Aaaaah

So, I realized part of what has been stressing me out the past couple of months was the break in my routine. I’m not usually one to stick to a routine, but I was really starting to miss my little Saturday morning ritual of coffee, NPR, and knitting. My weeks had been so hectic, and my weekends were full of stress and angst about the upcoming Monday, and I had nearly stopped knitting completely.

So I decided this weekend I’d change things.

I woke up early on Saturday morning, made a strong cup of coffee, queued up some This American Life, and cast on for T’s second sock. (I finally finished the first one on Friday night.) I had the ribbing done by the time T woke up, and I was already feeling better. I knit some more as we drove around and ran errands, I put it down for a couple hours while we went outside and did some yardwork, but I picked it right back up as our friends Bryan and Brianna came over for dinner, and I spent the rest of the evening knitting. And it felt amazing. I woke up this morning and realized I’m only about an inch away from the heel flap! Seeing as how the last sock took me nearly 4 weeks to finish, I am determined to finish this one up by the end of the week. Not only because there is so much else I want to knit right now, but because T tried the first sock on on Friday night and said it felt like “butta,” and he’s so anxious for the next one to be finished so he can wear them both.

A twofer

Things have been crazy busy around here lately, so in the interest of time I am posting two blog posts in one!

First up, my friend Heather sent me this photo of her daughter wearing 2 handknits I made for her a while back, the February Baby Sweater and Saartje’s Bootees. Don’t you just love friends who send followup photos of their handknits being worn???

(And do you see how her tights match the buttons??? I can’t stand the cuteness.)

And next, T and I sought some peace and quiet last weekend and headed up to Orcas Island for a couple days. It was damn near the best vacation I’ve ever had, just because it was so peaceful and quiet and beautiful, and because it came after 2 of the longest and most stressful months I’ve ever endured. Here is a random smattering of photos from our trip.

Just looking at the photos brings me back there, but we also made tentative plans to go back in September (the summer is crazy with tourists and families, so we much prefer the off-peak season).

5:00 on Friday and I am brain dead.

A fresh new look

I finally got around to changing my blog header! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a WHILE (I loved the old photo of the scarf I made for my friend Heather, but I wanted a crisper photo and I wanted to show my full blog address). But I *suck* at PhotoShop (i.e., am too lazy to read any of the manuals), and I couldn’t figure out how to use IrfanView to crop to particular dimensions. So then when Janet created her blog header using Flickr Mosaics and then Picnik to add text, I realized that Picnik had the crop-to-size tool I had been looking for. Once I had the new header, I decided to change up the WordPress theme because I wanted drop-shadowing on my photos and I also wanted the blog title to be smaller and less intrusive. (I still am too lazy to host my own blog, so I have to use the free WordPress themes.)

I heart free stuff.

I didn’t think I could do it.

I have now officially been at work for 24 hours straight (with only a 20-minute lunch to take care of some personal stuff yesterday), getting ready to launch the project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half. I’m not proud, but I am a bit surprised that the girl who usually falls asleep on the couch every night was actually able to stay awake and focus last night. And isn’t even too grummy the morning after. But now, I’m so ready for this proejct to be over and done with!!!

Just in time for spring!

Just in time to celebrate spring, I have a boatload of big bulky knits to show off!

First up, I finally got my hands on some Mmmmalabrigo (just in time to bid adieu to Malabrigo March!) and I was originally going to knit up a quick rollbrim hat for me (using my standard recipe). But once I knit it up, I didn’t like the color! So I gifted it to T. (He requested the nubbin.)

I loved working with the yarn, and T raved about how warm and soft it was, so I went on Ravelry and bought some for myself in a dark maroon color (seen here, modeled by the lovely Miss Tipsy, who was a very generous gift from Suzie):

But T knew that I wanted that hat for an upcoming camping trip, and I probably wouldn’t get the yarn from Ravelry in time to make myself a hat for the trip, so HE went out and bought me a hank of Misti Alpaca chunky!

Can you stand it???

