So, while we ponder what size needles I should switch to next, here it is, the bottom portion of the caplet. I keep asking myself that age-old question: Is it cute or ugly? I can't decide. I go back and forth with this "color wave" spectrum of yarn. Thoughts?
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sad Realization
Titanic was on NBC this weekend and I realized I have Leonardo Di Caprio's hair cut. :-(
Monday, May 30, 2005
Shred It
Here is the shredding in action. Several of the t-shirts were already missing their arms, so my mom and I didn't use the handy-dandy bag cutting technique my sister-in-law mentioned in her blog. I am saving that one for the whole t-shirts. For these "rags" we simply cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips along one side of the t-shirt. When we got about 1/4 inch from the end, we stopped, scooched over a 1/4 inch and started a new strip going the opposite direction.
When you are done, you end up with one continuous piece of yarn that you can then wind into balls. You can see one finished ball of green yarn in the center of the table. We ended up shredding all of the green (about 5 balls), one red and two blue. Needless to say this will be an on-going project.
Now, the question of the day is: how does one shred a pair of boxer briefs (I know, TMI), in one continuous strand?
When you are done, you end up with one continuous piece of yarn that you can then wind into balls. You can see one finished ball of green yarn in the center of the table. We ended up shredding all of the green (about 5 balls), one red and two blue. Needless to say this will be an on-going project.
Now, the question of the day is: how does one shred a pair of boxer briefs (I know, TMI), in one continuous strand?
Lap Time?
Well after simmering, stewing, washing and drying for several hours, this is what you get: a pile of green (and blue and red) rags. Jenny happily posed for this picture because she thought she was finally going to get a lap to sit on. Little did she know, we were about to start shredding. Poor thing, life's so hard when you're a little dog.
Witch's Brew
So, what's for dinner honey? Well, certainly not these pots of old t-shirts. Actually, these delectable goodies are the "dye lots" for the yarn I will be making for my recycled bathroom rug.
In an attempt to save the overstuffed San Diego landfill from another bag of garbage, I am going to turn my husband's too-old-and-gross-to-donate-t-shirts into "yarn" for a knit bathroom rug. I haven't completely decided on a pattern, but I am thinking of irregular rectangles (same width, different lengths) of green, blue and red. With my mom's help, today we turned the formerly white t-shirts, into a plethora of color.
But, photos don't lie. I was going to sneak in a few pairs of old underwear (he cleaned out the sock and underwear drawer as well as the closet) into the mix, figuring no one would be the wiser - cotton is cotton when shredded into strips right? Unfortunately, you can see the "FTL" wasteband poking out of the navy blue batch on the left. Shhhhh, don't tell! ;-)
In an attempt to save the overstuffed San Diego landfill from another bag of garbage, I am going to turn my husband's too-old-and-gross-to-donate-t-shirts into "yarn" for a knit bathroom rug. I haven't completely decided on a pattern, but I am thinking of irregular rectangles (same width, different lengths) of green, blue and red. With my mom's help, today we turned the formerly white t-shirts, into a plethora of color.
But, photos don't lie. I was going to sneak in a few pairs of old underwear (he cleaned out the sock and underwear drawer as well as the closet) into the mix, figuring no one would be the wiser - cotton is cotton when shredded into strips right? Unfortunately, you can see the "FTL" wasteband poking out of the navy blue batch on the left. Shhhhh, don't tell! ;-)
?th S&B Meeting this Friday!
Please help a sista get back in shape (knitting-wise, that is!)
___th S&B Meeting (sorry, I forgot the count!) this Friday, June 3rd
Location: Nasus' pad
Time: Whenever Disentangled gets off from work and Whirlypurly is available
Food: Healthy Phil's BBQ, lo-cal Bronx Pizza, or...?
Drink: Wine, spirits or good ol' fashioned H20
___th S&B Meeting (sorry, I forgot the count!) this Friday, June 3rd
Location: Nasus' pad
Time: Whenever Disentangled gets off from work and Whirlypurly is available
Food: Healthy Phil's BBQ, lo-cal Bronx Pizza, or...?
Drink: Wine, spirits or good ol' fashioned H20
Misfit Knitter
Why I cannot simply follow a pattern as it is written is beyond me. I am either substituting a different yarn (or yarns), altering the pattern size, or in the latest case- using different sized needles than what is called for. And I wonder why my projects always turn out a little...loopy!
