as the first one. Transfer the first sock to the needles, making sure it's facing the same as the other one, and then knit like normal. So far so good! I have the toes done and I hope to work on the foot a little...if the guilt doesn't stop me.

WW III

2005-11-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of chatter lately on these here internets about continental and english knitting. I'll admit that there's even been some over here, behind the scenes of course. I learned to knit in the old (or really new) English*, Throw, American*, Right handed or whatever you want to call it method. I have no control of my left hand, so it only seemed natural to pick this method. I was led to believe if you were right handed, then you knit with your yarn to the right of you. I blame this biatch for this:

Look at her, gloating with all that knitting around her, she can't even believe it! She's drowning in it, she can't stop, and I don't even think her eyes are tracking to tell you the truth. She was the Debbie Stoller of my time. Ok not really, I just happened to learn to knit right before the whole 'knitting is so sexy and hip it hurts' wave and this little pamphlet was what I was given when dragged to some craft store. I'm digressing, anyway the crazy woman told me to knit with the yarn in my right hand and that's what I was did. Who's going to mess with her?

Months later I finally figured out that nope, it has nothing to do with what hand you write with, but rather just whatever method you preferred at the time of learning. I still thought nothing of it really, why would I when I was always getting gauge and nice even knitting throwing**, oh, and I wasn't pissing the crazy woman off. Blogging changes everything though, you get to peak into people's lives and see how many projects they get done and how quickly. I thought I was pretty fast until I realized I wasn't cranking out two sweaters a month or a shawl a week. All these people must be continental knitters for sure, that's the only way I can explain it (after weeding out the big needle knitters and the stay at home and knit all day knitters). Never one to be out-done, I researched this 'other way' (continental, german*, picking, left-handed, what have you) and read all about how great, fast, and superior it was. I love efficiency and if this was going to make me a speed-knitter I had to make a change.

I've been sneaking in the continental method in my knitting here and there. The Jaywalker sock has some in there, the BMC as well, and that kid hat was all done continentally. With the crap-o-tee I've been knitting and purling by picking (I wasn't purling in the other projects) and to be honest I'm not that impressed. Have the continentalists been lying this whole time about how great they are? I don't know, I'm just one person damnit, but my answer is a maybe. Is either method superior to the other? I doubt it. Continental knitting looks prettier since there are less movements, but I tend to get a tighter gauge, while with English I always get gauge on my first try**. Purling sucks ass either way, but I found that purling was/is just really messy with picking. I rather throw than pick since I'm a faster thrower (by two seconds per stitch). I also heard that continental is better to avoid carpal-tunnel-syndrome, but my right wrist hurts so much more while picking than by throwing. Am I going to switch? Well, the boyfriend all of a sudden thinks that I'm knitting correctly, since to him I'm "kniting without moving". He swears that I've been wrong for the last three years and now he's actually impressed. Why do I knit if not to impress, so I'll stick with the picking for knits and throwing for purls (unless I don't get gauge, then I'll throw!).

*I find it interesting that the methods are divided by who fought the WW's. If you are a patriot, then knit with your right hand damnit!

**Purly and I seem to have the same gift from god. I believe that this is a Highlander situation where there can only be one and why we must sadly live on different coasts (or else one would have to decapitate the other, can you tell the bf has made me watch crap movie?).

Buried Under Yarn

2005-11-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

I've been a procrastinator my whole life. I get everything done, at the last minute. The last time I got things done quickly was the day I was born, my mom almost had me in the car and the whole deal took less than half an hour (of course, maybe my parents were the procrastinators then). Now, there are different types of procrastinors. There are the lazy, half-assed ones; they were late with everything and still failed or just didn't care. The middle of the road procrastinators; they would procrastinate, would get scared and do everything before it was too late. Then there are the master procrastinators, this is where I am. We live on the edge, laugh at deadlines, yet somehow find the most efficient way of doing things and got A's for our little effort. Did I tell you that I turned in my Senior Paper a week after it was due (and a week before graduation)? Why work on my paper all semester and stress out when I can write it in one night and have the Proff love it? I heart efficiency.

I'll admit though, sometimes I was really under pressure and the stress would get to me. In graduate school I swore to change my ways and turned in my thesis paper a month or two before the semester was done. Last month I had this genius plan to start my holiday knitting, but somehow that didn't happen. Deciding what to knit took a while (and a couple of consultations with my mom) and the yarn took forever to get here. That old stress from college is sneaking up on me.

This mess is some of the yarn that will magically turn into gifts. Right about now I wish I knew that old water into wine trick. A knitting machine would be nice. Or I would love a knitting staff of my own to boss around. Actually looking at it laid out like this, it isn't going to be that bad. I'm sure I'll be done in time, though there may be a sacrifice or two (the boy's sweater). Want to see the world's most boring progress shot?

This is the first gift I got started on this week. It's a crap-o-tee for Ms. I-really-want-grandkids. This is at the boring end of the second section, so apparently I'm at the fun part where I get to drop stitches. I can't believe I got suckered to knit this (aren't I a year late to ride this wave?). The bf picked out the color (oceanos from handpaintedyarns) and I really hope the color breaks up a little more after there are some ladders in there.

You know what? I was wrong, this is the world's most boring progess shot. In a totally selfish move I cast on some thigh-highs for me. Actually, that's the start of a sleeve for the old Hourglass (yet another bandwagon I'm jumping on). What can I say, it's getting cold and I need a sweater. I figure I could knit the sleeves while watching TV and work on Clapotis all the other time. Also, since I'm messing with the gauge all I have to rip is one sleeve if I totally hate it.

Bulky Mini Cardigan

2005-11-08T12:56:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Bulky Mini Cardigan
Yarn: Bulky 6-ply Merino in emerald and some random Italian wool (Botto Poala) in chocolate brown
Needles: US 11 and 9 Addi circs (8mm, 5.5mm)
Date Started: 10.16.05
Date Finished: 11.07.05

This was an enjoyable knit through and through and I'm sure that it will quickly become one of my favorite knits (I haven't taken it off since I took the picture). The dates are misleading, I ran out of yarn before I finished the sleeves and I had to wait for it to arrive (and I only ended up needing one ounce of yarn!).

I modded this pattern just a bit (out of necessity though). I couldn't achieve the required pattern gauge, so I changed the pattern to fit my gauge (3.5spi vs 2.5spi). This really just means multiplying the pattern with my stitch ratio and trying it on a few times before I split the sleeves. It also means making sure the decrease were hitting in the right spots. I shortened the sleeves by a few rows and I knit them in the round (magic loop). I also knit a half size, if that makes any sense. I think I could have gone even smaller, I like my sweaters small and I've lost a few pounds since I started this. I'll keep this in mind the next time I knit this.

The pattern is well written and is definately quick to knit. I can see myself using it as a mold to make a full-size cardigan. The merino is extremely soft and warm, perfect for this slow starting fall. I don't feel like I'm wearing something heavy, though I'm nice and toasty when I go out. The bf picked out the buttons while we were in Boston when I dragged him to Windsor Button. Now he thinks himself fashionable because he can match colors.

Back and rested

2005-11-08T12:02:00.000-05:00

And posting should be back to normal. I won't bore you with vacation details, but I am uploading all the pics right now on flickr if you are interested. To sum it up: there wasn't much knitting done, we somehow became morning people, Boston was nice until a bird crapped on me (stupid bird!), Sudoku took up our free time, Providence is kinda boring, the whole vacation was great, but at the same time it's nice to be home.

phew, ok now on to knitting. Like I said I didn't do much knitting while away. I had good intentions, I packed three projects up, but for some reason I just never whipped them out. I did manage to finish a couple of things in the car ride back, nothing too exciting though.

Pattern: Elf Cap from Handknit Holidays
Yarn: Rowan Ribbon Twist
Needles: Addi US 17 circs
Date Started/Finished: 10.27.05

I like to test a book by finding an "easy" pattern and knitting it up to see how the pattern is written and if there are any mistakes. So far so good. It was hard to pick a hat since almost every hat in the book looks the same (ie pointy top with or without earflaps). This was a quick, fun pattern though I wouldn't have chosen this yarn if I had any other bulky yarn in my stash (the ribbons look a little weird to me). This hat must have taken an hour to knit so definately a good choice for the gift giving season. Will I ever wear this? I'll keep you updated on this front.

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Diakeito Diamusee
Needles: US 7 dpns
Date Started/Finished: 11.05.05

I should name this hat "the bf's mom really wants grandkids earflap hat". I originally intended on this being an adult hat, but little old me didn't realize how many stitches I casted on or rather how many I didn't cast on. As I was knitting this in the car, I wondered how small/big my head really was and thought I was going crazy. I knew it wouldn't fit, but I kept knitting anyway because it was really cute and I loved how the colors and stripes ended up. It's a really sweet hat for a kid. Do I know any kids? Nope. Do I plan on having kids any time soon? NO! Apparently the BF's mom didn't get this memo; when she saw the hat she said "aww what a cute kid hat! We'll save it and in a couple of years I'll remind you to take it out for a little someone". WTH! What little someone? I really hope there's a midget or elf in the family that I don't know about it.

Poor woman, she doesn't know that neither one of us wants one of those "kids". Nope, don't want any of that. I just smiled back and stuffed the hat in my bag. Any chance she'll forget about it? The best part was telling the bf about what his mom said. I think he threw up a little and then went into shock for a little while.

Anyway, if you like the pattern then email me and I can send it to you (though I still need to type it out).

Kool-Aid Acid Test

2005-10-29T20:33:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-19T23:56:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-17T10:22:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-13T23:26:00.000-04:00

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!

2005-10-12T17:21:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-11T18:14:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-09T17:06:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-08T11:08:00.000-04:00

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!

2005-10-04T23:32:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-03T23:18:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-01T22:47:00.000-04:00

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!

