All’s Well That Ends Well

December 20, 2004 By

Check out my foxy man in his manly vest:

Click on the pictures for greater detail!

Here are some close-ups of the vest by itself, with no foxy man inside:

Needless to say, we’re both pretty happy with it. Although I did tell him he wasn’t allowed to play tennis in it. He’s definitely wearing it Christmas Day. I’m so glad he likes, and even more glad it fits! I will never again make a sweater (or any other garment for that matter) without measuring it against something I know fits. He has two vests that he plays tennis in – one fits great but is a little short, the other is perfect in the body length, but not so much the rest. I melded the measurements together and perfection! (Not the debilitating kind, I might add.)

For those of you interested in the background, he’s sitting/standing by our dining room table. Yes, my entire dining room is lined with bookcases, as is the living room (well, two in there – but that’s the only empty wall space) and the office. As of right now, books still outnumber yarn. (The bookcases are Ikea Billy – I can build one in like five minutes, no lie.)

Speaking of storage, I was putting away my yarn last night, trying to clean up the house a little, when I realized the underbed plastic boxes I bought at the Container Store do not fit under my bed. So now I’m thinking about this. Please tell me I’m crazy (although I’m pretty sure it will fit in my closet).

Question: Michelle was kind enough to let me know that the links in my entries weren’t working for her – she’s using Netscape 7.1. I’d love to hear about anybody else having problems. I want my blog to work for everyone!

Filed Under: George's Vest

Dont’ Eat the Plastic…Oh Wait…
Maybe You Can

December 19, 2004 By

ca·sein ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ksn, -s-n) n.
A white, tasteless, odorless protein precipitated from milk by rennin. It is the basis of cheese and is used to make plastics, adhesives, paints, and foods. From Dictionary.com

Does anybody else find it a little strange that the plastic your cheese is wrapped may actually also be cheese? I’m not quite sure how milk can turn into plastic, and frankly, I don’t want to know. But god damn I like these Swallows!

I cast on last night (after I finished the Vest) for the Brie gloves. Things were going along swimmingly with the beguiling hairy dental floss until I realized I was on row 6 or 7 or something (how can I be expected to know what row I’m on with this blasted yarn! I can’t even count the stitches!) and that I was supposed to start decreasing on row 3. I was so excited that I was actually knitting with this imposter yarn that I forgot to re-read the pattern.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!

Have you ever tried ripping this stuff out? I hope there supposed to be a lot left over after making these gloves because with all the cutting of destroyed ends I’m doing I’ll be lucky if I can make it to the thumb. I WILL PREVAIL! KSH WILL NOT BRING ME DOWN!

I think I’ll work on my Ribby Cardi today since I finished the Vest. I sent an email to Carole last night to join the Ribby Cardi KAL. It will be my second ever knit-along. The first, of course, being the Man-Along. But now that I’ve finished the Vest, it’s time to move on.

And you people are killing me! After seeing Cari’s and Froggy’s, I’m totally convinced I HAVE to make a Clapotis. It’s a good excuse to try out some new yarn, right? I’ve never tried Lorna’s Laces and I hear good things.

I’m also trying to find a project for my Jo Sharp DK Tweed in Cedar. I want to make some kind of Cabled Hoodie Cardigan. All the patterns I’ve found that seem remotely interesting are for Aran weight yarn. I’m not sure I’m good enough to do the math to convert the piece to DK weight. I like Mariah from the new Knitty because the intricate cables are really on the arms. I’ve had that idea in my mind for a while. Will it be really hard to convert it? Or should I give up and look for something in the same yarn weight? I like this Debbie Bliss pattern, but again, it’s calling for Aran weight. I probably don’t have enough yarn to do it anyway. I have 20 balls of the Cedar. I know I don’t have enough to do this, also a Debbie Bliss pattern. (Great job Shannon!) Of course, this one’s in the right yarn weight. I guess I could try to find some more yarn. I’d probably only need about five or so. It’s times like these I wish I was a designer extraordinare so I could make myself a Shazam or Lovie like Bonne Marie.

If anyone has any other ideas, I’d love to hear them. I really want to start knitting with this yarn – especially since I finished the Vest.

Filed Under: Brie, George's Vest

Still Ill

December 18, 2004 By

Sick. Sick. I’m sick. I hate being sick. Medical scientists the world over have yet to identify (forget about a cure – there aren’t enough Hollywood spokespeople in the universe to cure what I have!) the copious amounts of ~STUFF~ leaking from my body. It’s really, really gross.

