Knit-Kat

Bah

2009-03-03T11:54:00.002-05:00

I HAVE been working on things - quite a lot actually. I've just been busy at work, too, so my time that I get to myself in the evenings has NOT been spent in front of the computer. I really owe people pictures that I have yet to transfer from my camera, and I REALLY need to update this.

I finished a few small things, continued slogging through some bigger things, and I am moving. That's the biggest thing. There's no time to sit and watch a movie, which means I'm probably not sitting still to knit either. Plus, the house that we moved into is kept a bit cooler than the apartment that we came from so all my projects on metal needles are freezing in my hands. Sigh. I'll get there.

Food Coma

2008-12-27T17:36:00.003-05:00

Christmas was nice and quiet for us. I've spent the last few days baking - 4 different kinds of cookies: gingerbread, snickerdoodles, apricot/shortbread pinwheels and chocolate chip (ALL VEGAN!) and one set of vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. So. Much. Good. Food. Lots of good friends too. I had friends from work join us for Butternut Squash soup and Dutch Chocolate Silk Pie on Christmas Eve, and they brought their 3-year-old son who just had us laughing all night. Then, Christmas morning was spent with another vegan family we know and we stuffed ourselves silly. Once we could move enough, we spent the afternoon playing Rock Band on the Playstation 3. Hahahaha - that's a hilarious game to watch.

Yesterday, our friend Nick came up to spend a few days. After a lunch of falafel, we wandered around the mall playing with gift cards that we received, then headed home. It's just too rainy and cold out to enjoy the day outside.

For tonight's dessert, I threw together my vanilla cupcakes with soy cream cheese icing.

Almost all of the snow we got a week ago has been washed away by the rain.

67 days later...

2008-12-20T20:52:00.002-05:00

I've been busy, I swear. I've been knitting too. Mostly just busy though. The only reason I've even writing now is because I have no actual plans for 17 days. I heart the holidays.

During this busy semester, I joined a choir, and we gave 2 concerts. Joy!! I had forgotten how much I loved to sing - in a group, not solo. I met a lot of amazing women and I'm trying to move the class I teach in the Spring so I can continue to sing. Here's hoping!

At the beginning of November, we went to visit a friend on Shelter Island, which is at the east end of Long Island. Monty had his first ferry ride.

Actually, he had 4 ferry rides in 2 days. And a nice long walk out onto an amazing peninsula. It was a great weekend.

He seemed scared to slide off the painted turtle and wouldn't hold still. Oh well.

Also at the beginning of November, I received my second PRGE package from LifeJunkie.

An amazing collection that I will surely use in the new year. I was also more timely in responding to LifeJunkie to thank her for her generosity - this blog is WAAAY behind the times.

The Thanksgiving holiday was full of friends, family and food. So. Much. Food. Also, being a vegan made it interesting. Everyone around us was VERY considerate. I did get to see the sausage stuffing, boiled kielbasa and roasted turkey though, so don't think I missed out. A good time was had by all.

Right after the holiday - maybe as a stress reliever - I got a new tattoo.

Introducing:
Joyce, at the top, and Angelina, knitting on the tree stump. These are two girls created by Henry Darger in his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion.

We have a book about Darger that contains a number of the illustrations from this work, and I love them. I love looking at the colors and tracing the altercations and wars. After looking at this book so much, I decided to get the tattoo done with two of the girls that refer to me. Angelina, the knitter, is obvious. Joyce, the flower child, is for my music side, since I plan to have the roses colored for the music fraternity that I belong to. Altogether, the whole tattoo is based on a visual art that I respect and admire.

That said, I love that Darger was pretty crazy. From Wikipedia:
"In 1968, Darger became interested in tracing some of his frustrations back to his childhood. It was in this year that he wrote The History of My Life, a book that spends 206 pages detailing his early life before veering off into 4,672 pages of fiction about a huge twister called "Sweetie Pie," probably based on memories of the tornado he had witnessed in 1908."

Make of that what you will.

2008-10-13T13:30:00.004-04:00

Today, I cruised over to Bored At Work, and lo-and-behold the latest entry is entitled "Strange Knits and Yarn Monsters." Amazing. I personally have knitted the Nautie from Knitty. Very fun. DH has a love for all things tentacled. I have seen most of the patterns on the B@W link, but if you check them out, I'm sure you'll find your fave.

In knitting news, I took this past weekend to plan out my holiday knitting. There are a couple of patterns that I have been wanting to try out, as well as a few items that I think are really beautiful, but just not for me.
First up: brooklyntweed's Noro Scarf.

Such a beautiful scarf! Such a simple idea, and yet, not one that I would have thought of. I almost always love what he comes out with. Plus, I have been looking for a justified reason to purchase and try Noro's Silk Garden.

I like to try a yarn - really knit something out of it - before I commit to any projects with it. What if it ends up splitting a lot? What if it sheds more than my cat? With my fickle finishing tendencies, I need to be aware of what could potentially end my work on a given project.
Not that I should need a reason to work with a silk blend, but it's nice to have a reason regardless. Now that I'm working on the first one, I am already thinking that I might make a second one in different colors. I am very quickly falling in love with Noro. Very soft on the hands, and the colors change smoothly, so I find myself hiding the balls of yarn so that I don't know exactly which color is coming next.

Another scarf/wrap that I may include in my gift list is the Phiaro Scarf by Katie Himmelberg. Other gifts may include Struan by Ysolda, Dashing by Cheryl Niamath, and at least one or two other things. Plus, I'm still trying to finish up a sweater that I started for last christmas (I have my sister working on that one right now).

I work on stuff for myself in 2009.

I got a package! I got a package!

2008-10-02T12:09:00.005-04:00

I got an amazing package from my awesome spoiler, Life Junkie!

In all, I received:

A Magic Ball of mohair and a coordinating pattern from Be Sweet, Orange Jelly Belly beans, Karma Checks, an adorable tin of peppermints, and freshly roasted coffee from Lexington Coffee Roasters. The book that Life Junkie included is similar to a personal favorite, Persepolis. This one, Blankets, is also an illustrated novel.

I love this!! Thank you so much, Life Junkie!!

2008-09-26T13:51:00.002-04:00

Another two weeks have gone by.

I've been working on a toe-up sock of BMFA mediumweight. I have also been chugging along on my Central Park Hoodie. I'm on the second sleeve. Slowly but surely with this one.

I received my Rockin' Sock Club yarn and pattern today, which was a nice perk to a really rainy day. It's really pretty yarn, and I think I may actually knit these up. I haven't done that since January.

Receiving my sock yarn inspired me to throw two more little goodies into the box for my PRGE spoilee. They don't know who they are yet, but they will soon!

I need a nap.

2008-09-10T13:39:00.004-04:00

In knitting, I have to admit that I laid the Central Park Hoodie aside for a while. I was zooming right along, and then I had a moment where I thought to check my needle size. For some reason, I thought I had knitted an entire front panel at a 6 instead of an 8. It was starting to get warmer out, though, so it made sense to lay down the cardigan and work on socks for a while. Which I did.

Then, the other day, I was re-organizing my stash (again) and a ball from the CPH collection rolled to a stop at my feet. This, of course, reminded me that I hadn't actually checked to see if I was wrong on tat front panel, or whatever. So, I started working on one of the sleeves to get myself back into gear. The sleeve is coming along really well, and I finally got to checking that front panel - it's completely fine. Of course it is. So now I'm back to it.

All was not lost, though, since it is now getting cooler, and I'm now getting impatient to have this hoodie done already. I was browsing Ravelry, and I found Ester and I am smitten. I think I have yarn in the stash for it, too.

Also, while I was perusing the Ester pattern, I saw a link for Grumperina's Cable without a Cable Needle Tutorial. It's very easy to follow, and has sped up my sleeve a bit.

In non-knitting news, my mom and I went to Beatles tribute festival, Abbey Road on the River. It was awesome. So many great renditions of the awesome music of The Beatles.

This is a band called Beatlemania Now! and they were really good. They looked, sounded and acted just like the original guys. Kinda eerie. My mom was really astounded and she had a blast watching them.

Welcome to Hartford.

2008-09-10T09:34:00.003-04:00

A new store just opened up: Mario's Discount Furniture & Lines!

Is it a spelling error, a printing error, or purposeful.....?

2008-08-29T18:41:00.003-04:00

1. Why did you join PRGE?
It was my first swap, and I was intrigued my the posts from the other members' blogs. The punk side of knitting is my favorite side.

1.a. Have you done other swaps? Are you doing other swaps right now?
I just wrapped up with the Mmmmmmalabrigo Magic Yarn Ball swap. Very fun.

2. What are your five favorite things? (these don't have to be knit related)
A) My home-life: my pets, my hubby, my apt. It's all great.
B) Coffee
C) Knitting in general. I haven't been terribly inspired lately, and I ended up with more than one casualty to pull off the needles when I've gotten bored lately.
D) Reading. I just buzzed through the Twilight saga - even though I am too old to be wrapped up in teen fiction.
E) Tattoos.

2.a. Do these things allow any hints into your personality for your punk pal?
Most likely, yes. I'm very laid-back, and very easy to please.

3. What are your three favorite things that you have made with knitting/crochet?
A) I was really proud of a sweater that I made for hubby a while ago.
B) I was gifted some awesome bulky hand-dyed yarn at Christmas, and I turned out a Unoriginal Hat that day. I was blown away by my speed. I suppose that's what happens when mistakes aren't made....
C) I love making Fetching mitts for people.

3.a. What do you tend to make with knit/crochet?
Small things. I have yet to complete any of the 4 sweaters that I have on needles.

3.b. What do you hope to make (or complete that you have started) someday?
The Central Park Hoodie, or a Clapotis.

4. What five things would you love to see in a swap box someday? Why?
Swaps are about making connections with new knitters, so...
A) Home-grown coffee, so I can taste different regions.
B) My spoiler's favorite yarn.
C) My spoiler's favorite pattern.
D) Something that made my spoiler laugh while they're putting my package together.
E) A new suggestion for a knitting-themed tattoo.

4.a. What do you hope to never see in a swap box again (or ever)?
Cascade 220 - it's a great wool, and I know that. I love it, so it's always my first thought when I want to make something new. I need to expand my horizons.

5. What are your three favorite yarns? What are your three least favorite yarns?
A) Unwind Yarn Company's Handpainted Superwash Merino (found on etsy).
B) Bamboo
C) Cotton blends

M) Fun fur
N) Silk
O) Super bulky yarn

5.a. Do you like solid, self-striping, or multi-colored yarns?
I love it all.

5.b. What are your favorite colors? What are your favorite colors to knit with?
Purple Purple Purple, and some pink.

6. What are your five favorite delicacies?
A) Dark-chocolate covered cherries
B) Lorna's Laces
C) Fresh fruit
D) Comfy books
E) Yarn sales

6.a. What yarn do you hope to one day try and why?
Soy yarn - I just haven't gotten there yet.

7. What are your three favorite guilty pleasures?
A) Knitting with friends
B) Sick day from work without actually being sick
C) Day trips to NYC

7.a. What are your favorite tv or movie charactors?
Meredith Grey (I'm indecisive, but not THAT indecisive, and her personailty reassures me that I'm not that bad), Hermione - I love that she's the smart one.

8. What are the five things you look forward to every week?
A) Staying in my pajamas a little longer on Sundays
B) Grocery shopping with my iPod on
C) Weeknight veggie dinner parties with friends
D) Grey's Anatomy - I'm not obsessed, but I like watching it.
E) Saturday trip to the library (a Friday night trip to Borders works well too)

8.a. What do you do during your week (ie - work, take care of three kids, race walk)?
I work at a job that I love. It's an office job, but I wear jeans and sneakers most days and I'm respected for knowing and doing my job well.

9. What do you collect?
Friends. In reality, I'm trying to minimize rather than collect. I prefer to get a good book that I can pass on, or a thoughtful necklace than a knick-knack. Yarn is always the exception. Suggestions for yarn storage and organization are always welcome.

9.a. What collects you?
A nice, soft cotton comforter.

10. When is your birthday?
July 22

10.a. What is your favorite holiday and why?
I love Christmas, and the whole season around it. I like to make greeting cards, and have a party where everyone enjoys little veg cakes and treats, and then hubby and I spend some sweet time together on Christmas morning, just the two of us, watching A Christmas Story all day long on TBS.

11. Do you have any wishlists?
I have one on etsy, and I also have one on amazon.com.

11.a. Do you have a "favorites" collection anywhere that your pal should know about?
I guess that's the one that I have on etsy.

12. Do you have any allergies or health related conditions that your pal should know about?
Well, I am allergic to tobacco smoke. I also recently found out that I may be lactose-intolerant (I'm working on confirming that), and I am a vegetarian.

12.a. What drives you nuts?
Hartford drivers. Intolerant people. Not much else.

13. What do you do for work and what do you do for fun?
I work in a recording studio at a University. For fun, I read, knit, ride my bike to nowhere, and always have music playing in my ears.

13.a. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
Fly.

14. What would you like your pal to know that is not covered here?
I love stars. The shape itself is very endearing to me - and organically created.

14.a. Are you excited for the contests or will you just pretend that they do not exist?
I enter the contests because they make me think about my knitting, but I have never won one. It might be nice to win sometime, but I mostly love reading everyone else's answers.

Happy, happy, joy, joy

2008-08-21T08:04:00.006-04:00

I had a vacation!! So nice to get out of the normal routine! It was our first real vacation in almost 2 years, and it feels like it was even longer.
We made the trek to Ocean City, MD with Adam's family. A glimpse of the view out our back door:

Amazing.

