Lady Knitterly

Visit British Columbia!

2010-04-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

There was a tourism "exhibit" promoting British Columbia along the Embarcadero next to the Vaillancourt Fountain today. Included were free zipline rides! You better believe I headed over to see what was what, but sadly found that all the "tickets" (wristbands, actually) had been given away for the day already - the sign said come back tomorrow, 10:00. Well, I won't be going back into the city tomorrow, but look at what I missed!

They really were quite high up and the line ran from next to the Vaillancourt Fountain nearly all the way to Market Street. Looks like fun!

There was also one of the sidewalk paintings that look like nothing but smudges until viewed from the right perspective. I didn't take a photo from the side (and should have) but here it is from the viewing platform:

Too bad I couldn't fit the entire thing in the frame. I don't know who the artist was, but it really was amazing! Don't these things make you want to visit BC? :)

Wildcat Canyon

2010-04-09T23:17:00.001-07:00

I don't have any new knitting but I did want to throw up a few photos I took two weekends ago at Wildcat Canyon Regional Preserve. I wanted to check it out because I was thinking of signing up for a trail race there that I ultimately can't do anyway (because of the date). What's more, I had never been there before. Though many of the Regional Parks in the area are very similar, I've made it my mission to visit all of them at least once. :)

Wildcat Canyon abuts the northwestern edge of Tilden Regional Park. Tilden is relatively large, and has a lot of things to "see", and it's another one of the parks that I haven't made it to yet. Hopefully soon. At any rate, it wasn't a very good day for grand vistas, but here are a few things I saw along the way.

The California poppies were in bloom. It's still a little odd to see them just growing in grass like that, whole hillsides dotted with orange...

These beautiful, but tiny, white flowers were also abundant (any guesses?).

Wildcat Canyon is actively grazed during certain times of the year. These cows were close enough to touch. (Well not these cows.) At one point I had to pass by a mother cow and her (large) calf and I was a little nervous - mothers can be protective of their babies - but I made as wide a detour as I could and no harm befell me. Cows mowing their way across a lush pasture sounds just like someone ripping up paper, non-stop! When I passed back the same way on my return trip, around two hours later, most of the cows were lounging in the shade of some big trees. Eating grass is hard work!

Super adorable cute ground squirrel of some sort! At first I thought it was a groundhog, but I don't think it's big enough. I was so focused on getting as close as I could to the one in the center of the shot that I didn't even notice the second one until I downloaded the photo later. Where's Waldo?

All in all it was a pleasant, relatively short 7 mile hike (approximately) over 3 hours (including a lot of lollygagging) along the Clark-Boas, Belgum, and Wildcat Creek Trails.

New Toy

2010-04-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

We will ignore the fact that it is ridiculously huge on my skinny chicken wrist. Nevertheless, this makes me inordinately happy. Now that I bought it, I had better use it!

I'll be back eventually - kitty sickness woes have preoccupied me lately and no knitting has occurred in recent days. I might miss the April 15th deadline for the Anthropologie deadline. (Might?)

Busy Body, But Not Knitting

2010-03-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

I know this is purportedly a knitting blog, but I've been busy doing something else lately...

Check it out, I ran a race! Every year I make New Year's resolutions and every year I pretty much give up on them by February. This year I was determined to stick to them. One of the resolutions this year was to complete the C25K training program and run in a 5k before my birthday. Even though I am quite thin I am not at all in shape - I have terrible aerobic endurance and I suffer from both exercise and allergy-induced asthma (and have since childhood). Though I am pretty active (dancing, hiking) these things do not equate to excellent cardio-vascular health. C25K seemed reasonable and achievable, and about halfway through the program I signed up for the 3rd Annual Benicia Education Foundation Run for Education. It's a fundraiser for a good cause, and fairly close to home (so I wouldn't have to wake up too early...), plus it was timed at just about the end of my C25K training and right before my birthday. Once I had paid that entry fee there was no going back. :)

I finished the "program" this past week (I missed a few weeks because of travel and other reasons) and ran my first race today. When I started just a few months ago I could not even run a mile without difficulty, and if you had said that in a few short weeks I would be running in a 5k (without stopping!) I would have called you a big liar :) Yet this morning I did just that! Though I am a pretty slow runner still, I managed just under a 10-minute-mile pace and ran the whole thing, hills and all, in about 30:40 (no official results yet). This was the first time I had run a full 5k as well - the farthest training run I had done to date was about 4.75k.

I must admit I am pretty proud. :) This was something completely new to me. It was something I did on my own (no family or friends trained with me, raced with me, or even came to the race). It was difficult! And I accomplished a goal I had set out for myself. This was the first race for me, but it certainly won't be the last. I've caught the bug, so you might have to endure the occasional running post on top of all the other randomness that appears on these pages. I think I have the next race all picked out...

Progress

2010-03-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Finally, a FO

2010-02-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

So! After many trials and tribulations (not really) I have finished the Lichen Rib Socks!

I did make a few small modifications, though they are all small things like "picked up 17 stitches instead of 15 along gusset" and "apparently do not know how to follow directions". The biggest surprise about these socks is how quickly they went. Though it took me a full month from cast-on to cast-off, in reality I only spent about 2 weeks working on them, and even then I was working on other things at the same time. Simple socks are easy! And fun! Note to self for future socks when I decide I need to make the most complicated pattern I own: simple socks equal near-instant gratification.

Other than that things are moderately quiet around these parts (other than work, but that's a whole other bit of drama entirely). I'm working on something non-knitting related that I might blog about in a few weeks time - we'll see. I'm diligently plugging away at Le Lapin Noir as well - I decided to modify the back so that it isn't so low as in the original. (Why is this no surprise? I can't not modify a pattern...) I've about 1 1/2" more until I begin the neck shaping and then about 2" (I think) until the back is finished. And then on to the colorwork on the front! I can't wait.

Still No Knitting

2010-02-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

Actually I am this close to finishing my Lichen Rib Socks. Unfortunately, however, in knitting up the toe of the second sock I noticed a mistake made on the toe of the first sock. Just as soon as I get a chance to rip it back and reknit it, properly this time, I can call that project done. Tomorrow? Thursday? We shall see.

In the meantime, I thought I'd distract you with a few photos that explain at least some of the busy-ness lately.

But remember to tell me to quit my whining the next time it dips below 45. I've become a soft Californian.

Brrr.

Ciao, Tutti!

2010-02-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy couple of week, but I am back on track. Nothing much to report on the knitting front - the lichen rib socks are essentially stalled where they were two weeks ago, though I have picked them up again. I've completed all of the ribbing (front and back) plus nearly all of the back of Le Lapin Noir, so that's good news. Now to just get off my duff and finish something!

How're Ya Lichen Me Now?

2010-02-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks is one of my favorite sock books, the Child's French Sock contained therein is one of my all-time favorite patterns of any kind. (I quite like Gentleman's Sock as well.) I suppose it doesn't hurt that these two pairs of socks I happened to knit with some rather lux yarn. At any rate, I am a big fan and have been a member of the Knitting Vintage Socks KAL for several years now... but, alas, have never participated in one of the KALs. Blasphemy, I know! Well I decided to put that right with this month's KAL:

This month's Sock du Jour is the Lichen Ribbed Sock, one of the simple ribbed socks from the beginning of the book that serve to explore different ribbing patterns, as well as, and perhaps more importantly, toe and heel shapings. The "lichen rib" is done up as a 3x1 rib all along the leg and top of the foot. The heel is a Welsh Heel and the toe the Star Toe of Three Points.

The Welsh Heel is interesting. It seems quite wide to me, but then, I have somewhat narrow feet to begin with. The number of stitches the heel is actually turned on is quite small, and unfortunately you can't really see it in the above photo. Nor can you see it in the following, which looks down the gusset from the point nearest the top of the foot. Ah, well. That shot, however, does portray the yarn in a positive light. See how nice and even the stitches are, even without blocking?

At any rate, I shortened the foot by 1/2 inch from what was written into the pattern in order to account for the extra space in the heel, as well as for the fact that I wear a US woman's 7.5 shoe, and the pattern is written (or, resized, really) for a woman's 8-9. Though it hasn't been washed yet (and of course I didn't swatch for a sock) it seems to have worked rather well. Only time will tell though.

I had hoped to have these done before the end of the month, though I only just cast on January 23! Had I cast on sooner this would have been an entirely reasonable goal - these socks in their slightly thick yarn and super simple pattern are extremely easy, and fast, to knit. I've already reached the heel flap of the second sock even as I type this. I may need some more socks soon, as more mayhem was discovered last night.

The jury's still out on the color (s) though. :)

Knitting in the Wild

2010-01-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

All the rain we've been having lately (more than seven inches in January) have transformed the hillsides:

The change seems quick sudden and shocking, though it has been happening, I am sure, for some time. This photo doesn't even do the landscape justice. The green grass in the sunlight is so incredibly lush and verdant, especially after days and weeks of grey clouds and mist. Temperatures climbed into the low 50s as well today, so I thought I'd take advantage of the fair weather (it's supposed to rain again this week) and go for a quick walk (about 3 miles) in the hills of Briones. This time I started at the staging area at Reliez Valley Rd. This has an extremely tiny parking area (including, weirdly, a handicap spot (there is absolutely no level or paved ground associated with the trail at this point)), and I was lucky to get a spot. Blue Oak Trail though is really nice, a bit steep at the outset (though not as steep as the trail in from the Lafayette Staging Area, I don't think), but there were sections of it that were nestled snugly in between the hills and supremely quiet - no traffic noises whatsoever. It was lovely. I think I prefer this entry to the Lafayette Staging Area even though it is a few miles further. Some sections of the trail were perfect, though the trails on north facing slopes were muddy, sloppy, slippery, slidey messes. I have a feeling they are going to remain that way until the sun creeps a little higher in the sky and dries them out from all this rain. It doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

I took my knitting with me, just in case.

I'm at about the 12" point of the back of Le Lapin Noir (the argyl-ly project from last week), 4" into the stockinette and about 4 1/2" from when I have to start thinking about armhole shaping (I think)

What the Heck?

2010-01-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

I was prepared to get all crafty and show more photos of additional knits in progress, I really was. I also needed to do laundry today, and since I only have a total of five pairs of tights, one of which I was wearing at the time, I whipped them off to add them to the basket. (I also wanted to wash the black knee socks I was wearing since I have only one pair of really good knee socks). I reached into my sock drawer to replace them and encountered this:

I have not been wearing my handknit socks recently, and this is more than a little worrying. I recently had another sock exhibit the same odd hole, and this one was the first of a pair (ie not even finished yet). It's possible that the hole could have come from Mary, who has a taste for yarn (no lie). It's possible it could have been the result of carelessness on my part (some sharp object in the vicinity of my socks). Or, heaven forbid, it could be the result of something far more sinister (cue "horror" music)...

I now fear for all my hand knits. Come to think of it, Salina also has a hole under the arm (though it is right on the seam, and, given that was the first sweater I ever made, it's reasonable to think that my seaming wasn't quite up to snuff - though at the time I was rather proud of the job I did). I want to check all my socks (I only have nine pair total, including the above socks (which apparently aren't socks any more)) but at the same time I don't want to. The implications are frightening. What to do?!?

Not-A-Spoiler

2010-01-29T23:52:00.000-08:00

There's one more gift being crafted currently, or rather, being procrastinated-upon, but I have no photos to share. Two years ago when my sister visited she greatly liked Absorba, the Bathmat, so I took it upon myself to make her one of her own the following Christmas. Alas, the following Christmas came and went and I never even got around to ordering the Peaches and Creme double worsted I wanted to use instead of the evil Sugar'n Creme worsted I used last time. Fast forward another year, to around November 15th (or so). The bug to knit another Absorba strikes again, and I quick order the yarn. No problem, I've got more than a month, right?

WRONG.

Absorba still is not finished. I had hoped to make it even bigger than mine, but right now it's a bit smaller, and I'm seriously considering just binding off and shipping it off. Heavy weight cotton still kills my hands.

It's the throught that counts, though, right?

Spoilers (4)

2010-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Last but not least in the hat roundup is my sister's gift, Julia's Cabled Headband:

Of course, my sister's name is not Julia, but whatever. :) This yarn is Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica that I got quite some time ago, around the same time as when I got the yarn for this scarf, but it isn't the same colorway though (that I can remember, I can't find the tag and I didn't write it down).

I made here some little wristlets in 2x2 ribbing to go along with it with the leftover yarn:

Mary just had to get in the picture there. (She looks mad, like I disturbed her or something, but really she isn't. She jumped up on the table and parked herself right in the middle where she saw me mucking about with the camera.)

Spoilers (2 and 3)

2010-01-26T19:13:00.000-08:00

The name of the game for men folk is simple. This the Fisherman's Watchcap from Knitting With Balls.

It's made with Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted that was left over/ the same as what I used for the Basketweave Scarf I gave my father for Christmas last year. In order to get enough bulk out of the yarn I knit it held double. This hat has a nice shape, plus uses a really squishy brioche stitch for the ribbed brim. I'm expecting it will be quite warm.

For the sister's boyfriend, a Classic World War II Watch Cap with cables:

This one is also knit with the same Nature Spun held double. The ribbing is a simple 2x2 and the cable a simple six stitch pattern. I'm hoping that the recipient's head isn't too much bigger than mine is, because there isn't a lot of room in this one!

I couldn't get very good pictures this time around - it's so dark and grey in winter!

Spoilers (1)

2010-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

Is it a spoiler when the person the item is for doesn't know about the blog an therefore does not read it? Marching along in our tour of Things I Have Made Recently But Not Blogged About is Exhibit A:

This is the Banana Republic Hat Knockoff and it is for my mother. It's made from some of the Debbie Bliss Merino DK yarn (held double) that was intended for a sweater from Vogue Knitting a few years back but I never finished it (or apparently Raveled it) because it turned out too small in the body and it was looking like it was going to be difficult to modify without reknitting the entire thing. I am rather enamored this hat, and if my mother doesn't like it I'm taking it back!

What I really wanted was a nice circular pin for the hat, something like a starburst, but I couldn't find one anywhere. This piece of costume jewelry from Michael's (can you call it costume jewelry if it only cost $3.49?, or is that just junk?) came the closest. I didn't sew the flap down yet (the pin is the only thing holding it together!) in case my mother's head is bigger than mine and she needs more room.

All in all I think it is a nice knit, warm, and stylish!

Not Very Sporting

2010-01-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

Well it wasn't very sporting of me to poke my head up in here last Friday and then disappear again without a trace for over a week was it? I'm not sure if anyone is even still stopping by periodically to see if I have rematerialized, but if so, hi! I'm back, and with a vengeance.

I started back knitting after a nearly year long hiatus right before Christmas (of course). This year ended up being the Year of the Hat (last year was the Year of the Scarf), but sadly I don't have photos to show yet (and even more sadly, the presents are still sitting on my kitchen butcher block waiting for me to finish one final item so that I can send them off...) A lot of other handknits have been finished, started, or frogged in the meantime though, so in order to keep things interesting and maybe persuade me to post more than once a week let's focus on one at a time.

This is my newest love:

That's Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift 2ply and oh my do I love this yarn. The skeins are tiny (25g!) and expensive, but the colors are lovely. I bought a bunch of Jamieson's at the local yarn establishment and started swatching, swatching, swatching...

Though I love all three swatches the winner was this last one, Moorgrass (green) and Sand (very light pink) on a field of Peat (dark red-brown). And you can see I have some rather argyl-ly intentions. At first I was only going to use two colors. This morphed into wanted to use three colors, which led to careful swatching of the three color combinations. I am back to thinking about two colors (in this case, the Moorgrass and Peat) because I'm trying to decide if I want to add some other design element to the piece. You never know though, I'm fickle. I might change my mind back.

At any rate, I cast on yesterday and knit and knit and knit...

This was after only three inches, but I'm up to seven now. The ribbing is knitted on the unbelievably tiny US size 00 needles and the unbelievable gauge of 32 stitches and 40 rows per 4" square over stockinette.

Do you want to know the craziest thing? I am loving the tiny needles and the tiny stitches and the tiny gauge.

Testing...Testing...

2010-01-15T22:59:00.000-08:00

(tap tap tap...)

Is this thing on?

Short-Term Memory Lapse

2009-03-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

I seem to have suffered a short-term memory lapse - I have forgotten how delicious home-made pizza is.

And how easy.

And how cheap.

The very cheapest pizza I can get locally (not counting pizzas in the frozen food case at the supermarket) is, I think, a small cheese pizza from Round Table, and that comes in at $9. I'm not even a particularly big fan of cheese-only pizza. I was in the mood for pizza for dinner tonight, but not for Round Table (or supermarket pizza), so I decided to make it myself. I was reminded yet again that corporations would have us believe that making things from scratch is Hard. This really gets my goat, because nothing could be further from the truth.

I actually ended up using a flatbread recipe for the crust. Here's a rundown of the actual work required:

Mix warm water, yeast, a wee bit of sugar, and a bit of flour, in a bowl and let it proof in a warm spot for 30 minutes. Total actual work time: 1 minute.

Add the rest of the flour (which I used part white and part wheat just for kicks), more warm water, and a bit of salt, mix, and turn out onto a floured surface (the kitchen counter). Knead until smooth and elastic. Put into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour or so. Total actual work time: 10 minutes (8 minutes kneading, 2 minutes the rest of that stuff).

Prepare the toppings and preheat the oven. I did this after about 30 minutes had passed from when the dough started to rise. I sliced a sweet onion and caramelized it on low heat in a heavy skillet (requiring essentially no supervision) and sliced one portabello mushroom cap and sauteed it in a separate skillet with a little liquid for about 10 minutes. Forced a few cloves of garlic through a garlic press while this was all happening and added it to the onions. Chopped a little dill and added it too (near the end). Grated some monterrey jack. Actual toppings work time: about 10 minutes (thought the onions slowly cooked for about a half hour).

Punch the dough down and let it rest a few minutes. (Use this time to wash the dishes generated by the dough and topping-making.) Roll half of the dough out into a rough circle, transfer to a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and top it with 1/4 jar of marinara, cheese, onions, and mushrooms. Bake for 10 minutes. Actual work time: 5 minutes (rolling dough, topping the dough).

It might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn't, and by my reckoning took me less than a half hour of actual work. No, you can't decide at 6pm to have pizza for dinner and expect to be eating before it gets dark (unless you already have dough made and ready in the refrigerator), but it is less effort than many meals. I find kneading dough quite meditative actually, and 8 minutes passes really quickly. I calculated out the cost of my pizza, and it came to about $6, but my prices were all estimates because I don't remember the actual costs for some of the items and I think I probably overestimated some of them. And that was using organic produce and organic marinara sauce, plus I still have half of the dough left in the freezer for another pizza. You could most certainly make a pizza for much, much cheaper. It's filling and delicious and not necessarily all that bad for you depending on what you put in it (for example, I don't use that much cheese). Paired with a simple green salad you definitely a recession-busting meal.

