use your hands

My new home

2006-07-23T18:04:00.000-04:00

Is at: Between Stupid and Clever

Stop by and say "hi"!

Grumble, grumble...

2006-07-19T08:50:00.000-04:00

I swear I haven't abandoned blogging or knitting for that matter. It's been a whirlwind since getting back from the Bahamas. We've had multiple houseguests & gone up to the lake for a few days.

I attribute my lack of blogging to two things, global warming & blogger sucking.

It was 107 in my car yesterday. Stifling hot I tell you. Heat like that just doesn't lend itself to being very active.

While I can't do anything about the heat I can say this "blogger I am sick of your fickle crap, next time I post it will be to provide a link out of your hell". Even today as I tried to post this it was mocking me! No more I say!!

Isaac & I are plugging away on the layout for my new blog. It may be a couple more days before we have it all "purty".

So to tide you over how about some fantastic pictures of paradise?

We had an amazing time on Grand Bahama Island. The weather was great (about an hour of heavy rain each day- for the rainy season that is fantastic) and temps around 86. The water is clear and warm. You could see forever with snorkeling gear. We kayaked and rented a hobie cat sailboat. Our favorite adventure was snorkeling at deadman's reef where we shared the water with the most beautiful tropical fish, a few barracudas, stingrays and a 10 foot nurse shark. It was unbelievable!! Relaxing, romance & adventure! Perfect I tell you!

You can see the rest of the photos we took here if you are so inclined.

I also knit a lot on Orangina. So much so that my next post might just have two finished objects, the new blog & Orangina!

Just a quick update....

2006-07-02T19:00:00.000-04:00

before I hop on a plane to the Bahamas!!

I wanted to show off my half finished Hanging vines stole:

As well as my prototype for my knit sock kit swap (whew, that's a mouthful) bag:

My partner favors a ziplock so I thought I would make an "upscale ziplock". This version is mine (I wanted to work out all the kinks). The yarn you see in the pouch is for my Orangina. I plan on working on her a bit while on holiday.

I hope you guys all have a great week! I will be peeking in with the wifi connection at our hotel (I mean a girl can't go without her blogging peeps for 6 whole days right?!?!).

I leave you with a gift from our friends over at Williams Street (aka the Cartoon Network for all you non-Atlantians).

This billboard has popped up here in Atlanta as well as Nashville, Birmingham & Brooklyn. It's been getting a lot of talk on blogs all over. There is also one here in town that says "yes." as well as "I pooted". I have pictures of those as well (just not uploaded). The good people at CN really know how to entertain us while stuck in traffic.

This one is just to remind you that you can catch a new episode of my favorite show the venture brothers tonight at 10:30. I love this show so much that I swear I squealed like a little girl when I saw this billboard last week.

So knit, watch the show and enjoy the toe picker billboard folks!

@$%#&*!!!

2006-06-27T10:46:00.000-04:00

That is exactly how I feel about blogger right now. I wrote a really long involved post last night & blogger ate it. Am I angry enough to jump ship to my own site yet?

I am seriously contemplating it!

So on to our regularly scheduled post!

This is my wind down week before 3 weeks of vacation. I'm working very little, mainly taking Liz to the mall or the pool and trying to get her really excited for her week at sleep away camp. One of the things I find most common in children with developmental disabilities is they are creatures of habit & schedule. Elizabeth loves order and a schedule so going to camp for a week is a scary & exciting thing for her. I know she will love it when she gets there but it's just a lot to convince her not to be so nervous about it.

I've been taking a lot of pictures this week too. My flickr account is bursting with pictures of a Japanese potty training book that we found at a thrift store. A new set of photos from the cadets show at the pit. Photos of our taste test of a Jack's "Rock n' Roll" cookie. It tasted a bit like figgy ginger bread. Weird I know. I guess that's what you get for buy a $.39 cookie at a truck stop in Cordele GA because of it's "rock n' roll" claim.

My Saturday Market bag is complete!

Kym was right this is a fun, easy, fast (about 4 hours) and cheap (1.5 skeins of sugar & cream) knit. It's perfect to hold some sunscreen, a hat, books and any other miscellany that we may need at the beach next week.

I'm also officially halfway though my hanging vines stole with only 17 more repeats to go. Now that we finally have a sunny day I'm hoping to get a progress picture. The next challenge for the amazing lace is poetry. Bryony wrote a great haiku for hers. I've been toying with the idea of a limerick. I'll try and work on it a bit today.

I've also picked out a pattern for my sock kit swap bag as well as the yarn. Now I just need to choose a pattern to send her with the yarn. Jaywalkers are an obvious choice & believe it or not she hasn't made them. Any ideas on a good pattern for self-striping sock yarn that I can send her?

A great weekend & my sock kit answers

2006-06-19T18:36:00.000-04:00

I had a great weekend in Jax with my folks. I spent Saturday out with my Mom. She just found the most adorable kitten in her yard on Saturday morning. He was so tiny and helpless and adorable. It took all my restraint to say no when she asked me if I wanted to keep him. Max just wouldn't want to share!!

Yesterday was spent on the boat with my dad, stepmom, my sister & two of her friends. It was a great day of touring the city, too much beer, fried food & BAD "funk" music at Whitey's fishcamp and a ton of merriment in the rain on the way home.

All in all a perfect trip home!

Now for my sock pal kit who may be eagerly awaiting my answers, here they are:

What are your favorite colors? Red, Blue & green in all their variations.

Are you a new sock knitter? Semi

How long have you been knitting socks? Since December of last year, 4 & 1/2 pairs to date

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I like both

What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn? Wool or wool superwash

Where do you usually knit socks? Where don't I knit socks? At home, on trips, lunch break, waiting in line... you get the picture.

How do you usually carry/store small projects? In my purse with all my other stuff

What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? Any of Anna's patterns

What are your favorite sock knitting techniques? I love knitting toe up on two circ's & using the turkish cast on

What new techniques would you like to try? Maybe some new cast on's for toe up.

Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting? Circulars! All the way!

What are some of your favorite yarns? For socks I love Nature's Palette sock, brooklyn handspun & sunshine yarns sock

What yarn do you totally covet? Anything buttery soft & lovely to touch

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Not off the top of my head

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? I love my denise set but for sock knitting I use addi turbos

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Brand?? I just don't have an answer for that one

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? I love dark, bittersweet chocolate

What’s your favorite animal? Owls, finches, Elephants

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? One cat named Max who is 5 and like a child to us a spoiled lazy cat child!

If you were a color what color would you be? Red, bright, bold red

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s).. I love all my super comfy American Apparel shirts. My favorite printed shirts are from threadless.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? sunrise in the mountains

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others. - Audrey Hepburn

Do you have a wishlist? Nope

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? Nope

What is the best thing you could possibly get in the mail...

2006-06-16T14:57:00.000-04:00

next to yarn?

This lovely little package is thanks to Angela. It really brightened up my day! Thanks Angela!! If you stop by her blog scroll down & check out a couple of amazing pairs of socks, a breath taking carpetbag & congratulate her on getting into this. I'm sure that last bit was a piece of cake!!

I've also succumb to a new project. It is at least keeping with the theme of the "Summer of Lace".

It's all Kym's fault. She posted a really fantastic Saturday market bag yesterday. It struck me that it is the exact type of beach bag I have been looking for a pattern for. Well not really so much looking but thinking about looking for. It will be just what I need for the summer. Luckily it's a fast knit (according to Kym just a couple of nights) AND is done beautifully in sugar & cream. I love that it's cheap & durable!! Not to worry folks I am still firmly in love with my hanging vines stole. I even bought the sugar & cream but couldn't cast on last night b/c I was too deeply rooted in the "zone" with the stole.

I figure it will be a good project for traveling this weekend! I *think* I can leave the stole at home for a couple of days.

I also signed up for the Knit sock kit swap & will be answering that questionnaire for my partner as soon as I get back from spending Father's day with my Dad in Jax.

Wish me luck letting the stole sit idle for a while! I guess this will be a true test of my willpower!

Seriously extreme knitting!

2006-06-13T18:37:00.000-04:00

When the folks over at the amazing lace asked us to be bold, nay brazen in our knitting escapades I was uncertain.

In my experience lace knitting in and of itself is "extreme". The yarnover's, chart reading, general attention that needs to be payed.

As a matter of fact I must admit to a little flutter of joy when I reach the end of a row and all my stitches have matched up perfectly. That little flutter is generally all the excitement I need.

I surprised myself with my willingness to go "extreme" as it were. It all started so innocently. I took my stole with me to take part in world wide knit in public day on Saturday. We ended up at our favorite little veggie burger joint. I knit while I was waiting for our food and I heard something calling to me. A melodic sound of chirps and whistles.

There it was in all it's perfection. The most extreme way I could possibly think of to knit lace...

Driving along at 200mps per hour, throwing caution to the wind, steering with my knees, all while knitting lace!

I know, I know, crazy you say! Insane even! It was all worth it though. The smashing of other drivers cars, cutting full across the track with no regard for the safety of myself or others all for the sake of the lace.

Of course it was probably also the lowest score/shortest race that game has ever seen. I did manage to finish a few rows between the burgers & the race.

This picture is from set 6 of the repeats. Now I'm done with 9, only 25 more to go!!

I'm really enjoying this pattern so much. It was challenging at first but after a few (well....6) false starts it comes so naturally. I feel like I'm "in the zone" where ever "the zone" maybe.

Once you get the feel for the pattern it's like magic. It all comes together so easily the placement of the YO's and k3tog's. It's picture perfect I tell ya!

I feel like I need to slow down & savor every second of the knit. I just don't want it to be over too soon.

With all that love I have a suspicious feeling that I will be gifting some of these this Christmas just so I can knit the pattern up again!

I'm sure no one would mind getting this as a gift!!

"That is so random"

2006-06-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

I'm sure we are all tired of blogger at this point in time. I actually tried to post on Wednesday & Thursday only to be thwarted by blogger being "down for maintenance". Ugh!

This week has been thoroughly uneventful around these parts. During the summer I still teach but we work on lots of maintenance stuff & spend the afternoons out enjoying the lovely Atlanta weather.

On that note after her schoolwork was done I took Liz to the pool on Thursday (yeah, I know I get PAID to hang out at the pool- just one of the reasons I love my job). Liz is happily swimming around the 4 ft. mark when two little girls swim up next to us. They couldn't have been more that 5. Typical cute little girls in matching pink bikinis looking as sweet as is humanly possible. I'm sitting on the edge of the pool thinking how adorable these girls are in their all their sweetness and I hear this come out of one of their mouths:

"Then I told him not to eat that".

And the other little Angel replies "That is so random".

WHAT?!?! Since when do sweetie pie five year old girls use the phrase "that is so random"? It was a very weird moment.

In other random bits:

Doctor Who ended it's first season (at least for those of us in the US, across the pond season two is wrapping up). I spent the entire hour in tears. I know it's only tv & beyond that it's Sci Fi but it was so well done. Chris Eccelston was a fantastic Doctor. Bryony assures me that David Tennant does a great job but I guess I'm just not ready to believe it yet...

Prior to the Doctor Who tearfest, Isaac & I headed to our farmers market to pick up some essentials when I came across this:

The yummiest chocolate ever. I bought the new moon bar with 74% cacao as well as the xocolatl with 74% cacao & bits of dried chiles. It is so wonderful! I consider myself to be a connoisseur of fine chocolate & this is some damn fine chocolate!

Tonight we are going to the Indie craft Experience. Last year we had a great time & spent lots of money. This year has a great lineup of crafters. I can't wait to see all their offerings!

Oh & knitting? Somehow this week between lounging by the pool and having my butt kicked by my Pilates classes there was little time for knitting. Not to worry I have made some serious progress on my shawl as well as finally finish my accidentally on purpose! Pictures soon!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Is is June already?

2006-06-05T19:18:00.000-04:00

My how time flies!

June brings us a new month of project spectrum. This month I will have a few projects to bring to the table.

Like my first project for the amazing lace:

The hanging vines stole in Knit Picks alpace lace "storm". The blue is really deep & has lots of subtleties.

The knitting is going well so far. I'm 3 repeats into the pattern & it looks like a lot of jumbled up holes. Luckily I can see the pattern & **knock on wood** I haven't made any mistakes!

In the spirit of june's color Lolly asked that we all "flash" in blue in our stash. That was easy for me as there is plenty of it!!

Lots of variations on blue in there!! Now if I can just knit it all up into it's intended projects!

In non-knitting news this summer is shaping up to be a busy one. We are headed to jax three times in the next two months. There is also our week in the Bahamas & two weeks at the lake. It's going to be hectic but I am looking forward to all of it!

Since I will have so much vacation time I know I will get a lot of knitting done but I also hope to get a lot of reading done. Any suggestions for great summer reading? I am up for anything as long as it can be found in paperback (so much easier to travel with).

Hmmmm, I think my banana bread is ready!

Creativity abounds!

2006-05-29T19:35:00.000-04:00

A long weekend & the house to myself meant that I accomplished quite a lot!

I managed to finish my fair isle free argyle socks:

I still love everything about these. The pattern, which is now available in pdf form here. The yarn. I could go on & on but you could just read my last post for all the mush!

I also finished my first Subversive cross stitch sampler.

Now I just need to wash & and find a suitably ironic frame for it.

I also had time to whip up a purse:

And make pesto for dinner tonight (a little green for project spectrum)!

I hope you guys all had an equally fulfilling weekend!

Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high

2006-05-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

The last week of school..... UGH! While exciting for the kids, it keeps me way too busy for my liking & seriously craving a beer and some knitting therapy by 10am. Now of course it's Friday & it was the last day of school. Hurrah! I still work over the summer but it's my regular hours with fewer meetings and assessments and with many vacations in the mix. Woo Hoo!

Let's celebrate the last day of school with a sock shall we?

The pattern is Bryony's. If you happen over to her blog to plead with her to share this well written, fun to knit sock pattern be sure to wish her a belated happy birthday. Oh & check out the cool Miffy bag she got! I'm soooo jealous!

I have been test knitting this sock pattern for her & I love it. It's her first sock pattern and it's a keeper! The "fair isle free" argyle gives the sock some stretch so there's no fear of it not fitting. Plus the toe up style is almost instant gratification.

The yarn is also wonderful stuff. It's the Nature's Palette I got from Pure knits. The colorway is spectacular!! It really compliments the pattern so nicely. It feels like heaven all knit up!

On the other end of the spectrum, not so instant gratification could be called:

Accidentally on Purpose

That is the front of my AOP for my sister. It's the second one I've knitted & while it's not a bad knit or a difficult knit it is a BORING knit. 22 inches of stockinette for the front & 24 for the back. All the fun dropping of stitches happens in the last few rows. The antithesis of instant gratification if there ever was one. But, it's for my sister who I love dearly & who deserves a kick ass knit vest. So, I knit on. I would post a progress picture but really who wants to look at 18 inches of SS on a straight needle. I'm sure you can imagine it just as easily!

As far as my last knitted gift, it was a hit! The floral felted bag has been making the rounds about town and has garnered much praise and lots of requests for me to knit a few more of them. HA! Non-knitters have no clue what goes into making a bag like that!

Bryony asked if I would knit it again and I really would. For me or maybe another loved one but not the sales girl at Nordstrom! It was the getting used to throwing and picking all in one go that was hard. Now that I have that skill under my belt it wouldn't be quite the challenge.

Thanks for all the comments you guys left!! I've been grinning ear to ear all week from them!

There were also lots of comments about the Flaming lips. The show was amazing! If you see them you MUST be in the front row! It takes you back to being a kid to have confetti & streamers fly through the air as you sing along with a chorus of Santas & Aliens. I swear I am still finding confetti around the house! While I forgot my camera the ajc photographer got some great pictures here. You will have to click through all of them to see the best Lips pictures. There is also a brilliant one of me looking up all doe eyed at Wayne Coyne. He really is the pied piper!

I will leave you with this news story out of my backyard:

Woman steals thousands in yarn. Yep, she used the five finger discount at some local yarn stores.

I hope ya'll party like it's the first day of summer break this weekend!! I know I will!!

