No stashing for Jilly.

I am kicking myself for not budgeting for NW Handspun Yarns Mother's Day Sale. 20% off everything? Why oh why does it have to be this weekend? So instead, I've been focusing on the great things about the last few days.

Some favorite things of today:

• Potato Bread Rolls from BreadFarm. I made it to the farmer's market too late to get a loaf yesterday, but the rolls are just the perfect portion of potato bread-y goodness.


• The new yarn I spun Friday night. I had picked up four or so coordinating colors of New Zealand wool last time I was at NW Handspun, so I divided each color in half (so that I can possibly get two skeins that are similar in pattern) and spun each color in succession, throwing some reddish orange I already had in for smooth transitions. I'm calling it my Noro KnockOff.


• The sun is, if not shining, atleast making an effort. That's about all one can ask for in Northwest Washington, especially after last night's torrential downpour.


• Basil plants, ready for the repotting.
• Yarn from the lovely girls at Spin Cycle. I picked up a hank of Rusted Rainbow to test out gauge. The bad news: It's not going to work for Knitty's Cathode, like I'd been deluding myself into. I probably should have read the patter first. The good news: I love it so much I'm definetely going to be making a sweater out of it anyway.
• The Manos del Uruguay hat I managed to make in one slow day at work. A bit big, since I just cast on and went to town, but it should felt down a tiny bit and be perfect for this cold spring that won't seem to end.
• Listening to a ska album from about five years ago that I loved, but had since forgotten about. (for those interested, it's Catch 22--Keasbey Nights.)
• Getting to spend Mother's Day with my mommy. We're going to dinner tonight for prime rib and giant hunks of chocolate cake. She won't be getting her present until tomorrow though, because I haven't had time to pick it up. She asked for a candy thermometer, a specific one that she found at Target, and I haven't had the time and sanity required to brave the mall. So she'll be getting it tomorrow.

Man, I am one lucky girl if I have that many things to be happy about!

Mantra time.

It took some serious self control, but I managed to come home without stopping to buy yarn for the Lace Skirt with Bows that I SO don't need to be knitting right now. I can only chalk it partway up to will power, though. Truth be told, I skipped lunch earlier today and was far too hungry to bother trekking across town for anything that wasn't food.

Instead, I'm just going to continue my spinning practice while repeating to myself "you must finish your projects" over and over. I might intersperse round of "no new yarn" in there as well.

Happy Wednesday.

The only pictures I can ever seem to get of Gus are when I'm holding a treat in my hand, which is why they always feature him sitting, trying to look his most obedient and sweet. Otherwise, they all either come out with him looking the other way at something, or (90% of the time) as a giant blur because he's hyperactive and can't sit still for more than two and a half seconds.

I was just trying to capture the post-bath cuteness. He tends to get all fluffy.

I'm thinking of getting him a tiny blue t-shirt and making him the unofficial mascot of Eric's softball team, the UltraSonics. (By the way, the name has absolutely nothing to do with the soon-to-be-not-in-Seattle Sonics, and everything to do with the company he works for. They do ultrasonic testing, go figure.) I scoped out the first game tonight, and it looks like dogs are totally cool to come to games.

As for tonight's game, it was pretty fun despite the fact that they got their butts handed to them. After a while, I lost track of the final score, but that's probably for the best. Fact is, it wasn't pretty. In the UltraSonics defense, everybody on the team is currently on 60-hour work schedules and full team practices have been impossible to come by. Nonetheless, I have hope for next week.

The only real drawback, other than watching the team get stomped? Bellingham's experiencing a pretty cold spring, one that has even included snow, as documented by Steph. By the end of the game, even with three layers, my fingers and toes were still pretty numb.

Although IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS FUCKING COLD, I knew exactly what to do. Which is why, despite my resolution to finish some projects before I start any new ones, I'm halfway through the first in a pair of new armwarmers. Pretty simple-- 2x2 rib cuff, stockinette for about an inch and a half, and for slightly added warmth at the pulse point, with maybe a bit of visual interest given Noro's color changes, a two-row combo:

Row 1: sl1, k1

Row 2: k1, sl1

Herringbone without the double stranding. Next Wednesday's game is gonna be sweet. You know, assuming we fix our issues at first base and start hitting towards the gap.

We won't stop until somebody calls the cops

The borrowed spinning wheel is looming, staring at me, waiting for me to finish my spinning homework. I think I know what I'm going to be doing with atleast part of my Sunday. I've still got a bit to get done before my next class on Monday. Thusfar I've really enjoyed spinning, but hanging out with friends I haven't seen much trumped sitting in my room. It's almost embarrasing to realize you've barely talked to people that live less than 30 yards away from you.

Yesterday pretty productive, as far as days off go. I got pictures taken of last weekends dyeing experiments. I'm pretty happy with most of those-- I tested out frosting colors in earnest (the first time was kind of half-assed and didn't go well at all) and "overdyed" some less-than-spectacular Kool Aid yarn. I also found that I LOVE Ashford's purple dye, despite it not really being purple. I'm hoping I have enough left to dye up a sweater's worth of yarn. I'm thinking it might lend itself to a Wicked sweater, or atleast something wicked-esque.

I also got the front of Baby's First Tattoo pinned up and set aside, and the back is about done with just a few decreases left before it gets set aside for sleeves. With any luck, this thing might be done while Wyatt is still small enough to wear it! (Then again, I cheated and started knitting the 1 year old size for my five month old brother.)

Now if I can just fortify myself long enough to finish Rambling Rose, I'll be set!

Spin me right round, baby. Or alternately, UFO diet.

I gave up. We bought a new battery charger tonight. Which means I will probably find the old one tomorrow. Meh.

Either way, I've been itching to document some recent stuff, including the finished Pomatomus socks that will be en route to Hawaii as soon as they are photographed. My Aunt Tena is terribly excited. Heck, she doesn't know that she's getting a ginormous jar of her favorite fireweed honey (which isn't available on the island) with her socks. One would think that since my mom sends her honey on a semi-regular basis, her socks would be a suprise instead of the other way around, but that's what happens when my mom offers to have me make things for people before informing me about it.

Also on the list is my first spinning wheel yarn! I went to the first night of my two-Monday class last night, and although I was about 20 minutes late (I thought I was coming in early for my 5:30 class, not late for a 5:00), things went pretty smoothly after that. Since I've done a bit of drop spindling before taking the class, the drafting part came rather quickly. Now I'm just working out the tricky bit with the foot pedal. I've got about 8 ounces of homework before I go back next week and do the scary part--- plying.

With the addition of spinning homework and a glut of recently started projects, I find myself having to go back on my new project embargo. I can sort of justify the Robin's Egg Blue Hat, and Anticraft's Flowers on a Grave hat, as they both went pretty quickly. But now I've also started Vixen from Sensual Knits (which on size 4's is going to take a while), and the yoke-less Rambling Rose peices are starting to give me dirty looks.

I do have to wipe one currently languishing project off the slate, though. Now that the weather's trying to get better, I decided to go back to the Orbit Lace project I set down last fall. I knew I was going to have to rip back a bit after messing up the lace pattern, but then I saw it-- a discolored spot about the shape of a silver dollar. Suddenly, it all came flooding back, and I was hit with the horrible memory of sitting in coffee shop and having someone spill their coffee onto the table in front of me. Apparently, it hadn't just spilled onto the front of my knitting bag like I thought. No, it spill inside, onto my long-suffering, half finished bamboo lace t-shirt-like-thingy that was nestled right on top.

Secretly, I'm a little glad to be given the excuse to rip back and fix a couple of things I wasn't entirely wild about, but right now I still kind of hate other people a little bit.

How did I get by before the technology age?

Dear magical stuff-hiding house elves,

I would greatly like to be able to find my battery charger now. The "no featured photo"s on my ravelry are really starting to bug the crap out of me. Also, how am I supposed to take more unnecessary pictures of Gus if I have no camera?

If said battery charger could be returned to the last place I saw it, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Signed, me.

Focus, Jilly, focus!

I had to take a break and refortify myself before I could get myself to face that second scallop cuff on the Rambling Rose Cardigan, but managed to get it done while watching The Tudors with the awesome Stephanie and her awesome mom. There was, however, much cursing and untangling involved.

I've been having lots of false starts lately. I started a Rutabaga bag from Knitscene, then ripped it out when I a)messed up the mesh pattern and b) decided I didn't particularly like that pattern anyway. A quick glance through a stitch dictionary should fix both problems, maybe even in time for the next trip to the farmer's market. I won't be a moment too soon-- that giant jar of honey I bought last time was a looking a bit awkward shoved into my purse.

