Electra Azteca

My first fair isle

My Electra has got some Southwest flair going on, with the colors of yellow corn tortilla chips (the gold), blue corn tortilla chips (the purple), salsa (the red) and sour cream (the offwhite). Hm. I definitely wasn't going for a nacho color scheme. It also reminds me of the 70s. Is that a good thing...we shall see.

I did most of the back on the plane to and from Atlanta. Those were probably the fastest plane rides ever. The fair isle on this is pretty non-extensive, which is good for a novice like me. But it's also been just enough to break up the monotony of working with single-colored yarn. I was starting to get bored of the usual. Kooch is languishing and so is Aimee. Bring on more fair isle!

Warning: badly written pseudo web technical details coming up...

Some of you were asking where I found the link to that Turkish blog. It works like this: Everytime someone clicks on a link to your site from another site, information, such as browser type, where the request for your page is originating, is sent to your server. All behind the scenes. So if you clicked on the link to the blog here, that server will know the hit came from catduckdotcom/clog. This is called the referral link, and my site keeps track of all this information. I'm watching you...

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Rowan | Electra

Thanks for playing!

I love the internet. But feel sheepish now for that silly previous post of mine. Thanks for leaving your opinions though! I listened to the masses and went with the sash. I also didn't listen and wore Butterfly too, ha. Tucked in. I know, the horror! The whole point of being for Butterfly is that hem. The thing with that sequined tank top though is that it's basically a gussied up wifebeater, and once I brought it home I decided no way could I go to a wedding wearing underwear. Knowing me I'd probably spill red wine all over the front during the reception, fall on my face, and look like the perfect toothless drunk. So I wore that to the previous night's rehearsal dinner instead which was definitely more of a sequined, wifebeaterly type of hoedown.

Are you still reading?

I'm scared of the internet. Check this out. Someone took the pictures of me in my bolero, blew them up bigger, posted it on their site and then typed stuff in what I think is Turkish. There is something being said in Turkish about the bolero on the internet. And maybe how horrible it is.

Waaah why? What's she saying?

Comments [10]
Filed Under: Bolero | Life

Help a girl out.

Indulge me for about 5 minutes more on this issue of the wedding dress. I decided that the red polka dotted dress isn't the way to go. Yes too red, too summery, too tea-time at the Ritz and not evening city wedding in autumn.  SO. I hit the mall again with my mother and after finding nothing at the big name department stores, I came up with something pretty decent at Anthropologie. Anthro always comes through.

The woman on fitting room duty told my mom that that skirt reminds her of s3x & the city. I'm pretty sure my mom has never heard of that show, so in her mind some stranger just told her that the dress her daughter is wearing reminds her of secks. I was laughing in the fitting room.

Exhibit A               Exhibit B

But which outfit? Exhibit A is the flouncy brown skirt with its lovely coral silk sash, with a sequined tank top. Exhibit B is the skirt without the sash, paired with - look! - Butterfly.  Mom and Duck have already put their vote in, but I can't decide. I love that sash, but can't wear it with Butterfly. Also it might be too party party. Decisions decisions.

Help. Which do you prefer?

Comments [26]
Filed Under: Life | Butterfly

I have a serious question.

Is it OK, or not OK, to wear a red silk dress with white polka dots, to an October wedding, in the Deep South? And with white heels. Or offwhite heels. And perhaps a white shawl. What if I told you that for all the polka dots, this dress is way chic, in the way of say, Valentino? What if, even though it is fall, the weather is forecasted to be in the summery 80's? Would I still be breaking all the fashion rules?

I really do not want to do anymore shopping for something to wear.

Comments [12]
Filed Under: General Knitting

Fine. OK. I like Rowan. Whatever.

Instead of going to a real sporting goods store for those biking shorts I so desperately need, I decided to knit a pair myself. Why the hecks not. The super chunky factor will make for a more padded, gentle riding experience, while the pure wool factor will keep her toasty in this chilly fall weather.

Or...This is the beginnings of Kooch from Rowan 38. Very unfortunate name I know. 

Isn't funny though that there is this designer knitting magazine featuring things such as "Kooch" and "Kid Acne" at the same time? Can it sound anymore unknitterly? But let's not dwell.

These are the back vents. Later there will be a moss stitch border added to each side of the vent, which will hopefully get rid of the bike-shorts-with-roomy-crotch look.

We haven't ridden our bikes in ages. First it rained for like eight days straight. Then we had 40mph winds for several days, still ongoing. I was doing some downtown shopping recently and while walking between two tall buildings (aka Wind Tunnel of Hell), I was actually lifted airborne for the longest 0.5 second of my life. And then I ran the rest of the way. Not voluntarily though.

I have so much to talk about but so little time to make it coherent. I've been trying to shop for something to wear to a wedding I'm going to this weekend, back home down South. I can't find ANYTHING. This season's inspiration seems to be the balloon, in the deflated state. It's disgusting! For 4 whole hours my credit card was straining to break out of its wallet confines, whining to be swiped and swiped good, I had do something to shut it up.

So I went into a yarn store.

I'm on the Electra bandwagon. Fall is the color. And being the crafty cheapskate that I am, I went for "generic" brands - Grignasco Tango instead of Rowan Felted Tweed (exactly the same material composition), and Kathmandu DK instead of Rowan Yorkshire DK. Kathmandu is a merino wool, silk and cashmere blend. Ooo la, doesn't sound so generic does it? I only call them generic because they were around $6 per skein, as opposed to $10 per for Rowan. 

And for the KSH component I plan on using some leftovers I have of Pearl and/or Liquer. Tink tink tink I hear money leftover in the piggy!