The tease is over!

2006-05-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

There isn't much to say that you guys don't already know. It's the Nicky Epstein felted floral bag from the Fall Interweave knits. I used Knitpicks Merino Style in DK & size 7 needles. It took me forever to finish the first side and then I really got the hang of the double fisted fair isle & it was breeze after that.

I love the fabric I found to line it. It really compliments the fair isle. I also chose to use leather handles instead of the i-cord for a more finished look.

All in all I am extremely pleased that I finished it & that it looks good. This was a BIG knit for me in terms of skill. I have done fair isle before but not of this size. I feel like this is a real knitting accomplishment.

Now Isaac & I are off for a quick brunch before heading to centennial Olympic park for the Southern Comfort Music Experience. Why? You ask. Is it my love of SoCo? No friggin way folks! It's the fact that tonight we will see De La Soul, Big Star & The Flaming Lips for FREE!! Today, I am a SoCo fan!!

Enjoy your sunday!

Happy Monday!!!

2006-05-15T00:12:00.000-04:00

I hope you guys have all had a wonderful & productive weekend like I have!!

OK, I know, I know! Get to the point of who won the contest right?

The names in Isaac's 8-bit hat:

Isaac drawing the winner:

And the winner is:

PBnJ Holly!!! Congrats Holly (email me to let me know your address & I will get it right off to you). I can't wait to see what you make with it!

Thanks so much to everyone who added their inspirational songs. I'm still tracking down a few of them but I will post the entire list later. It's been really fun reading all the responses! You guys really do rock!

I did have a productive weekend you know. I've been test knitting a sock for Bryony & it's going brilliantly! I love the way the pattern is working out in my Nature's Palette. Yummy, yummy combination I tell you!

I also managed to finish & felt a little thing called the Nicky Epstein felted floral bag!

Here's a little teaser. I won't be showing off the whole thing til' it's blocked & lined.

Pretty nifty eh? I can't wait to have it all finished up!! It's going to be grand (if I do say so myself)!

Rain, Rain go away.

2006-05-10T18:19:00.000-04:00

Blech is the best word to describe the weather today.

Luckily I had a happy surprise waiting for me when I got home.

3 books that I ordered from Amazon and a postcard from our nations swamp, I mean capital, courtesy of Sandra. Isn't she such a sweetie!!

There has been much buzz in the blogosphere about the amazing lace. I suppose it is going to be "the summer knit along". It was funny to read the blog today & see the sentence "In an amazing coincidence, all three Leahs are awash in indecision."

Yep, I'm still undecided as to my teammate (and apparently the other Leah's in the kal are as well).

I know for a fact that I will be working on Orangina but I also really want to do a shawl or stole. I have the pattern for the hanging vines stole which Zen needle made look & sound so appealing. I've also been toying with doing the flower basket shawl. I also have the pattern for the flared lace smoke ring & some scrumptious yarn to make it in. I think I have my heart set on a shawl though. Any thoughts?

Now I'm off to finish the felted bag. Yep, that's right I said FINISH! I have all the colorwork done & just need to get the sides and handles knitted. I hope to be felting by Friday. With that done & Accidentally on Purpose going smoothly I just need to clear up some other WIPs & start lace training!

Don't forget to get your entries in to the contest!! I am loving the interesting mix so far!!

Ah how far we have come and a contest to commemorate!

2006-05-08T08:59:00.000-04:00

**Thanks for the wishes for sleep & the helpful hints. I am happy to tell you that I got a great nights sleep without taking anything last night. WOO HOO**

On to our regularly scheduled post:

It seems like spring is the time for all things to start fresh & new. Not entirely surprising then to find out so many knitbloggers started there blogs in this season. Myself being one of them. Today is my one year blogiversary.

When I started this blog I had no idea that anyone would ever read it, or comment on it or that it's existence would yield me so many true friends.

*Warning, yes I will be getting mushy*

Our little blog community provides the BEST stitch n' bitch around. You get to peek in on people's lives & see if you like the project they are knitting or the book they are reading & with that you create a group of friends that suits you. Mind you I am not advocating being exclusionary. I think the entire notion of knitblogging & the sharing aspect excludes that in and of itself. I am merely saying it's nice to find knitters with similar styles or interests to help with your questions, offer advice & ultimately friendship.

So many of you have been there though the wonderful and the rotten times of both knitting & all the incidentals that happen when we aren't knitting. I really, deeply appreciate that. So, thanks! You guys ROCK!

**End of mush**

Speaking of rocking. I like so many others want to commemorate my big 1 year blogiversary by having a CONTEST!

I'm calling it:

Rock for Socks

First the best part of any contest, the prize:
Photo courtesy of Yahaira & Pureknits

2 skeins of Nature's Palette sock yarn in "Mallard" perfect for May's project spectrum huh!! Yahaira gave me 2 skeins of this in "Odd duck #3" for my birthday and I can't tell you how soft and wonderful this yarn is- I LOVE IT. The most amazing part is that they are all dyed with entirely natural dyes. Yes, flowers, nuts, berries. It's really amazing that the colors are so vibrant. Pure knits is now carrying it. You can check out more color choices here.

So now the contest**.

Many of you know I am almost as obsessive about music as I am about knitting so what I want is the song or songs that inspire you most. I don't care what kind of music it is if it makes you want to knit, or sew or just create then I want to hear it.

Please leave a comment with your song(s). I will use the old "names in a hat" method of choosing. I will leave the contest open until next Sunday and announce the winner on Monday (because how better to start a Monday than winning yarn). I want ideas from across the pond as well. I will send this yarn anywhere!!

At the end I plan on gathering up as many of the songs as I can find (thank you itunes) and making a Mixed CD. I'll post the playlist next week. If you like the playlist & fancy a copy feel free to email me.

Now, go forth & be inspired!

**Special thanks to Chris and her Chaotic playlists post for the idea. Thanks Chris!

Not enough sleep.

2006-05-07T17:10:00.000-04:00

I'm. So. Tired.

I haven't slept well since Thursday. I miss sleep. I need sleep. I'm not sure why I'm having such trouble. I've cut out caffeine & been going to the gym and I'm exhausted but sleep doesn't come.

So tonight I may take something. Maybe all I need is one good night's sleep.

I just joined The Amazing Lace. I'm really excited to try a more intricate lace project this summer. While I still plan on making Orangina & Lucky, I think my "partner" for the amazing lace will be a lacey shawl that Elizabeth Bennet would be proud of.

More exciting things tomorrow!

Right to the point.

2006-05-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

This is a Sunday morning picture (when I intended to post pictures- oops). I'm now 10 rows into the colorwork on the second side. It's going a lot faster now that have a better handle on the whole "fair isle" thing!! It's a lot to keep track of and using two hands! Sheesh!!

On to my distraction:

My first giotto sock finished. Also a fast(er) knit when you actually work on it. It took me no time once I started the heel. I love the way Marie's yarn knits up. It's so soft & looks great when it's made into a sock!

I'm really concentrating on finishing the bag this week. I feel like I'm in the homestretch now. The only problem I have with it is it's really heavy & awkward to turn. I suppose I should have used circular needles.... Ah hindsight. Maybe I'll switch it over tonight.

So, is anyone else completely enthralled by Texas Ranch House ? I love these PBS reality shows.

I'm thinking of whipping up a special dinner for Cinco de Mayo on Friday night (for no reason in particular). When I was at the farmer's market this afternoon the cilantro smelled so good that it's all I've been thinking about since then.

I was thinking of making this. I had completely forgotten that I clipped that recipe til' Shelterrific wrote about it.

Any other vegetarian ideas out there?

Overwhelmed!

2006-04-29T14:39:00.000-04:00

You guys really know how to make a girl blush!! Thanks so much for the response on my hair! I really love this cut (how could I not when it takes 15 minutes to go from wet to perfectly coifed)! If you are ever in Jacksonville, FL & in need of a cut, make your way to see my sister, Corrie at Hair Peace.

Now for some project spectrum goodness (which there has been a severe lack of this month).

A mosaic of yellows & oranges around our house. A little slimmer this month but there is still some good stuff in there. I think that is my favorite part of project spectrum, making a point to find & create those colors I don't always work with.

Next month's color, green, will be much easier for me.

How about a novel idea for tomorrow, a post that actually contains proof that I do, indeed, knit!

Enjoy your Saturday!

Pictures as promised

2006-04-26T19:16:00.000-04:00

I really do love my new haircut!

As an added bonus today my mail brought me 4 skeins of Pure knits Bamboo yarn in the "Leah" colorway. It's soft, scrumptious & beautifully dyed!!! It's going to look fantastic as this, don't you think?

A weekend recap and a confession

2006-04-25T14:40:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much for all my birthday well wishes! You guys are all too sweet & it really warms my heart to get such a response.

I agree that the cards I got were awesome & with Kym's assertion that "29 is the new 21". All in all it was a great day that turned into a great weekend.

We headed down to Jax on Friday & I hung out with my sister/hair stylist. It was great to see her & check out her new apartment but even better to get her to cut my hair. I have a stylist in Atlanta that I really like & trust but when I'm changing something major I would rather have my sister do it. She's great at her job & really honest about what is & isn't going to work. Donning a new bob with really dramatic angles & fabu new choppy bangs I feel even better about being 29 (my hair never looked this good at 21). I'll have pictures of the new 'do tomorrow.

Saturday was a whirlwind of friends & family. I got to see all the most important people in my world, eat some great food check out our friends Max & Cash's new record store, Moon Colony Razorblade. I found plenty of audio, video & literary goodness there to spend some of my birthday cash on. It also doesn't hurt when I walk in and find that a few of my other friends just happen to be hanging out there. It's got a really great atmosphere & tons of big comfy cushions near the window that were just calling to be a knitting hang out!

By the time Sunday rolled around and we made it back to Atlanta I was exhausted!! Too much food & fun & beer. So my confession is this.... I picked up the needles for the first time in 6 days today. I can't believe that 6 days went by where I didn't knit. There was just so much going on & although I packed projects (my felted bag & giotto socks) I just never got around to it.

That leaves me with some serious catching up to do!! The felted bag is coming along nicely. I've almost finished the bottom & my first Giotto is soaring (now that I've picked it up again that is).

Oh & I owe a public apology to Claire (my april project spectrum postcard swap partner) for being so sucky as to keep forgetting to mail her card. I will have it out by Friday Claire!! I promise!

Lolly had this fun little tidbit up on her blog today.

The cover art of what is in heavy rotation at my house right now:

Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!

29 and holding

2006-04-19T18:11:00.000-04:00

It's my birthday!! Yippee! No really, yippee! I love birthdays and at this point I have no real issues with getting older. I feel happier and more fulfilled at 29 than I did ever before.

Today the mail lady in our building asked how old I was & I replied "29". She kinda smirked & said "No really, how old are you". So I said "29". She laughed and said she thought 29 was just the age women gave when they didn't really want to admit how old they were. "I've been telling people I'm 29 for 10 years" she said. This woman is kind & friendly but clearly pushing 50. I just smiled politely & left it at that.

Then there was a party in my honor at our afterschool program. They are 5 of the coolest, funniest 11 year old girls you will ever meet. Of course they immediately asked how old I was & I told them. You should have seen the looks on their faces! "29" said one girl "That's almost 30!!" Immediately after that two of them started whispering furiously and came to my defense with this little gem :

"29 isn't really that old. I mean it's not like she's as old as Brittany Spears. Now she's old".

So what does that say about Brittany? It did finally come out that they were all shocked because they thought I was 23. Angels I tell you.

Then they gave me this:

I love the last picture. Priceless wisdom from the mouth of babes.

Tonight we feast on Samosas from our favorite Indian Bakery Royal Sweets and Chocolate Cheesecake! YUM!

If I meet you in the night, you're free to covet all you like.

2006-04-15T18:41:00.000-04:00

How about another round of things I love this week?

1. Neko Case. We saw her live last night at the Variety Playhouse & it was really wonderful. Her voice has such depth and emotion that really is only hinted at in her CD's. It left the whole place with the feeling of a bittersweet lullaby.

NPR has a huge MP3 of a live concert she did for them recently here.

2. Giotto socks. I know I said no sock knitting this month but all the concentration on the colorwork for the felted bag left me needing another knit. Something to break it up a bit. I'm using my flickering flame colorway from Brooklyn Handspun. A perfect match for this pattern & for project spectrum!

Anna's sock patterns = LOVE

3. My recent yarn purchase!!

It was totally worth breaking my "yarn buying fast" don't you think?

4. My new camera. It's a Nikon CoolPix 4800. It was a birthday present from Isaac. Who in traditional Isaac fashion, couldn't wait til my birthday next Wednesday & gave it to me last week. Not that I mind AT ALL!

It's got all sorts of great features like a teriffic macro setting & 8.3x zoom (which is soooo cool). It takes great WIP's & yarn porn pics (which is probably not what the people at Nikon designed it for).

You can check out some of my other pictures on my Flickr .

5. Candy Eggs. Particularly ones with peanut butter in them like the reese's peanut butter cup eggs or the speckled peanut butter M&M's.

Somehow it's just yummier in egg form.

6. Tonight we are off to the drunken unicorn to see the selmanaires. Beer + Rock N' Roll = A good night!!

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Just for fun lets go out tonight and get our colours done

2006-04-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how people can surprise you. It can be something little or big but something you are totally blown away by.

Since I didn't get to blog yesterday I'm sure that most of you have heard of Yahaira's new endeavor, Pure knits. The site is beautiful, chocked full of amazingly detailed pictures, mouthwatering descriptions and a lovely layout. Yahaira has been pretty secretive about this for the past few months so I was totally surprised by her email yesterday. I love that she saw a void & filled it! She didn't sit around and wait for someone else to do it, she just did. I'm really so excited for her I could burst!

Of course she is now my yarn pimp & my 6 month yarn diet was blown yesterday with the purchase of some sundara sock yarn in black magic. I have been so envious of everyone else's cool sundara socks so it was an easy sell.

So yeah I love her store & I am sure I could be considered biased but that is what friends are for. Plus what knitter doesn't dream of having a colorway named after them? In luscious bamboo yarn to boot!

Isaac wants to buy me some of my namesake bamboo but I really want to have an idea of what to use it for first. I was thinking of a summer shawl. Any pattern ideas?

I will leave you with my own surprise. I decided on Kim's b-day knit. The felted floral bag from Interweave knits fall 2004.

I took these progress shots on Sunday morning. I'm now 2 rows away from having the first full side finished. It's a straight forward fair isle which means lots of concentrating on where each color should go. No beer or TV while knitting this up!

I've been a busy bee!

2006-04-06T18:23:00.000-04:00

I'm calling her "Butterscotch" and she is the first of two little yellow bunnies I'm knitting up for my favorite babes.

I used a tiny bit of lamb's pride worsted (left over from Isaac's 8 bit hat) and Jess Hutch's bunny pattern. This little sweetie is one fast knit (it took me just over 2 hours or 2 episodes of the new Dr. Who depending on how you tell time). I swear it hardly made a dent in the leftover yarn. So much for stash busting!

I also finished my first purse for this month's Sew, I knit! along.

I used the jordy bag tutorial from craftster and some vintage fabric from my stash. It's a great tutorial for anyone interested in an easy spring bag.

Thanks for all the comments on my stash & my elfines! I'm on a serious mission to stash bust so hopefully I will *magically* wave my needles & turn some of that stash into FO's! Or at least become a faster knitter!

My stash

2006-04-01T16:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not as big as some others but it's all mine! At last count I had enough yarn for 5 pairs of socks, 5 sweaters, a capelet & about 2 dozen random full skeins as well as countless bits left over from other projects.

The cones are all vintage wool tweed in sportweight & fingering weight. They were given to me by my friend Kim's mom. The colors are really cool & I think I may make Lucky from Sn'b Nation with some of it. The rest may be destined for socks.

I love all the comments about my elfines!! Debbie doubts the speed at which they can be knit. I swear they are fast! I know someone out there can back me up on this! Come on people!