Shortly therafter I knit one of the fronts for "Baby's First Tattoo" (from SnB Nation), but lost interest after the first eighteen hours. I will probably be going back to that one, as I managed to get a fair amount done in that short day and a half-- one front is already finished, with the motif intarsia-ed (so not a word, although it really should be) instead of the duplicate stitch called for, and I've started the decreases on the second front with only a little to go. Plus, I deliberately started making it according to the pattern in order to force myself to have some seaming practice, so I can't really back out now. I decided to be realistic though-- I'm making the 1-year-old size for my 4-month-old brother.

But now I find myself eyeballing other patterns, buying buttons for the Robin's Egg Blue Hat, thinking long and hard about whether I am a beret person, and working out the math for converting Knitty's Azure socks into a pair of armwarmers.

Is there some sort of medication I should be taking for this?

It wasn't until about three seconds after I dropped the yarn in the pot of dye that I remembered Samurai Knitter's experience with purples. It seems I am now left with something that looks somewhere between magenta and violet, though I'll probably have a better idea once it's dry. At the moment though, the only word I can think to describe it is "ultraviolet".

Thankfully, it was only a small hank of some of my handspun that I was using for an experiment (do two different colors of undyed fiber come out the same color?) , but I think the addition of a dye that is notorious for breaking down and making crazy colors might just affect my results. Ah well.

So that's what my carpet looks like!

We have this little problem, the boy and I. I own quite a lot of clothes and my closets have a slight tendency to explode (especially when I'm having trouble deciding what to wear), and although I am stellar at getting organized, I always find it challenging to stay that way. In my defense, our old apartment had so little storage that Eric and I shared a closet about the size of a doorway and, despite our exhaustive efforts to defy the laws of physics, there was only so much room to use before things went all 'splody. But in our current house, with its Wall O' Closet, there really is no excuse for this.

To add to that, Eric has a slight habit of dumping out laundry onto the nearest flat surface when he needs a basket or simply pulling what he currently needs straight out of the laundry instead of putting it all away.

Together, we are an incredibly dangerous combination.

It took a few hours, a load or two of laundry, lots of folding, and an embarrasing amount of vacuuming (I still have yet to understand how the dog manages to shed twice his weight in fur) but our bedroom is finally starting to feel like somewhere I wouldn't mind spending more time in. In the process, I managed to cull about a garbage bag-full of clothes I no longer need. Now I'll always be able to find that one item of clothing that disappears right when I want to wear it, and my kinda ugly but ultra comfy chair that I like to sit and read in? I can actually sit and read in it!

Hell, we can even hang out in here with the dog when we're not all sleeping, something we couldn't do before. (I also have a habit of not always emptying my pockets before I take my pants off, and Gus ALWAYS manages to find that one stray bit of change that falls out. It's really not fun to have to pry coins out of your dogs mouth.)

Woohoo! I have a bedroom I like again!

Now to tackle the office.......tomorrow.

Seriously, tequila lime salsa is the best thing ever. I've spent the last four days eaten meals based around it. It's just that good.

Apparently it still exists.

I woke up yesterday, my day off, looked out the window, and saw the sunshine. I then rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour. In a place that gets very little sun for most of the year, it felt like true decadence.

Once I was up and moving about I had a rather good day, although only marginally productive. I got a bill or two paid, then decided I was done with responsibility until tomorrow. So we went for a drive.

Stephanie and I visited a cashmere goat farm that sits just outside of town. I drive by their sign, a cut-out of a goat with a handpainted sign and an arrow underneath it, about once a week or so and decided that yesterday was the day to finally venture out and find it. We chatted with the man that has the farm, and I came to realize that I am not a good enough spinner yet to afford $18-ounce fiber, but we will definetely be returning at a later date.

After that, we wandered aimlessly around the county, enjoying the weather. I even found a yarn shop I didn't know existed, alongside a county road between Bellingham and the next town over. I managed to get out of their with only one skein, a test subject for dyeing. After that it was down to NW Handspun Yarns to wind up the rest of my yarn for the Rambling Rose Cardigan, followed by some knitting and movies. I'm guessing tonight may be a repeat of that last part-- we rented Sweeney Todd.

Would it be considered cheating that I used my laptop (only on battery backup) during Earth Hour?

So much past inside my present....

It took a few hours, but I think my stomach has finally started speaking to me again after all the awful things I did to it yesterday.

Our dear friend Ryan is leaving The Black Drop and, in the not-so-distant future, Bellingham and 'round these parts nobody goes anywhere without a proper send-off. So we had the (second) Deep Fry Party*, where everyone brings anything they're brave enough to batter up and dip in oil. There were too many items to list everything, but some of the notable mentions included the customary cheese wiz-filled corn dogs, shrimp and bacon won tons, Snickers (my contribution), Oreos, Nutella and peanut butter sandwiches, and a concoction Arianne came up with-- macaroni and cheese encased in garlic cheese biscuit dough**. The best however, occurred after we left in the form of deep-fried Tums.

As is also customary, there were also quite a few shenanigans, including the wearing of unitards. Poor Eric, who had been at home sleeping and was only there to ferry me home, got a little caught in the middle of all of it, though he never had to actually wear the unitard. He was a damn good sport about the whole thing, however.


On the knitting front, I've made some decisions. After a slight color change, I've decided that the Rambling Rose Cardigan is the next sweater project, in part due to the fact that I could get the yarn for that one soonest***. I'm also testing out another yarn for my brother's Baby's First Tattoo cardigan. I'm trying out bamboo, but I fear it's going to be too.... the best word I can come up with is "slinky."

I'm kind of grabbing at straws with that one, as nothing I've seen in fingering weight has been able to meet all of the requirements. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to find something in solid, non-wierd colors that doesn't require massive jumping through hoops to care for, and yet here I am testing out a bamboo yarn that will make my baby brother look like he's wearing a satin smoking jacket or something.


* -- There's good stories behind why we've all done this to ourselves not once but twice. I prefer to live inthe now, though.
** --These eventually became known as "Cheese Fists" and were incredibly yummy.
*** --Is that even a word?

No linking for me!

So far in the last two days I have made two swatches for Fitted Knits' Textured Tunic and figured out what color and yarn I want, knitted part of a left from for Interweave Knit's Rambling Rose Cardigan (minus the bottom scallop, not sure I like it), am rethinking a yarn idea for FK's Carie Cropped Cardigan, and am about two seconds away from starting a swatch for Dominitrix's Little Red Riding Hoodie.

Think I might be ready for another sweater, now that my Nameless Cardigan is nearly finished?

So I have this tiny little idea, but I'm keeping it to myself for now because, after doing a bit of online searching, it doesn't look like anyone else has done it, atleast in the way I want to. This could be for one of three reasons:

Either a) it's a ridiculous and stupid idea or
b) people have tried it and found it to be more hassle than it's worth or
c) I have an awesome brain.

Either way, some experimenting is in order, but it may have to wait until I have space for my sewing machine in my still-in-progress office/craft room. It's currently residing under a stack of airplane models the boyfriend bought and hasn't looked at since.

I suppose instead of sitting here searching my way through the intarweb, I should be getting back to tackling things on my always overstuffed "Day Off To-Do List." It includes things like putting the second coat of paint on my bathroom and doing about six loads of laundry, and all before Knit Night.... or possibly after.

Another one bites the dust...

Mom's tea cozy is finally done, though I'm pretty embarrased that it took me this long. All the darn thing needed was a drawstring. So a little Plymouth Happy Feet and two feet of i-cord later, it now resides in its rightful place on my mom's little teapot (it's only a three or four cupper.)

....which makes me think a progress check is in order. To revisit the previous list, I had:



-one finished sock with no match make that three socks needing matches

-one knee sock that's pretty much only a legwarmer at the moment I've decided I wasn't too fond of my wierd attempt at calf shaping, and wouldn't be able to recreate it for the second sock even if I liked it, so this one's being ripped out. It took seeing it on a list for me to finally bite the bullet and admit defeat.

-a cardigan that's missing a sleeve and buttons-- I got about halfway through the second sleeve last night, so this one could be ready for blocking soon.

-a pullover that actually has two sleeves but still needs to be sewn up

-tea cozy without the drawstring required to cozy it up Done!

-a mitten without a thumb

-a blanket that's currently about the size of two place mats and

-a scarf that is about 5 feet too short--- Still about four and a half feet to go



Looking at it like that, I actually start to feel like I might have accomplished something. However, is it enough to justify the fact that I'm swatching for yet another new project?