And it's oh so tasty. Give home-made pizza a chance!

Months With Only 28 Days In Them Either Suck or Rock

2009-02-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

I can't decide which. On the one hand, my rent, phone, and internet is more expensive because I am paying the same price for fewer days. On the other hand, everything else is cheaper because there are fewer days in which to spend money buying food, gas, and heat. Hmmm.

I did accomplish some spinning during this short month! Here is my latest, an entry in the Ravelry Spindler's group monthly challenge, that I'm calling Black Magic Woman:

If you think it looks familiar it's because it's the fiber I showed on the spindle the last time I popped in for a visit. (Man, am I irregular or what?) And check it out, I don't know the WPI (and I'm too lazy to check right now) but it's pretty fine, the finest I've yet spun, and pretty consistent too. It is approximately 150 yds of 2ply, 26g (7/8oz).

And compared to J Knits Superwash Me Light Sock:

There are actually tons of nepps in the batt, kind of annoying actually since I am trying to spin it so fine. Grr! I end up stopping a lot to pick them out, and some crept into the yarn, so it is a little tweedy-looking. Still, I love the way the finished yarn looks. I can't believe I have 150 yds from less than an ounce! And I can't believe it is finer than the J Knits!

There's action on the knitting front as well. I finished plying (finally) the second skein of Vash the Stampede for a grand total of approximately 185 yds. I wound up a little ball from the first skein...

And even made a little swatch...

I was thinking originally of making Tudora, but the yarn is not bulky enough and I think it would end up quite floppy, which I do not want at all. It knits up at about 26 stitches per inch on US 4s, and I'm thinking going down a few more needle sizes would be wise. Still, the thought of a neck-warmer in this yarn is appealing. I'm itching to cast on. Any ideas?

(Oh, and still have not figured out what to do about the sleeve caps on Henley. Quite frustrating as I am this close to being finished!)

Self-Sufficient

2009-02-16T23:34:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me a few days ago that if one can make one's own pudding (which this one does, and it is lovely), then one should also be able to make one's own hot chocolate. A brief net dive was all it took.

Admittedly, this is not the perfect cup of hot chocolate. (In fact it is not hot chocolate at all, but in fact is hot cocoa. Homemade hot chocolate would rank up there with ambrosia as one of the foods of the gods, but rather more time consuming. This is as near to instant as you an get without adding unpronounceable chemicals to your mix.) It would be made perfect by the addition of whipped cream, which, sadly, my refrigerator is devoid of at the present time. I don't even have any heavy cream, with which I could just whip up (ha ha) a batch. But nevermind.

Two things:

You can mix up your very own hot cocoa mix with unsweetened baking cocoa, sugar (or artificial sweetener - I used baking Splenda in solidarity with my aunt who needs to avoid sugar), and a bit of salt. The salt is important, don't leave it out.

The secret ingredient is cayenne.

I's possible that everyone knows this already and I'm the very last person to find out, but just in case, there you have it. I've been putting a dash of cayenne in my chocolate pudding for some time now and thought, "what the heck?" It adds warmth but not a lot of heat (unless you go crazy) and gives it an extra special little something. Be free friends, from the shackles of commercial hot cocoa mixes! It's better, and cheaper, this way.

Speaking of divine...

Why is it so darned hard to photograph purples? The first quarter is nearly complete.

New Things

2009-02-15T23:27:00.000-08:00

Back in the day when the streets weren't all flooded out and we actually received mail deliveries, the postman delivered a couple of packages. I told myself I was not allowed to play with the contents of the packages until a certain sweater have two sleeves, but alas, I am weak. Said sweater still does not have two sleeves - in fact it does not even have one. The issue is that I decided to knit the sleeves in the round, thus eliminating the need for bothersome seaming later on. In doing so I also eliminated any means of increasing evenly in the lace pattern and am stuck at what to do about this. I can't increase invisibly. I can't not increase because then I won't be able to bind off at the bottom of the sleeve cap. What to do, what to do...

So instead of contemplating ripping back the entire sleeve thus far instead I broke my own rule and started in on the pretty:

Interestingly, overcast does not equal perfect light for taking photos. We have here the second installment of the Butterfly Girl Designs fiber and spindle club, a Murano foil spindle (I think 0.8 or 0.9 oz, although I can't find the paper right now) and a lovely batt called That Old Black Magic, a purple & black merino & bamboo blend. So even though it looks pretty much identical to the Twilight I was contemplating spinning next, it is not. I got a little overzealous and am almost 1/4 of the way through the fiber.

Moving on.

Next up is a source joy and light in the world:

That, my friends, is a pound of natural black Shetland from Spunky Eclectic, which will eventually become (hopefully) a lovely vest for me. I know there's no real scale to the photo, but trust me when I say it's a lot of fiber to contemplate spinning on a spindle. It's more than the sum total of fiber I have spun to date.

Oh gulp.

Token Pink

2009-02-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

A quick jaunt around the neighborhood while dodging raindrops revealed that spring is a lot closer than we might suspect. The trees are especially eager to display their finery in the odd half-light.

New projects to be revealed tomorrow.

Happy 1234567890 Day!

2009-02-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

I'll take a pass on Valentine's Day. Happy 1234567890 Day instead!!

One Pound

2009-02-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

One pound of something came today, and it made me incredibly happy but a little sad as well because two something elses must be completed first. Plus 3.3 oz of another something arrived on the same day, along with a pointy and whirly thing. And my CSA box arrived as well, packed with goodies like dau miu, fresh lemons, kohlrabi, and my favorite (of the moment) collard greens. It was Christmas in February.

Wanted: One Potholder

2009-02-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

I nearly burned down my apartment last night by setting fire to my one and only potholder. I don't have a photo, but it was truly horrifying. (The fact that something was unintentionally in flames in my kitchen was the horrifying part, not the fact that the potholder bit the dust. It was a cheap potholder from Target. It won't be mourned.)

So, does anyone have any favorite knitted ones? You know, that aren't stupid or kitschy looking?

Project

2009-02-08T23:32:00.000-08:00

Ten minutes per day is all I can handle.

Special Weather Statement

2009-02-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

Today a Special Weather Statement was issued for our area! It must be something really serious, right? This is the reason:

.. WET WEATHER TO RETURN STARTING THIS EVENING...

Seriously?

Things that are Hard to Believe

2009-02-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

1. It was 65 degrees yesterday. January 31st. There are days when I miss New England to the very depths of my soul. And then there are days like yesterday.

2. We are 1/12th of the way to 2010, at which point we can dispense with saying "two-thousand blah dee blah blah". It will just be "twenty-ten". Sweet.

3. I have not spun anything today, and in fact I still have not even plied the second skein of ~~Cardinal~~ Vash the Stampede! All in the name of Henley. Sleeve #1 is half done.

4. I think I may be turning into a plain old vanilla stockinette person. Doing all that stockinette on the lower sleeve yesterday was really nice. I was surprised.

5. Our California state income tax refunds may be held up because of the state government's inability to balance a budget. Luckily my state refunds tend to be small to non-existent. Still, really?

6. I have taken to drinking Kahlua and milk. Actually, that isn't all that hard to believe.

7. I have ordered a pound of fiber with which to spin and then knit a vest. Call the men in the white coats.

8. Spring is on the way. At least, it is here.

Trees behind my office park, Friday. Would you look at that sky?

No, I don't know what they are either.

It Just Might Be Okay...

2009-01-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

It's difficult to take a photo of oneself, in the bathroom, at night.

Love and Peace!

2009-01-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Half of the Cardinal is done and I was too excited and couldn't wait until I finished the second skein for the big reveal!

Two cops of singles awaiting plying.

Plying ball (2 plies wrapped together).

The finished skein, which was whacked to within an inch of its life - it really works!

I am so incredibly, inordinately proud of this little skein. It's 90 yds of love. I just want to snuggle it and pet it, seriously. It's like yarn. Real yarn. (Doesn't it look like real yarn?) It's soft and shiny and mostly even. It's 1.5oz big, which means that if I keep spinning the way I have been (fingers crossed, and I'm halfway through with the remainder already) I'll end up with about 180 yds of 2-ply fingerling (~14 wpi). It's new name is Vash the Stampede, having been inspired by the Humanoid Typhoon's stylistic choices in wardrobe and firearms, not to mention his mantra.

Love and Peace!

Pass the doughnuts.

Purple

2009-01-22T22:05:00.000-08:00

One Quarter and a Teeny Bit More

2009-01-21T23:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, my post titles are inspired lately, non?

I have finished the first quarter (~ 3/4oz) of my BGD fiber and spindle club fiber, Cardinal, and it looks like this!

Yes, this is a major accomplishment for me. Actually it is already wound off onto a toilet paper tube and the second cop started. I am going to try spinning this yarn all the same so that I can make something useful out of it! I decided not to fight the fiber and spin it a little thicker than I maybe had initially wanted, and to use my Golding instead. It is a lot easier to do on the Golding because the spindle spins faster and longer, so I think I made the right decision.

Since the little BGD spindle was then free I of course had to break open another whack of roving I purchased last month:

It's called Twilight, it's 80-count merino, and it is lovely. It's from moonlightbaker. It is very soft and very dense and very short! At least, short for me. In the braid it almost feels like it is felted, except that it's not. I started spinning a little bit fine on the BGD spindle and it is heaven. It's much easier to spin than the merino/bamboo blend.

Of course I don't have a photo of it on the spindle, but take my word for it, it is nice. I'm probably going to just try plying this little bit (2-ply this time) and seeing how it turns out, another little test skein. There are 4 1/4oz of this one, enough to make a little something. I'm getting the hang of rolling the spindle off my thigh, which is good because otherwise I can't get it spinning fast enought to have a good go at it each spin.

Speaking of spindles, I am thinking of naming mine. Is that completely crazy? I think it might be, but I think I might do it anyway. My one lone Golding could be Tsunami of course, since that is what model it is, but the BGD spindles (two more coming!) can't just be "Italian Resin", etc.

I have no photos of it either, but the body of Henley is done. At least, I hope it's done! I guess I'll find out if it is big enough soon enough. It's drying right now. And just for fun I'm going to bump up the completeness percentage up to 50%.

A Little Bit Finished

2009-01-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

Not As Smart As We Think We Are

2009-01-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

Or at least, not as fast, anyway. I haven't finished the BFL roving yet because I've been sicker than a dog. I did manage, however, to get a wee bit of spinning in on the new favorite child. And skeining. And setting the twist. And drying. Ahem. Anyway, here's the little sample skein in all its glory:

I'd call that lace-weight, wouldn't you? The little skein was so wee that it had trouble supporting the dime.

I love the way it looks. It's dark and shiny...and dark and shiny... It's about the size of one of those little skeins of embroidery floss, is nine yards long, and is maybe one gram, maybe (my kitchen scale laughed at me when I tried to weigh it).

Thing is, I didn't terribly love spinning it. The combination of merino and bamboo proved difficult to handle at such a small scale. The yarn broke a lot while I was spinning which resulted in its being overspun (overcompensating, you see). By quite a bit. I had to dry it with a tin of baking powder hanging off it in order to get it to hang straight. Still, I love the fiber and have already started spinning up more at a slightly thicker weight. The new single is probably around laceweight-to-slightly-larger, and I'm enjoying it a lot more.

So, grasshopper, do what the fiber (and your skills) tell you to do...

Meanwhile, back at the Henley Ranch...

The back is done! And the left front! All that's left of the body is the right front, from the beginning of the armhole shaping and up. The bad news is there's only about five grams of yarn left from this skein. Definitely not enough to finish the whole front. I though for a minute about cannibalizing the back (sort of ripping as I knit, ripping back a few rows farther, then adding in a new ball to the back instead of the front, so it would be less noticeable), but depending how far I get with the little bit that's left maybe I'll just try starting a new ball on the front. I'll probably end up ripping out some of the back. Let this be a lesson - when knitting in the round, always knit the front of a sweater first, that way if you run out the join will be on the back, where you won't be able to see it (at least not while you are wearing it!)

Pretty Bird

2009-01-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

I frequently miss my New England home, especially in the winter when the news reports are rife with blizzards, ice storms, and power outages. (And if you think I'm not being serious, believe me, I'm serious. I have a serious sense of nostalgia for winter.) One of my favorite aspects of winter are the colorful winged denizens of the forest that visit the feeder on my parent's back deck on those cold, crisp mornings. What they lack in song they make up for in spades with their beautiful plumage: the blue and white Blue Jay, with his striking black bands and royal crest, bossiest of the backyard birds; the Tufted Titmouse, steely blue-grey above and pure white below with a little blush under the wings and also a tiny crest to top it all off; the Black-capped Chickadee with his distinctive black hat and familiar chickadee-dee-dee call that echoes thorough the still winter forest; and of course the Northern Cardinal, regal, brilliant, and a shocking splash of red in the midst of that most colorless of seasons in the northeast.

Wax nostalgic much?

Anyway, it was more than fitting that my first delivery from the Butterfly Girl Designs fiber & spindle club was this pretty bird:

"Cardinal", a 60-30-10 blend of merino, bamboo, and firestar (in that order) along with a 0.8 oz Italian resin spindle. (I love the colors of the "Blackbird" batt too.)

The spindle itself is nice, light and sweet, and the whorl reminds me of fudge swirled ice cream. I especially like the little bit of carving detail on the shaft. But the star here is the fiber. I love it. It is so pretty and shiny and soft and red. I would never have thought I would have been a huge fan of the sparkle, but even that (which is not nearly as purple as the photos would have you believe) I love.

Of course I had to take it for a little test spin, even though I promised myself I would not start a new spindling project until I finished my first batch of test fiber (the BFL. That fiber is actually almost all spun up, it might be done in a day or two, and will be plied soon I hope.)

This spindle allows me to spin far, far finer than anything I can do on the Golding (as much as I truly love it) and with less effort to go so small. The fiber is a little odd so spin with, and will take a little getting used to I think. This little test spin ended up being mostly bamboo with a bit of the firestar and only a tiny bit of merino. While the batt is super soft, when drafting out the fibers they are kind of squeaky-sticky - just a little. I think it must be the bamboo. The staple length of the fiber seems quite a bit shorter than the BFL as well, though it isn't anything I couldn't handle. All in all a very interesting fiber. I can't wait to see how it looks spun up.

I wonder what it will be when it grows up?

Moving Slowly Along

2009-01-09T00:33:00.000-08:00

So! I have been something of a slacker in the blogging department, sorry about that. I have also been something of a slacker in the responding-to-comments department (which is doubly say because I don't get that many and, really, how long does it take to send an email?) sorry about that too. I feel like an update is in order though, so a quick post and them it's off to dreamland for me.

Henley:

This was from about a week or so ago. Actually, I just looked it up - it was December still! (The very end of December, but December nonetheless...) So much for my "quick" knit. At this point I had strung in onto a KnitPicks Options cable with caps securely fastened, gave it a good soak, and pinned it out to see how it was coming along. (Also, I didn't swatch the lace so I needed to get a sense of how big it was blocked out.) There are 24 lace repeats here. Something like three days later I had this:

(It was cold, and apparently damp in my guest room.) It's a little slanted but I think that's because of the funky way I had it pinned out to the bed. I am knitting it in the round, so it's a little hard to manipulate right now.

This is only 1/2 the lace chart, and it weighs in at 1 1/2" tall. Too bad I didn't measure the width of the "swatch". Nevertheless, sizing looks good, the body looks good (I think it's going to fit), and I'm currently making my way through the second repeat of the lace pattern. I took another hiatus to figure out the armhole shaping but i think (fingers crossed) that I've got it figured out correctly. The armholes will be 7" deep, and that's about 2 1/4 lace repeats, but I've completed almost one full repeat (the decreases are almost done) of armhole shaping on the back. I'll have to knit the fronts separately, obviously, so hopefully my notetaking was up to par.

Buona sera!

Buon Anno Nuevo

2009-01-01T23:28:00.000-08:00

Ciao amici!

It's a new year and a new me. I resolve this year to complete the things that I set out to do. Not too difficult a proposition, eh?

The first resolution of the new year was to do something with a little something I rescued:

Sweet. It's a 400MHz Power Mac G3 (Blue & White), and it's been sitting in the center of my living room floor for the past three weeks. (No that's not my living room, it's my kitchen.) At this point yesterday I had no idea if the thing even turned on. No sense rescuing the thing if I wasn't going to do anything with it, right? ;)

Anyone remember this?

Heh. Well, since I am already running one Mac, and I have no need really for old OS 9 (as good as it was), as nostalgic as it is (everybody say "awwwww") I have decided to "upgrade". Actually, my first thought was to trick this machine out and give it to my aunt so that she can finally get an iPod. She is currently using a old laptop (make and model unknown) running Windows95. That's right, the computer is so old it won't run anything newer than Windows95. (Although now that I think about it, I'm sure I could do something about that as well..) Anyway, I popped this puppy open to see what I was working with and discovered I had a 9 GB HD (quite impressive back when this machine was new), a temperamental CD-ROM, and only 384 RAM. Well the RAM is easy to take care of, it is upgradeable to 1GB, although it's a tad pricey. Even the CD-ROM I can probably replace by myself (when it spins it sounds like a sick cow), and I'm not sure it's entirely necessary anyway (although it is if I wanted to make this into a machine for my aunt). But the HD... oh the HD. 9 GB isn't much space these days, and it would be great to upgrade, but there are a couple of issues though that make it difficult. I won't talk about it here just yet, as the tech speak may make you go blind. Anyway, what's the next best thing?

Ah, bliss. And free free free.

Resolution #1 - check.

So what do you have on your list?

Dear People Who Knit Chunky Things with Chunky Yarn,

2008-12-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

Why?

And this is not even that chunky. Boy do my hands hurt. I thought I could whip off a sweet hat in a couple of days, but I still have four more inches to go. Four more inches!

Henley and I had a wee falling out - I knit all the way to the end of the first lace row only to discover that I had started the chart one stitch too far to the left and therefore the lace motif was not centered. I couldn't have that. I started ripping back, but since I've knit the body in the round it was quite a long way. I flung the half-ripped piece into the knitting basket and didn't pick it up again until today. I finished ripping back and knitted the row again.

Wrong again.