While I was gone, the letter carrier delivered my Magic Yarn Ball from the Ravelry Malabrigo swap. Such goodies inside!

The gorgeous postcard listed "Directions for a Go Anywhere Vacation."
1. Sleep in! Don't get up until you feel like it.
2. When you finally get up, put on your star pendant to feel a little more heavenly.
3. Laugh at how funny your new pig magnets look, and then stick "Dirty" on your dishwasher.
4. Make some lemonade.
5. Pull out a reclining chair and relax in the sun while reading "The Memory Keeper's Daughter."
6. Have some goodies with your reading: Fred Ferkel or Gin-gins, mmmmm.
7. Don't forget to drink your lemonade.
8. Tired of reading? It's time to pull out the mmmmmalabrigo! Save your place in the book with a gold book dart.
9. Knit away! Take project notes with your Aloha pen.
10. Eat more candies. File your nails. Repeat steps 1-10 tomorrow.

An awesome package. I'm already halfway through the book, too. While re-reading the list, though, I noticed that the lemonade package isn't in the picture. It's a cute lemon-shaped ball with leaf-shaped tags with lemonade mix in it. Just like everything else, it's adorable. I do believe that it's from Loreanne in CA. Should have a confirmation on that soon.

Meh

2008-07-16T12:15:00.003-04:00

I have been...
Knitting
Procrastinating
Working
Riding my bike
Not sleeping
Visiting with Nick
Reading stupid books
Freezing
Playing Softball
...and more for the last few weeks.

In the summer, I always get the standard lack-of-something-due-RIGHT-NOW! type of ennui that leads me to get nothing done. I really don't work well without a schedule. I have been getting stuff done, just not like I normally would.

I bailed on the Ziggy socks. The tightness of the foot was tolerable since I have narrow feet, but I do not have narrow ankles, and I could not reconcile them. I will end up making nice socks out of the Kureyon, and I have realized that I really like this stuff. The colors are still stunning, and the yarn does soften up quite a bit once it's in sock form.

I got my latest Rockin' Sock Club package, but wasn't an outright fan of the pattern. However the absolutely stunning color has made me want to make socks of the yarn, but I have to find a rather plain pattern for it. The colors range from very pale to very dark, and with stripes that will result, I want to keep it simple. Still looking for that perfect pattern...

To carry around in the meantime, I started churning out some new dishcloths for the kitchen. I had been given some great brick red and turquoise Nashua Handknits cotton, which is working nicely. To them, I added some Mission Falls 1824 cotton in violet, lime and a camel color. I had to replace the other ones I had in my kitchen. Since they had been my first dishcloths back in the day, I thought "I should make them in a neutral cream," which has now aged in to a gross drab.

Our friend Nick was up to visit this past weekend, and we were complete nine-year-olds as a result. The days were spent playing outside or riding bikes around town, and then evenings were spent playing video games. The only differences between us and actual nine-year-olds was our afternoon drive to ikea, and we eat a lot better and drink a lot of beer. I'm still recovering from such a great weekend.

2008-06-18T10:00:00.002-04:00

I have started the Ziggys, but I can't really get a good pic of them here in my office. Let me just say, they look amazing. Seriously, look at the colors:

Gorgeous, right?

Also, I finished the Broadripple socks. Love them!

2008-06-13T11:26:00.002-04:00

The new Knitty is out, and I am smitten. I am totally enraptured by the Ziggy socks. I have been on a socks binge lately, but I can't seem to find complicated socks to work on. In my opinion, the whole point (other than the luxury of wearing finished handknit socks) is to have a portable project that you can whip off a few rows on without having a huge issue with a book or a pattern that needs to be pulled out to follow. I have mostly been working on simpler, two-row sock patterns, and I've been very happy with the results.

I received my latest package for the Rockin' Sock Club, and while I absolutely love love love the pattern and the yarn (SUCH a gorgeous colorway) I really have to be ready to sit down and knit these up. I'm not there yet. The Ziggy socks though have a rather simple color-changing pattern that I should be able to memorize fairly quickly. Plus, these socks remind me a lot of the Yarn Harlot's Kauni, which is just gorgeous. I have yet to complete a cardigan of any sort yet - let alone a double-stranded wonder like that.

I already have the yarn for Ziggys though:

Noro's Kureyon Sock in no. 182. It seems a little rough for socks, but we'll see how it is once it's knit up.

In other knews: I noticed on my Ravelry page (knitkatknit) that the 11th was my one-year anniversary. Wooohoo!! I never really make a big deal about anniversaries in general, but I thought this was pretty nice since I've actually used my Ravelry page and stuck with it. Also while I was on Ravelry in general, I signed up for the next Malabrigo swap. This should be exciting too, since the theme is magic yarn balls - as you unwind a ball of yarn from your spoiler, little treats and gifts fall out: buttons, stitch markers, maybe a row counter. Sweet and useful stuff, too. I just happened to check out the swap sign-ups as a result of my last PRGE spoilee, Carly, who was part of the last swap. I am looking forward to this.

TTFN.

Seriously

2008-05-30T09:17:00.009-04:00

29 days since I last posted. Amazing.

Here's what I've been up to:

First, I received the amazing package from my PRGE pal, Rachel

It was full of everything I love - dishcloth cotton (in awesome new colors), Selena's hand-dyed yarn (in a luscious purple), stickers, a mini-puzzle (which I have left at work), awesome coffee (which was promptly consumed during Sunday knitting, of which there have been 3 already since I received said coffee), fake tattoos and an adorable card, which got hung on my side of our back room. My side is for knitting, and honey's side is for paintings - of which there are many. The room just looks a mess since we both have quite a bit amassed in here. That's what back rooms are for.

I finally wound up some Unwind Yarn Company superwash merino that I had found on etsy, and then it just happened that it got a mention from the Yarn Harlot herself.

This yarn is amazing. The colors are rich and blend wonderfully from one to the next. With this yarn, I am making a pair of Broadripple socks . I am on my third try with them though, since I really want to use this yarn, but the gauge is different from the pattern suggestion. Not different enough to warrant an extra pattern repeat, just enough to make a different size needle necessary, and then adding a few strategically-placed extra stitches into the pattern. Not awful though, and the color changes are completely in sync with this pattern.

We had a weekend in Allentown, the place of our birth. We meandered over the to Allentown Art Museum and met up with some friends. After schmoozing with high school teachers there, we all walked over to the Allentown Brewworks for dinner. A pleasant place to eat - of which Allentown always had too few. Walking back to the car, I got an awesome picture of the boys climbing on the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in the middle of downtown.

I love these guys.

For Memorial Day weekend, I got some long-awaited baking done. Using this recipe, I made petits fours! They have always looked so hard to make, but they are always a treat. So, I dove in.
I made the batter, baked it, layered it, coated it in marzipan, and then refrigerated it.

I really should have stopped there. They tasted amazing at this point. I wanted to follow the whole recipe though. I now know that the poured fondant icing on the top was just too much sweet. The cake tasted like a fortune cookie, and I used Raspberry Polaner, so they were already sweet enough - didn't need the fondant. Also, next time I will cut them larger.

They sure were pretty. I had leftover chocolate that I had melted for the drizzle, so I dipped some strawberries to take along as well.

My next experiment will be creme-filled mini cupcakes!

Yarny weekend

2008-05-01T11:24:00.002-04:00

It was quite a long weekend, and has taken me until now to even comprehend it to write about it. Especially since I had to get over my allergies that attacked full strength on Saturday.

Allergies or not, my MIL and her friend were in town for a visit. Since it was a bit chilly and gloomy, but not raining, we headed over to Old Wethersfield. This is the more historical section of Wethersfield proper. Most New England towns either have an old section, or they share an old section with the towns near them. This is the area where the earliest Americans lived. All the buildings have plaques on them announcing who used to live there. I love these kind of places. Now they mostly have charming cafes and knick-knack stores in them.

Behind one of these old homes, a barn sale was being held. We got into the barn, and lo-and-behold there it was:

My new Charming Rocker. That's what the tag said. I immediately sat down, and wanted to pull out my traveling sock. I sent a picture of it to my honey to make sure he liked it too, and 15 minutes later, we were loading it into my MIL's Trailblazer. It looks adorable in my living room now.

Also in Old Wethersfield, I visited Sit N Knit, too. I had never been to this location, and I really enjoyed myself there. The staff was so upbeat and friendly, and the knitters that were working at a table off to the side were also very lively and charming. I loved the arrangement of the store, and intend to go back there again. On this visit, though, I found their clearance room. In there, I found YARN WITH MY NAME ON IT:

This is a close up of the gorgeous saturation of colors:

I got two balls (skeins? hanks? it's too bulky to tell) of it. I have looked on Ravelry, and not really been too impressed with Super Bulky projects. I think I may want to do some kind of open-work scarf with it all. I'll know the right project for it when I see it.

Also on Saturday, we headed down to Mystic Seaport. I had never actually been there. Like, not around the tall ships and the museum aspect of Mystic. It was lovely, actually. I got pictures of my tall guy near the tall ships, but forgot to upload them from my camera. I will do that tonight.

Then there was Sunday.

I woke up early and dropped honey off to spend some more time with his mom, and then I headed to Northampton, Massachusetts. A wonderful town on its own, but now it's a wonderful town that just crawling with Knitters. Amazing.
I wandered my way into WEBS and it was just about packed with people. And Yarn, of course. I meandered around for a bit, and then I turned around:

Surprise! I knew Stephanie was going to be there (that's why I drove up) but I didn't expect her to be in that spot. I picked up a copy of her book, and waited patiently in line.

I even got to hold the Traveling Sock.

I got stopped by a number of knitters during the day, too, who commented on my t-shirt. It is the infamous Natalie Dee holding a sign that reads, "Will Knit for Tattoos." And I will.

I bought some sock yarn, and some other yarn, then forced myself into line to pay for it all and stop fondling skeins. Then, I popped in my iPod headphones and headed up to The Calvin.

I got inside, got a beer, found a seat, and pulled out my sock to work on. It was amazing. Another amazing thing is that from donations and purchases at WEBS, $4698.00 was raised for the Cooley Dickinson Center for Midwifery Care.

Her talk was inspiring, as always. I felt at home among all the Knitters.

After the talk, I walked back down to WEBS, and pondering some Ella Rae Bamboo Silk, but ended up putting it down because I just wasn't sure what I would do with it. I have now purchased it since being home again and confirmed the scarf pattern that I had in mind.

It was a great weekend, and my fingers are starting to calm down from their Spring Start-itis that I developed in March. I have a package to get in the mail to Carly tomorrow, and lots of sock yarn to work up!

Couple-a things

2008-04-26T09:20:00.003-04:00

First, pseudobunny sent me Dethklok's "Decapitated" , which I will finish up with "Dragula," by Rob Zombie.

I really love the video, LOVE Rob Zombie's work (the stuff of White Zombie too), and this song happens to be the one if the husband and I have 'a song'. Yes, we danced to it at our wedding, though much later than our first dance together. It's sentimental.

Second, of course, is an update on the Central Park Hoodie. So, I am working on the front left panel, zooming right along, and discover that I have an oops. I knew that that 4 stitches that seem to be making up the inside edge looked out of place. I know that later on, I am supposed to pick up along that edge for the buttonhole band, but I kept going anyway. Once I got all the way up to the arm shaping, 16 inches after noticing this funny thing, I realize that I made the most classic of errors. In a pattern that offers 7 sizes, the cardinal rule is to go through and circle all of the size directions that pertain to what you need. I missed one. D'oh! Needless to say, I ripped it all back, and I am doing it again. If I want to make this thing look right, I have to make it right. Sigh.

Thirdly, a random question. Is anyone else in the New England area going to WEBS on Sunday to see the Yarn Harlot? I registered a while ago, and didn't think to ask ahead of time. If you're going, let me know. I plan to check my e-mail before I leave here, and I would love to meet up with you, as I'm going alone. Not that I mind, either. Honey was great about going to see the Yarn Harlot with me when she had her Represent tour kickoff last year in NYC at FIT. However, given that he would most likely rather spend his day in his painting studio, and I'm a big girl and can handle myself, I'm driving myself to Northampton. Plus, then I have no sighing and eye-rolling when I wander around petting all the pretty yarns.

Ok, Lemme know. knitkat1[at]yahoo[dot]com.

PRGE to Carly

2008-04-21T11:43:00.002-04:00

Carly has given back, "Mommy's Little Monster," by Social Distortion.

So, for my R, I am sending....

...because I LOVE the video. Enjoy.

For the PRGE contest...

2008-04-16T10:45:00.003-04:00

From my spoiler, pseudobunny, I was given "Boat of Car," by They Might Be Giants.

A short, fun song. I like that it sounds like video game music.

In response, I give her "Roam," by the B-52's, one of my all-time favorite bands.

I seriously remember my mom bringing this album home when I was a little kid, and my sister and I just loved it. I've never outgrown it.

Then, to pass along to Carly:

Tegan & Sara - Living Room. I really like these girls. I'll expound later.

2008-04-07T14:35:00.002-04:00

Finished the back of the CPH. Now onto the left-front.

Monty's sick - whoa, boy. He still seems happy though. The vet said that the garbage outside probably upset his system - awesome. Something I can do nothing about.

I'm also grading papers. So. Many. Pages.

At least work is fun so far today. Good music, happy rested students.

2008-04-03T11:20:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I was very much a homebody. It was beautiful outside, so I took Monty for a nice, long walk. It was still cold out, though, so we came back in when we were done.