So I started a caplet, which requires knitting in the round from the hemline to the neckline. The A line shape is created by changing needle sizes (rather than by increasing or decreasing). The pattern called for size 17, then 13, then 9 needles. Unfortunately, I realized after the fact that I don't have size 17 circular needles, so I thought 'what the hell' and proceeded with the size 15 needles I have on hand. My dilemma now- do I now switch to the size 13 as originally instructed in the pattern, or do I use a size 11? But then, what would I use as the 3rd size? I mean, I don't want to end up with a neck hole I can't fit my noggin through! But then I also want there to be a shape. What do you think?
So I started a caplet, which requires knitting in the round from the hemline to the neckline. The A line shape is created by changing needle sizes (rather than by increasing or decreasing). The pattern called for size 17, then 13, then 9 needles. Unfortunately, I realized after the fact that I don't have size 17 circular needles, so I thought 'what the hell' and proceeded with the size 15 needles I have on hand. My dilemma now- do I now switch to the size 13 as originally instructed in the pattern, or do I use a size 11? But then, what would I use as the 3rd size? I mean, I don't want to end up with a neck hole I can't fit my noggin through! But then I also want there to be a shape. What do you think?
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Knit Kits
Ok - I swear I don't live at Target. This was also from our trip yesterday, but it just took me a couple moments to remember how to email myself a photo from my phone.
I was walking through the office supply section of Target yesterday in search of a plastic file box holder - I am constantly amazed at how much of a paper trail two people can make. Anyway, my husband was already in line, so it had to be quick. I made a quick mental note that it seems they have entire scrapbooking section now (cool!) and as I passed the end of that isle, the word "knit" popped into my periferal vision.
Not having time to fully investigate these kits, I did manage to snap a picture to share with you. Now, I have no illusion of the quality of these knit kits - I think the entire kit, contents and all, is made out of plastic. But, I do think that these little one-stop knit kits will probably get more people knitting.
There were a ton of projects to pick from, like a halter top, hat, scarf, dog toy, yoga bag and even a wine cozy! Ha! Then each kit included the yarn, needles and instructions you needed to make the project on the box. Pretty slick. They definitely seem not as intimidating as some of the knit kits I've seen at Michaels. Maybe it was the clear plastic bucket-like packaging?
I was walking through the office supply section of Target yesterday in search of a plastic file box holder - I am constantly amazed at how much of a paper trail two people can make. Anyway, my husband was already in line, so it had to be quick. I made a quick mental note that it seems they have entire scrapbooking section now (cool!) and as I passed the end of that isle, the word "knit" popped into my periferal vision.
Not having time to fully investigate these kits, I did manage to snap a picture to share with you. Now, I have no illusion of the quality of these knit kits - I think the entire kit, contents and all, is made out of plastic. But, I do think that these little one-stop knit kits will probably get more people knitting.
There were a ton of projects to pick from, like a halter top, hat, scarf, dog toy, yoga bag and even a wine cozy! Ha! Then each kit included the yarn, needles and instructions you needed to make the project on the box. Pretty slick. They definitely seem not as intimidating as some of the knit kits I've seen at Michaels. Maybe it was the clear plastic bucket-like packaging?
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Misfit Toys
I wanted to share the newest editions to my collection of misfit toys. We were at Target this afternoon, when my eyes caught a display of mini "family" animals. I was like - ooohh, what are these? Because, I have found when things get small, they tend to be more "irregular."
For those who don't know, I love collecting toys that may not be as loved as they should be because of their physical imperfections. I think this is my way of making up for my love of perfection as a child. I used to search through each stuffed animal for one that was flawless. I always hated the idea of having a toy that wasn't perfect. I don't know if its my guilt or what, but now when I see a toy that isn't perfect, I think of it being left and unloved in the store and it makes me sad. So, now I'm on a mission. If I see a little toy that may fall through the cracks, I buy it.
Now I have quite a collection at work and I've even developed a bit of karma about it too. For example, Whirlypurly and I both got happy meals at McD. Her little dog was perfect, while mine had two eye lids on one eye and a magic fin. And I love him!