Part of the problem may be that there is a random stitch marker in the middle of the row on the right front side. No idea what it's there for. Completely messed me up, I am positive.

I'm giving my hands a break from the chunkies and trying it again. Third time's a charm?

Can't We All Just Get Along?

2008-12-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

But first: It Happened In Sun Valley

I've not been crafting the past few days but this afternoon I picked up the spindle again. At first everything was fine, and I was cruising along with some pretty fine-gauge yarn, when abruptly the yarn broke. And broke again. And again. And again. It then occurred to me that probably, because my spindle is fairly heavy, the weight of the spindle, plus that of the yarn newly wrapped on, had exceeded the capacity for the yarn at that thickness to support it. However I think what was really happening was that the spindle was telling me it didn't want to spin ultra-fine singles. It wanted to spin what I was spinning before. So I went back to the thickness I spun the second ounce and all is right with the world again. My spindle and I are on speaking terms again.

I am also just three little rows away from the lace portion of the body of Henley. I like the look of the dividing rows very much.

No photos today though.

There are Standards and Then There are Standards...

2008-12-10T23:27:00.001-08:00

... and one of the new standards has just got to be Santa Baby as sung by the inestimable Eartha Kitt. A gold standard for sure. I'll bet Eartha had Santa eating right out of her hand, don't you think?

Not much to report here. Spun a tiny bit of fluff but my hands were tired from the work I did today. Have not quite gotten the charts for Henley worked out. The new Knitty is out, and though I am not a big bobble fan I have to say that I am enamored with Surface. Well, it is a Norah Gaughan design, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Reclaimed my box of holiday cards out my spare bedroom, which has been kept shut to preserve heat in the rest of the apartment and which will henceforth be known as the Walk-In Freezer. I got the cards out, but haven't written them out yet. I'm feeling the pressure, as I have already received a few in the mail. Since I have nothing else to show, take a gander at what I'm sending this year:

I always buy cards after Christmas. (The sales, oh, the sales! Why would you ever pay full price for holiday cards?) These are from last year, or possibly the year before. Aren't they cute? The red one features cutouts and the other one, well, who could resist those birds?

Baby It's Cold Outside

2008-12-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite holiday songs (even though it has nothing to do with the holidays other than inclement weather and the possible abuse of certain alcoholic beverages (is it just me or is the man in the song a selfish whiny lush?) My favorite version, with Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer, kicks all others to the floor.

It's around 35 tonight - baby it's cold outside! The heat is on and I had a flash of brilliance last night, or at least, common sense. I had previously bought several tension rods for the doorways to hang extra curtains to help keep the heat where it's needed and not heat empty rooms, but haven't gotten around to buying the actual drapes/blankets/whatnot yet. But what I do have are two extra sets of flannel sheets.

Duh.

I hung the straight sheets on the rods, one secured with the drapery clips I got at Target and the other held on with clothespins. One is hanging in front of the front door and the other is in the doorway to my room (so I can have the heat on in there at night but keep the door cracked so the cats can come and go). It doesn't have to look nice, right now all it has to do is preserve heat. And it does help. I need to get my ducks in a row and order those heavy duty drapes!

In the meantime, I've still not progressed on Henley, or the new clown car multicolored item, but I did spin a little:

I know the yarn on the spindle is under tension, the yarn on the ball is not, and the yarn in the hank (chain-plied) is "finished", but it amuses me to see the difference. Chain plying was interesting, but I don't think I'd do it a lot, at least not right now (and there's no reason to think when I get "better" that I'd go back to it). In places where the singles are uneven the chain bumps are somewhat apparent, and the radical unevenness of my spinning is not masked by averaging over separate strands but highlighted by the fact that thin parts are right next to other thin parts and thick parts right next to other thick parts. I haven't measured it since washing, but it was about 30 yds previous, and it's thick stuff - about 7 wpi I think (on average, again, thicker and thinner in spots). It's comprised of the first quarter (~1 oz) of the Allspunup roving.

My spindle is pretty heavy, so I am pleased with how this newest batch is going. It looks like the Allspunup fiber is going to be all spun up - as samples! I may try plying the stuff on the ball into a 2-ply (from both ends of the ball) and see if I can't spin all the rest as thin as what's on the spindle and ply from 2 separate balls. Oh, the bit on the spindle is spun from the fold, and I love that technique, more than pre drafting and more than splitting the roving. You just rip, flick, and away you go! I find it much easier to spin a consistent single this way, and feel like I have more control. I've also backed my hands out more and let the twist extend past my right hand (I'm a right-handed spinner) and into the drafting triangle, which I wasn't doing before. It is so much easier when I allow the twist to pull the fiber from the wad of fluff in my left hand than trying to do it myself! I'm sure someday I'll look back and wonder why I ever did it the hard way.

Two Weeks and Counting

2008-12-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

It is two weeks until the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the Northern Hemisphere winter, and I am practically counting the minutes. On days when the fog lasts far into the morning it feels as though I am living in a world of perpetual twilight (northern latituders feel free to quibble with our "long" winter days). Outside the sky is very white, while inside buildings it is just dark - natural light is precious and fleeting. Despite the fact that I am now further south than I was in New York City by a full three degrees it feels like the winter is interminably longer, made all the more confusing for my instinctual sense of the seasons by the fact that, while cold enough to be winter (or at least, late fall), and though the leaves are nearly off the deciduous trees, at the same time things are starting to green up.

This is a poetic way of saying I missed my short window of opportunity to photograph the Basketweave Scarf. (It is also a way to complain about the shortness of winter days. I do not have nearly enough good interior lighting to make up for it.) Badly lit interior shots will have to suffice, and no modeled shots, because that is just asking too much.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Basketweave Scarf (2x2 stitch pattern, 6 row repeat, over 30 stitches, with a slipped stitch edge)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Charcoal, ~ 1.5 skeins (approximately 350 yds)
Needles: Clover bamboo 14" straight US size 4 (3.5mm)
Size: 72" x 5.5"
Started: 5 November 2008
Finished: 28 November 2008
Pattern mods: How can there be? I made it up.

This yarn was gifted to me by Opal last year (!) and I have been sitting on it waiting for the right project. I think the yarn matches the stitch pattern perfectly. The second photo is a little more representative of the stitch clarity, but you can tell that different angles highlight different aspects of the yarn, and you can really see the lovely texture. I love it, and am tempted to keep it for myself, but this is the Year of Scarves (for Christmas), and I have need of a manly scarf. I still have 2.5 skeins of wool left, and I was thinking Henry would be great, but it will probably be too dense. Any ideas?

I worked up through row 72 on Henley (rav) but stalled because I need to figure out the simultaneous shaping of the back and front. Mission: Failed, though I did get a good 2" done on the body. I think I might like to swatch the lace pattern as well before proceeding (now there's an idea) to make sure my gauge will not be too crazy different. I am using a much different yarn after all. In retrospect I probably should have done that before I even started. Oh well...

Because of the Henley impasse I accidentally cast on for another project:

I swear the colors are not that clown car-ish in real life.

I finished spinning the second ounce of the BFL from Allspunup I talked about yesterday. I now have an important decision to make - how should I ply it? I am concerned about just doing a regular 2-ply because I don't think the colors will look that good when mixed together, specifically the blue and green together (blue+yellow and green+yellow I think would be fine). I was careful when I split the roving to split it into relatively even pieces, but I am sure my paltry spinning efforts have not preserved the color repeats exactly, especially since it is not that evenly spun, and if it did then it is a miracle.

That leaves Navajo ply. I'm kind of scared of Navajo ply, and I don't know how thick a yarn it will make (pretty thick I would guess). I guess this is all a learning experience and I should just go for it, and I still have 1/2 of the roving left to try something else, but...

All Spun Up

2008-12-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Before breaking out the spinning news let's first talk about Henley. I ended up ripping back 15 rows or so and replaced the double decreases with regular left and right leaning decreases set apart by 3 stitches. I hope the wonkiness blocks out because, since I messed with those stitches so much they are a little screwed up looking. I also think maybe I should have separated the decreases by only 1 stitch, but I didn't want there to be too much stress on them since there are no seams, but I think I would have liked the way it would have looked better. Oh well, live and learn.

I finished the last of the waist decreases (which there were eight sets of, not six like I had initially stated, and which actually is a different number than anything in the pattern in case you are keeping track, because of my differing gauge). I was up to row 53 past the turning row, and supposedly you knit 2" past that for a total length of 8" before beginning the bust increases. It did not seem like I had even 6" (even though I knew the gauge would increase with blocking). I had more like 4". So I pulled out my gauge swatch and it's a good thing I did. The numbers I had written down initially were totally incorrect. My gauge swatch is 25 stitches and 32 rows to 4", not 24/30 like I wrote down.

This means my decreases happened over a somewhat smaller distance than strictly necessary, but I think it will be ok. It is helpful though because I want to lengthen the body a bit, since both Salina (rav) and Mrs. Darcy (rav) ended up being rather on the short side on use. So I'm up to row 57, plan to knit straight until row 72 (9" from the turning row instead of 8"), and at that point it will become necessary to work out what to do next since the shaping is different on the front and back. I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have just knitted it flat like the pattern prescribes. (I think when I get to the lace part I will be thankful though!)

I did sort of halfway pin it to my ironing board and steamed it out a bit with my iron. It looks ok, the curl of the hem end relaxed somewhat, and the gauge increased (decreased? fewer stitches per inch) to be closer to my gauge swatch. I always wet block items though, which I think will relax the stitches even more, so it's going to be ok I think. I'm hoping I will be to the lace by tomorrow (is that crazy ambitious?).

Moving on.

As I mentioned several posts ago, I am thankful for the internet being open 24 hours.

I ordered some handpainted roving from Allspunup on Opal's recommendation. I suppose I didn't need handpainted roving quite yet since I am such a beginner, but shoot it's pretty, plus having pretty fiber will likely encourage me to practice more than plain fiber would. Right? She doesn't name the colors I don't think, but doesn't this just like like cotton candy?

I know, I know, I've never seen green or yellow cotton candy but that's what it reminds me of. I decided to start with this one because it is BFL, and you know how everyone says it's one of the easiest for beginners to spin.

(I just had to stick the penny in there because you know it's what everyone does.) Yes, I can verify that (it's easy). It's very soft and smooth, but not slippery at all. It's smoother than the Coopworth that came with my kit, which was a little more scratchy and the individual fibers of which I think were maybe more curly as well (though really it's hard for me to tell). Now my only dilemma is whether to ply this right away or wait and spin some more of it. I kind of want to see what it would look like if I split the roving into more thinner pieces so that the colors are more concentrated, rather than splitting it into only a few pieces and then pre drafting it out a lot (which is what I did). On the other hand I am itching to see what it might look like plied.

PS The Basketweave Scarf is dry! Man that took a long time. I think I like it. The stitches are not super crisp but give it rather an air of controlled texture. Photos tomorrow.)

Last Time, I Swear

2008-12-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

(Although who are we kidding, really?)

First off I have to say I did work on Henley, and just finished the fourth of six waist decreases - 12 more rows to go before it's worked even to the placket/underarm (whichever comes first, I'm not sure). I may try to steam the piece tomorrow (though all I have is a regular iron) to see how the hem is going to act.

And now for the really important stuff.

I finished spinning the starter fiber that came with the Learn to Spin kit, and I must say that I am really pleased with the result. Once again I Andean plied. I would have taken a photo of the yarn wrapped around my hand but the circulation was being cut off to my middle finger and it was starting to turn blue. So instead I just have a shot of the singles on my wrist, like a bracelet.

I did find out that once you start Andean plying you are kind of stuck doing it until you are finished, because the yarn is all wrapped up in a neat little packet on your wrist.

After plying I wound it off onto a chair back.

Would you look at that? I can absolutely not freaking believe it. That's approximately 60 yds of mostly even 2-ply. It has had a bath and is now hanging up in the bathroom and behaving very nicely. Wow.

PS Heat is lovely. Remind me this when the December gas bill comes.

Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Closeup

2008-12-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

Conclusions:

1. It's difficult taking photos of yarn in the dead of night (what's up with these colors?)

2. Yarn is hard to spin consistently, though it gets a bit easier with practice.

3. Spinning yarn is addictive.

I swear this is not turning into a spinning blog, but you have to admit it is pretty darn exciting! These photos are from my very first little mini skein of yarn. It consists of the yarn I spun during the first 2 days of spindle ownership and is approximately 7/8 oz, or nearly 1/2 of the roving sent along with the kit. I only ended up with about 25 yds because of my massively uneven initial spinning. The fiber is Coopworth, and supposedly very easy to learn on. In my (extremely limited) experience the length of the fibers seems extremely long (presumably making the drawing really easy when you are learning.)

I simply spun until the spindle was getting a little unwieldy for me to handle and then plied using the Andean plying method. Andean plying is genius - it allows you to wind the singles in such a way (on your hand no less - very low tech) that when you are done you can ply from both ends of a the single, thus avoiding having to wind the singles into separate balls. Truth be told I was kind of worried about the whole "winding singles into balls" bit. The only problem is that my singles were pretty variable in diameter, especially when comparing the very beginning of the single as compared to the very end, though I was getting a little better at keeping it even by the end. You can see from the photos above that some sections were very balanced, where the two singles were close in size, whereas others were definitely not. The singles were also generally very overspun, and even after plying there was a bit of kink in the yarn. I washed it and dried it flat though, so maybe if I had hung it to dry that would have helped.

This photo is my favorite one. It is the alpha and the omega. (What's more the alpha is joined with the omega because of the Andean plying!)

I'm already halfway through the rest of the fiber. Good thing the internet allows us to buy things in the middle of the night.

(Next question: so how do you spin hand painted roving so that it doesn't end up looking like mud?)

(PS I turned on the gas. Weak.)

Not Even a Photo

2008-12-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Once again I got home after dark, not that that's an unusual thing these days, three weeks before the winter solstice. The sun is a heavy sleeper these days, staggering out of bed after seven, and it tumbling back behind the pillowy hills before five. Nine and a half hours of daylight is just not enough for this heat- and light-seeking child. If I were a plant I would have shriveled up and died by now (and many of my plants have, though mainly through neglect and not due to any sort of seasonal change).

The darkness, or rather, the lack of sunlight, prevent the daytime temperatures from topping 60 (the fog plays no small part in this as well), and the nighttime lows hover around 40. Soon the temperatures will dip into the 30s, but I have already broken - today, when I returned home at 7:30, the temperature inside my apartment was 53 degrees. Left to its own devices it would have eventually fallen to match that of the outside air, as it did last night. It was too much, and though I did not turn the gas heater on I did drag the space heater over to the couch, plug it in, and hover over it the entire night. A little while ago I dragged it into my bedroom and shut the door to warm up that room a little. I feel like this might be cheating.

Though I did not turn on the gas heater this course of action is stupid. Gas is cheaper than electricity. Or at least, it is more efficient to heat the apartment as a whole with gas than with electricity.

My Resolve
RIP
d. Dec. 03 2008
I put the heavy cotton drapes back up on the sliding door, though I don't think it does much good. I attached a new door sweep. I bought some additional weatherstripping that I haven't had a chance to install. I have yet to order any additional insulating window coverings, due to a couple of factors, but if I am going to turn the heat on I'm going to have to decide on a plan of action quick. My parents think I am crazy because it isn't as though I can't afford the heat, I just don't want to pay the piper for it.

In other news, I made yarn! It looks kind of bad! You'll see. If I ever see daylight again. The beret is also finally dry... and also about 1000 times too big. (While this might be a slight exaggeration it is true it is far, far to big for me to wear. That will teach me to assume that superwash won't grow - it grows more than a lot of other wool I've ever worked with.) Back to the drawing board.

Supporting the Economy Since 1998!

2008-12-01T23:22:00.000-08:00

Even though we do not get ice here I had a little slip and fall.

And instead of working on Henley (or eat dinner) I worked on something else.

That there is quite possibly the worlds most overspun and string-like first handspun. (Actually it didn't start out all that string-like, but as time went on I kept thinking "I wonder how small I can go?")

One cat thinks the spindle is a toy, while the other thinks the roving is a toy. But I have no photos because I kept trying to get them to not eat my new toy.

I am in love love love. I would also like to say thank you to Opal for all her awesome advice! This spindle is a Golding Tsunami. Boy do they have some lovely spindles, but I decided to go basic (and get their kit), you know, just in case.

Now I just need to figure out how to ply. And buy more roving. Yeah.

Henley

2008-11-30T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how "perfected" it will be, but I'm giving it a go.

I truely do not understand yarn manufacturer's gauge recommendations at all. This is Araucania Nature Wool, which gives a gauge of 18 stitches and 24 rows per 4" on size 5 needles on the skein sleeve. While I can achieve that gauge I need to use size 8 needles (5mm) to do it, and the resulting fabric is pretty loosey-goosey. I am working it up on size 2 (!) (2.75mm) needles, and getting a gauge of 24 stitches and 30 rows per 4". I've washed and blocked (laid out) the fabric, and it is lovely. The stitches are nice and tight and even, but there still is a good deal of drape. It isn't difficult or painful to knit at all. I must be morphing into the world's loosest knitter.

I'm up to row 30 (after the purled turning row, which I did not count), just past the second set of decreases. I'm already regretting not doing a knitted-in hem, and am worrying over the sewing in of the hem. The needle I am using is a fairly short bamboo circular, so the knitted fabric is curling quite a bit, especially so since there is no slack in the cord. The yarn catches on the needle join as well, which is quite annoying - I might have to try the clear nail polish trick I read about somewhere. The decreases I'm doing as paired centered decreases (sl 2 as though to ktog, k, pass sl sts over) but am worrying too that this will make the sides untidy, because though I am knitting the body circular with no side seams, the paired decreases create sort of a raised "seam" anyway. I don't know if that will block out. I might take it off the needles in a bit and give it a soak to see what's what. I sure hope this 100% wool works out (see: all previous posts on how cold it is).

Le Beret is finished, as is the Basketweave Scarf. I am worried about Le Beret - it seemed to grow enormously after a bath, but it still is drying so I don't know for sure. Serves me right for not swatching, I guess. The Basketweave Scarf is still soaking, which reminds me, I had better get the scarf out of the water before it disintegrates. Ciao!

It's Neither Maine, Nor the Morning...

2008-11-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

...but it's been cold enough to be. So I whipped up some Maine Morning Mitts with some random chenille that has been in my stash for forever and a day:

Yeah, it's chenille, don't be a hater. Free is free after all (and ancient stash may as well be free). I made the arms extra long, though in retrospect I probably should have made them an inch or two longer. They are a super easy knit, and probably could have been finished in a weekend had I not been distracted in the middle and then forgetting how long I made the first one.