To warm things up, I thought about making cupcakes. I also got to thinking about Red Velvet cake. I had had it once before, and I really liked it. I pulled out "The Joy of Cooking" aka, the food bible, and lo-and-behold there was NO ENTRY for Red Velvet cake. I was shocked. So I looked it up online (I <3 the internet). I used this recipe, and my oh my, were they good!

I was handing them out as fast as I could since there was no way I was going to eat them all, and I also didn't want to throw any out!

In between making the cupcakes, I got quite a bit done on the Central Park Hoodie.
I've got almost the whole back done.

I love how evenly this yarn is working for me. I was given this yarn, so I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure there's some acrylic in it. It's kitting up very nicely, and when I look at the charts, I feel like the cables are giving me just enough inspiration to keep going with it.

Now, on with my day.

By the by...

2008-04-02T10:29:00.002-04:00

In lieu of adding all of the pictures that I took this weekend, I have been tagged by pseudobunny:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.--> Rachel
2) Post the rules.
3) Share six non-important things / habits / quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people.
5) Be sure the people you tagged KNOW you tagged them by commenting what you did.

1) I was that little kid that couldn't see and had coke-bottle glasses, and still fell down a lot. Then I got LASIK in 2004. I love it, and I fall down a lot less.

2) I'm always the oddball. I'm taller than most people, and I usually find the inappropriate thing to say. Most of the time though I can make people laugh.

3) I read quite a few blogs every day, but rarely comment on them. My opinion: who cares what I think?

4) I married my high school sweetheart. We've been together for almost 10 years.

5) I've developed an almost unhealthy obsession with cupcakes lately. Not just with all the cupcake-themed t-shirts there are, either. No, with MAKING cupcakes. This past weekend was red velvet cake w/ cream cheese frosting - so good. I've made them with avocado, lots of chocolate, and various other ingredients. So good. They are the best-sized treat, too. All the deliciousness, and not so much guilt.

6) 90% of the time, I am happy and perky. When I'm sad, I bounce back pretty quickly. As a result, I can listen to The Cure and Massive Attack and stuff and sing and bop along to the music. It also helps me love everything colorful.

So now I need to tag three people..... 1)Stella 2)Carly 3)Shadkitty

I picked these three ladies since I know them from the prge. I love reading their blogs already, so I want to see what they come up with.

Cheers!

Spoiled

2008-03-28T13:02:00.002-04:00

I have been spoiled by Rachel of pseudobunny & co.!

It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, so here's a list of some of the wnderful items:
*Light-up Knitting needles!
*A beautiful needle case
*Origami paper
*Sheep-shaped magnetized clips for little papers
*Hedgehog-shaped push-pins
*Adorable puppy notebook
*Sew Subversive - a book on making neat sewing projects - looks interesting.
*Of course, yarn: but not just any yarn - ALPACA SOCK YARN!! So amazing. It's a beautiful colorway, and she also sent me a choice of two awesome sock patterns for it.
*This is a picture of the japanese candy that was also sent my way:

An amazing package.

2008-03-24T16:35:00.003-04:00

Who doesn't love new yarn? I know I do. I received my 2nd Rockin' Sock Club package today, and it's beautiful! My photo of it doesn't do the colors justice - rich greens on a wide spectrum. I can't wait to work with it. I must confirm my needles and everything before I dive in though. I also have to finish the Knucks that I promised to one of my students. I should be able to know those out tonight.

Speaking of work - all my students started coming back in today. They were all on Spring Break last week, so there are lots of stories, tans, and presents. One student went to his parents' place in Seattle, WA, and came back with a pound of Stumptown coffee for me!! So wonderful. He also shared that the coffee made his entire suitcase and contents now smell like coffee. I could only be so lucky.

Also, this weekend, I got a new tattoo:

I'm really in love with it. It's on my right arm, just below my elbow. Yes, each of the stars has meaning to me, so I collectively call them my Guiding Stars. I went to the tatoo shop with a friend of ours, and we both got some work done. It was nice being able to share that with him. Such great times lately.

PRGE Contest

2008-03-19T13:26:00.005-04:00

From my spoiler, her three favorite songs are:

Behind the Green Door, by The Cramps
California Uber Alles, by The Dead Kennedys
Elvis Needs Boats, by The Dead Milkmen

I have to admit that I've only heard the Dead Kennedys song, and neither of the others :(

For corresponding patterns, here's what I got.

Behind the Green Door
I actually want to knit a door - well, a screen door - myself one day. For that, I have already found a pattern in AlterKnits by Leigh Radford.

I also think I found an appropriate nylon thread:
Available in Olive GREEN.

California Uber Alles
For this, I already love the line, "Suede denim secret police."
To that end, I give you the Police Tape Scarf.

For Elvis Needs Boats, I was stuck for a bit. Then, I realized what I needed - a wig.

So, knit a wig, and hop in a canoe - Elvis no longer needs a boat.

Woohoo. What a great contest. Totally fun.

2008-03-18T16:02:00.002-04:00

After 4 inches on the CPH, I already had to rip it out. Oh well, I'm already almost back to where I was.

I re-tooled this blog a bit today, and I already think it's looking better. I really liked my old page, but it was doing funny things that I didn't like.

Tonight, I am finishing up a complete makeover of my knitting area(s) of my home. I had bins, boxes, bags and a cabinet - and I was still spilling all over. Yes, I have been taking pictures, so this should be a nice long post when it happens.

This is why I join swaps/KALs

2008-03-17T15:11:00.002-04:00

Because then I actually spend time on the interactive/technology side of knitting, and not just fretting over what's still on my needles. I surf Ravelry (way too much), check out other knitters' blogs, and find new and interesting ways to mentally bond with that projects that I'm slowly churning out. I feel a sense of responsibility to keep on chugging.

I'm getting past a mental block, too. I read more and more about certain projects that I or other people may get so excited about knitting, and something goes awry with it, and suddenly, it's unbearable to finish. Unbelievable. I used to think that made me a disappointing knitter. Now I've come to realize that it just makes me more realistic about my projects. For example: months and months and months ago, I started a Lucky Clover sweater. I got lots and lots of it done - one sleeve, back, and one front - and then stopped. I looked at it one day and honestly saw that I was never going to wear it. I had made it out of a cotton yarn that was rather stiff and heavy, and it only drooped when I pinned it together. I still have the pieces that I finished, since I'm just going to wait to frog it until I see a use for the yarn. I have officially discarded it as a WIP though.

Of course, over the weekend, I decided to start a new project. A Central Park Hoodie. Lots of people on Ravelry have knit this one, and I really like it. I just happen to have enough stash worsted in a deep purple color, too. It's a sign.

Gearing up

2008-03-13T15:55:00.002-04:00

I'm in this state of waiting to Knit. Not fun. I'm waiting for the next Rockin' Sock Club package, and I'm also slowly putting together a box for my PRGE giftee. However, I don't want to start anything new, since I know that as soon as I get my RSC yarn, I'm going to want to cast on those new socks. Also, as soon as I get a package from my PRGE spoiler, I'm going to want to tear into whatever is in there as well. So, for now, I will display my finished January RSC socks:

PRGE Upgate

2008-03-03T15:52:00.002-05:00

Everyone changes, and so do I, so I feel like my answers have changed a bit since the last time around.

1. Why did you join PRGE?
*I have participated in the last two rounds of this swap, and I feel like the punk-ness of it matches my alternative views toward Knitting.

2. What are your five favorite things? (these don't have to be knit related)
*1. Reading - all the time.
2. Music - listening, learning
3. Coffee
4. Lounging all day with a good movie, a good book, a sock to knit and good coffee.
5. My husband - my best friend.

3. What are your three favorite things that you have made with knitting/crochet?
*1. Socks - always a sense of accomplishment.
2. Adam's Octopus Sweater
3. Dishcloths

4. What five things would you love to see in a swap box someday?
*1. Hot-pink light-up needles.
2. Something small knit just for me.
3. My spoiler's favorite yarn.
4. Baby Surprise Jacket pattern.
5. Knitting-related accessories, like a necklace - so great to wear to work.

5. What are your three favorite yarns? What are your three least favorite yarns?
*Faves: Wool, Merino, Noro
*Foes: Red Heart, anything scratchy, anything furry

6. What are your five favorite delicacies?
*1. Dark Chocolate
2. Dark cordial cherries
3. Cupcakes
4. Coffee that I can't normally get.
5. Location-specific treats.

7. What are your three favorite guilty pleasures?
*Naps, plush yarn, playing hooky from work.

8. What are the five things you look forward to every week?
*1. Grocery shopping
2. Yoga class on Wednesdays
3. My job
4. Getting the mail at work
5. Friday-night date night.

9. What do you collect?
*Pigs - in quirky ways. Like, I just found pink pig luggage tags - adorable.

10. When is your birthday?
*July 22.

11. Do you have any wishlists?
*Yes - amazon.com - Kathleen in Newington, CT

12. Do you have any allergies or health related conditions that your pal should know about?
*I'm allergic to tobacco smoke.

13. What do you do for work and what do you do for fun?
*I'm the manager of a recording studio, and that's pretty fun. I go out with my dog - which I'm look forward to doing more of now that it's getting warmer. I also like to go on short road trips around New England. Also for fun, I'm on a softball team.

14. What would you like your pal to know that is not covered here?
*I'm really easy to please.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T16:02:00.003-05:00

DH doesn't buy into the holiday, but it's full of warm feelings anyway.

I have been very busy on the Knitting front:
I joined the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin' Sock Club, and my first package arrived two weeks ago. The yarn is gorgeous, of course, and I am hard at work on the first sock. The pattern moves quickly, too, so I'm not bored or allowing myself to get distracted.

I made an Unoriginal Hat (charted by the Yarn Harlot):

The yarn was given to me on Christmas Eve, and when I visited friends on Christmas Day (including the guy who gave me the yarn), I already had the hat done. I'm sure I have the band at home, but I remember that it's 100% wool, hand-dyed from a boutique in NYC. I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

I have also been plowing through on my father's sweater, but it's taking me so long, and I get easily distracted. *Sigh.

I also knit up all the pieces for the Winter Berries bag by Noni. I have yet to felt them, though, since I only have access to coin-operated washing machines, and I want to do my first felting project right, and then I can adapt it to what I have.

Things have been happy-busy at work. My responsibilities have been added to, so I have less free time (aka blogging time) and I still don't want to sit at a computer when I get home in the evenings. I have joined a yoga class, and I babysit often, so my time is still well-spent.

I will be back.

Amazing.

2008-01-03T15:38:00.000-05:00

From www.icanhascheezburger.com - link is below the picture.

moar funny pictures

I will post again soon.

And then a month goes by...

2007-11-28T09:44:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but I now I'm just making excuses.

First, with the holiday in there, I had lots of extra work around my office. Planning to be away for 3 days caused an extra week's worth of preparation. The time was much needed away from my town. It was great.

Also, right before the holiday, we bought a new car - a 2008 Toyota Corolla. We really needed this one. Back in June, the car we were driving - a '96 Mercury Tracer - was finally kicking the bucket. This car was bought brand new, off the lot by my mom, and we put over 140K miles on it. It served us well. However, in June, DH and I weren't exactly in a position to buy a car. So, we've been borrowing a car since then. It's a Saturn SL1, and a bit snug to fit into.

When DH got his awesome job in September, I knew we were on our way. Finally, we hit that point where all of our finances were flowing well with a bit of excess now, so we dove in. I had been researching the Corollas for quite a long time now, and feel totally confident in what we got. Eeeee!

In knitting news, my camera is kinda broken. It turns out that I have a defective battery. Thankfully, this is something that the manufacturer is aware of, and I should have a replacement soon. Then I can take way more pictures. In the meantime, I have been using my phone's camera, which actually takes quite good pictures. However, it doesn't transfer to my computer very easily and my work computer is kinda on the fritz (where I normally transfer everything). So, I have lots of shots, but haven't gotten around to posting them.

I have, however, been knitting up a storm. I joined the NaKnitSweMo group on Ravelry to challenge myself into knitting a sweater in a month. Well, November is almost over, but my sweater's only half done. On the other hand, my sweater's half done!! It seriously took me forever to make the last sweater that I worked on, so this is amazing to me. I'm knitting it in Cascade 220, and I bought a simple top-down v-neck raglan pattern to follow since I'm designing a full-coverage intarsia pattern as I go along. My dad is really into tigers - all kinds, too. Siberian tigers with green eyes especially, but Tigger too. I figured that I would knit him a sweater with a full body tiger-stripe pattern to it. It's taking a while, but the shaping is already done, and the stripes look awesome. Actually last night, I had it off the needles on a lifeline just to check a few things, and I'm really impressed with myself right now. The way the I'm building the stripes could have been totally disastrous. I have been taking lots of pictures, and as soon as I can get them on a computer, I will post them here, and on Ravelry.

I've covered a lot, and I will be posting more. Stay tuned...

Broad Street, Philadelphia

2007-10-25T16:22:00.000-04:00

I love that these mittens are based in a town I know. Having grown up near Philly, I know the coldness that the designer speaks of, therefore necessitating these mittens.

I am plodding ahead with these babies. I am making them with Patons Shetland Tweed, though, instead of the merino that the pattern was written for. However, a bulkier yarn means that my gauge is much larger, and less stitches are needed to fit around my skinny little fingers. These babies, though, are a gift. I'm not saying who for though.