So, now you can imagine my joy when I saw a whole collection of my special friends! I picked these two out as being extra special. The little turtle is names "Slow Pitch" and has its own little mit and even a turtle shell under its t-shirt. The other is "Know It Owl" who I'm especially fond of given that I am known to be somewhat of a know it all on occation.
They also had monkeys in the collection - my personal favorite - but you couldn't buy just one. You had to buy the family - which I have no objection to - but it came with a stupid swing set toy. Which is just a little too much and I'm sure my boss will eventually complain if there is no longer room in my cube for files.
So, since all of you won't be able to see the newest edition to my collection on Tuesday - I thought I would share it here. Can I just say - I love them! And...so does my dog, so I will have to keep them hidden until they reach their new home next week (the real reason my collection is at work and not at home).
For those who don't know, I love collecting toys that may not be as loved as they should be because of their physical imperfections. I think this is my way of making up for my love of perfection as a child. I used to search through each stuffed animal for one that was flawless. I always hated the idea of having a toy that wasn't perfect. I don't know if its my guilt or what, but now when I see a toy that isn't perfect, I think of it being left and unloved in the store and it makes me sad. So, now I'm on a mission. If I see a little toy that may fall through the cracks, I buy it.
Now I have quite a collection at work and I've even developed a bit of karma about it too. For example, Whirlypurly and I both got happy meals at McD. Her little dog was perfect, while mine had two eye lids on one eye and a magic fin. And I love him!
So, now you can imagine my joy when I saw a whole collection of my special friends! I picked these two out as being extra special. The little turtle is names "Slow Pitch" and has its own little mit and even a turtle shell under its t-shirt. The other is "Know It Owl" who I'm especially fond of given that I am known to be somewhat of a know it all on occation.
They also had monkeys in the collection - my personal favorite - but you couldn't buy just one. You had to buy the family - which I have no objection to - but it came with a stupid swing set toy. Which is just a little too much and I'm sure my boss will eventually complain if there is no longer room in my cube for files.
So, since all of you won't be able to see the newest edition to my collection on Tuesday - I thought I would share it here. Can I just say - I love them! And...so does my dog, so I will have to keep them hidden until they reach their new home next week (the real reason my collection is at work and not at home).
Friday, May 27, 2005
Baby Blanket - Pattern Section
I wanted to show everyone a completed section of the baby blanket I am working on. Basically this pattern will be repeated so that there are 4 sections of stockinette stitch boarders by the k2tog/yo rows. The whole blanket is framed in seed stitch.
It's coming along quicker than I thought, but we'll see how I do with the repetition. Usually, that's when I lose interest in a project. But, positive thoughts!
I did write out my pattern, though. It simply says repeat rows 19 to 50, 3 more times. And of course within those rows, you are doing all sorts of things by various row counts. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that straight, so I wrote out what I'll be doing on each row. Overkill I'm sure, but at this point in my knitting experience, I need that help.
It's coming along quicker than I thought, but we'll see how I do with the repetition. Usually, that's when I lose interest in a project. But, positive thoughts!
I did write out my pattern, though. It simply says repeat rows 19 to 50, 3 more times. And of course within those rows, you are doing all sorts of things by various row counts. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that straight, so I wrote out what I'll be doing on each row. Overkill I'm sure, but at this point in my knitting experience, I need that help.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Count down
I just want to give Whirlypurly a public nod for her great idea for a retreat countdown. Seeing the numbers get lower and lower every day is very exciting! The retreat doesn't seem quite so far away now! Thank you!
Super Seedy
So, I've cast on for the baby blanket and I'm already addicted to this project. I pretty much knit all last night. I took this picture to show how the seed stitch was coming out. So far, I am really liking this stitch. It adds a lot of dimention and easy to keep track of since I don't have to think in a pattern.
What is shown in the picture is pretty much the bottom "frame" of the blanket that will all be in seed stitch. The rest of the blanket will follow a pattern of stockinette with occational rows of k2tog, yos.
I think I will use the seed stitch when I make my other sister-in-law's slarf (basically a long scarf that is sewn into two arms, but the back remains narrow, not wide like a shrug). I knew I wanted to do something other than stockinette, but hadn't been able to decide until now - one more future project for the list!
So, the question is - how can I make enough money so that I can knit all day? Because, that's really what I want to do right now.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Yarn Baby
What a proud parent my ball of yarn must be after giving forth such a beautifully tangled splop of yarn. I just started this new ball and although it seemed everything was working on the inside like it was supposed to, the next thing I knew this huge massive tangle was beginning to crown.