Fending off temptation

2005-09-27T22:58:00.000-04:00

ugh, This post was originally started this afternoon, but apparently my computer had other plans. Crashing was one of them, ceasing to work was the other. I'm on the boy's computer now while he tries to save all my documents on mine. I hate to think of all the images I've lost along with all the patterns I had in there. At least I was able to save my thesis paper and images, though I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them now.
Enough about that, though I will give you a PSA: Backup your computer!

On to knitting. It was tough to not immediately start on a new project with all the new stash yarn, but I was strong and stuck to my "finishing things" mantra. Funny thing is, I haven't been knitting that much. The last time I touched this sock was on Saturday night when I got to the heel. Can I just say how much I like not having to pickup a bunch of stitches? I actually restarted the sock on Friday morning on the way to Stitches to get a better toe then worked on the foot on the way home and some on Saturday. The heel was done twice, but I'm still not completely happy with it. One side is perfect, but the other side leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not using long enough needles and that side stretched or because of the way I purled together the stitches with their wrap. When I pick it up again I need to decide what to do with the leg; do I keep the lace exactly where it is or do I somehow spread it around the whole leg?

What have I been working on then? The NSS Cardie is moving along, though for a while there I thought I was never going to split the sleeves. The rows just kept going and going. It's a little faster now, but surprisingly not by that much. I think what's keeping me from picking this up all the time is the yarn. This yarn gets really rough and starts drying and scratching my hands. For some reason I keep finding plant matter in it (last I checked Noro had conquered the "plants in yarns" game) or what I think is plant or cactus or something really rough. I love the color (#09), love the pattern, hate the yarn. Silky Wool is a definite "never again" for me.

I still will try to make it this week's exclusive project, it's finally starting to feel like fall here and I would love to have a new cardigan by this weekend to wear in these cool nights. This is definitely a lofty goal I'm sure I won't meet, since once the body is done I have to: knit the sleeves, pick up the button and neck bands, and somehow knit instead of crochet some ruffles. So, I'm not making any promises...

Stitches Report

2005-09-23T18:21:00.000-04:00

I'm back and ooh so tired. I think I have a yarnover. I must nap right now, I don't know how I'm ever going to get to the gym tonight. I don't know how people stay at Stitches all weekend, one day was enough for me. But enough of that, you want to hear about Stitches right?

My plan of attack was to stick to my shopping/project list and to try to find yarns that I couldn't normally get at my lys any old day (otherwise, why would I go to A.C. and pay a cover charge right?). I had my map in one hand and credit card in the other, I forged ahead. In the back of my mind I had this game called spot the pattern. I figured I would be swimming in "famous" patterns, but a las I only saw one...the clapotis. Pretty, but boring. I wanted to see something, wacky, something fun furrish, or at least something I've been wanting to knit but never seen before. Not many people wore their knitting with pride, it must have been the heat. I shouldn't judge, you couldn't even tell I was a knitter with my big "felicity" bookbag for my future yarn purchases and walking alone in the convention center (alas, I have no knitting posse). I did recognize a group of bloggers, but since I've never "spoken" to them I never said hello (though I remember telling them how much yardage was in a skein of sock yarn we all wanted to buy). Actually, I'm pretty much an idiot when it comes to recognizing people and talking to them. I was talking to Lily Chin, holding her pattern I was about to buy, without knowing I was talking to Lily Chin! But somehow I can recognize a blogger, go figure (hint, she has knitted a lacey top and she has knit nights "with the girls" can you guess who I saw?). I did get to meet Jody, how did I recognize her? To be honest, I recognized the sleeve first. She's as nice in person as she seems in her blog. She gets the Knit Fix Seal of Approval. I also go to meet Joan McGowan-Michael (White Lies Designs) and see the actual sweaters knit up. They are even better in person and she's really nice, so go buy a pattern or kit from her!

So since I'm about to pass out and I think I should take a power nap before the boy comes home, without further ado here are my yarn purchases.

The picture is a little dark, but I thought the one with the flash washed it out a bit too much. boohoo! Let's start from the pattern clockwise.

A Lily Chin sock and wristlet pattern. Did I tell you that I was standing next to all her "Lily Chin Collection" yarn while I was talking to her?

Next to that we have three skeins of Bartlett yarn in purple for a future UO Shrug. I've been wanting to try this yarn out to knit up a Rogue and for some reason I like buying things from Maine. Since I didn't have the Rogue requirements right in front of me I stuck to three skeins. (But they were only 4 dollars each!)

The dark purple skein between the Bartlett is some Just Our Yarn wool and camel. Yes, wool and camel! These are going to be socks, camel socks.

That huge cone? From the Webs booth. Who knows how many thousands of yards of wooley goodness are in there. I dont remember the name, but I think it's Brora Softspun. 100% wool from scotland (and j.crew) that will become the Phildar cardie vest thing.

Four skeins of pink Malabrigo for a Hot Lava, bought at Webs with a discount. Oh so soft, why would you ever buy Manos?

Two skeins of Hand Jives Nature Palette in Mallard for Anna's socks (the reason I learned toe-up magic loop socks). I got to chat with Darlene for a few minutes and she's so freaking nice. I wanted to buy more, I suggest you do as well.

one skein of Tess Designer Yarn super socks yarn in a purpley/red. (another Maine person!)

Three (and a tiny bit more) skeins of Habu Mohair silk for my Eternity Shawl that apparently puzzled everyone. I'm making the pattern up and I will share, don't worry!

Three skeins of Berroco Foliage to make extra chunky socks for the future FIL.

Going to Stitches, having some fun... priceless. Addition to my yarn stash... about $178 give or take a few cents or two.

On the fall lineup...

2005-09-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

I have my ticket printed, my bag ready, and I think I know what train I have to take. Now I just need my shopping list and I'm ready for Stitches East! Aahhh, Atlantic City, the Vegas of the East where nothing really happens so you don't have to worry too much when you get home. Except when you are going to buy yarn that is. I've heard Stitches can be a seedy place, yarn dealers tempting you in every corner and yarn ho's running amock. I'm going to be strong, I'm going to be prepared, I will!

I have a plan and I hope to stick with it. You see that little collage up there? You are looking at most of my fall projects (oh you know there are more!). I only want to buy yarn for projects, no more random skeins I tell you. Let's see what this brilliant plan is, shall we? The now infamous U.O. Shrug, I thought I had yarn in my stash for this, but apparently everyone is using over 600 yds of worsted yarn oops. The ever-popular Hot Lava, I finally know of the magic loop's powers so I'm looking for some creamy white or pink worsted wool for this little number. Next up is Stef's new Bulky-Mini-Cardy. I love knitting from the top down and I can't pass up a quick knit. The yarn I was going to use for the UO Shrug is destined as the contrasting color, but I need 300 yds for the main body. I see it in pink of course. In the middle is the Eternity Shawl, I feel as if I've been talking about this for an eternity. Let's finally knit this shall we? I'm thinking some Habu mohair (why should Rowan get all my business) in a teal or turquoise. The last little number is a pattern from Phildar that Sylvie translated for me. I'm not sure how this will look on me, but I think it's sooo cute. I don't remember how much yarn I need for this, but it was somwhere in the 1k yds range. I'll be at the School Products or Webs booth looking at cones for this one. The original yarn used is acrylic. but please I'm going for some wool.

Sounds like I have a handle on this right? I see a loophole though that may become my failure. Gift knitting! Pretty yarn always has the possibility of becoming something grand until it perishes in your stash with no direction at all. I think I have enough in the stash for a few gifts I want to knit up, but there are the socks I want to knit for Tom's dad, a mini cardy for my mom, possibly an eternity shawl for a cousin, and something as yet undetermined for my brother. oh yeah, and I want to check out some nature's palette sock yarn.

I'll be meeting Jody there, so hopefully we can be good influences on each other (hah!). So let's play another game. Guess how much I spend tomorrow, the person that's closest wins a prize from my stash. This should be interesting. Diana won the last contest, so watch her site for what her prize was.

ps. the above project list does not include future winter knitting, including a couple of Rowan sweaters and future Glampyre patterns.

pps. I have another stash sale, this time a grab bag! My sponsor suggested I needed to do this. Yes, I have a sponsor and no, she didn't even know she was my sponsor.

Name that pattern

2005-09-21T11:47:00.000-04:00

The rumors are true, magic loop socks seem to grow quicker than knitting with dpns. Would I lie to you?

This was the state of the sock this morning (sorry for the blue cast), but I'm going to have to rip out a couple of rows because I kept futzing around until I didn't like it anymore (ie I made a mistake). These knit up fast so no worries there. I'll be jumping back to my other projects in the meantime...the more I finish, the more I can buy at Stitches right? Just kidding!

Hey! Do you like prizes? How about some free s.e.x. without the x? Here's your chance to get a prize for your stash...does this pattern look familiar? The first person to name the pattern gets a prize from me. No joke!

News update: Yahaira gets some balls

2005-09-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

and realizes she didn't need them.

Witnesses say she did a figure-8 through a magic loop and got jiggy with it.
News at 11...or more likely tomorrow since some of us have to watch Nip/Tuck, then shower, and get to sleep.

Look who's blocking

2005-09-19T16:06:00.000-04:00

I fought an inner struggle today, laziness with a touch of boredom (or is it the other way around) prevailed. The River Stole est fini (except for blocking) and it didn't come a moment too soon. I was actually thinking of going beyond the 12 repeats and making it a nice, long stole (and that would be one less random skein in my stash), but my wrist and shoulder have been hurting lately so now we all get an FO.

Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Candy Girl (606)
Pattern: River Stole, Rowan #38
Needles: Clover Ivory straights US 10.5
Date Started: 09.02.05
Date Finished: 09.19.05

I think my hands hurt because I knit with my pinky out anytime I picked up the stole, that's how fancy it is! Which worries me since, well, I don't really think I'm that fancy. Cultured maybe, but fancy? This stole requires a total different life; one filled with "dining out", going to the theater or opera, visiting your friends at the museum, fancy clothes, and an Ethan Allen home. Mine is more grabbing something to eat, going to the gym, spending a lot of nights with my "tv friends", and an Ikea home. Troublesome since I was thinking of knitting up a Birch Shawl. A shawl would complicate my life even more, forcing me to go out to "tie and jacket required" restaurants exclusively, ordering a new fall "wardrobe", and donating a lot of money to the "museum friends circle". Do I change for my knitting or does the knitting change for me? Perhaps a "river scarf" is more fitting.

Yeah, a scarf is more my cup of tea. Once it's blocked it will be perfect scarf length and can be worn non-chalantly at my local watering hole (who says that anyway?). The question is, how do I sneak in a shawl into my life?

Almost Finished

2005-09-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

My relationship with Candy Girl are coming to a close. We had some good times and some not so bad. We laughed together and then we ignored each other. But through it all she's still my friend. She's even taught me a few things:

hot pink makes me smile
hot pink and silk make me outright giddy
I'm very much like a tootsie pop: how many repeats (within a row) does it take for me to loose count? one, two, three! It's three!
eventually lace can become tv knitting
drinking wine while knitting creates very big yarn overs, who knew!

In these pictures I was somewhere in the 10th repeat, but after going to the gym. having dinner, and knitting while watching Crash I am in the middle of the 12th. I didn't meet my goal of finishing by this weekend, but I sure came close.

Here's an artsy/moment of zen/color accurate picture to tide you over until I have an actual FO.

Newton's Apple

2005-09-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

I didn't think this day would sneak up on me so easily or so quickly. I knew it was going to happen, there was no denying that, it happens to most of us. I've become my mother. There I said it. How do I know? How am I so sure? The first clue was the stashing. It starts innocently enough, you like a magazine so you buy an issue or two before you commit and subscribe. That title is joined by one or two more, then one day you realize you have a whole display table of six different subscriptions, back issues and all. Would you like to look up something in the November 2004 Vogue? Are you sure, because I can whip it out for you. I have food, wine, fashion, and science magazines coming out the wazoo. It wouldn't be so bad if I got rid of the old issues, but nope, they are neatly stacked in chronological order. My mom's magazine of choice was Vanidades (think Cosmo in Spanish for an older audience); she would stash them away in her night table. If she thought she missed an issue, then she would send me off to search the greater Miami area.

You might be asking yourself, "why the sudden enlightenment? you admit you have a yarn stash problem, wasn't that a clue?" Apparently it wasn't a big enough one. When boxes of shoes fall on your head as you scream in pain, something just hits you. We have a problem here; my closet is never this messy. Look at the color coordination and all the shoes still in their boxes neatly stacked. Go figure that the night I'm rushing to dinner I grab the one box that lacked balance. This is not a good thing to do in front of the boyfriend, the one that starts to wonder what else I'm hiding. I don't think you get the magnitude of the problem with this picture, the shoe boxes are arranged four boxes high and at least that many across. If my mother were here, she would tell you how she solved this problem. Buy clear, plastic shoe boxes for storage and easy access. The woman has at least eight stacks (I believe it's more) that go five boxes high. Of course this doesn't include "everyday shoes". Those need even easier access. I present to you exhibit B:

The stash of shoes that live under my dresser. My mom keeps her's somewhere near the bed, but I find my spot to be very strategic. It makes things easier when I have to vacuum, here's a whole section I can skip. I don't "need" so many shoes, but I have a thing for Pumas and, I admit it, I'm a mood dresser. I need a lot of options while getting dressed, who knows what my feet will want to sink into. Would you like to see what lives atop my dresser?

Makeup that I use, makeup that I don't use, makeup that I'm allergic to, makeup that most likely has gone bad. Each one of those bags is full of makeup, but it isn't "everyday makeup" (do you see a theme here?) so they hide in the bags that hide in drawers. My mom one-ups me here as well, along with makeup on the dresser, she has some in baskets in my father's night table, and one of those huge train cases in her closet. The woman knows how to hide a stash.
I ~~should~~ need to get rid of some of this. Why do I still have the "oh, everything is blurry, wait, why do my eyes burn?" mascara? I don't want to hurt it's feelings that's why! But this weekend has been proclaimed "to hell with inanimate object's feelings fest". Nothing will be spared. No puppy eyes from the shoes that give me blisters or the lipstick that is too sticky. I'll even go through my magazines, my fabric, my books, and who knows what else I may find. I can't live with useless things anymore. Too bad for the boyfriend, he will be forced to go through all his stashes as well. If you want to hear about how he's becoming his mother as well, then hopefully we can get him to start his own blog.

What about my famous yarn stash? I am making some sort of progress. No more random skeins I say (unless it's sock yarn!). I took a good, hard look at the stash and took out anything that either I have no clue what I'll use for or just simply have no use for and took them out of there. I even took some Koigu out of the stash and back to the store yesterday (did I mention I have a receipt stash?) and exchanged it for some yarn I could actually use (go figure). Bye-bye Koigu, we will meet again, hellooo Silky Wool. Are you surprised it's not pink? I quickly cast on a top-down mini cardie from the lovely Wendy. My hands are confused about the yarn though. They say, "my, how soft you are!" then they turn on it and ask "umm, has someone been lotioning you up? Because I have to break it to you, I hate lotion. I hate it so much, especially when it gets between my fingers, that I used to make my mom put lotion on my legs (that's another post entirely)". We'll see what my hands decide.

Must be the bangs

2005-09-12T15:30:00.000-04:00

No real news on River to share with you. I was down the shore for the weekend and just knit a little here or there but to be honest the pattern is kinda boring me. I think that I'm going to plug away at it all this week so I can be done with it (what are the chances of this happening?!). I've been secretly working on another Tubular Camisole with some stash yarn. I wanted to try it again with a lighter yarn and maybe a slouchier fit before summer completely fades away. Isn't it funky? It's Noro Sumire, a now discontinued cotton and silk blend. I can't find any information on it online, but I promise I'm not lying. It's nice and soft and even kinda fun to work with.

The silk and cotton are spun together until you get to breaks where the silk is basically bursting from the cotton giving the yarn a thick and thin quality. Sumire could quite possibly be the mullet of yarns; all business over here, party over there. This yarn is so funky in fact that I managed to pick up two (two! one each way) boys on the train last week while knitting this. I wasn't even trying since I'm not looking. They just started talking to me asking about what I was making and one even telling me how they used to crochet as a kid. Ladies and gents, if you are looking for a date forget bars instead take a knitting project on public transportation and they'll be flocking to you.

Thanks everybody for your comments, it definately made me feel better and I'm loving the bangs. It's funny to think of all the pictures I brought with me to get my cut, I'll have to make a collage out of them to show all of you. Now that I'm back home I'll get back to all of you through email.

Trip news and even a cut

2005-09-08T14:46:00.000-04:00

Why am I posting a pic of myself while not modeling any knitting? Because this is as close to bangs I have been since I was in sixth grade. Back then I was sporting the big, hairsprayed wave, (oh you know you were too!) and I accept partial blame to that hole in the ozone layer (sorry Australia!). I must admit my style has improved since then, no hairspray, no banana clips, no leggings, and no scrunchies. At least I never wore those dreaded z.cavariccis, do I get any points for that? I'll have to live with my fake bangs for a while before I decide if I want to go shorter or "real" next time. I really like them as is, what a difference bringing pics from the internet does. Usually I just mumble something and make my stylist look through books with me or make up something as she goes (I'm very trusting).

Is this why I'm really posting? nah, I have some exciting news, well exciting to me at least. Can't you tell I'm excited in this pic? (yep, I'm lame, did it really take you this long to realize this?) Remember when I asked for vacation advice? Well, the bf is being sent away for work for a couple of weeks (sniff!sniff!) and we decided, like the geniuses that we are, to tack on our vacation at the end of his trip. The poor boy has to be in China for two weeks by himself and I get to meet him in Tokyo for a week! I was going to go to China (near Shanghai) as well, but his boss didn't think that was such a great idea (who does he think he is anyway?). I'm going to be all by my lonesome till I fly to Japan by myself. : ( I guess the boy is going to have to get over his whole not-wanting-to-fly thing now isn't he? hah!

I'll mostly be bringing back some craft/knitting books I've been drooling over but have never seen in person. Is there any yarny goodness I should also be in the lookout for? I have a small list of yarn stores already (we thought we were going to go earlier in the summer) so what "normal" touristy things should we do? The boy wants to see Mt. Fuji and I just want to walk around and look in all the cool stores. We know we are going to eat a lot and go to the arcades, but now I have to start researching our daily activities. Any suggestions are appreciated.

umm, I guess I should make this post somewhat knitting related. The new Knitty is up (as if you didn't know) and it's quite good! I think it's their most consistent one to date. I'm slowly plugging away on my River Stole and I started another camisole as well. I'll try to post pics of it on another post.

Upstream

2005-09-06T10:58:00.000-04:00

What does this detail-filled picture tell you?! Yes, lace looks like crap as you knit it, but more importantly, that I cast on for my River Stole.

Remember all those knitting plans I had last week? Well, this is as far as I got this weekend (there is just no lace knitting at the movies, glacial ice or not). I actually had to stop on Saturday night because I was too tipsy to figure out the pattern after coming home from a party. This is what things look like towards the end of the first repeat, exciting no?

I really like these Clover Ivory needles I'm using. They are both quick and slow enough to handle the KSH, my only gripe is that I wish they had pointier tips. I'm assuming their size has something to do with this. Other than that, it has been smooth sailing (apart for the being drunk thing). I can't decide though if I like working from the chart or from the written pattern, I keep going back and forth but more and more relying on the book.

