Nov 30, 2005

A Tag and a Scarf

I got tagged and the results are below (and If i tagged you, your assignment ;) is below the pic.
But first..

Here, without furthur ado, is a giant, overexposed picture of my unblocked Irish Hiking Scarf.
I had to weigh the merits of blocking it vs. having it available to wear when it was 24 degrees out and I'd just finished it. Warmth won. I might well yet block it. The matching hat (which is a simple roll brim hat in black Cashmerino chunky with a 1 1/2 inch stripe of the scarf yarn) is almost done, but on hold until I get a second ball of the black, since I lost one of the balls on Metro North.



Meanwhile, I got tagged by That Farm Girl a few days back, so here are the results of that :)
I feel the need to share the love so i'm tagging.. hmmm Robin!

A is for Age - 38 going on 39 (right on top of 39, really, Dec 12 in fact)
B is for Booze - Not so much of a drinker - Coffee is my booze.
C is for Career - IT nerd
D is for Dad's Name - William
E is for Essential items to bring to a party - Whatever I’m asked.
F is for Favorite song at the moment - "Mama Tried, The good old Merle Haggard Version"
G is for Goof off thing to do - Hang around online
H is for Hometown - Brooklyn, NY
I is for Instrument you play - er.. is persistent talking anything like singing? None really
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - Apricot
K is for Kids - One kitty
L is for Living arrangement - I live alone, with my cat, and some uninvited waterbugs.
M is for Mom's name - Joann
N is for Names of best friends - I have many good friends and won’t single them out for fear of offending someone.
O is for Overnight hospital stays - nope
P is for Phobias - waterbugs, lightening, standing water
Q is for Quote you like : Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met. (Fran Liebowitz)
R is for Relationship that lasted the longest - Non Romantic: My friend Val who I’ve known since 8th grade (which is 23 years ago maybe?) And Joy who i’ve know for 21 years. Romantic: I was with my ex-husband for 12 years.
S is for Siblings - A brother and sister, both older
T is for Texas, ever been? - Ran thru the airport once or twice for connecting flights, that’s it.
U is for Unique trait - I can get up to 6 songs stuck in my head simultaneously
Vegetable you love - Cauliflower
W is for Worst traits - Obsessive worrying
X is for Xrays you've had - Teeth, feet, hands, abdomen
Y is for Yummy food you make - I make decent chicken soup
Z is for Zodiac sign - Saggitarius





Nov 26, 2005

Mmmmmmmmmm Stuffing

Well happy day-after-thanksgiving all :)

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.

Mine was good- went to my sister's as I do every year and had a nice time. Tis a long day out there, so I got some knitting done while there.

Today I went to the boyfriend's parent's house for leftovers (Yummy - MORE stuffing!), and then went to see "Walk the Line". I thought it was VERY good - much better than I'd been prepped for.

Knitting News:
I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf !! I should have a pic up in a day or so if i can ever bring myself to take it off long enough to photograph it in final :) I LOVE it! and I finished it not a moment too soon - It got so damned cold out Thanksgiving night that I was grateful to be able to wear it home. (Those outdoor train platforms are murder!)

I wanted a matching hat, and it's nearly impossible to exactly match reds so I saved a little of the yarn and bought some Black Cashmerino Chunky for the hat - i'll use the leftover scarf yarn to make a stripe or something.

I'm up to my toe decreases on Fuzzy Feet two (in Lamb's pride bulky) and hope to felt em in a day or so.

So i'm nearly all set to use that 400 yards or so of Misti Alpaca that followed me home not long ago... what to make what to make..;)

Oh.. and my new laptop? SO COOL! I love having my own computer everywhere I go!

I got tagged a few days ago by Thatfarmgirl and plan on rising to the challenge tomorrow :)
Until then..

Nov 21, 2005

A small update

Hi there.
Nice weekend - good Tofurky™ (really, the meal was surprisingly good!)
Saw the walmart movie (good documentary but horrifying)
Took other friends to lunch for their respective birthdays
and had a nice little book shopping spree in which my wonderful boyfriend got me two magazines, two books and the cutest stuffed bear ever. We named him Polka.

Just a few progress pics on the IHS
I"m nearly done. I love love love how this baby is coming out, so squishy and so yummy and I must finish it by thanksgiving when it will be cold and yucky out so that I can wear it.


