i.am.a.knitter

seriously.

i am.

you have to take my word.

i have no pictures for you since my camera is in new orleans and i can not for the life of me find the other one. supposedly its somewhere in the house.

i started mr. greenjeans, i'm afraid it looks a little like camouflage, i'd really like your opinion, but again...no pictures. it'll have to wait until early next week.

i am so happy to be knitting, although that means that i haven't done a thing around the house since i've been left on my own. oh well.

yarn, needles...its the little things.

pumpkin horror

sometime yesterday this happened.



fucking squirrels.

the one in which i fall into a time suck and find some yarn...

as if the poor blog wasn't being neglected enough, a couple weeks ago my ravelry invite comes along and BAM - no more posting. the site is in a word amazing, but you've heard all that before.

so now, not only am i not knitting, i'm not blogging, and i'm spending hours exploring ravelry for ideas, inspiration, etc. it is addictive. i'm stephanieayn over there...come say hi.

although, i did unearth from the depths of the boxes, my project bag and the ivy pattern. honestly, i do want to knit again.

oh and i may have bought some yarn and ordered some magazines - if you didn't know Interweave Knits is having their back sale.

speaking of interweave, the winter '07 preview is up...i like the sweater girl pullover (although i'd have to sub the yarn - an entire sweater in mohair, ugh) and the gathered pullover but nothing else was really doing it for me.

ok, this was a really random post but its all i got on a monday morning.

bruises, splinters and paint chips, oh my!

ok, so it's been WELL over a month since my last post and i'll be honest, i've actually felt really bad about it, but here's the thing.

i.have.not.knit.a.stitch.

seriously, in over a month. this house-buying, moving, rehabbing, shit is for the birds.

and really, this is supposed to be a knitting blog, but since i have none of that, i will share with you a bit of what i have been doing.

i bought a house.
it's really cute.
the previous owners were dirtbags.

this is a fact that i was not fully aware of until we actually closed - i just thought they had really bad taste! so...my grand plans of painting, de-wallpapering, etc were put on hold while we cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned and, well...you get the point.

so in order for us to actually be able to live there, we've been working our collective arse's off.

first up...the kitchen. here it is in all it's burger king glory...



yes, thats right, you are looking at vintage 1982 dark lacquered knotty pine cabinets, a red laminate countertop and linoleum floor. After much grease-scraping, priming, painting and purchasing of new appliances, here is what it looks like now...



yeah i know, it really needs a full gut, but that won't be happening till...oh i dont know, forever. so in the meantime, its clean and a little easier on the eyes (sorry about the blurry pic, too many late late nights).

there have been many other projects...and since i cant quite figure out how to link my pics to flickr just go here.

hopefully the knitting will resume (as soon as i can locate any projects, yarn, etc)...oh, the good news is that i am now in walking distance to a yarn shop.

I know I am alone in this

...but I have a very hard time buying yarn in person. I know, its weird, but I buy much better in the sterile environment of the Internet. On the Internet, I think about things like yardage, and content and gauge, price comparisons and user reviews. This is how I shop. In real life there is the looking and the touching and the smelling, but no dry data. I honestly get turned off from buying anything at all. It all looks and feels nice, but I can talk myself out of it so easily.
Now, this creates a moral dilemma for me, because in my heart, I'd rather support the small local business person than buy online in the nameless, faceless cybersphere. I really would.
So that brings us to last weekend's Knox Farm Fiber Festival.


Last year Stephanie, Carolyn and I went, and I didn't purchase a darned thing. I thought so many things were beautiful, so many things I couldn't easily buy elsewhere, but I went home empty handed. So, this year when Carolyn and I went again, (Stephanie's moving day-yay)I asked for moral support from Carolyn to help me actually buy some yarn. (Can you imagine?)


It started out tough- I saw a lot of beautiful yarn, but I had an excuse not to buy all of it. I would seriously pick up a skein, admire it like crazy, then make up a reason not to get it. The festival is petite and soon we had seen it all, I realised it was do or die, so we went back and I picked up a beautiful skein of Looped Backsock yarn in a beautiful color called sand- sort of a semi solid caramel brown, and also a lovely skein of Knox Farm Fiber a lovely hand spun worsted in a mix of purples. They even put a picture of the sheep whose wool it is and her name on the tag. (but what was it? I don't remember!)

It wasn't nearly as painful as I expected and I've already come up with plans for both! Yay to buying yarn in real life!

