The yarn is Regia Mini Ringel in color #666, get it, because it's so evil and nasty. I didn't have much of a choice though. I was determined to try to knit a sock, and I would only do it with Regia Mini Ringel or Regia Banner. But after scouring through three yarn stores, nothing! No one carries these Regias. It took a special trip to yarn store number 4 - Wild & Wooly - to scrounge up the yarn you see above. I mean I really had to dig deep for these trolls. The two skeins were the only left.

I was disappointed. They really didn't have a great selection of sock yarn. If you can't get it at W&W, which is stocked with two floors of yarn, then where I ask you? You all talk about Lorna's Laces and Koigu and whatever this and that and I could find nothing of the sort.

Anyway, I was going to make the best of it and chalk this up to a learning process. I too would like to experience the magic of TURNING THE HEEL.

But right off the bat the squirrels in my head start rotating the wheels too quickly. I decided I would use my own a pattern for the leg, and came up with this wavy pattern, which in theory would be nicely accentuated by the stripes. I thought I could make it more 3-D by adding a row of purls here and there.

After several pattern repeats I decided the wave pattern was unexciting and the purl rows were disgusting. Instead of ripping back, because that would require starting over, which is a horrible thing for me to consider, I switched gears midway and started Jaywalking. I didn't last long. Of course the peaks of this pattern did not match the peaks of mine, so the sock became distorted and now looks like a crushed Coke can.

About this time my hands started to burn. Isn't it funny, knitting with size 1 needles hurts about as badly as knitting with a size 15. At some point the sizes become too ridiculously big or small that it doesn't matter what size they are exactly. It just hurts.

In conclusion, I suck, I do not sock. Sad face. But I do want to learn, so I'll give it another go later.

I hope to fare better with the mittens.

SO. Speaking of the JAYWALKER socks...I was at a certain yarn store in Harvard Square on certain evening on a certain this past Thursday, looking for those certain yarn socks that I didn't find, and spied in the store a certain celebrity knit blogger roaming about.

We made very brief eye contact while walking past each other. In that millisecond, I recognized who she was, didn't know why, thought about it (college? work? neighbor? tv? internet? internet? INTERNET?), then realized who she was, then wasn't sure, then was sure, then went "Hee hee" because she had just left a comment in my last post not half an hour before, how funny is that? then went back to my own browsing.

Comments [10]
Filed Under: General Knitting

Finding my knitting muse

Thursday, February 16, 2006

I'm nearly done with the Cabled Toad, and while knitting this piece I've been thinking, thinking too hard really, about what to knit next. This slight knitting funk is still hanging around. I'm still not totally fired about knitting socks, even though I'd like to give it a go. It just depends on what sock yarn speaks to me, if any. Lacy shawls are somewhat more interesting - it would be a lot of fun I think. But for it to be a must-knit-it-now! project it has be practical/wearable too. I love the idea of shawls and stoles, but as it turns out don't much love wearing them, and it's not enough for me right now to knit one for the sake of kntting one.

And neither my mom nor mother-in-law are into them either so I can't use them as an excuse to make one.

None of my knitting books are magazines are calling to me at the moment.

So I'm just surfing through the sweater section at bluefly.com and anthropologie.com looking for inspiration, things I would enjoy knitting and wearing as well.

These are from bluefly.com The cowl sweater on the left is Dolce & Gabbana, made of acrylic and mohair. It's got Kidsilk Haze written all over it. It's lovely, but I think I'd get bored of the repetitive pattern quickly. The cardigan on the right is Catherine Malandrino (LOVE her). You can't see very well but the pattern is leafish, diamondish. Only problem is that it's knitted in very fine gauge. I wouldn't want to substitute a chunkier yarn but that same time fine gauge might try my patience. And eyesight. And hands.

Onwards to anthropologie.com.

Both of these are really cute.

But then I saw this blouse.

There she is, my knitting muse! So elegant! So pretty! It's not a knit piece, but I think it could be reinterpreted nicely into a one, using our BFF Kidsilk Haze. Yes? Yes I think so! I'm not participating in the Knitting Olympics, but if I were, you'd be watching me as I attempt to GO FOR THE GOLD in the sporting category of DESIGNING MY FIRST SWEATER! I already have ideas as to the lace pattern to use, and am going to try to be diligent and meticulous, and swatch and test and test and swatch, and take copious notes, and have patience, instead of jumping headlong hoping it will all turn out.

By the way, I have two skeins of KSH in Dewberry, brand-spankin new. I'm not crazy about this color, and am looking for something darker. Anybody up for a swap? Two skeins of Dewberry for two skeins in Villain? Nightly? Wicked? Elegance? Anybody?

Comments [13]
Filed Under: General Knitting

Love Is...

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

"I will be your parachute Bunny. I will be your parachute."

