Yarn in my Skate Bag

Knitting...and splurging...

2008-07-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

One month left before school starts. Whereas in my previous academic endeavors, this meant a solid month to lay by the pool, read mindless chick lit with no literary merit, and enjoy a cold margarita or ten, with law school that means that I've already started reading...lucky me.

However, I was able to justify a wealth of new technological toys. My first new laptop in five years! I am pleasantly surprised with how much the price for a laptop has dropped in five years. I paid less than half of what I paid in 2003 for a computer that is a lot lighter, widescreen, and has about 6x more RAM and 120 GB more hard drive. For the record though, I HATE Windows Vista and I hate the new version of Microsoft Office even more. Perhaps they'll grow on me, but I don't anticipate it.

I also broke down and purchased my first digital camera! Yessss! No more photos taken by borrowing my sister's camera (or more like stealing it when she's not home), or using the lousy camera on my cell phone. I went for a Nikon Coolpix S210. It's small, it takes great pictures, and it was pretty cheap ($150). Oh, and it's purple.

I also won a new 8gb iPod Nano in a drawing at work last week! Score! I bought a 1gb shuffle for the gym/rink back when the price dropped in the spring, but an upgrade of my 15gb 2nd generation iPod purchased in 2003 was overdue. It's pretty much dead--no longer communicates with my computer and the battery is pretty much shot (the latter of which isn't an issue, as I mainly use it in my car and the integrated system Scion has keeps it charged).

I think new knit iPod and camera cozies are in order...

Aside from reading, the next month is also dedicated to wrapping up some knitting projects. I finally decided to use the Peruvian Tweed (100% alpaca) I bought on sale 2 yrs ago to design my own sweater. Just a simple V-neck with a chevron lace pattern and set in 3/4 length sleeves. Right now I'm about to start the sleeve caps! Winging it seems to be working so far...I think it will look fabulous once it's blocked and the lace pattern opens up more.

Summer!

2008-06-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Summer brings....

Time to knit up all the yarn I have in my stash before classes start in August. Because a) I don't really have money to buy yarn right now (stupid law books take up yarn funding), b) I'm saving up for a few projects I'm dying to do, and c) might as well use the stash. Truthfully, I don't have much of a stash. I know this because I just organized it last week...most of it is left over from previous projects, with some random accumulation here and there...and it all fits in one 18 gallon plastic storage tub. So any sort of yarn diet, provided I have time to knit, won't last too long. My latest is a sweater I'm designing for myself with my Peruvian Tweed :) (More on my Ravelry site.) Speaking of which...

Summer also brings my newest web site addiction I don't have time for, Ravelry. Have I been that out of the loop that I didn't know this wonderful site existed!? Muchas gracias to Amy for pointing me in the right direction (my productivity at work will go down now). I'm on there as Rachillsk8, and I've uploaded allllll (or almost all) of what I've knit over the past year, and stuff from my (somewhat pathetic) stash I'm going to use up at some point.

Summer also brings the first 2 medals of the 2008-2009 skating season!

This past weekend I drove up to Grand Rapids (gas prices, eek!) to compete at the Grand Rapids Open. It's not an adult-only competition, but they have enough adult skaters there that they can actually hold events for us. It was great seeing all the adult skaters I've met the past 2 yrs who competed or came to watch, and I met another local adult skater who is actually joining my club this year! Yay!

I placed 2nd in my interp and 3rd in my free. It was my first time competing silver free, second time competing individually. Overall I'm okay with how I skated. Interp could have been better, truthfully I am a huge slacker and didn't really prepare for it (meaning I did the same Josh Groban program I made up on practice ice 2 hrs before competing it at Adult Nationals...which I have since run through once before this competition). For whatever reason, I get really nervous for interp. My free program...okay in the fact that half of it is new, just put together within the past 2 weeks (other half is my bronze program from last year). My goal was just to get through it, which I did. But I didn't have the attack I need, and therefore my jumps were not nearly as high as they are in practice, and I need to hold my spin positions longer. This will all come though with practice and there is plenty of time and plenty of competitions between now and April. Eventually the whole awkward "oh my god I'm out here by myself, someone help" feeling will go away, my program will get more comfortable, the harder elements I want to put in will get to where the need to be. As always, my beautiful dresses looked fabulous :)

As much as I loved synchro, it really is kind of nice being able to skate to what I want, compete when/where I want (and stay in whatever hotels I want), wear whatever dress, make-up, hair, etc I feel like, and be on my own schedule. The friendship and camaraderie that seemed to be missing from singles competitions when I was a kid (hence what drew me to synchro) is totally there with adult skating. And I love it. So having to give up synchro for law school certainly is not the end of the world.

Summer also brings my finished "Girly Raglan!" I wore it to work last week, and actually made it to knitting group afterward! It was a big hit all around. It does seem to grow a bit while wearing, but I think some hand washing and a little time on low in the dryer before it's fully dry will take care of that.

Girly.

2008-06-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

This yarn purchase is among my proudest.

10 balls of Rowan Cashcotton DK in color "pool". Purchased on Ebay for $31. At $44 after shipping from the UK, that was still a steal! (Only 8 in the bag at that point, I had already dove into it before taking a pic...had to wait until I was home alone so as not to scare my family by taking photos of yarn. They were already somewhat scared by my level of excitement when it showed up in the mailbox.)

The yarn is yummy. It's soft, it's pretty, it feels oh-so-good against the skin.

Problem is...I bought this yarn for another project. After some frustration trying to get gauge, I realized...doh...the pattern calls for Cashcotton 4-ply, not DK. But not all is lost.

Since I'm not much of a stasher (most of my stash is yarn left over from other projects), and this yarn is perfect for a summery sweater, I decided it couldn't wait too long. Rather than setting it aside, buying the correct weight of Cashcotton (which probably would NOT come as cheap), I decided to cast on for a summery, simple top-down raglan with a nice wide almost off-the-shoulder neck. I didn't really have much of a plan for this sweater, I just wanted to see where it would take me. After 2" of ribbing, I decided on a simple eyelet pattern.

And after a week....

I'm not quite sure if this will end up with short sleeves (maybe an inch or two of ribbing to the current length), or my original thought of 3/4 sleeves. Maybe a hoodie-style pocket, maybe just 4" of ribbing...not quite sure where this is going yet, but I do know that I am liking it!

I love top-down raglans. So simple. Guaranteed to fit. So little finishing. Endless possibilities.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack....

2008-06-13T18:22:00.001-07:00

Look! I'm still alive. I still knit. I still skate. I haven't posted in almost a year (eek...been BUSY!). But the past year in a nutshell:

--Still at the job I mentioned starting soon in my last post. Love the company. Love commercial real estate, it's very interesting. Turns out it's the perfect field for a gal who loves shopping...except now when I go to the mall, I find myself wondering some pretty ridiculous things (like...is that restaurant over by the mall an outlot, or a ground lease? How did Chipotle and Panera get around radius restrictions to put locations in the mall when both restaurants are already right down the street? Are the CAM charges at Eaton collection high, because it's beautifully landscaped...)

--I'm finally going to law school at Cleveland Marshall College of Law (Cleveland State University). I'm in the part-time program, with class 6-9pm M-Th after work. I opted for part-time over full time because I'm getting amazing experience at my current job, and they're paying for a little more han half my tuition. Plus the thought of more student loans and leading the poor student life again was not appealing. Instead I'm just poor and needless to say, I have no life!

--The wonderful man in the last post? Been dating just over a year now and it just keeps getting more wonderful :)
(yes, I knit that shrug I'm wearing in that pic.)

--Got glasses. Things that are far away are no longer blurry.

--The awesome roommate mentioned 2 posts ago? Turned out to be crazy and a total pain (as in people over getting drunk until 2am every night, obnoxious drunk friends passing out on the couches on weekends, throwing parties when I went on vacation without having the courtesy to tell me). I got out of that and moved into my parents' house back in October. My parents didn't care, and I figured it was silly to pay rent for an apartment when I'm basically never home. Plus, I'm better off putting that money toward law school.

--My 25 yr old brother got his girlfriend knocked up...my nephew Ian (named after one of my little cousins who were killed 2.5 yrs ago) is due in late August. And I get to keep him in beautiful knitwear. I finished this cute little sweater in plenty of time for the baby shower next week. It's a simple top down raglan, I made the neck opening for his head, there are button holes (need to buy buttons). Yarn is Lion Brand Cotton Ease, which was surprisingly soft and nice and will wash easily. It took less than one skein of each color, with plenty left over for a matching hat. Didn't take me much time to finish these at all.
I'm also finally able to use the few balls of JoAnn Sensations Bellezza Dolcetto in a blue/white blend that I bought a few years ago. It's a really nice soft wool, nylon and cotton blend. I found the pattern in the Knitty archives, it's a top-up raglan hoodie in a garter rib pattern.

--This year I added two more national medals in figure skating to the collection! My synchro team won the adult division at the 2008 US Synchronized Skating National Championships in Providence, RI back in February!

I also decided to start working on freestyle again, since I won't be able to skate on my team next year due to my school schedule...when I got back from Rhode Island, I spent the next five weeks re-learning all the jumps and spins I hadn't really done much of since I quit singles skating at age 12. I then traveled to Lake Placid, New York for the 2008 Adult National Championships. Lake Placid has always been a special place to me--and one of my favorite places to skate. While most skaters' first competition is a local basic skills competition, my first was a team competition in Lake Placid. I came home from that trip with my first medal, which still hangs in my room (along with 100+ others). I didn't have my best skate at Adult Nationals, I got really nervous being out there on the ice by myself...but it was good enough to take home a silver medal! That's me on the left hand side of the podium!

While I didn't make that dress (it came from Del Arbour, my favorite skating dress company, who also did those gorgeous blue dresses my team wore and our back ones from last year), I did glue on all 1000+ rhinestones one by one...they don't show up as well in photos, but there are small black stones all over the body of the dress (front and back) and the black edging separating the sleeves from the nude mesh insert. The red/silver stone pattern on the front wraps around to the back of the dress, too. You can make out the necklace and bracelets, also all made out of stones glued to the dress (needless to say this lil baby took hours). It really sparkles out on the ice and I got tons of compliments. I also had a new ice dancing dress made (which has a longer skirt). It's a red halter, and I blinged that baby up, too. I'll have to post pics later :)

I'll have to post pics of all the things I've knit over the past year...aside from the baby gifts, there are 3 complete sweaters, 2 pair of socks, a pair of fingerless gloves, a cable knit scarf for the boyfriend (which he loves), and a few WIPs.

If My Mother Only Knew...