But even in my infinite misery, I manage to struggle on. The neckband (sorry, Kerstin, definitely not as revolutionary as the armband – but there’s still one to come!) is done on Georgie’s Vest. I took some pictures but they came out crappy and I don’t feel like taking them over. Maybe later, if I’m inspired. But I doubt it. I’m thinking if I can stop the gook running out of my nose FOR FIVE FREAKING MINUTES I will do the last armhole and seam up the sides. I was feeling a little funny about the neckline – it’s a little goofy at the bottom – but when Georgie tried it on, he declared I was a genius. I didn’t have the energy to argue.

Oh and speaking of my beloved, the decree has been issued:

“I’m telling everyone, if they don’t love it, I can’t be friends with them.”

What’s this “it”? School of Rock of course. Better than Vitamin Fucking C.

Filed Under: George's Vest

Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!

December 13, 2004 By

So I said I wasn’t going to work on Georgie’s Vest until I came back from my sister’s, but I lied.

We have an armband!

The picture sucks – that’s what you get with bad light, dark colors, and a flash. (Shhhh. Don’t tell my clients. I’m supposed to be a professional. Eeek!)

So, I think the shoulders look a little boxy and the armband may be too wide out. G tried it on, and he says it’s a tad tight, but I’m thinking it will soften up/stretch out a little with a wash. It’s amazing how much softer the waistband single rib is since I blocked it. The shoulders seem to stick out a little. I might rip out a couple of rows, just to see. But I’m pleased with it. It’s starting to look like a real sweater. We’ve already decided G can wear it for Xmas at his parents (so he can tell everyone I made it!) I will not be taking it to my sister’s. Too much for the train and with the kids I’ll probably get no knitting done while I’m there.

In the who says you can’t get smaaaht reading the gossips department, I found the following item in the Rush & Molloy column over at the New York Daily News:

Bad source code at NYT?

New York Times columnist David Brooks might want to do a background check on the next “expert” he quotes.

Brooks, the reigning conservative on the paper’s op-ed page now that William Safire is leaving, is coming under fire for his recent column about Red State “natalism” and birth rates in which he quoted writer Steve Sailer’s finding that President Bush “carried the 19 states with the highest white fertility rates.”

Brooks doesn’t mention that Sailer reportedly runs a Web discussion group whose members include white supremecists and anti-Semites.

Sailer also writes for vdare.com, which the KKK-fighting Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled a “hate group.”

Brooks didn’t immediately respond to our E-mail.

But on political magazine The American Prospect’s blog TAPped, writer Garance Franke-Ruta asks, “Why is David Brooks promoting the work of a well-known eugenicist sympathizer who regularly indulges in racial stereotyping? … [It’s] journalism at its absolute shoddiest.”

Remember I told you what a stupid column this was? Vindication shall be mine!

In case you’re interested in the straight poop, here’s the link to The American Prospect‘s blog. [See the December 7th entry.]

Filed Under: George's Vest

Productivity

December 12, 2004 By

[Warning: lots of pictures in this post!]

Well, the fifth times the charm. I literally visited five LYS between Monday and Saturday and finally, on the last visit, I BOUGHT YARN. Fell in love is more like it, but I’ll get to that.

I went to visit Handknits in Englewood, New Jersey. I’ve been wanting to go (Jen, we’ll go back – I promise!) and I’m glad I did. This is what a yarn store should be! There was a ton of yarn – rooms and rooms of it! And somewhat organized to boot. There was a back room that had the sale yarns and books. The room next to it had a big table (sort of like a conference room) with all the baby yarns and fingering weight yarns. The front entrance where the checkout was had all of the novelty yarns and the big, big room in the middle had everything else. Lots of Rowan, Karabella, Takhi/Filatura di Crosa/Art Yarns, etc. Clearly the owner takes issue with KFI because there wasn’t a Noro or Debbie Bliss to be found. There’s a lot to compensate though.

The staff was extrememly helpful without being solicitous. In fact, no one really said anything until I seemed ready for help. And then they were very helpful. I was there much longer than I anticipated.

I was looking for some felting yarn for Sophie – I really wanted Cascade 220. They didn’t have any Cascade but the owner was nice enough to go through the store with me and point out all of the yarns that felt well. One of the ones she showed me was the Manos del Uruguay. I’ve never knit with Manos before, but I’ve certainly heard of it. I in LOVE now. I’ll tell you! I was looking for something to make a Sophie for my sister – and for me. Well I ended up finding the most gorgeous colors!

Aren’t they beautiful? The first one is a tan/camel with pink running through it and the second is a pearly pink with gray running through it.

