Along with some other non-knitterly items, I am on time, on schedule, and 100% done with Christmas shopping. And I didn't step foot in a mall once! Let's dance! Or take more pictures!

Cleeeck!

From this post forward (actually from yesterday's post forward), all photos on this site shall be courtesy of my very advanced, rather heavy but TOTALLY AWESOME new camera and lens. Thanks - or no thanks! I'm broke! - to Kathy for getting this ball rolling. And many many thanks to brooklyn tweed for answering all my incessant emails with great info and advise. I've wanted a dSLR forever and ever but not too long ago they were for people who were either very rich or who were actual photographers. I wasn't any of those things, I'm still neither of those things. However technology keeps getting cheaper - and better - by the minute. And one of the funny side effects of knit blogging is the desire to not only become a better knitter, or even a better writer, but a better photographer as well. I don't know what's in store for 2007, perhaps not better knitting or better writing, but by Jove there will be better photos!

There will be!

Comments [21]
Filed Under: Clapotis | Completed Projects | General Knitting | Life | Socks

Trying out some new things...

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Koigu (in blue) pilfered from Kathy's yarn stash.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock bought for cheaps on ebay.

Bunny's first portrait

Mr. Sleepy Head McCurltongue

Comments [7]
Filed Under: Life | Yarn Stash

Dottie expands her circle

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Knitting did not bring us together, oh no, nor even our fondness for fruity drinks. It was the prospect of trying out Kathy's new DSLR that lured me out of my little cave, and I must say, Give it to me. Give it to me now. I need to do more research and a little soul-searching, but I'm definitely ready to upgrade and use the big guns. And hopefully with more time and practice my shots will not be so overexposed and will become uh, focused.

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Life | Postcards from Dottie

Life is now complete

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

14 lbs of diced chiles from NM just arrived today! They're frozen solid, but even so I could smell their hot green goodness. Oh yeah LET'S PARTY!!!

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Cat in the Kitchen | Life

Mea Culpa

Monday, December 04, 2006

So. I will not be posting a pseudo-pattern / explanation / guideline / thesis / whatever you want to call it for the Mermaid Gloves like I said I would. Steph was the first to make them, and it is her prerogative to share the details if she choses to, not mine. The boundary of intellectual property can be fuzzy one, and without thinking I might have crossed that line. At the end of the day I'm not out to step on anybody's toes, and that's all I have to say about that.

But, they really ARE the simplest things ever to make. If you can follow Chart A for Pomatomus, if you can knit something like a glove - or follow instructions for one - whether it be with full fingers or half-fingers or no fingers, like these Opera Gloves or Fetching or Eunny's mitts, then the Mermaid Gloves are a snap. All the elements are out there for the taking and the piecing together. Just give it a whirl!

I just got through saying I had no time to post and now here's another one. I'm always lying.

I'm always procrastinating too. Today sucks. It snowed this morning and I said "yes" to helping out a former client on work I thought would be quick but not only is it not quick it is just disgusting, filthy work and I want to stab my own face for agreeing to do this. My fault for saying yes to everything.

The sky has cleared, the snow is all gone, and I can see in the horizon the last remnants of an ice-cold sunset. Ever since coming back from Santa Fe, I find myself constantly evaluating the quality of the sunsets here. And you know what, they aren't that bad.

You just can't easily SEE them with all the trees and buildings in the way. The sky is smaller, the horizon is lower, the sunsets more confined. But they're lovely just the same.

Comments [4]
Filed Under: General Knitting | Life

Blah

Monday, December 04, 2006

I've had no time to post. Or I've made no time to post. The car broke down AGAIN this weekend and had to be towed away. It happened in the tiny and cramped parking lot of an Asian grocery store in the city. By the time it was finally dragged away there was a 15-car long backup that snaked all the way out into the busy intersection outside of the lot. I was almost more stressed about causing shopping mayhem (it's chaotic there without a disabled vehicle to contend with), and whether the tow truck was going to be able to fit in the lot in the first place. It was a real nailbiter. Well now we get to throw more money into this car which one breakdown ago officially became a dinosaur. Ugh dude ugh. But again, like the other issues that occured before Santa Fe, and while in Santa Fe, we were lucky that they all happened while we were approaching a parking lot, and not during any of the many moments we were speeding crosscountry along the highway.

Still. Come on car. Get with it.

"I'm not wearing any underpants." - Dottie

Comments [7]
Filed Under: Life | Postcards from Dottie

Mermaid Gloves

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Pattern: My own, inspired by Steph's Mermaid Gloves which were inspiried by Cookie's Pomatomus stitch pattern. For one of the gloves I flipped Chart A in order to get mirror-imaged scallops.
Yarn: Koigu KPM, 2 skein, and Sundara Yarn in Plum over Slate for the cuff.
Needles: US1 dpns

Couldn't be more pleased with these gloves. Well, maybe if they were in a different color, like the lovely bluish variety that Steph used. Those Koigu semi-solids are hard to come by. But no matter, I'm so glad I attempted them because they are just divine. And so easy to make! Really!

Comments [24]
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Gloves | Mermaid

I want these

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

1) 2 skeins of Five Spice from HelloYarn

2) One skein sock yarn from HelloYarn
AH! This colorway just sold out?!

3) "MiamiInk" Razr. I'm not a huge fan of the Razr and I hate the user interface on Motorolas, but these are SEXY.

4) Dye kit from HelloYarn

5) Socks that Rock in Amber

6) Yarntini self-striping in Pure Fall

7) A chateau in France (optional)

8) A bunny rabbit

Comments [8]
Filed Under: General Knitting