As far as the kool aid dying went I used the Knitty kool aid dying microwave method. It is super simple & only requires 1 pack of kool aid for each ounce of yarn, water & a microwave safe dish. No smelly vinegar!

Now I'm off to make some pasta salad & go for a walk with my hubby! I hope you guys enjoy your weekend!

Elfine's done

2006-03-31T19:50:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures of the much loved Elfine's socks.

Toe up & lacey they are lovely and so fast. As are all of Anna's sock patterns. Yahaira & I think it may be voodoo in her patterns. How else could they be so fast? Either way I'm not knockin it.

I used my Knit picks "dye your own" sock yarn & 4 packs of strawberry kool aid for the color. I'm pretty surprised by the vivid color (kool aid tends to be a bit flat).

There is nothing I don't love about these socks. While lace is difficult to memorize (for me at least) these follow such a simple pattern that it becomes evident where the stitches go.

Anna has my vote for the best sock patterns. Mind you I've only knit 3 pairs but 2 have been hers & I love them! Love them I say!

Thanks for all the comments about our buttons. It is a really cool opportunity. Hopefully they will sell like hotcakes!

Don't forget tomorrow!

Flash your stash

Go forth & flash ladies!!

Why oh why...

2006-03-30T20:35:00.000-05:00

Can I not remember to buy batteries for my camera????

My elfine's are done. I will reserve my usual gushing about how great Anna's patterns are until I post a picture tomorrow. Be prepared for deja vu!

In other news this week, I'm tired. I've been working long hours which is fine but it's really left me drained. No time for pilates class & too much coffee. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday! Yippee! I love Fridays!!

I've decided that April will be selfless knitting month. I do a lot, I mean A LOT of knitting for myself. I was inspired by Jennie's post as well as the need for some thoughtful, lovingly created gifts for my friend Kim & my sister, Corrie. I do love knitting for others but I worry that I'll work really hard & have it tossed off as in "oh well I could have bought that at Target". Lucky for me my sis asked for an Accidentally on Purpose vest (and I love her enough to do all that stst) and Kim is a novice knitter who appreciates anything handknit now that she has tried her hand at it!

I'm also doing some stashbusting this weekend by using some random skeins I have to make Jess Hutch's adorable bunny for the babes in my life.

Oh & before I forget, our buttons are now available at Highly Atomic Vintage Clothing in Syracuse, NY. They have been so great to work with & have tons of amazing stuff up in their ebay auctions as well as in their brick & mortar store. Stop by & check them out!

And because I think posts are always more fun with pictures I leave you with Me & Max knitting Isaac's Dr. Who scarf back in January.

Believe it or not he never tries to play with the yarn. He just likes to be a part of the creative process!

Ah, Saturday morning posts.

2006-03-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

I really love being up early on a Saturday morning with coffee & NPR on in the background.

Thanks for all the ideas for names for my Wee one! There were all so great it was hard to choose. I finally decided on "Speck" (short for spectrum) courtesy of Coleen. Oh & Jennie it's not all that "wee", actually the height with ears included is 10 inches.

YAY!! Isaac just walked in with the mail & what did I receive but my postcard from Maryse for the project spectrum postcard swap.

Look at those crocheted flowers! They are so lovely! It's like a little piece of art!! I need to find a place to hang it! Thank you so much Maryse! It's been great fun swapping with you!

If any of you are wondering what I sent Maryse, well I forgot to take a picture of it but, it can be seen here on Maryse's blog.

I didn't get much opportunity to knit this week so I don't have any progress shots. I've decided that Cherie probably won't be finished til' the fall. Just because it's one of those really functional knits. It's slow on size 5's & 6's and I'm constantly distracted by all the new, interesting knits out there. I am determined to finish it though! Even if it's during the hottest part of the summer!

In better knitting news my elfine's will be done any day now! After that I'm taking a break from socks and jumping into birthday knitting for my sister and my friend Kim. I'm undecided on Kim's gift yet but my sister has requested a, get this, Accidentally on Purpose vest. EEK! Talk about boring knitting! Oh well, it's for my sister so I guess I can go through all the stockinette stitch again. *sigh*

Bryony was kind enough to point out that I am one of the last knit bloggers in the world to have not done this meme so, here it is.

4 jobs I've had:
1. Dog walker at a pet resort. Upside it was fun to be around animals all day. Downside? Poop & getting bitten 3 times in one summer!
2. Runner/bartender. This was a great job. I worked at one of the most popular bars inJacksonvillee & got to hang out with some of my favorite bands. The highlights? Meeting Mike Ness, They might be giants, De la Soul & thedead milkmenn. The lowpoint- dealing with blink 182. UGH!
3. Preschool teacher- I think that says it all!
4. Barista- at this job it was clearly more about how short our uniforms were than how good the coffee was.

4 films I can watch over and over:
1. Spinal Tap
2. Ever After
3. Rushmore
4. Spirited Away

4 tv shows I love to watch:
1. Venture Brothers
2. Iron Chef America
3. Lost
4. Law & Order

4 places I've lived:
1. San Diego CA
2. Tuscon, AZ
3. Jacksonville, FL
4. Decatur, GA

4 places I've been on holiday:
1. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2. London/Paris
3. Asheville, NC
4. Cozumel, Mexico

4 websites I visit daily:
1. Bloglines
2. Craftster
3. Etsy
4. Flickr

4 fave yarns:
1. Blue Sky Alpaca
2. Cascade 220
3. Rowan Kidsilk Haze
4. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino

4 websites I'm tagging:

Well as Byronry pointed out I'm one of the last knitbloggers to do this but I will also use the "I'm pointing a finger at" Coleen, Jennie and Horse Power.

It is a Wee Wonderful!

2006-03-21T21:32:00.000-05:00

Meet my bunny, no name yet. Any ideas?

Made from Hillary Lang's nifty Wee Bunny pattern.

In the arms of my sweet lovin' man

2006-03-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Isaac will be home in just over an hour! YAY!!

I agree with those of you that said a little alone time is good. I actually love being alone in the house, which is not to say I don't enjoy my husbands company! It's just the way I grew up. I was a total latch key kid in a neighborhood that had no other kids. Every afternoon I would be home for around 2 hours by myself before my mom got home. I suppose that is where my craftiness sprang from. I was always doing something reading, cooking, painting, cross-stitch, trying to teach the dog to walk on a balance beam (it got really boring in my neck of the woods).

It's served me well over the years especially in dealing with Isaac. Not only is he often gone a couple of weeks a year but we work totally different schedules. While I get home at 5:00pm he gets home at 10:00pm. It gives me a lot of time to knit or sew or watch mindless TV shows he would never watch. As much as I love my time alone I still get excited when I hear his footsteps on the walk! I'm a really lucky girl.

Thanks for all the compliments on the skirt. I am really hooked on sewing. I love skirts and I really can't wait til I really master all those skills. I have this dream of making the majority of my own clothes- either knit or sewn. So this was one giant leap for me!

When the husband is out of town, what's a girl to do?

2006-03-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

How about sew a skirt?

My finished skirt for Sew? I knit! as well as a lovely red for Project Spectrum

I used Betsy Ross pattern 001 "One Hot Skirt" and some random fabric I got at Jo-Ann's last year.

I can't express how much I love this skirt. Over at the sew along there were comments made about the skirt being on the actual waist vs. on the hips as so many of us wear our skirts these days. So I made it one size bigger & got the perfect fit on my hips.

Putting in the zipper was the only real challenge I had. I thought I had it on the first try when I realized that I had sewn the skirt on to itself closing part of the waist! OOPS! It was easily remedied but in the moment I was less than pleased.

I can't wait to make another skirt with this pattern & with some skills under my belt! The pattern is really honestly so well written & easy to follow I would highly recommend it to a novice sewer.

So, now I'm off to celebrate! I think I will curl up with a glass of wine, my elfine socks & A Very Long Engagement. My idea of a perfect Saturday home alone!!

Reds & pinks all around.

2006-03-17T07:46:00.000-05:00

Moments can be monuments to you, If your life is interesting and true.

2006-03-13T21:42:00.000-05:00

Things I adore this week:

1. The Silver Jews

They were one of my favorite bands before I got to see them live on both Friday & Saturday nights. The shows only cemented their place in my heart. I don't think I can put into words how amazing these shows were without sounding like I had been brainwashed by a cult. Seriously. These were the first real shows of the first ever tour of a band that has been making astounding music since 1989. Yes, we all waited long enough.

Pictures from the Athens show are here if you are interested.

2. Cable & Tweed

A lovely music blog I found last week before the Silver Jews shows. Lots of coverage of local GA music. Check it out for some great mp3's & full downloads of both of the Georgia Silver Jews shows.

3. Band Propaganda

I have been working hard on propaganda for the the cadets and their show at (but not affiliated with) south by southwest. If you guys are in Austin on the 18th check them out. Directions & info at Discos Mariscos

Patches:

Shirts:

4. Elfine's socks

Knit up in my "dye your own" strawberry kool aid concoction.

Here's a tease:

These knit up so fast! I have already almost finished one!!

5. Project Spectrum.

It's great fun noticing all the reds & pinks in the world. Wednesday, photos of all the reds & pinks in my world!

If absence makes the heart grow fonder

2006-03-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

Then you guys must love me!!! Sorry for my extra long absence. Time has really gotten away from me!

Last week we went to St. Petersburg Beach in FL to be in Isaac's sisters wedding. We were down there for 6 days & it was really lovely! The weather was perfect, we got to soak up some sun & swim in the ocean (it's one thing I miss about moving away from FL).

Bonnie & Mike had a wonderful ceremony & an excellent reception. It was one serious party! I know they will have a wonderful life together!

We got back into town last night & I am still beat! There hasn't been much knitting or crafting going on but I have things to show from last week!

Like my first ever gocco print! Isaac did the illustration for the buttons I give away with each order in out etsy shop but I saw some serious potential. It makes a really cute card! These are FAR from perfect but it was fun & easy! It's really too bad the gocco has been discontinued. I already stocked up on supplies.

I managed to work on a two in one project today!! Since it's now March 7th I need to get cracking on my Sew, I knit project as well as my Reds/Pinks projects for project spectrum. So today I managed to cut my pattern & fabric for my Red polka dot skirt. I really love this fabric & cutting the skirt wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Hopefully the sewing won't be either!

Tonight I'm working on my postcard for the project spectrum postcard swap. My swap partner Maryse is one crafty cat! In an odd turn of events we have the same exact wedding anniversary, month & day! I guess great minds think alike!

Now, I'm off to dye some sock yarn with Strawberry kool-aid. I think it's destined to become a pair of elfines I know I said I was going to use my bluejeans for them but I want to cast on now & work on something project spectrum related! I think I will save the bluejeans for June!

Well, it's about damn time!

2006-02-25T11:06:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Badcaul socks by Anna Bell.
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM in colorway P111 (two different dyelots hence the "fraternal twins" look).
Needles: Two US 1, 24 inch circulars.

I'm forgoing the start/stop dates as you all know my little fall had me out of commission for a couple of weeks.

I think the badcaul pattern will be my go to sock pattern. I mean I am in LOVE with this pattern! How could I not be?

They grow so fast toe up. The cable pattern is easy to memorize, knits fast & looks mighty impressive! I love these socks so much I am thinking of using the flickering flame colorway from Marie for another pair. The bluejeans is going to become Elfine socks. I implore anyone thinking of knitting these to do so! They are such a wonderful knit!! They are also comfy! I wore them yesterday & they are lovely on the feet!

Speaking of Anna, did you guys see her Birdie pattern? **Swoon**

I've been spending a ton of time on etsy lately! Thanks to all my blog friends who bought buttons! I am working on some print gocco cards & shirts this weekend. Hopefully they will be up on Monday.

I have been spending some of my earnings on etsy as well. One of my favorite sellers Wingnut had an awesome sale the other day where I picked up on this cutie. She has the most amazing needle felted goodies. I adore the Banana boat owls. I had the chance to see some of her felties in person during a trip to Savannah last fall. They are really outstanding in person!

I am also really enamored of Orange Peel Enamel. Check out her necklaces! They are amazing!

Oh & Oobee's creations are really wonderful!

Lastly I will leave you with Isaac's favorite etsy shop I cum sunshine. We met them at Indie Craft Experience Atlanta and Isaac got one of there AT AT shirts. He gets tons of compliments on it!

If you guys do buy anything on Etsy and want to post pictures of it, I started an etsy flickr group- etsy love.

The Bishop Method: A review

2006-02-21T19:11:00.000-05:00

Karin has actually been waiting with baited breath for this so, here goes.

At first glance "The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction" by Bishop & Arch seems just like any other "home sewing guide" from the 1950's. It's chocked full of antiquated sayings and measurement/size guides that will make today's size "small" feel like a whale. If you can get past all of that and ignore the dated material it is actually chocked full of really useful sewing information.

The book is broken down into 15 chapters starting with a basic "how to" on sewing and the use of equipment and machines, covering everything you could want to know about cutting, patterns, measurement & tailoring and ending with adding details. At this point I think it's pertinent to say that the basic "how to" is really basic. If you have never sewed before I would not recommend this book as your only guide. An absolute beginner should use this in conjunction with lessons or a different book.

The fundamental things that they harp on er em I mean "principals" are:
Grain Perfection
Accuracy in preparing, cutting & marking the fabric
Cutting to fit
Perfection in stitching
Perfection in pressing

There are 10 "torn projects" (torn refers to the idea of perfecting the grain before sewing). The projects have fairly easy to follow directions (once you get used to the dry dialog) and all but 2 (the poncho and the pleated skirt) are really quite cute and could look very modern done in the right fabric. They are all accompanied by pictures as well as diagrams (very useful)!

From the simplest "torn projects" you are then walked through measurements and pattern buying then into cutting, preparing and sewing your garments. All the chapters include multiple pictures, diagrams and references to other chapters (in case of confusion). Also included is a thorough glossary of terms used in the book as well as basic sewing terms.

The latter chapters are very detailed in making items work for your body type and working with any and all patterns to suit your needs.

For the price of $.01 + shipping at Amazon I would say this book is a "must have" for anyone who wants get serious about making clothes!

I hope this helps all you sewers out there!! Now I'm off to work on my Badcaul! My finger is feeling much more knitterly today!!

Bionic hands....

2006-02-20T17:50:00.000-05:00

Well, mine are feeling quite bionic yet but, better!

Thanks so much for the outpouring of support and amusing stories of your own klutzy ways! Who would have thought such a bunch of klutzy folks would have picked up a hobby that requires the use of long pointy sticks?

I owe lots of you emails & will get to that soon but I thought for now a little update was in order.

My finger is feeling better. It's definitely still sore but I can move it easier each day. Part of the problem is it's been really cold here the past few days & cold + sore is a problem. I woke up this morning feeling optimistic and tried working on my carpet bag. Something just wasn't right yet. I was slow to get in a rhythm and honestly I just kept screwing up. I lost track of my count a couple of times & had to frog back. Lets just say it wasn't meant to be for me to pick up the needles today.

Not knitting has been rough. I've been doing a lot of reading but I really needed a crafty activity so on Saturday I decided to make some buttons.

We have a professional 1 inch button maker for doing band promo stuff. I had been meaning to make some buttons out of these free waterlogged 1951 encyclopedias that we have. This seemed like the perfect opportunity so I went to work.

2 days and much punching, cutting and pressing later I have 32 sets of buttons up for sale in our Etsy shop. I think they turned out really nicely (if I do say so myself).

I also washed the fabric for a couple of sewing project for this week. I'm going to make an apron based on instructions from the Bishop method book. I'm also going to be daring and try a clutch purse of my own design. It will give me an opportunity to try putting in a zipper.

Oh & Angela asked for my thoughts on the Bishop Method book that I've been reading. Well tomorrow I will be posting a full fledged review of the book!

I know you will all be waiting with baited breath!

The post in which I admit to you guys that I'm a total klutz

2006-02-15T17:54:00.000-05:00

As evidenced by the trip that resulted in a sprained finger on Sunday morning. Yep. It's been this way my whole life. As long as I can remember there are stories of me tripping & falling.

