Obsession du jour...

Exodus 4:19

2005-04-19T22:29:00.000-04:00

Like so many others out there in the Garden of Blogs, I am abandoning Blogger for greener pastures. I have been lured to Typepad by the promise of: posting that actually works, REAL push-button photo blogging, self-contained photo albums, and much, much more. Here's my new home:

www.obsessiondujour.typepad.com

Wheeeeeeee! A new home just in time for Spring...if only the bathroom re-model was this easy.

P.S. TOTALLY worth the $5 a month.

Dude we're, like, taking over the world!

2005-04-19T10:06:00.000-04:00

So I hop on the train this morning and grab the only open seat (yes, I'm still too uncoordinated to knit standing, so a seat is way more important to me now than it should be), and as I sit down I notice that the woman on my left is knitting. No, not just knitting, but knitting a sock! On teeniny little metal dpn's -- and in a STUNNING green yarn. We have a brief little discussion as I try to stay cool and not gush all over some stranger in the train just because she knits (in public), but woohoo! Two chicks with sticks, not only in the same car, but right next to each other. It's a movement I tells ya.

After maybe 10 nanoseconds of restraint (because I have the self control of child) I did, however pump her for info on her sock yarn because it was seriously gorgeous. It was definitely self-striping, but the stripes were wider than most, and they sort of faded into one another instead of having hard edges. The whole thing was various shades of heathered greens, and it was all I could do not to hit her over the head and steal it. She couldn't remember the name, but it was one of the German ones and she had gotten it from Woolcott. Guess where I'm going after work? 'Cuz, you know, I need more sock yarn like I need a hole in my head, but who cares, this stuff was beautiful. Is it a bad sign when sock yarn can make me drool with envy?

Imaginary friends.

2005-04-15T10:25:00.000-04:00

You know how in the movies when imaginary friends come to life or show up on your doorstep, it's always some kind of freaky, scary thing and you just know that something bad is going to happen? Well, I'm here to tell you that it just isn't true. Hollywood has lied to us yet again. Case in point: Ms. Melanie. After emailing back and forth a bit, sharing memories of our mutual hometown (Atlanta, Ga) and such, we decided it would be more fun to do that in person, and it totally was. She's charming, funny, witty, has fabulous taste in knits, and has a deep love for pulled pork and hard cider(no one can have a deep love for pulled pork and hard cider and be a bad person, it's impossible). Also, she didn't hit me on the head and tell me to shut up after I talked her ear off for two hours, and that goes a long way too. Oh, AND she didn't make fun of my congenital inability to carry cash, even to a restaurant that only takes cash and checks. When was the last time YOU paid for dinner with a check written with a purple Sharpie? Yes, I'm a dumbass. And yes, it was THAT Sharpie. Hopefully she won't hold it against me and will come out and play again soon.

Pictures? Um, no -- no pictures. You'll just have to take our word for it that it was fun and that you totally wish you were there.

Can I get a witness?

2005-04-14T23:22:00.000-04:00

Hi my name is Josephine, and I'm here to talk about teenage pregnancy.

He said it couldn't happen the first time. He said that he was going away in a few days, and that by the time he came back it would be too late for the two of us. He said no one would have to know. He said he loved me -- or maybe it was more like "assume the position" -- I'm not totally clear on that point. But anyway, I'm here to tell you that you should never believe anything a boy tells you when you're in heat. Never.

**ED note: Yes it's true, our little 7 month old kitten is pregnant. As in kittens here in less than two weeks, pregnant. Apparently, just 4 days before we took Napolean in to be fixed, the two of them actually figured out their own version of the birds and the bees. We and our vet were pretty darn sure that there was almost no chance that they could successfully breed so young, and he had seemed oblivious to her slutty behavior so we thought we were safe. Ooops.

Knitty!

2005-04-11T11:16:00.000-04:00

I MUST have one of these:

Is this the cutest thing EVER? Yes.

Multitasking

2005-04-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

It all started with the idea that I needed a new knitting bag, mainly for toting my constantly changing 2 or 3 projects up and down the stairs so as to not continuously have a 20-foot stack of crap in the middle of the living room floor. So I grabbed some Kureyon, some sticks, and a pattern, which I promptly ignored, and set to it. A few hours, three skeins, and a whole bunch of icord later and we had this:

Please note the 3 distictly different colorways blended for "artistic" effect. This will be important later.

Then, 2 trips through the handy-dandy, super-magical felty machine and a night spent stretched over my favorite pot, we had this (cord not yet attached):

Let us please not mention the close up of my dry, chapped, wine-stained lips. Some things are just too beautiful for words.

Notice the beautiful hat brim on my knitting bag? Yup, this is what happens when we felt different colorways at the same time. Cute, eh? Brim or no, it's the perfect size, came out pretty much how it was envisioned, and once the straps are attached and it's full of knittiness, I won't care about that at all. And THEN, it gets unceremoniously tossed aside for later construction while we get some long overdue shots of the hoodie. When I turn around to gather it up for it's trip to the work room, I find this:

She's so damned cute that I don't have the heart to make her get out, but Napleon says:

HEY! What about me? I want to get in here too!

Who else feels like there might be a Kitty Pi or two hitting the worklist soon?

Finally!