Love is an honest cigar, or a respectful glass of wine, according to Kitty and Cat

(talking about the Statue of Liberty)
Kitty: Tomcat took me on a date there when we first started dating
Me: Aaw
Kitty: Still the best date ever
Me: Duck took me to the site of the Boston Massacre
Kitty: Hahaha, and you loved it
Me: I knew then. I knew right then...
Kitty: Yeah just like I knew when Tomcat said my hands were like "living silk" ["soft"]
Me: And I was fortunate enough to have witnessed that first flush of true love
Kitty: He was hilarious in the beginning. That's worn off. Now he's like, "Oh you're not coming home til Friday? Whatever."
Me: There is still love though is there not? I'm laughing. Should I not be?
Kitty: There's so much love don't worry. It's just not first month love. It's better, more mature. Like a fine wine. Or a cigar.
Me: Right, and there is RESPECT and HONESTY.
Kitty: RIGHT. Also there is division of labor and finances, which is nice.
Me: For what is white-hot PASSION compared to MUTUAL RESPECT and ADMIRATION?
Kitty: I don't think I could take the white hot passion of a new relationship any more. I'm too old. And my right knee is bad.
Me: Yes the right knee is critical.
Kitty: Yeah the left knee can't take all the weight.
Me: I hate knees in general.
Kitty: Really?
Me: They spook me...blah blah blah

THE END.

As a kid, watching Bugs Bunny cartoons always had me craving carrots. Now as an adult, watching Masterpiece Theatre has me craving scones. Ah yes I've come a long way.

So this morning I got up early and made scones for the first time, sprinkled throughout lightly with cinnamon and on top with lemon zest. Then I made a big cup of cappuccino, extra froth. When the scones were done, 15 minutes in the oven, I sliced one in half and spread a thick layer of CONFITURE DE FRAISE on both sides. Then I took a bite and went, MmmmmMMMmmmmMMMmmmmmm, I love you scone.

Scones brought to you by:
1. Bleak House (Dana Scully is EXCELLENT in a corset)
2. The Six Wives of Henry VIII
3. The Black Adder
4. Mrs. Brown and
5. Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Nowhere in any of these shows/movies is there a character eating scones. But they are in England, so as far as my brain and stomach are concerned, the association is close enough.

I have to give a shout-out to Masterpiece Theatre, by the way. Have any of you in the States seen Bleak House? Scully is so good in this role that I actually forget she was once probed by aliens, what with all her swishing taffeta gowns and her perfect English accent. But the best part is finding out that Charles Dickens' writing is really on par with Days of Our Lives, rather than knee-crushing torture.

I had this 9th grade English teacher who I loved but had this horrible habit of assigning us heavy-handed works of literature that no 14 year-old had any business reading, much less understanding. While classmates in other classes were enjoying Pet the Rabbit and Goodnight Moon, we we were saddled with All the King's Men, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Of Human Bondage (oh GOD), and David Copperfield. By the end of the semester my entire English class was suicidal.

I haven't gotten near a Charles Dickens book since. In bookstores I sort of skirt by the "D" section in a more hurried pace. But now thanks to the passage of time, which heals all wounds, and Masterpiece Theatre, I thought I'd take a stab at this 800-paged Bleak House, and capital! I am enjoying it very much. I love his writing and, who knew, he's FUNNY.

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Life

Of Toads and Socks (or lack of)

Monday, February 13, 2006

Before starting on the other sleeve I seamed the first sleeve on and seamed one side. Seaming is so nice and easy with raglan sleeves.

Did you know that last week I made up my mind to knit my first sock? But I haven't done it. Turns out I have this bit of fear and loathing...not of a learning new techniques, but of sock yarn itself. Honestly I abhor variegated yarn in all forms and colors. All of them. (OK except for the handpainted ones because I know a lot of personal love and care goes into making those.) And the self-striping yarn in the skein form just, ugh, I don't know, I don't like the way they look, like shards of dirty crayon in unmatching colors all carelessly piled together, which then recalls for me unpleasant memories and smells of daycare.

I went to the yarn store during my lunch break and nothing appealed to the senses, not the Cherry Hills nor the Lana Grossa nor the Reynolds or whatever. I went back the next day to see if I had changed my mind and I had not. Damnit I can't seem to get past the icky pieces of stripes! I contemplated the solid-colored sock yarns but they were curiously itchy, but then I decided solid is boring and it would be fun to knit with self-striping yarn. But then I don't like how they knit up!

But but but! Oh why can't I just be happy? If it has to be striped let it be large blocks of stripes. I've seen socks made with Regia 4 Ply Nation and I like the way those knit up a lot.

Regia Banner types are also good. (These, and these, are not.)

The yarn store did not carry any Regia's. So I left there empty handed. Boo hoo.