Caribbean Socks

2005-09-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Fingering Merino in Caribbean Blues
Needles: US2 (2.75mm) Clover DPNs
Pattern: Summer Socks
Date Started: 8.24.05
Date Finished: 9.05.05

Socks are like sisters, sometimes one of them is prettier or smarter, always knows the right things to say and do while the other is more comfortable in the shadows, tugging at her ill-fitting clothes. Can you tell which is which in the pic above?

I finally started the second sock on Sunday when the BF dragged me to see March of the Penguins, I figured all the ice would be enough light to knit by. (If you want to feel like you are back in elementary or middle school, then go see this movie) I finished the rest of the sock on our way home. Ah, the second sock! I managed to remember to decrease on both sides of the short rows (what a concenpt), picking up stitches was much faster, and my kitchenering was so much neater. I still hate the cable caston and I don't get how I'm supposed to get down to eight stitches total before grafting (I made it down to 24 before grafting). I also included one last round knit only on needle 1 to get the yarn away from the middle so I could graft (again, didn't know how else I was supposed to do this). Overall, I like sock knitting and who knew it was so easy. My next ones will be toe up and perhaps involve some magic looping; you can't say I never like a challenge.

60 second March of the Penguins:
Penguins walk, they have sex. Penguins walk, they eat. Penguins walk, they die. Penguins walk some more. New penguins are born.

Quick fix

2005-09-02T12:53:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers SNBN
Yarn: Diakeito Diamusee in #40 (1 skein)
Needles: US 7 DPN's
Date Started: 8.31.o5
Date Finished: 8.02.05

Though yesterday was the official kickoff for the River Stole, I really didn't want to start it until I finished these babies up. These were pretty easy and quick to knit up and it only took one skein (since I didn't care if they matched up or not). I only wish that book publishers weren't so cheap when it comes to printing charts. Would it have been that hard to also print up the left armwarmer one? I really like the Diakeito, it's really soft and the colors stripe in a nice, soft way.

I can definately see myself wearing these come fall, especially since I hate wearing gloves when I drive but hate having to grip a cold steering wheel while waiting for the heater to kick up.

Did you notice that bright yarn up above? I finally broke down and got some Vesper Sock Yarn in Aqua Melon. They are destined to be some funky, yet simple socks for yours truly. I was hoping for a colorway with pink and brown, but no such luck. Just pink and lime, blue and orange, and the "knit and tonic" one, which is pretty but I would feel a little weird knitting something up in someone else's blog colors. There's something groupish about that.

Tonight the boy and I will be driving up to his parent's house for the loooong weekend. I'll be taking the beginnings of River and the yarn for the second caribbean sock. I'll try to blog while we are up there, but I always go up with such plans and somehow I never get to do any of them. Wish me luck!

Katrina

2005-09-01T18:59:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Andrew hit weeks before I was about to start seventh grade. I remember my family sitting on the floor of my parents' room with their mattress protecting us from the window. We listened to my little white boombox to find out what was going on outside and maybe just to hear another voice that perhaps could soothe us. My dog was so scared that she decided to hide in the closet. As the eye of the hurricane passed, it sounded as if a loud train was riding through our neighborhood. That was the longest night of my life. We didn't have water or electricity for days, but we were one of the lucky ones. Unlike all our other neighbors, nothing serious happened to our house. Our one neighbor had their roof fly off, we didn't have too much food but we helped them out as much as we could. I can't help thinking that if the hurricane had gone a couple of miles north (the center of the eye went directly over our house instead of the more dangerous wall) things could have been much worse, very much like what I have been watching on TV and reading about.

I'm sure you know about the craftrevolution sale, so if you can go buy something to help out the relief fund. Donate to the Red Cross or the fund of your choice. I'm currently looking for a charity that will accept clothes and food so that I can send a few boxes down. If I find one, then I'll let you know. I could have easily been homeless years ago, but instead all I got was an extra week or two of summer vacation.

Second go around

2005-08-30T17:50:00.000-04:00

I knit a lot when I'm stressed out, and looking through this blog I must be really stressed. Notice something in the picture? It's another FO! I got it done so fast that I didn't even get to list it before. That's the old Spiderweb Capelet from S'nB Nation, I'll spare you the details because this is the second one I knit up. I started it and finished it up today, all that's left to do is block it and lace some ribbon through it.

I'm not so sure what I'm stressed about. Maybe it's how quickly summer passed by and knowing that winter is just around the corner. Have I told you that I'm not much of a winter person? I really like fall, but there's something so sad about the leaves giving way to snow that I just can't get over. Fall always seems so fleeting, especially as the seasons get shorter according to some stores (I shouldn't be able to find plastic bats in August!). Winter brings snow and ice I refuse to drive in and x-mas which gets me down year after year. I love making and buying gifts for others, but there's something so anticlimatic about the actual day each year. Can I just skip it for this once?

Perhaps, if I knit up some arm-warmers then they will make fall last just a bit longer. I'll call them "hurry up fall armwarmers" (yep, I'm soo original) and use some lovely Diakeito Diamusee to cheer myself up. No Noro Kureyon for me thank you very much, it's just too scratchy. I think I'll also knit up a second sock in some bright caribbean blues in order to not look like a fool with one sock anymore. I'll also do some fall cleaning instead of the much hyped spring cleaning. Why clean up when everyone else is?

mini-klee

2005-08-29T18:02:00.000-04:00

Wow, you get two posts and one and a half FO’s in one day! Aren’t you lucky, are you sick of me yet? Actually, I have two reasons for this post. One is the lovely scarf you see and the other is that I’m trying out this “blogger for word” app I downloaded a few days ago. So far I don’t get what the advantage is other than you don’t have to go online and I guess you get to use a real spell checker. I don't get how you add a picture to your post though.

A quick project run down:
Pattern: “klee scarf” 4x4 rib
Needles: US 6 (4mm) straights
Yarn: “Estelle” by A.L. de Sauveterre in Coco (1 skein)
Date Started: dont remember
Date Finished: 8.29.05

Love the color, love the yarn, I would run to get some more before the prices go up (cashmere prices are going up later this year). I think this yarn would make a gorgeous Clapotis, not the cheapest option but certainly luxurious (and isn’t that what knitting is all about?).

Oh, there will be some more of my stash on sale by tonight. If you are interested in some Colinnette Point 5, then guess what’s on sale. Sorry if this post seems rushed, but the boy got home and is hurrying me to get to the gym!

Half way to the caribbean

2005-08-29T00:04:00.000-04:00

I so wanted to blog about this on Saturday, but all of a sudden I had an unexpected (but very welcomed) house guest for the weekend. I had to run around and buy ingredients for dinner, clean up the apartment, and then actually make dinner. I guess I could have taken a quick pic, but I've found that non-knitters and non-bloggers don't really understand the random photographing of a sock. Well, here she is, the requisite one sock picture every newbie sock knitter posts.

Cute, no? Ignore the super skinny foot please! Somethings I've figured out thus far, I don't like the cable cast on method, it's just too loose for me. I'll have to use another method for the second sock. I was thinking of using smaller needles, but I can't seem to find US 1 Clovers. I know they are out there, it's just that my freaking A.C. Moore likes to skip certain sizes (I like to use my 40% off coupons on needles). I also figured out that I was saying the exact thing I was being told about short rows, but in a totally different ways. I think short rows are one of those things you need the other person there for. That said I found what my mistake was, at least what I think it was; I don't think I was doing the skp decrease on the knit side....oops.

Now I have a couple of questions. Where do you measure to when figuring out how long to make the sock? When you are decreasing for the toes and you are going to graft do you move around your stitches/needles to get the start of the around away from the middle?

Something totally unrelated, do you guys have any suggestions for vacation spots? The bf and I want to go away for a few days in October, but just can't decide where. I suggested San Francisco since I've never been out west and I think it would be fun to go there and maybe Napa Valley, but the boy isn't too sure if he wants to fly. The other suggestion I made was Providence, RI, another town I've never been to though I have no clue what we would do there. So, are there any cool towns that are big enough to explore for a few days, have good food, and aren't in Pennsylvania or New Jersey you could suggest? Or out of the two I suggested, which one would you vote for?

I know of a trip I'll be making in the next two weeks, thankfully the boy finds Alpacas really cute. Who knew I would find a farm I could buy yarn from less than an hour away?!

I feel like Bubsy

2005-08-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

What or who is Bubsy you ask? Back in the old days, the eighties, there used to be a game where it was up to you, Bubsy, to stop aliens (the Woolies) stealing all the world's supply of wool. “Balls” actually. Yep, that's right, they are stealing balls of wool! Who knew when I was a wee child that I would grow up still thinking I had to "save" the world's supply of wool, or any fiber really? I look at my stash and wonder how I ended up with so much. It's time to clean it up and at least get rid of the random skeins in there. No, I'm not throwing anything away, rather I'm going to knit up a bunch of stash busting projects before I start any fall knitting. Anything I can't or don't want to knit with will be put up for sale. So, if you would like to help protect the world's yarn supply, then you can check it out and email me or comment if you are interested. Right now I only have two different yarns up, but I'll also be selling some Colinette Point 5 soon enough. I'm not looking to get rich or anything, I'm no yarn store, though I play one on my blog. I accept Paypal (even credit cards with it) or checks.
update: the yarn has been rescued!

My latest rescue: two skeins of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Candy Girl (my kind of girl!). I'll be casting on for the lovely River Stole sometime next week (remember what I said above, tiny projects first...geesh you are forgetful). I'll be using my lovely Clover Ivory needles, which are very much like Bryspuns I think. I love "candy girl", but now I wish I had chosen one of the new versions of KSH. I finally got to see them today at my LYS (fresh out of the box) and I have to say that kidsilk night is extremely lovely. It sparkles. SPARKLES!! So much yarn to rescue!