I love this yarn! (Did I say that already?) I absolutely love the color and the texture – I don’t even want to knit with it – I just want to look at it and touch it. I think the saleswoman thought I was crazy when I said I was going to felt it – but why not? Just because it’s expensive? I know that I carry my other felted bag all the time – much more than I would wear something, I think. So is that bad? I bought all they had in those colors – my idea was that I’d combine them for a larger Sophie for my sister. I thought the tan/pink would look really good with her tan leather jacket and the KSH gloves I’m going to make for her, eventually. But I’m thinking I might buy more of the tan/pink for myself. I’ve got some Chanukah gelt waiting for me at my sister’s – it’s got Manos written all over it! If anyone reading has felted this stuff – can you make me feel better? Or tell me I’m crazy? OOOh, I LOVE it!

While I was at Handknits, I also picked up a few more balls of Filatura di Crosa Primo – the yarn I used to knit Max’s blue striped hat. I wanted a hat for Charlotte, my niece, and I didn’t want it to be blue as well. Charlotte looks good in primary colors – pastels wash her out – so I went with a bright purple/red combination. I think it came out cute!

I know Charlotte will love it – she’s really into hats these days and the weather is supposed to turn really cold this week – so the kids will be nice and toasty!

Also, I finally finished the two booga bags I had sitting around. They’re for my best friend’s daughters (2.5 and 6). I originally made the pink one, but tried to felt in my front loader washer and it didn’t really work. When I say it didn’t work, I mean I ran it through like five times and it still wasn’t really felting well. So I washed it again at my sister’s with the blue one. The pink one is a little smaller because of it. They’re both made with Noro Kuryeon. I don’t remember what colors.


I started my Ribby Cardi!


The color seems really off in this photograph.

I’m not sure about the yarn as far as softness is concerned – it seems a little scratchy in my hands, but it certainly knits up easy. I think this project will go pretty quickly. I’m excited about it!

I even knit some on the geometric scarf last night while watching Spiderman 2. It’s looking good and is oh so soft, but it’s boring (and a little tedious since the yarn splits) to knit. I’ll get there.

Tomorrow I leave for my sister’s until Thursday. My brother-in-law is going away so I’m going down to lend a hand. She’s pregnant and the kids are crazy! My nephew is excited though. He doesn’t really understand time exactly, but he knows I’m coming for the seventh and eighth nights of Chanukah. My sister says every morning he wakes up and asks her, “Which night of Chanukah is it tonight, Mom?” So cute.

And last but not least, Bonne Marie’s blocking tip worked perfectly! The Silkroad Aran Tweed exapanded exactly how I’d hoped and the size looks great. It also softened up considerably (not that it wasn’t already soft.) I might not start to put it together until I get back from my sister’s. There’s still lots to do what with the armbands and neckband.

Okay. I’m done! Thanks.

Filed Under: Felted Bags, George's Vest, Miscellaneous, Ribby Cardi, Stash

Block Head

December 10, 2004 By

Block Island. Block Party. Knock Your Blocks Off.

You guessed it, fine readers. I finished the front of G’s Vest and it’s off to the Blocks we go. I have towels in the washing machine as we speak so I can try Bonne Marie’s wonderful blocking tip. I think I might run out to Home Depot today and pick up a blocking rug as well. Thank you Bonne Marie! Thank you!

I’m not as upset about the neckline today as I was yesterday.

I’m confident that whatever inconsistencies there are will be taken care of nicely when I pick up the stitches for the neckline. I’m not quite sure I understand the directions for the said neckline, so I may be back with questions.

My new concern (you knew I’d have one) is that it won’t be wide enough to fit Georgie. I’ve been using a vest he has to measure against and I really, really think another repeat would have rendered the vest too wide. I’m hoping it really just needs a very good blocking. That and that fact that the Knitter’s Review article distinctly says the yarn “exapanded by 5% per inch” after washing. I’m hoping the blocking and expanding will do the trick. [Of course, the article is about Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran – not Aran Tweed, but the expanding should still apply. Right?] It’s plenty long though and G’s really excited about it. He keeps asking if he can wear it to his Xmas party. I told him I’m not sure it will be ready by then, but we’ll see. (Actually I’m not quite sure when his party is exactly, but it seems like a good answer. Always cover your ass.)

The washing machine just buzzed so I’m off to block, block, block!

PS – I’m instituting some new features today:

  1. Bruce Springsteen Lyrics of the Day:
    Because everyone needs some Bruce Juice, I will be choosing a link to a song that best reflects my mood today! Yes, I’m crazy.

  2. On My Nightstand:
    This is the book(s) I’m currently reading. I’m hoping to have book reviews on a monthly basis. I haven’t been reading as much as I should and this really bothers me. So maybe putting this out there will shame me into reading more.

