School Daze – Final Exam

January 21, 2005 By

(Read carefully! You WILL be tested.)

Okay, these are the things I learned from this project:

1. I have big, heavy boobs that need to be lifted by either a) a crane, b) a forklift, or c) a better, newer, steel re-inforced bra.

2. These aforementioned boobs fuck up everything when it comes to clothes. Unless you have the kind that are filled to the rim with silicone, they just don’t look good in clothes. Maybe if you’re wearing the also aforementioned steel re-inforced boob cage.

3. I need to learn shaping. The always enchanting Juno discussed this big boob problem not too long ago and I’m going to take heed if I ever (which I will) knit something for myself again – make that if I knit a pullover type thing for myself again.

4. I wouldn’t have this problem with a freaking cardigan.

5. I now know that I can put together my own pattern and make adjustments as I go along and everything will come out right. The thing is, even though the vest isn’t the most flattering article of clothing I’ve ever worn, IT CAME OUT EXACTLY AS I’D IMAGINED IT! That, in and of itself, I count as a major, major accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll wear it. I’m wearing it right now as a matter of fact, but I will feel fat in it. I just will.

[Big, huge, bigger than huge thanks go out to Ms. Budd and those fine folks over at the Harmony Guides – couldn’t have done it without you!]

6. I should’ve made the shoulders shorter. I panicked when I made the back because the collar seemed so small, but the neckband fixes that. I should’ve bound off a couple more stitches and the shoulders would be perfect.

[Add to this what I learned yesterday – NO STAIR STEP BIND OFFS! Got it? Good.]

7. I should’ve made it about an inch smaller around the body. I feared, as I was knitting, that it would be too big, and it is. Not as big as I thought it might be, but just a tad too big. It makes me look like I have a roll of fat around the middle. Remember what Righetti says! Knits STRETCH! You CAN go smaller than you think!

8. I don’t like taking pictures of myself. It’s hard. Especially since I’m used to having some control over the photograph I get. I don’t like tripods. I don’t like timers. but here are the pictures anyway:

See the pseudo roll of fat in the picture with the pink shirt? I can assure you this is all sweater. Sure, I need to lose anywhere between 15 and 20 lbs., but please take into consideration the gigantour boobs. They make you look fat! Besides, I’m PMS. And I am still quite nicely within the CDC guidelines for obesity thank you very much. Isn’t my neck lovely? It’s one of my favorite parts of my body.

9. The Manos is nice. I might knit with it again. The vest took about 4 1/2 skeins. Probably a little less.

10. I can’t wait to get started on my next design! It’s going to be a sweater for my father!

Okay! Next up…socks! We’re going to Key Biscayne for a long weekend and my goal is to figure out my new camera and come home with a pair of socks! Oh and finish The Plot Against America. Wish me luck!

Filed Under: School Daze

Flower Basket

January 19, 2005 By

Picked up the new VK yesterday and this caught my eye….

And wouldn’t you know it, while I was surfing the blogs today I found this:

So I joined up! The Tahki is really expensive so I’m thinking I’m going to go with Cascade Magnum. I just love this bag. It’s so not me, but I think it would make a nice yarn bag or something as decoration, not necessarily as a bag per se.

School Daze is coming along better than I ever expected. It looks EXACTLY like I wanted it to. Neckband’s done. One armband is done, but needs to be ripped a couple of rows – I think it’s too wide, next armband, seams and …. expect a picture on Friday.

* * * * *

I’m ready. Are you?

Filed Under: Flower Basket, Protest, School Daze

Taking Back Our Home

January 18, 2005 By

This weekend was all about taking back our home. It’s kind of falling apart (on the inside and out – we live in a high-rise and the Board has informed us the building needs about $15 million worth of work – who’s going to pay for that you ask?) but we’re trying to get it back in baby steps.

Last week we had the plumber in – $600 later we have a non-leaking kitchen sink and all three toilets flush, leak free! Yeah for working plumbing! (You may question why we need three toilets if there are only two of in the house. Options, dahling, options.)