Also just about finished: Knucks, my blended-pattern socks of Anastasia and Widdershins, and a blanket that I started over the summer. Plenty of pictures coming soon.

Rhinebeck and lack of pics

2007-10-24T11:44:00.000-04:00

So, my camera battery died, and I haven't charged it yet. When I do, pics will be here again.

I did get to attend the wonderful Rhinebeck, and got to visit with old friends. I picked up a few things:
- two 325-yard skeins of Organic Cotton ( I'll have to reference the actual label for the farm name) for baby sweaters.
- a Kromski Niddy-noddy.
- two small bags of purple-dyed wool roving for hopefully my first felting project.
- a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears.
- a notecard of an alpaca.

This last item was bought for a specific purpose. I framed it and hung it up...in my bathroom. I have a number of fun pictures - including a hand-drawn rendering of Abraham Lincoln - hung in my bathroom, since I feel they are most appreciated in there. Sometimes I crack me up.

Not exhausted yet

2007-10-08T13:26:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday night, all other pastimes and hobbies came to a halt.

I bought a Wii.

Oh man, how fun. I play a mean game of tennis, and I'm the top bowler in my house. Plus, I bought the Zelda game, too, so that is totally time-consuming.

I haven't actually played a new game system since my Nintendo was bought when I was 6. I have always just stuck with that one. I have never needed better graphics or killer role-playing scenarios. Tetris rules. Now, I feel like I'm doing really well with this game, and I feel really smart about it. Hahaha, smart.

This weekend, I went down to NYC for the Audio Engineers Society convention at the Javits center. So many audio nerds. I was one of so many. Great Thai food for dinner, too. I also got to see a lot of old friends and visit with some new friends.

In knitting, I have almost finished my Broad Street Mittens, made two new Round Dishcloths, and finished my first Knuck. Small projects are swell.

Pics to follow!

Catching Up

2007-10-02T19:36:00.000-04:00

I actually have a few things to type about this evening.

First, I received my PRGE package today. Well, it actually got here yesterday, but as I live in an apartment, and the mail carrier doesn't feel comfortable leaving packages, I got it at the Post Office this morning.

Included are a set of #4 dpn's, a skein of purple KnitPicks Cotlin, Rowan Wool & Cotton, patterns for a Round Dishcloth, Knucks from Knitty, awesome Cherry lip balm, and Pop Rocks! Amazing.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure who my Secret Pal is, they didn't give their name. Hopefully, all will be revealed with the November package.

In other news, I did just start work on a pair of Broad Street Mittens. I chose to use a chunky Wool instead of a fingering weight yarn.

I have the left one done, and I'm up to the fingers for the right one. I will, of course, post a "finished" pic. This is slightly irinic since my Secret PRGE Pal just happen to pick Knucks as the pattern to send me, and I kinda have a pair on the needles - which is totally ok, since the Broad Street's are being knitted as a gift! Now I get to make a pair for myself!

Happy Knitting!

Cleaning house

2007-10-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of re-arranging two rooms of our apartment, I decided to finally do something about the state of my blog. I have switched styles of template, and I'm hoping that will help my considerably. Please feel free to let me know if there's anything unsightly that I may not have noticed for myself. I will also be working on updating links and whatnot.

So much time, so little to do...

Wait. Strike that. Reverse it.

UFO sightings

2007-09-26T12:27:00.000-04:00

It's amazing to read other people's blogs and realize that I am not the only person on earth who has trouble finishing what I start. Thank goodness! I have an honest-to-goodness basket for projects that I start with the absolute best intention to finish right away. But then I find the prettiest yarn on sale.... Everyone does this, I now see.

brooklyntweed is describing his current move, which has un-earthed a number of UFOs. This has subsequently led to quite a bit of patient frogging. Maybe I should take a page from his book, and do the same myself. Like that sweater that I started out of dishcloth cotton two years ago - A) dishcloth cotton should probably not be used to make sweaters, as I realized when I went to make a baby sweater of said material, and B) dishcloth cotton doesn't feel very nice when you're making an ultimately heavy garment like a sweater. That's probably why it's referred to as 'dishcloth' cotton - tiny projects, please.

brooklyntweed has also pointed out that in his cleaning out process, he has located a project that he is loving working on again. Maybe I could also find something like that for myself???

Regardless, I need to work on my UFOs and be honest with myself. Am I really going to make that? If the answer is even 'maybe' then frogging is most likely inevitable. Stash space is prime real estate in our tiny place.

**
In other news, a few posts back, I included a picture from my hometown, Allentown - Allen High Fighting Canaries!! (I will never cease to laugh at my h.s. mascot, regardless of the point of its origination) - and I got a great comment from a woman named Sally who shared that she knew of the Public Storage location in the picture, and recognized it. I wanted to thank Sally for commenting. She let me know that there are more people reading this blog than I thought. I love it!! Thank you, Sally, and all the other lovely people that I write this for.

Officially addicted.

2007-09-20T10:57:00.001-04:00

So, every time that I have sat down at a computer in the last three days, I have logged in to Ravelry. I knew it was going to happen, so I just let it suck me in. I have made significant headway, and I am very proud of my progress. Now, if only I could get this page under control...

In reading knitgrrl's page, as well as Rilana's page, I have found the NaKniSweMo project. Knit a Sweater in a month. Hmmmm. The last sweater I knit took me 8 months, give or take. I think I'll do well with the pressure. So now to find a men's pullover pattern that works well with a beer gut...

I love stuff like this

2007-09-19T11:31:00.000-04:00

From Shadkitty's page:
SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up.Have fun!

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total:10

(x) The Princess Bride (so many times!)
(x) AnchorMan (ugh - I know too many of the lines....)
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 18

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 24

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 31

(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 36

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (I LOVE this movie!)
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
(x) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 47

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
Total so far: 56

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
(x) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 64

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 73

(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x) Curious George
Total so far: 85

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds (the original and not the crappy remake with Tom Cruise)
(x) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 95

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 105

(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Spider-Man 3
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
(x) Cruel Intentions 2 (lame)
(x) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 120

( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 126

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 132

(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
(x) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 139

(x) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 144

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
Total so far: 149

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
(x) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 153

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 159

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
Total: 168

There are clearly a number of movies that I have seen that are not on this list. I easily own over 239 DVD/VHS movies. I'm not kidding.

In Ravelry news, I set up my Flickr account, got some photos uploaded, and made some headway filling in a few blanks that I had already created on my page. Things are looking a bit more filled in, and have yet to expand. Woohoo!

Ravelry-er

2007-09-18T17:38:00.001-04:00

So, I've had my Ravelry page - KnitKatKnit - for more than a few weeks now, and I have been pretty bad about doing anything with it. My biggest reason for this is that I usually throw up a blog post during a quiet time at work, or on my lunch. However, not only have I been working through my lunches, I haven't been taking any knitting to work with me - I just don't really have any time. As a result, my blog has been rather slow to be updated, and I have all but forgotten Ravelry.

Times change.

I have taken pics of my stash, such as it is, and I will be updating like a fiend. It may just take some time.

For now, here's the culmination of much cleaning:

We have a kind of small apartment, so my stash and accessories stay in this cabinet and the tubs on top of it. It's great to be able to stay organized with it.

On with Ravelry!!

From sunne's blog

2007-09-11T16:33:00.000-04:00

SCATTERGORIES ... and it's harder than it looks! Here are the rules:

* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.

* They MUST be real places, names, things ... NOTHING made up!

* If you can't think of anything, skip it.

* You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!

My name: Kat

1. Famous Singer/Band: Kiss

2. Four letter word: kick

3. Street: Knollwood Road

4. Color: khaki

5. Gifts/Presents: kisses - both smootches and chocolates!

6. Vehicle: Kia

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: keychains!

8. Boy Name: Keith

9. Girl Name: Kathryn

10. Movie Title: Kill Bill, Vol 1 & 2

11. Drink: Kahlua

12. Occupation: Killer

13. Celebrity: Kevin Kline

14. Magazine: Knitter's!

15. U.S. City: Kalamazoo

16. Pro Sports Teams: Knicks

17. Fruit: Kumquat

18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Kicking ass

19. Something You Throw Away: Kleenex, used

20. Things You Shout: KICK ASS!

21. Cartoon Character: Kimber, from Jem and the Holograms

Mountain Laurel

2007-09-11T12:02:00.000-04:00

I never realized what a pretty flower this is.

The Mountain Laurel, Kalmia Latifolia, is not only the state flower of Pennnsylvania, where I'm from, but also Connecticut, where I am. It's lovely.

I know this is a short post, but it's raining a lot outside, and I have pretty flowers on my brain. Plus, on a day like today, when so many people are observing in different memorial ways, it's nice to think about flowers instead of destruction and loss.

Silly blog.

2007-09-06T09:33:00.000-04:00

So, I tried to tweak a few things on my sidebar to make them a bit more streamlined so I could add my badges to it, and the whole thing ended up buggered. The font has changed, as well as the sizing, but only for part of it. I also have a funny line going across the top of the posting part.

Does anyone out there know of a good resource to assist me with figuring out enough of the html to clean this up? I am basically figuring things out myself through trial-and-error. I change something, and then preview it. If the result is not what I want, I revert back. Most of the time, I'm doing ok, but not this time.

In knitting news, I finished a pair or fingerless gloves that I designed myself. They're gorgeous (to me), very soft, and fit wonderfully. As soon as I have a picture, I will post it, along with the pattern.

Yesterday, however, I cut the pad of my right thumb on a pair of scissors. Knitting has been halted. That does not mean I'm wasting my time - no, no - it's PRGE TIME!! I can still shop with a wounded thumb. I'm totally planning to spoil my spoilee! I cannot say anymore! Woohoo!

For your viewing pleasure, a sad sight that DH and I frequently pass when we're visiting our parents in PA. I think I drove by this sight every day for over 10 years before I realized the hilarity.

Badges

2007-08-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

I was never a Brownie or Girl Scout when I was younger, and the only part that I was ever yearning to join in on was the earning of badges. I always thought they were great - small embroidered representations of your achievements. I even found some of my aunt's badges from her Girl Scout years, and added one or two to my backpack in high school.

Now, I am adding the badges which I believe I have earned, from the Illustrious Order of Cast On Knitting Scouts

Proselytize Knitting Badge

I do enjoy sharing tips about knitting, as well as spouting about how much I love the sport. I rarely shut up about it. For anyone who wants to learn, I have extra needles and practice yarn in my desk drawer.

I've Knit Items With No Conceivable Practical Application For Them Badge

First of all, I love knitting stuffed animals. Unless they go to someone right away, though, I keep them around to love them, and they end up in my "China Cabinet of Things That We Cannot Throw Away, But Really Have No Other Function." Second of all, I end up un-raveling so many things and looking at them with the WTF-stare, and no concept of what they were supposed to be.

Knitting Whilst Under the Influence Badge

Who doesn't knit with a gin and tonic next to them? Most often, I put down the needles when I know there will be significant distraction, so as to avoid a morning of woeful ripping back.

MacGyver Badge, Level I

This level is attained when a Knitter uses non-knitting-related objects to serve a knitting purpose. I have often used plastic-coated paper clips as stitch markers and cable needles, a dollar bill as a measuring tape (6"), as well as a number of other office supplies since I am often knitting in my office.

MacGyver Badge, Level II

This badge is attained when knitting-related items are used for non-knitting purposes. I know there is at least a rogue US4 needle holding our important receipts together. I'll edit this when I can think of other instances around my house.

I Will Impress You With My Math Prowess Badge

This is probably the only area of my life where I actually try and succeed at using math. Most other areas, I try and fall flat on my face.

Knitting Has Forced Me to Seek Medical Attention Badge, Level I

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, baby. I was at the doctor anyway for something else, and I inquired about my computer usage combined with my knitting time. She informed me that as long as those movements didn't start to mimic each other, and I was moving my hands in different ways, then I should be fine.

I have earned quite a few already, but I still have more to do! That's another great thing about badges - you have goals!

PRGE Questionnaire

2007-08-21T12:06:00.000-04:00

Now I have a reason to blog again. Not that I haven't been knitting, but I haven't been working on anything interesting with enough progress to write about.

Why are you punk?
Hmmmm. I have the standard favorite colors - purple and black. I prefer the non-traditional in most situations: dress, actions, hair color, etc. I have a number of tattoos and piercings. I prefer punk and hard rock music. I'm sure there are other reasons.

What are your five favorite things? (these don't have to be knit related)
OOOoooh...
1. Reading - mostly fiction, but I also enjoy historical non-fiction about glamorous famous people (Jackie O, Judy Garland, Jayne Mansfield, etc.)
2. Music - seriously, I work in music, and I love to surround myself with it.
3. Coffee - sweet elixir of life.
4. Pajamas - 'nuff said.
5. Days when I can watch movies all day, in my pajamas, and knit with a cup of coffee next to me.

What are your three favorite things that you have made with knitting/crochet?
1. Christmas stockings
2. Adam's Octopus sweater (even though it's falling apart)
3. Anything practical - I love my dishcloths, a teacozy that I know my SIL uses often, etc.

What five things would you love to see in a swap box someday?
Heehee
1. Hot-pink light-up needles.
2. Something small knit just for me. I knit for other people and give things away, so it would be nice to receive something already made with me in mind.
3. In the last prge, my spoiler sent me a box of her favorite things - it opened my eyes to some really yummy yarns.
4. The Baby Surprise Jacket pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann.
5. Knitting-related shirt or necklace. So nerdy and so funny.