2005-04-05T01:18:00.000-04:00

It never occured to me, when I started this blog, that the hardest part of my finished objects would not be the hours of knitting, nor even the painstaking finishing of seams, but instead would be the positioning said objects in front of a camera, in reasonably flattering light, preferably on said knitter...or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. I need to get me some 24 hour daylight. Until then....heeeeeeere's hoodie:

and from the back:

I guess that's actually a backwards Rachel, for the full frontal version, go here. And for the ~~stupid~~ funny pose, here:

Particulars:

Pattern: Under the Hoodie
Source: Stitch-n-Bitch
Yarn: Peruvian Highland Wool from Elann in Oxblood, Coffee Bean, and Aubergine.

I love this sweater and this yarn, plus it was a kick to knit. It took just long enough to really FEEL like big project, but was really only a little challenging for a fairly new knitter. All-in-all, perfect for a FIRST FREAKING SWEATER EVER! What? Lent is over. I can say it all I want.

Oh, and please ignore the wine-stained lips and the drunk-eyes. Unless, of course, you think that sort of thing is attractive...uh, but don't tell me about it if you do, mmmkay? And stay away from my cocktails.

Confluence

2005-04-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

I love the word confluence. It's second only to serendipity in my book. Why are they so high in my list-o-words? Who knows? Could it be that I love what they stand for? I guess, but probably not. Part of what I love about them is that they sound like what they mean, if that makes any sense at all, and I love that. Mainly though, I think they're just fun to say. Go ahead, do it. Say confluence out loud.....fun, ain't it? Now, run out and try to find a way to use it in a conversation - preferably two or three times in less than 5 minutes, bonus points for using both definitions in the same conversation. Then you'll have the fun of getting to say it, but also of having your friends/family/co-workers think you've suddenly gone a little batty. It IS April Fool's Day after all.

Stop that bandwagon!

2005-03-30T12:13:00.000-05:00

I want to get on.

No seriously, who could resist the joy of KoolAid and yarn? Not me, obviously. So what happens when you combine this:

with this?:

Why THIS is what happens!

I'm looking to make some socks for Rick in his college team (University of Florida) colors. Who would have thought that it's almost impossible to find yarn in this particular colorway? I mean, doesn't EVERYONE think these colors look great together? No? OK, me either, but they're not FOR me, so orange-and-blue it is. Eventually I realized that in order to get this ~~hideous~~ ~~cheerful~~ spirited blend of colors, I was going to have to do it myself. It seemed easy enough, judging by all the KoolAid mania running about on the net, and it was. It was so much fun, that I have actually decided that I love this yarn, colors and all.

While I was at it, I also did a little superwash merino roving that I had on hand, and a skein of Cascade's EcoWool in (I think) #8019-- using different colors, of course. I've a little set of in-process photos here if you're interested. There are definately some things I would do a little differently, like more KoolAid for more intense colors/saturation for the roving, etc., but basically this was a ton of fun and super easy. Best of all, it was FAST. I think I was in and out of the kitchen in about 45 minutes including clean up. Talk about instant gratification!

Also?

2005-03-24T16:46:00.000-05:00

What the HECK!?!?

How is it that it's Spring in NORWAY, but we got snow here today? Seriously - go see for yourselves. How is this possible?

And when do we get some of those?

Geek out

2005-03-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

This is extremely useful information for those of us who like to be untethered. For everyone else, this will be hopelessly geeky - Home Page: Coffee and Wireless in Boston

Now, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to take issue with the statement that Boston has "the best cafe culture on the Eastern Seaboard" since:

A)I have yet to find more than one cafe here (Someday Cafe, Davis Sq) that stays open past 8 or 9pm on a daily basis, and even that is a rarity. Most close by 8pm and some close as early as 6pm. (WTF? Doesn't anyone here work for a living?)

B)I can't find a single cafe outside of Newbuy-hell that has any outdoor seating/service, which is ASININE in the spring, summer, and fall (ie: 3/4 of the year) with all the fantastic weather we have here,

C) hell, I've had a hard time finding a cafe with more than 4 seats, for that matter -- note: a coffee machine and two chairs does not a cafe make, and

D)my piss-ant, backwater (by Northeastern standards) hometown, Atlanta, has half a dozen FANTASTIC cafes within 5 miles of each other.

Now come on, if ATLANTA has a better "cafe culture" then you KNOW Boston's got a long way to go on this.

Still - this is all good to know, 'cuz sometimes you just want to hang out at the cafe with all your imaginary friends.

We have a winner!

2005-03-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Congratulations and this.....

Cork

...go out to justcinful , who correctly identified the 15 intel agencies from the Saturday pop quiz a few weeks back. This lovely yarn is on its way to her as we speak, and I can't decide which is more exciting: seeing what she will do with this, or seeing all of the nifty kool-aid dyed yarn she slaved over this weekend!

Other stuff that's been happening here include a birthday for my favorite husband (on St Patrick's day no less), a very sick Leon-kitty, and a sick me. Yes, me....yes, again. Leon and I spent the latter part of the week and the weekend sleeping (a LOT) trying getting well, and I think it worked because we're both much better. Don't let anyone tell you that eating right, excercising regularly, and getting enough sleep aren't the path to health. They'd be wrong. I know because that's all exactly what I HAVEN'T been doing and I've been down for the count twice is three weeks. Does it come as a shock to all of you, as it was to me, to find that Girl Scout Thin Mints and Diet Pepsi are not a balanced diet? Who knew? Don't cry though, there's always Do-si-do's(wow, they don't call them that any more) They have peanut butter in them, and peanut butter is full of protein, right? So there you go, those and some milk --gotta have that calcium-- and I'll be right as rain in no time.