2007-06-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

My mother has always been convinced that anything my siblings or I do will ruin something in the house. Bottle of perfume (on a doily) on my dresser? That's going to ruin the dresser. Laying on the couch? It's made for sitting on and you're going to ruin it if you lay on it...go to your bed if you want to lay down. Actually using the comforter to cover yourself when you sleep? That's going to ruin the comforter. And I'm used to being told I'm going to ruin the stove, oven, sewing machine, washer, dryer, or any other machine or appliance in the house by simply using it. (No wonder I never moved back once I left for college, eh?)

My parents are out of town this week, on vacation with my sister in Hilton Head. Um...I needed to block two knitting projects, but my house is not conducive to blocking because it lacks carpeting (yes, I know I could always get a blocking board or use some other alternative, but I like pinning down to the carpet). And I had some felting I needed to do, and the front-loading, locked-during-cycle washers in my building and at the laundromat just wouldn't do (when I mentioned my need for such a washer for a "project" to the new boyfriend, he offered to let me use his, but I really like him, we've only been together for a month, and I'd rather not scare him away by purposely shrinking perfectly good sweaters in his washer). Needless to say, if my mom saw the two projects (laid down on towels, of course) pinned to the carpet in my bedroom, and the washer that is currently full of hot water and some of my old sweateres, she'd probably have a heart attack. (For the record, I am ruining neither the carpet nor the washer. Or the pillowcases I used to put the old sweaters in, the towels I laid between wet pieces of knitwear and the new berber carpeting, etc). Muahahahahaha. My brother, on the other hand (who is 24 and still lives at home), has used his freedom at mom and dad's house this week to have his girlfriend stay over, throw parties, drink tons of beer, and do God only knows what's else. In the grand scheme of things, what's worse?

On to the felting project. I have some old sweaters that I haven't worn in at least two winters, hardly wore the few winters before those, yet can't bear to part with. Since due to age and some improper washing (by my mother, because remember, I wasn't allowed to ever touch the washer because I'd ruin it), they were already very slightly felted. So...I felted them the rest of the way and will be turning them into handbags or whatever else I can think of. Here they are, pre-felting, again, forgive the lousy camera phone pics. One of these days I'll get around to buying a real digital camera.
American Eagle Outfitters cardigan circa 1997 or 1998 that I remember buying on clearance for about $10 or $15. Got some good use in high school, haven't worn in a whole lot since, kept it around thinking once I was in the working world I *might* wear it, but still haven't. I plan to incorporate the embroidered pattern going down the front somehow, perhaps making a round purse with that along the top by the zipper. Only time, scissors, and my sewing machine will tell!

This sweater was picked up on clearance at Abercrombie and Fitch around fall 1999 or winter 2000 (either way, freshman year of college) and I wore it quite a bit that year, but not a whole lot after. The bell shaped sleeves were always too long, it was to chunky to roll or push them up, I didn't know how to knit back then and therefore couldn't fix the length myself, so I never wore it much after that. But never got rid of it. The future knitter in me was subliminally screaming "you'll be glad you kept it!" It has a nice floral pattern on the hip and one sleeve and I've got plans to incorporate those sections and an old brown leather belt to make this a cute as hell felted hobo.

This is another Abercrombie sweater, I think I got it senior year of high school (so 1998-1999). So cute with a white top underneath, khakis, and a pair of Doc Martens back in the day. Even cuter when it's a fall purse. It's the perfect orange color for that.

My dad bought me this beautiful sweater from Express for Christmas when I was in 10th or 11th grade. He let me pick it out. It cost $60, which back then to me seemed like A LOT of money for one sweater and I almost felt guilty for asking for it. But if anyone were to buy it for me at that price, it would have been dad! I wore it quite a bit over the years but all the color work sort of felted together over time and it got a tad tight. Plus it was always too warm. Ohhhhhh it'll be such a pretty bag!!!

BAH!

2007-06-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

So I finished and blocked the Argyle Vest (designed by the amazingly talented Eunny Jang). I started this back in November or so, but it hung from a doorknob in one of my many knitting bags for several months due to both lack of time and my nervousness about steeks. (I figured that undertaking was best saved until I had a significant amount of time to dedicate to it). Turns out the steeking was easy and somewhat fun! As the project progressed, I originally feared it would be too snug in the belly region...that actually came out perfectly! However, it is way too big in the shoulder area, as you can see in the photos below (I don't own a digital camera so forgive the crappy camera phone pics...):

I seem to have two options. 1) Rip out all the ribbing around the neck and shoulders (approx two days worth of work), undo the shoulder seams, take it up, and then redo the ribbing, or 2) seam it up via sewing machine

Any advice!?

I'm still alive. And I still knit.

2007-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Abandoning my darling blog AGAIN!

Ok....so I'm still alive. Since I last posted, I've moved into a great apartment in Cleveland Heights. I have a great roommate Suzi. I'm in an artsy-fartsy sort of area of Cleveland where I can walk to pretty much anything I'd want to walk to (ice rink, yarn store, bars, restaurants). Lost my shitty job right after Memorial day, which was a tad of a setback. However, I was offered a new job in the legal department of Developers Diversified Realty yesterday! I think I start Monday. For the past month, I've been dating a guy who is absolutely incredible. (For the record, he knows about the knitting. He's seen some of my handbags and stuff. Doesn't quite know about the blog yet...or the extent of my yarn stash...but he's got his quirky hobbies too so no need to worry about what he thinks of that!)

I finished the knitting for my wrap sweater from last year's spring Vogue. It needs blocked, but I'm planning to do that at my parent's house this weekend since my apartment lacks carpet to pin it to.

Deep V argyle Vest that I started what, last fall? (I want to say November) has been sitting abandoned for a while. The knitting is done, although it's still on the needles. I know I have to do some stuff with the steeks. I pulled that out to look at finishing before I start something new.

And I've got a stash of about 5 old wool sweaters that are out of style, too small, have accidentally been felted, etc. Some of these are circa 1996-ish. Those are going to eventually get felted and then probably turned into handbags for the fall/winter.

Sorry kids, I am lacking in the digital camera department, not sure where my camcorder (with built in camera) is...so no pics. I'll work on that.

Back from Colorado!!!

2007-02-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

Crystallettes!!!!

The 2007 Adult National Silver Medalits!!

I ordered some really good action shots I'll upload once they arrive and I get around to scanning them :) Colorado was beautiful, although I spent the entire 4 days going back and forth from the rink to the hotel (which were down the street from each other).

In other news, I'm moving out of my aunt's place and into an apartment in Coventry (Cleveland Hts) this weekend now that my skating schedule is a little more calm (i.e. no more weekly drives to Detroit until July). And once that is taken care of...more knitting time! Yay! Hoping to start the wrap sweater from last spring's Vogue that I bought yarn for back when Cityknits had their sale. Since spring is almost here and all...

So Sorry...

2007-02-18T22:06:00.000-08:00

Dear blog and blog friends and such,

Sorry to leave you out in the cold for so long. No, I have not died. Or quit knitting or quit blogging. Or moved to a desert island witout internet access. I have been very busy. Very, very busy. So busy, in fact, that I have hardly knit a stitch since December. Because work, class, and skating have taken up allllll my time. I leave for Nationals in Colorado on Wednesday!! Yay!

That's about all for now. I will leave you with this video of my team skating at a competition last month for your viewing pleasure:

So kick ass.

I've Been Bad. Very Bad.

2006-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Cityknits had a 30% off sale. I got to Detroit early on Monday before practice so that I could spend money I should be putting toward other stuff. Needless to say I won't have to buy yarn for a long, long time.

I got:2 hanks of the Peruvian Tweed I've had my eye on and almost bought in other yarn stores. Might have to pick up a 3rd to make a full sweater, but the stuff is easy enough to find. Not sure exactly what I want to do with it yet, perhaps I'll use it for the remake of an old sweater that I love (but am wearing out)...

Some Butterfly Cotton, 4 hanks in an asparagus green and 3 in a light blue color. There was a wrap sweater in the Spring/Summer 2006 Vogue that I had my eye on (other than the one I ended up making a few months ago), but never got around to due to my lack of yarn fundage. It's still pretty high on my to-knit list, I was planning on starting it in February so it would be ready for the spring weather, so while the yarn was on sale, I bought it. Sorry, can't find a pic of the actual sweater in the magazine, but if you have it, it's the wrap sweater in the Roman Holiday spread that's basically done in these two colors.

13 lucky balls of Karabella Aurora in Moss, which I will be using for this pattern (also purchased at Cityknits):It's by Karabella, it's simply called the cabled cardigan. If you've been to Cityknits, they have the sweater in the exact color I bought hanging in the store. Sexy! (I just realized that the Karabella and the cotton for that other sweater are basically the same color! Doh! Oh well.)

As if I didn't just spend enough money (almost $200) on all that yarn at Cityknits, the week before Beth and I went out to Knit-A-Round in Ann Arbor (one of my favorite yarn stores ever). There I bought yarn for Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest, which is my first color work and a very easy, fun pattern! I'm doing it in Cascade 22o in a khaki and rose color combo. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first chart!

And at Cityknits, I also picked up the last remaining hank of this pretty green heather Cascade 220, which I haven't been able to find more of anywhere else. (Not that I've honestly looked all that hard...as you may have already guessed, I don't have much yarn funding at the moment). I'm planning on eventually getting more and using it to make this gorgeous fitted cabled sweater in the latest Vogue Knitting.

Oh, and as for Eleanor...she was cast off on Tuesday 10/17. She's blocked, the single crochet row at each short end has been added, and now she's just waiting for me to quit forgetting to stop by Michael's and pick up one more ball of yarn because I don't have enough for the fringe :) Should get around to finishing this weekend.

Yay for having lots of yarn! No wonder I'm having to go into work tomorrow (a Saturday!) and pick up overtime!

Shot Out To Knitters!

2006-10-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

I love knitters. Seriously. I've been a little restless and moved around a lot in the past few years since I finished school, trying to find the "right" place for me. First there was Rochester NY...didn't like it there so much, I basically ended up there since that's where boyfriend got a job. When teaching didn't quite work out, I packed up and moved to Detroit, Michigan, in hopes of finding a job and skating competitively again. Skating was going great, but the job search wasn't as successful (needless to say I had a lot of knitting time). After a few months of no luck there, I was able to find a job in Cleveland...which was good because my family is there and many of my friends have migrated back that way in the past year. (Let me just say that aside from knitters, the other great type of friend is former skating teammates. Synchronized skating creates a sisterly bond that really does last a loooong time.)

But in all places, I've found great friends. They're knitters. I miss my Rah-cha-cha knitters dearly--that is, by far, the quirkiest, goofiest group, but amidst the alcohol, laughter, and dirty old men (Jim included), there is extraordinary talent and a shitload of heart. Then there were the Detroit knitters, who welcomed me with open arms and although I was only there a short time, became great friends. Funny how no one in the Roc EVER knit socks (although they seem to have caught on to that trend), and it seems like that's all the Detroit knitters do. That and their dishcloth exchanges (while I've come to understand knitting socks, I've yet to grasp onto dishcloths...or exchanging dishcloths with people you don't know, but to each her own, eh)? Now I miss them too.