So, now that that’s out of the way, we can clean things up. The place is a sty. I bought a Swiffer WetJet and I love it, except Georgie (who likes to give goofy names to everything) keeps calling it the Swift Boat thinga-ma-jig. I need to be reminded of that every five minutes for sure! The good thing is my floors might actually be semi-clean now. I love the little scrubby thing on the side too.

Georgie sealed up the windows in the bedrooms so our house is nice and toasty now that it’s freezing! And I finally organized my stash! I gave up on the cedar chest – too much money, not enough space – and went with some plastic bins that fit in the closet perfectly. And my stash pretty much fit in one of the bins so I have an emtpy one to fill. I also bought a lovely leather basket type thing at Crate & Barrel the other day – it was marked down a lot – for storing my current projects. I figure I can tote it around if need be, but it will probably sit next to me by the couch. Here’s a picture of it filled with Jo Sharp stash!

It’s actually not completely filled with Jo Sharp –
my project bags take up most of the basket and the Jo Sharp
accents the top. For a more pleasing picture.

Georgie made a lovely pasta bolognese the other night and for dessert – my own molten chocolate cake! He bought the mix and the ramekins from Williams & Sonoma and made it himself. It was fantastic. We may never go out to eat again.

ETA: Annie asked for a recipe. There is none! It’s a kit. They send you the chocolate drops and the cake mix and you melt the chocolate and add water and butter to the mix (two sticks of butter!) then add the chocolate to the mix. Once it’s all together, put it into the little ramekins and bake for 12-15 minutes. That’s it! So easy and unbelievably good. It makes about 8-12 cakes. We made four and put the rest of the batter in the frig. The next day I scooped out the cold mix into the ramekins, baked it, and it was just as good as fresh. The mix came from Williams & Sonoma.

While School Daze was blocking, I managed to finish the back and start the front of Picot-Boo. I’m still completely in love with this yarn.

This picture was taken with my new 50mm f1.4 lens,
which has an extremely narrow depth of field (that’s why so much of it is blurry.)
I thought the picture was interesting.

What I learned in school…

Never do a stair-step bind off on the shoulders (or anywhere for the matter!) What a pain in the ass. I started to seam the shoulders for School Daze last night – it blocked beautifully – and met with all kinds of problems. After consulting my books (they all said don’t do it – thanks!) and finding this very, very helpful web page, I think my seams look just fine thank you!

Like the rug underneath the knit? It’s Bonne Marie’s idea.

I figure if her blocking method works so well, might as well have the rug too!
As an extra bonus, it matches our decor too!

What else? Class went well on Thursday. Cassie sums up the teaching experience pretty well in her post today. It’s performance art all the way! I have fourteen people in the class and already I can tell the difference between Fiction I and Fiction II – in F1 they’re feeling their way – I want to write, but maybe I don’t have what it takes. In F2, they are there for the long haul. So it’s all good.

My new camera came as well. But I haven’t really played with it yet – I’m waiting for our trip this weekend to beautiful sunny Miami (fingers crossed for the weather.)

Have a great day!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Picot-Boo, School Daze, Stash

School Daze – Update

January 16, 2005 By

The front is finished! I’m thrilled with how the cable split for the v-neck, and really all because my math was screwed up. I’m still not sure how it all worked out – suffice it say I’m not positive that 1+1 really does equal 2, but I don’t care, because it worked.

Here are a couple of pictures:

It’s blocking as we speak, using my very favorite method. I’m thinking a few rows of 2×2 rib for the arms and the neck and finito! I doubt I’ll have it done for class on Thursday, but you can bet I’ll wear it the following week. And an A to any student who asks if I made it myself. (Of course, it’s continuing ed, so they don’t get grades….)

Thanks to all who answered my guilty pleasure question. It made me think a lot, which is always a good thing. I’ve decided that as long as we’re not killing any people, it’s all good. They have yet to prove TV can actually kill (or have they?)

Filed Under: School Daze

Not Guilty Enough!

January 13, 2005 By

Thanks everybody for commenting on my Fess Up entry. It seems a lot of you claim reality TV as your guilty pleasure. Why? What makes you guilty over it? Because it basically traffics in the humiliation of others? Or because you consider it wasting time? I waste time all day long on TV – I’ve been watching Days of Our Lives and General Hospital for as long as I can remember. I’ve literally spent hours on end watching The Nanny! But they don’t make me feel guilty – stupid, yes.