What are your three favorite yarns? What are your three least favorite yarns?
Faves
1. Anything Merino - I'm partial to Morehouse
2. Hand-dyed Fearless Fibers, from the etsy shop of the same name.
3. Bamboo - I now love this material, omg.

Not-so-fave
1. Red Heart - too scratchy
2. Anything that pills easily
3. Mohair

What are your five favorite delicacies?
1. Chocolate cordial cherries
2. Pepperidge Farm Pirouette sticks
3. Cheesecake
4. Cappuccino
5. My mom's Chocolate chip cookies - they're the basic Toll House recipe, but she makes them just right.
(Can you tell I'm a sugar junkie?)

What are your three favorite guilty pleasures?
1. Bubble baths
2. National holidays - like, when it's two o'clock in the afternoon, and I feel like I should be at work, and I'm playing hooky, but I'm not really.
3. A nicely chilled gin and tonic.

What are the five things you look forward to every week?
1. Grocery shopping - I love a fully stocked kitchen, and going shopping alone means I can go at my own pace and wear my iPod ;)
2. Fresh flowers bought at the grocery store.
3. Kinda sleeping in for an extra hour on the weekends, and then not having the alarm wake me up, just Monty(my dog).
4. I really like my job, so I never dread going to work.
5. Weekends are just nice.

What do you collect?
I have been a collector of pigs since I was much younger. They're really adorable, and have a rather sweet disposition, and they're very smart, even if not all of them are the most attractive beings. My favorite (and now only) stuffed animal is a pig named Morgan. I used to have a lot of pigs around, but now that I'm technically an adult, they're only in quirky places, like on my socks or on my ice cream scoop.

When is your birthday?
It just passed. July 22nd.

Do you have any wishlists?
Yes, I have one on amazon.com.

What would you like your pal to know that is not covered here?
I'm ridiculously easy to please.

And it's hot, hot, hot.

2007-07-31T09:43:00.000-04:00

The dog-days of summer. Humid outside, freezing inside. Neither condition is particularly conducive to knitting. Either my yarn is too hot, or my needles are too cold.

I did have a birthday, and had a lovely time with it. We hosted our first shindig at our place and it worked out really well. We thought our home might be too small, but everyone got along, and Monty didn't get stepped on! It was pretty great.

My friend Emily found this lovely teacup for me. I now have a mug alternative for my peach tea. Pinky up!

Also for my birthday, my love got me an adorable pink iPod shuffle.

This is the best companion player. It's so tiny, and I wear it when I'm running errands on campus and whatnot. I have a larger 60GB photo iPod, too, and I use that a lot too. Music, music, all the time.

This past Sunday, I got to visit with my mom's family at a baby shower held for one of my cousins. Very nice to see them all.

Monty is doing very well in his obedience class. His shyness is getting a lot better since he now seems to recognize the scents and actions of the other pups in his class. What a love he is.

Bad Blogger

2007-07-20T10:41:00.001-04:00

It's been over two weeks, and I apologize.

I haven't really started anything new. I did get the Kimono done for Wendy's baby shower, though. I think it came out really well.

I used a little more than one skein of Blue Sky Alpacas 100% Organic Cotton. I loved the feeling of it's softness, plus it's machine washable and dryer safe. Necessary for baby clothes, in my opinion. She loved it.

In the meantime between posts, I have been working a lot, and it's definitely been busy. Our department is under construction, so I spent a few days just coordinating where all the stuff from those spaces was going to be kept during the renovations.

That's mostly why I haven't posted - I usually do it at work. I know that's awful, but I spend my entire day on the computer, and about 1/2 hour goes toward my blog. So, when I'm up and moving around, I'm not at my computer. I would work on it at home, except that I'm already on my computer all day, so I rarely sit on the computer in the evenings. I never even check my e-mail on the weekends.

To keep the knitting moving, I am also working on rows upon rows of stockinette for a plain Jane shawl. I got a whole bunch of Alpaca (the farm name escapes me right now) at the last CT Sheep & Wool, with the ntention of making a beautiful cabled scarf. I have since found that I have very little patience for even ribbing, and the concept of following a cart that closely boggles me. So, the Alpaca sat. In Greetings from Knit Cafe, there was a "pattern" for a shawl made up just for rainy/cold days. The description of this project was exactly my story: the designer had bought beautiful Alpaca and wanted to use it for something just right - nothing that would be destroyed, but something she could appreciate for a long time. Hence, the shawl with a simple fringe. So far, mine is only about 23" from cast-on point to the needles, but it's going well. I love how it feels like silk or someting equally gorgeous.

It's obviously curling because of the stockinette, but blocking and the weight of the fringe will help that once it's done.

At home with Mama.

2007-07-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

My mom had knee surgery two weeks ago, and like the great daughter that I am, I took some vacation from work (during the slow time anyway) to help her out with rides to therapy and doctor's appointments and whatnot. She's doing great, and I'm knitting a lot. I got a little bored on Monday night (my second evening here) and took a ride to my local Jo-Ann's and picked up a dozen balls of Wool-Ease and a US11 circular. I figured that I would make a plan for it before I got home again. I did. A large, corner-to-corner lap-sized blanket. In a dark green tweed and oatmeal. This has helped the time pass a bit more quickly.

I did bring material for knitting while I was here, but I lost interest now knowing there's no deadline. I'll pick it up again.

Yesterday, for the holiday, my sister and her husband came to visit. There was grilling, game-playing and much laughter over Pictionary. It was nice to have the four of us in the house again - me, Mom, my sister and mom's roommate, Karen - also known as my other mother. Mom and Karen got their house together when I was 9 years old, so I've always had Karen as a motherly influence. She's pretty great.

I do miss my honey and Monty very much. I will be back home this weekend, though. I will see them plenty. Very rarely do I get to spend so much uninterrupted time with my mom, so I'm taking advantage ;)

Babies!

2007-06-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

No, not mine. I got invited to two baby showers yesterday. They are both for girls that I didn't know would even have showers. Yet, here they are.

The first is for an awesome, vegetarian, punk-ish, animal-lover who I have come to know over the last two years. She's pretty sure she's having a boy, but that is not confirmed. She's so thrilled, though. I'm so happy for her, too.

The second is for my cousin. She and I aren't all that close, even though we grew up in closer proximity than all of our other cousins. Regardless, since that one's a bit farther away (it's in PA, and it's two weeks after the first one), I have a bit more time to plan. On her registry, she has pink and purple pacifiers, so it looks like she thinks she's having a girl.

I thoroughly plan to knit beautiful baby things. Hopefully, I'll actually stick to that plan and get them done. I haven't completely decided on my projects, and I'm going yarn-hunting this afternoon. I don't quite have the right stuff in my minimal stash.

In the meantime, I cast on a sock...

This is the green Fearless Fibers skein. It's a lightweight sock yarn, and I plan to give the pair as a gift when they're done. Woohoo for awesome knitted gifts.

Long time, some progress

2007-06-25T12:12:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have been busy, and I will post pictures tonight.

I spent last weekend in Boston with my awesome gal, Abbey. Much fun was had for her sister's 21st birthday. There was a limo. Everything was amazing.

During this last week, my car bit the dust. It currently has a flat tire, and it's parked in my parking lot at work. Good times then renting a car and driving to PA to pick up the family back-up car so Adam and I can still get to work. We don't actually know what is wrong with the car, but it's the same as a problem that we had been having in May, and we already tried the quick-fix on it. Something tells me that this will no longer be a quick fix.

Driving home to PA of course requires taking Monty with us, and he loves visitng, and does really well in the car. We have to break down his crate, though, and bring food and toys and blankets. We took more home for him than we did for ourselves. When we were told that having a dog was like practice for having kids, it's no joke. Now we definitely have a better idea of what will be required of us before we can completely devote ourselves to younglings. Monty's really great, though, so we have a positive outlook.

Seriously, I will post pictures later.

Plenty of Punk in the Package

2007-06-15T12:53:00.001-04:00

From my punk-est pal, Shadkitty, I received a whole boat-load of goodies.

I was so excited to see all of these things! Especially the Yarns. She calls this package, "My Favorite Things." How awesome is that? Instead of trying to guess the cool things that your pal would love (which Crystal has done a great job with already), send off versions of your favorite things. I now know that Crystal and I share a similar affinity for the finer yarns in life, but not exclusively (She also loves Caron SS, my latst discovery). The Stephen King book is one of her favorites, that has clearly been read and re-read many times. I have a few books that are my absolute favorites, so I know how it must be to part with her copy. I have already started it, and I am already enjoying it. Who knows: maybe I'll read the rest of the Dark Tower series?

Back to the yarn: I find it interesting to get yarn and then try to figure out what to do with it. I'm still at the stage with my knitting where I'm not 100% sure how a yarn substitution will work out, or whether it'll totally bug out. That's part of my excitement at finally being added to Ravelry. I can search for the yarn I want to work with and hopefully I will find projects to work on with it.

I am really excited about the notions as well. STITCH MARKERS BY SUNNESHINE!! With pretty purple hearts! EEEeeee! Love them. The sheep ribbon is adorable too. I have to admit, though - I'm not sure what I'm going to use that for, either. I am a hoarder by nature - I have whole collections of cards/stickers/fancy papers that I collected during my scrapbooking days, and now that my books are completed, I don't use them. Hopefully, I won't fall into the same trap again.

Once I figure out the projects that I will be working on with these yarns, I will obviously produce an update.

Confessional

2007-06-07T16:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, so there's a reason why I've been avoiding my knitting as of late. I have developed a side passion. Not one that will overtake my love for the pointy sticks, but definitely sidetracking.

Crochet.

But not just crochet in general.

The Ripple.

I'm definitely not a granny-square gal in any manner, shape or form. I have never really seen the appeal of crochet, and I definitely turned my nose up to it. I mean, who wants to work in the same spot for so many stitches and end up with this knobbly little mass of yarn? Don't even get me started on little lace doilies - I inherited my great-grandmother's lace-knitting hooks, and they are so tiny! I can hardly even see them, let alone imagine working with them.

However, when I saw the pattern for the Ripple Afghan, I was smitten. Especially since it was done in such beautiful and vibrant colors! Then, I found a Ripple-Along, and realized that there are many, many people that are whipping these up. I went and perused the aisles at Michaels and found Caron Simply Soft in some beautiful colors to make up a queen-sized blanket for my bed. Adam likes the colors too, so it will definitely make it to the bed once it's done. Machine-washable, too.

It's a lot of work, I know. 3x the yarn. A small hook-type creature. I definitely feel like a traitor.

I also have a plain-knit stockinette shawl in gorgeous alpaca going right now, too. Just to remind me of my roots.

Dog Party

2007-06-06T16:46:00.000-04:00

We took our little gentleman to a Dog Party on Sunday. This was a gathering of 17 or so dogs and their owners in a huge fenced-in backyard. Now, Monty loves people. Absolutely adores people. Wants to crawl into your lap and be hugged. Other dogs are a different story. He just wants to run and play alone, and other dogs crowd him out. Plus, he doesn't like to be part of the meet-and-greet ritual that dogs naturally assume. Plus, it was on and off drizzling all day, and his highness doesn't like wet paws - poor baby.

I have still been knitting - I swear. I just haven't made any progress that would be significant to post about. Especially since it's been warm and rainy up here, and tht is certainly not knitting weather.

Memorial Weekend...whew!

2007-05-30T13:48:00.000-04:00

This past week has involved a lot of time focused on the new pooch. Having had him now for almost three weeks, we are learning his moods and needs. He loves to nap - preferably on someone's lap, redering them useless.

Last week also marked the departure of our roommate, Brigette. She finished up her class at the University and headed back to Long Island to pursue her newest endeavors.

It's weird not to have that third person in your house, when you're used to them being there. Even Monty goes looking for her. We miss her dearly.

This past weekend, we packed Monty into the car and headed to PA to visit all of the parents and friends that we haven't seen since Christmas. It was quite a drive, but our little boy handled it like a champ. He just curled up on the back seat and fell asleep. He charmed everyone that he met, and he definitely met a lot of people.

Today, I got Monty signed up for an obedience class. He needs just a bit of training. He needs to learn a little bit more about what we try to do to get his attention, and then we can have a skill set to work with him. We want him to be proud of himself and the achivements that he will be able to master.

More pictures coming soon!

Playing tag

2007-05-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

Really, it'll be fun. :D

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog. Here are my facts:

1) I love knitting things that you can't buy in stores. Every FO is even more special then.

2) I have many piercings and a number of tattoos, but I'm a total girly-girl.

3) I read really fast. I can buy a 400-page novel and have it finished in less than two business days. I do the same thing with instruction manuals, how-to books, self-help books, etc.

4) I'm a size 14, and I love it.

5) I married my high-school sweetheart. He's great.

6) I was a spelling bee champion (nod to Shadkitty). I think this comes from reading so much - I've seen a lot of words, and so I can just see them to spell them.

7) I have 8 parents. Adam and I each come from divorced families that have expanded.

I tag,
Brenda, Gothknits, Kyira, Lana, and Jenn. Those are my only web-friends that haven't been tagged yet.

Long time, no blog.

2007-05-14T15:07:00.000-04:00

So much has been going on.

First, I had ordered and received two skeins of Fearless Fibers sock yarn, which I ordered from Etsy.

I absolutely love this purple - Midnight Passion is it's official name.

Here's a closeup so you can see the loveliness:

I need to pick up another pair of #1 DPN's so I can work on more than one pair at a atime. And maybe one of those small sock project bags that dangles from your wrist.... I know Lantern Moon makes nice ones - does anyone else know of a kind that they like? I plan to wait on working on the purple socks though. I have to still finish my second STR (about half done) and then I'm going to knit up the green Fearless into a pair for a friend of mine.