I also knit 30 extra rows on the arm part that I had to go back and fix. I know, what happened? I wasn't paying attention, that's what. Nevertheless I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm thinking of giving them to my sister for Christmas since her house is even colder than mine.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts by Clara Parkes from The Knitter's Book of Yarn (Ravelry link)
Yarn: stash chenille, worsted-ish weight, in maroon
Needles: KnitPicks metal dpns US size 7 (4.5mm)
Size: One size fits all
Started: October 2008
Finished: November 2008
Pattern mods: Lengthened the arms and used worsted-ish weight yarn instead of aran weight; 90 rows total.

These were my second ever knitted mitts - the first ones were made years ago and ended up being different lengths because I didn't think to count the rows as I went along. They were also, as I recall, made from grey alpaca, which I seem to be allergic to, and I'm not even sure if I have them any more. I would love to add some mitts to my own wardrobe, they're great for frigid interior environments!

There's a new project on the needles as well:

I just can't help myself. It's actually progressing really quickly; my only problem with it is the color. This photo doesn't do it "justice" - it's the same radioactive yarn I've blogged about in the past. I really do hate this color - does anyone have any experience overdying finished products with some easily available (and cheap) dye like RIT? I know it isn't optimal, but I'm not out to spend a lot of money. The yarn is Cascade 220 superwash (color 802, if you want to know).

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Enjoy your soup!

And the #1 Reason for Taking Notes While Knitting is...

2008-11-24T23:45:00.000-08:00

...so you can figure out, two weeks later, what exactly you did when you made the first one.

I Thought I Had it All Figured Out

2008-11-23T23:35:00.000-08:00

I obsessed all day. I measured and web browsed and measured some more. I mapquested the location of a certain big box hardware store (to take advantage of a coupon I had of course). I naively assumed they would have things like door sweeps in an obvious location, and would stock tension curtain rods. Boy was I ever wrong.

The big box hardware store in question is far away from my house. It is almost so far as to make my coupon pointless. (Almost, but not quite.) I also spent far too long wandering about the place trying to locate items that they did not seem to carry in stock. Items like the curtain rods I need in order to spare my sanity. Things like vinyl door sweeps. It's a good thing there was no traffic to speak of, or I would have been very, very irritated. I did finally find the door sweeps, but not before wanting to track down the person at the flooring counter and punch them for pushing the call button 27 times in quick succession. Despite the fact that the store is a giant warehouse, I think my local hardware store, which is a chain but tiny, has a larger selection. And anyway, give me OSH any day.

I did find tension rods at a big box store of another type closer to my apartment. Though not enough of the size I wanted. And no toilet paper or paper towels of the type I use on sale either, since I was recently cleared out by the roaming hoard which is my family. Fine. I bought what they had and left.

I also tried to find, online, inexpensive wool blankets to use as extra window insulation. I searched and searched and could find nothing even remotely affordable. Then I had a brilliant idea: Army surplus.

There's no store near me, but there's lots of stuff available online. Lots and lots of stuff. From all over the world. And cheap, too. Cheaper than you could buy equivalent amounts of similar fabric. And some of the surplus blankets (like the Swiss and Italian) are supposedly pretty nice.) Yay me!

But then I started to really think about it. Blankets, especially army blankets, are made of wool, sometimes even 100% wool. Wool items, especially from a long time ago, used to be stored in moth balls. People sometimes still use mothballs. Except mothballs are made of some pretty toxic stuff, like neurological disorder-type stuff, which weirds me out because my grandmother's garage pretty much always smelled strongly of mothballs.

So what do I do? I don't want to bring mothball-smelling, chemical contaminated blankets into the apartment so that the cats and I can get sick and now I am scared to buy the blankets. I also don't want to spend a crazy amount on the windows. I also don't have the space to air things out and it's unclear if that completely dissipates the chemicals anyway, or how long that might take. (Weeks? Months?) Anyone have any experience with army surplus woolens smelling of mothballs?

I did manage to purchase one item (yesterday) that has made me insanely happy:

At least my feet will be warm...

How Cold is Too Cold?

2008-11-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

I freely admit I am not a cold weather person. I mean, I love to ski and skate and enjoy snowy vistas, but when I'm lounging about the home my core body temperature tends to plummet. Cold temperatures for me bring shivering and malaise and general unhappiness. At the same time, though, I am keenly aware of resource consumption, both in terms of the environment (natural gas) and my wallet (cash). So you can imagine my dilemma upon waking up this morning:

That's the temperature both inside and outside my apartment this morning at 8am. Now, I have a lovely heavy down comforter that keeps me snug as a bug in my bed even at 49 degrees, but it's the getting out of bed that's turning into a problem...

I've searched and searched for some reference as to when I caved last year and turned on the heat, first in the form of an electric space heater (inefficient, causing my electric bill to skyrocket) and then in the form of my ridiculous apartment wall unit (which is also inefficient, though slightly less so, causing my gas bill to skyrocket). My apartment is so inexpertly constructed that you can feel a breeze when standing next to the sliding glass door, there is a gap under my front door big enough for a squirrel to run under, and my heater mainly functions to keep the ceiling toasty. I do employ some weatherizing strategies but this is a rental and I am not about to pour tons of money into something I don't own.

Last year I installed one of those vinyl door sweeps (I know, vinyl bad!) on the bottom of the door, but I placed it a tad too low and it dragged on the carpet every time I opened and closed it. By the end of the winter it had started to tear, so I pulled it off. I haven't replaced it yet and am currently shoving a rolled up towel in the space.

I also applied that plastic shrink wrap (I know, plastic bad!) on the vent for my stove (basically a hole in the wall, and not all that effective at venting) and the window in the spare bedroom last year. The stove vent is still shrinkwrapped from last winter, though the window is obviously not. The problem with this strategy is 3-fold. 1) it is really, really hard to apply that stuff yourself, and I am only one person; 2) plastic!; 3) the cats like to run along the window sills, especially Lily (who I did not have last winter). What am I supposed to do, deny the cats their windowsills?

Last winter I wore a lot of layers, on the ridiculous order of 5 or 6, plus hats, gloves, scarves, and what have you, indoors (until I turned the heat on, at which point I only wore 2 or 3 layers). I am not against wearing a sweater and fingerless gloves or wrist warmers, but this goes beyond excessive, besides which there aren't enough items of clothing in my apartment to keep me sufficiently warm without bundling up like the little brother in A Christmas Story. Not exactly classy.

Last year I weatherstripped the front door (which had none) and the side of the sliding glass door where it closes (which also had none). This is still in place. It does nothing to prevent the wind from coming through the other side of the slider.

I know my electric bill spiked in December, and then my gas bill spiked in January, but I don't have anything more specific than that. My readings are around the 10th, so the first weakening happened sometime between Nov. 11 and Dec. 10 (probably sometime around the middle of the billing cycle) and then again (with the gas) sometime after Dec 10th. Since my gas bill was über-low in December I rather suspect I didn't actually turn on the gas until just about the 10th of Dec. I am not messing with the space heaters this year, except in the bathroom (otherwise I would really never get out of bed in the morning) but I don't think I can hold out that long. I plan to get a new door sweep and shrink wrap the vent in my bathroom (basically a hole in my ceiling on par with the vent in the kitchen), which is at present un-wrapped. Short of sealing the entire house in plastic, does anyone have any ideas? I'm cold right now, and no amount of knitting is going to help...

(PS I just started in on the second skein of wool for the gray scarf - my family was here for over a week, so needless to say not a whole lot of knitting happened.)

It's November 9th... Do You Know Where Your Handmade Holiday Is?

2008-11-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

The elections are over, and thank heavens for that! The palpitations may now cease. I am looking forward to an increase in civility from our elected officials and news reporters, at least, as much as can be expected from elected officials and news reporters.

The very next day, November 5th (as far as I can remember), someone (who of course I cannot remember because it was four days ago and what do you expect from me?) wrote that it was 50 days until Christmas.

Fifty Days Until Christmas.

This of course gave me palpitations anew, because once, just once, I would like to have a homemade holiday. This year is as good a year as any, especially given that all possible spare pennies, nickels, and dimes, are going into the House Fund. I have oodles of skeins of yarn, really too many given that I have not knitted a stitch (other than the slow startup again on the Mediterranean Lace shawl). Instead of jumping headfirst into NaKniSweMo, which believe you me I actually was tempted to do and actually swatched for a project (good thing I did not get close to gauge, eh?), I have declared that this is the Year of the Scarf. And other small knitted outerwears.

It is true that I declared last year the Year of the Scarf, but last year's year went bust after I did not end up gifted any scarves. I am nothing if not about recycling.

Here's proof I am serious this time:

It's a 2x2 basketweave (6 row pattern repeat) over 30 stitches, with the first stitch of every row slipped for a neater edge, knitted with Nature Spun worsted 100% wool in charcoal. I have turned into the craziest loosest knitter ever, so this is being done on size 4 clover bamboo needles. I'm almost done with the first skein, and am at about 32" right now. I expect that I might get 6' out of 2 skeins, before blocking. I didn't swatch, so I don't know what the yarn will do after a bath. Do you suppose that's long enough for a scarf?

I rather like this "mindless" knitting, as I can do other things while I'm working, like watching episodes of my favorite shows online. Oh thank you internet gods, for turning the television execs onto the internet revolution. Especially since I don't have to pay for cable to watch what I want to watch. Speaking of which, have you seen South Park's take on the election results? Who knew?

All Election Coverage, All the Time

2008-11-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

I don't have cable, so it is unclear to me how I will get my election-day fix of all-election-coverage, analyzed and spinned (spun?) so much that it feels like you just got off the Tilt-a-Whirl at the carnival. I guess I'll have to get my news from a more traditional route - the Wednesday paper.

Ha, who are we kidding. I'll be up all night with the rest of y'all, hitting refresh until my fingers bleed.

Don't forget to vote people! As if anyone could. For the record, I am voting for Ginger. I especially like her economic stimulus plan.

Whoa Nellie

2008-10-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

One of the very few things you can do when you are sick, and have been sick for what seems like forever, is knit. Imagine my surprise! I haven't knitted anything since, well, the last time I posted that I had knitted something. So, some time then. But the past couple of weeks I've been basically stuck in my apartment, if not actually stuck in bed, so I rummaged around and dug up this old artifact:

According to my Ravelry project page (which I haven't been on in three months either) I started this in June, 2007. Good grief.

For my own sanity: I am currently working on row 204 of Chart A (the center panel). Chart A rows increase to row 242 and then decrease back down to row 418. Row 200 contained 185 stitches. And then there are some giant Chart B panels that are supposed to attach to the sides, but it remains to be seen how much patience I will actually be able to maintain. It may depend on how much longer I am sick...

Wow, Has it Really Been Three Months?

2008-09-12T20:27:00.001-07:00

Needless to say (or is it?) not very much crafting has gone on. I have however discovered the following:

1. I am not dying. (Yay!)
2. I live in a pit.

Re: #2, I don't have cable TV, the companies around grossly overcharge for their programming, and I can't get a satellite dish. So I have an antenna. On a good day I might get 4 channels, sort of. Well, because of the whole "moving to digital" thing I had to buy a converter box (my TV is that old). Thing is, digital signals are weaker than analog. The local stations come from San Francisco, San Jose, and Sacramento. There are big hills basically all around. The only stations I pick up with the digital box are two spanish language channels that broadcast from about 5 miles away (there is a large hispanic community nearby). I even tried building my own antenna (which actually seems to work better than the one that came with the TV believe it or not).

This is great and all, but I what will I do without Dancing With the Stars?

That's all for now, folks. I have to go clear my Bloglines or else have a panic attack trying to read the thousands of new entries since I last checked. It's good to be back!

PS Any ideas? :)

Resolution

2008-06-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

I will bike to work every single day next week.

Because I can. And I should. I mean really.

Some Like it Hot

2008-06-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

And some don't.

Back to the Task at Hand

2008-06-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

I posted a little peak at my "new" cubbard doors a few days ago. Here is another look!

Oh my, it is true love. Not only are they bright, a plus given that my kitchen gets about an hour of direct sunlight, and even then only in the summer, but most importantly they are clean. Clean and smooth, and brilliant white. Of course, I still have to paint the box, but here is the most important question: what to do about the hinges?

As you recall (or maybe not) they were also slathered with multiple layers of regular old paint, and as such they looked like crud. I had a heck of a time getting them off, due to the paint layers and the fact that many of the screws were stripped, but I prevailed and ultimately boiled the paint away. They are shiny brass hinges. So the question becomes - what color should they be?

I could try painting them. How easy is it to paint something (well) with moving parts? And in that case what color should they be? Black like the handles? White like the doors? Should I just buy new ones? I have seen white ones at Home Depot that are about the same size (I didn't have anything to compare to be sure though) but only in white - I didn't see any black ones at all. Other various metal finishes though.

Which reminds me, I have to attribute the progress above to one little thing. This baby:

It's a Ryobi, just like my power drill. I think I'm starting to develop a thing for power tools. (Ryobi power tools are kind of small and cute, by the way, and not very expensive at all.) What does a single gal need with a power drill? Well, for one thing it is also a screwdriver - hanging things on the wall (or anywhere else) was never easier. And have you ever had to put together IKEA furniture? Enough said. And this little beauty? It did in about 1 minute what it would have probably taken an hour for me to do by hand.

Sold. Now just 17 more to go.

Crazy!

2008-06-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with me. There must be. I decided that today, after work, I would dig out My So Called Scarf and figure out why it has been languishing at 95% for 6 months or so (really). It was in a bag, in the closet, with several other items. Boy was I in for a surprise. But more on that another day.

Today is the day for the big Jeanie reveal! Except that I did the big reveal on the 1st and don't have any additional photos showcasing her, so if you want a reminder click on the link, since I don't hardly think it's very blog-friendly to post the same photos within the space of a week of each other.

Project Specs:
Pattern: Jeanie by Keri Williams from Knitty, Winter 2007

Yarn: YarnLust 100% Superwash Merino/Nylon in Huskies (400 yds/100g)
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 4 US (3.5mm) circular needle (24"), short stubby plastic 5" dpn size US 6 (4mm) to do the cables, and smooth aluminum (probably Susan Bates) 10" size 5 us (3.75mm) needles to do the edging. The pattern does not require this many needles, I just like to mix it up.
Finished Size: 6" x 67"
Started: 15 March 2006
Finished: 01 June 2008
Pattern mods: I only had one skein of fingerling weight yarn, but I wanted to make a scarf with a reversible pattern for my mother. I saw Jeanie on Knitty and loved it, so decided to try modifying it scarf-style. I simply knitted Chart A once, Chart B 3 times, and then Chart A once again. Knitted until I had only 10g of yarn left, enough to do the edging, or so I calculated (I was right - there was no crisis).

At first I thought my head was going to explode with all the ktbl and yo and make this stitch and drop that stitch complexities. I had to read the chart for nearly every. single. stitch. Until I finished the first pattern repeat and started on the second. It was like a light switched on in my head, everything made perfect sense, and I no longer had to read the chart at all! It was very intuitive, really. I also found it was a lot easier to drop the stitches you are instructed to drop every 12 rows on every row instead. This keeps the pattern repeats nicely separate and easily observable. Once I got into the flow of things I really enjoyed the pattern, twisting the stitches, dropping when appropriate, doing the little M1s. It was kind of meditative.

That being said, I would not recommend doing the pattern as a scarf. I recommend the pattern as written whole heartedly. I think the large size of the stole is an advantage, and gravity assists in making the pattern really pop. With a scarf so skinny you don't get that - it still looks nice, just not wow, like the original. I think I might knit it again (rare for me!) but doing the full pattern this time, and letting the pattern really shine.

And now, to reward you for making it to the end of the post, I give you "Simon's Cat" in "Cat Man Do". Forgive me if I have posted this before, but I can't remember, and it's too funny not to share it. If you have a cat yourself you may bust a gut. I swear this is a knitting blog and not a cat blog. (Actually it is turning into a knitting/opera/cat/gardening blog. Oh well.)

One Last Stalling Tactic

2008-06-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

But do watch this because it is seriously funny. It's even funnier if you know any engineers. :)

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

Regularly scheduled programming to return tomorrow?

[Stomach]

2008-06-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

I will write up the Jeanie Scarf and Adventures in Cabinet Refinishing soon (just as soon as I get off my duff) so in the meantime enjoy this homemade fried rice, made by me, courtesy of Joy of Cooking. I may start making all my eggs this way, they were seriously yummy. I usually fry my rice until it is, you know, fried, but this was good too. None of these items were grown by me, but a girl can dream.

[Heart]

2008-06-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I Dream of Jeanie

2008-06-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

Behold, the Jeanie-scarf:

None of these photos do it any justice, incidentally.

Details forthwith.

It Is A Wonder That Anyone Grows This Stuff From Seeds At All

2008-05-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here we have one of my most recently planted (recently being three weeks ago) basil varieties, the lovely-sounding lime basil:

Three weeks and they have barely put out a second (first true?) set of leaves. The lime basil has these cute little serrations in the first leaves that the other basils do not, but all of the basils are essentially the same size. I guess I have to retract what I said about the Burpee basil a while back, thinking that it was growing poorly. I guess that's just the way it grows. It's amazing anyone even tries to grow this stuff from seed. You get it from the garden center (though only a few "standard" varieties to be sure) and it already is a robust 6" (or bigger) plant, and can (emphasis on the can) take off like a weed. The Burpee basil is not even that big yet, though it is slowly growing. I eagerly await the day of planting out for the new kids on the block.

The currant tomatoes are only now beginning to put out a second set of true leaves. Don't know which this is, red or white, since I didn't keep that good of track. These were planted at the same time as the basil, and though they are further along they are still quite small. I wish I could remember when I planted the seven roma plants in the one pot, because those were earlier, though not by too much, I don't think, and they are considerably bigger. The waiting is torture.

One more plant picture:

Baby cucumbers! I planted these after the initial 3 seeds did not germinate when I direct sowed. This was really disappointing, as this is a rather more expensive heirloom variety, though I think now that maybe it was not warm enough to direct sow when I did. Anyway, we have cucumbers! Seedlings, anyway.

Work has continued on the doors:

Here they are almost stripped. Now they are in the bathroom almost 100% stripped (though not completely) I figure, it doesn't really matter that much since I'm painting them anyway. Next step is to buy some topcoat paint and we will see what we will see. I figure I might as well see this set through before wimping out and buying brand new doors instead.

No further progress on Jeanie, or any other knitting, I've just been too tired. But still only one border (plus fixing the graft, then blocking) to go! There are four projects I have listed at 95% complete over at Ravelry - I really have to get on the ball and clear those out!