What the heck? How come some of them never have problems and others are a huge mess? The rest of this ball is already a yarn carcas since so much came out in the tangle. I've untangled and rewound this little tyke, but it's still attached to the main ball, like a toddler on a leash.
What the heck? How come some of them never have problems and others are a huge mess? The rest of this ball is already a yarn carcas since so much came out in the tangle. I've untangled and rewound this little tyke, but it's still attached to the main ball, like a toddler on a leash.
Roadtrip stop
Look what I came across- a yarn store in Ojai! Maybe we could make a stop on the way to the retreat. :) It's called Designer Yarns: 811 Tico Rd. (805) 646-9915.
la ponchette
May I present, Carley's little poncho! I hope it will fit her, and more importantly, I hope she will like it! The blocking seems to have evened out the lopsidedness quite a bit (thanks for the suggestion) - at least when laid flat. Now, if I can only get myself to the post office!
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Off Topic
I apologize in advance for my soap box.
I am often appalled at the stories that our media determine to be "news worthy." Well, last night on the San Diego NBC's 11:00 news a public interest "news" story really pissed me off. It was about how women keep their homes. Basically, there are a few different styles of home making compared to notable TV moms like Rosanne and Debra Barone. The piece also included interviews from several local women and talked about why they keep their house the way they do. What pissed me off, is that this discussion was not limited to at-home women, for whom keeping up the house is their part of the family "deal." This story talked about all women, especially those who were working moms. Then the news reporter wrapped up the segment by saying that you could take their on-line quiz to find out "what kind of women you are."
My beef is this: when both adults in the household work, why should there be any difference in whose job it is to keep up the house? Why in 2005 is it still the woman's responsibility to clean, cook, straigten and most likely take on most of the responsibility for keeping after the kids, including bath time, bed time and play time? I think its because we are perpetuating the cycles we grew up with.
Our generation represents the first one in which most of our moms worked outside the home. However, due to cultural expectations, the house work was still "women's work." This was exactly how it was in my house. My mom worked along side my dad, but was also in charge of everything related to the house and kids. Yes, my dad worked really hard, but so did my mom. Yet, somehow she still was responsible for almost everything else. My brother and I helped out, but we did stuff when we were asked. I don't really recall being completely responsible for anything.
I think one of the most important things a two-working-adult family can do is show the kids from the very beginning that no job belongs to just one person. I know it works, because I have a friend whose household was structured this way. In college, he was the only guy I knew who knew anything about cooking. And I don't mean, knowing how to grill a burger - not that this isn't a good skill to have - but I mean really understanding about spices, marinating, and cooking. He made some of the best stir fry from scratch as well as Jack Daniels ribs - he taught me tons about cooking! I asked him about this one night and he told me that growing up there were three chores at dinner time: cooking, setting the table and washing the dishes. Each member of their 4 part clan had one job each night, with one person having the night off. Then they rotated. Not only did this keep the total work for each person down, but they all appreciated the work the others were doing. Consequently, now he has no problem doing his share. Its automatic and its expected. I think if we work hard and put in the effort to teach this to our children, each generation will move farther and farther away from these now outdated gender-roles.
This story wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if it was about how we, meaning all people, keep our homes today. How some are messy, neat or functionally neat. And included a statistic about how today X% of women report that they are still the party primarily responsible for the home environment. It stinks, but at least the whole focus of the story wouldn't have been about the expectation that women keep up the home. I very much wanted to insert a link to the story and quiz, but unfortunately I couldn't find it on their website - maybe this means someone came to their senses about this story and decided that leaving it off the website was the first little step in stopping these misperceptions.
I am often appalled at the stories that our media determine to be "news worthy." Well, last night on the San Diego NBC's 11:00 news a public interest "news" story really pissed me off. It was about how women keep their homes. Basically, there are a few different styles of home making compared to notable TV moms like Rosanne and Debra Barone. The piece also included interviews from several local women and talked about why they keep their house the way they do. What pissed me off, is that this discussion was not limited to at-home women, for whom keeping up the house is their part of the family "deal." This story talked about all women, especially those who were working moms. Then the news reporter wrapped up the segment by saying that you could take their on-line quiz to find out "what kind of women you are."