Idiosyncrasies and compulsive behavior

A quick Ravelry search has revealed that most people aren't nearly as bothered by the fact that the pattern in Pomatomus goes the same direction for both socks as I am.

Pick your heart up off the ground, I'm sure it weighs a ton. You're no better and no worse than any mother's son

Progress check:

I finished one exterior side of the Hoop Purse-- which wasn't actually on the list I made yesterday, but still counts in my mind since I started it before the Grand Proclamation was made. Only three more sides like it (one outside, two linings) before I can throw the whole thing in the wash. I also got another pattern repeat on the argyle scarf knocked out on my lunch, so that brings the remaining length down to four feet, 10 inches.

Tonight we go to see a really good local band for their last show. Sometimes I think local music is dying around here, though I don't usually voice it because it tends to start arguments. Venues are shutting down for various reasons, bands are breaking up or moving out of town, and there are becoming fewer and fewer reasons to bother leaving the house at night. Hell, it's gotten to the point where the bar that seems like someone's basement is the one of the best (and only) places left to see a band.

Then again, maybe I'm just getting old and longing for the "good old days". You know, the ones that were really only so-so, but are really, really great in your memory. Cause really, one of the inherent traits of a college town is bands that come and go, and although there really is a dirth of good venues around town these days, something new will eventually pop up. Things ebb and flow around here, and we're probably just experiencing the latest downswing. If anything, I'm learning to appreciate how good we really had it.

It's shaping up to be a nice weekend after two weeks of downpour, so I might break out the barbecue and dye some more yarn. I want to test out the icing colors I bought, and maybe do an experiment with some hibiscus tea. It should produce a nice rosey color, but I want to see how deep a color I can make.

For now though, it's back to my purse. I'm hoping to get the first lining cast on and a bit knit before we go out tonight.

Knitting ADD.

I'm starting to develop a problem. I have far too many unfinished projects, all at various progress levels.

The current tally:
-one finished sock with no match
-one knee sock that's pretty much only a legwarmer at the moment
-a cardigan that's missing a sleeve and buttons
-a pullover that actually has two sleeves but still needs to be sewn up
-tea cozy without the drawstring required to cozy it up
-a mitten without a thumb
-a blanket that's currently about the size of two place mats and
-a scarf that is about 5 feet too short

...and now I've started a purse. Really, what the hell is wrong with me? I'm almost ashamed, which would explain why one or two of those aren't listed in my Ravelry notebook. One can only handle a certain number of little squares staring at you with that "wip" icon in the corner.

So I hereby officially anounce (it sounds more important that way) that from here on out, I will not start another project until I've finished atleast three on that list. (I'd say the entire list, but let's face it-- that simply will not happen.) I will also not be buying any new knitting books for a little while, as I think this is part of what is contributing to my lack of attention span. The super-short scarf began with the purchase of Son of Stitch and Bitch, and the new purse happened when I picked up Felt Forward. So, for the time being anyway, I need to cut off my dealer-- the book store.

But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy....I am trying to break your heart

In the interest of full disclosure, I never did start that second sock.

I did however go back to a sock I started, like, months ago. It was an expirement involving a knee sock with calf shaping that doesn't involve changing needles. I'm almost to the bottom of the calf decreasing, and I'm still not sure if the whole thing's going to work, or if I even put the extra stitches where they really need to go. It will be so completely awesome if it works, though useless as a pattern, since everybody's calves are shaped differently.

(Nevermind the fact that it's been so long since I worked on this sock that all my notes about the shaping have disappeared. It has nothing to do with that at all.)

I had made a plan to get some stuff done after I got off work today (including some top-secret Valentine stuff) but I have been pretty much immobile since I started getting stomache aches last night. I barely made it through work, then came home and immediately put on my pajamas, with little intention of leaving the house again until tomorrow. Though I've always had a stomach of steel, I think I may have finally pushed it past the limit with all the random things I ate in a rather short time* yesterday. We seem to have come to a truce for now, as I no longer feel the urge to vomit (sorry), but like any peace talk it's tentative at best, so I'm staying put and (maybe) attempting to eat some of my spinach lasagna later. It's good enough to risk another tummyache.

Heck, I might even finish something tonight. I only have about 11 active works-in-progress right now, having started yet another one last night. For now though, a short nap is in order.


*noodle bowl + blood orange + super rich chocolate cake + blackened catfish + collard greens + mashed potatoes, in that order, and all in less than five hours. How dumb am I?

Letting the world go by....

There's nothing better to come home to than a dog who loves you and good salsa.

Due to a slight mishap involving me and a sidewalk curb that took out one of my tires, I had the opportunity to navigate Bellingham's bus system for the first time in quite a while. I used to bus and bike all the time, back when I lived a car-free downtown existence. Since then, routes, times, and my own destinations have changed. They have this crazy color-coded system where two digits mean one thing and three digits mean another. I was a little nervous I was going to have the same mishap I did back in high school, the one that resulted in an hour long round trip to and from somewhere I didn't want to go. (And still don't come to think of it. Lynden's not a very nice place.) I think I've got it sorted out now, though, so it should be a lot less walking tomorrow. As it is, Eric got home from work shortly before I did, so he swung down the road and picked me up.

As much as I like the independence and thinking time driving from place to place affords me, as well as the oh-so-important opportunity to sing along to the radio, it was kind of nice to sit in the back corner and read my book until I was where I needed to be. I brought some knitting with me, but didn't feel like breaking that out since I had to look out every once in a while for my stop. Tomorrow, however, I will be bringing the second Diagonal Cross-Rib Sock, the one I plan on casting on for tonight. After finishing the first, I'm not so sure that a multi-colored colorway was really the absolute best way to go, but I still like them nonetheless. Now if only I could stop dropping stitches when I do that little twisty thing!

Last night I dreamt that I was taking a tour of a garden on the inside of a house. It was a community garden and the room was divided into tiny plots only one or two feed wide and three or four feet deep. I overheard someone say, "yep, that's standard California size." I walked around looking at the plants that had sprung up from their tiny beds, then eventually walked another garden that stretched almost as far as I could see. I looked down to see a perfect red bell pepper hanging from a vine, so I pulled it off and bit into it like an apple.

....which is why I'm currently reasearching how to sign up for one of Bellingham's three community gardens.

Yay for weekends!

I think I may have a post-football hangover tomorrow. Not from the beer consumed, but the fact that my favorite sport is finished until next fall. Then again, I'm going to be able to get some good mileage out of gloating for the next few days, so I may be able to stay away from the end-of-season blues for a little while longer.

It's been a very nice weekend around here. This was the first weekend of my new schedule (ie, the first weekend I've had off that I didn't have to pull teeth and call in favors to get), and I think I can get used to this.

We spent Friday night in Seattle visiting my friend Jen, who's been feeling a bit homesick since moving down there recently. Other than forgetting my wallet down there and locking myself out of the building, it was a splendid evening. I've really missed having her around since she left, and this was the first time we've gotten the opportunity to just hang out without a whole lot of other things going on. We'll probably be doing it again sometime next month, if not sooner.

I also got to do a bit of knitting on the way down. The garter stitch, sort-of log cabin blanket I started has been my go-to knitting lately. I'm about 10 panels in, and I keep wanting to work on it, if only because I'm not sure whether it's going to be this awesome blanket, or a giant garter stitch mess, and I'm anxious to find out. Plus, it's all garter-stitch, so I can even knit it in a dark car on the way to Seattle!

We came home and vegged out, then went into uber-cleaning mode in preparation for Super Bowl festivities on Sunday.

Sunday was, of course, all about the Superbowl. Around this house, it's practically a holiday, complete with lots of food and a few friends. In keeping with family tradition, I made meatball subs, and some buddies brought pizza. We stuffed ourselves silly while occasionally yelling at the TV. The game ended the way I wanted it to, and now I'm enjoying my clean, quiet house with a beer and Arrested Development. Not a bad way to end a weekend.

There's been knitting lately, I swear. But mostly there's been working, with a little bit of reading thrown in. I just finished Full Frontal Feminism, and although it was slightly disheartening (I thought I knew how under attack women's rights were, but even then some of it was still suprising), it renewed my enthusiasm for feminism as a whole. It gives me the warm fuzzies to know that I live in an time full of badass women.

Yay, I'm almost near the end!

Oh Seahawks, this game made me sad. So much snow, so little defense.

Game's only been over for fourty five minutes, and there's already talk of whether or not Mike Holmgren will come back next year. I really, really hope he does.