Finally, during the past two weeks we went from this to this (same station, different angle):

Oy.

Episode V: The Cabinet Fights Back

2008-05-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

Ok so that's a lame title for the post, but it's pretty accurate. I donned my PPG this afternoon and tried out the Citristrip on the door panels. You know, there's nothing like being decked out for a chemical spill cleanup to make one's afternoon. The Citristrip is pretty good stuff, whatever it is, though it does make a rather big mess. If you leave it on long enough (which I hadn't yet in this shot) it basically does all the work for you.

Hey, I do believe there is wood under all that crap. That's multiple layers of paint, by the way. Not one or two. A lot.

So there I was, happily scraping away (well, not that happily, it was cold today, and getting close to sunset when I was doing all this) when suddenly, reality reared it's ugly head.

WTF? What the hell is that? Run. Grab the kids and run. RUN I SAID!!!

I don't know if that is nasty greasy stuff or mold, but I am seriously disturbed. Seriously disturbed. The mystery of why these doors were painted in the first place? I guess we can consider it solved. Oddly the nasty stuff is only on the top edge of the doors (both doors), which I can't really explain, unless it represents dust + grease (it is a kitchen after all) + never being cleaned, ever.

I would like to take this opportunity to point out yet again that this building is less than 30 years old. Unless these cabinets came from somewhere else (which I suppose is a possibility) then that is some serious neglect happening there.

I am now at a loss as to what to do. I finished (more or less) the whole stripping operation (I got a little sloppy toward the end but I figured I could always sand off any remaining paint) and the doors are hanging out in my bathroom drying, the bathroom being the only cat-safe location in my apartment other than outside, and see recent rants about the temperature. They actually don't look half bad, other than the icky stuff on the top edge and the fact that I seem to have also removed any varnish or shellac or whatever was on the doors before they were painted. They seem too heavy to be particle board but I do not know what they are. Fine wood they are not.

Anyway.

All told it did not take a terribly long period of time to strip (more or less) the paint from the doors. Though I did have to get them off the cabinets first. And disengage the hardware. And it did make a huge mess. And the state of the cabinets themselves (the frame) is as yet unchanged. So the question is this: do I continue to do this or do I wuss out and go to IKEA and buy some cheap-ass cabinet doors (not all their doors are cheap-ass but some are, and those are of course the ones of interest in this instance) that it just now occurred to me that I could maybe do? (Why did I not think of this before? Why?)

The second question is, if I continue in my quest to reuse what I already got (after all, I have a jug of paint stripper, not to mention chemical splash goggles and chemical protective vinyl gloves and a plastic scrapper thingie and a tin of mineral spirits and a paintbrush I can now no longer use for anything other than stripping paint. Oh yeah, and I have that primer too, that ought to last a good long time since I only used a very little bit on the handles (too bad that didn't come in tiny cans as well) and it probably would work just as well on wood as on metal because I think it is all-surface primer.) Anyway. If I continue this, what color should the doors be? Right now, at this moment, I am sort of leaning toward glossy white (true white, not this off-white beige-ish stuff they are now). Because I failed to mention that a lot of my small appliances are black and red. And chrome. But I am not very good at design - what do you think? I think given the red and black that pale pink or blue is rather out. :(

Anyone up for some more cheery photos?

That is actually not a cheery photo. That is a photo of my neighbor to my immediate right's balcony. The reason I took the photo is because I have tomato envy! They bought some starts somewhere (I bet it is early girl or some other common variety) and their tomato plant is far larger than mine. Do you see the tomato?! Also included in this shot is the evil rose "bush" that possibly infected my poor roses with powdery mildew. What you can't see in that photo is the mosquito breeding ground they have going over there. Seriously. All the pots are in basins that are perpetually full of water. I understand wanting to be sure those plants don't dry out under the withering glare of our summer sun, but leaving the pots sitting in water all the time is not good for the roots. Plus the mosquitos. I wonder if I could call the county on them.

Hey, I can't remember if I blogged this before, but because my own tomato seedlings (from seed) were so small I bought some tomato plants (heirloom, of course) of my own last week. This one is a black krim:

It has an almost-bud! I also bought two others, a green zebra and an eva purple ball, not counting the romas and red and white currant tomatoes I also have going. I don't know what I am going to do with so many tomatoes. I also did not realize that black krim is a beefsteak-type tomato - I hope there is enough room for it... The roma seedlings incidentally have put out their 3rd set of true leaves, so I will plant them in their permanent locations possibly this weekend. I have seven total (eight actually but one is really small still), but now I don't think I have space for seven since I bought the garden center ones...

That's parsley on the left and an heirloom cilantro on the right that has actually gone to seed - anyone know how to collect seed from cilantro? (I know it doesn't look like cilantro, but believe me, it tastes like it!)

I also saw this little fly-type guy last week out on the side of one of the window boxes:

I do not know what it is or if it is good, bad, or otherwise, but aren't the wings wild? It had green eyes and a grey body, and it was probably no more than 1/4", and my camera had trouble auto-focusing on such a small thing.
Knitting! I did work on Jeanie, but the edging is surprisingly difficult, for me anyway. I finished the bottom edge, but I grafted it on backward (twisted) and it looks bad, so I'll have to redo it. I just hope there is enough yarn left to finish the top edge! I'm guessing it will be done in a day or two.
Unless I am overcome by paint fumes.

So....

2008-05-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Right. So. I was all prepared to go with the path of least resistance (ie option 3) and simply get the paint off the handles, repaint them, and be done with it. Except once I starting stripping the paint (which by the way boiling does work, I didn't give it enough time last time after freaking out about the green - it's like magic really, the paint just peels right off) this is what I was left with was something that looked like it would be perfectly at home at the Museum of Early American Artifacts:

Which is to say, yuck, I don't want to be touching that every day. No wonder they painted them. With wood paint. Anyway.

So I thought I would just clean them up a bit, just a bit, so that all the gunk was gone and I would have a nice smooth surface to work with when I got on with the painting and all. And that's when I discovered they were fake:

Not fake handles, ha ha, but they are not copper they are copper plated. Some of them were all shiny and nice like the very first one I cleaned and some of them were trashed like this one. And it wasn't my scrubbing that made the copper-y color go away, because I scrubbed that first one to within an inch of it's life, so I still think it is copper. Plated. You were so right Schrodinger.

Sigh.

So I cleaned them all, all seventeen of them, after prying them from the cabinet doors with brute force sometimes. But I couldn't leave them bare, because some of them were shiny pretty and some of them were thrift store rejects. So then they got primed:

This actually happened in batches, because the cleaning was really hard work, so 6 were done last night and the rest in 2 batches this morning. After the priming was the painting:

I love them. Love love love. You can see that that front one is actually pitted where the handle meets the base, but I did not sand them, nor do I have any intention of sanding them, because a girl can only go so far.

Or can she?

So the doors that are like french doors (where two meet in the center and swing outward) - I have 6 sets of them. Two are smaller doors that are above the fridge (with the weird "other" handles) and above the stove, two are "below" cabinets, and two are "above" cabinets (though technically the small ones are "above" cabinets as well). These doors all, except for one pair, stick, such that you cannot open one without opening the matching one, and what's more annoying, you have to close them at exactly the same time (or really shove on them to get them to close). This has bothered me for an entire year. I was (and still am) convinced that the reason they stick so badly is because they had been painted with 18 coats of paint, and thin though they may be, when you get up past 15 coats of paint you start to get a measurable surface.

When I was at Ace getting more paint for the handles (I ran out because I was using one of those mini spray cans because actually I had bought the paint to paint some shelves to hang in the guest bedroom, which I did also do (hooray for long weekends!), but which consequently caused me to not have enough to finish the handles. This is why the handles are glossy black and not flat black, as I would have preferred, because the small cans do not come in flat black and I already had a can of glossy black. Anyway.) So I was at Ace and I ended up getting the brilliant idea that maybe I could strip the paint from the edges of the cabinets so that they could close normally. Just the edges, mind you. One pair of paint stripping gloves, a paint scraper, a pair of goggles, and a can of Citristrip (it was the least bad stuff I could find) later I was set to go.

I got a little over enthusiastic and messy on the right one.

Yeah.

Now the damage was not actually that bad initially, but it was bad enough, and I just kept pulling the paint (the top layer anyway) and it kept going... Notice that the cabinets used to be white. And before that (at some point) they were wood. Not plywood (I don't think, we'll see) but regular old wood. So, I thought, I might as well go for broke, the damage is done and I'm gonna have to fix this anyway, and my nice shiny pretty handles actually make the crappy paint job they did the last time look really crappy, so I Citristripped the hinges so I could get those suckers off and strip all the paint off properly and see what we had.

The right one came off no problem.

The left one... the left one. The left one is the figurative problem child. I think the screws are stripped, plus I have no leverage on a screwdriver above the stove and 1/2" from the wall (so I don't think my power drill/screwdriver will help). I don't have a photo, but picture the right door off, the left door hinges covered with orange goop (again, this is my third try), and the right door out on the balcony also covered in orange goop. I got the hinges all the way off the right door, and plan to boil the rest of the paint off them, but as far as I can see they are perfectly fine, nice hinges, and why the hell would you paint over the hinges anyway? Oh yeah, I forgot. Lazy.

So to recap, I have beautiful shiny black handles that I love for my kitchen cabinets that I hate. And oh by the way one of my cabinets is currently out of commission because one is on the balcony and the other has orange toxic goop on it. Happy Memorial Day to me.

(PS I am about 10 seconds away from finishing Jeanie except that my paint stripping adventures this weekend have prevented this from happening. Perhaps once it gets dark.)

Reason # 285310 Why Landlords Suck

2008-05-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

So obviously I live in a rental, which sucks in oh so many ways. I try to make the best of it for the time being, and being an industrious individual decided that the kitchen could use a little sprucing up. The reason? The handles on the cabinets and drawers (which are all the same incidentally, which suggests they got these on special and couldn't be bothered to actually get some knobs that matched the drawer pulls, but whatever) are all painted. That in and of itself is not so terrible (except that it kind of offends me that you would want to "ruin" a perfectly good handle in that way). However, they were painted in situ, that is to say, right on the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, with the same discount [probably] paint, presumably because it was the cheapest and easiest thing to do. This is a problem because the handles are metal. Therefore some of them look like this:

Idiots.

This really pisses me off. Instead of taking the time to take care of the hardware, or encourage tenants to take care of the property, they just slapped some paint on it and called it a day. It sucks more because periodically paint flakes off the handles and aside from looking ghetto I have cats and who knows what they pick up and eat off the floor.

However, two of the handles were not painted (who knows why) and looked rather nice, except for the fact that they were painted in place so there is paint around the bases of the handles:

You know where this is leading right? I thought the bare handle looked a hell of a lot better than the badly painted handles, so I thought I would do a test and see if I couldn't spruce them up a bit. First I had to get the handle off the door, which was a project all its own, since the screws were also painted over. I chipped away the paint and finally got the handle off the door (which left the inside of the door looking like crap but that's beside the point). I had read somewhere that you can sometimes boil paint off of metal and I chose to believe this, so I tried it. It didn't work. But it did make the patina alarmingly more green (which should have tipped me off because hello, I took chemistry in college). The handle looked worse now, and at this point I remembered I have some Barkeepers Helper, which is strong stuff but I only keep it because sometimes I can't get my pots 100% clean and it's the only thing I've found that has worked. Barkeeper's Helper is a cleanser that yes, contains oxalic acid, but it is like magic stuff and you can use it to polish metal. So I did. And it did.

Clearly these are some sort of copper or copper alloy handles. The nice patina should have tipped me off. But now I have one shiny handle (sans patina), one weathered handle, and fifteen (yes, fifteen) ugly-ass painted handles. Oh yeah, and two other handles that are black and don't match the others at all.

Crap.

SO now what do I do? Does anyone have any suggestions? I figure I could:

Ignore the shiny handle and pretend like nothing ever happened (I wouldn't be writing this post if that were a possibility).
Painstakingly clean all the handles so that they are all shiny and ignore the two that don't match (they are above the fridge anyway).
Clean all the paint off the handles (but don't shiny-fy them) and then paint them all with paint that is designed for metal (I have never done this before and don't know what's out there).
Throw all the handles out and start over (13 doors and 6 drawers).

Keep in mind that this is a rental and I do not want to spend $200 on drawer pulls, but I have seen some cheaper handles and pulls online that don't look like too much crap for $1-$2 each. Very simple designs, but at least not painted with wood paint. In addition, because the idiots who furnished the apartment were, well, idiots, all of the handles are these 2-screw handles instead of having knobs for the doors and handles for the drawers. This means that there are two holes in all the doors, which means if I wanted to replace them with knobs I would have to fill the second hole with wood putty (not a big deal) and then paint the doors again (kindof a big deal because all the hinges are also painted in place (thanks asshole painters) plus the cabinet doors are the same weird off-white color that the rest of the apartment is, which I probably would never be able to match (and wouldn't want to anyway).

Wanting to repaint the cabinets opens another can of worms, although maybe worth it. But, the cabinet doors seem very cheaply made (like maybe they are even plywood, I don't know, but cheap). I actually can't open one without the opposite one opening as well they have been painted so many times, so stripping the paint at least from the edges of the doors wouldn't be such a bad idea, because this little "design" trait pisses me off to no end. Although I don't know what kind of paint it is, so don't know what kind of paint remover would be required. According to my renters insurance policy the building was built in 1979, so since lead paint was banned in the US in 1978 I think it is safe to assume that there is no lead paint (I also didn't have to sign one of those statements acknowledging that I know lead paint is on the premises and that no children live here, like I did in NYC.)

Remember, it's a long weekend! I could potentially get a lot of "stuff" done... and I'm not planning on going anywhere this weekend. This whole ordeal makes me want to sit in the corner of my ghetto apartment and cry. Ideas?

Anyone?

Work It

2008-05-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hal-leh-LUYAH!!!!!

PS. WOOHOO!

Go Kristi Go!

2008-05-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

She rocked the house tonight baby! I wasn't quite sure she had that extra crowd-pleasing sparkle, but boy oh boy she delivered in spades. She deserves to win. And speaking of delivering in spades, I meant to post this last week but completely forgot:

These are the 13-year-olds from the space-filler they are using this year called DWTS Kids (or something, I don't really pay attention). Anyway, the other ones were cute (wee little dancers, how can they not be cute?) but these two. OH. MY. GOD. They are 13. THIRTEEN. I dare you not to be impressed. I wish I could dance like that, and I have been dancing a long time. Come to think of it, I have ben dancing longer than they have been alive. (Sigh. Ok, going to go sit by myself in a corner now.)
The Return of Absorba
Guess what? Absorba, she is finished! Fini! I finished block 17 a few nights ago (and barely made it out alive - it was around 95 degrees in here), and realized that, though I still had some yardage left on the cones, I did not know exactly how much yardage I had left, nor did I know how much yardage it would take to to the sc edging, and I really really didn't want to make it halfway through another block only to run out of cotton and have to rip. So I present to you Absorba, the Bathmat:

More photos over on Ravelry. Suffice it to say that since my bathroom gets four minutes of actual direct sunlight per day (I am not exaggerating) nothing photographs that well in there and this is about as good as it gets.
Project Specs:Pattern: Absorba, the Great Bathmat by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from Mason-Dixon KnittingYarn: Lily Sugar'n Cream Solid in Cream, 2 cones (805 yds/16oz)Needles: size 10 circularsSize: 26"x33"Started: August 2006Finished: 18 May 2008Pattern mods: None, save that I worked "random" blocks rather than regularly sized ones, and finished with a single crochet edge.
I am mortified and humiliated that it took me nearly two years to finish this. My avant-garde white-on-white (actually cream-on-cream) isn't quite as striking as I had hoped, but it serves a purpose and it does it well. I used it for the first time yesterday and it worked rather like... a bathmat. I even machine washed and dried it, and it was none the worse for wear. Note, however, that I will never buy cheap-ass kitchen cotton ever again. Never. Ever. Do not even tempt me with sales. Knitting with it was pure hell. I shall seek out some lovely organic worsted weight the next time the urge strikes, because this was too much like torture.
I have also realized that the last thing I finished was Mrs. Darcy. In October. That was seven months ago. Entrelac Scarf doesn't qualify, and neither does the TD (Rav links, because I am lazy) because none of those is actually technically finished, though I will work hard to remedy that soon. (Entrelac Scarf was mostly done back in October too, so that hardly helps. And the TD situation - well that's just ridiculous.) Can anyone say "lame"?
I did put on one more pattern repeat onto my Jeanie Scarf while watching DWTS, or rather, during the commercials of DWTS, so there's a small success. I had planned to whip this one out during March Madness, but alas, it was not to be. My mother's birthday is in about a week - maybe I can finish in time for that?

Well Call Me Chicken Little

2008-05-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Now this is not the cheapest station on my drive home but neither is it the most expensive. Yes, I know today was a Spare the Air day here in the Seventh Level of Hell, I mean, sunny California (what is up with this weather?) but my bike needs a tune-up and I woke up very late this morning. I did not think it was worth getting fired over, especially now that I can start biking to work again since the morning temps are closing in on the 60s. And after I get it tuned up. Sigh.
Hey, how about a more cheery photo?

Now I am no entomologist, but I believe this is Coccinella californica, also known as the California ladybird beetle, as my guy looks just like the ones in the photo. (You know, a ladybug, but not one of those evil invasive Asian varieties.) I think he may be native. Yay for native species!

I also had a little green inchworm on my lettuce this morning, but the camera was not handy. I love you, little green inchworm, but please stop eating my lettuce. Thank you!

Knitting, knitting... you know, it is hard to knit when it is 50 million degrees outside. But, block 16 of Absorba is finally done, all 20 purl ridges of it, and the next side is picked up and ready to go. 80% complete. I just have to keep reminding myself that the end is in sight. I can't wait, because there are a couple of other crafty home improvement projects I am keen on starting, but I will not start something new while so many other projects languish. I won't do it. It's all about willpower.

Blue

2008-05-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

(No knitting to see here. Move along.)
(PS Click the title and let it play.)

Insomnia

2008-05-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

It makes it rather difficult to get any work done, you know, during the day, at your job, the one you slave at day in and day out in order to bankroll your lavish lifestyle.

Ha.

Sadly, I cannot do very much knitting during these episodes, otherwise I will not be able to function the next day at work. I do a lot of mousework on the computer (can't be helped) and if I knit all night and then try to use a mouse all day... let's just say I learned my lesson once.