Thanks to Carolyn for taking photos. Heck knows I am unreliable in that regard. (not to mention the lack of camera)

Old F.O.gies: Toostiff Funnyfit Cardi

Truth be told, if we all wait around until I actually finish anything, blogs will probably be obsolete by then, and you'll be driving flying cars and knitting with fiber optic cables or something. So, call it padding, call it filler, call it what you will, I'll be calling this ongoing series Old F.O.gies.

For the inaugural Old F.O. I'd like to present a little number finished 9/20/06:




Pattern: Pismo from the Berocco Calico Leaflet
Yarn: Colinette Wigwam
Colorway: No idea
Needles: How should I know
Mods: adjusted for gauge, lowered button



The story of this little number is that one day I was at a Stitch 'n Bitch in Brooklyn and one of the attendees happened to work at a big knitting industry establishment. Said establishment had lots of yarn they were discarding and the kind soul brought a butt load of it to the group to scavenge. I grabbed up this Wigwam, remembering a pattern I once saw in a magazine for a tank that used Wigwam.
As all yarn I acquire does, this yarn went to live in my closet for several years before it got called into service. I no longer desired a thick, bulky weight tank top. I came across this Berocco pattern, thought the asymmetrical shape was cute, and that it might make a nice piece for sitting in the AC at work. Totally hate AC.
Anyhow, she came out okay. I wear it sometimes. I should have added waist shaping, but I thought the ribbing was going to do the trick. The fabric is absolutely bulletproof. There is no such thing as drape. She doesn't flatter the figure much either. Still, it's not the worst thing I've made.


Button is white shell from the button drawer. Love that site. Button could've been bigger. My fault, not theirs. Still, I like it.

Of love and loss

It pains me even now, as I write this, many weeks later.

You may recall a photoless post many weeks ago, in which I spoke of the socks I made for my husband's trip to Mexico- a tribute to our love.

Yeah, well, nothing is sacred any more, suckers.

Some excuses were muttered about the laundry and a taxi and how it wasn't his fault, but the fact remains that he returned home with only one sock.

Lucky for him he married a very reasonable woman. I have a policy about gifts in general, and that is that whatever the recipient does with a gift I have given is not my concern. Different people appreciate things in different ways, and I think it's poisonous to spy and wonder and judge their gratitude based on your expectations of what they will do with the gift. Furthermore, when it comes to knitted gifts, some think it more reverent to put the gifts aside, cherish them, bring them out only for special occasions so that they may forever be in the condition they were presented. Others lovingly wear their knitted gifts to threads. Both are a-okay by me.
Therefore, I choose to be glad he loved them enough to take them along and wear them. I will make a new partner for the lonely sock.

Here it is in all it's size 11, wide, high arched glory:



And here it is with one of my Sockapalooza socks for scale:



And so you can grasp the sheer length of the thing:




But replace it I will, because the only thing more tragic than loosing a symbol of love, is retaining only half of it.

In conclusion, these puppies will make good textbook-reading-knitting. 80 stitches around. The toe of the sucker looks like a damned baby hat.

Details when I finish.

no time for love dr. jones

oy the guilt.

i havent posted in what seems like forever (i'm too lazy to go back and look) and to make matters worse i have NO new knitting to show for the absence. unless you consider the anastasia socks, which i've managed to completely fuck up two knit nites in a row. so with all the ripping back i've made no progress.

packing sucks. so what am i doing - sitting here in the extremely hot loft trying to catch up on a months worth of podcasts (tackling this american life right now)...NOT packing.

so...here's some useless crap to make this post less of a snooze.

You paid attention during 86% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

isn't that a relief???

and wow, my death seems to echo this post - boring as ever. couldn't die in a pirate attack or a freak ceiling fan accident. nope.

How will I die? Your Result: You will die while saving someone's life. The most noble of all deaths. Your rewards will be great in the next life. You are most definitely a humanitarian. If not currently, you will be. To give one's life is a precious moment that will be remembered by friends and family for many decades.
You will die in your sleep.
You will die in a car accident.
You will die while having sex.
You will be murdered.
You will die from a terminal illness.
You will die in a nuclear holocaust.
You will die of boredom.
How will I die? Create a Quiz

ok, time to kill this post. i'd end it by saying that hopefully i'll have something fun and fiber related to post soon, but honestly, even i don't believe it.

My Sockapalooza haul

At long, loooong last, may I finally present to you, the lovely socks I received quite a long time ago from my excellent Sockapalooza pal, Angela.



Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colorway Cool
Pattern: Landlocked Socks from I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can (seems this may not be available any longer?)

They fit great, very soft and comfortable, and a yarn that is among my favorites.
There were several other goodies in the package, including a beautiful bracelet that I failed to photograph, but have already worn many times.

Thanks again, Angela!

Are we in for a rude awakening?

This may hit a little too close to home.
Hide your stash and don't turn out the lights.

Utterly pathetic

I blame knitting.

1001 books you must read before you die (spotted at the much better read Fillyjonk's Progress )

2000s
67. House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski

1900s
214. The Passion – Jeanette Winterson
249. Dictionary of the Khazars – Milorad Pavi?
272. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
291. Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
301. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
375. Slaughterhouse-five – Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
417. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater – Kurt Vonnegut
434. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
436. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey
437. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
444. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein
456. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
494. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
495. The Talented Mr. Ripley – Patricia Highsmith
508. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
529. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
547. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
564. Animal Farm – George Orwell
574. The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
592. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
608. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
610. The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
649. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
663. A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
699. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

1800s
797. The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
804. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
825. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
897. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
916. The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe

Hmmm....
Well, in my defense (defensiveness) I forget a lot of what I read, so I may have missed a couple. Also, I do own several on the list that I haven't gotten around to yet.
And, too, I have read several books I did not have to read before I die. I wonder if those books would be available to read in the afterlife, or if they simply have no effect on whether you die or not.
It follows then that I am better off taking my time reading these books, thus preventing my death indefinitely.

Inadequate

Well, I'm back. I've actually been back for nearly a week now, but once again, I've been procrastinating posting for lack of photographs.
You see, and I know its lame, but I am somewhat of a Luddite. I don't actually own a camera, much less a digital camera. Now, my husband is a photographer, so I do have cameras available to me. Still I have never touched those fancy cameras. I have a talent for breaking things that don't belong to me. Scott is happy to take photos for me, but its hardly top priority, so we'll just have to take 'em when we can get 'em until I get a camera of my own. Preferably one with very few knobs or buttons.
Anyhow, here's a quick breakdown, and I'll go into detail when I get my act together:

- I did receive my gorgeous Sockapaloozasocks the day before I left on my trip. The socks are lovely, and my wonderful sockpal, Angela, included a handmade bracelet that I have already worn several times, some cute notepads, and postcards from her hometown, Cincinnati. Funny coincidence, I had a layover at the Cincinnati airport the very next day. Anyway, this deserves its own post for sure, and very soon.

- My trip to Mexico was wonderful. Had a beautiful time. Knit socks. Not so wonderful. Post with pics soon.

- Other knitting...I made Scott a Zeebee before I left. The pattern is amazing, it looked great with the yarn. It didn't fit. Why didn't I measure one of his other hats? Why didn't I check gauge after knitting a while? I'll reknit after I've given it a timeout in the UFO closet.
I haven't touched the sleeves to my princess pullover. I am so uninspired.
I started aura but am only a few rows in.
Finally, the last project I have on the needles is one about which I could write a novel. I'll leave you with a link and let it suffice to say that I have made this hat at least 3 times now, without success. I am so not a crocheter, nor am I skilled in the ways of colorwork. I give you the Peruvian Motif Banded Crown Cap . In its latest incarnation I am attempting to knit it. Let me say, in its defence, that those Hatternique patterns are really brilliant and the fault is mine, not the pattern.

That's all I have strength for now. More when I can provide evidence.

who doesn't love the smell of cardboard in the morning?

what do you think the movers will think? i'm guessing not much (i dont think they care nearly as much about my stuff as i do), but it's still kinda funny.

during my last move, i realized that i am a very bad box labeler - what? who would have guessed that "fans and crap" isn't descriptive enough? and that 3 boxes labeled "bathroom" didn't help me find my soap any faster.

so this time (since we are moving waaaaay more crap), i've been trying to be as exact as possible, it is really quite funny. we'll see how well it actually works, i'm still expecting a near meltdown when all i really want to do is take a shower and i can't find the freaking soap!

so knitting, eh? yeah haven't been doing much of it. i left myself the anastasia socks and the ivy sleeve (that still needs to be ripped) and a very old WIP languishing at that bottom of my knitting bag. but honestly between work and packing and TRYING to squeeze in some summer fun i just haven't knit a stitch.