Whipped it up

2005-08-24T16:57:00.000-04:00

Date started: 5.14.05
Date finished: 8.24.05
Pattern: Biased Tank by Teva Durham for knit.1
Yarn: Microspun in Fuschia and Silver Grey
Needles: US 4 Crystal Palace and US 6 Susan Bates

Can you believe that I finished this? Was it a hard knit? Nope. Is it so huge that it takes forever to knit up? Not really. Then why three months on a tank?! Oh please, let me explain already. Though this is quite the easy knit, I still managed to have some trials and tribulations with it. There's the super-splitty yarn, the one side that I had to rip and reknit, the 20 stips that I had to randomly attach, the pattern with no instructions, the agonizing over to sew or not, and my total ADD with this project (really, how many things have I finished since I started this?)

I finally figured out why my gauge was so off that I had to rip, want to know why? Well, Ms. Bates defines a US 6 as 4mm, but the wacky kids over at Clover decided to tack on an extra .25mm to that (they are crazy I tell you). I promise I didn't notice this difference till last week, when I couldn't find the original needles I knitted the front with (they were on the floor, next to my desk the whole time). Can I tell you that I hate the whole US sizes thing, I'm moving to millemeters!

Alright, let's talk about this pattern. There was no real need to mod this other than for sizing, I added a row to each stripe to add an inch to the bust. I used my trusty Singer to sew up the sides and a quick and dirty whip stitch to attach all those straps. Word of warning, don't try this on before you attach all those straps. Or at least don't judge the way it looks, I really thought this was going to be the dowdiest thing on me and that it should have gone the way of a pillow. But as you attach all the straps you gather bits here and there and it finally takes some sort of shape (there's absolutely no shaping in this tank). It is a pretty heavy top when you just pick it up by the straps, but once it's on it's not that bad. I just have to figure out why right strap is a lot floppier than the left. Other than that, I guess it's kinda cute.

Do I suck at socks?

2005-08-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

Ok, you sock masters, I need your help. I'm humming along liking this sock knitting business (there I admit it, I kinda like it!) and I start turning the heel, but then I made a mistake...I started to think! Now, I believe I'm doing something wrong, but am I? This is where you come in my dears...

First, isn't it cute?! I think it's adorable, but anywho. You see that bunched up thing in the middle? That's apparrently a heel, so they say. Here you see me about to turn the work to the wrong side and wrap that stitch on the left on the middle needle. This is what the pattern states:

·»For Large size only, change to 3mm needles. Using Main Colour, knit first 30 stitches. Slide remaining stitches onto a holder. Starting with a purl row, work 21 rows of stocking stitch, slipping the first stitch of every row. Right side is facing for next row.

· »RS: Knit 20 stitches, SKP, turn
· »WS: Slip 1, purl 10 stitches, p2tog, turn
· »RS: Slip 1, knit 10 stitches, SKP, turn
· »Repeat last two rows until all stitches have been worked. Ensure right side is facing for next row.

I've been doing this for a few rows now, but it's this "all stitches have been worked" business that is worrying me. The short rows are only worked on the stitches that are on the middle and right needles, so what happens to the lonely needle that is on the left right now? When do I work those? Do I start short rows with those stitches and those in the middle? I need help I tell ya!

Any thing I'm worried about (and sorry for the bad pic here), but what happens to all those stitches on the holder? When do I start working those? Are these the "instep"?

This is just a gratuitous shot of another project I'm working on, the skinny scarf that for some reason I don't want to finish. The colors are just too pretty and the yarn too soft to stop!

edit: this is where I stalled before I went to the gym:

Do I just knit across (and working all stitches) or did I mess up in my short rows and have to rip back?

Why can't I sleep?

2005-08-24T03:35:00.000-04:00

This is just a quick post because I want to sleep, but for some reason I can't. So here I am at almost three thirty in the morning, watching kids in the hall, trying to knit a sock, reading blogs (why does bloglines not pick up any feeds?), and ignoring the bias tank (it's sooo almost done, it just needs one more strap, I promise). umm yep, I'm trying to knit a sock. I see so many other knitters doing them, that I think I finally got sock envy. So far I ripped them once because I had ladders all over the place, this second go is a bit better though I can't get the handle of holding all those needles (what are you supposed to do with them?) and making sure things don't twist (since I have no clue how to hold five needles). I'll post a pic later in the day on how my progress goes. I told myself that if I stick with it and find that I like it, then I'll buy myself some official sock yarn. Right now I'm using some beautiful yarn that my Secret Pal sent me (yes, I'm very lucky).

And since I'm up, when I should be in my nice, warm bed, I decided to make a button (why not?!).

I know you have all been dying for an official knit fix button and now you can download it to fill your hearts desires. Now you can't say I never gave you anything!

The Singer Express

2005-08-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

After ignoring the biased tank all weekend (I didn't want to deal with it and I was just too sick to even think about it) and being disappointed that the knitting fairies didn't stop by this morning, I finally offered this to the sewing gods. It took all of five minutes to seam both sides (why didn't I just do this last week?). Warning: If you follow the way the pattern is written, then you won't have an opening to fit through! Let me walk you through this...

Here are the two pieces post seaming with the front facing us. Do you like how the stripes are biased and actually match? The corner, that for some reason I cut off, is the lower left (this is important!). First, let me just say that this pattern does not tell you how to finish this top, other than saying to follow the picture to seam it and attach all million pieces to it. Considering that knit.1 is "supposed" to be for beginners, I found this kind of perplexing. Really, no stitch names? Nothing? Alrighty then.

"Using photo as guide, align the front and back pieces along the inc'd edges to form the side seams. Four stripes for each side for the side seams. Sew the side seams." In the picture above, the increased edges are the very bottom and the right side (next to the remote). Now, if you sewed four stripes on the bottom and the right, where would your waist go? You would be essentially closing this off and making a pillow! I did not spend all this time knitting for a pillow. Luckily I had pinned both sides together, which helped me notice this mistake before the needle did any damage. So what are you suppossed to do?

Pin from the lower left corner up four stripes, this will become your left seam. Now, on the other side pin four stripes as well, but on the opposite end. Say what? Yep, use your decreased edge as your seam, but not from the opposite corner. Notice how the top right corner (left in the picture) is flipped down (i.e. not seamed). Disregard those first two stripes, rather start counting your four stripes after those two. You'll be happy you did this, because you'll actually be able to put it on! You may have to sew some more, but since I haven't attached all the strips yet I'm not completely sure about this.

Who would have thought you needed an opening to actually make it a tank top?

Tank and stash progress

2005-08-19T16:22:00.000-04:00

Being sick makes you do crazy things like, oh I don't know, finish knitting the bias tank. I really had to fight the urge to start something new, this was especially hard when weaving all the yarn ends. Now all that is left to do is attach all hundred pieces together and voila a tank top is born. Easy right?! Well, maybe it's my delirious state, but I can't find the ladder to seam the two sides with a mattress stitch. It's there somewhere, but being that it's the increase side and knit on a bias the freaking thing is hiding. So I'm thinking of just whipping out the old sewing machine and doing the two side seams quickly and painlessly (who am I kidding here?). What's stopping me? The fear that my knitting will break or that the splitty microspun will get stuck in the needle. Are there any objections out there to this insane idea? If anything happens, it will frustrate me more than sadden me.

In other news, I joined the River Stole KAL a couple of days ago after buying Rowan 38 (which I'm really enjoying by the way). Oh, did I forget to mention that I bought two skeins of Kidsilk Haze in Candy Girl? oops! So, um, yeah I'm just here waiting for the yarn. The start date is September first, so I have time to finish this and maybe another project on my list and hell why not start some more. Everyone knows how well I can handle multiple projects at the same time, right? (uncomfortable silence....)

I'm slowly adding stash pics on my stash site (you didn't think that was my whole stash did you?) and I'm noticing there are some things I probably won't be using. I'll post here and on the stash site (how sad is it that my stash has it's own blog?) what needs to go once I decide. Let me know if you are interested in anything through comments or email (same thing really).

That's all that has really been going on here in the last couple of days. Yesterday I was really sick and took a nap at 4 in the afternoon till the boy came home. I got dinner (soup and a grilled cheese sandwhich) out of that. The weird part was that I woke up wanting to knit socks. Now, I've never knit socks and I don't just have dpns laying around here, but I think I have the yarn I want to use (the claudia hanpainted my lovely sp sent me). I'm thinking of knitting up ankle socks but where do I get 2.5mm and 3mm needles? I have two 3.25 circs I could use though that doesnt help. Any ideas here?

The Post Man Rings Twice

2005-08-17T12:27:00.000-04:00

What did my lovely letter carrier bring today while I'm up here suffering? Here's a clue: it's from Germany and it goes by one name. No, not dieter but rather Rebecca #30. Funny how a German magazine that was just published arrived here faster than an American magazine published last month. Moving on though, I'll post pics from the mag later, but I'll tell you now there are some huge misses. A lot of furry,bulky jackets and sweaters that I wouldn't knit. These are balanced out though by a few hits that I want to cast on for. I'll update this post with a full review,but for now you can go to their site to check it out and to download the web-exclusive patterns from this issue.

ok I'm back. I tried to find pics on the web of the patterns I like and loathe, but apparently no one has them up yet (and the Rebecca ones are very small). So I took it upon myself to take the pics. First one of my faves:

I really like this cap sleeve vest/sweater. It has an orangina vibe to it so I'm sure that's what's drawing me in. I also love the color and the little sleeves. This will most likely be the first thing I knit from this issue. Notice the color? Does it remind you of anything a certain someone knitted up not too long ago?