I was a little slow getting this one started, because I’ve had fit issues with hats in the past, and I didn’t know how this one would wear as a rollbrim hat, with it being alpaca and all, and I wasn’t sure how much it would stretch over time. So, thereI was, the morning we were leaving for camping, scouring Ravelry trying to see what kinds of hats other Ravelers had made with this yarn when I came across the 18 Seconds To Sunrise Hat. And I knew that was it.

At first I was a little worried that it might actually be too big (you cast on 72 sts, and the pattern says it fits an “averagely big” head) but after the first cable row I finally realized something. Cables eat up stretchiness. Had I realized this earlier, I might’ve thrown another purl stitch in between the cables, but as it is, it fits my head about perfectly. (And I’ve accepted the fact I’m going to live with “hat hair” if I want to keep my ears warm.) (And it will stretch a bit over time.)

Even though this pattern did not call for this yarn, I absolutely love it in the alpaca, AND there is just enough in one skein of the Misti Alpaca to make one of these hats (even with the wider and longer earflaps I made). I had this much left when all was said and done.

Guess that answers the pom question.

And last but not least! I have one more FO to show off! I don’t think I ever blogged about this, but this scarf has become my MOST FAVORITE SCARF EVER. And the best part is, it was a super quick knit! I love it so much, and I’ve gotten so many compliments on it, that I decided to write it up and offer it as a free “pattern.” (I feel kinda goofy calling this thing a pattern… I really don’t consider myself a “designer,” but this was the easiest way to share this with others.)

Woolly Boolly Scarf

 

I originally knit this up for my mom last Christmas, when I was behind the 8-ball and needed a quick knit. I went to Have Ewe Any Wool in Elmhurst, IL (which has the nicest shop owner ever) and found this bulky boucle yarn. It was a little spendy, but I knew one skein was all I needed. I originally started a basic garter stitch scarf, when I realized I just do NOT like the look of garter stitch! So I turned it diagonally and was struck at how different it looked. I fiddled a bit with the width and ended up with something that I did NOT want to give away. So I knit one for myself with some yarn from my stash that I’d purchased at Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ annual sale last year.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Happy spring! LOL!

Down to the wire

I didn’t think I could do it, but Sea Baby is done (minus the leggings and hat, of course! (I didn’t like the leggings and I didn’t have enough yarn for the hat… still kinda bummed about that)). I basically started this last Saturday and gave myself a day to complete each of the 6 pieces (2 fronts, back, sleeves, i-cords, and finishing). I wasn’t originally planning on bringing it to my monthly Stitch ‘n Bitch on Wednesday, either, because the future recipient would be there, but I quickly realized it wasn’t going to get done if I didn’t bring it! So I just told her the sleeves were socks (I’m pretty sure she knew I was lying).

Anyway, so even with all that planning, it took WAY longer to knit up (and sew up!) than I had anticipated, and I was sewing it up madly after breakfast this morning and still blocking it at 11:30 (the shower was at 1). I don’t know if I’ll ever knit something in such a small gauge for a baby again, but I would definitely try to modify the pattern with a bulkier yarn. It’s too cute all cinched up. (The kimono-style sweater is especially fitting for this baby, since her papa is half-Japanese.)

This was my first chance to try out some finishing skills I learned in a class last year. I realized recently that I actually like sewing pieces together (I take after my grandmother that way), it just takes a little practice, and patience, to get it to look crisp. While I’m definitely pleased with these results, I think it might have gone faster if I hadn’t slipped every stitch at the end of the front pieces. I thought this would make it easier to sew up, but for some reason all those loose stitches at the ends just made everything more difficult, and I found it hard to sew evenly down the same row (I was also watching a movie while I was doing this…). Still, I don’t think they turned out half bad.

I was also a bit worried about the garter stitch edges because they kept curling up, but I steam blocked it this morning, and it really made a difference. It finally lays flat now, and it just makes the whole thing look FINISHED.