My beef is this: when both adults in the household work, why should there be any difference in whose job it is to keep up the house? Why in 2005 is it still the woman's responsibility to clean, cook, straigten and most likely take on most of the responsibility for keeping after the kids, including bath time, bed time and play time? I think its because we are perpetuating the cycles we grew up with.
Our generation represents the first one in which most of our moms worked outside the home. However, due to cultural expectations, the house work was still "women's work." This was exactly how it was in my house. My mom worked along side my dad, but was also in charge of everything related to the house and kids. Yes, my dad worked really hard, but so did my mom. Yet, somehow she still was responsible for almost everything else. My brother and I helped out, but we did stuff when we were asked. I don't really recall being completely responsible for anything.
I think one of the most important things a two-working-adult family can do is show the kids from the very beginning that no job belongs to just one person. I know it works, because I have a friend whose household was structured this way. In college, he was the only guy I knew who knew anything about cooking. And I don't mean, knowing how to grill a burger - not that this isn't a good skill to have - but I mean really understanding about spices, marinating, and cooking. He made some of the best stir fry from scratch as well as Jack Daniels ribs - he taught me tons about cooking! I asked him about this one night and he told me that growing up there were three chores at dinner time: cooking, setting the table and washing the dishes. Each member of their 4 part clan had one job each night, with one person having the night off. Then they rotated. Not only did this keep the total work for each person down, but they all appreciated the work the others were doing. Consequently, now he has no problem doing his share. Its automatic and its expected. I think if we work hard and put in the effort to teach this to our children, each generation will move farther and farther away from these now outdated gender-roles.
This story wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if it was about how we, meaning all people, keep our homes today. How some are messy, neat or functionally neat. And included a statistic about how today X% of women report that they are still the party primarily responsible for the home environment. It stinks, but at least the whole focus of the story wouldn't have been about the expectation that women keep up the home. I very much wanted to insert a link to the story and quiz, but unfortunately I couldn't find it on their website - maybe this means someone came to their senses about this story and decided that leaving it off the website was the first little step in stopping these misperceptions.
Russian Join
I have been knitting with a lot of fluffy, irregular, or extra bulky yarns lately, but I have been anxious to try this splicing method, called Russian Join, that my sister-in-law told me about.
Last winter, I chose a yarn for a project that turned out to be full of knots when the clerk at the yarn store was winding it into a ball for me. She told me that I can always use the split splice method since the yarn I was using, Unikat (see my yarn reviews), was a partially felted, one ply yarn.
Basically, you take the two ends you want to splice and rough them up a bit. Pull on them and break them so you have a lot of frayed, not cut, edges. You overlay the open edges in your palm and then you spit. Yup, that's right, you spit in your palm across both pieces of yarn. Then you put your hands together and rub them back and forth like Mr. Miyagi. The heat you make combined with your spit felts the two pieces of yarn into one. I was warned however that this method works best with one ply yarns.
Needless to say I was really excited because I hate weaving in loose ends. Plus it was really helpful because the project I was working on was in the round, so that yarn ended up with only a start and stop end!
But, more than that, I finally could share a little knitting knowledge with my sister-in-law who is usually sharing hers with me. Being the eternal internet researcher that she is, she decided to look up spit splicing to see what else she could find out about it. She came across other splicing methods, including the Russian Join, that can be used for multi-ply yarns as well. However, this method is apparently not so great for bulky yarns.
Since I am finally working on a project that calls for a regular worsted weight yarn, not bulky, I was excited to finally try the Russian Join. So, check out this explanation of the Russian Join and hopefully you will find it helpful in your knitting. I found it very easy and I even added an appropriate needle to my knitting kit so that I'm always prepared ;-) I plan to use both methods as much as possible!
Last winter, I chose a yarn for a project that turned out to be full of knots when the clerk at the yarn store was winding it into a ball for me. She told me that I can always use the split splice method since the yarn I was using, Unikat (see my yarn reviews), was a partially felted, one ply yarn.
Basically, you take the two ends you want to splice and rough them up a bit. Pull on them and break them so you have a lot of frayed, not cut, edges. You overlay the open edges in your palm and then you spit. Yup, that's right, you spit in your palm across both pieces of yarn. Then you put your hands together and rub them back and forth like Mr. Miyagi. The heat you make combined with your spit felts the two pieces of yarn into one. I was warned however that this method works best with one ply yarns.
