I hope everyone had a fine holiday or is continuing to have a fine holiday. The catch phrase this season seems to be Happy Chriskwanzukah, which would kind of cute if it didn't give those who keep saying it so much trouble saying it. They're like, "Happy Chris -- wait. Happy Kwanzachris -- wait that's not right. Happy Chrishanuk-- "

I'm on a Shining Star hat hiatus. Five total were made, including a pretty ok that bi-colored version. I gave it to my sister-in-law. There's a weird nub at the top, but I found it was like that in all of my hats more or less, just more pronounced in this one.

Unlike last time I didn't doublestrand, and I made the star blue and the rest of it white. I ended up doing fairisle but twisted the different colored yarns around each other when I had to carry a color more than 3 stitches. It looks cool but damn it was a pain.

The Ugg booties were for my nephew. He's still too small to wear it and who knows if these things are even wearable in the first place. They're cute to look at though, and super fast to make.

Ah I'm happy to be done with the Christmas knitting. Or, I'm happy to be knitting for me and me alone. Me always appreciates what me makes.

We made a stop at WEBS after Christmas day so I could redeem my gift certificate, and it was a raving mad house. I immediately wanted to leave, yarn sale or not. They were having their blowout sale, and there were 3 lines snaking to the back of the store of people and their huge bins of yarn.

I only got a couple of things. I'll do a show and tell later.

Til then I reset my attentions back to Electra - she's nearly finished. Then I'll have to decide whether I want to continue with Kooch or move onto Something Else. Right now a whole lot of Something Elses are calling to me...

Comments [6]
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Life | Shining Star

NYC

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Despite the fact I hated to turn 1000, I had the BEST freaking birthday ever in NYC. I love you NYC! Thank you MTA for not striking until the morning we left!

Sunday:
Got into town after the easiest 3.5 hour drive.

Drinks at Pegu (holy crap yum and holy crap it's expensive) with college friends, then walked over for dinner at 24 Prince, a new joint that opened a few months ago specializing in "comfort food" with a "twist." The place was packed. For the price and location the food was great.

For old times sake, Nick reunited me with a flaming shot of Sambuca at the end of the meal. As freshmen in college we used to drink Sambuca like water. Like thick, viscous, licorice water. WHY? Because it was there. We have never had it since. It is still as disgusting as ever.

Monday:
Happy birthday to meeeee.

First stop, Kinokuniya, across from the Rockefeller. The tree looked pretty sad, people. All branches all wilted and cold. Sadly I didn't find any knitting books of interest. I did come away with a book of 1000 stitches and patterns, so not all was lost.

Then we walked across the street to the Top of the Rock. We decided this visit to the city would include cheesy touristy activities. It was a lovely view from the top.

Afterwards, we walked a few blocks to the Buttercup Bake Shop, spinoff of the Magnolia Bakery, and had ourselves a few cupcakes.

And then, the highlight of the entire bloody weekend, a surprise stop at Tiffany & Co.! Little blue box, be mine! Look at me, I'm Holly Golightly, tra la la la la la!

We were there for a whole of 10 minutes. It was the most fun 10 minutes I've ever had. Ever.

5 minutes was spent navigating the huge crowd. Another 2 minutes it took locating my object of desire (which has been imprinted in my mind's eye for the last four years at least), then 10 seconds allotted for thoughtful consideration of whether or not I really needed the object once found (yes), and then the remaining 2 min 50 seconds to purchase and patiently watch it boxed (oh that eggshell blue!) and ribboned (red for Christmas!).

Afterwards we skipped out the door and down 5th Ave and I was as high as a kite.

Then we had a fantastic French dinner at Gascogne, with my new bling settled around my neck. The cassoulet was mmmmmm. After a few bites, your lips are coated with a film of fat that gets thicker and thicker with each bite.

Everything was perfect.

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Life | Travel | NYC

Because using DPNs just isn't challenging enough by itself. Also, I'm old.

Monday, December 12, 2005

After making 3 Shining Star hats, I decided I needed to UP the ANTE and make my knitting life interesting again, which would also provide writing fodder for this blog. I thought, wouldn't it be cute if the star pattern was its own color? Then I thought, wouldn't it be cute if the star were white, and the rest of the hat were a light blue, so that it looked like a snowflake against the sky? Then I thought, the gauge for the existing yarn I have for this white and sky blue yarn is too small, so wouldn't it work just as well if I doublestranded?

2 colors, 4 strands of yarn, 5 double-pointed needles, 1 circular needle (that I'm using as a dpn to give me a total of 6) and I have this:

It's a fiasco. I carried yarn across as many as 10 stitches because I didn't want to do intarsia and have pumpkin innards, but any way you cut it, there will be pumpkin innards and fairisle on this pattern doesn't work. I still think a star in its own color would have been so money, but the effort to achieve it isn't quite worth it. Granted, I didn't make the process any easier by doublestranding.

So sad. I spent a whole afternoon on this.