I've been to the Cleveland knitting group twice, I'm sure in due time they'll be as near and dear to me as all y'all in Rochester and Detroit have been.

As for the new job...I'm working for a company that helps prepare defense cases when hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, etc (basically anything medical-related) get sued. We prepare the defense's case, I'm in the medical division, where analysts go through the medical records of the thousands of people suing and for each one, come up with a report in plain English that lawyers can understand. I edit those reports. Sounds exciting, huh? Despite it being kind of boring, I have great benefits (better than what I had as a teacher), flexible schedule, they're willing to let me work around skating, I don't have to work overtime but can if I want (and get paid for it, too), I don't have to directly deal with stupid people (only on paper), I have NO stress and go home in a good mood. Pay is less than what I'd like to be making right now, but having my personal sanity is a halfway decent trade-off.

And since you all know I'm crazy when it comes to figure skating, I drive up after work on Monday nights to Detroit (Dearborn actually), practice with my synchro team, and drive back to Cleveland. That's just over two hours each way. And you thought you were nuts because you drive 45 minutes to the good not-so-local-YS once in a while.

Anyway, I'm in Detroit at the moment, gotta get going to meet up with Beth...we're going to spend some major moola tonight at Knit-A-Round before I have to be at practice tonight. There is a cabled sweater in the new Vogue that I have GOT to knit. (Kind of a spontaneous last minute thing, sorry to those of you who may have wanted to come along!)

Oh, and Eleanor is scheduled to come off the needles tonight possibly. Woo hoo!

How Quickly They Grow Up

2006-10-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here's my little Eleanor, at just over two weeks since she was first cast on. Already at seven skeins of yarn. *Tear* She and I spent a very vibrant, sunny fall Sunday together on the patio the other day. She's just getting longer right before my eyes...

Like a proud mother, I laid her out on the patio next to the flowers to take another progress pic; the ultrasound of knitting:
And that's when I noticed one square was laying kind of oddly...almost twisted. As you see here:

But this yarn is wool, right? With the magic of blocking, it seemed as if it would lay out all right. I tied on ball number eight and knit on. Three rows later, I realized that what I had *thought* was a pesky square was really a pretty hefty error. Somehow I had managed to add another diagonal "column" of squares (starting at that odd blue one), which would make Eleanor wider on the second half and bug the heck out of me. As you can see in this photo...the two outside lines cover columns going from one end of the wrap to the other, as they should. That one in the middle somehow, due to a brain fart, snuck its way in. Let me repeat: I discovered this after I had added three more rows of squares to what you see in this photo. But I couldn't just leave that error there to stare me in the face and make me feel like a failure every time I wore this shawl. I'd be scorned at by knitters everywhere. You know what I did next, much to the horror of my family who sat there watching, claiming that you could hardly notice it, and that they would have just left it and kept going. Hmmph. By the way, I'd like to give a shot out to my great uncle Mike's "lady friend," who was kind enough to help me, the traumatized knitter, by winding my yarn as I was frogging it. Way to be a pillar of strength in this time of knitterly disaster. When all frogging was done, I had ripped out well over one skein of yarn.

But we're past that now.

I'm happy to say little Eleanor has made a full recovery and is back to where she was before this unfortunate accident...actually, a whole row further, as of tonight. She'll be a Lady before we know it!

Another FO!

2006-09-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

This week I finished my Clapotis (known as the Clap by those of us who don't parlez francais and find referring to our knitting as a term commonly reserved for an STD amusing). It's a gift for my sorority sister Shelley, I'll be seeing her this weekend :)

Project specs:
Clapotis from Fall 2004 issue of Knitty
Yarn: 5 hanks of Atacama 100% Hand Dyed Alpaca, I bought it at the Labor Day clearance at Knit-A-Round for $2.40/hank (Oh how I love clearances at Knit-A-Round.)
Needles: Size 5 straight (aluminum)
Finished measurments: approx 14"w x 59" l
Started around 9/5, cast off 9/27, blocking finished on 9/28

If I were to do this project again, I'd probably use circulars, yarn that is not wool (the alpaca stuck together and made dropping columns a pain), and make it a tad longer.

Because what I really need right now is yet another WIP....

2006-09-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

But whatever. Seceret project (now finished) was on the home stretch when I cast the new project on, Clapotis is 3/4 of the way done...and dammit, I was sick all week, and tip money from serving beer at the NFL game on Sunday (for my figure skating club) and JoAnns 40% off coupons were burning a hole in my pocket. So before going home and spending the rest of the evening in bed with a box of Kleenex, some DayQuil, and the season premier of Desperate Housewives (which was soooo good!), I stopped by JoAnn. They had nothing of interest to me, so I went across the stree to Michael's. Sometimes one can be pleasatntly surprised at the yarn they can find at such craft chains, and there is nothing more exciting for a knitter on a budget than finding much cheaper, but equally wonderful yarn to substitute for a project. Or in this case, a substitution for a substitution. I've had my eye on the Lady Eleanor stole from Scarf Style ever since Amy cast hers on several weeks ago (using Noro Silk Garden). Then Jenna had to go and start hers. Noro is a little out of my budget at the moment, but the project was definately on my "for when I am working again and yave yarn money" list...but now, thanks to this wonderful find at Michael's, it's on my needles :) Let's think of the economic genius of this: The LaLana Wools yarn suggested for the pattern: $22 for a 118 yd skein (!) at 15 skeins suggested for this project. Right. That's a car payment and a tank of gas. Noro Silk Garden? More reasonable at $10-11/ball (x 10-15), but still out of reach. Patons Soy Wool Stripes? $5.99/ball? 4 balls so far purchased for about $3.60/ball thanks to coupons? I'll take it!!

The details: Patons Soy Wool Stripes (70% wool, 30% soy), in "Natural Earth" (110 yds/ball)
Size 9 needles from my interchangable set

So far I am through just over a ball and a half. The yarn is nice to work with, I really like how the colors are turning out. When I bought my first few balls, all that was visible from the outside was the purple/blue/peachish...so I was pleasantly surprised to pull out the center of my first ball (also blue), begin knitting, and find all these greens, reds and golds hidden inside. The pattern is easy and still at the fun point (it has potential to get boring, but right now, the way the colors are turning out is making it exciting).

Yay.

Clapotis also needs to be finished and blocked by Friday since it's a gift. I plan on working on it tonight at knitting group (not too much more to go) and blocking tomorrow.

Sex and WIPs and All That Stuff

2006-09-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah...that's Stash Enhancement Xpedition and Works in Progress, all you perverts out there.

But this type of sex can be equally as fulfilling as, well, the other kind. Sometimes. Today I went to the fall Sheep and Wool Festival at Mt. Bruce Station, which is about 40 minutes away from where I live. Adorable little farm on probably one of the crappiest roads I've ever driven on, but the whole area was very nostalgic, reminding me of the rural southwestern Ohio area (surrounding where I went to college) that is so close to my heart and volunteering at various festivals through APhiO on fall days like today. Anyway, while there, I ran into my knitting friends Marj, Amanda, Dana and her adorable daughter Christina (who, at age 11, is a very talented knitter and spinner. Seriously, she's incredible).Anyway, the sex. I bought six balls of this yummy 60% llama/40% wool blend in a purplish color with hints of greens and oranges (at $7.50/ball and buy one get one 50% off!). Photos don't really do the color justice. Not quite sure what I will end up making from it at this point. I don't have a long sleeve shrug yet...maybe some fingerless gloves if I have some left over...the lady from this particular farm informed me that they have plenty of the stuff, gave me her card, and said that if I need more to just call and she can send it to me (at the festival sale price). Sweet. I also picked up a small ball of roving so that I can make some fleece lined mittens, and use the rest to see if the wheel at my parents' house (which has been sitting in the living room as a decoration for about as long as I remember) actually works. I'm pretty sure it does, it's actually never been used. It was literally bought as a decoration, along with its matching chair, and it just sits there and looks pretty. It's the Sleeping Beauty big kind...like this one here. I'm not sure if I'll really get into spinning, but if I've got access to the equipment (at least I do if I'm at my parents' house), I might as well try it, right?

As for the WIPs...lots of them right now. Seven? Plus a swatch for a sweater that I need more yarn for? My secret project will likely be finished tonight or Monday. As for the other three that I'm working on now:Clapotis is through the straight rows and ready for the decrease rows! It should be finished in time to give to someone as a gift next weekend :) So far I've only used four of those lovely hand dyed hanks I bought at Knit-A-Round Labor Day weekend, I'll probably need one more. For the record, if I ever do another one of these, it will be some type of silk/cotton/soy non-animal blend. While the alpaca is lovely, I have to pick the dropped columns apart. And that's a pain in the butt. Others who have used yarn that just falls right apart on the dropped columns claim the pattern is fun. Pulling alpaca fibers apart is neither fun nor exciting.

The circular shrug needs about seven more inches of mock ribbing before I can start the 2x2 ribbing for the other half of the collar. While this project is easy and mindless, it's also kind of boring.

Annnnnnnd my purse project (a sock)...not much progress since last time I posted it, probably because I've been so busy with other projects and haven't really done much waiting/riding on public transportation, etc. The one time over the past few weeks that I had to stand in line for a long period of time (a women's career fair), I did NOT have a knitting project with me! I was pretty mad. Oh well.

My Sincere Apology

2006-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dearest Loyal Blog,
I am sorry I have neglected you for the past few weeks. Even though we have only been together a short time, you've been a very loyal blog, proudly displaying my knitting like a grandparent showing off their newest grandchild. But you see, I've been busy trying to find a job--because although work cuts into knitting and blogging time, unemployment cuts into the yarn fund and therefore projects to blog about. (Ok, I know, I've got like 5 WIP's right now so ther is certainly no shortage of things to post about...but time are tough, ya know?) I promise once my seceret project is finished (which it almost is), we will spend more time together. I will decorate you with pictures of beautiful yarn and witty commentary about knitting, Project Runway and creepy men who bug me. Just be patient with me for a little while longer. I truly appreciate all you do for me.

Love,
Rachel

Help...

2006-09-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Could someone please explain to me what about a young gal, alone, knitting in a coffee shop, screams "weirdos!!! Please come talk to me!!!!!!!! Come sit next to me and bug me!!!!!!!!!! I love middle-aged creepy men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Clapotis and I just want to hang out together in peace. Is that really too much to ask?