I have yet to post a year-end or new year post, but I don't think I'm going to do that just yet. Heck, I can't even write the correct date consistently yet, so I think there's still a bit of time.

In other news, I'm very nearly done with the body of my no-name cardigan! There's about and inch of ribbing and a buttonhole left before I can start on the sleeves. I've already said it before, but I'm really loving top-down raglan sweaters. I already know this sweater will fit me exactly the way I want it to, which makes me want to finish it even more.

I've also been working on Mikey's scarf (the Uncle Argyle scarf from Son of Stitch and Bitch) and another slightly secret project (a Christmas gift that is not yet finished-- I know, it's kind of embarrasing.)

The argyle scarf has been awesome, and I've come to the point where I can work the chart from memory, but the lack of contrast between the two colors has been vexing me. Don't get me wrong, I chose dark purple and black on purpose, because Mikey is a dark color sort of guy, who isn't big on lots of contrast or flashy patterns. And so far the scarf looks beautiful in this wonderfully subtle way, but it makes it hard to see the difference in certain lights.

...which brings me to my mini-review of Knit Lites. I bought them because they were on clearance and I needed that particular size, but every once in a while I turn them on, if only to see if they make things a bit easier. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If anything, having those lights under my stitches puts them in silhouette and makes them more difficult to see, not less. Maybe they'd be good on one-color projects, but for now I just leave them off and look around for a lamp to turn on.

I had a lot more to write about, but I'm currently too enthralled with the playoffs and finishing my cardigan to keep any real train of thought. Maybe after the Jacksonville/New England game is over, though if the Patriots win I'll probably be too irritated to write.

I really wish I didn't have so much on my mind, like, all the time.

It's all over but the shouting.

I'm slowly but surely getting things set up on my laptop the way I want them. I'm up a little late, letting the fabulous dinner and dessert I had digest. My mom's outdone herself, although there was of course a bit of help from yours truly. I'm also trying to squeeze the last little bit of this three-day weekend. It's the first one I've had since.... gosh, September of '06, I think? Maybe that's a sign I need to work a little bit less and take a little more time off.

My mom loved the socks I knit for her, in spite of all the poo-pooing she's previously done about my knitting socks (it involves a whole lot of "what's the point of knitting socks? They're just socks after all.") The tea cozy I'm finishing up was quite a hit as well. I finished everything but the weaving in during the break between dinner and dessert. Other than that, all that's needed is a ribbon to (pardon the pun) tie it all together. She was a rather excited mom indeed.

While sitting in front of the fireplace, knitting the last bit of the tea cozy, my friend Tim started to take an interest in what/how I was knitting, especially the part where I can knit while holding conversations and paying attention to other things. It was kind of fun to give a sort of mini-lesson to one who's barely ever even seen anyone knit before.

For now, I should probably head to bed. The workday waits for no woman.

So far Christmas has been pretty rockin'. We held to our usual Christmas Eve tradition of watching Christmas specials and eating pizza, then I came home and finished wrapping and sewing up loose ends, both literally and figuratively.

As for now, I'm currently updating on my new laptop, courtesy of Eric, while we watch a shit ton of Metalocalypse, one of Eric's presents. A lot of the knitting has been accomplished, but I decided to take a break, so everybody else gets things a tad late. Gus ripped open his presents like any kid on Christmas, and has been happily playing with his new toys. (Truth be told, he played a little too hard and had to have them confiscated briefly, but otherwise things have been pretty smooth.)

In about an hour, we're heading to my mom's for dinner. All in all, with one awkward and odd occurence on Saturday, I've had a pretty enjoyable holiday. Hope all of y'all are having the same!

It's here.

The day I'd not at all looking forward to....... Finishing Day. Tonight and tomorrow will be spent weaving in ends and sewing stuff up. (and trying to finish another small present. Did I mention I have a really screwed up sense of time?)

There will also be more baking. The cookies, brownies, and cheese ball were all accomplished, but that leaves the cupcakes and another attempt at blondies (the last ones were WAY underdone, a problem I didn't notice until it was much too late to do anything about it.)
So why the heck am I still sitting here? Gotta go!

She's pretty damn wierd.

I'm pretty sure that no one other than my mother would ask for a meat thermometer for Christmas. I shouldn't be suprised, as this is the same woman who once asked for a rack of ribs for Mother's Day. It was amusing, if only because I got to tell people I gave my mom raw meat as a gift.

I finished another One-Row Scarf for my dad last night. I have to start another project so that everybody (Dad, his wife Pang, and Wyatt, the new kidlet) gets something handmade, but all in all it's working out pretty well. The way I see it, if I can knock out a second scarf and a child-size hat (for another family), I'm going to consider this holiday season a success with more than 50% of goals completed. All that leaves is the other half.

The sort-of birthday outing of this weekend was a rousing success. I had an awesome time seeing the Red Elvises, and afterwards we popped over to the dive bar across the street and caught the Hot Roddin' Romeos. I lost one of my favorite scarves, but I'm going to check back and see if maybe it turned up. That makes three handmade scarves lost over the last couple of years-- one in the Baltimore airport security check, one at the (no longer open) 3B Tavern, and now this one at another bar. While none have been particularly fancy--heck, the 3B scarf was thrown together in two hours while watching a movie-- it still irks me that I have such trouble holding onto things. I'm going to start pinning things to my clothes, like they do in elementary school. This will go well with my plan to put locators on everything I own.*

For now, I'm on the move. I've got to get myself a shower before I go have a birthday lunch with the lovely Stephanie. After that, I have a full afternoon of Christmas tree hauling, knitting, and eventually dinner with my super-awesome boyfriend.

*I find I have a really hard time keeping track of things, but I thought of a way to remedy this. Know how you can call your cell phone when you lose it and it will ring to tell you where it is? Well, my plan is to put beepers and bells on everything, then create a big board of buttons that I can push to find things. The buttons will have labels like "keys" and "purse" and "left shoe".

I have (once again) given up on the idea that everything is going to get finished by Christmas and started telling my family and friends to expect things around the end of the month or so. I'd probably be a lot farther along if I didn't keep adding stuff to my list, but the way I see it, if I'm going to go crazy with knitting gifts I might as well go all the way crazy. It's no fun if you only go half-assed crazy.

Nonetheless, I've been quite busy, so busy I have absolutely no time to write about it because we're going to see the Red Elvises tonight as a kind-of-sort-of-not-really birthday outing (my birthday's on Monday) and Tim's already here and I still have to change clothes and put on makeup and I've got to do it quick because the boys are starving.

...wow, how's that for a run-on sentence?

Also, my mom and I got into an argument about the internet, specifically blogs like this one here. This will also be discussed.

At long last, I finally got to update my ravelry and flickr accounts. I've been meaning to add pictures to my projects for some time now. It sounds silly, but it helps me feel like I've actually accomplished something recently to see it in list/thumbnail format.

I took a break from Christmas project knitting by doing some other knitting last night. I swatched for The Spencer Jacket from Fitted Knits, but still haven't quite gotten gauge yet. I also started in on the Little Sky Sock, and so far it seems to be making sense!

For now, it's back to the Christmas grind-- time to recast on the Pirate Mittens (my gauge got way too tight and they had to be frogged) , start the tea cozy, dye some sock yarn and make some rice! (I made curry.)

I might actually make it this year!

I have to say I'm a little proud of myself. So far I've gotten quite a few Christmas presents 97% done. The final 3%, the weaving in of ends and use of kitchener stitch, I'm saving up for last so I can take one day and finish everything at once. I'm not sure if this is a good plan, as I'm probably going to avoid "The day of stupid fucking end-weaving and seaming" until the last possible minute, but it seems like it won't be so bad if I know I'm getting it all out of the way at the same time.

Barring that, nearly half of my gift list has now been crossed off, including a super-secret gift for a friend that I can't even tell Eric about. (Actually, I just mostly can't tell Eric, even though it isn't for him. Don't ask me to explain that, it might give something away.)

All that's left is to knit a pair of mittens, socks, a hat (or possibly two) and a tea cozy..... in three weeks. And figure out gifts for four other folks, the most difficult being my 16-year-old sister. For starters, knitting doesn't exactly get used much in central Florida. Also, I'm a bit nervous that she wouldn't really like anything I made for her, just like I was last year. And did I mention that she's sixteen?*

I'm also contemplating throwing another holiday party, Festivus '07, into the works as well. I wasn't going to, but I wouldn't mind an excuse to drink things out of the martini glasses I haven't used since last year.