There was the time when I was 5 and we were all jumping out of Jake Nelson's tree house. I was really afraid to do it so I hesitated then went for it. My hesitation left me too close to a tree branch where my jeans got snagged & I got stuck. Yeah, I was hanging from the tree by my favorite pair of jeans with scooby doo embroidered on the pockets.

When I was 9 I had the biggest part in the school Christmas recital. I got a new fancy frilly dress & super shiny patent leather shoes that were also slippery. After reciting my lines perfectly I turned to walk back to my place in the chorus & ended up sliding a couple of feet and landing with my frilly dress over my head.

I could go on & on like this for hours. The time I gave myself a blackeye learning to windsurf or when I broke my toe chasing my cousin around the house. My favorite was last January when I broke a finger zipping up a kid's coat. Yeah, that one says it all.

I think the best part of my lack of coordination is that my maiden name was get this-Grace. There were endless jokes about my sheer lack of grace. Oh the irony.

Sunday morning was no exception. I was running to answer the phone & lost my balance. I caught myself but sprained my right pointer finger in the process.

So I have now pecked out this entire post SLOWLY & can't really knit or do much on my sewing projects either. It is feeling better today, the swelling is gone & the Dr. said I should be good to go by Sat. or Sun. A whole week without knitting! EEEK!

I've been doing a lot of reading on knitting & sewing the past couple of days. I found a really cool book about making your own clothes called The bishop method of clothing construction which is chocked full of 1950's sewing goodness. It has really easy to follow instructions & patterns too.

Oh & Agnes and Bekki both left really great tips for putting a zipper in in the comments of my last post. Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate all the advice.

So for the next couple of days I will have to live vicariously through all the olympic knitters & folks getting ready for their Sew? I knit! projects.

At least I have project runway to look forward to tonight!!

Sock love

2006-02-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

This picture is for Coleen who graciously requested a picture of my finished Badcaul sock. As stated before I adore this pattern beyond belief. A sock with cables knit up in less than a week!?!?! It just might be my new favorite sock pattern!!

I came home to find more sock knitting goodness left by my beloved husband. It's 4 skeins of Color your own sock yarn from knit picks & 2 skeins of amazing hand dyed sock yarn from Brooklyn Handspun. Marie's colors are even more amazing in real life. Isaac chose "flickering flame" and "bluejeans". I'm really thrilled that he was able to get me some of her yarn. He knew I was low on sock yarn & asked me for my favorite sites. I immediately pointed him towards Marie! I really lucked out to get 2 skeins!!

The "blue jeans" colorway is destined to become Elfine socks. Can you tell I am totally in love with all of Anna's patterns? Marie will be posting more yummy sock yarns tomorrow in her shop if you are so inclined! I really want some of the superwash she mentions here. Superwash sock yarn in flickering flame? Double Yum!!

Thanks for all the responses about my sewing! I am really excited about starting the sew-along. I'm glad to see so many of my blog friends have joined too!

I decided to upload a few of my favorite fabrics to a new photoset on flickr.

I think I am going to do a trial skirt with the vintage wrap skirt pattern I have. I have a ton of fabric that would look good & it seems it would be an easy first skirt since there is no zipper. The Betsy Ross pattern I ordered requires a zipper. I have sewed a zipper into the lining of a bag before & it looked OK but it was on an inside pocket not on the back of a skirt. Maybe I need to practice some more of that before I start the skirt.

Any experienced sewers wanna give me some pointers on putting a zipper in a skirt?

I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You

2006-02-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've been listening to a lot of the Silver Jews for the past week or so. The new album Tanglewood Numbers is amazing, perfect & profound. It is a huge departure from their typical sound of the past few years & I think the change is good for them. As a matter of fact I think a little change is good for us all now and again.

That's why I spent this weekend getting to know my new sewing machine a little better. Now I'm a novice sewer in every sense of the word but I've had a machine for years. It just didn't come fluidly or naturally to me the way knitting did. Sewing seemed more like a chore than a joy. A hindrance vs. creative outlet.

That all changed when we found this gem at a thrift store.It's an Elna Lotus. It's tiny and works like a champ. I had no idea that a sewing machine could be so easy to use. My old singer dressmaker could do a ton of fancy stitches but they were no use to me as I got frustrated just trying to thread the bobbin.

I whipped up a few basic bags out of vintage pillowcases to practice on & they actually looked good (as opposed to my old look- chewed up and spit out by an angry woodchuck). It was fun and I actually found myself wanting to do more of it!

With that spirit I'm all signed up & ready to start on my project for Sew, I knit. Our first project will be a skirt. All I need to do now is figure out which pattern to use (I'm either using Betsy Ross #001 or a vintage pattern for a wrap skirt) and decide on which fabric. It's funny even though I haven't really enjoyed sewing in the past I cannot pass up vintage fabric. If you thought my yarn stash was bad.....

I also finished my first Badcaul sock yesterday. These socks knit up so fast & the pattern really rocks! The cables look so great in the koigu & it's so soft & squishy!

Now if only my other WIP's were moving so fast.

A bloggers (silent) poetry reading

2006-02-02T19:46:00.000-05:00

In honor of friendship I'm adding this selection to Grace's Poppies silent poetry reading.

I do not offer the old smooth prizes,
But offer the rough new prizes.
These are the days that happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is called riches,
You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or achieve.
However sweet the laid-up stores,
Hoverer convenient the dwellings,
You shall not remain there.
However sheltered the port,
And however calm the waters,
You shall not anchor there.
However welcome the hospitality that welcomes you
You are permitted to receive it but a little while.
Afoot and lighthearted, take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before you,
The long brown path before you, leading wherever you choose.
Say only to one another:
Comrade, I give you my hand!
I give you my love, more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law:
Will you give me yourself?
Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick together as long as we live?

--Walt Whitman

Laying low...

2006-02-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

First of all I want to thank you all for your wonderful words on my Angelica. It was really heart warming to read them all! You guys are great!

So the reason I thought that picture was bad was probably because I felt like death warmed-over when we took it. I had a low fever & a terrible head cold but NOTHING was going to keep me posting a picture!

On Friday we headed to jacksonville. Let me publicly declare my love for my husband once again. He drove the entire 5 hours to jax so I could sleep. Ah, true love!

Once I got doped up on enough cold medicine we had a really great time in jax. The double your pleasure 30th birthday party for Dusti & Amanda was so much fun! It's so great to get to see all our friends in one place. It was so hard when we first moved to Atlanta from Jax. It seemed like we missed out on so much in everyone's lives. We eventually got into a lovely little groove in Atl complete with scrabble competitions, indie movie film fests & some wonderful knitting pals. It's such a different dynamic here than in Jacksonville but I love it just the same. Now if all our Jax friends would just move up here! I do miss them terribly!!

With my head cold, traveling & partying I didn't get any knitting done over the weekend. So on Monday night I was determined to learn the turkish cast on. It was a lot easier than I thought. I played around with it for awhile til I really got it down. It makes such a nice clean toe!

Tuesday I actually started on my Badcaul socks. I can't believe how much I love knitting toe up! This pattern is really easy to memorize and is knitting up in no time!

Here is a close-up of the cables:

I'm using some Koigu KPPPM sent to me by my wonderful secret pal Janet. The mates are going to be slightly mismatched as anyone who knows about yarn knows that if it's not from the same dyelot it can't be guaranteed to match. That can be triply true for Koigu. I don't care at all since I love the yarn & the pattern so much!

Now I'm off to work on the scalloped carpet bag from Handknit Holidays. Remember that one? Well, in my quest to destash & finish up all my WIP's it is the first up! I think it will be perfect for spring!

As promised!

2006-01-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

**Sorry about the bad picture I will post better ones soon**

Pattern: Angelica by Glampyre.
Yarn: Hip Knits silk in "dapple grey".
Needles: Size 6 & 8 Denise needles (36in).
Started: December 27, 2005
Finished: January 26,2006

What to say about this knit? I LOVE IT!! The silk, the pattern, the knitalong!

The fit is fantastic & the silk was really lovely to work with. This is definitely one of those sweaters I will knit again in a different yarn for a different look & feel!

For my next knit I'm going to work on Badcaul as my next sock project. I am simply in love with all of Amelia's sock patterns. I love that they are toe up & magic loop. It will let me stretch my "sock knitting" legs a little!

For now I must pack for our weekend trip to j-ville for a big time birthday bash Saturday night!

Have a lovely weekend!!

Dreams, Italian art film style....

2006-01-26T10:26:00.000-05:00

Last night I had two really weird dreams. In the first I'm in the shower fully clothed with the water running and the curtain is clear so you can see out into the bathroom. There is a TV where the mirror should be and they seem to be reporting on Paris Hilton. In the corner there is an old woman wearing clown make-up and licking a lightbulb. Suddenly I turn & look back in the shower and standing there with Pauly Shore.
Then I wake up.

Hmmmmmm....what on earth could that mean? Is it because I ate ice cream at 11:00 last night? I mean I haven't thought of Pauly Shore since we watched his movie "Pauly Shore is Dead" a couple of years ago.

My second dream is very self explanatory. I'm sitting in a cafe having coffee with Gil Grissom ( William Petersen from CSI). We are seated next to the window and standing outside looking in is Bobby Goren ( Vincent D'Onofrio from Law & Order: Criminal Intent).

Thats it, that is the whole dream. So, why is that so self explanatory? Because I have recently been watching a TON of CSI while knitting. I love crime dramas & unfortunately I have seen just about every episode of every law & order series there is so, I turned to CSI. It's been great as I have 5 seasons of episodes to catch up on.

I suppose subconsciously I must really miss Goren & all his antics. I wish they were making more new episodes with him...

SO, I'm not so weird right? I mean we all have odd dreams don't we?

During all my CSI watching last night I managed to finish Angelica!! All I have left to do is seam up the sleeves! I will have pictures tonight!

In the meantime, any thoughts on my weirdo dreams?

The sun, she shines!

2006-01-24T11:47:00.000-05:00

We have had some serously dreary & dreadful weather here in Altanta for the past 4 days. Finally today the sun is out and it's lovely.

The weather has really affected my mood. It's so hard to be motivated just do go out in the cold & get soaking wet no matter what you try to do to stay dry.

Translation, although we stayed in almost all weekend I accomplished NOTHING! I didn't pick up any knitting til last night when I finished the body of angelica.

That was my first glimmer of hope for a better day. The bust decreases had me a little worried as it looked TINY but it fits like a glove.

Unfortunately bad weather= bad pictures. This progress shot is from last Thursday (our last day of sun). I'm excited about starting the sleeves (which I usually hate). I am really inspired by all the finished angelicas at the Knitalong.

It seems I'm not the only one who wants to be a better sock knitter in '06. Chrissy is hosting the sock-a-month along and Lynda is hosting the Count your socks along.

Of course I joined both. It's so great to see so many yarns and patterns being worked! It gives me so many great ideas!

This morning I stumbled across Lolly's new idea for a "createalong". It's called "Project Spectrum". The idea being that you take inspiration from the colors around you and create something in those colors. It doesn't have to be just about knitting. I have been planning on doing some dying as well as more sewing and embroidery. Hopefully this idea will serve as a jumping off point for some amazing creations! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

With that said I am off to enjoy lunch in the sun!

Huzzah!

2006-01-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Jaywalkers
Yarn: Knit picks sock garden merino in "geranium"
Needles: Two US size 1 24 in. circs (Susan bates I believe)
Started: December 6,2005
Finished: January 18,2006

I love these socks!! The pattern is wonderful. I can see why there are so many jaywalker devotees in the blogosphere. I will definitely make another pair of these. I also really liked the knit picks yarn. Aside from the fact that the color is so difficult to photograph it was really nice to work with.

I can now safely say that I am a sock knitting convert! Now I just need to decide what pattern to knit up next!

I have worked on Angelica a bit as well. I am just at the hip shaping & should have pics (and possibly a finished bodice) tonight! She is shaping up wonderfully! There are some really lovely finished ones in the KAL. I love all the color and yarn choices. This sweater looks great in anything!

Hobbies

2006-01-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

As evidenced by this blog I am passionate about knitting. It consumes my days and nights. I can often be found day dreaming about yarn, knitting or patterns at work or in traffic. It even happens while talking to friends on the phone. It may seem to some folks that all I do is knit but.. that's not true at all.

Believe it or not there is room for other hobbies in my life. One of them is thrift store shopping. I know that might seem weird but in our household one man's trash is another man's treasure. Most often when we need something it's off to the thrift store to find it. Isaac & I have so much fun exploring and we love finding deals.

Here are a few of my favorite thrift store finds (click the thumbnail for a bigger picture):

Those items are all gems to me!

Some of you may have realized that I also love to cook & bake. It seems so similar to knitting in my mind. You can be creative and make things up as you go along, there are a few simple rules to know and live by and it's soothing (to me at least). Sometimes when I'm frustrated with something I'm knitting I put it aside and go bake something.

So, I leave you with this:

My Grandma Myrick's banana nut bread recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
4 ripe bananas
3 eggs
2 cups wheat flour (or any flour of your choosing)
2/3 cup milk
3 tsp cold water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream the sugar and oil and add eggs and bananas. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients then add them to the banana mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add milk, water, vanilla and nuts. Mix & pour evenly into 2 ungreased bread pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Enjoy!!

Success!

2006-01-11T19:47:00.000-05:00

Isaac's birthday was yesterday & it was a smashing success (if I do say so myself). Thanks so much for all the well wishes on the Dr. Who scarf. I actually finished it on Sunday (it took an hour just to weave in all the ends from the color changes though). The finished length is a little over 10 feet with the fringe.

All in all it wasn't a bad knit. VERY MONOTONOUS, but well worth it to make Isaac so happy. The fact that the knit picks wool of the andes is so cheap made it really economical as well. Now all I need to do is find him a red british phone booth for the perfect picture.

Isaac loves it! He wore it to work today even though it was 65 degrees outside!!

Edited to add this picture:

Here are a couple of highlights from the evening:

Isaac's birthday cake. It was homemade Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. It was YUMMY!!!

Isaac enjoying his cake and his scarf.

I put a ton of new photos up on my flickr including lots of "scarf in progress" pictures and more birthday pictures.

Since I finished his scarf on Sunday I had some time to knit on my second jaywalker:

These pictures were taken in my car since the sunlight was so lovely. It is the best representation of the color I've been able to get. It is Knit picks sock garden in geranium.

I'm really loving sock knitting. This one is going so much faster than the first one. Maybe I am just getting the hang of the magic loop method or now I have more confidence. Either way I think I am addicted. I actually moved all my stuff to a bigger purse so I could carry my sock with me & knit whenever the opportunity arises. It's great when you are stuck in line at the bank or post office. It's actually calming just to know it's there....

Yeah, as far as other WIP's. Cherie is on hold & I haven't worked much on Angelica since last week. Here is an updated picture of my progress so far:

I'm going to work more on it this weekend. It's a fast knit by all accounts so hopefully I will have it finished soon!

Off to scavenge a piece of that yummy cake!!

You rock my sock!!

2006-01-05T11:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all the compliments on my jaywalker! It really makes a girl feel loved!

It's funny if you had asked me six months ago I would have told you that I could never knit a sock. I had spent plenty of time fondling lovely handpainted sock yarns at my LYS and ogling intricate patterns but it all seemed so foreign. The tiny little needles and barely there yarn. It was intimidating. I mean the first project I ever gave up on was a baby sweater on size 3 needles. How on earth could I work with size 1's?

To my surprise it wasn't that bad. You might even say it was good, enjoyable even, FUN.

Even after the first mistake and then the second. It was actually a lovely experience(with the frogging part excluded of course). I can see why there are knitters who knit nothing but socks(and those sort of knitters who knit socks so fast and beautifully it has me in awe). I hope to be one of those sock knitters some day!

I had some encouragement along the way. Thanks for that!

So on to the second sock right.... WRONG! I must finish Isaac's Dr. Who scarf before his birthday on the 10th. So I am eyeball high in garter stitch & worsted weight right now.

Who would have thought I would be pining for the day I could pick up sock yarn & size one needles again?