Perhaps it's simply the fact that I'm in a coffee shop...and not my usual place (where the weirdos tend to leave me alone). I'm trying to get him to lose interest and go away by looking busy on my laptop. Thank god I brought it along. And that this place has free wireless internet.

Clapotis is on the 3rd repeat of section 2. Pics to come later when I'm home.

Jackpot!

2006-09-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend, while in Ann Arbor for the football game (GO BLUE!) I dropped by Knit A Round to scope our their Labor Day sale. And hit the freakin jackpot. All the sale yarn was at least 70% off, and I found this gorgeous Atacama hand dyed 100% Alpaca. Pretty, soft, lightweight...perfect for a Clapotis. Being the good samaratin I am, I took all 12 hanks off of the store's hands (at a whopping $2.40/hank, how could I resist!?)...that's 1400 yards of the stuff. Enough for one clapotis for me, another for a Christmas gift for someone...maybe even a pair of fingerless gloves???? Love this stuff. Even though I've got a few other projects going on, and another little project I need to start/finish by a certain date, I have the urge to cast this baby on today.....

At the sale, I also raided the $1 bin, and picked up 3 balls of this cool red Paillette yarn, which has sequins in it. Not sure what I'll end up doing with it...it would make a nice scarf for a Christmas gift...I also got 4 balls of this blackish/purplish Modal eyelash yarn. Now I know I've cursed Fun Fur's existence many times, but eyelash yarn is a little different since it doesn't scream "look, I killed a muppet" nearly as much, knit together with black could make a nice scarf for mom/aunt/grandma/someone on my Christmas list who would be into this sort of garment. The color is really pretty. And it was like $1.

My Urban Outfitters knockoff circular shrug is slowly progressing. It's a nice pattern to do after my Vogue sweater, since it doesn't require much thought and finishing is minimal...but at the same time, it's just kinda boring. I'm doing it in some Plymouth Encore in a light gray that I had hanging out in the stash (although I just had to buy some more 'cause I ran out. Funny how Plymouth Encore was the most expensive thing I bought @ Knit A Round this weekend!) My sock, done in some Knitpicks Dancing is also growing...I started it last week when I was early for my job interview with Google, and it served as a nice conversation piece (at which point I confessed to being a huge nerd and having a knitting blog...but if all goes well, my nerdiness will land me a job. Hey, Google!!! Please!!! Hire me!!!!).

BEST OF ALL....

Here is the FINISHED Vogue Crochet Edged Sweater, complete with its button. I have yet to wear it, as the top I thought would look nice under it actually doesn't, but it fits, it looks great, I am IN LOVE with it!!!! I found a really pretty shell button at Cityknits, and it's the perfect touch. Not bad for my first sweater, eh? Or my first crochet project?

Project specs:
Pattern: Vogue Crochet Edge Jacket from Spring/Summer 06
Needles: size 5 circs
Crochet hook: 6.5 mm
Yarn: KnitPicks Main Line, 8 balls ivory and one each of dusty rose and lavendar
Pattern modifications: Changed guage of knit part from 4 sts/inch to 5, left off row 8 of crochet on the whole thing.

Go me.

She's Blocking!

2006-08-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

But why, oh why, does cotton take so long to dry!? I want to take her button shopping and wear her noooooooooooooooow. Even though I'm sick of looking at this yarn, I've started a coordinating handbag (whether I'll actually use it while wearing the sweater is another question, might be a little much, but I'd definately use it with other outfits). Just a simple square purse, about 8 or 9 inches wide, probably 6" high, flap that closes over the top will have the same crochet trim. I've got a cute idea for a strap forming in my head right now, too.

Rachel's Project Runway Recap

2006-08-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Vincent,
Thank you for FINALLY designing something that shows all the PR fans out there that you actually do have some sort of talent (or at least elementray design ability). Even if it was just a simple black sheath with a khaki collar sewn on, and I made one very simiar to it in 8th grade. And even more greatly appreciated this week is the way in which you refrained from making digusting comments about how your work is "art" and it "gets you off." No one wants to hear that. But please be advised that by working with Uli's gorgeous, thin mother, you did get off easy. I'm not saying I think you deserved to win, either.

A huge PR fan,
Rachel

I liked the mom challenge. By making the designers work with normal human beings, rather than stick people (sorry, models, you're adorable, but I just want to force feed you all Taco Bell or something), it took some of them out of their element and showed who knows how to work with versatile clents. It also showed who actually has the people skills. That being said:

Jeff, you are a dick. Your outfit looked like garbage. All your clothes are sloppy. The only time you actually did something good was the recycling challenge...ironically, you were working with garbage there, perhaps that's your element? I simply cannot believe how downright rude he was to Angela's mom. If I were her, I would have REFUSED to wear that outfit in private, let alone be broadcast on television in it! And the way he just bullies Angela. He should have gone home for the combination of ugly clothes and being a complete asshole, not Robert.

Robert=boring again. And not just boring, but bad. Like he made this poor woman look like the Kool Aid guy. I was waiting for her to bust through a brick wall and yell "oh yeah" in that red top. What the hell happened, he started out so good! His Barbie work, which I've seen, is so great! I guess he needs to go back to Barbie and stay there, because he obviously has no clue when it comes to humans, particularly those lacking in Barbie-esque figures. But he will be missed because he was freakin hilarious. What will Kayne do without him?

Laura...thanks for helping us understand some of your bitchiness. It's gotta be the hormones. But "a sixth kid is no big deal, I'll just throw it on the pile with the rest of them"...um...ok...her kids look like terrors and they probably behave really badly because she takes all their ritalin herself. I was really rooting for her at first. The jacket in the first challenge? The suit in the pet challenge? All way too cute. But nothing she has done is something you can't already find in a store. She knows how to do a few styles (most of which are variations on what she also wears) and construct them flawlessly. I can definately see her being a successful fashion designer doing women's separates for Ralph Lauren. But not winning Project Runway. Sorry sweetie, you're really boring me. And high waists like that don't look good on women with tummies. Just because after 5 1/2 kids, you still manage to look like a ruler, doesn't mean most normal women are like that.

I LOVE ULI! At first she was boring too, since she also does one thing very well: halter dresses (the similarity between each hidden in use of patterns and colors). But when it comes to patterns and colors and combining them, she's a genius. And she's shown recently that she can do other things. Her outfit for Kayne's mom was perfect for a plus sized woman and should have won this challenge. She'll be in the final 3 for sure. As will Michael. I know in our great PR debate the other night, one of my fellow knitters expressed that he may be too urban, but I think he's very creative and everything he's done has been appropriate. The belt on that dress wasn't very flattering (a simple ring belt closure could have fixed that...or a chiffon tie belt in the same black/white print), but the concept was good and he THINKS about what he does. He's personable. I do, however, wonder how he would have done given a plus size model for this challenge? Perhaps he could have handled it, he obviously has a great relationship with his mother, and must at least know the types of things she likes to wear and what looks good on her.

Kayne, sorry, that sucked. Especially for someone who used to weigh over 300 pounds himself. Angela, you too. There is no place in fashion for the goth gypsy look.

I think it might be between Kayne and Laura for the other spot in the top three. Laura is boring but consistent, and Kayne has shown that he can be good when he wants to be. Hopefully Angela won't make it much farther, she reminds me of that chick from South Africa who made it really far last season because someone else always managed to be worse than her. And Vincent? Sorry, he's gotta go soon. Please god let Jeff be next to get kicked off, he's such a dick and a huge cause of all the annoying drama this season. Last season was sooooooooo much better.

What happened to Andrae?

A-Swatching We Will Go! (And crocheting, too!)

2006-08-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very productive day in my unemployed full-time knitter life. I started swatching for my argyle vest...which means I also learned how to knit with two colors at once. Turns out that like all things in knitting, it's super easy to do, it just looks intimidating. Aside from my first color work, this will also be my first time using steeks. Yay! Being able to work the entire thing in the round makes me happy. The pink/white I've used for my swatch doesn't have quite enough contrast to show off my skillz, so I'm going to play around with some more color combos using Cascade 22o in my stash, then I'll probably go to my LYS to buy more in my favorite combo. I REALLY want to do my chocolate brown/peacock blue mohair dream vest, but I calculated that the yarn I have in mind is going to cost roughly $100 (unless I find it cheaper online)...that's not only money I don't have right now, but also A LOT of freakin money to spend on yarn. So in my financially strapped state, I'll first do a test version, learn the pattern, if I like the way it looks on me, once I have a job I'll reward myself by splurging on the good stuff. I figure that this is something that won't really go out of style, it'll be very well made, so $100 isn't bad when you figure that if I wear it for 10 years, that's a measly $10/year. And in the year since I learned to knit, I've never spent more than probably $30 or $40 on yarn for any project I've ever done so far. (Doing some quick math in my head--my current knit/crochet sweater is my most expensive project so far in terms of yarn. I spent $40. BUT I bought enough to make the sweater AND a coordinating handbag because it was on sale for $2/ball, so that's really two projects. Butterfly was $36, but I'm getting two projects out of that yarn too, as I only used a teeny bit of the third ball. I'm not bad at budget knitting.)

Last night at knitting group I also got the crochet edging on one sleeve for my Vogue sweater finished! Despite me being new to crochet and still clueless when it comes to reading patterns, it's really easy (thanks to Lynn's help) and it's just a two row repeat that is easy to memorize and goes very fast. The pattern actually calls for an 8th row that doesn't give it really any more length, just a little picot edging. After attempting it, I was not fond with the way it looked--stopping after the last shell-type row looks much neater. One other slight modification I've made is doing 6dc for the little scallop/shell parts, rather than five like the pattern calls for. My yarn is a tad more thin than what the pattern calls for, so the extra dc filled up some of the space. Very proud of myself :) Now on to the next sleeve :)

It's after 4am, why am I still awake?

2006-08-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know if the iced coffee I drank at Caribou was uber caffeinated, I'm stressing about the current job situation, I slept in too late last night, or what, but I simply can't manage to fall asleep. I suppose the two cans of diet Pepsi I've drank since I got home aren't helping the situation much, either. At least my insomnia has led to some productivity...since I got home from knitting group just after 10pm, I straightened up my room, did some more job hunting and research online, read a bunch of blogs, and finished seaming up my sweater from the summer Vogue (while watching the DVD from the 2006 World Synchonized Skating Championships, a copy of which was so kindly sent to me by a fellow skater/Synchroboards moderator from Quebec via a member of one of the German teams...yes, black market bootleg skating DVD's sent from Germany then to Quebec before reaching me here, sounds pathetic, I know. But for whatever reason, some Czech television station owned the rights to the competition and a DVD was never sold at the event, but I've got friends in high places...or at least the right places).