So anyway, with all of that sleeping, neither Leon nor I had much time, energy, or the attention span to knit, so all I have to show for all of that down time are a handful of swatches and a couple of half-hearted attempts at starting new projects. Here's a little list:

It all started with a cone of Valley 2.6 from Webs "Garage Sale", which has been languishing in my stash calling my name. It's a lusciously soft, dark brown, heathery, chunky yarn (I also have it in dark burgundy, hooray!), and I've been dying to start a sweater with it. So I did a very quick swatch, confirmed that it was my favorite yarn EVER, and then rolled over and went back to sleep. It was just too much work to do any of the math to start a sweater. Sadly, they only have two other colors left, but if you're looking for a chunky, rustic, yummy yarn, go quickly and grab some. You won't be sorry.

Then later, in the midst of some sort of fever-induced chill, I decided that I desperately needed a pair of Fuzzy Feet. Nevermind the thick wool socks laying all over the bedroom, only Fuzzy Feet would do and I had to have them NOW. Yes it was stupid, but seemed like a good idea at the time. Don't you just love cold medicine? So anyway, I pulled out my lovely brown Cascade 220 that I balled up months ago for this very purpose, because it is, after all, the best yarn ever, and set off knitting. I think I maybe got 2 inches of the first cuff done and then, well, I went back to sleep.

At some point in all of this, my hand fell upon the skein of Knit Picks Merino Style in "Storm" that was part of an exploratory order not so long ago, and I decided that maybe while I was just laying in bed doing absolutely nothing, I would go ahead swatch up every single yarn I own so that I would just be ready to go whenever the mood struck me, and I would never, ever, ever have to swatch again, and I would start right then with this yarn. Right then. So I did. Please stop laughing. It WAS a good idea, right? OK, it wasn't. What it was, as a matter of fact, is downright stupid, because...well, because it was, and we all know it. But I started it anyway. I did about 10 rows and then went back to sleep. Yup, with the knitting in my hands. However, I did decide that THIS was actually my favorite yarn EVER, and that I was going to buy enough for a sweater in every color they make, except pink, of course. Ick. Luckily, the laptop was all.the.way.down.stairs, and that was just too far away -- instead, I slept.

By this time, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm slowly coming back to my senses as the fever breaks and the cold medicine wears off. I look around at the yarn carnage that is the floor around my bed and decide that someone should really be monitoring me when I'm sick. I mean, really, what if my hobby was something like -- I don't know -- antique swords, or even pottery? Oh my god -- can you just imagine the mess I could make with a wheel and some Robitussin? So I get up, gather up all the yarn and needles and swatches and such (not to mention the forgotten tea cups and coughdrop wrappers) and I head purposefully up to my work room in the attic where I put everything away in its proper place, make my little swatch notes (to the best of my memory), and grab my euclan so that I can give these little guys a quick wash. Somehow, somewhere between the top of the attic stairs and the living room chair, a skein of Andean Silk in Barn Red, a set of #7 needles, and "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" ended up in my hands. I have no idea how that happened, but it did. And so, that was my last swatch of the weekend, which I did actually finish in one pass. Turns out that this is my favorite yarn EVER, and I'll be casting on for the hourglass sweater any moment now.

Oh wait...what's THIS?

Something to talk about...

2005-03-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

I had decided not to post ANYTHING else here until I actually had some finished stuff to talk about. And now I do! But first -- there's even more of this stuff this weekend (booooooo). I have to admit that while we've had a very nice, extry-snowy winter here, I'm pretty much done with this stuff. It can be spring now. Really. Flowers and birds and stuff. I like that.

However, I guess it should be a little bit chilly for just a little while because Under the Hoodie is DONE and ready for wearing! And not a moment too soon, either, as even I was getting tired of my absolute obsession over finishing this sweater. Sometime earlier this week I finished the hood, then Friday night I sat down to attach the sleeves and seam up the sides. As you can see, I had some help.

Don't you pay Leon any mind, he's not REALLY sleeping, he's trying to lull me into a false sense of safety. See, he's betting that I'll chase Josie off when it comes time to pull out the needle and captivating flying yarn because, well, look at her -- you just KNOW she's not going to be able to resist "helping" with that too. But not him, nuh uh - no WAY. He's sound asleep, yup, you betcha -- no threats to life, limb and yarn here. Totally innocent, that's him.

Yeah, I didn't fall for it either.

A bazillion hours, several Cokes and several Novas from the DVR later, and we had this:

Taken the next day, of course, because by the time I had finished seaming this, my very first sweater, even the cats had abandoned me because it was WAY past even their bed time. Seriously, I think it was something far closer to 3am than I want to contemplate. I'm pretty happy with the seaming, and sweater is beautiful and warm and scrumptious. Well, OK, not in this picture since this is pre-washing and pre-blocking, but it is I swear, and I'll show you very soon. But not today. Why? Well, because the camera battery died while taking these photos and I can't for the life of me find the charger. So there. I whispered it so that not everyone would hear what an idiot I am, but that's why. I wore it to our L-Word gathering Sunday night and to work yesterday and got lots of ooohs and ahhhs. That was really fun, especially since I'm unlikely to ever make such a big deal out of such a simple sweater again. I'll post an action shot or two and the details soon.