Well it wasn't my last FO in 2005,

2006-01-02T00:15:00.000-05:00

but it was my first FO in 2006!

It's amazing that I finished it at all between furious scrabble matches, the blues brothers, mussuman curry & too much beer! But, at exactly 1:40am on January 1st 2006 I finished my first sock!!

*insert applause here*

So much to tell, so little time.

2005-12-31T11:36:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Ours was fantastic!!! We spent lots of time with our families and got to take in two amazing rock and roll shows. See here and here. One of my favorite pictures is of Coen in his protective ear gear rockin' out!! Note that the onesie says "future rock star".

I got some great knitting gadgets as well! The two ann budd books I had been coveting as well as a BALL WINDER!! WOO HOO!!! Who knew winding yarn into balls would be so much fun?!?!

I didn't get as much knitting done as I would have liked. I am half finished with the front of Cherie. But I have sad news to report on my jaywalkers. Imagine if you will a sock ,a sock with only an inch or so to go til you start the toe decreases. A sock with a very distinctive stitch pattern that includes double decreases. This is a beautiful sock. You step back to admire your work. It is then that you notice (to your HORROR) that about 3 inches back you have dropped a stitch. Now this isn't a reason to panic until you notice it is a stitch that is right next to the double decrease. Now, maybe a better knitter than I could have fixed it but alas I had to rip it back. So I did not finish a jaywalker sock in 05 as I would have liked. BUT... I still have 12 more hours to live that dream!

MUST, COMPLETE A SOCK!

In much happier knitting news got my yarn for angelica!! I love the color. It was supposed to be "dapple grey" but it turned out to have a lovely pale pink streak. I can't wait to see how it knits up!! The hip knits silk is so soft and a really interesting texture!

I hope everyone has a really safe & wonderful New years eve!!

A giving time of year.

2005-12-21T17:38:00.000-05:00

This week has been good to me. Not because of Christmas bonuses or gifts from family and friends (although those are appreciated). It has been the unexpected but welcome kindness of my blog friends that has warmed my heart.

On Monday I received a Christmas card along with pattern for Mary Jane slippers from Erin. Why? Because she is a kind soul who knew I thought the pattern was lovely and she wanted to brighten my day. Thank you Erin!

Today I got home to find a package from my spoilee from secret pal 6, Janet. She thought I could use a nice surprise as well so she sent me some candy, two scrumptious skeins of Shadow yarn from Knit picks in sunset, and a skein of Koigu --YUM. Thank you Janet!

The card she sent said: "For the best seat in the house, you'll have to move the cat". A very true statement as evidenced by this picture:

I'm still swooning over the lovely SP6 Angel package that I received from Linda last week.

No one had to send anything & it was out of the kindness of their hearts that they did. I appreciate that more than I can say. Thank you.

This time of year is so hectic with the rush to get/make gifts and all the trappings of the season. It is nice to be reminded that giving of time, love and friendship are the most important gifts you can give. I thank all my friends for those gifts this year. I look forward to your thoughts, advice and support every day.

Thank you.

I wish you all a most joyful Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year!

Houston, we have a heel...

2005-12-15T21:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have been making slow but steady progress on my jaywalkers:

Amazingly with all the pooling stories I've been reading about sock garden mine is striping nicely! I really love the colors (which this picture is not a good example of) and the fit is great!! I could see knitting a few more pairs of these!

First I will need to polish off a few more projects that are in the queue like turning this:

into this:

Edited for Karin and for anyone else weirded out by that picture: It's Tom Baker as Doctor Who. It is a BBC show that was pretty big here in America in the 80's. He is a time traveler who has used his mondo scarf to save the world many times. He is also a major hero of Isaac's childhood.

Thankfully it will be a "mini" version & not the typical 21 feet long version (which is knit in DK weight by the way)!

My progress so far:

Of course I also have Angelica in the queue. I'm just waiting on the yarn to get here from the UK (it shipped today). Since it's a wee bit chilly here I've got the yarn for a couple of other sweaters as well.

Cherie (top sweater) from Vintage knits in Rowanspun DK "Mist":

And Salina from Vintage knits in Rowanspun 4 ply "Hansel":

Luckily I finished my last gift for this holiday season (the pics will have to wait as the recipient is a reader occasionally- you know who you are). With all those pesky gifts out of the way I can finally concentrate on me again! Hurrah!!

Bonanza!!!!

2005-12-13T18:31:00.000-05:00

So secret pal beta aka Linda ROCKS!!!! It's only been a week since my secret pal alpha fiasco and what do I find gracing my doorstep? An amazing package chocked full of knitterly goodness!!

It included: 3 skeins of my favorite Cascade 220, Weekend Knitting (which I have been coveting for so long), America: the calendar (ah, Jon Stewart), a picture book of adorable kittens napping and a toy for Max. Which as you can see here he really digs!

Linda's kindness went above and beyond giving presents. She really made me feel special and restored my faith in the whole SP system!!! Hop on over and check out her blog The furry terrier. She has some amazing pictures of FO's and her lovely little terrier Shelia. I know one thing, after an hour of perusing her blog I really want to learn to spin!!

I do have some knitting news but that can wait til' tomorrow as I think Linda deserves a whole post all to herself!!

I give you...

2005-12-09T00:15:00.000-05:00

An appropriately ribbed jaywalker in progress!!

Yes folks, practice makes perfect!!

Maybe I should learn to read....

2005-12-08T11:42:00.000-05:00

Or at least not get so wrapped up in the excitement of magic loop knitting that I remember to read the pattern.

After Angela was so sweet as to stop by & comment on my jaywalkers I thought I would go check out her blog. That is when I noticed that her jaywalkers had 2x2 rib. I looked back at my picture to see 1x1 rib. I looked at the pattern only to find ...... 2x2 rib. Being the OCD perfectionist that I am I frogged them & started over.

I can now happily report that They are 2x2 rib and lookin' fine!

Thanks for all the kind words about my secret pal. I'm not sure why it all went down the way it did but I am now being well taken care of by a new secret pal (hi again).

I don't want my experience to dissuade any of you ( Carrie) from joining in on a round of SP. For every story like mine there are tons of other wonderful stories out there. Just check out all the great stuff that Erin got, best of all she made a friend!

SP7 is starting up soon for those who are interested!

Oh & thanks for the comments on the capelet!! It is a really fun knit & would make a great gift!!

Blech and bah humbug!

2005-12-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

That is how I felt about 2 hours ago. I never received anything from my secret pal for SP6 and then to pile on the hurt I got a really nasty email from her this afternoon. Luckily Heather is an amazing SP hostess who apologized profusely and got me a wonderful SP angel. Hello new secret pal!

To shake the yucky feeling from the email I decided to put up our Hanukkah-bush.

Note the Menorah in front of the tree. Yep, it's really a Hanukkah-bush.

Including a Menorah ornament:

This is my favorite ornament. It was a wedding gift for our first Christmas as husband and wife:

My grandmother gave it to us. It's an Irish Claddagh symbol. She immigrated here from Ireland in the early 1920's so it was a very appropriate gift.

The meaning of the claddagh is this: Two hands to represent their friendship, the crown to signify their loyalty and lasting fidelity, and the sign of the heart to symbolize their eternal love for each other.

It's a lovely thought isn't it.

So with all that done I'm back in good spirits and back in the Christmas spirit. I'm watching "It's Christmas Charlie Brown" which always makes me feel better about Christmas and all the commercialism.

So you want some knitting content?

How about this:

It's the beginning of a Jaywalker sock knit in knitpicks sock garden in geranium using MAGIC LOOP! I figured if I was going to try knitting real socks I should go all out. I really like knitting with two circ's like this. It ensures that I don't have any needles fall out while I'm knitting (which has happened to me before).

Thanks for all the encouragement Yahaira.

edited to add: I just got more good news that my spoilee for SP6 got her package from me today. Hi Janet, I'm glad you liked it all! Check out her blog here. She has some adorable cats & lots of knitterly goodness!

I'm a lean mean knitting machine

2005-12-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Well maybe not but with all my pictures that I finally have to post it sure looks like I am!!

First I want to say thanks for all the compliments on my half a carpetbag. I am really pleased with the way it's turned out! I got the handles at a little independent fabric store in Jacksonville. Although I have seen handles similar to those at Joann's & Hancock Fabrics.

Lets start with my holiday hit the reversible capelet!!

I used up the Rowan Polar left from the lace leaf pullover
I knit it up on size 13 needles (the pattern calls for 11's but I liked the look of the swatch with 13's). It took about 4 hours of knitting to finish this lovely & it got me endless complements at thanksgiving! You have to love that!

Now lets pretend that I am a good, unselfish knitter for a second (which is so not true).

For my much loved husband I give you: Isaac's I love the 80's hat!

He wanted big chunky ribbing and lots of pixelish spots. This is a better picture of the pixels & the colors.

Now for my wonderful stepmom's cold tootsies, it's fuzzy feet part deux!

Before felting:

And after:

I used chocolate brown cascade 220 for the main part and the leftover bluebell from the last pair of fuzzy feet for the accent colors.

I would have posted this earlier but when I logged on to update I was sucked in by the new Knitty. I love so many of the patterns. My absolute favorite is Forecast. Stefanie Japel does it again. I also love the toy patterns & a couple of other sweaters but forecast has stolen my heart. It has such a feminine, vintage look. *Swoon*. Now if only I didn't have so many thing on the needles & I hadn't made that promise to myself about not buying more yarn.

Soon my precious, soon!

Now I'm torn. I could be the good little knitter that I know I should be and work on the last purse I need as a christmas gift. Or I could use my new sock needles that just came today & cast on to jaywalker. Hmmm, I bet none of you can guess what I'm gonna do!

I will leave you with a picture of my husband the rockstar!

So if I have a carpetbag am I a carpetbagger?

2005-12-02T17:57:00.000-05:00

Or half a carpetbagger since I technically have only finished half the bag?

There you have it. Half of the "scalloped carpetbag" from Handknit holidays. I'm using Peace Fleece worsted weight in Baghdad blue. That picture is not at all a true representation of the color but this is:

It's also a nice close up of part of the scallop. As you can see from the first pic I found some vintage looking wooden handles that I think really fit with the bag. You may also be able to tell that this piece will need some blocking as it looks like it's been living crumpled up under a pile of clothes for a week.

Tomorrow I will have pictures of the "reversible" capelet and of my second finished pair of fuzzy feet.

I'm also really excited about the Angelica knit along that Yahaira and Carrie have started!

It's such a lovely pattern! I've been drooling over it for ages!

Come join us!!

Now off for Indian food & to see "Pride and prejudice". It just won't be the same without Colin Firth! He will always be my Mr.Darcy!

Food hangover

2005-11-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

Our little trip to j-ville was lovely but I seriously think I have a food hangover. Or maybe it is all the wine I drank. Eek!

It was wonderful to spend so much time with family & friends. Tons (and I mean tons) of great food and good conversations. Our "turkey" was fantastic!!

Although it is a technically a "fungus" the quorn roast tastes a lot like turkey! Yum, fungus!!

I also got news that my miyazaki swap angel package has arrived & was well received! Here is my favorite item:

A totoro hat!! I love totoro & have been thinking of making this hat for awhile now. the pattern can be found here

I'm almost finished with one side of the scalloped bag from handknit holidays. I did 3 repeats of the scallops & I found a really cute pair of handles at the fabric store in jax.

I also finished the "anthropologie inspired capelet" from crafster's own lovely julsey!! I had exactly enough rowan polar leftover from my lace leaf pullover to make it! I wore it on thanksgiving & got lots of compliments! I promise to post pics soon (I just need to get some new batteries for the camera).

Now, to decide what's for dinner, Life cereal or a grilled cheese? Hmmmmm! Decisions, decisions!

If I had it to do all over again!

2005-11-17T20:19:00.000-05:00

This is one of the coolest things EVER!!

A knitted wedding

Off to Actionville

2005-11-17T19:44:00.000-05:00

Of course we still have our midnight screen of the new HP movie tonight! YAY!!

Tomorrow we are heading down for the Cadets reunion show which is more importantly a benefit for our good friend Brian. He has brain cancer BUT, he was also given a really good prognosis.

I really love the flyer for the benefit:

I probably won't get much knitting done on this whirlwind trip (down for 2 days back to Atl for 3 then back to Jax for 5 days) but I am almost finished with my second pair of fuzzy feet. I'm knitting them in cascade 220 in chocolate and using the bluebell left over from the last pair on the heels and as a stripe at the toe. They are looking pretty good if I do say so myself!

Carrie was kind enough to inquire about the modifications I plan to make to the scalloped accessory pouch from Handknit holidays. For reference here is a picture of the pouch in question:

A fine little accessory pouch to match the lovely but gargantuan carpet bag seen here:

The carpet bag is too big & the pouch is too small but I think I can make one that is just right! I'm going to use peace fleece in Baghdad Blue.

I think 3 of the scallop repeats would be perfect! I will probably use a magnetic snap vs. a zipper and I might sew some handles for it in a matching fabric. Who knows! There are so many possibilities!

For now it's time to find my house scarf (yes, I have a HP house scarf) and get ready to stay up til 3 am watching Harry!

Oh & the great $10 Threadless sale will be going on for 3 more weeks! They usually put up new shirts & reprints on Mondays so check back often!! Feed your addiction (that way I don't feel so bad about feeding mine)!

Just a couple of finished felties....

2005-11-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

I finished my first pair of fuzzy feet over the weekend. They are a fun quick knit (it was maybe 4 hours of total knitting time for both socks) and are a really great basic sock lesson.

Before felting:

After felting:

I also whipped up a purse as a Christmas gift for Isaac's cousin. No pattern. I just did it off the top of my head. It has a slight basis in the Sophie bag (as far as knitting in the round & using decreases for shaping) but I just cast on & knit til it looked good.

I'm going to do some embroidery on the flap to give it a little extra cuteness.

In the knitting queue there are one more purse & pair of fuzzy feet and then I am going to indulge myself with a project just for me. Using her great powers of mind control Yahaira has convinced me (like it took any convincing) to knit up a modified version of the scalloped bag from Handknit holidays. This book has some really great patterns & the scalloped bag is one of my favorites! Hopefully I will finish up my Christmas knits this week so I can start on it.

Other exciting news this week- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens! YAH!! We will be in Jax on Friday night for the big cadets reunion so we won't get to see it then. I guess we will just have to go to the midnight screening on Thursday. I know it's dorky but is it really any worse than when we went for all 3 LOTR movies or the other 3 HP movies? Probably not!

Oh & big shopping tip!! Threadless is having a $10.00 t-shirt sale. I bought 10 shirts yesterday (as Chirstmas/Hanukkah gifts thank you)! It's a really great deal & all their girly shirts are printed on American Apparel shirts which are made in the USA & sweatshop free. So you can get very cool shirts, have the best gifts, be the envy of all your friends & support fair labor!! It's a win-win situation!!

I think I hastened spring too quickly~

2005-11-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

My armwarmers are finished!

I used one skein of Noro Kureyon and size 7 dpns. I adore the fact that the use of one skein means the stripes don't match up! Of course now that they are finished we are back to typical "fall" weather here in Atlanta & it's 80 degrees outside. I NEED sweater weather!

So apparently other than knitting I am also obsessed with Law & Order. In the past few weeks I find myself watching it more & more. It's to the point that I can tell you when each L&O show will be on any day of the week. It also doesn't hurt my obsession when they play it for hours on end each day.

If one had chosen to do so, one could have watched 11 hours of L&O straight on sunday. You will all be happy to know that I only watched 5!

I know Erin harbors her own L&O obsession so I'm not alone. Maybe I need to start a "law and order" anonymous support group.

At least if I tell myself I will make sure to knit while L&O is on then I will always have plenty of time for knitting!

Merging your obsessions may also have the interesting side effect of dreaming that you are teaching Det. Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) from Criminal intent to knit so he can catch a criminal mastermind. Seriously folks, it happened to me.