Lastly just another happy little request for you to put yourself on my map :)

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Yay! Its a short week!
:)

Nov 18, 2005

A blatant plea for attention

Everyone else was doing it so I couldn't resist (peer pressure you know)
So could you please click on the cool frappr button and add yourself to my map.
Pretty Please!
(cool Frappr button courtesy of Amy of Knitty.com fame)

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Spent the afternoon with my friend J. Went to Knit New York, had coffee and worked on the IHS for a while. Very relaxing. Bought a few last touches for my last SP package which is just waiting for me to finish what I'm knitting for it. J. Crochets so she was purusing some afghan books while I worked. Bought myself a few skeins of Misti Alpaca and a row counter. We had a really nice time.

Also got a down jacket at Filenes for FIFTY DOLLARS! (so warm and such a bargain) and a cool bag for my most excellent new laptop. I'll be not spending much else for the rest of this pay period but I'm happy about my purchases.

And it's Friday..
I love Friday

Tomorrow the BF and I are entertaining at his place - we're having a Tofurky™ dinner for a few non meat-eating friends. I'm not a vegetarian of any sort but I do eat plenty of non-meat meals. Never had the Tofurky™ before.. I'm keeping an open mind :)

The little headache that could.

I have had a headache for going on two weeks now..
think thats a problem?

I'm sure i'm allergic to something but I haven't tracked it down yet. Part of it was some new hair product a woman at work was using (thankfully she discontinued doing so without too much of a fight).. the rest has yet to be determined.

Haven't had too too much time to knit this week - been working too much, and I got a new toy this week that is making me very very happy!

Its so cute.. so tiny and so fast!

Gotta leave work now.. more later!

Nov 14, 2005

I'm it!

This time by PuppyMomma to post 20 things about myself.

Here goes..

1. I've lived in NYC my entire 38 year life.
2. I am almost never asleep before 1 am (usually later) and rarely awake before 9am.
3. I would rather drink coffee than alcohol.
4. I am somewhat mistrustful of people who don't like animals.
5. I've been at the same job for 10 years.
6. I've never driven a car
7. Or shot pool
8. Or gone skiing.
9. I lost my virginity the week before my 16th birthday. I never felt it was too young and I never regretted it.
10. I got married at 26 and do feel that was too young.
11. I'm divorced from the man I married at 26
12. I can't sing, at all and have always been jealous of people who can.
13. I have never felt that something being the norm was a good reason for me to do it.
14. I respond very unfavorably to guilt and/or manipulation - it is probably the best way to get me NOT to do whatever it is you want.
15. I am not even slightly religous. Not even on holidays.
16. I am not great about suspension of disbelief - therefore my favorite fiction is usually very realistic.
17. Other than knitting I'm not particularly good at making things (whether i'm good at knitting is a topic for another day ;)
18. I keep my friends forever
19. I'm also friends with many of my ex boyfriends
20. I take myself much less seriously than the tone of this list would suggest.

Nov 11, 2005

So..

Could you please convince my friend R. that when I say
"I'm going to felt my bag now" that it doesn't mean anything dirty?

Sophie - in the wash...

Nov 9, 2005

Ugh, me so cranky

Its been "a few of those days".

Everything I cast on for, ultimately got frogged due to one stupid mistake or another
Fuzzy feet in aubergine/orange ended up looking like stirrup pants and i hated how it was going so those got ripped..

Then I decided that I wanted to give them a shot in bulky for a gift, but spaced out at some point and have no idea how I got the number of stitches I got and didn't want to try and replicate them for the second one so ripped they went.

ThenI decided after doing Sophie, two fuzzy feet and kittypi in a row, that I was tired of doing large knit-stitch only jobs on big needles and wanted a change, so I cast on no fewer than 16 times for Branching out, each time having some problem with it that caused it to be frogged.
I blame the yarn - all of them, and think i need to go buy some ;)

I blame the Irish Hiking Scarf - I think it's feeling like it needs to be finished and will sabatoge all other efforts until I show it the respect it deserves.
So tongiht is IHS night.. I will slip into something more comfortable and spend a warm, fuzzy, cozy evening with take-out and the Irish Hiking scarf.

Everyone around me is cranky.
Work is being ,well, worklike.

Grumble Grumble Grumble -

Nov 5, 2005

Mohair Mohair everywhere...