...on second thought, maybe I shouldn't be jumping for joy just yet.


*I think I may spend some time tonight perusing Etsy. If I can't make her something she'd like, maybe I can find something made by someone else.

Maybe Carmen wouldn't have gone home if her horseshoe necklace had been turned the right way.....

Man, I love knitting socks. Wait, I've probably already mentioned that, haven't I? Well, I found reason number 364289347 to like knitting socks: Retro Rib socks are the perfect pattern for knitting while watching Project Runway. I barely even had to look at my stitches. (Luckily, we have a DVR for those few occasions when I look down and miss something. Like that wierd pectoral spasm Jack had while sewing.)



I have yet to come up with a PR favorite, although I like the things that Kit and Jack have been making. There's a few other hit-and-miss people, and some I downright dislike* (both clothing and personality) but it's too early to make real judgements. Ultimately, by next week I'll find the designer I love, the one that will inevitably get killed off by the judges two-thirds of the way the the competition--- Allison, anyone?

These will probably be the last easy tv-watching socks for a little bit. I picked up Cat Bordhi's New Pathways into Sock Knitting the other day, and although I don't entirely understand the whole crazy-arch-increase every three rows-gussets-in-wierd-places thing, I'm definitely going to give one of the first pathways a go once I finish the socks I'm working on now. Maybe instead of going the easy route of Monkey socks for my Aunt Tena, I'll expirement with a pair from the book. Being a fairly adventurous woman, she might appreciate that.

*We generally make up discriptive and sometimes unflattering names for people on this show. I'm keeping this season's nicknames to myself for the time being, but know that a certain contestant from last season was called "Baconchest" 'round these parts.

Pluses and Minuses

Reason I don't like always like my job:

I worked eleven hours today, including the almost four hours I spent in rush hour traffic driving to North Seattle and back (From this day forth, I'm going to start lobbying for a cd player in the delivery rig.) I got home at nearly ten o'clock, just in time to eat a quick meal with Eric before he went to bed.

Reason I still mostly like my job:
The customer that caused me to work so late spent five minutes apologizing after I proceeded to read him the riot act. Only in my line of work can I look at my customers and ask, "what the fuck?"

In other news, I am eight stitches away from finishing another sock! Two socks in the last week alone, woohoo! Too bad they are socks for two different pairs! I'm almost done with one of the matches though. Hopefully my mom will like them, but even if she doesn't she's kind enough to fake it.

It's been kind of neat trying out different fibers of sock yarn. My mom's are in corn-fiber based Maizy, specifically the hibiscus colorway. They almost have a cotton sort of feel to them, which would kind of bug me in a sock, but should please my wool-sensitive mother. The other pair (that I think I might actually keep for myself this time) are in Panda Wool, a bamboo/wool blend that has a gorgeous sheen and really soft feel. I threw in some leftover Shibui Sock from the Mermaid socks for the heel and toe. The colorways are just different enough to contrast each other while still being semi-blended colors.

Once I finish these, it's back to the still-lingering Uzume socks and a knee-high number that I'm kind of making up as I go along. For now, I think I'm going to head to bed without binding off my new sock. I'm still not great at kitchener stitch, and it would probably best to attempt it when I'm no longer slightly stoned from wood stain fumes.

You listen to it twice, cause the dj is asleep....

I'm having a Regina Spektor lyric moment. Just bear with me and I promise it will pass.

Although my week started off fairly badly-- I had an allergic reaction to something that has had me looking like an itchy lobster for the last two days-- I'm feeling rather good about the rest of the week.

On the radio, you hear November Rain
The solo's really long, but it's got a good refrain

Tomorrow will be filled with after-work prep cooking, where my mom and I will be making bread and black raspberry ice cream, followed by the second annual pre-thanksgiving bar hop (minus last year's ER visit) and hanging out with Dominic, (I've missed him so.) I'm also going to have to throw in a trip to the store so I can buy the correct batteries for my camera (I got the wrong ones last time.)

There are quite a few WIPs that need documenting-- the revitalized cardigan, the one-row scarf, the Uzume socks, the frogged and restarted Pirate Mittens, and the Embossed Leaf socks I started the other night. I am loving that pattern-- simple, pretty, and a pretty darn quick knit. Then again, that could just be because I stayed up way too late the last couple of nights wanting to knit just one more repeat.

As for Thanksgiving, we always tend to have a spectacular time, so I expect things to be about the same this year. The rest of the weekend will be filled with house guests in the form of visiting friends...which means I should probably be cleaning my house right about now.

Meh, too late now.

You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

In other news, I seem to have developed a freakishly introverted streak of late and I'm not sure how to feel about it. Having always been an outgoing sort of person, the fact that I now get anxious when walking into a room of people I don't know, or barely know at best, is a little disconcerting. It's even starting to happen in places full of people I know well, which really freaks me out. I know I'm being ridiculous when I do this, and even tell myself so as it's happening, but that doesn't seem to start my breathing from getting shorter when faced with groups. At least I did pretty well at knit night tonight. I managed sit in a room with people I don't know and make conversation without hyperventilating! That's progress, right?

Easy Equation.

wifi at home + new laptop = PURE AWESOMENESS.

I gotta say, I'm actually pretty okay with giving up on NaPloBloMo. The only posts that would have been made over the last week or so would have read something like this:



Look at me. I'm posting today. Just like I did yesterday, and everyday this month.



While it complies with the rules, it doesn't seem to reflect the spirit, now does it? And really, I didn't much feel like writing anything at all lately. Not in any depressed, there's nothing worth talking about, woe is me way. More in a I-feel-like-holing-up-in-house-and-knitting-without-having-to-interact way. Work's been nuts, the weather's been crappy, and I've been trying like heck to avoid the cold that Eric came home with recently. All the outside factors made it perfect timing for a week of cozying up under my super-furry throw blanket with a pot of tea (or some evenings a glass of wine) and one of the eleventy-billion projects currently piling up in my little house.

The new version of my cardigan seems to be coming along, even with the (very small) breaks I've been taking to work on the baby blanket. I went for top-down raglan this time, and already I'm much happier with it. Being able to try things on in the process makes working on them a lot more enticing!

Man, it's only the first week and a half and I've already slipped off the wagon. I'm such a bad blogger. Nonetheless I will press on anyway with an actual post tomorrow.

Also, I am frogging the cardigan I've been working on. I got halfway through and decided I didn't like it anymore. Atleast I've made progress on the baby blanket.

I've been sitting here trying to write about the stuff that has been going on at my job lately, but since I feel like I have to leave a lot of things out, what's left doesn't really make much sense. You know, that whole lack of context thing.
Basically, being the Girl Friday has put me in some awkward situations lately

I have officially gone over to the dark side.

I tried, I really did. I have never wanted to be one, but it seems I have become an anti-acrylic natural-or-nothing yarn snob, all without my even noticing. Not only that, I seem to be training others to be yarn snobs as well!

After a lot of yarn perusal, I resigned myself to using Caron's Simply Soft for my impending sibling's baby blanket. I couldn't seem to find a anything else that I really liked (or enough of it in any one place), it was washable, and felt the nicest out of any of the acrylics I'd been looking at. But after about a foot and a half worth of swatching*, the doubt set in. It really didn't feel as nice once it was knitted up, in fact I'm starting to think it's a little rough now, and do I really want to use this?

I turned to Eric and asked him to feel it, cause sometimes you really do need the opinion of a non-knitter, and it could be that this has more to do with me not liking acrylic than the actual yarn itself. He rubbed my swatch between his hands and said, "It kind has that squeaky acrylic feel, don't you think? It seems like it would start to wear on your hands with a big project like this. And really, wouldn't it be better to do something in a nice cotton? It is for your brother after all."

I think I actually made the shock-and-awe face. Squeaky? Cotton? Where did that come from?

After two and a half years of being surrounded by knitting, it looks like some of my chatter about yarn and fiber may have actually been absorbed. I can just see him a year from now telling his work buddies about all the benefits of alpaca.

I did some more searching and managed to find enough Lion Brand Cotton Ease in the same dye lot to make a blanket. Being a 50-50 cotton acrylic, it may save me from the dreaded yarn snob title, atleast for a little while. Now to go do another 18 inches of swatching.

*I have trouble making decisions sometimes.

Love letter to Sunday.

I remember way back when Sunday had become just another workday in a long stretch of endless retail weekends. Then I changed jobs to a new wonderful place where I only worked Sundays if I felt like it, which mostly I didn't. Since then, I've come to appreciate having that day completely to myself.