Ignore the girl on the left, I'm interested on the hard to see, black sweater on the right. For some reason they don't have a good view of this one, but it has peplums and it's knit with cashmere (just trust me on this). I don't get why it's part of a pirate theme, but I'm not German so I don't ask.

Isn't this a cute, delicate sweater? It would most likely look horrible on me, but I like the ribbing and shaping. It's not your boring, square sweater.

I'm still not sure about these two. I think I like their shapes, but the colors and those huge ass necklaces are kinda bothering me (and you can knit a ball-necklace for yourself as well!). So this is the, it's cute but I won't knit picture.

Ok, ready for the misses? I won't post them all so that you can get the pleasure of finding them yourselves, but I picked some gems.

hey look at me!! I'm this wide!!

I'm one with nature in my bulky dress.

No, I'm not pregnant. Why do you ask?

say what?

insert bear or bat joke here

Still on the fritz

2005-08-16T12:56:00.000-04:00

I woke up hoping that I would feel better today, but it's the exact opposite. My throat feels tighter, I feel like that annoying kid from the medicine commercial..."it hurts when I swallow". The Chicken Pho I made last night was a big hit and we both felt better after eating it. For five minutes at least. We have a lot of left overs so tonight shall be another Pho night.

I haven't done any knitting today since I still had a few errands to run this morning. I snuck in a trip to the lys to get a rowan mag, but of course as soon as I decide I want to knit something from #37 the run out. I'll have to wait till the weekend to go to check another store. I was feeling all good leaving Woolplay without yarn and driving around thinking how I like driving a certain road when I almost met my maker! Some guy was driving on the wrong side of the road and wasn't slowing down. Mind you this is a one-lane each way road, so I have no idea what he was thinking. Thankfully he switched over to his lane quick enough, though I think it could have been a little faster. So not only was I feeling sick, but now I was scared shitless by the time I got to the store and parked. My friend felt so bad for me that I got to rummage through her stash! You have to love friends and pity. I got a couple more skeins of some yarn I already had so I can get started on a project and she gave me a skein of Rowan Polar, she knew I wanted to knit a hat with it (for some reason no one around here has really discounted it even though Rowan discountinued it).

Thanks for everyone who emailed me and commented, I should be feeling better soon I hope. I feel like I owe you some knitting content though, so here ya go:

Sylvie gave me persmission to post a pic of her purse pattern that I knit up last week. Do you like the plums in the pic? Get it?! Get it!? yeah, I'm lame.

Yarn: Cashmerino Aran less than 1 skein in grey and some leftover Nature Wool

Needles: US 8

Date Started: 8.11.05

Date Finished: 8.12.05

Pattern: The Isabeau Purse by Sylvie aka Chez Plum

This was a great pattern that I got to edit and try out before it went live. I used it as a mini stashbuster because I didn't have enough cashmerino for the whole purse, so I went through my leftover box and used some of the red Nature Wool from the Mini-Sweater. I have to say that I love the combination and that this purse now matches my shrug. Sylvie should be making this pattern available soon so I'll post some of the mods I made (yep, I modded it even while editing it, I'm like that!). The most obvious is the use of two different yarns, but I also used my sewing machine to sew the sides to the main body. (sneaky! sneaky!) I used mattress stitch to join the two sides of the handle together instead of a crochet hook (I just say no to hooks) oh and backstitch to join the one part of the handle to the body of the purse. This will all make sense once the pattern is live.

Ok, Im going to go knit and do laundry (how did I get stuck doing that?!).

Chatty Cathy

2005-08-15T15:50:00.000-04:00

I'm usually a very quiet person, especially when I don't know many people. As I get to know someone I start talking more and more. In elementary school I was the kid that had their desk moved around the classroom so I would stop talking (this wouldn't start till half-way through the school year). This really wouldn't work though, since we always found a way to talk or eventually I got moved around so much that I ended up where I started from. When I started high school I hardly spoke, I didn't know anyone while everyone else had gone to elementary and middle school together. I spoke so softly that one guy got really annoyed annoyed with me in class while we were working in groups. I, and most people actually, never spoke to him again (trust me, it wasn't a loss). By eleventh grade though our AP Language teacher started calling us "Chatty Cathys", I got so annoyed at this that I went back to not talking. Yeah, that didn't last long. I retreated back in college; I made a friend here and there in classes, but once the semester was over I didn't see them again unless we saw eachother somewhere randomly on campus or we had another class together.

Why am I bringing this up? Ever since college, I didn't understand how you were supposed to make friends. There are work acquaintances, but that can be a little awkward if you ask me. Do you really want to hang out with people you are forced to be with during the day? Sometimes there is the diamond in the rough friend you do find at work, but they are rare to say the least. Somehow I've found myself finding friends online through knitting blogs or at knitting events. I love reading about what you guys have been up to, what you are knitting, and where you have been. I haven't been blogging as much for the last week or so not because I'm retreating, but because sickness plagues la casa de knit fix. Tom fell first with congestion and laryngitis. I was fighting it off until this weekend, when I started to get that scratchy feeling in my throat. Now I had whatever nastiness he has (who gets sick in the summer?!). Times have gotten so desperate that I'm making chicken soup from scratch, from scratch people! And not just regular chicken soup, but Chicken Pho. Even when I'm sick I am a foody at heart. I'll report how it comes out later.

There has been some knitting and some thinking about knitting going on. I'm trying to come up with a pattern for a small jacket/shrug that I saw at a store. I'm sure there's a pattern out there I could find if I searched for it. But I wanted to set a little challenge for myself and actually do it myself. I think I'm going to use some Rowan Ribbon Twist that is currently living as a wrap (it doesn't know yet that it's going to a trip to the pond). I just need to get the right length needles to get this project started. It's going to be nice and quick on 17's (or 19's), but right now I only have a 16" circ, when I think I need at least a 24" or 32". Do I spend the money or do I just squeeze the stitches on the 16"?

F.O Queen? Hardly! You guys are nuts!! I've just been trying to clear out the queue so I can get started on new projects. I want to finish so bad that I actually picked up the bias tank again, with the right needles this time. I'm ripping it out while I reknit, is that recycling or what? Right now I'm in the black hole that is the fifth stripe (stripes 5-8 are the slowest ones), but this should be done soon until I get to the hellish seaming. What else do we see here? Some Cascade that my lovely SP sent me, it's a felted bag kit that I can't wait to knit up. Next to that is a little purse I test knitted last week (I hope to be able to show you soon) that just needs a liner dropped in. There's also some Optimum DK that was frogged, I tried to make an aviator cap with it but this yarn is too drapey for it and the colors started to pool in weird places. Any suggestions on what I could use this yarn for? I have a little over 200 yds of it.

Oh! Did I mention that I finally received my Fall IK? Right after I cancelled my subscription no less. I was underwhelmed by it, so no losses there. I'm just waiting for the new Rebecca to get delivered and I'll probably head out sometime this week to get the Rowan and the summer one. I see myself cheating on my yarn diet soon, just warning you (and explaining why I'm trying to hurry in my knitting).

Patco Loop

2005-08-10T20:23:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Paris Loop
Yarn: Gedifra Cicco in black (4 skeins)
Needles: US 17 16", US 13 16", US 9 24" Addis
Date Started: 7.18.05
Date Finished: 8.10.05

First off, let me apologize for the crappy picture. It's too dark and pixelated. I'll try to remedy that tomorrow while the sun is out.

This was a pretty straightforward knit, done while watching tv or riding the patco train to center city. There's not much to say here, other than I can't believe I knitted a poncho. Who knew I would really like it? Well, I do. There I admit it! The yarn is nice and soft and very stretchy. The piece is very light, so it's not one of those heavy, get-in-your-way ponchos. I'm happy, you should be too. : )

Tulle Bag

2005-08-08T18:35:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Tulle bag (my own)
Yarn: Tulle from School Products
Needles: US 13 Clovers
Date Started: 6.20.05
Date Finished: 8.08.05

The sewing machine made a guest appearance today to help me finally take this bag off my UFO list. All I needed to do was sew up the sides and drop the lining in, why did it take so long? umm, I tend to be lazy and procrastinate, but I also wasn't sure how the machine was going to like the tulle. It was slow going to say the least, the foot kept wanting to get stuck in all the loops from the garter stitch. yikes! But I managed and it's finally done!

A pretty easy peasy project, just knit up a big rectangle and then whip out a machine and sew it up. I don't have the book this was inspired from, so I have no clue how she (erica knight) suggests to finish this. I didn't want to sew it too tight because the tulle stretches to say the least. I think I set it to 15 stitches at a middle tension. I cut the lining a little smaller so that it wouldn't exactly hit the bottom of the bag (that whole stretching thing) and only topstitched it to the tulle. I was done so fast that I decided to knit up a little tulle flower and glued some pink sequins to it. I still need to find pin for the flower so that it doesn't droop, right now it's just tied to the wired ribbon. I'm pretty happy with it and I can't wait to use it as a knitting bag.

Fini

2005-08-04T23:39:00.000-04:00

Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool, 2 skeins

Pattern: Camisole Tube

Needles: US 5 and 9 Addis

Date Started: 8.01.05

Date Finished:8.04.05

I really thought I was going to finish this yesterday, but I didn't realize I had entered the blackhole of ribbing. Round after round I measured with no progress in site. It doesn't help that I have ADD when it comes to ribbing for a long stretch of time (sometimes even an inch is a long time). Oh, let me apologize right now for the crappy picture, I haven't made the straps yet and we had some weird code red ozone advisory thing mixed with a sudden storm in the afternoon. I wanted to take a pic outside, but it was so nasty! I'm sure you can understand. I'll try to get a pic of me wearing it tomorrow, straps and all.