I feel guilty watching 24 because it goes against a lot of what I stand for – it promotes racism and stereotyping. It romanticizes extreme violence and lawlessness (all within the confines of a government agency – hmmm, sound familiar?). By watching it I’m inadvertently supporting a media outlet, conglomerate really, that I despise and do my best to avoid. Hence the guilt.

I’m sorry Wendy (and please, I don’t mean to single you out, but I have to! 😉 ) but I don’t understand. What can be bad about watching Fiddler on the Roof? Why would you feel guilty?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that by guilty I meant something much more sinister than bad TV. Because we all know that many times the worst TV can easily be the best.

So I invite you all to try again – or elaborate. Please. I’m enjoying thinking about this.

School Daze

Well, class starts tonight and it’s full! I don’t have a thing to wear! I had to rip out a bunch of rows yesterday, but all is right now. That Manos can stick though. It’s like it felts from the heat of my fingertips. I’m pretty sure I’ll finish it this weekend – at least the front, if not the whole thing. It’s going really fast.

I have to go prepare for teaching. I’m not looking forward to it – I have to talk a lot tonight and my cough is getting the better of me. Didn’t I mention? The rugrats got me sick AGAIN!

Wish me luck!

Filed Under: School Daze

Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt

January 11, 2005 By

Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Pitt.

Isn’t it funny how when you say Mr. Pitt a lot it takes all the sexiness out of the man. Here’s Mr. Pitt. Sexiest Man Alive. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t work.

That said, I must admit I’m a bit sad over the breakup. I liked them as a couple. I really did. I was rooting for them. I wanted at least one hollywood blue state couple to stay together (Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson don’t count – I don’t care how blue they are, they LOOK too red.) Why couldn’t someone like Rush get divorced? Now that would be news. You know, Mr. Family Values, Bush really IS god and all? How would that look in the press. What’s that you say? Mr. Rush-give-me-all-your-oxycontin-or-you-die-Limbaugh has been divorced not once, not twice, but THREE FREAKING TIMES? And he’s still allowed to call himself a Republican?

I actually feel a little better now.

Okay. Here’s my Brad Pitt story. Circa ’94ish.

Georgie and I and another couple (can’t remember who they were to be honest) are sitting in PJ Clark’s, the ultimate Irish Bar/Hamburger joint in NYC. At the table behind us, is this guy, with three other people. He’s got really long hair, very scruffy, but somebody famous. I always tell people, when looking for famous people on the streets of New York, if someone looks THAT much like a famous person – it is that person. You have to remember they’re totally out of context when you see them on the street. So we’re sitting there, trying to be inconspicous and all, trying to figure out just who this guy is. Georgie thought Ethan Hawke. But probably because that was the name that came to his tongue first. Of course, it was Mr. Pitt. And he looked exactly like this. Sort of Legends of the Fall with a Kalifornia psycho edge to him. There you have it folks! I’ve been thisclose to Mr. Pitt!

In the A Little Self-Promotion Never Hurt Department….
Good news on the work front. I have a new ad up on Baby Zone. Hopefully it will bring lots of traffic. (Yeah, I’m at the bottom of the page, but I’ll rotate up every 30 days.)

School Daze

As luck would have it, Jen had her driver’s license stolen! Whoo hoo! Sure, it’s bad for Jen, but good for me because I had company yesterday at the DMV. I had to renew my license. The picture’s not bad.

What does an hour and a half at the DMV get you? That’s right – a start on the front of School Daze:

Here’s the finished back:

And here’s the start of the front:

I’ve finished two repeats – The cable is a sixteen row repeat over 24 stitches. I’m not sure how I’m going to split for the v-neck anymore. I could split at the 16 row mark (it looks like there were 61 rows in the body until the arm decreases on the back) or I could let it go for a shorter v-neck and do another eight rows or so. I’ll play with it.

The whole thing is probably a smidge too wide and a smidge too long, but I’ll live. We’ll see when it’s done. I’m happy with it so far. I think the yarn takes the cable really well.