In other news, we found a dog!! We've named him Montgomery, and he loves life. He's amazing in so many ways. We've had him home since Thursday, and he seems to really like us.

He has a bit of seperation anxiety, so he loves being with us at all times. Good for us, mostly.

Beautiful again

2007-05-07T15:13:00.000-04:00

Worked a lot this week - and watched the beautiful day outside.

Adam and I have decided tht we're ready to adopt a puppy. Something small, something shorthaired, and gets along with Avery.

Otherwise, it's been busy as usual.

OK, real quick:

2007-05-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

I got my package from my secret pal, SHADKITTY!

I'm so excited that it's her - I've actually been an avid reader of her site for quite some time now. I love Johnny Depp as well, so the page is worth visiting just for the montage. But then you're on this really well-written page that is funny and informative.

She sent me lovely stuff:

There are two skeins of Cascade Yarn - grey and red; Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Creme (luscious); two buttons (which are kinda hard to see in the picture) "Yarrn, ho!" and "Knit or Die", and an awesome t-shirt -> "I Knit, Therefore I ROCK!"

I so do.

So busy

2007-05-01T10:10:00.000-04:00

With the semester wrapping up and a new phase at the store, I have been working like mad. I promise to blog really soon. I DID receive my second package from my secret pal - SHADKITTY!!! I already wore my new t-shirt to work. I have lots of new pictures, too.

I really want to do it now but I have to grade papers instead.

It's so beautiful

2007-04-21T10:01:00.000-04:00

First, it was gorgeous outside when I left the University, so I took a picture of Adam:

Then, when I got to the car, Adam had brought with him a package that I received from Amazon:

I have looked through this book a couple of times, and I was so happy to have received it from my PRGE Secret Pal, Peppy. Thank you so much!!!

A few weeks ago, I had been working on a pair of Widdershins socks, but had a hard time with the bind-off. I wasn't making a loose enough top edge. Then, as part of the Anastasia pattern that I'm currently working on, I read the Elizabeth Zimmerman Sewn Bind-off. Very stretchy and pretty. So now I have a finished pair of Widdershins:

Also in the sock realm, I have finished my first Anastasia/Widdershins hybrid:

My hybrid is built as follows: Judy's Magic Cast-On (from Knitty), which can be used for either sock; knit straight for an inch; start working the chart for the Anastasia swirls; I chose the gusset and heel from Widdershins; then the leg, cuff and bind-off from Anastasia.

Oh! I also saw The Yarn Harlot on Knitty Gritty! She did her socks presentation, and it was wonderful! Knitting socks looks so ridiculously easy when watching her do it.

Now I have a few hours to relax before I go back into work. I leave you with "Sunshine and Avery".

Too much Rain

2007-04-17T09:50:00.000-04:00

There has been so much rain, that when I look out into the small yard in front of my apartment, it is clear the grass will not hold any more water. That was mostly on Sunday, when it was a heavy rain for 18 hours straight. I realize that was nothing compared to some areas of New York and New Jersey, but I stayed inside and off the roads nonetheless. I worked until 11:30am, and then went home and got back in my pajama pants - where I actually got to stay for the rest of the day. It was amazing, and I am totally energized as a result.

The first Anastasia/Widdershins sock is finished!! I actually finished it on Saturday. I know that I made a number of stylistic mistakes in it, but I know what they are, and once I knit those same mistakes into the second sock, they are no longer mistakes but rather strokes of uniqueness. It looks good, fits like a glove, and of course at home, where I can't take a picture of it right now.

A while ago, I fell in love with Yarnstorm's Ripple Blanket and I know she's working from a pattern and all, but I was smitten. I also knew that I would have to learn to crochet in order to get anywhere near the beauty of this blanket.
So, I picked up a copy of Stich & Bitch: The Happy Hooker and looked up the Double Crochet. And off I go. I have this soft 1970's acrylic yarn that fades from bright green to white and back. It's kinda neat, and honey likes it. The only issue is that I cannot crochet in public. I was working on this blanket at my Starbucks before a shift one day, and a woman came into the store, saw me working, and walked up and asked, "Is there a baby on the way?" I had to politely tell her no, and vowed that the blanket would not be leaving the house anymore.

In other news, I got a great postcard from my Punk Rock Gift Exchange Pal yeasterday. I never once mentioned The Labyrinth to her, so there's way she could have known how obsessed I was as a kid, but it arrived anyway.

Amazing.

Progress

2007-04-11T08:11:00.000-04:00

First and foremost -> Happy Birthday, Denise!!!!

I have made progress. When I posted on Sunday, I was hoping that I would indeed be able to continually make progress on these socks, plural. I have turned the heel, and began working on the leg. 6 inches of the spirals - woohoo!!

Also in this picture, I have my Molskine book. I love these things. I get the graph paper books, and they are perfect for me for re-writing my patterns into. In this way, I have a smaller book to contain all of my notes. I copy the charts in there, and work them in where they belong as integrated into the pattern itself. I write the actual pattern in pen and marker, and then my row counts and whatnot can be in pencil. Also, the book is slim enough that I can actually bend it backwards and it's a small board to lay on my lap with my notes right there. Another fun perk: they come in 3 packs. I love 'em.

In work news, I am booked. I work every day at the Studio, and then I have a job every evening. I work both days this weekend, and then Monday and Tuesday night next week as well. *Sigh* If I really didn't love everything I was doing, I might be upset by this. Really, the only thing that's a bit disconcerting to me is that I wake up, get dressed and leave my house, and then don't return until it's time to change again and go to sleep. Once the semester is over, my time will free up, and be in softball season! Playing outside - Yeah!!

New socks

2007-04-08T15:35:00.000-04:00

First of all, I love-love-love this colorway!

I started knitting sock #1 with the Magic cast-on for toe-up according to Knitty. I love this cast-on since it feels like a really secure binding for keeping my toes covered. I wanted a pattern on the instep of these socks, but nothing too intricate. I found Anastasia by Perpperknits to be exactly what I was looking for. I love the swirls, and the way they integrate on the leg.

Also, I love the way the bright green of the wool just pops out very evenly through the work. The hot pink does this too. When I first looked at the colors before winding it, I don't even remember seeing these very bright colors in there at all.

I just started these late on Friday, so we'll see how far I can actually get on them.

Materials for the Beret

2007-04-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

I realized from Peppy's comment that I neglected to reference my materials for making the beret. I suppose I was so deliriously happy to finish something, that it simply slipped my mind.

Using US 3 needles - first a 24" circular Addi turbo, and then DPN's - I used Frog Tree 100% Alpaca Wool in sport weight. I had two balls, each 130 yards, and used up the first one and then a bit of the second one. I don't actually remember buying this yarn, but when I found it in my stash, I really loved it. It matches my eyes pretty closely and looks good with my dark hair, so I knew deep down that it was hat material.

It's been so long since I've worn a hat for style rather than just function that I'm really looking forward to breaking it out - maybe tomorrow?!??!?!

I Finished Something!!

2007-04-01T23:13:00.000-04:00

From Greetings from Knit Cafe, I have completed:
Beret.

There's hope for me yet.

The new camera is here!!

2007-03-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

Woohoo!!

Actually, I received it Tuesday, but I'm still working on getting to know how to manipulate everything.

This is a shot of my workspace in the Recording Studio. Very flashy, I know. I use the Stitch N Bitch Page-A-Day calendar to organize booking deadlines.

Just to the right of the PC on the right side of the picture is my sign from the Yarn Harlot's talk last week.

I am a firm believer in the following: "A cluttered desk is a sign of an organized mind." I stand by that fully.

More pictures to come! The disposable is at CVS as I type!

Perfect Premiere Punk Pal Package!!

2007-03-26T22:48:00.000-04:00

I received my first Punk-Rock Gift Exchange package today. Everything in it is totally beautiful. Peppy, my Secret Pal, has done a beautiful job.

First, I unfolded a beautiful colorway of Socks that Rock called Rolling Stone.

I love the colors - so rich - and I am very eager to knit it right up. I must exercise some patience, though. I want to make sure that I find just the right pattern.

That brings up: Nancy Bush's Knitting On the Road - Socks Patterns for the Traveling Knitter.

I also found a lovely candle scented in Water Garden - very lovely. An adorable note, a blank note card, and a Hershey's bar with Almonds - my favorite!

This is so great!!

Thank you so much, Peppy!!!

Getting a new camera

2007-03-26T10:42:00.000-04:00

The pictures that I have posted before have all been taken with my honey's awesome Canon Rebel. I love the pictures that it takes, but it's not exactly portable for me. So, this weekend, while I was out, I bought a disposable Kodak camera. It took pictures for me, but obviously I have no idea how they turned out. So, Friday night, I ordered a new digital camera which should be delivered to me at work sometime this week.

In the meantime, I have to get the disposable camera to CVS to get me prints.

I had a fabulous time in NYC. I didn't make it there in time for the Strawberry Fields gathering, but I did make it there in plenty of time to check out the Radical Lace exhibit before heading over to FIT. Adam and I were both entertained by the Yarn Harlot's talk. After the talk, on our way out, Adam was complimented and congratulated for being my supporter. I'm always happy that he's proud of my knitting, but it's nice when other people notice it too.

As soon as I get my images developed, this we will be the first palce they end up.

New York, New York! What a Wonderful town

2007-03-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

So, today, the honey and I are heading down to NYC. The order of events is as follows: Train in from White Plains, head directly to Museum of Arts and Design for Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting. Spend probably too much time there, and then it's back to the sidewalks to possibly stop by a yarn shop or two (certainly Habu Textiles) on our way down to FIT to see The Yarn Harlot on her Represent Tour. I am quite excited.

Adam and I love going to NYC for any reason at all. However, being that we don't live in that state even, we are always tourists. We can find our way around, but always have to have a map of the subways with us, and look like tourists in that we have a map of addresses and directions. We always have a good time, though.

I will, of course, have a full report when I get back.

Nor'Easter for St. Patricks Day

2007-03-17T10:44:00.000-04:00

Today is my best friend's birthday!!! Yay, Michael-Paul!!!

I have no idea how much snow we got. I know it is enough to bury the car. Yesterday, while I was at the University, they closed at 1:30. My problem came in that I was scheduled to work a shift at Starbucks at 5:30. Do I go home and risk not being able to get back if the store stays open? No, instead I went to Starbucks from the University and waited there until 4 o'clock when they (people much higher on the food chain than our store manager) decided to close the store at 5pm. At that moment, I jumped into my car, and slowly drove home. It was very slippery, and the plows were not going yet. Silly plows. Of course, that also meant no traction.

So, I got to come home and put on flannel pants. Then I proceeded to knit my unmentionable project and watch all of the shows that I had stockpiled on my DVR (cable company TiVo) all week. Very relaxing.

This morning, honey took the car to work (we share a car) so I am home with Avery and Brigette, although Brigette is still sleeping. I am listening to Massive Attack to add to the ambiance of the morning.

The day shall consist of: alternately reading from "Greetings from Knit Cafe" which I bought last week and haven't really absorbed yet, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood", coffee (duh), knitting on two different objects on the needles, and perhaps getting dressed. I work at 7:30 tonight, so I have until the to also put the finishing touches on my PRGE pally gift, head to Vernon to visit my friend's cat, and eat in there. Lots to do, but relaxing.

Splendid...what a great word.

2007-03-14T11:41:00.000-04:00

This week I have felt simply splendid. It's a great word to say over and over again, too. Splendid, splendid, splendid. Very nice.

As I mentioned before, all the students are on Spring Break this week, so it's me and the occaisional visitor in here this week. I have the radio on behind me so my office feels bigger and I don't jump when I hear someone call my name from the door. My office door is my saving grace. It's a dutch door, so I can close just the bottom half as an indication that I would like to know who's coming into my office. I love it.

My knitting is coming along well. There is waist shaping. There is a plan for sleeves. Still planning on the neckline.

After work this afternoon, it's off to my friend Stef's place to peek in on her cat, Socks. Stef had to go to some conference in the Midwest and all of her usual cat-sitters bailed on her. So I drive a half-hour to help her out. No questions asked. I would do it anyway. Socks is a cute cat, too. I thought about bringing Socks to my place to meet Avery Darger, but I really have no idea how that would turn out, and I don't want to freak out either kitty. I already know that Avery didn't get along with the other cats in her foster home, but that was over two years ago when she trusted NOTHING. It was 6 months of living with us before she would purr. She still isn't appreciative when I pick her up.

After kitty-ness it's off to babysit again. Normally, it's just me and Byron (the 9-year-old that I sit for) on Monday nights, when his mom teaches. Tonight, though, we are together again. He's a good kid, and we have fun, so it's a good gig.

Adam has a painting in a show this week, and we are going to see it Thursday night. Very nice. Possibly dinner with friends after? Who knows. I only know my work schedules.

Monday, Monday

2007-03-12T14:03:00.000-04:00

The students are on Spring Break. Here I am in my office. It's so quiet.

My knitting as of late has been productive, but not warranting pictures or anything. I want to make sure that it works before I actually talk about it. I'm making a hybrid that technically works on paper, but we have all worked on projects like that before.... I have been documenting my progress as it goes along, just in case.

I'm also working my surprises for my Secret Punk - this is very exciting for me!!