here's to hoping i'll pick up the needles soon.

shakespeare socks

my sockapalooza socks had their first outing this weekend, thanks to a cold spell here in the northeast (at least my part of the northeast).

the socks arrived packed away with a sweatshirt as part of my "just in case" plan...it wasn't long before they were in use.



the socks committed a fashion faux pas, but since they are german, they were excused.



the socks thoroughly enjoyed othello...



they are incredibly warm and comfy (i can't wait for winter!)

schöne socken

my sockapalooza socks have arrived and they are absolutely beautiful! tanja, these socks are perfect! they fit like a glove and are amazingly vibrant. can you believe she dyed these herself? they are one of my most favorite color combinations too!



the socks are 100% merino and the pattern is out of a german sock book. i love them, i love them, i love them! they are going to be perfect once the buffalo winter sets in. :)

thank you tanja!

Socks and Itchy Feet

Much to say, no photos.

My socks are winging their way to their new home, where I hope they'll be well recieved. Its exciting stuff, and I can't wait to recieve my own new socks as well, but sadly, I won't be here when they arrive.

I depart on Wednesday morning for sunny Mexico to rendevous with the man of my dreams. I know, I know, eat your hearts out.

8 hours of rarely interrupted knitting.

THat's what you were jealous of, right?

I am a little sad that I will miss the climax of all this Sockaplooza knitting and schemeing, but I think we can all agree that it'll be worth it.

THe fella and I are meeting in Puerto Vallarta, then we will proceed to lolly-gag our way down the coast, spending the nights in quaint fishing villages and our days playing in the surf. Finally, when we hit Acapulco, we will head inland to Mexico City, and fly home from there.

That means I get the bonus of car knitting too! Awesome. I think I'll focus on small bts of lace- but I'm conflicted. Perhaps you'll have some input? Here are my options:

1- The lace sleeves to my Princess Pullover
This sucker was started in summer 2005, and all I have left are sleeves!

2- Aura in Rowan Calmer for my niece who lives in Long Beach. She'll be home to visit shortly after I get home.

3- Droppy scarf in Artfibers Tsuki for my best friend who lives in Santa Cruz. She bought me a big box of Artfibers goodies last birthday, and I promised half would become gifts for her. So fart, only delivered a hat, so I have some knitting to do there.

4- some kind of socks, cause socks are that perfect sort of thinking, but often not thinking too hard, portable knitting.


Thanks for your input- you know I'll probably bring at least 2 of those!

Pics when I get home!

and off they go...

Library Gestapo

this is way too much pressure. when did the library become blockbuster?

and no this is not the first book i've taken out in the last couple months that's had that sticker, its just that i clearly have no knitting to blog about.

sarah and ally i will be holding you responsible. kinda like how i bitch to my dad about the post office.

no clever title...

i can't come up with anything witty, so i'll just distract you with yummy sock goodness.




the anastasia socks are finally back on my trusty #2's now that my sockapalooza socks are finished .

i'm anxious to get my knitting back on track, i've been a bit preoccupied lately (don't want to jinx myself but i'd appreciate positive vibes around 9am tomorrow)

so yeah, excited to get back to some ufo's, i've still got to rip out the sleeve of ivy, that will come soon...first some yummy sock goodness.

Over the limit

I tend to have about 3 active projects at a time: one for at work on my lunch break, and two at home- a mindless one and a thoughtful one. Truth be told, usually i focus one just one or the other, but I like to consider them both "active". One of my goals this year is to clear out a significant number of UFOs, so I have been trying to make 2 of the 3 a revived old project. See how I like making up rules, then forcing myself to follow them?
Anyhow, my thoughtful, at home project that I chose to revive was started in summer of 2005. It is the Princess Pullover, a free pattern from Elann. I keep returning to this project because i think the finished product will be really beautiful, but honestly, this yarn is no fun to work with, and the pattern is written in that vague, German-y way that makes it frustrating at times. At this point, I have only the sleeves left to knit. Last night I sat down with a glass of wine and cast on both sleeves at once. By glass of wine number two, I realized my stitch count was no long working on one of the sleeves, so i took it right off the needles and figured I'd just proceed with one sleeve at a time. By glass number three, I was headed for bed, both sleeves ripped and vowing not to knit lace while A) drinking, even a little B) talking to ANYONE C) Watching anything on TV that I need to see to enjoy

Very sad. Fingers crossed that the new rules will lead to progress tomorrow.