Technical Note

Something’s wrong with the gallery where I host my pictures. They’ve been having trouble for a little while now, and I’m hoping that the fact that the entire site is down today is proof that they’re trying to fix the problems. It’s a good product, one I’m happy to support, but I fear that if the problems aren’t fixed soon, I’ll have to go elsewhere. So if you’ve been seeing some broken picture links, especially in the archives, this is probably the reason. Hopefully all will be well soon. Thanks for your patience.

Filed Under: School Daze

Don’t Don’t Don’t Don’t …Don’t You…Forget About Me

January 5, 2005 By

I say…La. La la la la. La la la la.

Enough already!

So will you miss me? I’m heading out to my sister’s this afternoon until next Sunday. I will be scarce, as it’s hard to get computer time when my delicious nephew and niece are running about screaming Cara, Cara, Cara!

I will probably have no time to knit either.

Met up with Cassie yesterday at Purl. I exchanged some yarn and brought home a Knitting Pure & Simple Sock Pattern (#216) and Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks per Cassie’s recommendations. We had a lovely time, as usual, although I think Cassie may have said I was boring. (see comments on this post.) Say it isn’t so, Cassie, my sweet!?! 😉

Slow progress has been made on both School Daze and Picot-Boo, but I’m still not sure about the gauge on PB. I will have to measure it against my niece tomorrow to see if I need to rip YET AGAIN. Thankfully it’s a really (super)fast knit.

I leave you all with this:
Overheard while I was on the phone with my sister the other day –

“Only ONE pair of underwear. ONE pair. Did you hear me? I said ONE PAIR OF UNDERWEAR!”

Ah’s the joys of parenthood.

PS – Even though I will be away, I will be still be giving out memberships to K1R2. Just leave a comment here.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Picot-Boo, School Daze

Look what I got!

January 3, 2005 By

My friend Jo sent me some beautiful stitch markers, all the way from Australia! Thank you Jo!

Aren’t they so cute? I can’t wait to use the pink hearts when I start working on the front of School Daze. Speaking of which, here’s some progress on the back so far:

It’s knitting up nice and quick – I’ve got about 10″ done already. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the changes in the yarn – sometimes it’s thick and sometimes it’s so thin it’s like thread. Makes for an interesting texture though. I’m enjoying it, but the real fun will be the front.

I started on Picot-Boo yesterday, and then had to start over, but it’s okay because this yarn is DIVINE! It’s so, so soft, has a wonderful sheen to it and the color is out of this world. I can’t wait to get started again so I can show pictures. The problem is the gauge. The label says use US#7 and get 4.5, but I’m getting 5.5. (It’s funny too because isn’t 4.5 around Aran weight – this stuff is pretty thin. I’d say it’s probably meant to be knit on 5s or 6s.) So rip I did. Luckily it’s for a tiny little girl, so there wasn’t much to it.

Oh and my review of Maggie Righetti’s Sweater Design in Plain English is up at K1R2.

Filed Under: School Daze

Champagne and Cherry Pie

January 2, 2005 By

That’s how we brought in the New Year. We used to do fun and exciting things, like fly off to Detroit Rock City to Kiss on New Year’s Eve, but ever since the millennium I’ve felt like staying home. My goal in life is to make my birthday as normal a day as possible. It’s not so nice to have a “special” birthday. I want a day like everyone else. Basically, I want a day I can forget about.

Yesterday came pretty close. We had some cherry pie and champagne while Regis fucked up the countdown. (He was SO off it was February already by the time he finished. Actually made me miss Dick Clark.) Waited for the calls to come in from my siblings. (Each one asked – am I the first to call? For the record, my bro, Jeddy, won this year with a call at 12:01. Of course, it was 9:01 for him – he lives in LaLa land.)

And then we went to bed.

Woke up the next morning and opened my birthday book!

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

by Thornton Wilder

Dad gets it right again! Something I don’t have and haven’t read. Yeah Daddy! I also got a very generous gift certificate to Borders from my parents and a huge gift certificate to the Yarn Market from my best friend Margo and her family! We’re talking enough for about three sweaters people! Whew!

Besides making all my dreams come true, providing a roof over my head and feeding me, Georgie got me a chocolate fondue kit and Vanilla Cocoa tea from the Chocolate Bar in New York. We’re having fondue for dessert tonight!