Comments [16]
Filed Under: Cabled Toad | General Knitting

Not much going

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

There's finally have some progress to show on the Cabled Toad, but since I seem to have misplaced my camera, you'll just have to imagine it in your head. The front is finished, as is one sleeve. They're blocking on the board, with pins. Ha, that's all. Maybe I'll have this thing finished in a couple of weeks.

Just found camera. Cabled Toad is not exactly photogenic right now. See how misshapen it looks even on the blocking board:

The latest Rowan 39 came in the mail yesterday. I had nearly forgotten that I signed up for membership.

The side effect of Rowan 39 is: hemorrhaging eyeballs.

Sooooo...this issue is...funny. The costuming seems to be a little BUSY and maybe slightly OVER THE TOP, especially in the "Tribal" section, that my eyes are bugging out, darting back and forth, trying to pick out the actual knit piece they're trying to showcase. WHAT am I supposed to be looking at?! I mean the cover says it all. Attention is being drawn to all the various crap she's wearing on her HEAD AND FACE than the knitted item she's wearing on her body.

The featured game of Rowan 39 is: Find the knitted item!
Up for debate in Rowan 39 is: Feathers. You can't go wrong. Or can you...? Bwak!

And what's up with that guy in the Aladdin shoes and the rooster carcass on his head? Duck has been wanting a sweater and if there was one way to turn a guy off of receiving knitwear, this issue would do the trick.

La la la. More later, when I'm less busy and have nicer things to say.

Comments [13]
Filed Under: Cabled Toad | Rowan

There's a little bit of knitting content in this one

Monday, January 30, 2006

East Meets West

For dinner last night I make shrimp spring rolls (with my own peanut butter-hoisin-rice-wine-chili dipping sauce!), and he makes chocolate chip cookies.

Prey Meets Predator

In the middle of a lively game of cat and cat

The boys get frisky after one finishes his business in the litterbox. Cat gives away his whereabouts by noisily scratching the box, alerting the other cat to quickly take low position behind the doorway or the scratching post. Cat exits litterbox, and is immediately aware that he is being stalked. He waits, sniffs the air, pupils dialating a little, and finally puts one tentative paw forward. That's when cat behind doorway or scratching post reveals himself with a savage spring and BOING! Eight paws go thundering across the room!

Conehead Meets Domehead

Look! Knitting! So grumperina laid the smackdown last week when she posted the nipply conehead properties of the shining star hat, mine in particular, and in so doing, exposed my knitting slackness for all to see. I knew something was iffy about the pattern but chose to let it be. I am not a perfectionist, at all. Ever. Never. But thank goodness someone is. Better her than me to improve upon the pattern. I made another shining star sans nipple and it is sooooo much better. Much more like a skull cap, which I like.

During this process I've come to the decision that I don't like cashmerino anymore. While it is very soft and luxurious, it's also very limp and saggy, and doesn't hold its shape. You should see my bolero aubergine and how sad and lifeless it is. I blame the microfiber component for that. The new creme hat I made using 100% wool, and while the size and gauge is the same, the cashmerino version fits way too big. It just stretches and stretches.

Rabbit Meets the End of the Rainbow
Happy Chinese New Year again! I was born in the year of the Rabbit. I am a LUCKY rabbit who eats CLOVERS all day and...plays with LEPRECHAUNS. I just received news from the Irish Consulate that my application for citizenship has been approved - woot - and now all I have to do is send them exactly 126.97 Euros, drawn from an Irish bank. What. The lady at the consulate said, "Just get a friend in Ireland to do it for you." Ha ha what friend?

Comments [10]
Filed Under: Life | Shining Star

Happy New Year

Sunday, January 29, 2006

I am craving boiled crawfish and beignets something fierce.

My mom is in Taipei now celebrating New Years. There is family and food and partying and I am extremely jealous.

Last night Duck and I took a small road trip to visit a college friend of mine who was having his first art showing in a little gallery in Rhode Island. Afterwards we stopped in Providence for dinner at my favourite restaurant and old college haunt, Cafe Paragon. It's always crowded, always yum, and now a lot less smokefilled. I ordered myself a Southern Comfort manhattan, and being thus affected by alcohol I was weeping nearly all through dinner. A good kind of weeping, but strange all the same. We were talking about Taipei, and suddenly I was weeping about my having been deprived of growing up near family, them over there and my parents and me in the States. I was weeping over how outstanding I found all my aunts and uncles to be, how much I admired them, and one very charismatic uncle in particular, and how nice it would be if I could just be near them, all the time. And my cousins and their little children. It's funny, there I am crying over my dinner plate in a crowded restaurant (and another round of cocktails. Bad move). I had no idea how much I cared. In fact - and this might sound queer - I had not much given family beyond my parents much thought in the past, and if I did it was only in the knowledge that I had one, a very big one, whom I see only very once in long awhile.