  3. Picture of the Week:
    Every Friday I will change out the picture of the week. All of the pictures that will appear have been taken by me. Shameless self-promotion I know, but they are pretty pictures.

Oh and I just got off the phone with Jen and she helped me formulate my idea of great knitted ornaments. I’ll be back later if they work!

Filed Under: George's Vest

Second Guesses

December 9, 2004 By

Ugh. I’m almost finished my holiday reprint orders – I’ve got a pile ready to go out in the mail – but there are a few snags. I hate snags.

On to second guessing.

Second Guess #1
Yesterday started out pretty good. Georgie and I drove into the city – which was okay – too much traffic – but it was nice to spend the morning together. I had a haircut at 10:00. I was early and I didn’t have to wait. Haircut took no time at all. [I felt a little guilty about it though. G had told me the night before wouldn’t it be neat if I grew my hair out. It’s pretty short – but back when he met me ~gasp~ seventeen years ago it was very blonde, very wavy and halfway down my back. I think he’s being pretty nostalgic, but he was cute about it and I went to the hairdresser with my much darker, much shorter hair thinking about growing it out. It took Tom and I about ten seconds to decide that was a ridiculous notion and once I was back to my short, tamed self I felt so much better. No second guesses there.]

Haircut over I trekked over to the West Side. I was going to make fish for dinner and I’m very particular about where I buy my fish. So off to Citarella I went and in the meantime, I thought I’d stop into my most hated despised disliked LYS. I had originally vowed never to go back there again – I’ve literally NEVER had a good experience – but this time I really only needed needles and I thought that maybe it would be okay. I had no plans to talk to anyone. I was on a single-minded mission. It was okay. The fates seemed to agree because I found a parking space RIGHT IN FRONT of the store. If you’ve ever been to Manhattan – scratch that – ever DROVE in Manhattan, you know that this is definitely a planetary alignment kind of thing. It was about 10:50 AM at this time and I figured I was good to go. Only problem. When I got out of the car to put money in the meter, I ran up to check if they were open. Of course not. [Should have been my first clue to run screaming.] They didn’t open until noon. Lazy asses. I shoved in enough quarters to buy me an hour and figured I’d get the fish first. I meandered to the fish market with a detour in Staples, a quick check in a used book store for the Holy Grail (not there), and bought my salmon. Not before flirting shamelessly with the lovely older gentleman also buying salmon. (Suffice it to say lemon pepper was involved. Trust me, you don’t want the details.)

On my way back to sit in my car and knit while waiting for the LYS to open, I passed by a costume jewelry store. I went in. I bought this:

for my Geometric Scarf. This scarf is slowly becoming the Million Dollar Debacle. I had a bunch of other pictures, but my stitches look sloppy and the border is gross and it’s taking forever to knit (admittedly I haven’t been spending that much time on it) and now, in taking the pictures, I don’t even think I like the stupid $40’s worth of earrings I bought. Second guesses.

[OOOOOO – I’m feeling better! Bruce doing Jersey Girl just came on my ITunes. I can be happy now!]

Anyway. So I now I have to run back to my car to put more money in the meter and the store is STILL not open and then I realize I left the fish in the jewelry store, which I’m sure they’re not appreciating. With money in the meter I don’t have to run, but I’m hot and sweaty now and does anyone really care about this? I don’t know. It’s my blog so fuck it.

I get back to the LYS and believe it or not THERE IS A LINE TO GET IN! I’m flabbergasted. I mean c’mon people. A LINE. I repeat over and over again I just want needles, I’m not going to talk to anyone, I just want needles. They finally open and I follow the line upstairs and it’s packed already. Head down, I beeline to the needles. A wall of freaking bamboo. Nothing that I want. Crap, crap, crap. I just stuffed an hour of quarters in the meter (that’s six quarters for the uninitiated.)

[You may ask, legitimately, why I thought I’d spend an HOUR in a place I really don’t like, but this is New York and there was a space RIGHT IN FRONT and a parking ticket costs like $7000! I put all I had in the meter to save myself.]

I attempted to ask for help and I can assure you – I’M NEVER GOING BACK THERE.

After a very brief stop at Patricia’s Yarns in Hoboken (she’s very nice, but didn’t have what I wanted either) I think I’ve solved the needle problem for the KSH. Elann.com, my newest enabler, has Swallow Caseins IN EXACTLY THE SIZES I NEED – 3.0mm and 2.75mm. So I ordered them. How easy was that? No muss no fuss and now I can attack the hairy dental floss armed to the nines. Or 1.5s and 2s.