Sundays around here are generally dedicated to football, knitting, and sometimes a big cooking or baking project. Last time it was chili and lasagna, but I might try and throw together some whatchagot casserole today. I'm on a mission to use what's left in my cupboards until I go grocery shopping next week, but it's starting to become quite the challenge now that I'm running out of both fresh and canned vegetables. But I'm too determined to go out to eat now, so I'll be coming up with something awesome out of the odds and ends.

Then again, I might bag all of that in favor of the pizza in the freezer. That's my favorite part about Sunday-- doing exactly whatever I please.

As freeform as my Sunday afternoons tend to be, I have set myself to a sort of knitting schedule. A couple of the projects I'm working on are time-sensitive and won't get done unless I hunker down to do them. So I've set a schedule for the next week of not-so-much when to knit, but what my project(s) of the day are. (I like having more than one option, so I listed two to three projects each day to give me a choice.) Next week I'll review and make a schedule for the next week.

It probably sounds a bit crazy, stringently scheduling what is essentially a hobby. But there are certain things I've promised myself I will accomplish, and it seems that won't happen unless I start getting disciplined with myself.

So for the rest of my Sunday, it will be a highly anticipated football game, laundry, and working Project A, E, or D.

The secret is making sure to add in the leap year days.

Today was quite possibly the slowest workday I've ever had in my life. One would think that I would use all that free time to catch up on work things, but alas, I lacked the motivation to accomplish much. I took care of a couple of things, then sat and perused the 2004 World Almanac someone left there.

Almanac's are fascinating things to read, even three year old ones. How else would I have found out that I'm going to be 10,000 days old on May 4th 2009, or that Nancy Reagan's real name isn't Nancy, or that the next solar eclipse will occur on August 1, 2008, but will only be visible from a small area in the middle of the Arctic Ocean?

All terribly useful things to know, if you ask me.

As for tonight, I'm eschewing a house show in favor of staying home, watching movies, and making bread. I've been wanting to try the Rustic Loaf recipe from America's Test Kitchen, but wasn't able to do it until today due to lack of a baking stone (my mom had mine). The only variation I think I'm going to make is changing it to cheese bread by adding the tiniest bit of cheddar to the dough, then more cheddar on top to get all bubbly and yummy while it bakes. Then again, I've never made bread before, only cookies and biscuits and the occasional muffin. Maybe I shouldn't go off-book just yet.

How quickly we forget.

It just dawned on me that once again NaBloPoMo is upon us. A lot of friends are starting NaNoWriMo around me, but quite frankly I just don't have the energy. Lord knows I can definetely find crap to write about in my blog everyday though. (I think.)

Most of y'all will think I'm crazy.

I am purple today, especially on my knees, where a couple of individual bruises banded together to form the SUPERBRUISE. The back of my cell phone is missing from getting accidentally kicked across the floor, but since it's been on it's deathbed anyway it's not much of a loss. My wig got lost somewhere in the crowd after I got sick of wearing it and threw it, then mysteriously turned up on the stage.

In other words, it was another successful Halloween.

I know I'm starting to get too old for it, but part of me misses before. Back when coming home covered in bruises and beer meant that we had had a good time. Things like that seem to be only reserved for special occasions anymore. Eric and I agreed that we had to grow up sometime, but I do still miss being able to go out for a beer on a Tuesday night without feeling like I'm getting away with something.

The Jem costume came out pretty darn well. I had to do some last minute add-ons, and I forgot my microphone at home, but it was definetely 80's-rific. Oddly enough, almost the entire thing came from stuff I already have in my closet. I'm not sure whether to be amused or concerned.

How long do you think you can go before you lose it all, before they call your bluff and watch you fall....

I've been having a hard time keeping the faith lately. Things seemed to have been getting more and more difficult with not much end in sight. Work stuff, home stuff, dog stuff, life stuff, being stuck in one spot on pretty much every project I'm working on, including the non-craft ones..... it drags me under the surface sometimes. I felt myself starting to avoid people, mentally cancelling plans I've already made with friends, sleeping all the time or not at all-- all the warning signs of a bout of depression setting in, the kind where I become a melancholy recluse and no one hears from me for a month.

Moments like that I start to wonder how it's so damn easy for everyone else.

...but a friend's situation and a conversation with my mom reminded me that there are problems bigger than my own and no one really has it figured out as much as I think they do.

It's funny how a little thing like that may have just pulled me back from the edge.

Oh my god, she did what?

As one might expect, there's not a lot of info online about felting cashmere, because how often does one really do it? Heck, I was expecting the gods of fiber, or atleast my local yarn store, to strike me down when I stuck it in the washer and set the dial.

As it turns out, cashmere doesn't felt quite the same as other fibers. In fact, it turns more fuzzy than felt-y. After two go-rounds in the washer, it seems to have felted enough to hold a shape when I cut it, but I can still see a bit of stitch definition when I stretch it slightly. I think I may throw it in the washer again, but save a scrap as a sample of the two-cycle felt.

The plan? I'm starting with a simple snap-closure cuff with some needle-felted details (and maybe button embellishments!) and then we'll see where it goes.

...though it might go nowhere if I can't figure out how to make these stupid snaps fit in properly. Dammit.

Atleast I found the right wig for my Halloween costume, along with this tutorial for a tutu. Let's just say I'm going to be totally outrageous.

Hey, gotta keep trying. Gotta keep holding on to whatchagot (which sure ain't a lot)

Why does it seem like when you want things to stay the same, they up and change on you, but when a little change might be nice, you start living life like it's Groundhog Day?

Life has been in a sort of doldrums. To the point where even working up the energy to think about anything (like working on one of the 2493762 UFOs I have) more work than it's worth. In the last two weeks, I have finished a sock. That's it, just one sock. The same Uzume sock I'd been working on for over a month. While I should herald that as progress, I can't seem to get myself started on the other one and, really, what the hell good is just on sock?

Consequently, I've been avoiding ravelry for a week or two as well, and skimming through all of the fabulous knitting blogs I read. I'm terribly happy for all the folks who went to Rhinebeck and enjoyed the hell out of themselves, but reading too much about it might just make me stab myself in the eye.

(See how morose I've become? It's just pitiful.)

But when I woke up this morning on my day off, the rain and clouds had blown away to reveal a beautiful, rather balmy fall day. It seems like a sign that today is the day to kick myself out of my funk.

I started by just thinking about good things, like the spinning wheel I'm saving up for, and whether I should take some of that spinning wheel money and put it towards a spinning class. It would set me back a month or two from buying one, but then again I'd have a better idea of how to use it then. As far as problems go, it's a pretty good one to have.

Now, it's time to shower and get some stuff done.

The to do list for today:
-felt a sweater Gus got ahold of last night*
-Work out some Halloween costume details
-make trips to the following places:

• craft store
• hardware store
• Goodwill
• possibly Old Navy

-find some star earrings, or make them myself
-make soup
-dye my hair
-return the batteries I bought and get the right ones
-take mucho pictures of all WIPs, FOs, and whatever the heck else

*And of course, it just had to be my favorite cardigan that he chewed holes through. My oh-so-wonderful purple 100% cashmere cardigan that I found at Goodwill for $8.00. I atleast have to give it to him-- Gus has got good taste.

This is a transitioning week, and it's not going well.

Now that Eric's working graveyard shifts for turnaround, I pretty much haven't seen him since Sunday. Sure, I've managed to wake up just long enough to have a brief, incoherent conversation with him when he comes home around 5:30, and I make sure to kiss him on the cheek when I leave for work a few hours later, but that's about it.

It's really wierd to be living in the same house but opposite hours as someone. Kind of feels like he's out of town, and the two hours we spend sleeping in the same bed aren't real. I can't even imagine what it's like for people who's schedules are always like this, as six weeks is going to be more than enough for me.

Gus seems to be having the hardest time adjusting. He's started howling when I leave the house again. Apparently he's been howling loudly enough to make one of my neighbors think he's being beaten or something. It breaks my heart, but I can't take him to work with me, yanno? Now I'm scared to ever leave him alone, out of fear my neighbors will look at me like the next Micheal Vick.

On the bright side, atleast I'll have lots of knitting time while I'm cooped up in my house with just my nuerotic dog for company.

And so my first KALs begin!

Tonight I will be putting aside the cardigan and starting my Pirate Mittens, with a little time out for sock knitting. Time to actually hunker down and rip out that sad looking toe shaping on the Uzume sock!

For some reason, it seems that much more exciting to be knitting something knowing others are doing kind of the same thing.

You spin me right round, baby.