What can I say about this pattern? It keeps you interested the whole time and it's in that perfect place, where it isn't too fast or too slow (though, I'm sure a lot of you could have knitted it faster than yours truly!). Looking back on it though, I wish I had lenghtened the body a bit before I went into the bottom ribbing. I don't think I have the body for a tube yet. There's my short torso combined with the boobs and the not so flat stomach, a few inches added to the stockinette section would have really helped me. I'll make sure to do that on the next one I make. I just have to decide what yarn to use next. I do love my Nature Wool, I believe that's been well documented, but I want something cooler for this heat. Blue Sky Cotton is calling my name, though I'm not sure if I want to go the cotton route.

If any of you decide to get this pattern when it's available, feel free to ask my any questions. Hell, if you have questions now I'll make sure to add the answers to this post. Just leave some comments and I'll get to them.

ps: I don't know why blogger is being so buggy tonight

edit 8.7.05: Sorry for the delay, but there was a new version of the pattern after I finished my tube. Still deciding if I should rip or start a new one. The all fixed up pattern is available for sale today. Hope you all like it!

Testing the waters

2005-08-02T17:39:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to show what I've been up to since I didn't post my bi-weekly UFO report. Sorry the pic is so contrasty, but the sun kept coming and going. Anywho, the lovely knit you see above is the camisole tube from glampyre.com. It's been a fun knit, with some yo's, bobbles, and short rows thrown in there. The suggested yarn is Lana Grossa Basics Stop, which sounds like Lion Brand Micro Spun. I'm sure by now my lovely readers know my feelings towards this yarn, but if you don't then let's just say they are not very loving. The gauge for this pattern is 4 stitches to the inch on US 7's, so really a worsted yarn could work. I'm using Araucania Nature Wool in, what I call, grape. Want to know some other yarns you could sub with? Sure I'll tell you some that come to mind, Classic Elite Bamboo (though this could get pricey), Blue Sky Cotton, SWTC Phoenix and probably Karaoke. I'm almost done with the stockinette section and then I have to start ribbing again, so I should have a FO pic in the next day or so...stay tuned!

With a little help from my friends

2005-08-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

My yarn stash grows!

It was a short lived victory indeed. I received all my swap yarn today, it was almost (almost!) overwhelming to get it all at once. I wonder what my mailman thought. I'll just show you all the goodies I got:

First, I lied, I didn't get this package today. I actually got it last week from Diana. Isn't it pretty? It's tweedy silk and I think I know what I'm going to make with it, but Ill never tell (well till I actually get to it!). Lucky for me she was destashing and knew of my fondness for all things red. I'll definately hit you back.

This package I did get today from Illanna. It's the second issue of R2 along with some yarn she hand dyed for me and a skein of Kureyon she snuck in there to trick me (I'll get you back for that!) Is she not the dyeing diva?

And look at this one! Sylvie and I had a little transcontinental swap (I use the word little loosely here), and somehow our respective mailman must've rushed it for us. I still can't believe I got this so fast. Look at all I got too! A bunch of wool, mohair, and alpaca along with the fall issue of Phildar (which I'm drooling over btw) and a cute little button I'm going to use for a little purse I'm knitting.

I swear I have to be one of the luckiest girls, to get home from errands and find these packages at my door!

My mini is complete

2005-08-01T11:32:00.000-04:00

Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool (2 skeins) and Habu Bamboo
Needles: US 9 24", US 8 24", Us 8 16" all Addis
Pattern: Boobholder by Stefanie Japel
Date Started: 7.9.05
Date Finished: 7.31.05

Don't let the dates fool you, I didn't knit that whole time. I think there was a one or two week period that I didn't touch this project, I was either working on a test knit, healing my wounded hand, or just plain tired. I picked it up again this Friday after dinner and was surprised by how far I was into it, actually I went a little far. I knitted the 21 or 22 rounds Stefanie suggested for the body, but that was just too much for me. I had also done the yarn overs from the busty gal mods, but they were just too much and made the sweater pucker. I think because I added a few rounds to get the sleeves to meet, that I inadvertently got the length I needed without knowing it. So I ripped back and got rid of most of the yo rounds, when I found I still had to shorten it. I think I did somewhere between 12 and 15 rounds for the body before the garter ridge. I should have ripped more to get rid of all the yo's I did, I really didn't need any of them. To make the sweater a little tighter I switched to US 8's for the ridge.

Somehow the sleeves were now too big, actually they were huge! I can't believe that my arms got that much smaller from the gym in such a short time. The increase rounds probably had something to do with this (remember I kept my sleeves puffy) so I modded the sleeves to fit. I picked up the sleeves with US 8's and knit in the round. I started decreasing on round 4 and switched to garter stitch on round 9, basically halving the sleeves to keep them nice and tight.

I'll be sewing a button later today, but for now I used a vintage pin I had. I'll have to block the sweater first though to get it to lay flat and maybe tightening it up a little more.

The yarn was great to work with. I love the subtle color variations the Nature Wool has and it's not too scratchy at all. The bamboo helps to soften it up a bit and the color brightens it up. I probably won't be knitting with lace yarn for a while, it got really annoying to keep it from tangling. The only way I would do it is if the two yarns were wound together. I'll definitely knit one of these again, maybe with blue sky cotton and without the puffy sleeves. I'm already using Nature Wool in another project (which I'll show you later) so you know I highly recommend this yarn. The yardage is great, the colors are beautiful, and it's a really nice wool. One of the best things about it is that you can now find it at A.C. Moore making it easily accessible.

Just another little note, didn't I make the yarn look like this one? I need to get a job with a yarn co!

Late Sunday Countdown

2005-08-01T00:06:00.000-04:00

Yet another boring post for the rest of you, but don't fret I have a good one coming up in the morning. But for now bare with me. Every other Sunday is when I check how much my stash has whittled by.

Let's start with the swaps (though these victories will be short lived once I have to count the yarn I get):
3 skeins of ggh angora
3 skeins mission falls 1824 cotton
3 skeins ggh aspen
1800 yds of lace weight bamboo that I handyed

woohoo all gone! ok now what have I actually used you wonder (if you actually stuck around this far):
2 skeins Aurcania Nature Wool
4 skeins Cashmerino Aran
1 skein of Tulle
1 skein of Gedifra Cicco
about 1000 yds of laceweight bamboo

I would count the handspun yarn and the mohair I attempted to use for that "scarf" I tried to finish, but since it's not officially done it will just have to wait.

I think I'm doing pretty good in this yarn diet, I already feel the Malabrigo that I'm going to buy at Loop to celebrate (is it bad I'm planning on celebrating with yarn?). Yep, I'm finally at wool!

Hooking up

2005-07-29T10:29:00.000-04:00

Knitting is a lot like dating. There are some projects that you love through and through. You had the hots for it at first sight (or thought), you chose your favorite yarn for it, and in your mind's eye the two of you lived happily ever after. Then there are those other projects, the ones that you like it's personality but you aren't neccessarily attracted to. You figure it's a nice project, maybe I'll grow to love if I give it a chance. There are the ones you know to stay away from, they are way too complicated, too ugly, or you've been burned by this kind before. There's another kind that noone ever really thinks about, the too easy project. It sneaks up on you when you don't feel ready for a commitment, you just want an easy one night stand. The problem is, that it's too fast and too easy. You are left with a mess to clean up the next morning. How do you part ways? Do you have to see eachother again? Can you make it work? This is where I find myself this morning. I tried to ignore it while I drank my coffee, hoping that it would go away. But this one is a stubborn one, still hanging out in my room after breakfast. It wants to make it work, maybe I can change or, better yet, I can make it change.

Good and Plenty Scarf
Pattern: My own
Yarn: Handspun Thick and Thin Wool and DK Mohair
Needles: US 19
Date Started: July 28, 2005
Date Finished: July 28, 2005

Look at how it just hangs there, all full of itself. Little does it know that I will change it. You hear me? I will change you! I was sucked in by the yarn, the quickness, and the idea of it. But when I was done, the bf gave me a look like "what did you just make?". That killed it for me. Then it was a lot longer than I wanted, which sealed the deal. It needs to be reworked. I was going to post this yesterday and then last night, but I was too embarrassed. This is the equivalent of calling your friends after you met a guy at a bar and took him home. How do you tell them that you really thought it was going to work? You know you are thinking, what was she doing, why didn't I stop her?

If you want the pattern, it's pretty easy. Just be careful and don't let it get the best of you.
CO 4
Row 1 k
Row 2 k1fb, k to last stitch, k1fb
Row 3 knit
Repeat rows 2 and 3 till as wide as you would like (I went to 10 stitches)
Row 1 k1, k2tog, knit to last 3 stitches, ssk, k1
Row 2 k
Repeat rows 1 and 2 till you are back to your original co number.
Switch to thinner yarn and either knit in either garter or garter ridge
Knit for as long as you want and then switch to bulky yarn again.

I'll be reworking this today, and I'll show you all that we were meant to be. It was kismet I tell you.

edit:

I was only able to work on the scarf for a bit this morning, so I figured I would show what I got done then. Should I continue as is, or do as Diana suggests and make it a striped scarf? I'm using 19's so does this mean I should go up a needle size? Has anyone else noticed that my "quick" projects are my most annoying?!
Oh, I think I should mention that I only have about 50 yds of the handspun stuff, that doesn't matter right. Right?

This is a test

2005-07-28T12:47:00.000-04:00

A test knit that is. Some of my projects have taken a backseat for a while because I was test knitting a shrug pattern. Since this is a "knitting blog" after all, I figured I would show a bit of my latest FO. Isn't it just gorge!? I used cashmerino aran in gray, though I hate that it's called that since it's more like mercrylmere. The sheen and softnest go straight to my heart, so I guess I'm ok with that.

I should have a couple more FO's soon, I hope.