In other knitting news, I also finished Rick's Irish Hiking scarf. Well, I had finished the knitting part a while back (like, Valentine's Day *gasp*), but had never woven in all the endy bits. I think maybe I mentioned I was obsessed with the hoodie, right? Yes it's true, I'm a terrible wife to allow my husband to go scarfless in Boston in the dead of winter so that I can finish a sweater for ME. A show of hands for who's surprised? Right, I didn't think so. But now it's done, washed and blocked, and it's very soft and yummy and makes me want one just like it. Nope. No pictures of it yet either. There was a little bit of fun, super-secret knitting for some birthday goodies as well and as soon as those are received, I'll post their pics.

And now I'm off to a place where they pay me to do stuff that I like far less than knitting. Boo.

Allllmoooooosssst theeeere.....

2005-03-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

1 1/2 in. to go on the hood of the hoodie!!! The sleeves are done and the shoulders seamed, so once this last tiny bit of knitting is done, all I have to do is attach those sleeves, seam up the sides and give it a quick wash. That's VERY exciting. I thought I might actually have a hood to show off today, but no such luck. Instead of knitting I slept.

Not on purpose, mind you. It was one of those sit-down-for-two-seconds-and-wake-up-two-hours-later-when-the-phone-rings naps. Apparently I was tired. It's a good thing the phone rang, though. When I woke up, Leon was staring disconcertingly at my fingers dangling off the arm of the chair. I can't decide if he was contemplating trying to wake me or trying to eat me, but since it was about two hours past their dinner time that could have gone either way. I'm only half kidding, he's SERIOUS about dinner. Well, all food really, but especially the miniscule serving of canned food they get each evening. I've tried convincing him that really, it's just a little treat at the end of a terrifically hard day of sleeping, er... I mean, guarding the house, but he's unmoved by my logic. If he could speak something other than Siamese, I suspect I might learn some new obscenities whenever dinner is late.

But I digress. We've dinner plans this evening, but hopefully I will still have time to finish the hood, and maybe even get some seaming done. Stay tuned for tommorow folks when I regale you all with the excitement of hand-washing a bathtub full of woolens. Can you stand it?

Still?

2005-03-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

Yup -- still too much work and not enough knitting around here. I do have one very exciting thing to show you, though.

Fabulous, isn't it?

And this is where they willl soon be reclining.....

It doesn't look like much at the moment, but one day it will the bestest, most luxuriousest bathroom in all the land. (Right, honey? ) I've even promised not to store yarn in here. Can you believe it?

See that tall white pipe back there? That, my friends, is the future home of our lovely gazillion-year-old cast iron tub. It is a great testament to my love of this thing that after 6 months of it being my only option for bathing (in the winter, with a fritzy hot water heater), I'm still VERY excited about it. Let me clarify this for you folks, there's not a shower head anywhere within the boundries of our house and as far as I can tell there never has been. Astounding, isn't it? I'll spare you the stories of having to boil water on the stove downstairs to take a bath, lest you think I'm making it all up.

Sigh

2005-03-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm boring.

There, I've said it. I've nothing at all interesting to say, nothing at all interesting to report, and not a single interesting photo. I work, I eat, I sleep. I have done a bit of knitting, but who wants to see two indentical brown stockinette sleeves? No one. Not even me, even though I love them because they are my first sleeves ever. Hell, even the Oscars were boring. Are these my February doldrums?

See? I'm always late. Always.

Have you NO shame?

2005-02-25T08:30:00.000-05:00

**Note to those of you in the Boston area (specifically in the Cambridge/Somerville part of town) who are too damned lazy to get your asses onto the Red Line each and every day: It is NOT ok for you to flood my train and bog down my commute every time you're too lazy too dig your car out of the snow. We regular commuters are better than you, and we totally own those trains. I mean it. Get out before I stick my knitting needles in your eyes. It's not like there's any space for me to use them for anything else right this second.

**I know that this rant indicates a petty, piss-poor attitude, and I should be happy each and every time someone takes public transportation, no matter what the reason, and thus makes one little baby step towards saving the planet. I do. I know this.

On a much less bitchy note, I saw this on Wendy's page and couldn't resist. Yes, I know I'm behind the curve, did I mention I've been sick?
-----------------------------------

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Shocked, I tell you.....SHOCKED!!!!

2005-02-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

Abstinence Programs Failing in Uganda AIDS Study
Wed Feb 23,10:55 PM ET

Health - Reuters
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Programs that promote abstinence and monogamy to combat AIDS are failing in a landmark Ugandan study, and only condom use has kept the deadly virus in check, researchers reported on Wednesday..........For the rest of the article go here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&amp;cid=594&e=4&u=/nm/20050224/hl_nm/aids_abstinence_dc

-------------------------------------------

Ok, so look, I'm really not hugely politically preachy. (Shut up, I am NOT.) I simply couldn't let this pass. I will save you the pain of having to hear my little soap box speech and instead just ask you read the article and draw your own conclusions. Hmph. Abstinence indeed....

Ahem. Well, I'm back at work today, and I'm discovering that really and truly, it's a little difficult to work with no voice. I don't mean that little scratchy-hi-I-have-laryngitis voice, I mean NO voice. It's like those nightmares where your stash comes to life and chases you down the stairs and out into the cold night air, snaking it's furry tendrils out to trip you and you scream and scream and you scream for help, only no one can hear you because your screams come out like little whispers.......what? Don't lie to me, I know you've had that one. If you haven't, then either your stash isn't big enough, or I shouldn't have read so much Stephen King as a kid. Where was I? Oh right, no voice. That's me, the quiet one in the corner, and for any of you who know me, you know how crazy THAT is.