Once it was all put together, I really couldn’t believe that I had made this. It was one of those things where it just came together at the last minute, and it surprised even me that it turned out so cute. I was almost too attached to the thing to give it away at the shower this afternoon, but I gave it to a knitter (my grandmother told me years ago never to knit for non-knitters) and I think it will look adorable on her baby.

There was talk at the shower that the little one might be brought home from the hospital in this sweater, and while I don’t reasonably expect that to happen, I do hope that she has a chance to wear it one or two times, and know that she is loved.

There has been knitting

Things have been hectic and quiet around here lately (but not necessarily peaceful — I’ve just become a bit of a recluse these past few weeks), so I’ve been trying to distract myself with knitting. Lots of knitting.

First up, I finished my basic socks!

These were knit with Socks that Rock (Lightweight) in January One. There seems to be some debate among knitters about this yarn — people either seem to love it or hate it. I don’t know much about yarn in general, but this stuff seems to be similar to Koigu, which produces a rather dense and firm fabric. It seems to me like that would make it more long-lasting, but it’s definitely not as soft as other sock yarn I’ve used. (Full disclaimer: I’ve only ever knit 3 pairs of socks.) So now I find myself wondering what my ideal sock yarn will be. Will I go for more tightly corded yarn or a softer, fuller yarn? At this point I’m keeping my options open. (I’ve still got some Lorna’s Laces in my stash…)

I’ve also made significant progress on the sweater I’m knitting for a friend. Having conquered 2 raglan sweaters so far, I honored my friend’s (probably offhand) request to make her a sweater for her birthday. I honestly thought of her when I first saw Picovoli a couple years ago (because she’s tiny) and then when I found the yarn for cheap on Ebay, that sealed the deal. It’s been a quick knit, but knitting for someone three states away can be rather daunting. I’ve had to just trust the pattern, and my friend’s measurements, and go with it. But now that I’m almost done, I’m panicking a bit. What if it doesn’t fit? What if it’s too tight? Too short? Too lose? Too long? Worst case, I’ll knit her something else. Next!

Last up, I’m finally knitting up the Sea Baby kit I got in Portland for my friend’s baby last year. The little one is due in May, and the shower is this weekend, so I figured I’d better get started! The kit came with two different colors of Sea Wool, and while my friend loves green and blues, the one skein is just too “boy” for a little girl (and might be too “blah” for a little boy). So I’m going to skip the leggings and just make the hat and sweater (and besides, we picked up these booties from REI for her last weekend).

Problem is, I totally messed up and grabbed the wrong needles (despite checking TWICE — it’s been that crazy around here) and while at first I didn’t thing I was going to frog it, I’m totally glad I did.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some knitting to do…

Who do I look like?

Oh, this is too good. The other day, Staci posted her celebrity look-alikes, and I encouraged her readers to do the same. For YEARS now I’ve gotten tons of random comments from total strangers telling me that I look like their sister’s friend, or their cousin’s wife, or people will constantly act like they’ve met me before (when I KNOW they haven’t) but I am never told that I look *famous*. So, I wanted to find out from the experts who I most closely resembled.

I started using this photo that I thought showed off my best feature — my hair. I totally thought they’d suggest Andie McDowell or Keri Russell or that actress from Gladiator. But apparently the face recognition software just picked up on the ANGLE of my face, and not the actual features.

So while I was initially surprised shocked to find out that I closely resembled small Asian women and a bald (!!!) jock, I shrugged it off and decided to try again with a better, straighter photo (the web site does suggest using “large, front-facing and straight faces to get accurate celebrity matches”).

My hair was looking pretty good today, so I snapped a quick photo before lunch and tried again.

And apparently I look like A MAN!!!! An old, gay, black, Jewish man. (With glasses.)

Staci? I’ll take “Bette Davis eyes” any day!

And he says I’m the catty one

While listening to the radio on a road trip:

“Now playing LESS hits MORE often!”

                       . . .

This morning while listening to NPR:

“I thought people were abandoning the word ‘niche’ in favor for the word ‘niche.‘”

                       . . .

Earlier today on IM:

“So. Done. With. Once. It. Feels. Like. *Twice*.”