Bookworm list

2007-03-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

I got this from Gothknits:

In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. +Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. +Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. +The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. +The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. +Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. +Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. +East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. +Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) (I own it, but my mother's currently borrowing all three Albom books from me.)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. +The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. *The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. +The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible (what Catholic school forced me to read, anyway)
46. +Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. +The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. +The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. +The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) On my to-read list since I already bought it.
52. +A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. +Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. +The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. +The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. +Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. +Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. +The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. +Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. +Les Miserables (Hugo) Both the French and English
70. +The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Also both the French and English versions.
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. +A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. +Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. +Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. +Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. +The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. +The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. +White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
101. My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Picoult)

I would like to add:
102. Where the Heart Is (Billie Letts) I read this before I found out about the movie.

Gifts from Brenda

2007-03-04T16:49:00.000-05:00

When my sister, Brenda, was here for the weekend for me to teach her to knit, I also took her to a needle shop to show her how intimate and lovely these stores can be. I did not know that I was unleashing an animal.

My sister is very creative and always has about 15 projects bouncing around in her head. Similar to my inability to actually finish a project - we always like to start new things in order to begin to see them realized. I know that when she was younger she had the same issues as myself with actually finishing things.

So when I took her to this shop, she saw the possibilities for making her own accessories for her newly-learned craft. Less than two weeks after her visit, I got a package in the mail:

Needle case

This case has a black silk exterior with silk butterflies embroidered on it. She lined the inside in a durable canvas to keep me from punching holes through it. There are longer slots for my longer straights, and a couple of shorter slots as well.

Rose Needles

Brenda made these needles out of a pair of chopsticks. She found the instructions in my copy of Stitch N Bitch Nation while I was winding a skein for her to take home. They came out to a perfect size 8 needle. They are exceptionally smooth, and a nice sharp-but-not-dangerous tip. The roses on the ends were layered little petals made of Sculpey clay.

Of course when I opened the box that contained these goodies, I was overwhelmed. I didn't ask for them, but they are totally something my sister would do. She completely embodies the phrase, "Oh, I can make that!" Amazing.

In other news, I finished the Star Pillow many days ago. I had taken some gorgeous pictures of it, as well as pics of other things for the site, but I use hubby's awesome camera, and I didn't get my images transferred from it before he needed to delete them for a job. :(

The pillow is very comfortable, and I think Vegan Steven will see the pillow as a lovely use of his thoughtful gift of yarn.

Of course, I started a new project yesterday. I plan to see how it goes for a bit before talking about it though. Maybe that will keep me from jinxing it.

Punk Rock Gift Exchange Questionnaire!

2007-02-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

1. How long have you been knitting/crocheting/spinning?
My grandmother taught me how to knit about 8 years ago, when I was in college and needed a portable hobby.

2. Do you consider yourself a beginner, novice or experienced yarn artist?
I consider myself somewhere between Piquant (moderate) and Extra Spicy (advanced) according to Knitty.

3. What fibers (materials) have you knit/crochet with?
I prefer to use natural fibers - renewable resources and all. I am also a big fan of knitting with recycled materials.

4. What are your favorite yarns?
Kyoto, Noro and Artyarns - Aren't those everyone's favorites?

5. What fibers are you dying to try?
Blue Moon Fiber Arts, any colorway of the Socks that Rock.

6. Do you prefer solid, self striping, or handpainted yarns?
I love hand-painted for my sock yarns, but just about everything else is solid.

7. What fibers do you dislike?
Mohair.

8. What are your favorite colors?
Black, Purple and Red.

9. What are your least favorite colors?
Orange, when it's by itself. If it's accenting something well, then it can look nice.

10. How did you learn to knit/crochet/spin?
My grandma taught me the knit and the purl, and the Vogue Knitting book taught me the rest - totally my bible. I've also done The Sweater Workshop, by Jaqueline Fee, and I love learning new techniques. I consider myself as always-learning.

11. What projects are you currently working on?
Oh my. This is where my ADD tendencies kick in.
I have a pair of socks that are almost done, but I want to lengthen one of them.
I have a scarf from AlterKnits that's about half-done.
I started a Clapotis.
I have a pair of mittens that's 90% done for a friend of mine.
I still haven't finished the scarf for my MIL.
In between knitting on projects I already have going, I always have a cone of Peaches 'N Creme going for dishcloths, and I'm churning out pair after pair of Fetching mitts.
Sigh, too much.

12. How old is your oldest UFO? What is it? Will it ever be finished?
Ugh. I started a tie-wrap sweater about two years ago, I think. I still haven't completely abandoned it, but I'm not sure when I'll pick it up again.

13. What is the most heartbreaking project that you ever frogged?
My second sweater. My first sweater was so humorously bad, that I keep it intact for show-and-tell. My second sweater laid bare my perfectionist tendencies when it didn't come out exactly as I wanted, even though my husband really liked it.

14. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I like short straights or circulars. I don't like my projects to get too heavy.

15. Do you own a swift and/or a winder?
Yes, both. My swift was actually a Christmas present from my honey this past year. I think he got tired of being my swift....

16. Where do you keep your needles?
I actually have a cabinet - the drawer at the top holds all of my needles, and the shelves inside the body of the cabinet hold a small amount of my yarn.

17. Do you enjoy helpful hints about your knitting or does it just piss you off?
I love helpful hints. Unless their patronizing or condescending, but I don't like those comments in general, not just about my knitting.

18. What techniques are you still a virgin in (lace, cables, ect.) and are you interested in trying them?
Steeking scares the crap out of me. Lace looks like a lot of work for something that my rougher-than-gentle lifestyle would destroy. Cables are fun, but I forget to do them.

19. What knitting magazines do you subscribe to?
None.

20. Are there any books, needles, yarn, patterns that you are dying to get your hands on?
Anything Lantern Moon - I love their needles and notions. I also love a lot of the handmade doo-dads and yarns found on Etsy. I'm easy to please.

21. Do you enjoy knitting socks? How big are your feet?
I do enjoy knitting socks. I end up with second-sock syndrome sometimes, but I can get past it. I wear a US Women's 9 1/2.

22. Do you have a wish list?
Yes. On amazon.com. You're welcome to contact me for the identifiers if you'd like to look for it.

23. What are your non-knitting, crochet, spinning hobbies?
Reading, music and gossip - celebrity gossip, gossip about people I actually know, whatever. I work three jobs, so my hobbies need to stay portable.

24. How do you feel about sports?
In the summer, I play on a town softball league. I love going to football and baseball games. Watching sports on tv is lame.

25. What is your favorite season? Least favorite season? Why?
I love the summer, and like winter least, but purely for temperature reasons. I'm cold ALL THE TIME. I'm wearing a sweater over a long-sleeved shirt right now, and my hands are freezing. I think every season is beautiful, though.

26. What is your favorite holiday?
I love Christmas because I love seeing all of my family, and that's the guaranteed time every year. I also just love the season leading up to Christmas, the caroling, hot chocolate, hand-knitted stockings and decorating my apartment, the soft glow of christmas lights in every room, the warm smells of sweet things baking, cards with warm-wishes written inside and people generally in a good mood. I try not to let the commerce side of things get me down.

27. Do you like handmade gifts?
I L-O-V-E handmade gifts. My younger sister is really good at making things by hand, and I always look forward to treats from her.

28. Do you wear jewelry that isn't real?
As opposed to the imaginary kind? Just kidding. I accessorize with many items, not just things that are classified as "real". I have A pair of "real" diamond earrings, and two necklaces with genuine stones. I do have the largest jewelry collection of anyone I know. I like to make necklaces and earrings myslef, though, out of seed beads and hematite.

29. What are your favorite foods? Scents that you love?
My favorits food is spaghetti with good sauce and lots of parmesan. I love the smells of lavender, apples and cinnamon.

30. What is your family situation? Do you live alone?
I live in an apartment with my husband, Adam, and our roommate, Brigette.

31. Do you have any pets?
I have an attitude-filled cat, Madam Avery Darger. She is named after my and Adam's favorite painters - Milton Avery and Henry Darger.

32. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3's?
I LOVE MUSIC!! I work in a recording studio, so I hear everything on a daily basis. I have a massive library of music on my computers at home and at work, and I also have my 60GB iPod with me at all times. My iPod and my knitting are always in my purse.

33. What are your favorite movies? TV shows? Actors?
I enjoy a lot of movies, but I love "Where the Heart Is", "The Royal Tenenbaums", and "Empire Records". On TV, I never miss "Grey's Anatomy." For actors, I really like Natalie Portman and Edward Norton. There's a host of others that I appreciate, but those stick out right now.

34. What do you collect?
I have collected pigs for a long, long time. However, my apartment is kinda full-to-the-max, and we don't have room to keep any more that don't also serve some sort of practical purpose. I also like dalmatian-print stuff. It's rare, and the dogs are amazing.

35. What do you do in real life -- besides knit and blog?
During the weekdays, I work in a college recording studio as the manager. We teach students how to become producers (which is where I got my BM), and I am in charge of making sure that every performance in the music school gets recorded and made available for parents and performers to purchase.
One night a week, I also teach a class to mostly freshmen and sophomores one night a week.
One other night a week, I babysit for an eight-year-old. Legos and Spongebob, baby.
I keep one night to myself.
The remaining two weeknights, and the weekends, I work at Starbucks near the University.
I have already stated that my hobbies need to stay portable.

36. When is your birthday? Is it a national holiday or just another day?
My birthday is July 22nd - I like to feel like it's MY DAY, but not with anything too outrageous.

37. Do you have any allergies, medical conditions or disorders that your pal should be aware of (ie. diabetes, food/pet allergies, ect.)?
I'm allergic to tobacco smoke of any kind.

38. Are there any scents, phobias, or sensory thing (ie, the way certain objects feel) that your pal should be aware of?
I only like metal needles in the summer. They get too cold in the winter.

39. What is the most difficult thing that you have ever knit/crochet?
Hmmmmmmmm. I knit a sweet sweater for my honey, but that wasn't exactly difficult. I just did it.

40. What is your personal style? Is there a time period/fashion movement that you take your cues from?
Mostly black clothes, since they're the most flattering. I go for clothes that can take a beating, and don't need to be ironed or dry-cleaned. My outfits are usually pretty plain, and then I have accessories to jazz things up. I'm always wearing plenty of layers, to keep warm, and to keep things interesting. I have my ears pierced 7 times in each ear, and my back is covered with a large tattoo that you can see on the back of my neck, so I usually go for more punk-ish clothing looks. I also have dyed-black short hair, so I look kinda punkish, too. I think that sums it up well.

41. Anything else that you would like to say?
I love to knit, and I'm really looking forward to this. Especially with meeting new knitters! A lot of the people I know personally still see my knitting as some kind of fleeting or silly pastime. I get laughed at, but I play into it sometimes too. I see knitting as my form of portable zen. I can easily re-focus myself with a few rows on a project. I don't know what I'd do without it.

My drink

2007-02-19T11:26:00.000-05:00

Triple Venti, 2-pump Sugar-Free Hazlenut, NO Vanilla, Nonfat, Extra-hot, Caramel Macchiatto.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

in the style of the questionnaire...

2007-02-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

From ..satisfying my knitspot..

i found this on sunnelite blog. i ive never done a questionaire thing for this thing. so here we go

1. I’ve been hooked on the needles since: My Grandmother taught me when I was a sophomore in college. I was too busy to join a club, so I picked up knitting, which could be carried around with me.

2. I’m still a virgin, but not for long: Steeking. I still get the shivers, but it seems like a very practical method, especially when doing colorwork.

3. She’s crafty - she gets around…to : Knitting, making notes/cards, household stuff like curtains and quilt covers.

She’s crafty - she’s always down…for: A good gathering of friends and a few beers. Perhaps a game or dancing.

She’s crafty - she’s got a gripe…about : Unreliable/Irresponsible people - pull your own weight.

She’s crafty - and she’s just my type. What type of knitter are you? Original thrower, SLOWLY transitioning to continental - my purling is still really slow.

4. I’m dying to try: Designing something myself.

5. I gravitate towards colors like: Purple. Always have, always will.

6. My most cherished possession (kids, pets, family don’t count) is: A stuffed pig that Adam gave me when we were dating.

7. I’m stuck on an island, what am I reading? Frances Hodgsen Burnett.

8. If I were about to be executed and I was offered a last meal , I’d be dining on: Spaghetti & Meatballs - little ones, not the mammoth kind - with lots of parmesan cheese over my tomato sauce.

9. Music to knit by: Anything, seriously.

10. I have a crush on: My Husband, Adam.

11. Least favorite celeb: Paris Hilton.

12. Choose:

Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp? 21 Jumpstreet Johnny Depp.

Madonna or Janet Jackson? Early Madonna.

June Cleaver or Peg Bundy? Peg Bundy - what a nut!

Jackie or Marilyn? Jackie O

Love or Money? Love

Brains or Looks? Brains

Math or English? English

Cat or Dog? I love my cat without question, but I am totally a dog person. Avery will just have to make room.

Leader or follower? In my own way, leader.

Beer or Champagne? Beer

13. My favorite smell? Apples

14. Not many people know this about me: I love to multitask. I am really happy listening to headphones, reading a book and knitting at the same time, and usually in a public place where it's busy, all while keeping a brain cell on alert in case my phone rings.

15. My hidden talent is: I can wiggle my ears.

Sorta suffering second-sock syndrome

2007-02-07T10:33:00.000-05:00

I carry the second Widdershins sock with me at all times in my purse - it goes where I go. However, I have this sneaking suspicion that I did someting wrong with the heel. Of course, since I now feel the need to rip it back to the gusset, I need to actually pay attention to it, and I haven't felt the inclination to pay attention to my knitting. Monday and Tuesday are busy 9am-10pm days for me, so I rarely get time for any knitting at all, let alone concentrating knitting.