What about your fuzzy feet you may ask. Well apparently you don't mess with the knitting gods. I was reading the Yarn harlots "meditations for women who knit too much" yesterday and I was thinking of how much I agree with her but when it came to losing needles like losing socks I thought "I've never lost a needle". I chocked it up to my OCD organizational skills & continued reading.

Now comes the part where I guess I shouldn't have been so smug. I have lost my 10.5 DPN's. Yes folks the same needles I need to finish my fuzzy feet. I turned the house, my car, Isaac's car upside down & there are nowhere to be found.

So, the moral of the story is: never think "that won't happen to me" because it will & probably within a few minutes.

At least I have a reason to head to the yarn store at lunch!!

Just a quick update!

2005-11-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

What a banner week for me (in knitting experiences). Not only can I now cable but I am ALMOST a sock knitter!!

I give you 3/4 of fuzzy foot #1!

Knit in cascade 220 bluebell (possibly my favorite of all the cascade 220 colors) on size 10.5 needles.

So the whole "heel turning" thing, not nearly as hard as I had imagined! This pattern is really straight forward & they knit up so quickly!!

How about a progress shot on my "hurry up spring" armwarmers while we're at it!

I'm half way through the second one & I think I will be able to get both armwarmers out of one skein of Noro! That leaves one lovely skein leftover!! Ah the possibilities!!

Now off for a night of bad 50's B-list horror movies & scrabble!

The eagle knits alone.

2005-11-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

Today Isaac met me for lunch at a great little pizza place that is in the same shopping center as a yarn store. This strategic lunch choice wasn't only for their yummy white pizza but an excuse to get Isaac into the yarn store. You see a few weeks ago he asked me to make him a winter hat. He had very specific ideas about the ribbing, the colors even the size of the stripes/fair isle. He is a really detail oriented guy- and I love that about him. He is so much so detail oriented that it didn't suffice to say his colors would be dark blue, bright blue, yellow & orange. Nope he had to go pick them out himself which is actually really, really cool!

So we head into the yarn store. Now, keep in mind this is not my usual yarn store, as a matter of fact I have never been to this particular yarn store before but Isaac has. This is the store where he purchased my beloved Denise set. He had already warned me that this store was a little more "everyman" (his words not mine) than my usual yarn store (which he dubbed as more of a "boutique" store).

With the "everyman" description looming in my head I wasn't really sure what to expect. Upon opening the door it becomes very clear to me that in Isaac's mind the "everyman" of the knitting world is a novelty yarn loving, poncho knitting kind of folk. The store is empty sans the two ladies at the counter (both knitting with some sort of "trellis" yarn which I am later informed is for a red hat society function). They both offer help if we need & and let us wander around without provocation. The rest of the stock is pretty standard. A few nice wools, a couple of hand painted yarns and simply way too much novelty & acrylic for my taste.

After a good 20 minutes Isaac has made his selections (the afore mentioned colors in lamb's pride worsted). We head to the counter to pay and as the lady starts ringing me up she mentions the Atlanta knitting guild.

She goes into a huge monologue about how wonderful it is to ditch your husband (this immediately strikes me in the wrong way) and how I will make life long friends and how they all go on a 3 day weekend trip to the N.C. mountains and do nothing but knit and have girl talk 24 hours a day. I think at this point my eyes glaze over & I stop hearing what she is saying.

Isaac mentions something about picking up a little black to go into the hat and runs off to get it. I am abandoned, left alone to defend myself against this very kind but calculating lady who is doing everything she can to get me to join her knitting guild.

Finally after what seems like an eternity Isaac returns, we pay & I take the knitting guild pamphlet and tell her that I will read it over and think about it. As we walk to the car I ask him if it is just me or if she was really overly pushy about the "knitting guild". He just laughs & says "The eagle knits alone". Apparently this situation reminded him of the saying on one of his dad's Harley Davidson shirts- "The eagle flies alone" and he though it was fitting.

I'm not anti-knitting guild. I adore my local stitch n'bitch group and I wish I had more time to knit with them. I'm all for life long friends and I love camping in N.C. Maybe I was overstimulated by all the novelty yarns or strong smell of coffee in the store or her "overzealousness" but it really left me reeling.

I suppose as far as that yarn store & the "life long friends" I would make in the knitting guild goes, Isaac was right. The eagle knits alone.

Exciting stuff

2005-11-02T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting around to the meme that Eunny tagged me with last week. It's actually a knitting meme which is really cool!

Even more exciting than that, Lelah at Woolgathered is staring a free online knitting zine and looking for patterns for the first "issue". She has it slated for January release. All the info is in the link above if you would like to submit something. I love free patterns & I'm really thrilled that she is putting this together.

Now, on to the meme!

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with? Hands down I would choose blue sky alpaca. It is so soft & easy to work with and comes in great colors. I also adore cascade 220 & lamb's pride as they are both really reasonably priced & really versatile.

Your favorite needles? I love my Denise set like nobody's business. I think it is really the way the cords feel. They are so pliable and easy to use. I also really dig the pair of handmade rosewood straights that Isaac bought for me at a craft show. They are smooth & get the nicest warmth to them as they are used.

The worst thing you've ever knit?It has to be my first sweater. I went with the basic crew neck sweater from the yarn girls guide. Honestly it didn't look bad unless you inspected the seams or took a good look at my tension. It was too boxy and the color wasn't as good for a sweater as I thought. No (thank god), I don't have a picture to share! This by no means was the fault of the pattern. Nope, it was all poor yarn & an uncertain knitter! Boo!

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit) I love lace so I have to go with either the branching out scarf from knitty or Lelah.

Most valuable knitting technique?I don't have any really fancy tricks but I really adore the long tail cast on! Oh & the being able to pick up dropped stitches! I have saved many an item that way!!

Best knit book or magazine?My beat to death copies of the Mon Tricot dictionary & my vogue guide to knitting. ANTHING & I really mean anything I need answered about knitting is in one of those books.

Your favorite knit-a-long? I've just joined my first blog kal (the fuzzy feet along but I have done a few on craftster. My favorite craftster KAL was the branching out. It was really awesome to see all the different yarns used and all the finished objects. Plus it was the perfect forum for working on my first lace pattern. So many supportive folks.

Your favorite knitblogs?I also have to echo the loving funny knitblogs with great pictures. My favorites have to be Sandra at I may be knitting a ranch house, Yahaira at Knit fix Eunny at See Eunny Knit and Erin at Knitters not Quitters

Your favorite knitwear designer? Stefanie Japel creates such amazing designs. She is definitely at the top of my list!! I also like Teva Durham & Debbie Bliss (for kids stuff).

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!) This one was easy!

I wear my "Accidentally on Purpose" vest all the time! It is great with a tank top in summer or long sleeves now that it is getting chillier!

Your it!! I'm going to pass this on to Erin (who loves to be tagged),Kym and Lelah

Ah, Vacation!!!

2005-11-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

So I've been M.I.A. for a week. Sometimes things just get away from me. Last Thursday we left for our anniversary trip to Vermont.

It was amazing! Vermont is beautiful this time of year. There were still fall leaves and it was sunny with a high of 40 each day of our trip. I love vacations where you can just make it up as you go along. Get a loose idea of what you would like to do and leave the rest open. We did a lot of hiking, visited the Ben & Jerry's factory (YUM) went to a ton of antique stores, a couple of local historical houses & of course a couple of yarn stores. I picked up some lovely hand spun hand painted yarn for my secret pal (and some for me too)! It was just what we needed. Fireplaces, hot chocolate, knitting, scrabble, snuggles. My idea of perfection!

I have been knitting up some Christmas gifts this week. Erin posted her Christmas knitting list a couple of weeks ago and it got me thinking of mine. Her list had a little variation, mine is just one thing - felted purses. They are fast, easy & look really nice when done. So, if you are one of my friends or relatives & female you are probably getting a felted purse for Christmas.

I took one to work on while we were gone and finished a lot faster than I had expected. With nothing else to knit I decided to try something radical- Cables! I took the leftover yarn from the purse, the DPN'S I was knitting it with & used the internet connection in the lobby of the B&B we were staying at to download a couple of basic cable stitches.

The end result. I can now cable! It's amazing how much easier it is than I ever thought. It is really gratifying to watch the pattern take shape. Of course now I want to cable everything! So last night I cast on the "Hurry up spring" armwarmers from Stitch n' Bitch Nation. I'm using some Noro (as the pattern calls for) in an obnoxiously bright pink, yellow, orange, purple, blue colorway. The first one is knitting up really quickly and the colorway is fantastic! Oh noro how I adore you!

Which reminds me I have been tagged for a knitting meme by Eunny (whose new blog looks grand by the way) which I will get to after my meetings.

Back to the grind.

Two years ago today....

2005-10-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

I married my best friend!

Our wedding was amazing & our marriage has exceeded all my expectations!

I love you Isaac!

Paste magazine rocks!!

2005-10-25T11:35:00.000-04:00

So the Paste rock & reel festival was this weekend. We got to see some great bands like Low, elf power, Manchester orchestra & Howie Gelb of Giant Sand. My favorite band was a hope for a golden summer. Seriously folks click the link & check them out! Any band that displays that much camaraderie & plays the saw live on stage is amazing! Not to mention the beautiful lyrics & really captivating melodies!

We also watched about 8 hours of film. The only feature length we saw was High and Dry which is about the music scene in AZ. A very decent documentary.

Of all the shorts we saw these were my favorites:
Fake Stacy The review explains it all!

Matisyahu- a documentary about the reggae artist & hasidic jew Matisyahu

Spamku- I won a hakiu constest about spam. In 4 minutes there was knitting, sock monkeys & spam. Need I say more?

Wow & Flutter- a brilliant film about one 13 year old's obession with making the perfect mixed tape. The website has a trailer.

My personal favorite was "Found in America". It is a documentary about Found Magazine & it's founder Davy Rothbart. I adore found & it's sister Dirty Found.
I managed to FIND the short in it's entirety here

My love hate relationship with Teva Durham

2005-10-23T21:02:00.000-04:00

Right now I love her! My lace leaf pullover from loop-d-loop is finished!

Please excuse my baby blue tee shirt & the few ends that I didn't weave in yet. I was just so excited to have it finished.

It was done in Rowan Polar (which is scrumptious to work with) in "red hot" on size 11 needles. The polar is soft & has a great drape and lovely stitch definition. It has a much more fitted look than the original design intended but I love it!! I have a feeling this is well on it's way to being my favorite sweater. Now if only the sweater weather would get here (it was 70 today).

Now as to the hate part of our one sided relationship. I can explain it all in one word GRAFTING. Now at this point in time, days removed from the grafting I can look back on it with appreciation. After all I had only grafted one item before this (the bottom of my felted skully tote) so this was a great learning experience. Back on Wednesday when I was first attempting to graft it however my feelings were quite different.

It took me an hour and a half on my first grafting attempt & it looked awful. Kind of like a dog had chewed up & spit out just the middle section of the sweater. Thursday afternoon I ripped out the grafting (on the verge of tears the entire time I did). I felt a huge sense of relief to get both pieces back on needles with the right amount of stitches. Thursday evening I sat down to give it another go. I was much better with my tension & I just kept thinking about Grumperina's grafting advice. After two hours of grafting and tweaking the stitches and tension I finally got it. Honestly as I laid it out to block I had this overwhelming feeling of pride. I am by no means an expert knitter but most of the things I knit come pretty naturally. This is the first time in months I have really struggled with something.

So, thank you Teva Durham for this wonderful pattern and for making me a better knitter.

In other knitting news I had a major score today at the thrift store!

Yes folks that is a mattel "Barbie Magic Knitting Machine" & 3 skeins of a really cool navy blue tweed wool ease. All for $2.00!!!

I have been drooling over the whole "magic knitting machine" idea of a tube knitter since Glampyre talked about hers in her felted skull tote pattern. The idea of knitting inches of tube or a panel for purse handles in mere minutes!! Very appealing! It didn't come with the manual (but what do you want for $.50). Luckily mattel was kind enough to put the manual up here.

I intend to use the wool ease to make the "Basic Cable" hat from stitch n' bitch nation. I think the tweed & cables will look rather nice together!

Other than the thrift store we spent the majority of the weekend at the Paste magazine Rock & Reel festival. Paste has it's HQ a mere 4 blocks from our pad here in Decatur & they were cool enough to give back to their hometown with an amazing music & film festival. There were so many great bands & amazing movies that I want to go on about but Law & Order: Criminal Intent is calling me. I will gush over them all tomorrow!

A semblance of normalcy- HA!

2005-10-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

First off I want to thank all my lovely friends for their thoughts & support. It has been so nice to know I have so many to turn to in this trying time. You guys ROCK!!

In the real world my knitting has been pretty lackadaisical. Amongst the important things I forgot to pack for my trip last week (deodorant, black dress socks, a hair brush) was anything to knit. Luckily when we arrived in Jax & stopped at target to pick up all the other things I had forgotten I found a knit this kit on clearance for $2.77.

I figured it would make a great Christmas gift for Coen & it was an easy knit to keep my mind off of things. I've finished the hat & the booties (which still need to be sewn up) plus I need to add the embroidered features. I guess for $3.00 it wasn't a bad deal. It came with a DVD & pretty decent knitting instructions. The needles were cruddy plastic but I can't complain. At least I had something to keep my hands busy.

My lace leaf pullover is sitting at home mocking me. All the pieces are finished & now all I need to do is graft it and set in the sleeves. Double HA! Easier typed than done. I've only grafted one other thing & it was the bottom of a bag so it didn't matter if it was perfect or noticeable. Someone on craftster posted this wonderful link to
grumperina's grafting advice. I think I will sit down with it this weekend & give it a go.

Now to leave you with something I promised a week ago! Pictures of my finished ballet tee from loop-d-loop.

It was done in Lamb's pride cotton fleece in the color "Rue" on size 15 circs. It was a fast knit & I really love the way it looks lengthened! No crop tops for me!! Eek!!

My absence will remind you of how tough it is to be in love

2005-10-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

Aaron was my first love. We met when I was 20 and immediately had a powerful connection. Often times he was quiet and intense. He never uttered a sentence that wasn't completely thought out. He loved golf, the jacksonville jaguars, flying and recently began to fly solo and he was an amazing cook. He was the kind of guy you couldn't peg.

His friends were the most important thing to him. He would do anything for a friend at anytime. He once brought my younger sister medicine and soup when she was too poor to afford any. I didn't even know he had done it til I got home from work. At the time they weren't even close but he knew it was the right thing to do.

He taught me to play poker, to drink good scotch, how to laugh at myself, to be a great friend and got me hooked on steely dan. He always had a simpson's reference for any situation- I loved that. When I was offered the opportunity to teach children with disabilities it was Aaron who gave me the most encouragement. In our last conversation a few weeks ago he told me he was proud of the way I was changing the world & his part in that. I will hold those words in my heart forever.

Aaron had a very difficult childhood & adolescence. Even at our happiest moments he was in a great deal of pain. All the love in the world couldn't solve that. I feel so lucky for our 3 years together. His love and friendship helped me through times both good & bad. We still remained close after all these years. Every time I saw his phone number or heard his voice it brought a smile to my face. He and Isaac became friends as well and before our wedding he told me with all earnestness that he couldn't be happier for me.

There is an emptiness in my heart that I know over time will fade but I will never forget the love and friendship we shared. I know his pain is gone now and he is in a better place and for that I feel at peace with his decision. I will miss him immeasurably.

I've been so lame....

2005-10-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

And I apologize. I have a really heavy heart over the loss of someone I loved very much & just couldn't help. I can't write about it just yet & I was intending this post to be a "take my mind off it" kinda thing but it hasn't. I even typed a lot of fun fluffy knitting stuff with pictures of my ballet tee. It just seems so inconsequential right now.

Isaac & I are heading down to Jax tomorrow & I think I will be better after I say goodbye...