The only problem was, I didn't have the book with me when I picked the colors, this being an impromptu purchase and all, and the store didn't have a copy either (grrrrrrrrrrr). So though I tried mightly to recall the color pattern in my head, in the end the colors I picked were not the wisest. 

The gold will be the main color, so the accent stripes will be the cream and the wine. Which are the exact same colors as KSH Pearl and Liquer. Which will be used with the cream and/or wine color for the fairisle component. Which you won't be able to see because DUH they're all the same colors. ERGH! I tried different combos and it's all the same. At some point the cream colored yarn will be adjacent to the KSH Pearl, or if I use Liquer, then at some point the wine colored yarn will be adjacent to it, etc. etc.

So instead of exchanging one of the yarns for a more opposing color (making exchanges - or anything involving the cash register for that matter - at this certain LYS is a NIGHTMARE. But more on that later), or buying a different colored KSH, I have decided to use something from the stash. It will be ORANGE! But. Red yellow orange cream...Will it look too Fall crazy? Or worse, too Ronald McDonald?

By the way guess what I did today? I subscribed to Rowan International! I'm officially a Rowan fan. Free gift! A couple more skeins of KSH never hurt nobody either. Also they're jacking up the price of admission soon, so get it while it's good.

Before I sign off, thanks for your very kind comments on the bolero. Many of you are the type of conscientious bloggers who take time to reply personally to each commentor. It is very polite and so charming. Unfortunately I am no such blogger. :(

I'm off to Atlanta tomorrow for my high school buddy's wedding. Hopefully I'll find something non-balloony to wear at one of the many strip malls near my parent's house. See ya'll later!

Comments [8]
Filed Under: Rowan | Electra | Kooch

Bolero AUBERGINE!

Pattern: Bolero from Simply Soft by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Cashmerino Aran, 7 skeins + another couple yards
Gauge: 18 sts/4in on US8/5mm

Well, it's done, and it's...aight. I think I obsessed over this pattern for too long before buying it, like it was The Knit of the Century, and of course it's just a little bolero. I like it, I do. Just not head over heels for it, like I thought I'd be.

The Cashmerino, such a soft, beautiful yarn, seems sort of a waste on something like this. I know it's a bolero so it's not supposed to cover you completely, but when I was wearing this I kept pulling the front together to get more cozy cashmerino goodness around me, and I thought, why didn't I just make something with more cashmerino coverage? Something like a cabled cardigan or turtleneck, something snug and squishy, something like the toddler seed stitch and cable jacket, but longer?

Blah blah blah. Blah. Blah. I'm just down on Debbie Bliss patterns. As you are aware by now I'm sure. It's No More Bliss After Thiss!

I think it looks better "buttoned" at the front. See? Too bad it will never be buttoned. I do have a single eye and hook fastener I might try. Or I just might try to be happy with it as is and leave it alone.

Only thing of note on this project: I used Aran instead of Chunky weight yarn. I did no adjusting of the pattern to account for this, except to add a couple extra rows in the armhole shaping. This sizing still came out fine. And I used JUST over 7 skeins. The original pattern called for 11 of chunky. Look at me, I'm so economically sized.

The color is nice though, no? I call it aubergine. That's fancy talk for "eggplant" by the way. In fact the paint color of our dining room wall is aubergine profonde. That's fancy talk for "super PROFOUND eggplant."

Thank you Duck for all those super profound angle shots.

Comments [25]
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Debbie Bliss | Bolero

The world's ugliest sleeve cap

Help...me...*twitch twitch*

This weekend I finished and blocked one half of what will become the world's ugliest pair of sleeves. Thanks to the wretched instructions for the Debbie Bliss bolero. Or, is it my fault? I don't know dude. I've never knit an adult sweater from DB, and this is the first time I looked at a sleeve cap and wanted to throw up.  I even did the sloped bind off technique. Imagine if I hadn't. Wow. That is the ugliest sleeve cap I have ever seen.

Hopefully it will seam up alright.

Not much else on the knitting front. This week has been busy busy. Friday was my last day at the job so I've been busy with wrapping up and knowledge transferring and all that good stuff. It's been a good gig, one that originally was slated for 6 weeks but turned into 14 months.

It's amazing how much time goes by when you're not paying attention. Suddenly I was all, "I've been here over a year, and still don't have my own desk or know your name. Or yours. Or...yours." Such is the life of a contractor. I kept getting booted around for new, legitimate hires. I kept thinking, I'm only here temporarily, no use in introducing yourself, then meanwhile a year goes by and you still have no idea who anyone is or what they do.

Outside of my core group I did make one fabulous friend. And she has a fabulous name. Kitty! Kitty and Cat! Kitty Cat! We understand each other. We go drinking in bars and gossip/make fun/complain about people in the office and forget the time and spill wine all over ourselves and have our husbands come pick us up and say, "You smell like a homeless man." Oh wait that was just me. She's hilarious, and we've promised to keep the weekly, bi-weekly Cats' Night Out thing going.

But anyway, I decided to take another contracting gig that came along with another former co-worker, and I start some time this week, or possibly next. Whenever all the legal contract mumbo jumbo goes through.

So what am I going to do with the couple of free days that I have? DUH. I'm going to KNIT. NON-STOP.

And ride! We went biking again this weekend. I didn't have time to find a new seat (thanks for all your advice!) but I wore a pair of Duck's biking shorts, under cropped pants, to tie me over. A couple of times I sneaked a peak at my reflection as we rode by a storefront window, and gee! Who's that cat with the bubblicious JLo ass? Meerow! We stopped per usual in Lexington center, I ducked into Wild 'n Wooly (hooray! I can bike to the yarn store!), we had some ice cream, etc etc, then rode a little farther out before coming home. La la la!

Comments [6]
Filed Under: Debbie Bliss | Bolero | Life