Yet another AV project

Dude. It's going to be hovering near 60 degrees F up here in Boston for the rest of the week. Look at me, I'm all crazy, wearing my crazy flipflops in the middle of crazy January.

GW kicks ass!!

(GW stands for Global Warming. And George W.
Coincidence? Oh I don't think so.)

I've cooked up a new project. It's the Adrienne Vitaddini cabled pullover from Fall 2004, except I'm calling it the "Cabled Toad" because it sounds that much prettier.

I'm using Filatura di Croso 501 in olive. The color is really MUCH more saturated than in the photo above. It could be tricky, it could be. I've never worn anything so toad but I'm trying to be brave. I saw a woman the other day with my coloring - dark hair - wearing this olive-colored blazer and I thought the color looked smashing on her.

The back is finished and the mid-section and ribs are delectably squishy, as they are wont to be.

Kooch continues to lay abandoned in the now ice-cold sunroom, in the same position as I left it when I took this photo. In hopes of finding inspiration in other knitters' progresses, I did an google search for Kooch. My site was the first that came up, the other sites belonged to yarn retailers. 

Am I the only person in the WWW knitting Kooch?

(WWW stands for world wide web. Or whole wide world.)

Speaking of Kooch...

I wish it were me that AJ is pregrant with. If it were me in there I'd be constantly kicking her uterine wall in glee, knowing that I'm going to be like the hottest baby this world has ever witnessed. Damn it.

Comments [10]
Filed Under: Adrienne V | Cabled Toad

Electra. Brought to you by McDonald's. I'm Lovin It.

  

Pardon the weak lighting. We're expecting a snowstorm any minute.

Pattern: Electra from Rowan #38, in xsmall
Yarns: Gold - Kathmandu DK; Maroon - Grignasco Tango; Cream - Kathmandu DK and Kidsilk Haze held together; Purple - Debbie Bliss Merino DK
Needle: US 5 for the bottom ribbing, US 6 for the body, US 3 for neck and armhole ribbing

First FO of 2006, ow! It is a little upsetting that I open the new year with an homage to Ronald McDonald, but, snakes on a plane.* The color combination looked more palatable in the yarn store, and now I can't help but think I look like a Chinese member of the Partridge family, or a big tub of nachos, when I wear this.

And yet, I still kind of like it. It works better with a crisp shirt underneath, one that has slightly exaggerated cuffs and collar.

The collar is key. Do not try this at home with a white collarless, long sleeved shirt for example, innocent as a white collarless shirt may be. I happened to be wearing such a shirt when I weaved in the last strand of Electra. I immediately tossed on the vest and showed it off to Duck without first consulting a mirror. It took him exactly half a second too long to answer my "What do you think?" before he said, "It's nice!" And even then there was a slight pause between the "it's" and the "nice."

Trust me, I've asked the poor guy enough What do you think's to know when he really means it's nice or not. In this case, he and not the vest was being nice.

A quick change to a crisp white collared shirt saved the day. If I were to do this again - and I just might! Fairisle is FUN! - I'd go with my initial color choices of foresty greens, blues, and browns, and throw in a dash of pink.

No significant project notes. Just the usual of going down a needle size for a smaller fit. I did not do this in the round. I tried to carry the yarn up the sides whenever I could. This was my first fairisle project, done to break up the same ole knitting monotony, and fairisle definitely kept things interesting.

I love vests. I need to make more.

Thank you everyone who commented in the last post. It's fun to see who's reading, and to find new blogs. More more more!

*Another way of saying "c'est la vie." According to this post anyway.

Comments [34]
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Rowan | Electra

Show and Tell and Comment

Books
The Japanese knit books I ordered over a month ago finally arrived, minus one, the Let's Knit magazine. It's just as well because I found I wasn't totally excited about the ones that did come in.

New Style of Heirloom Knitting is just too heirloom-y for my tastes. I love cables and bobbles and fairisle patterns, but I don't love the shapelessness of all the pieces. Also, SCARY SCHEMATICS. So diagrammatically advanced! Information overload, cannot process! Hold me!

I might give this to my mother. She'd appreciate it more than I do. Or maybe you might appreciate it more? Anyone up for a trade perhaps?

KNIT has lovely photographs. Of some weirdassed patterns. I see one too many safety pins. The schematics, while not as intimidating as the ones from Heirloom Knitting, are intruiging and mysterious. All of them have this wavey thingamibob slicing through their charts, sometimes more than once, sometimes horizontally or vertically, or both. I don't understand what this means. Anybody?

There are a couple of items I would make in KNIT, but it's the last time I buy books solely on the basis of their cover. So last week at Kinokuniya in NYC I was excited to be able to peruse some real gems in person. Unfortunately their knitting and crafting section in general was rather small, and what they did have was meh. I was totally prepared for an onslaught of kawaii overload that to not experience it left me empty and sad. But I did console myself with this:

1000 stitch, cable, fairisle, intarsia, and even crochet patterns.

Yarn
I'm ready to show the yarns I bought on Monday at WEBS. The scene there was like December 31, 1999 except instead of people stocking on water and battery and shotguns, they were stocking up on spindles and sheep fur. Loads of it.

No fights broke out, however the store was very close to witnessing a double homicide/suicide. I wanted to murder the lady in front who bought $500 worth of yarns that were all ONE of EACH kind. I then wanted to murder the old dude at the cash register who was unable to scan and instead typed in the SKU - slowly, so slowly with so much squinting - for each miserable item. I wanted to kill myself for choosing to stand in the wrong line. Again!

I bought 3 bags of of Filatura di Crosa yarn:

One bag of 501 wool, one bag of 501 tweed, one bag of Super Soft. I don't know what the 501's will be turn out to be, but I've started Erin (Rowan Ribbon Twist) with the Super Soft. I might be super screwed because I've already used up 3 short skeins and haven't even reached the armhole. Uh oh.

The end of the show and tell.

Happy 2006
Since this will probably be the last post of 2005, I'd like wish everyone a very productive new year full of new yarn and new finished objects.

I'd also like to thank everyone who visits and takes the time to leave a comment here, ESPECIALLY those who regularly comment even though I do not reciprocate the gesture nearly as much as I should. My blogging shortfalls have been weighing on my conscience, and as part of my news year's resolutions I vow to say hello and thank you all over the internet!

It's scary though. Half the time I don't know what to write beyond, "Nice!" and the other half I'm too busy ploughing through my list of reads to stop to comment.

But really most of the time I have nothing interesting to say. (This is why I also hate talking on the phone, fyi.)

And I'm not good at being nice. Heh.

I'm not good at reading for that matter. I skim and I scan, which might also account for why I don't comment in general. I don't know what you've written, ha ha!

Hmm. I've offended you. But maybe not beacuse you too are skimming.

I won't be mad if you have.

I also won't be mad if you don't comment. But. According to bloglines there are over 100 subscribers to this feed, and I am just so CURIOUS who all of you are? I know I'd be a hypocrite to ask, but...Would you indulge me for two seconds and, for those who haven never commented, just tell me who you are? Please?

(If I know you personally, and I never told you about this site, please don't tell me. Shhh.)

As a reward, you will receive a 3-sentence long comment from ME on YOUR blog, if you have one! Wow! Or, I'll pick a number now between 1 - 100 and whoever is the nth commenter gets Veebs for a day! How 'bout it?

Happy New Year and happy knitting!

Comments [37]
Filed Under: Japanese knits | Yarn Stash

Post-Christmas Wrap Up

 

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

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.

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

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

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