Lace leaf pullover status

2005-09-27T11:11:00.000-04:00

I cast on to the lace leaf pullover from "Loop-d-loop" while watching my weekly guilty pleasure VH1's "celebreality" on sunday night. The shows were all pretty lame this week (except best week ever ). I worked on the sweater for about 2 and a half hours and much to my surprise I finished the bottom. I must tell you that the rowan polar I'm using is one of the loveliest yarns I have ever handled. It is beyond soft but that isn't even the best part. The fact that it is a bulky yarn & I've knitted half a sweater & it isn't straining my puny arms to hold it up is AMAZING! Seriously folks I am salivating just thinking of going home & knitting with it! It even crossed my mind to skip the gym tonight to get home quicker- but I decided against that for the sake of future bulky yarns that won't be so light.

Here is my finished bottom:

The texture & color combo actually show off the leaf pattern nicely! I'll take a close up when I get home.

In other knitting news I also finished the ballet tee (sorry no pics til tonight). It is a super fun quick knit! I will definitely be making more of them! I lengthened mine to regular tee shirt length vs. the cropped look which just doesn't do it for me. I love the fit of the tee and the brown sheep co. cotton fleece is really nice in tee shirt form. I also really like the long sleeve version what was in IK last year. The mods for the long sleeves are up on craftster. I think my next one might be more "fall appropriate".

In weekend news Isaac & I went to see "The corpse bride" on Friday. It is a really lovely little flick! I really adore Tim Burton films & this is no exception! I also finally got around to buying the new Dane Cook CD/DVD "retaliation". He is so friggin funny!! I made a trip to the LYS to check out some ideas I had for my secret pal. Thanks Yaharia for all your recommendations! I also bought the rowan 4 ply cotton in black for Orangina. I ordered it from Jannette on ebay so it has a long trip from England but it was a steal!!!

Tonight- new Tiny showcase print!! It promises to be not only a "biggie" but possibly Halloween themed?!?! EEEK!!!! Oh & the new season of the amazing race is on! Yay!!

Yet another FO...

2005-09-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

So I finally finished up the one button cardigan from the spring/summer issue of knit.1

It's not the most flattering pic on me since it's a size too large but, you get the idea. I lengthened the sleeves to come to the knuckles, the way Laura likes it. I used homespun in "romantique" it took 3 skeins on size 10.5 needles. I suppose it took me about 3 weeks off & on. I like the sweater but not the homespun. It's soft enough but so splitty & squeaky.

All that is really beside the point. I know Laura will love it. According to her it is the sweater of her dreams. Soft, warm and low maintenance.

On the needles now is the ballet tee from loop-d-loop. I'm knitting it up in brown sheep cotton fleece in a color called "rue". I love this yarn! It is such a soft cotton & double stranded on size 15's it knits up quick to boot! I adore quick knits!

I'm also a bit obsessed with my Denise needles. They are great to work with! They knit so smoothly & I am all about the flexible cords! I can't believe I ever knit with those cheap cruddy circ's before! All those wasted projects.....

Sandra was sweet enough to give me her unused Orangina pattern. I'm thinking of making one in black. It seems so fitting for a sexy lace pattern plus Wendy's at Knit and tonic looks so hot in black!

Oh! Harlem Nights is on! I love Richard Pryor!!!

SP6 questionnaire & a finished object

2005-09-13T19:51:00.000-04:00

We got our SP6 match ups today!! Woo hoo!! Now I just need to get that questionnaire filled out.

First, how about a finished object(s). The one button cardigan? Nope! I have all the stitches for the ribbing picked up and have 2 of the 7 rows of ribbing done. Maybe by tomorrow. No friends, my finished object is a hat & scarf set made from Erin's lovely absinthe yarn.
I used Lelah's simple & wonderful basic hat pattern and the scarf was completely winged. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out!! The color is fabulous & it's so soft & warm! Perfect for winter!! Thanks again Erin!!

Oh & check out that shirt! It's from Leah at craftster. I LOVE it!!!

Ok, now on to Secret pal!!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I am but I'm not... I HATE acrylic that feels stiff and plasticy (like red heart supersaver) but I will use lion's brand wool ease or other soft acrylics if they are OK for what I'm making

2. Do you spin? Crochet? I can crochet but not well.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) I have seasonal hay fever but that shouldn't be a problem. I really dislike the smell of smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting? One year and 4 months

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, I have an Amazon wish list.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Gardenia & Jasmine.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes!! I love chocolate!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I do embroidery, stencil & silkscreen shirts, lino cut, photography, & sew

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Yes, I can play MP3's. I love all kinds of music. 60's & 70's rock, 80's rap & hip hop, Indie rock, & classic country.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? Red is my favorite. I also love blue, green, yellow and orange. I'm not a huge fan of pink.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I'm married to an amazing man, Isaac & we live happily with our cat Max.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To live peacefully, travel and gain as much knowledge and as many interesting life experiences as possible.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I love cascade 220, noro kureyon and manos del uruguay.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Squeaky rough acrylics, novelty yarn, rough cotton

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? I've been knitting a lot of lace lately. I also love making felted things!!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love making felted bags, sweaters & anything that makes lace look cool & modern & hats!!

17. What are you knitting right now? The one button cardigan from the spring/summer issue of Knit.1, the ballet tee from loop-d-loop & I'm about to start on the lace leaf pullover from loop-d-loop.

18. What do you think about ponchos? They are really not my style.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circs for somethings & straights for others. I am completely obsessed with my new Denise kit right now so I want to knit everything on circs lately!!

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? For straights I love Bamboo unless it's tiny needles, then I prefer plastic or aluminum.

21. Are you a sock knitter? Not yet but I really want to be!

22. How did you learn to knit? I wanted to spend more time with my great aunt who is a knitter/crocheter so I asked her to teach me.

23. How old is your oldest UFO? 5 months. It's the baby's first tattoo sweater from Sn'B nation.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? I don't have a favorite cartoon character but my favorite show in general is the Simpsons. As far as animals go I love cats, elephants, owls & finches.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

26. Is there anything that you collect? Vintage (50's mostly) halloween decorations & costumes

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Sadly none but I have been thinking of getting a subscription to Interweave Knits.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? Knitting over the edge & Last minute knitted gifts

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another?? None now, thanks Sandra!!! :)

30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like? I wear a size 8 shoe. My ankle measurement is 8" as is the length of my foot. I like socks to come above my ankle.

So, thats it secret pal!! :)

I was tagged...

2005-09-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by Kym at stix and the city. Thanks Kym!!

TEN YEARS AGO: I had just started college and was working at the Italia D' Oro coffee shop in downtown Jax. I was dating a guy named Mickey Faith (I kid you not) and spending every night as a runner for the coolest bar (at the time) in Jax, the Milkbar. I usually slept about 3 hours a night. I met John & John from TMBG, Mike Ness, all the guys from De La Soul, blink 182 (who were not surprisingly a-holes). The most important person I met that year was Isaac.

FIVE YEARS AGO: I was working at the Jericho school for children with autism & developmental delays & hating the bureaucracy. Isaac & I had just started dating (FINALLY) and I was planning a move to Atlanta.

ONE YEAR AGO: Isaac & I were planning our one year wedding anniversary trip to Cumberland Island. I was starting my 3rd year of running Play for Tomorrow ,an afterschool inclusion group for children with developmental delays, that I founded and being amazed that we were not only still running but making money!

FIVE SNACKS: Homemade chocolate chip cookies, Ben & Jerry's chubby hubby ice cream, fresh hot southern style biscuits, cool ranch doritos, samosas.

FIVE SONGS I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO: Allison by Elvis Costello, It takes 2 by Rob Base, Reno Dakota by Magnetic Fields, I walk the line by Johnny Cash, Epic by faith no more .

FIVE THINGS I WOULD DO WITH $100 MILLION: 1. Set up my family & friends so they would never have to worry about money. 2. Set up trustfunds for all the kids that I work with so their families would know they would always be taken care of. 3. Give to all my favorite charities 4. Invest well 5. Travel around the world at least twice!

FIVE PLACES TO RUN AWAY TO: Asheville N.C., Paris France , Fushimi-Inari in Kyoto Japan, my parents house in FL, anyplace with Isaac.

FIVE THINGS I WOULD NEVER WEAR: Anything with huge logos on it (GAP, old navy, Tommy) I don't know why people need to know whose clothes I'm wearing, Yellow- unfortunately it looks terrible on me, Fur, those jeans with "whiskers"- bleck!, porn star shoes- you know the 5 inch heels.

FIVE FAVORITE TV SHOWS: Simpsons, Lost, Freaks & Geeks, Mr. Show, The Daily Show

FIVE BIGGEST JOYS: Traveling, all my hobbies- knitting, stenciling, embroidery etc., teaching, cooking, Making Isaac smile!!!

FAVORITE TOYS: Yarn & needles, my laptop, my cameras, my bike, my volvo v-40

PEOPLE TO PASS THIS ON TO: Erin at knitters not quitters, Amy at sew wabi sabi, Lori at yes I made that Eunny at see eunny knit and Byrony at library girl knits.

I'm almost finished with my umami homemade absinthe yarn project!! I think I will finish it up tonight when we watch "The man with the screaming brain". Bruce Campbell RULES!!

I'm also feeling much better! Thanks for all your well wishes guys!!

Oh & anyone who was interested in the Threadless hurricane katrina relief shirt. They are continuing to print them so check back often. Even though they already reached $50,000.00 they are going to donate all the proceeds from the shirt sales to the red cross (they just aren't doubling it anymore).

Two things....

2005-09-08T17:57:00.000-04:00

Threadless is offering up a very cool shirt to help with relief for those affected by hurricane Katrina. For every $10.00 shirt they sell they will donate $20.00 to the red cross. The shirts are selling fast & can be found here.

Secondly I just heard a Stephen Malkmus song in a Sears commercial!?!?!? What the fuck!!!

HackHackSniffle*Sniffle.....

2005-09-08T10:41:00.000-04:00

I hate being sick! Luckily it doesn't happen often but this cold is a M.F.!!!!

I haven't done much of anything in the past 3 days. I haven't knitted since Saturday *GASP* which is quite possibly the longest I've gone since I really started knitting about a year and a half ago.

I did get a lovely treat in the mail yesterday. Erin's absinthe yarn showed up at my doorstep! It is even more wonderful in person!! I think I will put the cardi on the back burner for a couple of days and knit something up with this immediately!!

The new knitty is up. It is chocked full of goodness. The bonus is that 3 of the pattern contributors are craftster regulars!! This is probably my favorite issue of knitty thus far! So many things to knit so little time!

Secret pal 6 starts soon! I see that the questionnaire is up which means matches soon! I can't wait to see who I get to spoil!!

Oh & sorry about turning on the word verification for anyone it bothers. There is just too much spam going around lately!!

And then the time will come when you motor away.....

2005-09-03T10:21:00.000-04:00

Isaac is out for the day volunteering at decatur yellow bike. It's a non profit that takes old run down bikes & fixes them up for people in the community to use vs. driving. It's a great cause & I have a feeling that as gas prices rise more people will be taking advantage of it!

The mass hysteria that abounded here on Wed. was shocking! A rumor was going around that Atlanta would run out of gas so EVERYONE decided they had to get gas. Luckily I filled up on Tuesday! It looked like the pictures from the 1970's where cars spilled out into the street trying to get gas. People pulled guns on each other & got into fist fights. I really feel like mad max time is here.

It makes me glad that Isaac decided to get a bio-diesel car. Down with dependence on non renewable resources!! I love my volvo v-40 but it really makes me wish I could get one that ran on bio-diesel. Boo! Our friend Rob is passionate about converting everyone to bio-diesel. His website is a wealth of info!! Veg energy.

In Knitting news I just seamed up my sweater & need to pick up the stiches for ribbing. I am so slooooooow at picking up stitches. Maybe I will finish it by next week! Hmmmmph!

Oh & I just wanted to post for those who haven't seen:

Craft Revolution/crafters united has FAR surpassed their initial goal of $1,000.00! It is great to see the response!! It makes me glad to be a creative mind!! The two shirts we donated sold the first couple of hours they were up!! YAY! I've bought a couple of christmas gifts from them so far as well as some things for myself!!

Thanks to Erin for offering up her yummy absinthe yarn! I can't wait to get me knitty little hands on it!!

Malaysian tofu curry & crafting for a good cause...

2005-08-30T19:56:00.000-04:00

So I popped into etsy this afternoon to check out what's new. I found that the lovely folks at craft revolution have set up a shop to sell items donated by kindhearted crafters who want to help out with the red cross emergency relief fund. I immediately snatched up the "Crafty swag" set donated by Leah at craftster. The esty shop is full of items in need of new homes & there are thousands of people who are very much in need. So click on over to craft revolution @ etsy and or the red cross. Even penny helps!!

Ok on to Malaysian tofu curry!!

Ingredients:
2 boxes extra firm tofu -well drained
2 15oz. cans of UNsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
Salt
1 tablespoon coriander
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon taramind paste
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
4 roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
4 scallions, including the greens chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Drain, then dice the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes. Combine the coconut milk, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, spices, tamarind paste, garlic, and ginger in a medium skillet. Boil for 1 minute then add the tofu. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the scallions and simmer for 10 minutes more. Add the lime juice & salt to taste.

Serve over rice, egg noodles or linguine.

YUM!

What is the meaning of life???

2005-08-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

That is the question my friendly neighborhood Jehovah's witness just left me with. It's funny his name is Mark & he comes by once a month. Last month's pamphlet was about living forever on earth & had some really incorrect/offensive (in my opinion) things about Judaism written in it. You might be asking why I even answer the door. Well the house has French doors so by the time you can see whose at the door they see you too & I just feel way too bad to just walk away. I always take his pamphlet & remind him that I am caring for a disabled child & can't talk. I wonder what the watchtower will tell me the meaning of life is.....

I'm sure Mark wouldn't approve but Sunday night we saw the aristocrats. It was a really great, really funny & completely offensive movie! I HIGHLY recommend it!

Last week was a good mail week. We got our recording of the pixies music midtown performance from the show. The CD sounds amazing. You would never know it was a concert with 20,000 people. There are still CD's available for lots of the dates at Pixies discs.

We also got our latest print from tiny showcase. They have a new print up tonight!

Sunday was spent working on recordings for the new Cyanotype CD. The demos are sounding nice (if I do say so myself). I think we have found an artist to do the cover art. Her name is Sally Harless & you can check out her work at Sadly harmless. I adore her Captain Snarleyhook vs The House of Brontosaurus Rex print!!

In knitting news I'm on the last sleeve of the one button cardi. Now to finish that up, seam the sucker & pick up 256 stitches! EEK!!!

Oh & for those who were interested I will put the Malaysian tofu curry recipe up tonight!!

I LOVE Isaac!!!!

2005-08-27T17:06:00.001-04:00

Last night my amazingly wonderful husband bought me a present. One of the most thoughtful presents he has ever given me. He got me a set of Denise interchangeable needles!!! I was telling him that I needed a couple more circulars for the ballet tee & the lace leaf pullover and I was lamenting the cost of buying so many circulars in different lengths. We started talking about Denise needles & how when I tried a pair I really liked them. He told me I should get some but I felt really bad spending the money when I spent so much on yarn a few days ago.

So when I got home last night there they were. With a little love note. He actually went to the Denise website to find a store in Atl. that sold them & then went to a Yarn store by himself to buy them!! He really is considerate & wonderful!

Now I really want to cast on to something with circs but... I'm holding out! I want to finish up my other projects first.

Speaking of other projects here are some pics of my one button cardigan from knit.1.

The back

The bottom of the left front

I love the semi-self striping pattern that this homespun makes!

I finally got around to putting pictures of our tinyshowcase.com pics up in the flickr owners pool

Lastly for your viewing pleasure, pictures from my lazy saturday...

Malaysian tofu curry- our dinner last night! YUM!!

Max & his new friend the banana spider. He loves to sit at the window & watch this spider spin his web. It's very cool.

All day I dream about S.E.X.

2005-08-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

Stash Enrichment eXpedition that is.

So I went to a new yarn store yesterday. It's called Why not Knit & the ladies were lovely! Welcoming & very easy to talk to. I ended up buying yarn for all but one of my projects in the queue.