So the fuzzy feet were a huge hit. Everyone at work loved them, my friends loved them..and I'm really enjoying wearing them. I'll probably make a few as holiday gifts as they are quick and cost effective. This pair will stay at my boyfriends for when I'm here and I'm already knitting a second pair for home.

Been a busy couple of knitting days -

I completed the Sophie bag's knitting portion this afternoon and plan on felting it sometime between now and tuesday. I might wait until Fuzzyfeet2 are done. I have a lot of projects upcoming now that need to happen in a short time, including two things for my last secret pal package so I'm trying to economize on effort.

I progressed to 1/2way through the last ball of yarn on the Irish Hiking Scarf. Despite my high level of distractability these days (which has gotten me to knit a few quickie short term projects), I am really loving this pattern. It knits up beautifully and I will definitely knit this one again.

My second fuzzy feet pair are being done in Lambs Pride Worsted, a combo of "orange you glad" and "aubergine". I'd have never expected these two colors to go together but I'm kind of digging the combination. The yarn, however, I feel mixed about. It feels nice and soft, and knits up pretty but the mohair content, while only 15 percent, is kind of driving me nuts. Its like cat hair or fiberglass insulation in its ability to get EVERYWHERE. I've been plucking mohair out of my eyes, ears, nose, lipstick and coffee. My hope is that I get used to it because I otherwise really like the yarn.

Nov 4, 2005

In the midnight hour, she cried felt, felt felt

So as not to dissapoint the reader who was checking back (and because I couldn't wait any more).. I braved the basement at midnight and felted my fuzzy feet

As usual I have had some trouble getting photo color right.

The Cascade Quatro felted very well though I had to stop before complete loss of stitch definition because they were getting too small. They are a tad snug but I don't care, I'm wearing em anyway. The stitch def. is mostly not visible to the naked eye, though the yarn's pattern sort of gives the illusion of it in places and i can see a little still where the stitches were picked up for the gusset, but I am overall very happy with the result

Please be advised that any nearly all the decor in these rooms was not chosen by me. (the books are mine tho)
(witness the white plastic brick in first shot, for an example ;)
One day i'll fill you all in on the great wallpaper nightmare that is my home. (Blame the prior owner)
I'd redecorate but I plan on moving.
ANYWAY...






Tomorrows post will be an ode to Lambs Pride, from whence the next pair of fuzzy feet shall spring ;)

Nov 3, 2005

Ok so I'm a coward.

And I haven't felted my fuzzy feet yet.

Why? because I keep getting home late, and I can't stand going into my basement (Home of the Washer) after dark. Or at the very latest after 8-9pm.

And why is that?
Because everything bad that happens in a house shows up first in the basement.
Waterbugs
Leaks from higher floors
Sewer backups
Gas odors
etc.

And you don't want to discover any of those things when you should be preparing to go to bed. Since that means
a. waiting for said bug to find its way upstairs
b. ignoring a problem that could ruin your house
c. callin an after- hours repair person which is evil and expensive.

And so.. I don't go down there during the night.
Which means no felting yet.
Funny - I'd have thought the knitting part of the process would have taken longer than the felting part. Life is funny that way.

So in the interest of finding a less insane sounding reason why I haven't felted them yet, I've decided on "I"m now knitting a Sophie bag link here a. because its fun and b. so i can say "I'm holding off til i can felt everything at once ;)

Seriously -felting, tomorrow, no matter what

Nov 2, 2005

Nov 1, 2005

One Unfelted Fuzzy Foot He Felt Smart

Just a quick edit of this earlier post to add.. that I'm finally using the wordpress.com blog that Dani of YeaIknit so graciously invited me to. I decided to use it solely for my diet and exercise tracking (to keep me focused on my health), which I can't imagine anyone wants to read about, but in case you do, it can be found here and on the right. I


The above is my first foot, pre-felting, finished as of last night. The second is about 1/2 done.
The bottle of soda is included for scale, which vaguely reminds me of someone holding up today's paper to prove what date it is.

The picture was taken with my cellphone, which should explain the sickly hue, and terrible resolution. I'd have used the office digital camera, but that vamoosed about a year ago and has yet to be replaced. (If anyone want's to donate a digial camera to a nice non-profit organization, I promise it will be used to take work-related pictures instead of not-yet-fuzzy feet most of the time ;)

I hope to get these babies felted tonight.
They are a fast fun knit and I plan on doing a second pair shortly.. perhaps in something orangey.