Also? Whoever is out there with the voodoo doll and the pins stuck into every joint and muscle, please stop it. I'm extremely and deeply sorry for whatever it is I did and will do anything you ask, anything.

What holidays are for....

2005-02-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

Snuggly

I heart snuggling. So does Leon. What you can't quite tell from this picture is that he is under the covers with Rick. He insists on it. Cutest.cat.ever.

What else is a holiday weekend good for? Being sick. How's that for a kick in the pants? The only up-side to that is the knitting time. I finished Rick's sock and the back of the hoodie.

rick's pinstripe sock

hoodie back - WIP

Then I cast on for the 2nd Pippi kneesock. The sock turned out to be too much work for my hands, who were aparently suddenly on tiny-needle-strike, so I cast on for the front of the hoodie. Turns out that I can also knit that with my eyes closed. Not SO different from knitting it in a dark car, I guess.

Pop quiz Friday...er, Saturday...

2005-02-19T00:50:00.000-05:00

Inspired by this:
--------------------------
Yahoo! News - Negroponte picked for intel job: "If confirmed by the Senate, which appears likely based on lawmakers' favorable reaction, Negroponte will oversee the government's 15 military and civilian intelligence agencies."
---------------------------
Huh?! FIFTEEN? We have "15 military and civilian intelligence* agencies"?

Today's pop quiz is this:
Quick, name all 15 agencies. I'll start us off and you guys do the rest.

1. FBI
2. CIA
3. NSA

The first person to identify all 15 will get 4 skeins of Rowan cork in plush, color #35. It's a beautiful dusty rose, and will be handwrapped and lovingly mailed by moi.

In knitting news, in between bouts of pouty, work-induced grumpiness, I've actually gotten the tiniest bit of knitting done. I'm about half way up the back of Under the Hoodie (smack dab in the middle of the big stripe) and have just begun the toe decreases of DH's pinstripe sock. This weekend's tasks will hopefully include washing and blocking DH's Irish Hiking Scarf, finishing up the pinstripe sock and casting on for my second Pippi. Yes, you're absolutely right, it should also include getting some damned photos on here. If I'm REALLLLLY lucky, it will also include new Flickr photo albums AND a new hard drive installed and fully functioning on my poor little PC.

*See how I'm not making any of the 5 million terrible jokes I could be making here? I have an amazing amount of restraint.

So near to you and yet so far...

2005-02-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

WHEW! There's been a heck of a lot of craziness here at Obsession du jour. Here's what I've learned in the last week while I was gone from blog-land:

1. The 12-hour work day sucks. I get all grumpy and tired and want to stick out my lower lip and make pouty noises.

2. A week of 12-hour work days makes me so miserable to be around that it's a miracle that Rick doesn't divorce me every busy season. Wait 'til you see what I'm like after another two months of this.

3. I loooooove to knit socks! Oh wait, I knew that already. What was it...oh, I remember...not getting to knit makes me all nervous and twitchy. What? I can stop anytime I want. Yes I can.

4. My husband is the very bestest husband in all the land. Why is that, you ask? Because, despite my insistence that I was far too busy to go, he whisked me away to a romantic inn in New Hampshire for a Valentine's weekend of snowy fun and relaxation. It was beautiful, marvelous, magical, and just exactly what I needed. He even hung out (mostly cheerfully) in Pearl's Yarn Shop in Littleton with me where I broke down and bought my first skein of Collinette Point 5 (Zebra), and he didn't even blink when the nice yarn store lady told me how much it cost. See? Perfect.

5. I'm terribly out of shape. Seriously. I really MUST find my running shoes, put them on, and use them. Our snowshoe trek kicked my butt.

6. I'm also out of practice on the drinking front. We shared a bottle of wine over dinner and I was in bed by 9:30. Nine-freaking-thirty! I haven't been in bed at 9:30 since I was, I don't know, 12 maybe? I'm totally blaming it on the snowshoing.

7. I can knit stockinette in a dark car, by feel. How fun is that? I got 4 or 5 inches of the back of "Under the Hoodie" from SnB done on the car ride home Sunday evening. I had cast on and gotten the ribbing done last week sometime (God only knows when I eeked out time for that), so it was all apparently blind knitting from there. I'm working this in Elann's Peruvian Highland in Oxblood, Coffee Bean and Aubergine. I'll post pictures ASAP, but some of you may notice that these colors are very similar to my Pippi socks . Apparently this is my new favorite color combination because that was totally an accident. That said, this hoodie, a cute little skirt and my very long socks peeking out over the tops of my boots is an image that's making me smile a little. And I need that.

8. I use the word "freaking" way too much. It's a misguided attempt to clean up my otherwise terribly foul mouth. Seriously. Sailors want to be me. I therefore announce that I am giving up "freaking" for Lent. The word, I mean. No, I'm not Catholic, but it's a freaking good excuse. Or something.....

More pics and more life lessons to follow, but they're at home (the pictures) and I'm still at work, so it will have to wait. Boo hoo hoo. See that pouty lip?

Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dream Scarf

2005-02-07T07:59:00.000-05:00

Finally finished the Sari Silk KAL scarf. To be honest, even though this was an easy, mindless pattern, it got seriously neglected until this weekend when I decided to just finish and get it over with. Truthfully, my opinion of this project hasn't changed much since I first posted. I still like this pattern, I still love the feel and heft and drape of the yarn, and it was actually pretty fascinating to watch these beautiful, vibrant colors slipping past my fingers while knitting. For the life of me, I can't figure out why I'm not madly in love with this scarf, but I'm not.

These colors are very beautiful, aren't they?

My theory right now has two parts. The first is that I think I would like this better if it leaned more to one family of colors, instead of literally being ALL colors. I'm embarrassed to admit that because I thought one of the things I loved best about this yarn was that it was every color in the rainbow. If I were to make this (or something like it) again, I would most likely spend some time trying to find a skein or two that has some color focus. I will also say that I think this yarn would make a pretty kickin', funky, sexy (in that casual-Meg-Ryan-bed-head-way) little wrap/shawl/poncho.

The other part of my theory is that I really need to see it working in/with an outfit. I'm betting that will go a long way towards acceptance as well.

Tonight it will get a quick rinse and light block and then it will be ready to hit the streets.

Um...sure, OK.

2005-02-03T23:32:00.000-05:00

Playful Girl

What kind of little girl were YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm pretty sure that on my report cards this read: "Bossy, talks too much, and makes poor use of her time". I like this version MUCH better.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

2005-02-02T08:18:00.000-05:00

No, no, not me....the SOCK! Check her out.

Luuuuurrrvely and so.very.scrumptious. So yummy in fact that I had a really hard time taking it off after modeling for the photos. So there I am, cold chillin' in the knitting chair, with one very happy leg in very long, very yummy sock, and a second, pissed-off leg in a short, crappy, used-to-be-black-but-is-now-sort-of-dark-gray cotton sock with a thin spot on the ball and a hole in the heel. (Don't bother scrolling down for a look, I'm not THAT cruel.)

Sexy, eh?

So I cast on for another sock.

What do you mean it's not the same?

Clever chit -- you're right of course. The other sock I cast on was my DH's first pair of handmade socks in LL's Pinstripe. If anyone out there knows of a better, softer, yummier sock yarn, you MUST tell me. 'Cuz I simply can't imagine it. This stuff is truly amazing. It's a little like those old Charmin commercials -- I'm often happy just sitting in the knitting chair squeezing and fondling this ball. I apparently don't actually need to knit it, I just want to play with it. Um, that came out a little dirty, didn't it?

What I learned from this sock:

1. Man-oh-man, do I love knitting socks.
2. My lower leg is longer than those of the teenaged models in SnB. Go figure. I'll make the 2nd sock of this pair just like the first, but the next pair (oh yeah, there will totally be a next pair) will be one color repeat longer before starting the heel. That's an additional 14 rows/1 1/2 inches and should be just about perfect.
3. Ladders suck. I mostly figured out how to beat them into submission, but there are two or three places in this sock where they won. I'll show them, though, they won't do that again.
4. This yarn rocks the house. I wish I'd gotten more. Shhhhh. I said I WISH, not that I DID. However, YOU should run right over and grab some because it's a close out. Go ahead, I'll wait - it's a close out after all.
5. I hate weaving in the end-y bits. I will make fewer color changes in the next pair. I love the stripes, I will look at these longingly wishing for more stripes, and I will tell myself that it really isn't all that bad, but I will still do fewer stripes. What can I say? I'm a lazy knitter with an instant gratification problem.
6. On a related note to #5, I will never, ever make these. Never. They're phenomenal, humbling, gorgeous, spectacular -- hell, they're even supercalafragalisticexpialidocious. But good God, there is no freaking way.

Time's up!

2005-01-31T08:31:00.000-05:00

Maybe you've noticed, and maybe you haven't, that it's been DAYS since I was here. Days....how does that happen? Where does the time go? You'd think that with an entire weekend at my disposal, there would be something pithy written here with accompanying visual aids. There's not.

I HAVE been knitting, though, and I've also been cleaning, spinning (just a teeny, tiny bit for practice's sake), reorganizing, rearranging furniture, and drinking. Not all at the same time, mind you, but still. In knitting news, I have finished my 1st ever sock!!!! It's the first of the Pippi Longstockings from SnB for the sock-along, and it ROCKS! What? Oh a picture, um, right. How about tomorrow? Yeah, tomorrow, I promise.

I'm also making progress on the Sari-along scarf, which I'm mostly back to liking, and I began swatching for my first Lorna's Laces socks for the hubby in "Pinstripe". Size 1's - what on earth was I thinking? I also did a quick swatch for a scarf I'll be doing in a lovely green Manos. Swatching for a scarf? I know. Did I mention that I was an accountant? I was also thinking of doing a quick swatch for Ribby tonight after work. Thank heavens I didn't make any of those "one project at a time" resolutions, eh?

In other news, and you heard it here first, I'm absolutely fed up with the transit situation in my little corner of Somerville, so I'm getting one of these. Seriously. I know I have my bike, and that works for some stuff, but there really are days when you just need to get your ass to work and waiting 35 minutes for a bus that is SUPPOSED to run every 10 is just unacceptable. Add to that the fact that I have had 3, count 'em, THREE 2-hour commutes this week (should be 35-40 mins door to door), and you'll find that I lost about 4 1/2 hours of my life to the MBTA, and since most of that was standing outside in the freezing-freaking-cold waiting for a bus that never came, that's a lot of damned good knitting time down the drain too. Bastards.