I have come to the conclusion that Di.Ve Teseo is my favorite scarf yarn. It has to be, or I wouldn't keep going back to it. I might have to do another one before the season's out.

As mentioned, I finished John's One-Row Scarf the other day, and am starting to swatch for the convertable mittens I'm planning. You know-- the kind where the part that covers your fingers folds up so you can do stuff without taking them off. Once I've figure out how to make this pair, I might do a pair for myself. I lost mine ages ago and miss them. They're pretty wonderful-- all the warmth of mittens without that pesky "muppet hands" problem. A word of warning however; they are awful in a snow fight.

Beyond that, I'm having some issues with project monogamy lately. I started Uzume, then set them down right at the toe of the first one and haven't picked them up again, mainly because I think I started shaping the toe incorrectly and don't want to sit down and fix it. Then I cast on and knit about seven inches of my Orbit Lace thingywhatsit, but began to suspect that it was a stupid idea to knit something that's rather summer-y when we're heading into fall. Now I've swatched (yet again), cast on, and knit the first couple of inches of the Currently Un-named Cardigan. What is wrong with me!?

I think I may force myself to sit down and rip back the Uzume socks so I can get back to working on them. I'm knitting them for a friend, and although she isn't aware that I'm knitting socks for her, I can't help but feel like I'm blowing her off by setting them aside.
I only have my mother to thank. She's gotten so good at giving guilt trips she's trained me to give them to myself!

There will soon be more projects thrown into my little knitting queue, since I found out today that my new sibling is going to be a boy!* I had been waiting to find out, mainly because I'm not the biggest fan of baby gifts in yellow. In fact, is there any other color people use for the non-gender specific? Cause yellow kind of makes me want to yack.

So now I have this overly ambitious plan to make a baby blanket, booties, and possibly a tiny sweater of some sort (in addition to all the other planned projects) by the time the baby is born, sometime around early December. It's a good thing I have no life these days!

I don't plan to give any of these to my father and his wife for a little while, however. There's been complications pretty much all along the way, some so bad my dad's wife had to be hospitalized for days at a time, so we're all taking a rather cautious approach for the time being. Nonetheless, I can't help but get stoked when I see all the cute baby patterns and now have a reason to make them.

*Don't worry, I'm very well aware of how odd it is, getting a new sibling at 25 years old. Luckily, I've had a bit of time to come to terms with the fact that my family is kind of odd.

Bound off the Orange You Glad scarf tonight. Didn't do a whole hell of a lot else, because....


You see, the Boy snores. Most of the time I'm used to it (hell, we've been together a couple of years, according to most we're psuedo-married, I should be used to it by now.) But last night, E was atomic-snoring. I'm suprised he didn't wake up El and J, our friends/next-door neighbors. To be fair, I was also having a hard time quieting down my brain (which makes it doubly hard to sleep), but every time I would come close to falling asleep-- you know, that odd space between sleep and awake, just before you fall asleep for real-- E would launch one of his buzz-saw snores and jar me awake again.

So all I did today was work, then nap until it was time to go to my friend Dale's birthday outing.
But I fixed the Orbit Lace project last night. Apparently I casted on 56 stitches too many. Thats right, 56 stitches. I don't do math nearly as well as I thought I did, which is sad because it's one of my favorite parts of knitting. The whole mathematically-figuring-out-how-to-create-three-dimentional-objects-with-pieces-of-string-and-a-couple-of-sticks is what started me knittting in the first place. I blame it on my physics teacher.

Plans and progress

I figured out what E did with the camera batteries. He lost them in Alaska. No camera for me until I buy new ones!

I had planned to go into work to do some things yesterday, but when I woke up I promptly decided that work could go to hell and spent the rest of the day knitting and watching football.

I decided to take a break from Uzume in favor of the orange scarf I'm working on for my friend John. I had ripped the whole thing out after deciding that I didn't like my stitch pattern I had come up with-- despite my efforts, it still tended to roll just the tiniest bit, ie. just enough to annoy me. Instead, I'm using Stephanie McPhee's One-Row Scarf pattern, alternating skeins for a bigger stretch between color changes. (I wanted gradual color as opposed to stripes. It seems to be working.)


I also set to work planning my first cardigan. After what felt like a mile of swatching using different needle sizes, I think I've hit on the right gauge for my currently untitled project.* Knit on 7's, the fabric was rather thick and would have made an awesome jacket type thing, but I lack enough yarn to do that. Size 8's were neither here nor there, but 9's seemed to create the perfect fabric for the warm-but-not-heavy feel I'm trying to acheive. When I finished and announced that the swatch was done, E asked, looking mildly shocked, "That's a swatch?" (by this point it was about 11 inches long. I think he thought I was knitting a sleeve or something.) "Why would you spend so much time knitting something you're just going to take apart later?"

...so he got the "importance of swatching" speech. He took it better than most knitters do.



*I should create a symbol for it and call it the Sweater Formerly Known As a Cardigan. Or SweFKAC for short.

If I could only figure out where E put the rechargeable batteries, I'd be able to document my progress. Sometimes he has this habit of just putting things in random places that don't make a whole lot of sense, atleast to me.

As if I wasn't already busy with work, I made myself a little busier by adding in another project.

We've been wanting to install a desk in one of the closets ever since we bought the condo, which happened to be six months ago yesterday. Fast forward six months and one day, and our second bedroom is still full of boxes and barely useable. We had the desktop, we had the wood to install it, we just needed to cut everything down to size and put it in.

We kept talking about borrowing a saw from one of our friends that has one, but I started to realize that at this rate it would be another six months before we got it done. So I went out and bought my very own circular saw, a stud finder, and a couple of sawhorses and set to work.

I cut three 1x2's to attach to the wall inside the closet. Then I cut down a little off the sides of my desktop, as it was just a hair too big. After lots of measuring, lots of checking with my level and lots of using my handy dandy studfinder, I screwed the braces into the wall and rested my desktop on top. My cuts are a little wobbly (I blame it on not having used a circular saw in six years. ), and it seems like it's probably going to need a center crossbrace underneath before I start putting heavy things like books and my sewing machine on it, but otherwise I was pretty proud of having done it pretty much by myself. (E did take the closet doors off while I was busy cutting the top, but everything else was done by me.)

So there I stood, basking in my own handy-ness, when it started to occur to me that the whole thing looked a little bit.... tall. E and I had figured out exactly how tall we wanted this desk to be-- 28 inches high seemed like it would accomodate both him and I comfortably-- and I had measured EXACTLY 28 inches. But it still seemed to be a little bit higher up than I had thought.

I sat there scratching my head and being confused for a second until E walked up and asked, "Why is it 32-inches high instead of 28?". Then it dawned on me---

All that meticulous measuring and remeasuring and leveling and checking had been done 28 inches from the top of our 4-inch baseboards.

It's starting to grow on me however. I might just leave it that way and get a taller chair.

Note to self: Dead camera makes for boring, picture-less posts.

I think I've found my pattern for the Strikke-Along -- Hello Yarn's Pirate Mittens. While not at all traditional, they would be my first major stranded project*, so I think that will do. And they're probably going to be rather warm, so atleast I'll meet the criteria!

I made some pretty good progress on the Uzume socks, then hit a no-knit zone. Work has been kicking my butt-- twelve hour days, twice the business we normally do, and all of it physically and mentally taxing--- so thinking about anything when I got home was pretty much out of the question. Mostly I just laid around until I could work up the energy to climb the stairs to bed.

To make up for it, I've been reading and planning. I had been trying to come up with a cute (and complicated) cardigan design once I figured out the the Tangled Yoke was going to be a no-go without buying more yarn, but I decided instead to go with something pretty simple. Since I plan to do complicated (for me) things with other projects, I like the idea of a simple cardigan. I'm taking some ideas from my favorite store-bought cardigan, the one that is very rapidly falling apart from too much wear. I'm thinking a very deep 1x1 rib bottom, stockinette bodice, with maybe a little bit of fun detailing here and there.

As for reading material, I stopped by Barnes and Noble, originally searching for Poems of Color (no luck) and noticed that the Vogue Stitchionary books were 50% off! I spent yesterday evening perusing volumes 1 and 2. Some of the cables are giving me ideas for future projects, but for now the current line up looks like this:

-Uzume socks
-Pirate Mittens for Strikke-Along
-Scarf/mitten set-- I originally was just making up a stitch pattern, but I think I might just frog it and go with Yarn Harlot's One-Row Scarf pattern
-Cotton socks for my mommy
-Charade socks, possibly. Gotta keep up with the Summer of Socks!
-Orbit Lace project (maybe. I might back-burner this until spring)
- a lace scarf from some of the mohair I've been aquiring recently. I'm starting to really like lace.
-simple cardigan using the Stahl Big I picked up not too long ago.