The last several years I have gone back to Taipei more often than previous years put together, and have found, maybe from the perspective now of a more adult pair of eyes, just how nice it would be to live there. How nice, if only for a couple of years, to be surrounded by family who look after you and dote on you as if you were still a child, and with such an easiness as if they saw you every single day. Ha it might sound like a nightmare to some, but it sounds perfectly lovely to me.

Luckily for me Duck isn't at all opposed to the idea. In fact he brought up the idea of relocating initially. We've been talking about it seriously for the last year, but last night over dinner I was just about MAD to pack up our bags and leave now. It definitely was the alcohol talking. I'm still quite serious about us going, but now that I've sobered up the thought of what we'd do with Bunny and Veebs makes me hesitate a little. Do we bring them and risk their lives to cabin pressure or do we give them up to semi-permanent catsitters? Can they handle the travel? Can we handle a separation? Waah!

Anyway what was I saying. Oh yeah, Happy Chinese New Year. Stay away from the Southern Comfort.

Comments [9]
Filed Under: Life

Pinky's getting better, or do you care anymore?

Monday, January 23, 2006

View from igloo window

On Saturday we went on a hike through the woods in 60F weather, and even got warmed up enough to go in short sleeves. In JANUARY. Now, there's I dunno, 5 feet of snow on the ground. Boston weather is indecisive like that.

Well, it is so nice to know that they are complete strangers out in the world who care about another stranger's welfare. It is week 2 of the Swollen Pinky Saga, and even though it's still plump, it doesn't hurt or throb anymore, enough that I have managed to get a dozen rows or so of knitting the last couple of evenings.

Here's the situation at our house, as some of you have asked, and given the kind of advice (very thoughtful advice, btw) I've gotten as to how to keep warm, I've realized I've been kinda lazy with the details:

Our house has about 2000 sq ft of living space.
I occupy 150 sq ft of it during the day.
There is only one thermostat for the entire house.
I do have a space heater for the office, but it sucks. Bought a new one. Much better.
I wear 3 layers of clothing and a hat everyday.
This is the first winter I've worked from home consistently. Hence this is really the first time warmth or lack of warmth has become an issue.
The windows are new. (But I can tell wind is seeping through the front and side doors. Must replace)
We used the plastic thingy for them last year and noticed no difference.
Our first winter in this house in 2001 led us discover that this house had NO INSULATION. At all. The floorboards were ICE. It's now insulated. (A house in New England without insulation?? WTF?)
Oil prices back then were about $1.15 per gallon.
Right now it is $2.50 per gallon.
I just remembered that part of the heating bill is, and has been, tax deductible. You know, on account of this being a place of business and whatnot. I've known this but it has only now just occured to me. GOD I'm an idiot. TIME TO CRANK THAT SHIT UP.

My parents are despairing that I should have what they call a "poor, old woman's" condition. Here's a conversion between mom and me, spoken in our usual mix of Mandarenglish. Did I just invent a new word?

MOM: Oh I am so sad, that you have this problem!
ME: It's not a big deal.
MOM: But it's like you're too poor to afford heat!
ME: No I'm saving the environment.
MOM: What about yourself? I cannot imagine my own daughter do damage to herself just because she won't turn on heat!
ME: thinking: she has a point. Well it's just not efficient.
MOM: Maybe you need to have the heating system redone. I will buy you some long underwear.
ME: OK
MOM: Tell Ya-Tze ("Duck" in mandarin) that he can turn up the heat a little. Pleeeeeease?
ME: It wasn't really his decision. I'm the one who stays at home all day.
MOM: Well, then tell him he needs to get more flaffy and sit on you to incubate.
ME: HAHAHA!
MOM: HA! HA!

In lieu of having Duck incubate me, I have this new space heater and it kicks ass. I've only had it on a couple hours this morning and the office is still nice and toasty. I have no idea why I suffered with that shitty one for so long. You had to be 1 millimeter away from it to feel any heat, and none of it lingered once turned off. I'm stupid. It clearly sucked.

This space heater is cat and whale approved

I also bought a pair of sheepskin moccasins and oh my god. I cannot believe I have lived in New England for what?! 12 years now! and have never discovered the miracle that is sheep fur. All those winters tromping through the snow without the benefit of sheep? Why do I still have toes? Do they make sheepskin bodysuits?

In other good news...My feline sidekick Kitty is in town today from NYC. We're going to Hamersley's Bistro in the South End for dinner. Their winter menu includes cassoulet. I LOVE KITTY AND I LOVE CASSOULET.

Hopefully more knitting content to come. Thanks for all of your concerns and advice! I'm almost healed!

Comments [15]
Filed Under: Life | WTF