Ahem. I think maybe I should go get some coffee.......and maybe a Valium.

Not what you think...

2005-01-27T20:59:00.000-05:00

Lookee! Handmade stitchmarkers! Aren't they the cutest?

This is what I did last night instead of work on my socks or post in this here bloggy. These little babies are seriously addictive and so remarkably easy, I can hardly stand it. It's enough to make a girl pick up a new obs....um, shhhh.....don't tell anyone I started to say that. I'm not allowed.

And now.....duck, duck, GOOSE! Musical tag:

1. Total amount of music files on your computer: Once upon a time, there was a this very happy princess in a land of unending music. I don't know how much it was, but it was way , way more than my iPod could hold....from Ambient to Classical to Goth to Industrial to Klezmer to Zydeco -- my musical taste is all over the place. Then some sort of Karmic debt backlash occurred. We won't go into it here, but I lost everything in a dramatic and tragic hard drive seizure. Everything. Don't even THINK about asking whether I had a backup, mmmkay? So then this wonderfully generous friend (who will remain nameless to protect the not-so-innocent from RIAA prosecution) sent me a handful of DVD's containing HIS ENTIRE MUSIC COLLECTION. Does that rock or what? The fantastic news is that he has really great taste and I have 31 GB of fun new music, some I know and love, and some totally new to me. The bad news is that no matter how great it is, it's not MY music -- know what I mean? Someday soon (read: in the next two years - funny how one's perceptions of time change when renovating a house) I will get to unpack all of my CD's from our move this past summer and do all of that ripping work over again. I suspect that you'll be hearing all about it here, like it or not.

2. The last CD you bought was: Well, downloaded from iTunes, but it was Bjork - Medulla. Yes, it was months and months and months ago. It's a painful truth. See above re: renovations. I WAS trying to be very disciplined about not getting anything new until my desktop computer was unpacked and reconnected, which happened three weeks ago. Then there was a huge yarn sale at Webs, and then the new Peruvian highland Wool colors came out at Elann, and then, well, you get the picture. I REALLY want a floor in the bathroom we're building, so I haven't allowed myself to even LOOK at iTunes. It hurts.

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Ben Folds - Zak and Sara. It's the first song on a compilation created by the above-mentioned incredibly generous music angel. I've been trying to listen to it since I got it weeks ago, but it seems somehow jinxed in that invariably, I can sit here for HOURS w/o a single interruption, but let me pop this CD into my player and every single person in my office building will find themselves DESPERATELY in need of some nonsensical thing or another that only exists in MY office. I simply can't make it past the first 3 tracks. I'll keep trying, I swear.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you. You have GOT to be kidding! JUST five?! Criminy....um......I'll try.

Sarah McLachlan - anything off of Fumbling towards Ecstasy. I can still remember what it felt like when I discovered this album and this voice for the first time. You'd think after all these years it would no longer be in heavy rotation, but apparently I can't get enough of it. It's on the playlist every other week or so. I'm a sucker for haunting female vocals. Not necessarily ethereal (though I love that too) but specifically "haunting".

Elvis Costello - Watching the Detectives -- Because THIS is the album that changed the way I looked at music forever and taught me that there was more to Rock-n-Roll than Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett, and The Allman Brothers. (Did I mention I'm from the South?)

However, in a nod to my Southern, beachgoing, semi-redneck heritage, I'll throw a shout out to old school Jimmy Buffett. I KNOW! It's an artist not a song, and it's not in any way cool, but his early stuff was SO much a part of the carefree early years of tree-climbing, body-surfing, loooooong lazy days of childhood that I can't ignore him just because he's not cool anymore.

Spyrogyra - Morning Dance -- my first taste of jazz fusion, which sent me (over later years) spiraling back in time to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie and Dave Brubeck and Billie Holliday and on and on and on. I know I'd have found the jazz greats eventually, but it was this and Catching the Sun that happened to be my firsts. We all know how important firsts are, don't we? Such is the power of these two CD's that popping them into the CD player while having a nice leisurely breakfast/brunch will absolutely MAKE my Sunday.

And then came the dark sexy groove years. It's a tie between Sisters of Mercy - Floodland, Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine and Enrapture - Predator and Prey as representatives of these black-leather-clad years when I worked as an accountant for the Catholic Church by day and then turned all gothy-skulky-club kid at night. My poor husband met me during this time period and I'm pretty sure he thought he'd found the trampy goth-girl of his dreams, one he would actually be able to take home to his mom and stuff without scaring anyone, but could still drink him under the table. Unfortunately for him that phase didn't last very long and now he's hard-pressed to get me to go out to a bar for a simple drink (they're just so loud, and it's so hard to knit there). Sorry baby. ;)

But I do still like the music.

I guess this turned into a romp through my music history rather than a "what are you listening to right now" quiz. Hmmmmm......just as well, since I suspect none of you really wants to listen to recordings of our shop-vac and drywall gun. I'll see if I can get Josie and Leon to sing to you.

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?

Much like Cassie I'm curious what other KAL-ers are listening to these days, but to keep it fresh I'll take it out to the Sari-a-long ladies. What do you say Gina, Lynn, and Risa? What's in YOUR ear?

She's a little bit nerdy, he's a little bit rock-n-roll....