We started our Spanish Lessons yesterday as well. It’s our goal to learn Spanish this year. Today was lesson two – it’s going well. I’ve decided Ribby Cardi is the knit for that. I’m not in a rush on it, and it’s a good easy knit while listening to the Senor and Senora babble away in my head. We’re having fun with it. G has declared we can only greet each other in Spanish. Thank god today we learned how to say Buenos Dias, otherwise he’d be getting the silent treatment.

School Daze

I cast on for my first design! So far I’ve got the 2×2 rib done on the back and I’m in stockinette land for a while. It’s going really quickly though. I want the back done fast because it’s boring. The exciting part will be the front and the glorious cable running up the middle. I’m really excited about it – the Manos is looking beautiful too.

I’ve been reading Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti. It is an amazing book – easy to read and I’ve learned more about knitted items in the few pages I’ve read than anything else. I think it helps that I’ve been knitting for a while and have actually made a sweater. I’ll review it in full on K1R2 tomorrow, hopefully.

I’ll take some pictures of School Daze tomorrow. I’m hoping to cast on for Picot-Boo today as well. I wound a ball of the Art Yarns Supermerino today – that stuff is beautiful!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, School Daze

Wow!

December 30, 2004 By

Thanks everybody for your response to Knit One Read Too! I’m really excited about it. I’m in the process of making logos and setting up templates. If you left a comment on the entry linked above, you will receive an email soon with login instructions. If you haven’t left a comment, and want in, please do!

Let the celebrating begin!
I received my first birthday gift yesterday! From Annie (thank you, thank you!) She gifted me with books from Amazon and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

And last night was lamb chop night! Mmmmmm…. Every year, a couple of days before my birthday, Georgie takes me out for lamb chops. It’s my favorite, naturally, and Georgie aims to please. Dinner last night was at Dylan Prime, in Tribeca. This is not your father’s steak house! The decor was very nice, atmosphere as well. We got a good table – not too close to our neighbors, but close enough that we could check out what they were eating (a must!). For starters we had ceasar salads, probably the low point of the meal, but not bad at all. Georgie had the scallop appetizers, but they smelled too fishy for me – so I passed. I had the Colorado rack of lamb – G had a New York Strip. Devine! For our “Accessories” (their way of saying side dishes) we had the Yukon Gold Mashed potatoes which were heavenly. Lots of butter, lots of whipping. We should’ve ordered one for each of us. (Do you think it’s bad behavior to lick the bowl? What about dragging your finger through it for that last little morsel?) And I ordered the baby brussel sprouts in balsamic! Yummy! I love brussel sprouts. They were very good, and G even tried some.

The pièce de résistance was the dessert. I had the Molten Valrhona Chocolate Cake and my god. I.thought.I.would.die. This was by far the best chocolate cake/souffle type dish I’ve ever had in my life (and trust me, I try them all! Nothing better than runny chocolate cake.) It was sweet, but not too sweet. The secret of it, I think, was how light the dish actually was. Talking about licking the plate. I’d go back just for this dish! And I don’t even like chocolate that much. Georgie had the Dylan Chocolate Turnover with Bananas and Marshmallow, which he said was just as amazing. What a wonderful meal! Thank you my love!

My dad may come up to visit today, and if he does, we’re probably going out to dinner – to Cara Mia in the city. Another great meal is in the works!

Knitting news!
I started swatching for my Manos vest, which from now on be called School Daze. I’m so happy with it! I’ve got the front cable just about figured out – I’m going to split the swatch to see how it will work out with the v-neck and then I’m going to do my calculations to cast on! This designing thing is pretty cool.

And I cast on again for my Ribby Cardi. Thanks for the comments about it yesterday. I don’t mind ripping it out – to get it right. If it’s a little big – no problem, but too small, no way. I’ll let you know how it goes.

A public apology!
Apparently I owe you all an apology. When I post my links, I generally send them to a new window: target=”_blank”. I’ve since found out that this is bad, very bad. I’m not quite sure I agree with Nielsen’s argument, but I’ll try it out for the time being. In the meantime, if you want to open up the link in a new window, hold down the shift key when you click it. I’m so, so sorry.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Ribby Cardi, School Daze