With the encouragement of yahaira and byrony I got the Rowan Polar for the lace leaf pullover from loop-d-loop. I got it in red hot which is a really great fall red. Not too bright, not too orangey!! Plus at $8.00 a ball it was a steal!

I also got some brown sheep cotton fleece for the ballet tee (also from loop-d-loop). I got it in a really great steely grey blue called Rue.

I still need to get some yarn for the fingerless mitts.....

I probably won't start any of these til' I finish up the cardi I am working on now but I do plan on swatching for the lace leaf pullover tonight.

Oh & before I forget, camping pics are here.

Some finished objects

2005-08-22T22:04:00.000-04:00

So I've finished Lelah! It was a really fun knit! Thanks to Christine for the lovely pattern and Jessica for the pattern mods for a small.

So here she is:

Knit up in slate blue cotton ease. I think I will make the next one in some lovely soft wool.

I'm also posting a link to my SUPER SECRET swap knit. SO.... if you are Jade/my partner in the Wes Anderson swap & you don't want your surprise ruined, don't click here.

I've also cast on to the one button cardigan from the last issue of knit.1. I'm using the recommended homespun in a color that is actually nice (it's a variegated green, purple, grey) called romantique. I'm making it for a friend who saw the pattern, doesn't knit & has no use for sweaters that need to be hand washed.

I've also been working on picking out a substitute yarn to knit up the lace leaf pullover from loop-d-loop/IK. I'm thinking of using rowan polar as the ladies at my LYS have a surplus of it & I may be able to get it for a deal. There is lots of talk about it over on craftster. I'm eager to see how all these sweaters with sub. yarn turn out. It seems that no one is using the recommended yarn for this one. It is pricey & my yarn store peeps made it seem not so comfy.

Oh, now it's time for Anthony Bourdain! SWOON!!!

There's a taste in my mouth and it's no taste at all....

2005-08-15T15:28:00.000-04:00

So, I'm recovering. From what you might ask. Where do I begin???

*From having my wisdom teeth removed this morning. It really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Mind you I am still totally numb & have already taken vicodin (as prescribed thank you). I'm sure it will hurt later but it's not so bad now. I've got my laptop & I'm watching star trek TNG. Isaac told me to be careful watching it as I'm taking such heavy pain meds. It may induce some interesting hallucinations.

I'll keep you posted.

*We had my dad's surprise 50th birthday party in jax over the weekend. It may be the vicodin talking but I swear I can still taste the combo of tequila shots & corona's. Before I give anyone the impression I am a lush let me tell you I do enjoy a glass of wine or a Newcastle once or twice a week. My stepmom was INSISTENT that I keep drinking. We started at about 5pm & got home at 3:30 am. Seriously my family knows how to party. We ended the night at my dad's usual drinking spot - the local American legion. That was the most fun. All the patron's were really fun & kinda wild.

After all that I promise I will put pictures of the party & camping up later this week. You HAVE to see the pictures! We also have video. Maybe Isaac can help me put that up too.

I wore my accidentally on purpose to the party. It was a huge hit! My sister even requested one. Maybe I can finish it by christmas.... ugh!

So I am off to knit on lelah. Thank goodness I'm done with the lace patterns- that way if the hallucinations get the better of me I won't have to frog the whole thing! :)

My how time flies!!

2005-08-10T20:05:00.000-04:00

So this week is already a blur!!

Camping was AMAZING! There is absolutely nothing in the world that compares to being in the desolate wilderness with Isaac. Just let me say this- I LOVE MY HUSBAND!!

Friday night we camped in a gap (valley to all you non-backpackers) and the view of the stars was beyond words!! We saw a meteor shower and the milky way! Saturday we hiked to the super secret eagle scouts only swimming hole (yes, Isaac was an eagle scout). It is so serene there. I wish we could live in the woods! Blueberries and snuggles were abundant. I will post pictures on my flickr account tomorrow.

In other news I finished my super secret craftster knit!! It ROCKS!!! I almost want to keep it for myself but I will restrain! I also finished all the lace repeats for Lelah! It's such an easy lace pattern. I have the feeling I will be making more of these!

Oh & Secret pal 6 is up for all you knitters or crocheters!! Thanks to Erin for the heads up! If anyone needs a gmail invite for this just let me know!!

Cyanotype news has been hot this week! The CD and shirts are selling well at etsy and there has been a flurry of interest and new reviews! YAY! My favorite is at Pale bear. Not only is it a great review it was unsolicited!! What a bonus! They also did a review of some of Susie's aka boygirlparty band Snoozer's stuff. I am obsessed with her "Winter stops" ep as well as a mixed CD she made me for a craftster swap! We also found a cyanotype link on a blog from the UK that is a person neither of us knows!! It's really gratifying to see the fruits of all our labor!

I especially like that they compare Isaac to Lou Reed!

Oh & I am slightly obsessed with Anthony Bourdain & his new show on the travel channel No reservations.

Why is it all my crushes are on guys who are older, dorky & from the North? Hmmmmm?

Yay for baby pictures!!

2005-08-02T13:57:00.000-04:00

Here he is, Coen Archer Maurice...

He's a cutie huh- not that all babies aren't.

In other news I am almost finished with my "super secret swap knit". It is SO COOL (even if I do say so myself). I haven't worked on Lelah at all since the first night. I am only one row into the lace with at least 7 more to go. It seems like a quick knit so hopefully it won't take me too long.

I've been so bombarded with work getting ready for back to school that I haven't done anything for our etsy site. We have some screens ready & a ton of ideas now we just need more time.

We both have a 3 day weekend coming up! Yippee! Instead of working on crafty stuff we are going up to North Carolina for one last camping trip this season. Pisgah wilderness is our favorite place in the world. I'm looking forward to picking wild blueberries, apple cider, snuggles in the sleeping bags and staying up past 8pm with a rousing game of scrabble.

See this film! I implore you!!

2005-07-29T23:09:00.000-04:00

Isaac & I just got home from a screening of the new documentary "Murderball". It was the one of the most real & compelling documentaries I have ever seen (and I have seen a LOT of documentaries)! It is about the US paralympic rugby team and their personal stories as well as the team story of the 2004 games.

The screening was sold out and at the end there was a Q&A with Mark Zupan one of the quadriplegic rugby players from the film who honestly, insightfully and comically answered everyone's questions. He said his main hope was that this movie would raise awareness.

Give it a chance and watch the preview at the link below. It speaks for itself.

Welcome to the world Coen!

2005-07-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

So my BFF Tammy had her darling baby boy yesterday at 2:21 pm. He was 8lbs. 8 oz and 21 inches long. Coen came into the world with a bang or with an emergency C-section to be precise. Mom & baby are both doing well now & I feel as if it is an eternity til' August 12th when I get to go to jax to see them!

Sometimes being away sucks!

I've been working on a super secret knit project for one of my craftster swaps. It is coming along beautifully! I may even finish it up tonight. Woo Hoo!!

I've also cast on to Lelah last night. I was clearing out my stash (I may need to join yarnaholics anonymous) when I came across 3 random skeins of cotton ease in slate blue. I think my great aunt gave them to me but I can't really be sure. I've been admiring the pattern for a while now but I was trying to clear out my stash and not buy yarn!! I think that the yarn gods smiled on me last night!!

It's knitting up nicely! The lace pattern is fairly easy & it's nice to knit something a little more complicated after my "accidentally on purpose".

I think I need ice cream now.

Drumroll please.....

2005-07-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

Here it is as promised (but a day late)- My accidentally on purpose vest from stitch n' bitch nation.

I used Patton's grace in cardnial on size 5 needles and it took me about a month and a half to finish it (I had to take many breaks from the endless stockinette stitch).

I am really pleased with it! Now if it weren't 95 degrees outside & I could wear it......

I still have all my teeth...

2005-07-21T11:24:00.000-04:00

but I do have an appointment on August 15th to have my wisdom teeth removed. EEK!

In bigger better news I am mere rows away from finishing my accidentally on purpose!! HUZZAH!! I hope to have the time to finish it tonight & post pics tomorrow night!!

I honestly don't think I have ever been so excited about finishing anything! Woo Hoo!!

I always seem to update on Tuesdays

2005-07-19T20:22:00.000-04:00

So we have recovered from Harry Potter fever. Isaac & I both finished the book this weekend. It was bittersweet as I couldn't put it down but I was so sad when it was over. Only one more left. Sigh.

Here are the pictures from the borders party on Friday night. It was too much fun! The turn out was substantially larger than the one for Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix.

We did quite a bit of nothing this weekend as well. It is the first weekend I have been able to sit & knit for a few hours with no interruptions. It was very nice. Alas I am still not finished with my accidentally on purpose. Oh well. I suppose I will finish, some day.

How about something less dramatic. I need to find a good pattern for a beret. Yeah I know there may not be such a thing as a good pattern for a beret. Still I need to find one. The reason is of the utmost secrecy and shall be revealed in good time.

A couple of things before I go:

Tiny showcase has a new print tonight. We got our Catia Chien print today. It is so lovely in person.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment. This will be my first time seeing Dr. Greene. Isaac swears she is a wonderful dentist but I am still uneasy. Hopefully at this time tomorrow I still have all my teeth.

Oh & we made it to featured items on etsy again this week! As did Amy. Congrats Amy!

As promised..

2005-07-15T19:53:00.000-04:00

Pictures of Isaac's HP shirt.

I guess that is his "I'm up to no good face".

We are such dorks that we already went to borders to get our ticket! We got number 21! Woo Hoo!!

Oh & I am really over flickr. Why oh why do my pictures never work. I've switched to an html based badge so maybe they will be better now. Le sigh!

So, now off to dinner & dork heaven!

So the new interweave knits rocks my socks!!

2005-07-14T23:53:00.000-04:00

I was in Michaels today picking up embroidery floss to work on one of my projects for the "Favorite Children's book" swap on craftster and I saw the Fall interweave knits. The Union Square Market pullover on the cover immediately caught my eye as it has such a Star Trek: Next Generation look to it. The Weekend Getaway satchel blew me away!! I am a sucker for huge felted bags.

Other knits I adore: The felted floral Capelet, Greek pullover, Vintage inspired jacket, the brioche helmet hat & the canteen bag! WHEW! I've never bought a knitting magazine where I loved so many patterns.

I think my first knit from it will be the fingerless mitts. They would be great for cold weather camping when I want to knit or for all those outdoor shows we will be playing in the dead of winter. Yeah that one is a longer shot & yes I do take knitting when we go back country hiking. I take the knitting & I take fewer clothes to compensate for the weight. After all a couple of days into it everyone smells so bad that clean clothes don't really matter much.

In other news we are only 24 hours away from the new Harry Potter book. Yeah I am that much of a dork that I made t-shirts for us to wear to the release. Here is mine:

Sorry for the dirty mirror. It says "Weasley is our king". I was inspired by a post on craftster. Isaac's shirt is still drying. I used the quote from the marauders map "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good". Also not my original idea (thank you craftster). I will post a pic tomorrow. They turned out really well if I do say so myself.

Also on the agenda today: making a tart. I used this recipe from NPR, yes I said NPR! I heard a story about it a week or so ago & it really stuck with me. So here is my first forte into tartdom.

It was really simple to make & so yummy!! I highly recommend it! There is no better way to eat fruit than with mascarpone cream! It's heavenly!

So I didn't learn to frame this weekend....

2005-07-10T22:28:00.000-04:00

but I did accomplish a lot.

On Friday Thee Monarchy V came into town. Isaac was a member of that band til we left jax. He has been friends with those guys forever & it was great to hang out with them! They are a killer garage rock band!!

Saturday we went thrift store shopping & I came away with 3 pairs of my favorite Levi's (type 1) & 3 very cool vintage frames all the perfect size for any future tiny showcase prints. I also found a ton (10 skeins)of super soft caron's baby yarn from the 80's for $2.02!!!
The bonus was when I opened it up there was a almost finished sweater to unravel & 4 stitch markers! Woo Hoo!! I have no idea what I will make with it but the colors are scrumptious & it was a steal! It's baby yarn so it is tiny! I am sure I will have to double or triple strand it.

The band played on Saturday night at this really bizarre show. It was all 60's style bands but they were the only true "garage rock" band. The rest were kind of caricatures of 60's bands. Complete with goofy outfits, lava lamps, black light posters and bean bag chairs. The boys rocked the house! They were the faves of the crowd- with good reason. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Oh well!

Today we ate at original pancake house. Everyone came away full to the gills. Then we went record shopping at Wuxtry records my favorite record store. Ellen bought this awesome Tim Curry record in which he sings "You put a spell on me" and a song called "I'm just working on my tan". It was AWESOMELY BAD!!! She has promised to make me a copy! Isaac & I bought the kinks kronicles on vinyl! 3 LPS! Charles got a beautiful Thee Michelle Gun Elephant 3 lp set on colored vinyl. It was a serious find!!

After they left to go back to Jax we went home & heard this weird siren. I asked Isaac if it was a tornado siren to which he answered "Uh, I think it is". So we turned on the TV & waited. It was indeed a siren as we were under a tornado warning. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life. The weird thing is back when I was in Jax about 10 years ago an honest to goodness tornado touched down about 1 mile from my house. I was in the house & there was no siren. I mean we knew the tornado was there from the news reports but I think the siren made me more scared.

Thank god it passed to the west of us but others in atlanta weren't so lucky. All the remnants of these hurricanes and tropical storms have really done a number on the city. I feel terrible for those people in the pan handle and the coast of alabama. The worst part is hurricane season isn't over til November 1st. UGH!

I need to learn to make frames

2005-07-05T23:07:00.000-04:00

The tiny showcase print this week is amazing!! Do yourself a favor & check it out! It is by an artist that I am blown away by, Catia Chien.

I guess we are lucky that the prints are tiny. Otherwise we might run out of room on our walls.

I love lists!

2005-07-05T20:33:00.000-04:00

Productive things I got done this weekend:

1. We took our tiny showcase prints to the framers to get them the lovely frames they deserve. Now only 20 days to wait for them to be finished! BOO!

The new print goes live at 10 pm tonight. Yeah, I love tiny showcase.

2. Bought a new DUVET cover for our new comforter! I love the word duvet. It's weird in America how we just adapt foreign words for our own.

3.I gave Isaac a haircut. My how sexy he looks with short hair! YUM!!

4. We replenished our supplies for screenprinting. We got lots of good stuff & printed our first new design for the line. It's the bird I drew for our logo but done only in blue. Girly sized T-shirts are at our etsy shop. We plan on doing a limited edition 5 print run of a new design each week. Hopefully we can keep it up. It's too much fun!

5. I made an apple pie. As vegetarians we don't do the whole BBQ goodies thing on the 4th (but ah how I miss it somedays). I figured an apple pie was the next best thing. It is delicious (if I do say so myself).

6. I've made progress on the two swaps I am in on craftster. I'm working on the thrift store painting revamp round II and the favorite children's book swap. My thrift store painting this round is hideous but I think I have decided on a path to lead it to loveliness.

My childrens book is the Butter Battle Book by Dr. Suess. Tons of possibilities!! I've already made 2 items and I just need a few more. I was planning on laying off of swaps for a while but there is a Wes Anderson swap starting up! I ADORE WES ANDERSON!!

7. I knitted. Yeah I know that is a pretty lame knitting update but I am plugging away on my accidentally on purpose. It's a long road of stockinette stitch. The lovely Sandra in her super hot finished version is my inspiration.

Well, there is more but I feel a need for apple pie a la mode now!!!!

No rest for the weary

2005-06-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

So I'm staying with Elizabeth til' tomorrow night (I've been here since Sunday). She has the most erratic sleep patterns of anyone I've ever met (it could be attributed to the autism but even so....). She fell asleep at 10 last night & woke up at midnight. She stayed awake in her room singing and talking to herself til 3 in the morning. Then woke up refreshed and ready for the day at 6 AM!! So I'm estimating that I got about 4 hours of sleep. I have no clue how her parents do it...

In other news we are both sleepy & she is content to watch TV so I am trying to keep my eyes open. It's tough.

I did entertain myself with this:

Now if I can just go get a coke or an iced coffee I just might make it.