I did plant a whole bunch of things in a flurry of "spring" planting. I say "spring" because this is the bay area and we're supposed to be having nice weather already, no? Like 2-3 weeks ago. But instead what we get in windy, sometimes overcast, highs maybe creeping up to 70 and then plunging back down to 45-50 at night. These temps are not terribly conducive to things sprouting and growing quickly.

At any rate (and this is more a laundry list for me to remember what I planted, where, and when), here's what got sown yesterday (5/7, now it is Friday and it has taken me 2 days to write a lousy post, sheesh):

eggplant + nasturtium, 11" bottom-watering pot
red currant tomato (3 seeds), smallest square pot
white current tomato (3 seeds), smallest round pot
2 seed mini peppers, round 4" pot
bunch of basil seeds, OJ carton
cucumbers (3 seeds) + nasturtiums, large 14" pot next to the tomato bed
cascadia peas (take 2) + morning glories, along the back of the carrot bed
stevia (2 seeds), yellow pot
roma tomatos (2 seeds), small blue pot
egg carton seedlings (2 seeds each cup): 6 lettuce (3 each variety), 3 red currant tomato, 3 white currant tomato

All of my veggies are patio varieties or otherwise dwarf. I can't wait to see what I get! I've been generous with the number of seeds because, though I get very good germination rates from this company, I have tons of them - more than enough to last me a few years in my tiny space, so I can afford to waste a few if it guarantees me a higher success rate! Some of these plantings are just to get the seeds started, and some are "permanent", that is to say, were planted where they are intended to stay. It is recommended that you not start both eggplants and cucumbers indoors ahead of time, so there you go. The big tomato bed is empty because I am a big dork and did not start any seedlings like a month and a half ago. Sigh. So much for my big plans of early tomatoes. Although, I notice that 2 little roma seedlings that I planted (and then left outside) about 2 weeks ago have sprouted - hurrah! I suppose that must mean soil temps are rising... My other big bed, that had the peas and all those greens during the winter, is now mostly empty - the peas were looking really sad due to some lamentable neglect while I was away. I think it is still early enough to get another crop of peas in though, plus I have more than enough seeds left to last me probably 2 more years, so I'm not worried about waste. I have some Oregon sugar snap pea seeds as well, which is supposedly bush-type (though I'm not sure I saw a difference before) so I may plant a couple freestanding somewhere as well.

The chamomile came out, I'll dry the flowers this weekend and save them for tea. It wasn't too bad of a haul given they were growing in a restrictive space and they overwintered (I thought for sure they would die without ever flowering). I would like to get some Roman chamomile next year, as it's very compact and really more appropriate for my current living situation. In place of the chamomile I think I will plant more mustard greens, as they did very well over the winter in the big bed and they are quite tasty when eaten young.

Some of my long-suffering plants from last year have perked up:

Now I don't have anything like lovely extensive strawberries beds, or even a scraggly little patch my like my grandmother had growing up on a raised rock structure next to her house, but I do have four little plants. I bought them while in an overly optomistic mood sometime around February I think (I know, what was I thinking, right? It isn't like I have a greenhouse...yet...) They have seemed on the verge of death nearly the entire time I have had them, but now are sending up new leaves and even putting out a flower or two (they are a continuously-producing variety). And apparently I have some pollinators around too:

My compact oregano also deserves to be in my Hall of Fame. I got it last year and over the winter it pretty much looked dead, all brown leaves and crackly little twigs. I so wish I had taken a photo. It's a testament to my laziness that I didn't chuck it a long time ago. Though I've still watered it periodically, holding out hope that maybe it was still alive.

Well will you look at that:

It's been going strong since about 2 weeks ago.

That's not all that is growing:

Both of the plants I have like this that are outside are blooming, and I have no idea what they are. I'm pretty sure they are not cacti, so I'm calling them succulents. They each have one long stalk with these tiny tube-shaped flowers, a whole bunch of them (10? 15? It is dark outside now and I don't want to go look.) They aren't all open. The flowers truly are tiny too - I bet they aren't more than 1/2" in length. I got these from my aunt, and like I said, have no idea what they are. Any guesses? Again, colors are accurate - natural light is lovely. (It occurs to me that perhaps I should have taken a photo of the plant as well. They are kind of spiky and green/purple. Does that help?) Google is not helping me out a whole lot here.

And since this supposedly a knitting blog... block 15 of Absorba, the Blah Blah Blah is done! I have even picked up the stitches for block 16 and marked her as 75% complete over in Ravelry. The prospect of maybe, just maybe, having a bathmat before the weather turns hot and sticky has spurred me on, although the next block is a long one: 20 purl ridges. (I use a highly scientific method of determining the number of rows in my random long cabin - I grab the nearest book, close my eyes, flip through the pages a few time, pick a side (left or right), and then stop. Whatever is the last digit in the page number multiplied by 2 is the number of purl rows. Unfortunately I drew a zero this time, and since you can't double zero...)

Onward!

Bunch of Semi-Unrelated Bullet Points (Photos Below)

2008-05-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

I spent a total of six hours this weekend listening to the same opera, twice. Not two different recordings of the same opera. Not even two different performances of the same production. The same performance of the same opera, twice. Die Entfürung aus dem Serail was the Met's final Saturday broadcast of the season (sob!). So I listened. And since it was being rebroadcast on Alaska public radio (KUAC thank you!) I listened again today. Diana Damrau triumphed in the notorious soprano-killer role of Konstanze. And Matthew Polenzani - lord I love him in the Mozart roles; he makes such a sweet, sweet sound. I have my fingers crossed that this one will be released on DVD, because it sounded like the staging was successful, and I loved every minute of it.

I have finally gotten around to listening to La Jolie Fille de Perth, that rare gem of Bizet's that no one seems to know or care about. I first learned about this lovely opera from Rockwell Blake's disk French Opera Arias, in which he sings the tenor aria "A la voix d'un amant fidèle" (a "recital" version, middle part cut, like they do the Pearl Fishers duet) with such sensitivity that it makes you want to cry. It's a gorgeous aria, and gorgeously sung. I immediately set out to find out more... and promptly learned that there has only been one commercial CD release (doubtless on vinyl as well, I'm sure, but I don't have a turntable so it's pointless to even look) and that CD is out of print. Great. No matter, I sought it out, and sat on it. For a long while. I'm kicking myself now - it's delightful, features a top-notch cast (June Anderson and Alfredo Kraus, who would ask for anything more?), and is filled with some fantastic music. It is much closer in style to Les Pecheurs de Perles than to Carmen, (in other words, more in the French Romantic tradition) but that's quite alright with me. It might not replace Les Pecheurs de Perles as my favorite Bizet, but it definitely compares favorably. (Aside: Hello? Classical music labels? There are a wealth of accomplished belcanto singers out there now, and have been increasingly for the past 10-20 years that could probably handle the florid bits with aplomb... not sure about the "french" style, but we get new recordings of ... how about a new recording? Please?)

I watched Disk 3 of Firefly this weekend... and am increasingly upset by the fact that FOX cut it's life far, far too short. (Shakes fist at FOX.) I'll wait a bit until I get Disk 4 (Netflix, of course) so I can savor it a bit longer. Why, FOX, why?!?! Love this show. Love love love. My favorite episode so far? Out of Gas. Also: Mal or Simon? (I vote for Simon. 'S the geek in me.)

Speaking of, I have heard that Joss Whedon has a new series coming out. On FOX. I am a big fan of all of his previous work, so I can't wait! Woo hoo! But wait... FOX? I'm not sure I get that - they already burned him (and us) once... (Yes, this news is about 6 months old, but I have no cable TV and don't read the television tabloids, so what can I say?)

I finished the 14th block of Absorba, the Undead Bathmat. I am tempted to give up now and call it done. But it isn't as big as I had hoped. So. Onward...

That's it for the list. Here are the obligatory photos:

Chamomile in my windowbox. I love the chamomile, stretching their necks to the sky, turning their faces to the sun. But the box itself is rather scaggly looking. Ugly really. I think it might be the end for the chamomile, which is really a shame since 1) these were planted last year and were one of the few things I grew from seed that survived over the winter and 2) I have chamomile tea still in the cupboard and wasn't ready to cut them yet. Another idea would be to simply plant a lower-growing plant in the box with them (it could use some more potting soil anyway). Otherwise they have to go. (They are not really ideal for a windowbox. I think there is a compact variety I saw over at Territorial Seed that I might have to check out next year.)

When I went out to get my mail today (yes it is Sunday, no I didn't leave the house yesterday) I saw these lovelies growing in the weedy mess (thistle = evil) by the fence on the other side of the "drive" to my building. The landscaping here is grand, let me tell you. At first glance I thought they were some sort of legume (family Fabaceae) because of the purple, pea-like flowers, (like a lupine kindof) except that they're not really. They're not like lobelia (trumpet-like), and they're not like pansys. I'm so confused. My field guide to North American wildflowers tells me NOTHING, suggesting they are maybe not native and someone just dumped them there. Then again, my field guide is pretty crappy. Anyone know? (The color is more or less accurate, they are very purple/blue.)

The Return of the Pink Panther

2008-04-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

Oh my. The things we find on the internet. And in the kitchen.

Big redecorating plans?
I will say that though I am generally against having outdoor or indoor-outdoor cats (unless they are working cats, ie barn cats, in which case they are not really pets are they?) because I think the risks to them far outweigh the benefits (except under supervised situations), this video is darn cute, easy-access cat door and all...
So my great Christmas-present project has been stymied by the fact that the small roll of kitchen cotton I was knitting it with has run out, and the other fact that all the other kitchen cotton in my possession is attached to Absorba, The Rug That Would Not Die. So, in the interests of furthering the Christmas-present cause, I have resigned myself to the fact that I have to finish that damn bathmat (it's back to being a bathmat) so that I can continue with the Christmas-present project. I finished binding off one edge last night while watching DWTS and started on the next one... I'm up to block 14 now, so I bumped the % finished bar up to 65% over on Ravelry... I had initially planned on 20 blocks total, though I may not make it that long, since it really is actually big enough already to use as a small bathmat. No photo though, it kinda looks the same as before, just bigger. (Here's the other back story - I was at Kohl's last weekend looking at the bathmats, since the small and thin bathmat I inherited from my aunt (originally from IKEA) annoyed me to no end and recently I have been using an old, folded-up towel in place of a bathmat instead, and though they were not terribly expensive ($15 for a decent sized one that was fairly nice) they were all made in China or Malaysia. Not a single one was made in the US. I have sort of made it my mission to buy American, which really sucked last weekend also since, at Crate & Barrel and armed with a gift card, the only cake plate I really was enamored with was made in China. No cake plate for me. :( Anyway, no bathmats were made in the US, and I almost caved and bought one anyway, since I really rather need a bathmat, when it occurred to me that I had 2/3 of a bathmat already at home. Duh. So Absorba-knitting I shall go. Besides, Absorba shames me. Apparently I started it in August 2006. (I was still living in NYC.) I must finish it before it has been a WIP for two stinking years. Truly, I don't love it that much.
Speaking of DWTS... oh, the drama! I do have to say though that I though Shannon or Marissa would go home this week (despite all the praise for Marissa from the judges yesterday I didn't think those were her best dances, I thought the samba and quickstep were from the previous two weeks). I am afraid for Christian that he is going to hurt himself something awful. And, I think they don't give Kristi nearly enough credit - I thought the v.waltz was lovely and charming and with clever use of the umbrella (entertainment is supposed to be part of it after all, isn't that what they keep saying?) and if they have a problem with her turns I would like to see any one of them do what she did last night (she's not a professional for crying out loud...) There's such a double standard I think - the less accomplished dancers get highly inflated scores, and the stars that do a really good job time and again get penalized for relatively minor things. And what's with the giving up on the no-lifts rule? Are their ratings slipping? Gah. And Def Leopard. Oh my. Pour Some Sugar on Me was one song I danced to in a dance recital (it was acrobatics, go figure). In fourth grade. God I feel old.
Anyway.
Since I have no knitting to show, a cat photo instead:
I call this one "I Spy".

Unintentionally Absent

2008-04-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

No time for excuses. I got busy and then no blogging (or knitting for that matter) occurred. A short list of recent events:

1. Dancing has occurred:

No, this is not a wedding, nor is it the prom (good heavens, that was a long time ago, and best left forgotten). And yes the photo is blurry. Intentionally blurry. To protect the innocent. Yeah, that's it.

2. Visitors have been accomodated:

The first nice day of the year in the city and there were millions of people out and about. Possibly gazillions. The sailboats were cool though. Bonus points if you know where this photo was taken from.

3. Stuff has been growing around town:

Showy Evening Primrose, I believe, found growing near my office.
4. And eaten:

Balcony lettuce.
5. And felines persist in being cute:

I love this shot. Too bad I suck as a photographer. It is blurry.

DWTS is on tonight, so no time to chit chat, my chums! Would you believe that for once the right person has gone home every single week so far (in my opinion anyway)? The whole nonsense with the lift/no lift annoys me to no end; personally I think if you can't do it yourself (with a few standard exceptions) it should not be allowed at all, never mind the whole "one toe was touching the floor" copout. I assume they do it for 2 reasons: 1) safety (a bunch of non-professionals doing aerials willy-nilly might be a tad risky, although they let them go hog wild in the group dance and freestyle etc.) and 2) if they didn't allow some of the flashy stuff the routines would get really boring. Never mind that a lot of what they do isn't really lead-and-follow. Meh. Now see what you've gone and done? No matter, I'm going to watch anyway!!

Coming up next time: actual knitting content! This year's Christmas present dilemma has be solved.

Week 4

2008-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lousy video quality, but it was this or the full 6 minute version, and I'm not sure who would watch that. Anyway, though I have loved (loved) absolutely everything Kristi has done (go and search YouTube for her dances from weeks 2 - 4) I thought this one with Shannon was really sweet.
As for the radio silence, I have been out of town doing something fun. Can you believe it? Film at 11.

And the Beat Goes On

2008-03-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Right, here's another one for the two people out there who haven't seen this yet. If you haven't you must, because it's sweet. (And not a traditional, saccharine sweet either.)

SPIN

So today we had a visitor in our office, and luckily I had my handy camera with me! (I actually had my camera with me so that I could take a photo of the tree outside my office because I intended to document its progress through the seasons, but have thus far only taken two photos. Oh, well.)

Excuse me, could I get some directions?

The amazing thing is that not only is there is a railing to the left of the photo, but there is also a long (covered) walk and a left hand turn to get to this point. No idea where she came from or how she got there, but peacocks aren't exactly native, or even established, in northern California (though they are some other places). We assumed it was a she, she was pretty big to be a juvenile male. As big as the wild turkeys we have all over the place here (amazing number of turkeys). She seemed confused, but not overly agitated (possibly distracted by her reflection in the glass). No caterwauling on her part, but I wonder if it's the only males who are so obnoxious? She was out there for a good 2 hours towards the end of the day, while people and animals both (we are a dog-friendly office) came and went. Taking bets if she will still be there in the morning, or if the lack of a shiny reflection once the sun goes down will break the spell.

Since I had my camera in my pocket on my drive home, I couldn't resist taking this shot:

I thought Valero was supposed to be the cheap gas...

There has been knitting, and I did take photos of the TD, but am still hemming and hawing as to what to do. Plus I need to seriously doctor those photos so that I do not look like such the total dork that I am. So in the meantime, take a page from Lily and just chill:

Yeah, this cat leads such a stressful life.

Il Giorno Secondo

2008-03-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

First, to all the folks in the beleaguered midwest and east, I apologize in advance.

SPRING IS HERE!! Mid- to upper- 60s all weekend and sun, sun, sun!

Second, I made the right choice, right?

Right?

Benvenuto, Primavera

2008-03-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

Week 1:

I am so impressed with her footwork, her frame, her connection... she made it look easy, and really, people, it's not. We will see what happens next week! (Oh, and yes, love Michael Buble.) :) (But, I must say, what is the deal with changing the rules every single season, huh? Riddle me that.)
Spring:

The first, but not the last...

There is some TD drama, but I'm pushing that aside until tomorrow (when maybe, possibly, I can get home before dark). Meantime, I cooked twice in the last 2 days!

Granted, not the best photo ever, but it is Cooking Light's Pumpkin-Black Bean Soup. You see, I had a can of pumpkin puree, left over from Thanksgiving/Christmas-time, and dried black beans I bought last time I was at Berkeley Bowl, so there you have it. Not as weird as you might think, and not as pumpkin-y. Of course, you know I modified the recipe to use what I had on hand: I ended up using about a cup of tomato liquid (from the canned tomatoes) because I didn't have enough broth base (and that was veggie anyway), so it ended up tasting rather like chili. Not that that's a bad thing; I love chili! I also used feta instead of queso fresco, and no green onions, because, you guessed it, I didn't have any! No sherry either (which might have given it a boost). All in all perfectly acceptable. I might be willing to try it again as written.

Tonight I made Pastitsio, another odd combination of ingredients. This is not a recipe I would recommend if you plan on, I don't know, live past your 60s. There is a whole lot of butter in there. And eggs. And milk. And oil. It is not for the faint-hearted, either. There is a roux (or a roux-like thing - I know enough to be a danger to myself) that is not to be screwed around with. Mess up the roux and you end up eating what tastes like flour. (I did not mess up the roux, I am happy to say. I do think, however, that by 1/2 cup flour they actually meant A QUARTER CUP. Something. My sauce ended up as thick as frosting, which I think is not quite the point, and I had to thin it with water so that it would actually retain some liquid properties. However, I did not scramble the eggs.) You end up with this faintly cinnamon-y smelling casserole that reminded me somewhat of one of my family's stock dinners, Italian Beef and Noodles. (Except that was more cheddar cheese based. And with egg noodles. And beef. Never mind, it is nothing like that.) It was kind of odd. But the topping (the sauce)? OMG heaven. It is light and creamy, like souffle kind of, which makes sense given that it is largely butter and egg yokes. I have about 5 more servings, and I wonder if I will be able to eat it without having a heart attack.

And speaking of yokes:

Behold, the most beautiful egg yokes you have ever seen.

Look at how they stand up on their own! No trickery involved - those are fresh yokes, straight from the shell. And the color was divine (a bit darker than this photo, but very brilliant). The whites were too, but did not photograph well. To the organic nay-sayers, I have never ever seen such perfect conventional eggs.

Finally, before you continue, it would be best to swallow and put down any liquids. As we learned last week, Mary is fond of going inside things. She is especially fond of burrowing into laundary fresh out of the dryer. Which, of course, led to this:

Halp!