Anyway, like I said, Vogue sweater is seamed up, ends are sewn in, and she's ready for the crochet lace edging to be added! The knit part of the sweater seems to fit just fine, although it looks rather terrible on me since the front parts don't cover much of my front without the crochet. This was my first time seaming sleeves into armholes and everything worked just fine :), and I'm very glad that I took the time to go back and redo the whole thing at a tighter gauge. I actually decided to see where I stand on the "when to block" debate (many sources say before seaming, Debbie Stoller says to do it after) by not blocking the pieces. I figure it will need to be blocked once the crochet is added as well, so I might as well do it once. Hopefully that will even out the stitch texture a little and open up the lace on the back/sleeves a tad. This project has reinforced why I HATE stockinette stitch worked back and forth, and from now on, should avoit it like the plague. Or at least avoid doing it in cotton. I get these awful little gaps between rows on the wrong side, and it's all the purl stitches' fault. But I've tried changing my yarn tension and all that stuff, nothing seems to fix it. Boo.

Other than that, I've been fighting the urge to buy yarn...next on the project que is Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest, which will be my first fairly involved color work! I am planning on doing in some sort of chocolate brown/tealish, robin's egg or peacock blue combination (to look really hot with my brown skirt or pants for the fall). So far I'm having a hard time finding exactly what I'm looking for. If a company has a nice blue, they don't have a good brown and vice-versa. Last Friday, before heading to Rochester to visit Michael for the weekend, I swung by the downtown Cityknits to see if Amy (who I've knit with a few times, she mainly works at that location and is very nice and helpful) had any ideas. We found a gorgeous wool/mohair blend that is quite out of my price range (the name of the yarn escapes me at the moment...oops!) and it was a little mo' hairy than I had planned, but of course the more I think about how gorgeous it would turn out, the more tempted I am to suck it up and buy it. But then I remember that I don't have a job yet. Dammit.

By the way, I'm starting to realize that my blog is pretty darn boring. I mean, knitting isn't always the funniest thing in the world, but I'm normally good with humor. I had my writing class in graduate school cracking up (well, the females at least. The guys didn't really get my nonfiction piece on how depressing Barbie/Ken's breakup was or the tragic story of being a bridesmaid in the wedding of a once normal friend turned engaged lunatic). I swear, I'm hilarious. I'll work on it.

WTF!?

2006-08-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I haven't watched last night's Project Runway yet...I don't have cable (PR is the only calbe show I watch), and it hasn't been posted on iTunes yet. I nomally avoid finding out the show's results before I watch the episode, but I couldn't help but check out bravotv.com for the results of last night's show...I was eager to see that Vincent, who is not only insane but has no talent, was finally kicked off and fans of the show would no longer have to be annoyed by him. But much to my dismay, ALISON was the one to go!? Adorable little sweet, talented Alison whom everyone loved? Over a design that wasn't even bad??? WTF!? She had one bad week (that wasn't even "bad," her design was art)! They forgave Angela for some poor designs, as well as Robert. Because especially with Robert, they knew he had talent. But Vincent is consistently in the bottom, and gets kept? To add drama to the show? I'm sorry, but many of us who watch the show watch it because fashion alone is exciting...we don't need some crazy freak for entertainment value. He put a BASKET with some chains hanging off of it on a model's head, for god's sake! He should have been auf'd in the first episode! And don't Laura and Jeff arguing with everyone cause enough drama? Why do they need some mentally ill so-called "designer" around? While not the first time they've kept people for drama, Santino last season was different--turkey-on-ice costume aside, he at least showed on several occasions that he had talent and could restrain himself...as in some of the pieces in his final collection, the Barbie challenge, the inspiration challenge...

I understand this is a TV show, but there really is a lot at stake for the winner. Money to start your own fashion line and incredible publicity are quite a bit different than winning the heart of some Bachelor...it really doesn't look good for the integrity of the show to keep these morons around and let go of real talent.

Anyway, according to her web site, Alison has a new collection coming out soon. I'm sure we'll see lots of great things from her in the future. Best of luck, Alison, I'm rooting for ya and I'd buy your work any day!

A Perfect Evening

2006-08-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

This evening I ventured down to Dearborn for my usual Tuesday night knitting group, which has grown rather quickly since last month when Ashley, Marj and I met up for the first time to knit. There were 9 of us tonight (myself, Ashley, Amanda, 2 Amys, a woman who's name escapes me at the moment, and Jofran and her two lovely teenage daughters, one of whom doesn't knit but the other, Francis, is an extremely talented knitter and spinner)! The perfect evening capped off an already perfect day--low 80's, sunny, hardly a trace of humidity...we couldn't help but sit outside (which was surprisingly well-lit and bugless once the sun went down)!

Thanks to Amy, a totally cool, talented knitter I met while waiting in line to get my books signed by the Yarn Harlot in Ann Arbor several weeks ago, my stash has been slightly enhanced...guilt free! You see, she sometimes gets samples sent to her (because she's talented and all). Well, she must have run out of room for her stash because tonight she shared the wealth! Our table outside Caribou was gloriously decorated in balls of various types of yarn, and I picked out three of them. The first ball is a Classic Elite ribbon yarn, the second a Calypso railroad yarn that no one else claimed at the end of the night so I vowed to give it a good home. And the third ball, Classic Elite Calliope, was EXACTLY the type of yarn I had been looking for as a thicker yarn to knit up a scribble scarf (from Mason Dixon) using some teal laceweight mohair (Kidsilk Haze-esque but not the real deal) that I had left over from a scarf I made Sue, my mentor at work last year. Thanks, Amy! Someday if I ever become cool and have all kinds of neat yarn, I'll share with others, too!
My Vogue lace-edge jacket (version 2.0) is progressing nicely (obviously the cut on my finger is feeling better!). My goal is to get the knit part finished, blocked and seamed by Friday so that I can tackle the crochet edging. All I've got left to knit are the sleeve caps! I'm very happy with how this new version is turning out so far--the tighter gauge will look much better. Plus I'm proud that I've been able to successfully alter the pattern (yay for elementary school math skillz), something I've never really done before to this extent.

Today I also put the finishing touches on another Noni bag! This one will be a Christmas gift for Michael's sister Katie. It was knit on size 9 circulars, using Cascade 220 (2 strands held together). I altered the pattern a little bit to make it not quite as wide (it should have had a few more striped sections making it 4" wider after felting). I was very happy with the way this turned out after felting, and the green and pink fabric I found on sale at JoAnn couldn't have been more perfect!

Other recent purchases at my JoAnn shopping spree (they had a sale, I couldn't help it) were some patterns! They were on sale, $1.99-$3.99/each. I couldn't help myself! I even picked up that vintage Vogue dress pattern I was drooling over a while back. These are the first sewing patterns I've ever bought, so it's very exciting. Aside from the Vogue dress, I got a cute Vogue suit pattern (since I'll *hopefully* be employed soon, and if I get the job I'm interviewing for Friday, which I really want, I'll need lots of suits), a Butterick skirt pattern, and a McCall's sundress pattern. Last month, in the really crappy JoAnn near my house (very old skool and looks like a bomb exploded inside), I spotted this red linen fabric with a white embroidered pattern that I kind of liked. But I didn't buy it. When I found a good JoAnn, I tried to find the fabric there, and was very disappointed when I didn't see it among the rest of the linen. Well, this past weekend, on my little shopping spree, I found the bolt in the clearance section! There were 2 1/2 yards left for only $5, so I bought it! But I'm not sure what to make out of it. I bought the skirt pattern thinking it would make an adorable skirt. But after looking at the McCall's dress pattern (purchased with the intention of making a khaki strapless dress to go under the above mentioned sweater WIP), I have enough fabric for a simple strapless dress. With a white bow around the waist? Top it off with a jean jacket or white shrug? That could be really cute, too. So now I'm stuck! Which should I make???? This will be my first garment sewing project (other than a Halloween costume I made in college, I've just done some handbag linings, TONS of scrunchies back in the 90s when those were cool, some slipcovers for these Ikea ottomans that Michael has, alterations on currently existing clothes and a few other small things) and first time using a pattern, but both patterns are very simple and my sewing skills are definitely good enough, so difficulty isn't an issue. Both would be terribly cute. I'm torn.
Among my other recent crafty purchases (which is about the only thing I spend money on these days, other than food, gas and rent) were the latest Vogue and Interweave...and my list of things I'd like to knit has grown once again. As if I don't already have a lengthy list of things for myself, Christmas gifts, etc!

As you may have already noticed, I figured out how to transfer the still photos from my video camera to my computer! They aren't the best quality, but it beats the camera phone. I think that once I am employed full-time, I shall buy a normal digital camera. And lots of yarn. On the job front, I have an interview with a pharmaceutical company on Friday (had a phone interview with the hiring manager last week, who I have already discovered is the husband of a knitter...he called me unexpectedly during last Tuesday's knitting group and the subject came up...lol. Anyway, I'll have a real interview with him this Friday, which I'm really looking forward to!) And as mentioned in my last post, I'll have a second interview with Google soon. Wish me luck! Aside from approaching broke, I'm also getting VERY antsy. If you know me, you know that I function much better when I've got a ton of things going on. As fun as having no real schedule to follow for almost two months now has been, I'm really eager to start working again!

Now this is quite pathetic...

2006-08-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

I have suffered my first knitting-related injury. I've heard of people stabbing themselves with sharp DPN's before, but I never thought I'd hurt myself knitting. In working on Vogue Crochet Edge Sweater version 2.0, I have a cut on my left pointer finger, right along that top joint, from repeatedly brushing my rather pointy needles by it while purling. It took me a while to figure out where the cut came from (did I slice my finger with my skate? deep paper cut? something else I don't remember?) until the other night when I picked up the sweater again after a few days off. And of course, after insisting on knitting despite the injury (if I can skate and compete on a dislocated knee, I can knit with a cut finger!), it's now really irritated. :( On the bright side, the sweater is now on to the sleeves, I have decided to do both at the same time and despite managing two balls of yarn, it's working out well (when I'm not making a tangled mess, that is).

Yesterday I worked on the lining for my Noni bag, attached the handles, and plan to attach the zipper and lining sometime this week. And then proudly sit back and admire a Christmas gift that is finished :0)

I really need to figure out how to get those pics off my video camera!!

Off to a job interview...things are looking up in the search for employment. Interview at U of M today, interview with a pharmaceutical company on Friday (which I am very excited about), and the hiring manager from Google in California I had a phone interview with last week will be calling me to set up a second interview as soon as she knows when she'll be traveling out to Ann Arbor.