2005-01-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something in lieu of a real post. Go. Amuse yourselves. Come back later tonight and I'll have news and photos. I promise. I've also been tagged by the lovely Cassie to reveal my deepest innermost secrets, oh wait, sorry, that's just a music quiz. OK, I can do that, but fair warning. It will be BORING. I'll do that later tonight too. I can't imagine why, but apparently these people expect me to actually do some work here today.

I hate them.

However, I love Cassie's cat. I wonder how many cats I could have before my husband divorced me?

--------------------------
How nerdy are YOU?

See....I knew all those years of sleeping through Trig class would pay off someday.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

2005-01-24T08:25:00.000-05:00

And snow it did. They say it was the worst storm in the city's history, but I was so wrapped up in this sock, I barely noticed.....except for the screaming banshee winds and the hours of shoveling out yesterday. Luckily we didn't have anywhere to go this weekend, so it was just me and my socks and my spindle. WHAT spindle, you say? Why, THIS spindle:

It's brand new, and so far I have made this much yarn:

It's very sucky yarn, but I love it anyway, and I'm working very hard not to think about how long it would take me to spin up a sweater's worth of yarn this way.

This is so much fun I can hardly stand it. How do I go about getting someone to pay me to do this all day, while making only the stuff I want to AND getting to keep it all? ;)

Just in case you thought that maybe all this storm hoopla was overrated, here's me standing in my back yard.

And HERE is what happens when one tries to make a snow angel in 3+ feet of fluffy, powdery snow.

Yep. Me again. This time buried up to my neck. There was a moment there when I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to find solid ground in order to right myself and that my husband, incapacitated as he was with laughter, would not be able to help me, and i might suffocate right there in my own back yard just 3 feet from my back door.

Can you tell I'm from the South?

Just in time inventory....

2005-01-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

Look!!! Mittens!

Both are now resting peacefully on a soft, fluffy towel awaiting tomorrow night's big storm. Of course, NOW I need some fingerless mitts/gloves because it's SO FREAKING COLD in here.

Particulars:
Pattern: From Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Classic Elite Wings in Havanna Brown (yummy) on size 6 DPNs

And now back to our regularly scheduled socks and scarves.

Slippery, sloppy silk.

2005-01-19T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to like this. Really I am. I love the colors in this yarn and I also love it's sheen and "feel", but I'm having problems with the sloppiness of the way it looks in this scarf. I'll get over it, I'm certain, but for now I'm just going to pout for a few minutes and go back to my socks. Tomorrow I will love it again.

And now for something I undoubtedly love:

Meet Josie and Leon

Wanna be...

2005-01-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

I want to be a yarn snob. There -- I've said it.

No really, I'm serious. I'm kind of a "foodie", I'm definitely a "townie", I want to be a "yarnie". In addition to being a great restriction of sorts on the size of my stash, it would significantly reduce the number of hours spent fondling yarn at the store if I was only interested in fondling the "good" yarns.

I didn't know this about myself until I discovered Knitters Against Fun Fur. At first, I was totally on this train. I saved this button
to put here on the sidebar, and I set about composing a fun comment to support her in her call to arms against this crazy stuff. See, I REMEMBER when our couch AND barstools were leopard-print fun fur, and I believe that the second coming should be stopped. Now.

And then I remembered this from my "Projects to make" files:

Maybe it's just the result of too much Dr. Zhivago in my formative years, but whatever the reason, I must make this. It requires fun fur.

Damn.

Did I mention that it was cold?

2005-01-17T20:49:00.000-05:00

Now, you may look at this and think to yourself "Hey, that doesn't look like either a sock OR a scarf!". And you know what? You'd be totally right. It is, in fact, a mitten. My second mitten (ever) made to match the little beauty below that was completed last weekend. I decided that it would just be silly to only have one mitten here tomorrow when our high is supposed to be a whopping 15.

Lest you fear that I am getting sidetracked or (heaven forbid) overly ambitious, let me assure you that the aforementioned sock is in my bag patiently awaiting tomorrow morning's train ride to work, and my sari silk is staring sulkily at me from the coffee table as I type. For now though, I must go back to this mitten. It's darned cold here.

Serendipity

2005-01-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

So the other day I was at my LYS, and I could not stop myself from picking up two skeins of recycled sari silk yarn. No, I didn't have an actual use for it, but it was just.so.beautiful. I just HAD to. You understand, I'm sure.

Turns out that now I DO have a very good use for this, thanks to Risa.

Hooray for knit-a-longs!!!

Aaaaand we're OFF

2005-01-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

Wheeeeeee! First knit-a-long, first socks, first blog, first post.

Welcome to my obsessions. Currently, it's all about the knitting, but I can't promise that it won't also sometimes end up being about my many other compulsions, including (but not limited to): kayaking, scuba diving, soapmaking, cycling, yoga, cross-country skiing, jellymaking, running, cooking, reading, my two siamese kittens, quilting, cheesemaking, homebrewing, and the remodeling of our new 100 year old house in charming Somerville, MA.

And now, back to the knitting! I cast on yesterday with this yarn:

It's so puuuurty. It's "Vail" from Colorado Yarns from WEBS in oatmeal, chocolate, cabernet, and amethyst.

Here is what it looked like yesterday morning:

Since then the 1st section has been finished and I'm on to color #2, chocolate.

Want to see MORE very long socks? Of course you do.