Yes, she found my jeans, warm from the dryer, on the bed and proceeded to crawl in then from the waist end, and promptly got stuck halfway down the leg. I cannot express how extremely funny this actually was. The piteous crying might have helped. I ended up having to stand on the end of the leg and pulling her out backwards, and she is not overly fond of doing anything backwards, all the while trying not to drop her because I was laughing so hard. It was so funny. Ah well, perhaps you had to be there. :)

Almost... There...

2008-03-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

No music today because I am determined to get to bed at a godly hour (instead of an ungodly hour as usual, get it?). Just hum yourself a little tune while you read. Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. Stuck in your head yet? Glad to be of service.

Exciting times! Yesterday I finished seaming TD:

Happiness is a perfectly seamed sleeve.

Yes, that is indeed the seam side of the sleeve - you can tell by the slight lumpiness of the stockinette (it is fairly thick yarn so the seam inside is somewhat bulky). Look how the ribbing part and stockinette part line up perfectly! This made me so happy - the other sleeve does not look nearly as good.

Then TD got a little bath... is it just me or does the Eco + wool smell really bad when wet? Like..... wet wool. Anyway, it is not a nice smell. Luckily it only smells when wet (which limits my wearing options, but let's cross that bridge when we get to it, ok?) I laid it out on the bed in the guest room yesterday:

I think I got negative drying ovenight - that's right, the sweater was pulling moisture out of the air in that room. I threw caution to the wind today though, and brazenly moved her onto the patio in full sun. If you recall, there was a warning associated with the yarn to avoid sunlight. How one can do this with an item that one wears out-of-doors I do not know. No disintigrating occurred however, so I think the reports of vampire yarn are greatly exaggerated.

The current state of the TD is as yet still damp. I do, however, have several thoughts/concerns already:

The curling at the bottom edge is going to annoy me to death. I am going to have to do a little crab stitch border (love the crab stitch!) or something to tame the beast.
That set in of the left sleeve (the one I did first, when I suffered from temporary amnesia as how to set in a sleeve) looks terrible and I am afraid I am going to have to do it again. Trouble is, the yarn is a pretty sticky yarn, and I wove those ends in real good. I'm not entirely sure I can undo what has been done.
The collar. Still not sure about it. It would take very little effort to convince me that its sole purpose was to strangle me in my sleep.

Since I have finished (or nearly finished anyway) an outstanding UFO it is only fair I cast on something new, right? Jeanie has jumped to the head of the line, since I need to knit something for my mother in that Huskies yarn (and today was Selection Sunday! I am doomed in the getting-something-to-her-before-the-tourny-is-over area) and this was the prettiest reversible lace pattern I could fine (one of the only, actually). I am going to modify it into a scarf since I only have one skein. Sorry to all the other UFOs and items in my queue! I'm swatching right now to determine how many repeats to do of chart C... but the yarn is a hideously ugly, so I'll spare you a photo.

Off to bed, before I fall down!

Amusing

2008-03-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Lily pushes her way onto whatever lap space is available, then expands.

For once, Mary does not seem to mind.

(It is hard to take a photo of one's own lap.)

How to Get Your Veggie On

2008-03-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

But first, because we have to prepare for the upcoming DWTS, which starts next week, how to get your tango on:

PRESS PLAY

These two have beautiful lines, and the music is fantastic. Just ignore the chatter, if you can. :)

So, I was all rockin' it out on the second sleeve of TD, when this happened:

Mine.

Yeah, Mary climbed inside and claimed it for her own. Apparently Eco + is warm and cozy. Right now she is trying to apply the principles of felting by taking a bath inside the sweater. Hrm.

Well I following through with my dinner plan and made the Ultimate Veggie Burgers, and... success! You start with some chickpeas:

These were some dried organic ones, but don't they look fresh? I soaked them overnight, drained them in the morning and refrigerated, then simmered over very low heat for about an hour. Note to self: 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas yields about 1 1/2 cups rehydrated.

Then I processed them in the food processor with some other stuff and mixed in a bowl with yet other stuff:

Chickpeas, eggs and salt processed up, with onion, lemon zest, and cilantro added.

Then you add some other things (sprouts and breadcrumbs) and fry them up! I put them in the fridge to flatten them more easily and evenly. I made a half batch too, in case I didn't like them, but boy, I should have done the full amount. The sandwiches they make are petite (two would make a meal, or one with a side) and are really pretty to boot:

Mine is topped with tomato, avocado, and sprouts.

Sprouts, sprouts and more sprouts, because now I have a big bag I have to eat up right quick. But yum, you must try this. I am extremely tempted to buy Heidi's book now (Super Natural Cooking). Ah, the power of a freebie.

One more exciting thing happened on this morning:

I call it "Nasturtium Bud in the Blue Early Morning Light".

Maybe tomorrow there will be a flower?

That's it for me. DST still sucks, and is sucking the life out of me, and I now have two comfy kitties half on top of me. Actually, I am witnessing kitty history: Lily is half on top of Mary and no biting is happening!

Houston, We Have Pollination

2008-03-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

But first, I bet everyone will recognize this piece from a certain chocolatier's recent commercial (beginning about 1:00):

PRESS PLAY

This version* is much better. :)

So! Three things have happened:

1. The TD sees sleevage!

This took me 2 days and note that this is one sleeve. Yes, it did. I apparently have forgotten how to set in a sleeve. This is the "nice" side of the sleeve set into the shoulder, which unfortunately is the back side. I am really really hoping it will all even out after I wash the finished article. (Heh heh, if you have not watched the series from the beginning it will not be nearly as funny.)

2. Squee!

Enough said.

3. Say hello to my little friend:

Brassica spp., Wild Garden Mix

Actually, say goodbye... these were the mustard greens growing in my porch and I sauteed them up with garlic and red pepper flakes and served them with bowtie pasta. Aren't they pretty? Since one of the plants had bolted I figured the rest were soon to follow, so... addio! It was good while it lasted, and of course that means now there's more room for something else! (One really nice advantage to using there rather than store-bought was that there was virtually no grit or dirt or sand and I only had to wash them once! Normally you might have to wash these puppies four or five times. I actually cut them just above the soil surface (hence the no dirt) because pulling the roots would have disturbed the other things growing in the same planter (nasturtiums and, I think, dill).)

Tonight's dinner was pretty sad - leftover pasta sauteed with onion. What, you never sauteed pasta before? It's good with a little butter and some red pepper flakes thrown in at the end (careful, they get really hot when heated in oil or butter). I like the slightly crunchy texture of the pasta too. This meal came after a disappointing lunchtime meal - I didn't have time to make the tuna, and I didn't eat breakfast, so I was starving by the time lunch rolled around. So, I ran to Trader Joe's where they no longer carry my favorite greek wrap (why, TJ, why?) so I got the 4-cheese quesadilla with green chilis instead. This was not a good idea. Besides having about 1000 calories and a gazillion units (whatever they are) of cholesterol and fat, they royally upset my stomach. So, cheesy. So good, and yet, so bad.

I had actually really wanted to make this delicious looking recipe, but alas, I have no prepared chickpeas. Doesn't it look divine? I'm going for it tomorrow, I have the chickpeas all laid out and soaking already. I did go to Berkeley Bowl as well because I was completely out of milk and I like to buy their local, organic milk in the glass bottles. Yes, I said glass bottles. They are so cool. That, plus the fact that they are local (Horizon, for instance, is all the way in Minnesota or someplace, plus it's a factory farm (I have no idea what kind of operation Straus actually is, but look, they have a website!) are a deal-closer for me. Anyway, Berkeley Bowl is not that far, but I only go once a week, if that (basically when I run out of milk, although sometimes I cave and go to the local grocery). Since I was there I got a few other things as well, so my "eat from the cubbard/fridge plan is a little bit tainted, but all in all I did quite well: delicious variety of olives from their awesome olive bar, dried black beans, onions, avocado, a tomato (greenhouse), rice pudding, eggs (I only have 2 left), and of course the milk. Now I can make scones for breakfast (I have a mix)! And have those delicious veggie burgers for dinner, yum.

I have funny cat pictures to share too, but it will have to wait - it's 2am! DST still sucks. (Except for the whole "still light at 7pm" part.)

*This is the Natalie Dessay and Elsa Maurus singing the famous Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakme.

Throw In a Little Juice and You Have a Party

2008-03-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

One more hommage to il gran di Stefano:

PRESS PLAY

An early recording of a role for which he was well known.*

Speaking of Manon... have you seen this (Ravelry link)? I think I may have to make it. You know, just because. I think I could pull it off maybe though!

The sun was shining today when I got home, but all my photos of the guest room were less than appealing... so no shots today. It'll come, sooner or later. I do have this shot:

HEY! Back off! It's MY lap!

I have a cat who now believes that it is preferable to be on my lap than any other place in the entire world, or at least, my apartment. She goes to great lengths to push her way up there, even if there really isn't room, and if she she can't fit at all she, after much pawing and making of cute purry noises, gives me a look as if to say "why do you hate me so much?" and then lies half on the lap. As cute and cuddly as this is I sure hope it doesn't continue once the temperature starts to climb!

I made the onions and apples recipe for dinner/desert - it was meh. Not that it was bad per se, but mealy apples are apparently still mealy after baking, and it was far, far too sweet. I would recommend less apples, less sugar, more onions, and some other savory spices in there as well. Oh well, at least the apples didn't go to waste. I also had some of the red quinoa for dinner, spiced up with a bit of orange juice. It's not bad (and combats same-thing-for-dinner-itis). Just microwave some leftover quinoa until hot and then stir in a little bit of orange juice. I am getting down to the nitty gritty in the food department (between you and me I am so hungry right now that I may start to gnaw on my wrist). I have oranges, and orange juice (poor planning, I agree) and those cranberries. Some porch produce (not much). That's it in the way of fresh stuff. I don't even have any frozen vegetables, though I think I have a tin of bamboo shoots, a tin of diced tomatoes, one of tomatoes sauce, and um, pumpkin puree. And peperoncini peppers. And marinated artichoke hearts. And hey, some tuna (oooh - and I have a couple of flour tortillas left as well - I think I smell wraps...) Do you think I am kidding about the food situation? I am not:

It amazes me that, with so "little" food I actually have quite a bit, and would not starve for 2 or 3 weeks at least... :)

TD Update: I finished the collar! But I am having grave doubts about whether or not it will fit. Not the body part, but the collar seems particularly, I don't know, "choke-y". We'll see what happens after blocking I guess. Still have to set in the sleeves and weave in the rest of the ends. I will wet block for maximum shaping, so it will be a while after it's bath for the final verdict (unless it suddenly gets really really sunny, although this yarn comes with a warning to avoid direct sunlight - vampire yarn?)

Good grief I have to get to bed. DST still sucks.

*The role is Des Grieux, the opera is Manon, the composer is Massenet, and this recording is from 1944.

Three in a Row - She Might be Going for Some Kind of Record...

2008-03-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

I am perennially the last to the party and everyone has probably already seen this, but just in case there is one person who hasn't:

PRESS PLAY

Just about the coolest thing ever.

No photo of the room yet because, though amazingly it was still light out when I got home, the afternoon was overcast and grey - not very appealing. I also was a bit frustrated by the time I got home, which took nearly an hour, so I'm not sure if I would have had the patience for it anyway. Kindly remember that I live in the same town in which I work. The reason for the delay... the line at the post office. Now, I am one of those people who always uses the automated postal machines because they are convenient, there hardly ever is a line, and after all, we are in the twenty-first century. But, on this occasion, in addition to mailing some other small packages I also was sending off my tax returns. This was something I did not want to screw up and have sent back to me postage due. The sooner I get my tax return the sooner I can stop thinking that I have to eat ramen for a month to offset the IKEA trip last weekend. Plus, my taxes were done two weeks ago - if I had gotten off my lazy butt and mailed them right away I might have even had my money by now.

The post office in town is supposedly open until 6, but apparently after 5 everyone goes home and leaves one poor postal worker to deal with tens of irate customers all on her own. The customers are irate because they have been standing in line for a half hour watching their fingernails grow and being forced to endure the escapades of children who, though cute after 5 minutes, were certainly not after 25. I felt bad for this girl, but what sort of managerial incompetence schedules the PO to be open until 6 and then doesn't staff it properly to handle the after-work crowd that is sure to descend? Never again. From now on I will only use my beloved automated postal machine because what a ridiculous fiasco. (If there were some reasonable alternative to the USPS I might consider it, but alas, for regular correspondence, there is not.)

After the post office debacle I thought I would pop over to Trader Joe's, which is right next door, and stock up on some essentials. But, one turn about the place had me fleeing - there were too many people and I just couldn't deal after having to stand in that line. It's probably for the best, I need to stick to my all-ramen diet anyway, at least until the tax money comes in.

I'm kidding about the all-ramen diet (kind of), but I am back on my Must Not Waste Food kick. It's going pretty well, though I have now pretty much run out of fresh produce. Today for dinner I had sauteed potatoes and onions, steamed broccoli with celery salt and parmesan cheese, and red quinoa. Not all that balanced, I know (there is no protein), but at least we have vegetables and a grain in there. Although technically I don't think quinoa is a grain, so I'm not sure how it fits into the dietary puzzle. Anyway, it looks like tomorrow's dinner will consist of one white onion, three sad apples, and some cranberries (fresh) that have been in the crisper since Christmas. Hm, I'll have to check those cranberries. I do have some oranges too, and a lemon and limes, but I don't think those will help this situation. Although... look what I just found. It's not so odd, apples and onions are a natural pairing (although I think you usually use yellow or brown onions for this sort of thing). I wonder what I could have it with; pretty much the only thing I have left in the pantry is rice, pasta, more quinoa, bulgar wheat, and lentils. Hm, lentils. Perhaps there's something there. On the other hand, I could just eat Thin Mints for dinner like I did last Thursday.

So yes, trying to eat everything without letting it go bad has been fairly successful this past month, as evidenced by my nearly-empty refrigerator. (I didn't intend for it to be nearly-empty, it just happened that way.) I do have the porch produce, but it is limited, and I want to make it last. Speaking of which, one tiny basil baby poked its head through the soil today! I'm calling it sixteen days. Now only the parsley has yet to show. I will need to rig up some additional netting for trellis-like support on the peas very soon, within the next few days, or risk being overrun by the vines. One of the mustard greens has bolted, which probably means the rest will soon follow, so there's one more side dish to be eaten in the next few days.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch...

What the bloody hell is this? I'm not sure it is so obvious, but what it actually is is a purl bump smack in the middle of a column of knit stitches. Right next to the button hole too. I don't know how it happened, but luckily I was able to fix it without too much fuss (I was afraid that as soon as I pulled the stitch out the entire collar would collapse like a house of cards.) I should say fix them, since I did whatever I did on the other side as well. It was about this time when I realized that I needed four buttons, not two. Four buttons.

Sigh.

At any rate, the collar is about 1/2 done - the end is in sight! And speaking of ends, I actually wove in some of the offending ends, cursing myself the entire time for not doing it as I progressed instead of waiting until the end. They aren't all done, but there are many fewer, which is considerably less crazy-making. A dozen more rows on the collar, set in the sleeves, find new buttons (er...) and this one is done. How many more days? Any bets?

New and Improved! Now with Music!

2008-03-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

It is not unreasonable, in this digital age, I think, to have a soundtrack to one's blog posts. YouTube makes it embarrassingly easy to find interesting things to watch and listen to, and I for one would have never found, nor purchased the recordings of, some extraordinary artists but for their presence on YouTube. (Music Industry Execs, are you listening? Free music makes me buy more music, not less.) So, each post I am going to try to link to something I found on YouTube that makes me smile, or laugh, or cry, because I want to share these gems with anyone that will listen. I may or may not write something about them. I know I have linked sporadically in the past, but I would like to be more regular about it. You don't have to watch if you don't want, just listen while you read the rest of my post (though sometimes watching is half the fun). If you have been reading a while you know my predilection. (I can guarantee they won't always be restricted to this one genre, though there just may be a bias...) Whether or not it is your cup of tea I do hope you give it a try, and continue to give it a try, because you never know what you might like or what might inspire you.

PRESS PLAY

In other news, I would like to report a theft! Late last night, whilst I was sound asleep, someone crept into my apartment and stole an entire hour! I woke up disoriented and groggy, and clocks in different rooms proclaimed different times! Needless to say I am justifiably miffed at the entire ordeal, as I needed that hour to complete the set I was relying upon to get all forty of the winks that I need in order to function. A warning to the thief - tomorrow may not be that pretty. Return the hour now and you will receive amnesty. Otherwise, all bets are off.

(I am reminded of the excellent Terry Pratchett novel, Thief of Time. Hilarious. If you have never read Pratchett do give it a try. His writing is a bit like that of Douglas Adams. Knowledge of Diskworld and a tendency to read sci-fi are not prerequisites, my aunt has neither and thoroughly enjoyed this one.)

On with the knitting, or rather, lack thereof. I made no progress on the TD since yesterday, partially due to the fact that it was about 75 degrees today, and partially due to the fact that I have made another deposit into the college fund of some Swedish kid. That's right, a trip to IKEA left me with a new chair, table, and night table, a lighter wallet, and a severely aching back. Is it really worth it? You can decide. Tomorrow. After I take the photos that I will be able to take now that the sun is setting an entire hour later, resulting in actual sunlight shining in the windows of the back rooms when I get home.

I did manage to take a couple of photos before going off on a quest for Swedish meatballs and unpronounceable housewares. First up, a tiny slip. I had promised myself that I was NOT buying any more yarn until either I had used up a considerable portion of my stash or there were credible reports of a pending yarn shortage. I do not have a huge stash as stashes go (at least, not from what I've seen online), but it does take up three entire under-bed boxes (the kind you normally put things like wrapping paper in), plus three small bins (nearly all sock yarn), plus a big cardboard box of KnitPicks Palette that I kind of rather hate. I have enough sweater yarn to make at least 3 sweaters, plus some cotton and linen for lighter weight garments or what have you, plus yarn for about 15 pairs of socks (you think I am kidding?), plus that damn Palette... But, I was perusing my Bloglines and noticed a new post up on Sock Madness, so I clicked on over.

Disclaimer: I am not participating in Sock Madness this time around. Last time was a fiasco, since I work full time and also am a crazy perfectionist. (I did get a nice pair of Mad Cows out of it though.) I do not know why I am even still subscribed to this feed. In fact, what happened next is a good indication that I should unsubscribe as fast as humanly possible.

I clicked on the Sock Madness feed, and what should my wondering eyes should appear? They are naming the divisions this year after the last four NCAA Division I women's basketball champs. You know what that means, right? And then I saw it. This yarn. From YarnLust. I cruised on over to the Etsy site and bought it in about 17 seconds flat. I am not kidding. All self control flew right out the window.