Vogue sweater version 2.0

2006-08-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Like I said yesterday, the Vogue Crochet Edge jacket from the spring/summer issue was knit, blocking, and awaiting seaming and addition of the crochet edging. But after serious pondering, I have decided to redo it. I just really don't like how loosely knit it is becaue it's not going to look good...it's the right weight yarn, correct gauge, so it's the pattern, NOT me! (I swear!) So I've decided to redo it with 5sts/inch rather than 4, because if I don't like it I won't wear it...which means I have to do some math...and I am mathematically challenged beyond belief. Wish me luck :) I have 6 inches of the back done up again, and I'm liking the tighter gauge much better.

Trucki'n along...

2006-08-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Why haven't I posted in a week?

That's right. My yarn arrived (last Wednesday to be exact). The knitting of the sweater is done, it's blocking now, and then comes seaming followed by adding tons of crochet edging. In the meantime, my green/pearl scarf is slowly progressing, and I've made some progress on the fake Fendi. The felted pink/green striped bag is sitting on my desk with all of its lining/handle supplies waiting patiently to be finished. I recently remembered (doh) that my camcorder takes digital pics as well, so I actually have taken quite a few of everything...but I tried to load them to my computer, and for whatever reason, the instruction manual for the camera doesn't match the menus and all that crap that my camcorder actually displays (um, it's telling me to "turn" a dial that is a button on my camera? And the manual is for the right camcorder...) So hopefully I'll get that figured out. If I had Michael's Mac, all I would have to do is plug the darn thing in and get the pics off of it, but PC's don't like to make it that simple, do they? At least I now have internet at home, and my connection works (for now)...that's been giving me trouble all day as well, being slower than my dial up connection on my crappy old computer back in 1995. I guess the problem was that the tech screwed the cable to the modem way too tight (as in so tight I had to use a wrench to get the darn thing off). So maybe tomorrow I'll tackle the camera issues...one thing at a time. For now, it's time to work on some lining for this bag.

Where, Oh Where...

2006-08-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

IS MY !@$*% YARN??

That's right. It didn't come today, either. Grr. Knitpicks now says it left the sorting center in Belleville, and estimated delivery date is August 3. Boo. Why does it take that long for my yarn to get here from a place that is 20 minutes away? Don't these people understand that this is an emergency?

In the meantime, inspired by a scarf I saw recently, I've started playing around with some seed bead-sized pearls and kidsilk haze left over from my butterfly. I actually designed a camisole around the design in the scarf, which I am quite excited about. Once the scarf version is done, I think I'll start working out the camisole and coming up with a pattern (which I'll make available for sale on here if it turns out successful). It has me rather excited...I just need to find a yarn that fits my budget and is easier to frog than kidsilk haze to play around with. I really like how the scarf version is turning out with the kidsilk, but until I have a pattern for the camisole that will work, I'll hold off...ever try to frog kidsilk haze? I don't recommend it, because it's just a very depressing thing to do. (Maybe the Alpaca Cloud I have left over from the shawl I made Leigh Ann?) The scarf version should keep me happily occupied for knitting tonight with some gals at Caribou down in Dearborn...and if I get bored, I'll start working on my version of that cute Fendi bag that makes me laugh at all the people who were dumb enough to pay over $900 for a garter stitch purse with a K1P1 ribbed ruffle. By the way, have I mentioned the dirty looks I got from the uppity sales lady at Nieman Marcus as I was giving this bag the typical knitterly inspection (you know...counting rows and stitches, looking for seams, etc)? Perhaps she noticed my fake Ferragamo that I happened to also be carrying, and thus knew what I was up to.

Despite my lack of a job, this is shaping up to be a rather good week. Knitting + Stephanie Pearl McPhee last Sunday, skating practice last night (where I took a spill resulting in a lovely bruise on my right knee), knitting groups in the Detroit area tonight and tomorrow, and meeting up with my lovely gals in Rochester on Thursday night...and Michael and I are going to Park Ave Fest this weekend. Sweet. Not working means being broke, but at least it frees up plenty of time for knitting.

And Monday's Adventures...

2006-07-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

This morning, I once again made a trip out to Ann Arbor, a daily commute I'm finding wouldn't be that bad if M-14 wasn't going to be under construction for the next 500 years, and for someone who lives in the Plymouth/Canton/Livonia/Dearborn/Dearborn Hts/Inkster general area. I don't.

The purpose of today's journey to one of my favorite small US cities was to complete a work sample for an assistant editor position I applied for at the University of Michigan. I'm confident I did a pretty good job...the sample consisted of editing a short book review and an excerpt from a legal document, determining which words from a list of commonly misspelled words were incorrect and providing their correct spelling (I swear I gave the same worksheet out for homework when I was student teaching 10th graders), and writing a letter based on a scenario. Even though the whole English teacher thing didn't quite work out, it was definitely not due to my inability to write/proofread (just my desire to work in a place where I'm not sworn at every day by teenagers who cannot properly conjugate the verb "to be"), so I'm hoping they call me back for a real interview.

Since I wanted to make my trip out to Ann Arbor as productive as possible (gas is expensive!), I decided to make a little stop at Knit-A-Round Yarn Shop...let me remind you, dear blog enthusiast, that I am on a yarn diet until future employment provides funding for yarn. So I was not to buy any yarn. If you've ever been to Knit-A-Round, you know how hard this can be, especially when they have such great sales (and not a basket of sale yarn spun from fiberglass in hideous colors like vomit that no one in their right mind would ever want to pay money for, let alone knit). But I walked out of there only spending $10. Two skeins of Plymouth Encore in Michigan colors to make a scarf (either for me to go with my skating team's warmup, or for Michael once hockey season comes...). That's it.

Now, there was a small reason (beyond not having a source of income) that allowed me to behave myself in the store. I figured that a nice box from Knit Picks would be awaiting me when I got home. (The $25 my mom sent me last week to buy some groceries? Yeah, I spent it on yarn.) I just knew it would be waiting patiently on my front porch for me to come home and rescue it from today's sweltering heat, after all, I had ordered it a week ago, and the online tracking confirmed that it was in a sorting location somewhere in Michigan. So inspired by the Vogue sweater I would be able to spend the rest of the day blissfully knitting in the air conditioning while watching lousy talk shows, I left without purchasing more yarn.

After leaving Knit-A-Round, I meandered over to Jimmy John's for a sandwich...just another example of how well my boyfriend knows me--I had spoken to him on the phone prior to heading to the yarn store. I told him that I was going to get lunch at Jimmy John's on Plymouth Rd, rather than one near campus, since it would be easier to find parking. He immediately replied, "you're stopping over there at that yarn store, aren't you?" (Moi? Alterior motives? No...) Anyway, while Jimmy John's, I discovered the most wonderful diet! Any nutritionist will tell you to eat smaller meals. They will tell you to eat more slowly. I've tried eating while reading, and that doesn't really help since I can manage both at the same time...it only takes one hand to eat, one to hold a book (unless it's a nice, heavy hard covered book with pages that stay put, in which case both hands can be used to eat). Knitting and crocheting? They require at least one hand, if not both. So the next time you find yourself eating (preferably alone or with people who understand that you are not, in fact, insane), try this: eat a bite. Sip your drink. Knit/crochet an appropriate amount of your project. Depending on its size, this can be a row, half a row, a pattern repeat...whatever can be knit in less than a minute (you don't want to spend all day eating, do you)? It really worked. After about twenty minutes, I had eaten half of my sandwich (the rest of which was wrapped up to be taken home for dinner) and finished the One Skein Scarf from Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker, which is my first crochet project. All while earning very approving looks from the old ladies sitting at the next table over, as well as a sympathetic glance when they saw me trying to cut my project from the remaining yarn with my car key.

Anyway, back to the yarn waiting for me on the front porch. I got home about half an hour later. Much to my dismay, there were no packages on the front porch or shoved between the screen door and the front door. However, there was also no mail in the mailbox. I breathed a sigh of relief. The mail must not have come yet--perhaps the mailperson was taking his/her time due to the heat. So I went inside the house, where I was greeted by the smell of something cooking (a smell I'm so obviously not used to). A cookbook open to a recipe for some delicious vegetable lasagna was sitting on the counter, and there was chicken defrosting on the counter and a pan of sauteed vegetables cooling on the stove. Ah-ha! My roommate Nicole must have come home during her lunch break, started cooking dinner, got the mail, and was kind enough to put the box of yarn in my bedroom! I ran to my bedroom as fast as my Steve Maddens could take me (almost tripping over the couch in the process). No box of freshly delivered yarn, even after digging to see if it had been somehow buried under some of my clutter. A careful inspection of my desk revealed that it was not there, either. I was so devastated that I started straightening up my bedroom (I needed something to do, seeing that my plans for the rest of the afternoon were now ruined).

About twenty minutes later (just as I was about to get out the vacuum), I heard a truck park outside. I sprinted to the door to discover (yay!) that it was the mail truck! Since my house is the last one on this part of his route, I was about to run outside and ask if he had a package for my address that I could take off of his hands before he carried it all the way down the other side of the street...but I figured that would be just a tad psychotic. So I waited patiently, watching out the kitchen window until he deposited today's bills and other unimportant junk into the mailbox and eagerly tiptoed outside. No package. And that was way too much yarn to fit in the mailbox. Maybe he was going to come back with my package? After all, why would he want to carry it all this way? Wouldn't it be easier to do the rounds with the mail, and then go get the box from the truck and bring it over to my porch? That had to be it. So I waited. And watched. As he walked to his truck, hopped in, and drove off. DROVE OFF. I was so mad that I ate the other half of my cookie from Jimmy John's that I was going to save for dinner.

If I go to the post office and explain to them that there is a dire emergency causing me to need the package that they have for me right away, would they dig it out of tomorrow's outgoing mail?

Sunday's Adventure in Knitting

2006-07-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ventured out to Ann Arbor to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot herself, speak at the Ann Arbor Library. (All you knitters back in RahChaCha...jealous?) Upon arriving, I realized that it was a good thing I arrived early, because eventually the downstairs area of the library where she was speaking filled up, and more knitters were sent upstairs to the fourth floor to watch. Because although Stephanie is awesome and magical, she seems to have not yet mastered beaming herself, being in two places at once, or transporting herself like that Mike Teevee kid in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That just proves that she is human after all, despite her incredible ability to read the minds of every knitting-obsessed person on earth in her books. Not only was Stephanie hilarious, she also stayed and signed books, posed for photos, admired projects brought or worn by her fans, etc until every person had the opportunity to meet her. Very few authors do that...usually they stay for an hour (if that), and anyone not lucky enough to get a place toward the front of the line is stuck just buying an un-personalized autographed copy of the book later on.