Today is Wednesday, though. I didn't have to be anywhere before work, and I don't have any major commitments after work. I always have my SnB gathering on my calendar, but once I get home on a Wednesday, my pajamas usually attack me, wrestle me to the ground, and staple me inside the house - no going anywhere until Thursday morning.

So, back to the sock. Here's what I'm thinking: Try to get the ripping back sorted out while I'm at work. Then, I can concentrate on the heel the way I'm supposed to when I get home this evening. I think that's a good plan.

Also for tonight, I am sewing together side two of my Star Pillow - which I have made out of Lion Brand's Homespun. Then sew up the edges and fill it. Woohoo! I know there are a number of mixed opinions about Lion Brand Homespun and Lion Brand in general. For me, I like this particular material for a couple of reasons. It knits up rather quickly, and it's inexpensive for test-type projects. I also like that it's rather soft, and comes in a number of colors. Plus, I've had a number of skeins of Homespun given to me by people that purchased it to learn how to knit, and then got too busy, or didn't take to knitting, etc.
This orange color was given to me by a friend, VeganSteven, who is always at open markets and looking for vegan (NO animal products) alternatives. In that respect, I was really happy that I was thought of in his travels. This is the biggest reason why I'm making this pillow, and possibly a second pillow to match the first.

I may even have enough gusto to take pictures of things tonight....

Brenda now knits!!

2007-02-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

My sister, Brenda, came to frigid New England this weekend to learn how to knit. She picked lots of yarn out of my stash - trust me, it's a good thing - and I got her started on a ribbed scarf to practice her knits and purls. I also made her a butterfly to attach to the scarf when she's ready. Woohoo!!

Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting!

2007-01-30T13:49:00.000-05:00

Freddie Robins, Craft Kills, 2002
Machine-knitted wool, knitting needles
8.7 x 26.8 x 15 in.
Photo: Douglas Atfield

Exhibition just opened to the public. Open from now until June 17th! Check out the list of "Public Programs in Conjunction with Exhibition".

I'm planning a couple of trips down, at least. I'll keep you posted.

Photos of my Pride and Joy (and my husband)

2007-01-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

When I got married in August of '04, I figured it was finally ok to knit my sweetie a sweater. I completely understand and respect the Sweater Curse, and I also know how slowly I knit. Also, I had a few practical concerns: my husband is 6'8", and very slender. Not gangly, mind you, just tall. So, to knit him a sweater would certainly mean altering any pattern that I found for him, and I also knew he wouldn't want any type of cabling of pattern to the stitches, so it was going to be a LOT of stockinette in the round. So, after a lot of measuring and finding some nice sport-weight alpaca at Rhinebeck in October of '05, I jumped in.

The results:
Putting on the sweater:

I knit it in this light-weight yarn because I knew that with too much bulk, Adam would find it too bulky to wear. It IS a sweater though, which is why it was made of alpaca - half the weight, twice the warmth.

My love:

The sleeves cover the majority of his hands, and he likes it that way. For this bizarre New England Winter that we've had so far, this sweater has pretty much served as his outermost layer, and the extra-long sleeves work nicely as gloves. I definitely wanted Adam's input, which is why I set him to the task of designing the image. Lately, he is a fan of odd, tentacle-laden beings (yes, I knit him a Nautie from Knitty!), and an octopus struck his fancy. The sweater was completed in May of '06, since I have very little ability to stay focused on one project at a time.

It Fits!

I love that he loves it.

Pictures!!

2007-01-12T16:53:00.000-05:00

Widdershins!
This pattern is really easy, and I love the toe-up, no seam start!

Plus, I made a lot of progress in two days.

Happy New Year...a few days late.

2007-01-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

So, a lot has been going on, and I haven't been at work for a week, which is when I usually work on this blog. I have been knitting, but it's been sporadic bursts of feverish knitting. The silent chanting of "gotta get this done" have been pushing me only so far.

I knitted two pairs of Fetching, and have a 3rd set on the needles. I didn't get the ribbed scarf done for the MIL, but I showed it to her, and plan to get it into the mail asap. I started a hat for my sister's birthday in February, in a cute snowy white with glitter woven into it. I got 2/3 of the way done with Ross's pirate mittens, but left the scarf at work, so no progress was made on that during vacation.

I was supposed to finish things and collect things from my office on Thursday the 21st, but alas, I was rear-ended on my way to work. So, instead of going to work, I stayed with Adam and he drove me to the doctor and lunch. Our vacation was then consumed by not only the holidays and our 7 parents, but also waiting for Insurance adjusters to call back and let us know what's going on. Yesterday morning we finally got notice that our car is going to be totaled since it's a 6-year-old car, and the cost to fix it is higher than Kelley Blue Book. Oh, well.

New Year's was fun, though. Lots of fun over at Ross's. Good conversation, Cheez-Its and wine.... Hahahaha.

And it's been a week...

2006-12-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

Sorry about that. A couple of the people that I work with at my part-time job decided to take off whole butt-loads of time, so I have been literally working everyday. Weekends have become that time during the week when I only have one job to get to, rather than two. In the midst of all of this working, I take my free time (time actually set aside for me to be eating) to knit. I'm about 2/3 done with my MIL's scarf, halfway through the second Pirate Mitten, and managed to start two pairs of Fetching mitts and finish one of those pairs.

I had splurged a gift certificate on many, many balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, with the intention of making Tubey. Well, then I started reading a couple of the Tubey KAL's and realized that this is not a pullover for the well-endowed woman. While I really wish I could pull it off, since it is such a cute sweater, I generally look for sweaters that help people keep their eyes off my figure. Not that I don't love my curves, but I'd prefer that they weren't always on other people's minds as well.
Anyway, having so much Cashmerino laying around proved to be very helpful when deciding on a small, quick project to knit up for a few of my girlfriends. Each pair of the mitts take only one ball of the cashmerino, if knit to gauge appropriately. Plus, when I'm done, I think I'll still have plenty to knit a pair for myself. Which will be great, since these little mitts look like an awesome solution to my freezing hands when I'm working on my computer all day.

In other news, I'm budgeting for a new digital camera that will hopefully help my with images actually getting onto this page. Woohoo!

Continental knitting?

2006-11-29T16:54:00.000-05:00

It has come to that time of year when I start trying to figure out how to knit faster. I see people who can go whizzing through rows of material, literally working inches at a time, while continuing to pay attention to the room and conversation around them. It boggles me every time.

In my search, I found this video on YouTube, and I'm watching over and over, trying to get my hands to grasp the concepts and follow them. Slowly but surely, it's happening. I was taught as a "thrower" by my grandmother. I, however, while I may have enough patience, am always sidetracked by the newer project that catches my eye. For example, my Tie-Wrap sweater was started about a year ago. I enjoy knitting it, I love the color, and I'm excited to wear it. Smaller, quicker projects have caught my eye and definitely allowed me to stray from my beauty though.

Practice makes perfect, though. This is why I've decided to make my MIL's scarf in a ribbed pattern.

Pictures to follow soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T10:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in almost a week, because a LOT has ben going on. Unfortunately, not a lot of knitting.

This past weekend, I was contacted by my best friend from my growing-up years. I haven't spoken with her in 9 years! My mother was instrumental in getting my number to her, and we talked for almost three hours on the phone. It made me realize that I am truly thankful to my mother and to her this year for Thanksgiving. There were so many things that we were involved in together while we were growing up, and I know I see now how much I really missed talking to her and having her around for my milestone years. My hope now is that we stay in contact, even though we live in different states. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Then, for work this week, I woke up Monday morning to a phone call from my boss alerting me to the fact that there was no power at the University. Woohoo! I stayed home and got some knitting done. I finished off a Christmas Stocking, got some more rows done on the Pirate Mittens, and I found a Continental Knitting and Purling video on YouTube. Genius! I had recently (about 3 months ago) taught myself to wrap my yarn on my left index finger for the quicker knit pick-up, but had no idea how to adapt it for purling, so I wasn't really going too much faster. With this video, though, I was able to see how to do both, and with some practice, I should be able to get a ribbed scarf done for my MIL in no time.

A day of catch-up was what waited for me at work on Tuesday, so when I work yesterday, I closed my office door and just sat down to get things done - no unplanned interruptions. Definitely needed. Working at Starbucks both nights though, has left me with no knitting progress.

With the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on, I'm now in the mood to cook. Knitting will come later while I digest. Ahhhhh. Turkey, roasted vegetables and apple crisp are being done at my house. A few other things are being made at my friend's house and we will all be eating together - which is of course, the best part of today. A friend of Adam's will also be here, so that make 5 for playing games!!!

Progress!

2006-11-17T17:35:00.000-05:00

I doubled the size of the first Pirate mitten, and then I tried to take a picture of it, but no dice. I tried to take the picture with the camera in my phone, and it looked awful. Oh well. I also got a few rounds done on the foot of the new Christmas Stocking, with pics to be posted once the recipient sees it.

Site needs pictures!

2006-11-15T14:15:00.000-05:00

I realize that I have already dropped the ball on keeping my blogging coordinated with my knitting. There will, however, be a knitted-stuff photo shoot occurring this week. I just have to gather all my WIPs and get them in the same general vicinity as the digital camera.

On the pointy sticks I have:
- A new Christmas Stocking, which just needs it's foot finished off.
- The double-knit scarf for Ross.
- The Pirate Mittens that I am knitting to go with Ross' scarf.
- A double-stranded alpaca scarf, which I keep changing my mind about as soon as I start into the cabling.
- The curtain for my office window.
- My hot-pink tie-wrap sweater, which is still in pieces since I haven't touched it in weeks.

The double-knit scarf is actually making the most progress since I work on it in my office during the slow points of the day. Knitting and listening to Cast-On....

Plowing through

2006-11-08T13:31:00.000-05:00

This always happens: I make great headway on a project for a good, solid amount of time - then something happens. I either mess it up, lose interest, or lay it aside to start something else. Thankfully, the window curtain doesn't really have a deadline. I'm kind of mad at myself, but I'll get through it.

I also need to get cracking on the right front panel of my tie-wrap sweater, as well as move forward on the double-knit scarf. Of course, the scarf is the only thing small enough to carry in my purple Jordana Paige Satchel at the moment. That's ok by me, though. I'll probably get quite a bit done tonight since I'm either babysitting or sitting at home - just not working again.

Second wind

2006-11-07T11:56:00.000-05:00

I didn't around to any knitting this past Sunday - too tired. I picked up my double-knit scarf again yesterday. This is a patterned scarf that I started over the summer for a friend of mine. He saw the pattern in one of Adam's paintings and wanted it for himself in some way. Originally he wanted a sweater, but I knew that would take me too long. So, I'm slowly plugging away on the pattern. Pictures to follow.

Total day of gluttony....

2006-11-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

After working 4-hour shift this morning, I had the whole day to myself. Husband's in PA, friends already have plans, and I have to be in bed early to work the opening shift tomrrow, so hitting the town tonight is not an option. Plus, everyone at school seems to have some sort of cold-type thing, and I really don't want to get it, so a relaxing day of rest and rejuvenation is much-needed.

In knitting news, I made a decision yesterday, and ripped the curtain back. I knew that I would not be able to stare at a curtain that I knew was supposed to be different from what it actually was. I got about 10 rows done today, and hope to get about the same amount done tomorrow.

I was able to go through all of my started projects and weed a lot of them out. Not that I didn't want to finish these projects, but I had to face facts with a couple of them. Either I didn't really have enough material to finish them, or I was finally able to see that the initial idea wasn't very good or practical. For the most part, I'm still following patterns, and altering things as I can. I've only developed two of my own patterns, and those were mostly so I could try out a new technique.

I'm behind getting started on Christmas gifts, and I'm starting to nix ideas from my mental list already. Sigh.

Day Two...

2006-11-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

There is a lot involved in blogging. I like the format so far, but I'm obviously still tweaking things.

Last night, I took the bubble-lace window panel off the needles to measure it and take stock of my progress.

It's too wide.

So as of right now, I'm still pondering my options. Do I rip it all apart and start over again - knowing full well that I will be frustrated about starting over, but relieved to have fixed it and finished it right? Or, do I keep going to way it is, a third completed, regardless of it's too-wide-ness and hang it bunched, rather than the flattened out image that attracted me in the first place?

Another thing that I'm taking into account is the fact that the original pattern suggested that this panel is really only supposed to be knit to cover those decorative little windows that appear in doors and kitchens, and my window is about 4x that size. I obviously took that "supposed to" as a direct challenge, and now that I've screwed up my gauge I have a hard time with admitting defeat. Hmph.

I'm accepting suggestions. Either rip back, or keep plowing ahead.

As a follow-up to yesterday's picture, Avery held still for just long enough to have that picture taken of her, sitting nicely with my yarn. Minutes later, she was batting the balls around and got wrapped in the curtain - of course.

Inaugural Post

2006-11-02T11:13:00.000-05:00

Since this is my first post, it will be brief. I plan to post pictures and musings about my knitting and whatever else I feel I need to post. Hopefully this will go smoothly.

Currently, I am working on the Mason-Dixon Bubble-Lace window curtain, the Stitch 'N Bitch Nation Clover-lace Wrap Sweater, and AlterKnits' Lace-Up Scarf. I have started and abandoned a number of other projects along the way, but I have also completed a number of projects as well. I will add pictures soon.