Sometimes I just don't make any sense

2005-07-27T12:15:00.000-04:00

or maybe it's all the time.

I was rushing to the gym and left no explanation as to what I posted last night. Or maybe I'm just playing a cruel joke on all of you for a laugh. Nah, that's not like me now is it? Ok, so the top picture is knitted on US 17's and the bottom is on 19's. I just wanted to see if it made any real visual difference to you guys. It felt really stiff on the 17's so I tried 19's. I think it's well documented on this little blog that I am an extremely indecisive person, so I always hope you guys make a decision for me.

It's a scarf I'm knitting up with some stash yarn; the bastard child of the wavy gravy from s'nbn and my "24" scarf. I was knitting it up before and then I saw Stefanie's version which kinda made me stop mine. I decided to continue on since I don't believe she has released a pattern yet and I've been meaning to finish this scarf for a while.

So do the needles make a difference?

Which one do we like?

2005-07-26T18:10:00.000-04:00

It cuts like a knife

2005-07-26T16:39:00.000-04:00

More like a super sharp one.

Sorry I've been quiet for a few days, especially since my last two posts were just me complaining about stuff. And this one will be no different!! Just kidding. I've been working away on a test knit (though I ran out of yarn!), so there hasn't been that much progess on those projects just hanging out there on the right. I was slowed down a bit by that aforementioned knife. The idiotic part is that I wasn't even cooking. Nope, I went to grab something when I bumped the knife, the knife went flying, and for some reason I tried to catch. I think it ended up catching me right between my middle and ring fingers on my left hand. My first thought was "thank god that wasn't my right hand!" (I'm a thrower) then I was like "@#$!, it hurts!" I'm ok, just typing slower with my left hand (I can't stretch my fingers if that makes sense).

Not much else has been going on, still no IK in sight. So that this isn't a totally boring post, who likes those, I'll show you the yarn I dyed for my SP. Remember a few posts back I was winding it? Well here it is (I already know she got it):

Sorry I had to put two pics, but the flash doesn't let the different colors show. It has reds, pinks, and a little bit of purple thrown in .

To everyone that has emailed me, I'll be emailing everyone back tonight. Sorry it has taken me so long.

Also, I'll probably post again tonight with a question or two

Have you seen my IK?

2005-07-23T20:21:00.000-04:00

Because I sure haven't. Yeah, that's right. Everyone else in blog land got their fall issue of Interweave Knits while I'm still here waiting for it. Why don't I have mine? Is it because my lys doesn't carry it? nope Is it because I'm too lazy to go to the bookstore and buy it? Wrong again! No, it's because I was foolish enough to subscribe to the damn thing. Maybe I misunderstood what subscriptions were all about. I thought they were a more convenient way to receive a magazine you really like, usually before newstand customers could get their hands on it. According to Merriam-Webster it means: "an arrangement for providing, receiving, or making use of something of a continuing or periodic nature on a prepayment plan: as a : a purchase by prepayment for a certain number of issues (as of a periodical) ...". According to Interweave, it means never sending you a magazine, but yet having the balls to sending you a subscription renewal form.

If you thought about subscribing, don't! My bookstore had the magazine before the IK posted newstand day. Apparently I am going to get screwed yet again in the winter. According to their site, the winter issue is due out on December 13, check when mine is due to be mailed out:

In case you can't read it, mine is shipped 12/15/05. I'm sure it will be much later than that, since my fall issue was supposed to be mailed out in June before it was mysteriously changed to July.

Dear Vickie Howell,

2005-07-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

I know you are supposed to be the cute and "hip" or even "edgy" host of knitty gritty. We got it! You aren't my grandmother and you will never knit what she did, fine. But you've gone too far, you need an intervention. Guess what...I'm happy to say that I don't think my grandmother would knit what you showed today. She's probably rolling in her grave right now!

What am I talking about? Oh you know, those multi-yarn atrocities you showed off today. Where do I begin?!
Oh god, let's start with this poor girl.

You acted like this was the cutest sweater Marc Jacobs knitted up for you. But open your eye's Vickie! If not at the layers of Lion Brand crap you put on this girl, then please look at her hair! Why is it so tall? Why does the random pocket have a tassel? Why does she look like she was pelted with bobbles? Please notice at how she looks away in shame, she can't even look towards the camera for fear of being recognized.

Now this girl, this girl really tried to work it.

It must have been all the crack she took before putting this on. What is it with the fun fur?! I love how you said that you could throw this jacket over anything? Did you really mean this?!

Good God! It looks like the eighties came back and threw up on her. I know what that jacket could be thrown over, how about a roaring fire?

Now I have a fun idea! Why don't we knit a sweater in fair isle with huge fun fur (double stranded!) cuffs and collar? And you know what would be really cute? If we put something that looked like yarn in our hair to complete the snazzy look. REALLY, it will look great.

Well, at least she's pretending to look happy.

Now Vickie, I know you aren't the only one to blame for this crap. You are just the host after all, there was only one episode where you actually knit (and it was the same damn guitar strap from what, the first knitty issue?! Please move on!). At least one of the other people to blame wasn't hiding. I just couldn't believe she told everyone she designs for Lion Brand without shame. I think she's just as shocked as I was though.

Doesn't her poncho just look darling!? She's got balls, that's all I have to say.

So what have we learned here Vickie? That you shouldn't try to sell me Lion Brand, you should know when you have gone over the edge, and that everyone on knitty gritty is apparently on drugs. Please stop trying to act like you are the coolest thing around, please.

More about me

2005-07-20T18:40:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged by Sylv, so I'll just jump right in.

10 years ago:
I was all of 16 years old (my god, has it been that long?!). All I remember from this year is my father being diagnosed with throat cancer and, somehow, a friendship completely dissolving. My father is fine, but I never spoke to that friend again. The weird part is that nothing really happened, it was one of those slow endings. The kind where you stop calling or hanging out with each other as much until, eventually, you moved on with your life.

5 years ago:
I met the bf, Tom, shortly after transferring to Cornell. I didn't think I would jump into a long term relationship after the messy breakup I had with the ex before I transferred. But Tom must have put a spell on me or something cause here we are. It got serious really fast; all of a sudden his dad and his grandmother (his grandmother people!) came up to Ithaca for a "visit". Later I found out they were doing recon for his mom, who wasn't able to come up. I swear he's one of the best things that has ever happened to me (and the one that aides my yarn addiction).

1 year ago:
I moved up here to be with Tom after graduating from grad school. It was a bit of a culture shock moving to South Jersey! It's such a tiny town, after Miami and even Savannah. (Thankfully I can drive or take the train to Philly whenever I want) I still don't know many people in this area and I'm still looking for that dream job all this
education promised me. But I'm happy, I live with my best friend and have met some great people.

Yesterday:
I don't really remember what I did yesterday (I'm getting old). I ran some errands, knitted a bit, went to the gym, and watched yet another episode of 24. Oh, I did get some Harry Potter time in there. I'm trying to read it slowly in order to make it last, so far I'm done with three chapters.

Today:
I mailed out some yarn to Illanna, started a pattern I'm testing/proofreading, went to Target, made dinner, and I sit here waiting for Tom so that we can go to the gym. I really don't know where my time goes. I did some knitting on the minisweater, but I still have a bit to finish up. Now I'm looking at it and it seems that the sleeves are a little big. I might have to go down a size to make the sleeves tighter, though with my luck they will be too tight!

Tomorrow:
Hopefully, I'll get more knitting and pattern proofing done. I also set a date with Tom to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (yes, sometimes I have to set dates with my own boyfriend, I can't wait for him to decide on something. Have you noticed how much 24 I've been watching? That's all Tom.)

5 snacks I enjoy:
I haven't been snacking much since I started going to the gym. I do have a major sweetooth. One of my favorite things are cupcakes! I love them, they are so pretty and taste so good. I also love Nutella, yum! Some other things I enjoy: Pocky, cookies, and does sushi count as a snack? How about lox?

5 bands/singers that I know the lyrics of MOST of their songs:
I hope nothing is too embarrassing here. nine inch nails, U2, Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines, The Shins. I also know Britney Spears stuff, but I don't listen to her. Really I don't. Ok except for Toxic, but that's the only one.

Things I would do with $100,000,000:
To be honest, nothing. I think Tom and I would just do nothing, we would just hang out. I would like to travel to Europe and Japan, pay off my student loans, and probably give a ton of money to my parents, brother, and friends. The rest I would just save as our "retirement" account.

5 locations I'd like to run away to:
Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, Provence, and then anywhere my friends are (yep, I cheated in this question).

5 bad habits I have:
I tend to procrastinate, I never make the bed, I don't fill the ice cube tray, I don't call people back sometimes, and I tend to hoard things (hence my yarn stash).

5 things I like doing:
Taking pictures, knitting, hanging out with friends, sharing an awesome meals with friends, and baking.

5 things I would never wear:
Pleather, fake designer stuff, a trend to be trendy, a fake "vintage" tshirt, or orange lipstick (don't ask me why).

5 TV shows I like:
The Office (the British one), Reno 911, Chapelle Show, Desperate Housewives, and 24. (these are just off the top of my head, I would say Seinfeld if it was still running, or any HBO show if I had been quicker)

5 movies I like:
hmm, this one is harder. Old Boy, The Machinist, HP Prisoner...., and I'll think of another two later. (I'm a harsh critic)

5 biggest joys at the moment:
Having good food in the kitchen, a roof over my head and sharing it all with my boyfriend/best friend. Meeting awesome craftsters from around the world and helping them out whenever and however I can.

5 favorite toys:
My digi cam, my 40gb iPod (40 baby. 40.), my Kitchen Aid 5qt stand mixer, the yarn/needle stash of course, and my comp because without it I wouldn't get to know a lot of you.

I don't know if I'm supposed to tag people, so I'll just email you to tag you.