I was quite proud of the resourcefulness I displayed yesterday. When I tossed a project in my bag before leaving for Ann Arbor, I either underestimated the amount of knitting time I'd have, or didn't think about my project's next step, and needed my largee double pointed needles to put the finishing touches on the end of my latest felted bag. After pouting for a few minutes and briefly contemplating stealing a pair from another knitter (something I'd never actually do, even in cases of extreme knitting desperation), a brilliant idea dawned on me...the project was on a pair of circulars from my Boyle interchangeable set. I had a pencil of roughly the same diameter in my bag. After "borrowing" Dana's pen, I was back in business, able to finish that end of the bag, put my needles back together, and get on with the other side (all while still waiting patiently in line).

After getting my book signed, I made my way to Busy Hands, a yarn shop over on S. Main (which I seem to have passed every other time I have been to Ann Arbor...how can that be!?). I was quite proud of myself, as I exhibited excellent self control. Despite finding the most perfect yarn for one of the sweaters at the top of my "stuff to knit when I have a job and money to buy yarn" list, I walked out of the store without spending a dime. I then headed over to Pizza House for dinner, followed by ice cream at Kilwin's. So much for self control...obviously when faced with controlling both the food and yarn diets in a short period of time, I can't handle it. But that chocolate peanut butter ice cream was sooo good. And I walked around while I ate it, so perhaps it won't go straight to my thighs. Maybe it will just stop at my butt. (Both of which, by the way, have started to get slightly smaller in size since my move to Detroit two weeks ago.)

When I got home last night, I was finally able to get out my DPN's and put the finishing touches on the second side of the felted handbag I am making, which will perhaps become a Christmas gift for Michael's sister Katie. In my excitement, I wanted to felt it today, but I have decided to be kind and considerate instead. You see, the high for today is almost 100 degrees. All over the news the reporters were asking people to refrain from using appliances until this evening in order to conserve energy...if my desire to felt a newly knit handbag caused a massive power outage similar to the great Niagara Mohawk outage of summer 2003, I'd probably crawl into my stash of yarn and hide from the embarrassment. So I shall wait until later this week when the weather cools down.

The latest...

2006-07-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am coming to you from Java Hut in Birmingham, MI, an area which is actually quite charming and a nice change of scenery from my usual free internet spot (Panera Bread). I first came to Birmingham last night when I met up with Gillian to see The Devil Wears Prada, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Lots of cute little shops (including a yarn shop, which I will be visiting in a little bit!), restaurants, all that type of stuff in downtown Birmingham. I'm really interested in all these loft apartments going up in quaint "downtown" suburb areas like Birmingham, Ferndale and Royal Oak, as well as in Ann Arbor. That would be a rather nice living situation...not that I'd have the down payment for a $200,000+ loft any time soon, but whatever.

I finally transferred pics of my latest works from my phone to my computer, so now I present you with the Fake-A-Gamo in its various stages! Forgive crappy camera phone quality and bad lighting, because this bag truly is fabulous. I love showing it off :) Plus, making it a tad bigger than the pattern (added one more pattern repeat so it has more height) makes it big enough to carry around a book, small portable knitting project, or whatever else, without it being too obnoxious. --> So here it is during blocking. I'm happy with how it turned out during blocking--I'm not sure if a lot of other people who posted pics online blocked theirs, but I liked the way it really opened up those yarnovers in the stockinette parts of the pattern, so that the navy blue lining I used really shows through.
And here is the finished product:
And going along with my current productivity (or boredom), my One Skein Wonder shrug...looks cute with that black/white sundress. I used to wear a black cardigan with it when I'd wear it to work, but that covered it up a bit too much and tended to get warm since all my black cardigans have long sleeves. This makes the dress much more work-friendly without getting too hot. I might actually make a few long sleeve versions of the shrug, too, but the 90+ degree weather we're having at the moment makes me cringe at the thought of long sleeves.
And I've almost finished my first crochet scarf. The other day I picked up a copy of Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker. It's made me a little less anti-crochet, since there are a few patterns in there that don't remind me of my great grandmother's apartment...things I might actually make and wear...

These people call themselves DESIGNERS??

2006-07-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm a little behind on my Project Runway, due to my lack of cable and iTunes' slowness at posting new episodes for download. Yesterday I finally watched episode 2. My reaction? WTF!? These people call themselves designers!? (I recall having the same reaction during the Sasha Cohen episode last season)...ok, I understand that people have areas of "expertise" in design, and not everyone does evening gowns, figure skating costumes, casual wear, etc etc. But when someone who claims to be good at evening gowns and has a degree in fashion sends a model down a runway looking like the offspring that would result in the mating of a turd and a California Raisin, I wonder what so many of us who are self-taught are sitting home watching. The dresses I designed myself for formal dances in high school were so much better than half of those. (My navy blue velvet/rhinestone dress? That was hot.)
And what is this? What the heck pageant did this guy think she was entering? The Miss Homeless Pageant?

Can we say toga party, anyone? I was kind of surprised that Vera Wang, goddess of gown design herself, liked this dress. Even called it "modern." Really, what's so modern about it? The way that it didn't fit the model at all?

I know people say she looks like a man and whatnot, but I'm rooting for Laura. First of all, she doesn't have a degree or any formal training in fashion design or construction, and after the two episodes I've seen, her work is consistently well constructed and classy. Perhaps her pageant dress was not the most innovative or original design, but it also didn't look like it was sewn together by someone wearing a blindfold. And her coat in episode 1? Adorable. And she's not nearly as annoying as some of the other contestants.

w00t w00t

2006-07-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last night, I finished my fake-a-gamo! It's sitting next to me right now, it is FABULOUS and I can't wait to show it off at Wednesday knitting tonight at Caribou :) I lined it with some navy blue fabric I got for $1 at JoAnn (gotta love the scrap clearance section), and even put a nice pocket in the lining to hold my cell phone and another for my wallet. I sewed the lining in last night while riding around aimlessly knitting on the peoplemover in downtown Detroit with another knitting group I found. Yes, a knitting group that meets weekly on public transportation. Not quite as fun as a bar, but with smoking legal here in Michigan, knitting in bars would lead to some nasty smelling knitting (and that's no way to treat yarn)!

I also made and finished my One Skein Wonder shrug from Glampyre Knits over the past week, which came out very nice.

I'll have to post pics later, I'm limited to my crappy camera phone until the next time I go to RahChaCha and use Michael's digital phone. Surprisingly my phone takes decent photos, but (doh!) I left the cable to connect the phone to my computer at home when I came to Panera to use the internet today. So y'all will just have to wait.

Oh, and I did it...despite my "no job=no yarn" rule, I broke down and ordered yarn for the crochet lace edged bolero from the summer Vogue...I couldn't help it. KnitPicks had Main Line on clearance for 40% off. But seriously, how cute is this sweater?? And I look at it this way...$30 for yarn to make a sweater will keep me busy for hours. That's way cheaper than $9 to see a movie, drinking in a bar, or other activities to fill my day since I'm not working right now. Plus knitting is way better for your health--no calories (it actually burns calories...ok, just a few, but that's better than none...) and in the end, I have something fabulous to wear and therefore won't go buy a cute lace edged bolero sweater from the store for the same amount of money (or more). It's really a win-win situation here. But this time, I'm serious. NO MORE YARN after this.

I'd better quit blogging and get back to researching the pharmaceutical companies who are calling me in the next few days for phone interviews :) That way, I can get a job...and job equals more yarn (in addition to income to, you know, LIVE off of).

Bah...

2006-07-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's nearing the end of July. I'm now in Detroit. Still jobless. With no internet at my house. (Comcast here is freakin EXPENSIVE, especially when roomie doesn't even have a computer at home, and therefore I have no one to split it with.) Needless to say, I've been spending lots of time at the nearby Panera Bread using their free internet to check my email/apply for jobs while drinking lots of iced tea. Today alone I applied for two jobs at EMU, three at Oakland University, and eight at University of Michigan, plus an opening for a writer with an ad agency. I went to a job fair the other day and passed out some resumes, which so far has resulted in an interview with Aflac on Monday. At least I've got enough cash stashed away to get me by for the next few months before I really have to stress (and hopefully before then something will come up anyway). I think tomorrow I'm going to hit up Somerset Collection to at least find something part-time to keep me busy.

On the plus side, I really like the area I live in, and my roommate Nicole is really sweet. Michael is coming to visit this weekend, and we've got a lot of fun stuff planned, including a trip to the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, which I've wanted to go to for the past few years but for whatever reason wasn't able to. I love Ann Arbor. And did I mention that while we're there, I'm going to make a little stop at Knit A Round Yarn Shop? (Even though I'm on a strict "NO YARN UNTIL I HAVE A JOB" yarn fast?) Should be a good time.

I've also been pretty good with my diet the past week since I'm going to lose all the freakin weight this past year of not skating and coming home from work every day depressed caused me to gain. The fact that in November/December I'll have to be in front of an audience in a skating dress is motivation enough!! (Oh, and none of my clothes fit well, either. And I feel gross.) And I absolutely LOVE my new skating team. We started practice on Monday night. Pilates (from which I am still sore), followed by on-ice practice, followed by beer at a nearby bar. Now that's my kind of sports team. (I was good though, I just had one!) The other ladies on my team are all really nice, and we work hard because I'm sure we all want a nice, shiny gold medal from Nationals in February.

Last night, I also met up with a few other ladies down in Dearborn at Caribou Coffee for some knitting. This was the first night of meeting down there, and we plan on making that a weekly thing. Ironically, one of the ladies, Ashley, is a former seventh grade English teacher who taught for two years before becoming a technical writer for a software company (see, there is hope for me yet!) Tonight I'm going to the Caribou in Troy to chill with another group of knitters that meets there weekly. Oh the beauty of being in a large city like Detroit--multiple knitting groups! And I live in a very central location to all the places they meet at (well, and everything else in Detroit in general...). Hopefully tonight I'll get the Fake-a-Gamo finished (I'm on the last section of the second half right now), and maybe even cast on for a One Skein Wonder shrug from Glampyre Knits (part of my "no paycheck=no new yarn, use your freakin stash" movement). I'm making it out of some cheap acrylic yarn I got last year to play around with, but whatever. It's Caron Simply Soft, so it's halfway decent, especially for a little garment like that.

Today's other project is go seek out the nearest JoAnn and buy some padding and some type of a striped or plaid fabric to make a blocking board, and Home Depot for some plywood. All the floors in my new place are hardwood, which I LOVE, but it doesn't come in handy for blocking knitting projects. (Michael has awesome carpet when it comes to blocking at his place, but I don't really want to wait until I go to Rochester to block all my knitting. Not to mention that it would probably annoy him!)

And to all my sexy knitting biotches back in Rah Cha Cha...have fun at Wild Wools tomorrow, I miss you all, but I'll probably see you in a few weeks :)

So Gross!