Know what else is sad? That it's less than 2 weeks til Christmas and we are sans tree. We've always had a tree, except for last year but that was because we weren't around for most of the month. I have not at all been in the holiday spirit. I know I must say this every single year, but this Christmas seemed to have leapt upon us like a duck on a junebug, and even though my body is swathed in 5 layers of clothing, my mind is still running around in a tanktop.

HA HA! Now do you also see why I haven't been writing regularly?! Such prose. Ha. Heh. Ugh. Sob.

Also it's a week until my birthday. I am turning 1000 years old. Again every birthday I say I am turning 1000 years old but this time I really mean it. My parents have even acknowledged that now that they have a decrepit sort of daughter, it must make them Keepers of the Crypt, and this too makes them sad. We are all sad for my birthday.

Duck and I are going to NYC to celebrate. I hope to drink and eat away the birthday blahs. My BFF whom I call Kitty (she has a food blog) made reservations at 24 Prince, and we will have pumpkin-spice and cinnamon martinis over at Public. I will choke my sobs with cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and hide my runny nose behind Japanese craft books at Kinokuniya, and the next day, drown my sorrows in a fatty vat of cassoulet at Gascogne.

Mmm. I love cassoulet. Mmm, rendered duck fat. Turning 1000 doesn't sound half bad.

Comments [13]
Filed Under: Life | Shining Star

Freakshow

Friday, December 09, 2005

Currently outside there is a blizzard. And thunder. And lightening. It's the nuttiest thing I've ever seen.

Comments [5]
Filed Under: Life

Baby Star

Monday, December 05, 2005

Pattern: Shining Star hat by Kate Gilbert, size Baby (looks a little big?)
Yarn: Cashmerino Aran
Needles: US7 dpn's

The accent trim was not intentional. I ran out of the blue, but being that this is a stash busting exercise as much as it is a Christmas gifting one, I used some leftover cashmerino in cream for the remainder. I'm so cheap! And why are the colors between those two photos so different, grrr?

Next up is to bust the stash from the Bolero Aubergine.

Ooo la, wiggly Starfish Aubergine!

One down, 492858 to go!

Comments [5]
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Shining Star

I hate using DPNs

Saturday, December 03, 2005

But for you, Shining Star Hat, I will do it.

Shining Star in progress, for Nephew B.

A moratorium is in place for projects for me so that I can get Christmas gifts moving along. Back in the summer when time seemed plentiful I had planned on making sweaters for several family members and close friends. Now it's already December - how the hell did that happen - and I've got bupkis.

You don't know how hard not knitting for just me is, unless like me you are a selfish bastard.

There was an article in the NYTimes recently about how this holiday season, retailers are pushing the marketing theme of "you deserve to shop for yourself". Or, the "One for you, two for me" concept.

I very much like this concept. It's one I've been using since I've started knitting, except it goes more like, "One for you, twenty for me." For example my very first knitted item was a scarf for Duck, but since then I've made about twenty items for myself. I have yet to make anything substantial like a sweater for Duck, and I probably won't, ha.

Anyway I'm into this Shining Star hat and everyone will probably get it. This pattern started out much harder than I had anticipated but it is oh so sweet and smart. It's knit from the top town, and the hardest part was casting on so few stitches (5) to be distributed across so many dpn's (5 - but I'm using 4). I had to practice many times, but once I got a " technique" down, it went alright. Still clumsy with dpn's, but better than having to learn a newfangled technique like say, Magic Loop. I'm too tired and old right now to learn about this Magic Loop though everyone is doing it. If someone wants to come over and show me that would be great.

I am nearly finished with Electra, only one side of the v-neck to go, but I won't touch it until Christmas is over.

Comments [7]
Filed Under: Shining Star

Aimee

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Pattern: Aimee from Rowan Vintage Style, smallest size
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Liquer, 4 skeins. ALL of it.
Needles: US size 5 and size 6

I like, I like. By the way, that photo on the right, where I look like I've just slipped a disk, is actually me doing The ParisHiltonShouldersBackChestOut pose, aka The PHSBCO. Do the PHSBCO and increase your perceived confidence by 150%.

I wore this yesterday to Nephew B's christening out in western Mass., and despite the lace - and the unexpected snow - it kept me nice and warm in the drafty church we were in.

I didn't make too many changes to the pattern except to go down a needle size. It seems to have affected row gauge enough that I have two full extra stripe/lace patterns than the photo in the magazine. My Aimee is very stripey. Also, there is that hem and opening at the front for a ribbon to thread through, but alas, no ribbon. I just may leave it that way.

I used backstitch for the first time to attach the shoulder seams. I should have ignored the call for sloped shoulder shaping, and then left the shoulder stitches live to do a 3-needle bind off. It would have been so much easier to deal with. Also, though I followed the pattern, the sleeve cap shaping wasn't exactly great. There was too much extra material from the top to the first stripe that you would have had puffy princessy sleeve cap, so I removed several rows from the top. I could have removed even more, but luckily we're dealing with extra fine KSH so the bunchiness isn't too noticeable.

You know what else isn't noticeable? That SNAG I made a couple days ago on the front. I can't find it, so it's not there. Woooooo.

I used every single last bit of the four skeins of KSH. All that's left after weaving in are the scraps cut from the loose ends. That was close.