Second Guess #2
Number 2 hurts me a little more. I’m struggling with G’s vest. Because I’m 11 stitches short of the smallest pattern size to get gauge, I keep getting confused in the binding off/decreasing. On the back I had this problem – but remedied it by binding off the 20 stitches they asked for and having less left on the stitch holder for the back of the neck. Well, now I’m decreasing for the arm and the neck. I realized that I better have 20 stitches bound off to match the shoulder on the back. Which means I have less decreases on the neck.

[OOOOOOO. Bruce’s FOR YOU just came on – Now I feel ecstatic!]

Fine, no problem. Then I looked at Bonne Marie’s beautiful new Aran Cardi and I’m feeling bad about my stitch work on the neck. I know, I know. I’m far from the expert she is and I shouldn’t compare myself to anyone but myself. But I can’t help it. It looks sloppy and I really don’t feel like pulling it out. I just want the vest done. Georgie won’t notice and he’s the one who has to wear it. Heck, he said Max’s hat was the best thing I’ve done so far. What does he know.

Alright. I’m done feeling sorry for myself. What a self-serving post. If you’ve read this far, can I call you my friend?

Filed Under: Geometric Scarf, George's Vest

Flight Attendants, prepare for landing….

November 21, 2004 By

Warning: lots of pictures!

Well, the decreasing has begun (hence the bad joke in the title). Yesterday I made great progress on the Shedir – I finished all of the repeat rounds and started my initial decrease. I’m up to row 58. I think it will start to move very fast now because each row you decrease more and more. Which is good because I feel like I’m starting to run out of yarn.

I’m a little nervous about having to switch to DPNs. I’m not sure when to do it, and I’m not sure how to do it, but I’m up for the challenge.

I wrote yesterday that I finished the back of G’s vest. Here’s a picture:

The color’s a little off. My carpet’s actually brown, not gray. I think the blue is a little bright as well. I’ve decided to cast on for the front once the Shedir is finished – definitely before the train to Philly for Thanksgiving. I want to work on that while I’m traveling.

I was busy with Melanie while she was here – I decided I absolutely needed to find beads to go on the end of my geometric scarf – the pattern has a really nice long bead on each corner. So while we were in the city, we went looking for beads. (It was a good compromise because the bead store was around the corner from Anthropologie and Melanie was very happy there!) I, alas, wasn’t so happy with the bead store – I couldn’t find anything that fit what was in my imagination. But then I had an idea – what about some cheap bead jewelry? So off to Target we went. I was also in search of those Hello Kitty stitch markers. Really, I had stitch markers on my mind. I wanted to make some pretty knitty jewelry. Continue for the pretty knitty jewelry!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: George's Vest, Shedir

Back down, front to go

November 19, 2004 By

Between Melanie visiting and two jobs this week, I haven’t had a lot of time to knit. Add into that Moveable Type and forget it. I still haven’t figured out this blog stuff. I can’t get it to do what I want and I don’t have the energy to figure it out. There are so many blog layouts I like out there, but I can’t get mine to look anywhere close. I know I can figure it out eventually, but honestly, I’d rather be knitting.

I did manage to finish the back of G’s vest. At first I was freaked because the stitch count didn’t work out right, but when I realized that I was exactly 11 stitches short (which is the cable repeat) I figured out the problem. It’s called a bad memory and lousy math skills. I originally cast on 93 stitches for the rib, then increased 11 stitches for the body. Somehow I thought I had gotten it up to 115, which is the small size the patterns calls for. Duh. Everything’s okay now. I’m still a little nervous that it won’t be wide enough, but it will certainly be long enough. Hopefully blocking it will help. I’m going to cast on for the front and finish the rib and then I’m moving on to the Shedir. I want that finished soon.

Filed Under: George's Vest

As promised…

November 7, 2004 By

Here’s the progress on G’s vest:

(I swear, this blogging thing is a humbling experience. I take the *worst* product shots! Now stick some people in the pictures and I’m a-okay.)

I’ve got about 12 inches done – the pattern says to start shaping at 16.5, but I think I’m going to go another inch. He wants it a little longer.

And here’s my first felting project:


Done in Cascade 220 – I can’t remember the colors and can only find one wrapper – for the brown (#9408). It’s my interpretation of the booga bag. I basically doubled the bottom number of rows and knitted it using two strands for a strength. Then I knit up at least double the rows, probably more. I’m really happy with how it came out. I used US 10.5 Addis.

Thanks must go to Jen for showing me her lovely booga. I think this is a really great project for a beginning knitter. The hardest part is picking up the stitches, which is really pretty easy and then it’s just knit, knit, knit. And the finished product is so nice. Something other than the usual scarf.

Filed Under: Felted Bags, George's Vest
Next Page »