2006-07-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Among the many topics of conversation at knitting group last night were Skin Bags, which are supposedly the new, hip thing. We really didn't believe they existed, seeing that James was the one who brought up the subject. He does medical research, so who knows what crazy stuff they come up with over at the hospital, but he wasn't joking. And the company doesn't just do bags, they've also branched out to coats, vests, belts, headbands, chokers...

Does anyone else think this is just really gross? Seriously, the pic I've posted here has to be one of the least offensive, check out the web site for further grossness. Now, I know it's not real skin, it's some type of synthetic polymer, but still...who, besides some type of cannabalistic serial killer, would want to carry or wear something that looks like it came off of some old, wrinkly cadaver? Yes, leather is animal skin, and it's real, but that's different. Leather=good. Synthetic human skin=bad.

I think I'll stick to wool and cotton, thanks.

Thanks a lot...

2006-07-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

Recently picked up Mason Dixon Knitting, read it in one day (time I should have been using applying for jobs, but whatever). I'd now like to thank the wonderful Kay and Ann, because now I feel the need to run to Wal-Mart and buy all the Peaches-and-Cream cotton I can find (and many of you know how much I hate even going to Wal-Mart, not to mention the thought of buying yarn there). I also am fighting the urge to cover everything in my boyfriend's house in handknit wonderfulness. (I think that would put someone who already seems annoyed by my knitting obsession over the top). I think I'll hold off until after this weekend, when I move into my place in Michigan, and unleash the handknit madness on my own place. What a great way to scare the new roommate. Or, better yet, I'll wait until I have a job before I run out and spend more rent/food/bill money on yarn...and I'll first resort to just using yarn in my stash. I swear. No more purchasing yarn until I have a job. Well, except for more cotton for the fake-a-gamo...

Fake-a-Gamo!!

2006-07-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I cast on for this gorgeous handbag inspired by this gorgeous bag by Salvatore Ferragamo. The incredible stitch pattern was figured out by the crafty knitting goddess Kate and numerous others in this Craftster thread.

Yarn: Lion Cotton from Lion Brand in Natural, 2 strands together in natural
Needles: Size 7 circulars
Other material: Straight bamboo handles from JoAnn in Medina, OH (which I have discovered is THE jackpot when it comes to handbag handles...every other JoAnn, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, yarn store, etc I have been in surprisingly pales in comparison to this JoAnn's selection of handles)!

I must say that I am IN LOVE with this stitch pattern, pictures honestly don't do it justice, you NEED to touch it and hold it in your hands. The texture is incredible. And the Lion Cotton is a pretty decent cotton yarn to work with (not to mention cheap)...it's soft, but the two strands give the bag enough structure. I think I might modify the pattern and make it another repeat longer, we'll see what mood I'm in when I finish the repeat I'm on!

Another Reason Why I Rock...

2006-07-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Print O' The Wave Stole!! FINISHED!!

Back around Easter, I started knitting the Print O' The Wave Stole, a pattern by the very talented Eunny Jang, whose knitting skills I envy.

I wanted to have this finished as a mother's day gift for my dad's cousin Leigh Ann, who's two beautiful children Elyse and Ian were killed last October. I figured it was the least I could do to try and comfort her on what was sure to be a difficult day. Well, I must say that me thinking I could get this gorgeous pattern knit up in a mere two or three weeks was being rather ambitious. I honestly had the body done in a short amount of time, since I was off work that entire week and had nothing better to do. But the edging around the border took A LOT longer than expected...and I figured it wasn't going to be done in time, I might as well not rush. So I'm sending it to her to take on the Hawaiian cruise she's going on next month--a trip that was supposed to have been a 10th birthday present for Elyse. :( May it provide her a little comfort there, at least.

Some of the details:
Pattern: Print O' the Wave Stole by Eunny Jang
Needles: Size 6 circs from my interchangable set, and bamboo size 3 needles for the outer border.
Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Stream, just over 2 hanks
Started: April 16, 2006
Finished: July 4, 2006

Knit at: My aunt's, gandma's, boyfriend's prarents' and parents' houses in the Cleveland area, various bars and coffee shops in Rochester, NY (one of which was having a bonfire), Manhattan Beach in California, and my flights from LA back to Rochester. Needless to say, by the time this thing was finished, it smelled. Really bad. Like a combination of sweaty hands, beer, bonfire, sea salt, and general beach mustiness. Luckily soaking it in a little baby shampoo during blocking made it all fresh and clean!

I must say I'm VERY proud of how this turned out, and what blocking did to what was previously a big 'ol blue pile of knittedness resembling ramen noodles. I ended up not doing the center panel in two pieces and grafting it like the pattern said to, because I thought the grafting was more of a distraction than the body pattern not being symmetrical.

I feel the need to knit another one. Not that I really wear shawls, but I wouldn't mind having something incredibly beautiful like this around the house just to touch and look at and show off to visitors?

I Need You...

2006-07-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

If I need any inspiration to learn to use my sewing machine for more than basic repairs and making linings for knit handbags, I have found it. I NEED this dress. Why? Because. It's incredible. Amazing. Beautiful. A dress that will make any girl feel like Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn. I just need it. Oh how I love Vogue.

Show-and-tell

2006-07-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to show off some of my pre-blog completed projects. I've literally been on a project completing spree lately, I think due to the fact that I flipped out about having five....or was it six...or was it seven projects on needles. So here goes:

The Butterfly:
I started this purty 'lil number in early March, in hopes that it would be finished just as the weather warmed up enough to wear it...which would have been mid-may. However, I didn't get it finished until late June, due to a few hang-ups along the way. The biggest delay was the fact that one of my bottom hem frills was left behind at Spot Coffee one evening, to so kindly be picked up by one of the gals I knit with. But then she and I just kept missing each other, until I finally decided to stop saying to myself "I'm sure she'll show up next week," and I just went to her rather lovely apartment to pick it up so that I could finish my top. After that, it was finished in less than a week, paired with a white skirt, white tank, and a jean jacket for when it got chilly, and shown off to admiring knitters at knitting group. I'm glad that the finished project at least earned some respect from my boyfriend, who previously said that it looked like a rat came and chewed up what I was knitting (he obviously doesn't understand the delicate process of knitting lace, nor the fact that it does, in fact, require the magic of blocking).

A few progress pics:
<--early stages of the first side I did, you can't really see them, but there are tiny seed bead pearls knit in there.

-->And this is the whole thing during that stressful time known as blocking. Normally blocking should be a delightful time in which the knitter is allowed to see their goofy looking lace work magically turn into a thing of great beauty. However, in the almost six weeks between knitting the body of the first half and the body of the second half, my gauge must have changed slightly, or the knitting gods were somehow playing a cruel joke on me...for the second half turned out considerably smaller (even though I kept holding them up to each other in order to compare sizes and all that common sense stuff as I was working on it)! So, as my friend Erin suggested, I just blocked the hell out of it. I first blocked out the larger half, not stretching it too much, pinned it all down, and then stretched (and I mean stretched) the second half out right on top of it so that they matched in size, the entire time keeping my fingers crossed that the smaller half wouldn't magically spring back to its original size once the pins were all removed. Well, it worked! Thank god! I now believe in the true magic of blocking, and vow to never again finsh a knitting project and not block it...(well, except silly stuff like acryllic scarves, maybe).

Not bad for a gal who only taught herself how to knit last summer, eh? This time last year, I was jus learning how to purl and fumbling with very lousy, very tightly knit stockinette stitch. And look at me now...damn I'm good.

Joining the blogging bandwagon....

2006-07-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

So...look kids, I have a blog! Gosh, between myspace and now a blog, I'm oh-so-trendy. Oh, wait, no...scratch that. This blog will mainly be about knitting. Some people don't think that's trendy (obviously, they've been living under a rock for the past few years)!

Lots of stuff going on right now...moving from Rochester, NY to Detroit, MI, right now I'm kind of in between places (literally...I'm in Cleveland, at my parents' house at the moment, pretty much just chilling out). I now have a place to live, synchronized skating team to skate on (Yay Crystallettes!), a knitting group and TWO yarn stores that I know of. Yet does it seem that one important thing is missing? If you can guess what it is, you'll win a prize...

Yup, a JOB. But hopefully that will come soon. I've come to the realization that I need to look outside the realm of teaching. As if last year's hellish job search, followed by an even more hellish school year, weren't enough to convince me. So much for that "great nationwide teaching shortage" everyone who entered college when I did was told about (and therefore decided that perhaps education would be a good field to enter). Teaching jobs are even more scarce in Detroit than they were in Rochester, and I'm definately not doing the subbing thing (i.e. no regular work, no health benefits...the latter of which is not a good thing for someone as accident prone as I). So I've been looking into writing, instructional desing, PR, marketing, student programming at some of the local colleges--anything I think I can handle with my wide variety of interests and six years of college behind me. (Maybe some wonderful soul will stumble upon this blog and offer me a writing job or a book deal because my prose is simply so compelling.) I have my first interview out there on Monday with a marketing firm that seemed very interested in me. I applied for a job doing student programming for college kids in the dorms at one of the local colleges, a position previously held by my high school friend Sarah, and I'm really hoping perhaps that will come through.

Michael has an interview this week with one of Xerox's offices out there, so hopefully something will come of that in the near future as well. For now, he's still in Rochester. But considering that in the almost four years we've been dating, we've only lived in the same area code (let alone county or zip code) for one year, a five hour drive for now is no biggie.

Anyway, about knitting...lately I've been on this project finishing spree. Rowan Butterfly? Check (and man did it come out great!). Print O' The Wave Stole? Check. Noni Medium Carpet Bag? You betchya. Purple cable knit "proctoring finals is boring and I don't feel like grading the final exams my students did so miserably on" handbag? Lining being sewn in as we speak. Go me. Still no motivation to start the friend for the lone sock I knit during all my flight delays heading to/from LA last week, but I'll get there...

Today I finally bought a copy of Yarn Harlot by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. (Given that she writes books about knitting, wouldn't it be so much cooler if it were spelled "purl?" Like she's never had that thought herself, eh?) This should keep me company during the extra two days that I'm stuck in Cleveland at my parents' house until my job interview in MI.

By the way, if Ms. Pearl-McPhee or Debbie Stoller ever read my blog, and left me a message, I'd fell so special...like a five year old who wakes up to find a note from Santa (whose handwriting mysteriously resembles that of his father) next to the plate of half eaten cookies on Christmas morning.

I also have Mason-Dixon Knitting waiting patiently at Michael's house for me to read when I make my way back to the Rah-cha-cha. Did you know that those coinstar machines at the grocery stores give you Amazon gift certificates, and if you go that route, they don't take out the fee for counting your change?? This book, along with Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, were the reward for the way in which I have so dilligently stashed my pennies in my overflowing piggy bank (and eventually a ziploc bag) the past few years...I knew they'd be put to good use one of these days!