Go Huskies!

See that adorable stitch marker included with the package? It is gorgeous, it coordinates, and it is the perfect size for sock needles (the ring is a lot smaller than most I've seen). The colors in my photos are a tad washed out, I took them in full sun, but needless to say, they are really pretty.

Huskies, from YarnLust (100% superwash merino)

How could I not?

My parents are huge Huskies fans (football in addition to both men's and women's basketball), despite having never attended UConn (that was all me, thank you very much), and owing to the fact that Connecticut still has not regained a professional sporting team (we have hopes though) they are avid (or is that rabid?) fans. Much bigger fans than I am (and I want to the school for cryin' out loud). I have offered to make something for my mother using this very special yarn. It remains to seen what she will do with it...

I did catch a photo of the lovely peas that are now in bloom as well:

Pisum sativum

I don't know if it's a snap pea or a snow pea, they were sown in the same spot and it's possible one variety didn't sprout (though I doubt it, those seeds were new last year) and I didn't investigate closely if the flowers were different, but there you have it. Isn't it lovely? Just think, with a little pollination action that little flower will be a delicious pea pod in a short time. I had planned to grow some sweet peas as well this year, but I haven't ordered any seeds yet and I suspect it's getting rather late to start them now (I know, it is only March, but they like the cool weather like "real" peas and most varieties are finished blooming by June.) In other plant news, the chives have started poking their heads out of the soil today! Two weeks and a day from planting. Nothing yet from the basil, delfino (cilantro) , parsley, or dill.

Musical note: Those of you that follow these sorts of things already know of the passing of Italian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano last week. He was but one more legend from an age of legends that have, over the past few years, been slipping away from this world. Let us hope that he doesn't slip away from out collective memory as well. This clip is the famous tenor aria, Je crois entendre encore, but the Italian version (Mi par d'udir ancora), from Bizet's opera Les Pecheurs de Perles (The Pearlfishers). Much less popular than Bizet's most famous opera, Carmen, and seldom performed today, but full of beautiful and engaging music.

I still believe I hear
hidden beneath the palm trees
your voice tender and deep
like the song of a dove
oh night enchantress
divine rapture
delightful thought
mad intoxication, sweet dream
in the clear starlight

I still believe I see
in between the long sails
of the warm night breeze
oh night...etc.

(Translation not my own.)

When You Fall, You Fall Hard...

2008-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

...off the knitting wagon. And blogging wagon, for that matter. Some things happened, and some other things, and then some things... no sense rehashing that now though, it's all old news. I'm starting fresh.

I have an embarrassing number if UFOs (to me), so I picked one that was fairly close to being finished. Remember the Tilted Duster? A little sluthing determined that the last time I mentioned it here was in October. The last photo was back in September (go, search if you must - I'll wait). It was in a holding pattern waiting for a certain book to arrive. It arrived all right, and I even experimented with my fancy-pants plan for the bind-off edge (using tubular BO for double rib!!!) and then... nothing. I did manage to participate in the Knitting Vintage Sock Swap, though I failed miserably at getting my package out even remotely on time (I was about, oh, 6 weeks late or so). I even failed to take a single picture, which is highly uncharacteristic of me, but luckily my swappee, Cherie, both liked the package and posted a few pictures on Flickr. They even fit her!! The pattern is Child's Sock in Miranda Pattern, from Knitting Vintage Socks (duh). The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in Green Mountain Madness.

Anyway. Tilted Duster. I pulled it out of the closet and decided that if I attempted to bind off in tubular BO for double rib (which actually looked quite good on my test swatches) would take me 23 more months to finish (it's a tad intense). Instead, I finished the last pattern repeat on the skirt, bound off normal (I think it's called one over bind-off?) and picked up the stitches for the collar. This all happened last night. I have since knit about an inch and a half of the collar. I only had about 100 stitches to pick up, since I used a slip stitch edging, instead of 130 (or more) but there was no way I was going to add extra stitches to the picked-up edge. One-hundred stitches (102 actually) it is, and I'll only go back and "fix" it if it looks really bad. The thing that really ticks me off about the whole thing is that if I had just buckled down last fall I would have had another sweater in, like, two days. Seriously. The sleeves are already knitted and I have the buttons for the closure. All I need to do is finish the collar, set in the sleeves, and weave in about a million ends (I have no idea why I did not do this as I went, but TD looks like the FSM right about now).

No photos of TD, but I do have a couple of non-knitting views to share.

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce, my friends. Growing in a window box on my balcony. This was one of the "crops" I planted last November. Surprisingly, everything has survived, and some things have done exceedingly well, including the lettuce. I have planted seeds from 2 different packs, "Pot & Patio Blend" and "Wild Garden Mix". I don't know which are which. I do know that lettuce appears to be one of the easiest things to grow from seed in small containers. What could be better than stepping outside to pull a few fresh leaves of a variety of salad greens to put on your sandwich or to toss with a light vinaigrette! I highly recommend it to everyone. (It is much better than watching sad supermarket heads of lettuce, shipped from who-knows-where (probably Mexico) wilt in your crisper. Cheaper too. And prettier.)

Tropaeolum minus

Nasturtiums, Tip Top Alaska variety, also planted last fall. I had originally planned on having the nasturtiums climb up the rails of the balcony to partially disguise the ugly that is the car park below, but they never got very tall. Upon further research I discovered that, whoops, this variety is a "compact border variety". It only gets to about 8" tall. Hmph. Well, the foliage is very pretty anyway (its variegated - it's supposed to look that way!) and nasturtiums are edible (both the leaves and the flowers). I'm hoping they will bloom in the spring.

You saw the favas last time. They are doing incredibly well, not to mention are really interestingly pretty and fragrant, and my two varieties of peas (snow peas and snap peas) are blooming now too. Peas like cooler weather, so I think it was a good move planting them in the fall to give them plenty of time to grow before the heat sets in. Maybe I'll take some photos next time.

Cheered by my apparent success, two weekends ago I planted some more of the seeds, so as to insure a continuous harvest. Both varieties of lettuce that I planted (I do like my lettuce) sprouted in just under a week, and the ching-chiang after about 10 days. I have hopes for the basil and delfino and parsley, though the seeds are getting a bit old. I still dream of the days when we had 3' tall basil bushes in San Diego (I'm not exaggerating - they were bushes, and they were 3' tall; I should have taken photos, no one believes me). Will 2008 be the year of the basil bush? I've got new chives going as well, and most of the woody-ish herbs from last year (marjorum, thyme, mint, catmint) are still doing well. Next I need to figure out what my design plan will be for the balcony.

Did I mention spring is here?

Sweet Pea

2008-02-28T18:59:00.001-08:00

Though neither a pea nor sweet. But growing in my "garden"!

Spring has sprung!

Stalemate

2008-02-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

Let It Snow

2008-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

So to speak.

(Blogging to resume anon.)

Dear Blog,

2007-11-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

My job is trying to kill me. Regular blogging will resume as soon as I have vanquished it. If, instead, it vanquishes me, well don't hold your breath waiting to hear from me.

Miss you,

Carrie

PS Every kind of seed I planted 2 weeks ago has sprouted! Yes, possibly folly trying to grow things in the winter, but I live in zone 9b, which rarely dips below freezing, and even then only briefly. I have planted all cool weather and/or winter-hardy things too: carrot, rutabaga, turnip, radish, parsnip, snap peas, fava beans, bunching onion, winter lettuce, bok choy, mustard greens, nasturtium. I also planted dill and cilantro, we'll see what happens with those. My summer basil, while still alive, is not looking too well - I think the problem though actually is that they need a larger pot. Lowest temps of the season so far have been about 40 (which was a tad unusual, and a few weeks ago).

Not What I'd Hoped For

2007-10-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

What I had hoped for was that, mid-week, armed with a newly acquired book, I would dash off the rest of the Tilted Duster with panache and style and put up a flashy post by the week's end.

This did not happen.

I am still waiting for said book and so the Tilted Duster waits sadly in the wings while the days grow shorter and colder.

I started (restarted) the Firestarter Socks but have since decided that the yarn is too fine at that gauge. I'm thinking of abandoning that yarn altogether and go with something more substantial for the pattern, maybe the Black Purl I got from a trade with Ginny a while back?

My So Called Scarf inches along. I've just started the second ball. It's so pretty! I'll be sad to see it go.

The Mini Clapotis hasn't seen the light of day since I first picked it up a few weeks ago.

The Endpaper Mitts (yup, that's what that was) are moving along at an ok clip - just 7 more rows to the thumb and then 3 more pattern rows after that, plus the little bit of rib, and one is compete. Thing is, I am not loving the yarn. It is Knitpicks Palette, that I bought in a moment of insanity last year (I bought the sampler, with no intention of knitting the sweater that uses all those balls, and I find I hate most of the colors). I would love these in a nicer yarn I think. I'll have to see how I feel when I finish the first one.

What else? Oh, yes, the Entrelac Scarf is still waiting for a backing. It came out beautifully, by the way, wait until you see!

What have I been doing instead of knitting (and feeling generally crappy and run-down?) I order and received these last week:

I have big plans for the balcony this spring. If I'm gonna be stuck in an apartment I'm gonna try to make the most of it.

And I've been baking. Do go and find the recipe for Pumpkin Bread from the new edition of the Joy of Cooking. It's on page 628. Then substitute allspice for the nutmeg (because you don't have any nutmeg) and leave it in the oven for 10 extra minutes because you suspect your oven thermometer is low. Make the version with the brown sugar. It turns out very dark on top, but surprisingly, shockingly, moist and delicious. No photos now, it is very dark outside.

Cheerio ~

A Little Thought

2007-10-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it, but I don't think anyone on my long, long blogroll (don't let that list in the sidebar fool you) lives in southern California. Well, I used to live in San Diego, and was there during the infamous Cedar Fire. People who have never lived in a fire-prone environment, who have never lived through a "fire season" don't have the first idea what it is like. It was terrifying going to bed at night, wondering if the fire would creep upon you while you slept; terrifying waking up in the morning to a blood-red sun burning though a soot-darkened sky, ash falling like snow, wondering which way the winds were going to blow that day. It was, truly, like something out of Apocalypse Now. So please, please keep the people in the fire zone in your thoughts, because beyond all the media hype as there always is, it really is a very scary thing to live through.

(Oops! Crazy Aunt Purl lives in SoCal - so give her extra hugs today!)

We Interrupt this Fair Isle Knitting...

2007-10-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

To bring you chilly kitterns snuggling...

Sort of. Well, anyway, when it gets cold they both like to be on the blanket. I think the trick is to make the blanket smaller and smaller until they are piled on top of each other!

I've not done any further knitting on the fair isle piece since yesterday. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually a lot easier than it looks (to those who have never done it). It is quite a bit bigger since the photo, but no new photos yet. I'm putting that bad boy at about 25% complete. What I have been toiling away at is my Tilted Duster. I realized that in order to participate in NaKnitSweMo in the way in which I would like I will really have to clear my needles of the sweater in progress first. Luckily I am getting close. I have about 6 more rows left on the skirt (about an hours knitting maybe - the rows are quite long) and then I just need to knit the collar and set in the sleeves. Knitter know thyself. This time I will not forget buttons require a certain amount of space to fit through in order to actually, you know, button.

I have also spent some time this weekend being amazed at my parsley and chive patch...

I've never had much luck with parsley in the past, so I thought I would throw the two together and hope for the best with the parsley. What I got was a carpet of parsley such that it has become something of a test to locate the chives. Find the chives and you win the chance to cook with it!

My basil, on the other hand, has not been doing as well...

This is just one of the three really sad specimens that survived to quasi-adulthood. I may have to try again - I was hoping for bushes! Those other little things in there with the basil are chamomile plants, very slow growing I have to say, but seemingly holding their own.

Not Firestarters

2007-10-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Huh.

A Shot in the Arm (or A Kick in the Pants)

2007-10-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Bribe:

So yes, I joined another KAL with the intention of getting my sock knitting mojo back. If you recall a while back I tried to use the lovely Pagewood Farms Superwash sock yarn on the Dunes of Tinfou socks (pictures over at Raverly) which didn't turn out the way I planned. I then tried it in the Ribbed Lace pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, but I just wasn't feeling the love. Then I saw Yarnissima's beautiful pattern, Firestarter, over at Peaknit's blog. (Stacey is hosting the KAL too, by the way.) The socks look really interesting, and challenging, and I thought that maybe this might be just the thing to pull me out of my sock slump. But as you may have noticed, I have rather a lot of projects all going at the same time right now (at the time, three scarves, two sweaters, and a shawl, albeit in the timeout corner, not to mention the couple of thing that are almost certainly destined for frogland). So I told myself I could not cast on for the Firestarters until at least one of the scarves was off the needles.

Exhibit A.

How's that for a kick in the pants? Entrelac Scarf is, in fact, off the needles. It's having a little soak right now, and of course, it isn't really done yet given I haven't decided what to do about the back side (still toying with the idea of sewing something soft to the back...) but the important point is that the knitting is done. Gentlemen (and women), start your engines.

Speaking of finished items, Mrs. Darcy is also finished! Mrs. Darcy is the brainchild of Mary Weaver and I found her on Ravelry.

Unfortunately I had really poor luck with the photography this time. Trying to take photos on a timer in the middle of the town square while trying to not look like the Town Crazy is harder than you might think. You've seen the other one from yesterday already, and that's pretty much all you're going to get, with one exception. I'll give it another go some other time. I made quite a few modifications, so here we go:

Pattern: Mrs. Darcy by Mary Weaver
Yarn: Beaverslide Dry Goods Fisherman (Aran) Weight 100% wool in Dusty Clover, just under 4 skeins (210 yds/113g per skein)
Needles: US size 8 aluminum straights for the body, Knitpicks Options dpns US size 8 for the sleeves
Size: 36"
Gauge: 16 stitches and 24 rows = 4"
Started: 20 September 2007
Finished: 13 October 2007
Pattern Mods: I wanted a rather more fitted cardigan so I calculated (and recalculated) nearly every aspect of the sweater. I started with the prescribed number of stitches and followed the directions though the ribbing (except I did twisted ribbing on every row instead of every other row as given in the pattern - this meant purling through the back loop on wrong-side rows, a royal pain, but ultimately worth it). I then added some waist decreases to fit me more snugly 10 stitches total), paired with some waist increases, up the back. I mirrored the shaping on the fronts. For all the shaping I used paired increases/decreases. (The pattern only uses only one type, which the perfectionist in me found unacceptibly obvious.) I did not bind off the shoulders but instead did a 3 needle bind off. I decided to knit the sleeves in the round to make the twisted rib easier. I also started the sleeves on only 30 stitches, instead of 40, since I have bird arms and thought that 40 would be too wide. The first sleeve was both far too snug and far, far too long. I reknit the sleeves starting with 36 stitches and made them 2" shorter. I think I also shortened the armscye, and therefore, also the sleeve caps (I had a great deal of anxiety that the sleeves would not set in properly.) I used crab stitch on the back edge of the neck to give it a firmer, more finished look. I used only 2 buttons, and yes, there was some button drama.

The photos above are of the cardigan unblocked, hence the weird wrinkles and folds in the arms. All of the pieces were blocked individually, but not as a whole since being sewn together. I get a nice form fitting fit, and I expect the sweater to relax just a wee bit once blocked, but not in a bad way.

The Good:

Three-needle bind off is my new best friend. I cannot believe I have been binding off and picking up those same stitches for shoulder seams. This pattern does not specify three-needle bind off for the shoulders, I just thought I'd try it out. If you have never done it, quick, knit a sweater so you can. In such a bulky yarn, the shoulder seam could have been really ugly. This sweater had simple shoulder shaping, but next sweater I may try short row shaping for the shoulders as well.

Beaverslide Dry Goods yarn rocks. It is quite squooshy, both in the skein and knitted up, and is soft without feeling delicate. Even against my bare skin it really was not itchy. It almost feels like suede (not kidding), even though it is 100% wool. (They have some other yarns that include some mohair content too.) One thing to note: it does not give really crip stitch definition, so if that's what you're looking for, look elsewhere. The colors are gorgeous though,and vivid, and this one, at least, did not bleed. (Invest in a set of their color cards - they are only $8 and include every single color and type of yarn they produce. They are well worth it.) Did I mention how pretty? The yarn spit-splices really nicely too, and weaving in and securing the ends is a dream, though you'd better mean it because good luck finding the ends again if you need to rip it out for whatever reason.

The Bad:

Knitting sleeves in the round sucks. Actually, knitting sleeves in the round is awesome, no sleeve seam to sew. It's the setting in of said sleeves tha sucks. Royaly. Really. I had a really hard time getting the sleeves to look even ok set into the armscyes. I would rather sew 10 sleeve seams than set in one sleeve already knitted in the round. I really mean it. It's flat sleeves for me from now on.

I am a dork when it comes to making button holes. Or rather, picking buttons that will fit into the button holes in a button band that is not picked up and knitted last but rather knited straight onto the piece. This means that I cannot go back and reknit the button bands without reknitting the entire front side that the button holes are on. This also means that of course the burron holes are too small for the buttons I painstakingly and lovingly picked out. So yeah, since I can easily get into and out of the sweater without unbuttoning it I actually just sewed the button bands together along the entire section that would have otherwise been held closed by the buttons. The buttons are therefore faux. Which is to say, they are real buttons, they just don't do anything. I am such a fake.

The Cool:

Crab stitch makes a really cool firm edging. Who knew? Crab stitch, incidentally, is a type of crochet stitch. It's really easy, but it's been so long since I've done it I had to look it up. I found a great tutorial here. Once you get going there's a rather easier way, but if you have no idea what crab stitch is this is an excellent introduction. Crab stitch is directional, as I found out (the front does not look like the back), so be sure to crochet the single crochet foundation row with the right side of the garment facing you. It almost has the feel and look of piping, or maybe i-cord (although that's speculation since I've never done applied i-cord before).

PS

2007-10-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

(Details to follow tomorrow.)

Because I'm a Joiner

2007-10-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

I've never done Saturday Sky, but today I just couldn't resist.

And it matched something I recently cast-on.

And file this under Crazy.

Yes, I am the last to join the party.

(Mrs. Darcy is about 30 seconds from being done. Hooray! Photo shoot tomorrow?)

Buttons!

2007-10-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

I found the website of the company of the Jo-Ann buttons!

Blumenthal Lansing Company

I am particularly partial to the Vintage line.

:)

ETA: Fixed! (That's what happens when you type html wrong.)