That should keep me busy atleast until December!

*The more I think about it, this will proably be my first stranded project EVER. Yay for firsts!

I've always found that drunk posts are okay on livejournal, but is it wrong to drunk post on your knit blog?

Especially when all you have to say is, "I started the Uzume socks!"?

P.S.-- The friend I gave the Monkey socks to absolutely adores them. Tells me how much she loves them without me even asking. Not bad for my first pair of socks. :)

Cooking up some yarn.

I made another dyeing attempt this week on my (much-needed) day off. I've been kind of obsessed with dip dyeing lately, but wanted to find a set up that was easy to clean up and easy to keep the dog away from. When the solution popped into my head, it was so simple I couldn't believe I didn't think of it sooner.

Enter the grill.

Using the gas grill on my patio gave me an option that let me keep Gus inside and avoid potentially ruining my kitchen. During the process I put a tray on the main grill surface to keep the burners from getting spilled on and give me an additional place to set things. I probably could have just as easily left the main part closed, but I kept bumping the side of the cover so I had to get it out of my way.

Here's where I felt pretty cool. I screwed in a plant hook I picked up at Home Depot and added a 36" extender chain that can be taken off when not in use. I think the two together cost a whopping $4.00.
Hanging the yarn from a clothes hanger, I was able to move it up the chain to change the dye strength.

I grabbed my dyes (Louet Indigo and Saltbush, in the interest of full disclosure) a couple of skeins of white/natural stuff out of the yarn stash, two of Naturally Yarns Harmony and one of Araucania Nature Wool Chunky, and did a test run.

I need to work on getting my dye ratios worked out, because I didn't get the brightness of color I was looking for, but otherwise the endeavor was successful. After dropping the hank into the dye bath and very gently stirring with a wooden spoon, I hooked one end around the hanger and hung it up, raising it a couple of links every few minutes.

The result is a very subtle variegation that shifts almost imperceptibly from very light to a medium tone, leaving me with two skeins almost the color of faded denim and one muted lavendery-but-not sort of purple.

I think the lack of serious color saturation has more to do with the fact that I'm using yarn that's been previously treated for this little test project. I threw in a small sample from a different type of yarn and it turned SUPER dark. So we'll see how it goes with some dye-your-own product the next time around. Either way, I'm incredibly happy with how easy everything was to set up/take down. I was able to clean everything up in ten minutes flat!

Alrighty, off to swatch and see how my newly colored fibers knit up!

I think I can safely say I've earned the "MacGuyver Level II" badge from Cast On, having used my knitting needles as hair accessories, drain uncloggers and skewers for roasting marshmellows.

Monkey socks are finished! All that's left is to block them and give them to their intended recipient. Then it's onto my mom's Christmas socks. Since she hates anything wool, I've been scouring my yarn shops for a suitable replacement. I found lots of alternatives, but none in colors I thought she would like, until I hit upon a cotton number from Karabella.

I went home with a couple of rosy pink skeins (her favorite color), feeling oh so proud of myself. Which is why I could have killed her when she oohed and aahed over the Monkey socks, gushing about how nice they felt. Hates everything wool, my ass.

I'm at it again.

Got a yarn shop that's going out of business? Want to get rid of ones and twos?
Just call 1-800-JILL-BUYS-YARN.

I just couldn't stop myself! Give me a sixty percent off yarn sale and I start drooling at the mouth. That's even good enough to get me to go into a yarn store I had been avoiding (which is kind of a long story, but basically boils down to really disliking their staff.)

I did manage to get enough Stahl Big to make a sweater, but not enough to make the Tangled Yolk Cardigan, that I (along with quite a few others, according to Ravelry) have now become obsessed over. I cut myself off after that, but am allowing myself to buy other things only after, going home and deciding whether I really want it and what I would make with it. If at that point it hasn't already been snapped up, then I'm meant to have it. So far I've only been back once.

I'm afraid I might be a knitting snob.

Is it wrong to feel like I'm over Clapotis without ever actually making one?

Gotta say, I'm a little dumbfounded.

This is my dog:



This is the most recent thing he managed to get a hold of and chew up:




um.....yeah.

In other news, the first Monkey sock is done! Woohoo!

Now with parentheticals AND footnotes!

This week I've been....

reading: a Rex Stout anthology my mom lent me. I just finished it, though, so I'm now probably going to go out and buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I know, I know-- I'm about a week behind the rest of the country. A friend recently brought up the irony of how it almost feels un-American to have not read this book yet, despite the fact that it's written by a British author.

knitting: Mainly on the Monkey Sock in (as I failed to mention previously) Shibui Sock, color "Anime".

Everything else kind of took a backseat once I started. I can completely see why someone would do this sock pattern multiple times, it's a very addictive knit!

However, I think I'm going to put this one on the back burner and start alternating projects just to keep my brain busy.

The plan today is to finish fixing, seaming, and blocking Ridiculously Pink, complete my first Monkey Sock*, then work on either the Orbit Lace (which means more of my god-awful crocheting) or start another fun summer knit I've been thinking about.

buying: Madils Eden Bamboo for the Orbit Lace project

sipping:Wild Bunch White. I bought it for use in my stroganoff, but it's not a bad wine for drinking either.**

eating:Turkey Stroganoff (yay for lots and lots of leftovers) and Chicken /Shrimp Fajitas. E and I are big fajita fans. Fajitas seem to be a dish that we can make together without stepping on eachothers toes. Maybe it's because we make it so often, but our routine works pretty smoothly-- He takes care of grilling/cooking meat while I make spanish rice and saute the peppers.

needing:Microsoft Excel (can you believe I don't have any sort of spreadsheet program on my computer? The horror!)

*not only is this my first Monkey Sock, it will be my first finished sock ever! I'm so terribly excited! I also feel like kind of a nube for not making a sock sooner, so I'm keeping my exitement a little quieter than one might expect.

**- The above comment was made by a girl who is not necessarily all that big a fan of white wine, and therefore doesn't really know what the hell she's talking about. It tastes good for a white wine.

I love me some links, don't I?

To sum up:

Finished a tiny bit of fixin' on the Ridiculously Pink sweater. Still kind of avoiding it until I can figure out how to make the last dropped stitch disappear once it hits the ribbed collar.

Making my first pair of Monkey Socks with some gorgeous yarn I picked up at Hilltop Yarn Shop, where knitter extraordinaire Kat works! The ethiopian food was pretty darn good too.



Also starting another project, an altered version of Orbit Lace from Knitscene:



I'm pretty much cannibalizing the pattern and taking what I want from it, but I probably should have stayed away from the crochet waistband. Being someone who can't crochet a straight line to save her life, this will probably be the longest and hardest part.


Time to go snuggle up to my boy. He just got home tonight!

Frustration is binding off the collar of a sweater, leaving only the sleeve seaming before it's finished, only to find that you dropped two stitches down near the bottom.

Complete irritation is starting to fix the dropped stitches and dropping five more stitches on the collar in the process.

Goddammit.

I'm giving up tonight, I'll try again tomorrow.

(Even so, I'm stoked that I might be able to wear "Ridiculously Pink" by this weekend. Then it's onto either Coachella from Knitty or the bamboo creation whose details are currently being worked out.)

The boy flew to Alaska today, part of that whole "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" the Navy still requires of him. He'll be gone till the 27th, and although I had the brief urge to sit around being a lazy sad bastard, I've decided to kick my own ass in gear. To that effect, I plan to do a lot of knitting, but also a lot of organizing, a little laundry, some yarn dying, and a whole lot of swimming.

It was nearly a three-digit temperature in the 'Ham today, atleast in terms of farenheit. It got up to around 36 degrees celcius, so the trip to the lake was very welcome. After my long hot dizziness-inducing day at work, Steph and Barbara and I gathered our things and went up to one of my favorite lakes in the area. Though we are blessed to have more than one-- there's Lake Padden, Lake Samish, and Lake Whatcom--- Toad Lake is by far my favorite. It's pretty secluded, so it's less busy, and surrounded by lots of trees and few houses. On a sunny day, it's the warmest water you can find this far north. We swam around until the sun went down and I got to loosen up my tense and sore muscles and let go of the stress and heat of my day.

I plan to spend the rest of the evening with my stripey pink sweater, a movie, a glass of wine, and Gus, if I can get him to chill out for the evening.