Needless to say I was really excited because I hate weaving in loose ends. Plus it was really helpful because the project I was working on was in the round, so that yarn ended up with only a start and stop end!
But, more than that, I finally could share a little knitting knowledge with my sister-in-law who is usually sharing hers with me. Being the eternal internet researcher that she is, she decided to look up spit splicing to see what else she could find out about it. She came across other splicing methods, including the Russian Join, that can be used for multi-ply yarns as well. However, this method is apparently not so great for bulky yarns.
Since I am finally working on a project that calls for a regular worsted weight yarn, not bulky, I was excited to finally try the Russian Join. So, check out this explanation of the Russian Join and hopefully you will find it helpful in your knitting. I found it very easy and I even added an appropriate needle to my knitting kit so that I'm always prepared ;-) I plan to use both methods as much as possible!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Food for thought
Since we are going to be the bad girls at camp, I was thinking about possible alternative activities to the "stimulating and informative evening programs" at the Oaks. I thought we could do something kind of silly and girly, since we spend most of our time around men. Well, when I happened upon this pattern, at first I thought it was pretty funny. But, then I thought it would be perfect for one of our retreat evenings. So without further ado, please check out the following link for red vine panties.
So, now that you are done giggling, it really makes perfect sense. First, isn't this the kind of thing girls should make together? Second, wouldn't it be a great "treat" for our honeys after a weedend away? I guarantee they will be more interested and supportive of our hobby after bringing home a pair of these :-)
So, now that you are done giggling, it really makes perfect sense. First, isn't this the kind of thing girls should make together? Second, wouldn't it be a great "treat" for our honeys after a weedend away? I guarantee they will be more interested and supportive of our hobby after bringing home a pair of these :-)
Friday, May 20, 2005
S&B History
Our little S&B chapter started meeting regularly last summer - when we finally could manage a knit and a purl without our absolute undevided attention. Not to say that there still wasn't the occational "Oh, no!" during our evening, but at least we could have a glass of wine and chat while making progress on our current project. So, after reading about our past meetings, I'm sure you noticed that they pretty much stopped after the summer. Well, there are a couple reasons for this.
First, one of our members started law school last fall. We are proud to report that Nasus has now completed her first year of law school and has her first summer free. The other members are very excited about this and look forward to her latest project.
Second, one of our other members moved away :-( Whirlypurly decided to make a switch and join the hustle and bustle of LA. Actually, she was offered a great opportunity by our bosses to be our firm's on sight client contact for one of our larger clients in the OC. But, what sealed the deal was love. She and her boyfriend had been commuting back and forth between LA and SD for over a year. Plus, he's in the movie biness, so she could hardly see him when he was stuck working several months of 6 day weeks and massive overtime.
Given these changes, we started looking for an easy way to exchange our knitting experiences and projects. The team blog format works perfect for this, especially since none of us are web experts. This is also the reason for the S&B retreat, since it is difficult for our members to meet, a get away was needed. And as you can tell by the countdown feature newly installed - thanks again Krista! - we are all very excited about it!
First, one of our members started law school last fall. We are proud to report that Nasus has now completed her first year of law school and has her first summer free. The other members are very excited about this and look forward to her latest project.
Second, one of our other members moved away :-( Whirlypurly decided to make a switch and join the hustle and bustle of LA. Actually, she was offered a great opportunity by our bosses to be our firm's on sight client contact for one of our larger clients in the OC. But, what sealed the deal was love. She and her boyfriend had been commuting back and forth between LA and SD for over a year. Plus, he's in the movie biness, so she could hardly see him when he was stuck working several months of 6 day weeks and massive overtime.
Given these changes, we started looking for an easy way to exchange our knitting experiences and projects. The team blog format works perfect for this, especially since none of us are web experts. This is also the reason for the S&B retreat, since it is difficult for our members to meet, a get away was needed. And as you can tell by the countdown feature newly installed - thanks again Krista! - we are all very excited about it!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Other S&B meeting events
Other noteworthy S&B past meetings included the meeting at Whirlypurly's house in which Nasus and Disentangled were introduced to the world of Bare Escentuals make up. Needless to say not much knitting went down - but we did enjoy BBQ from Phil's for dinner. We also had our S&B field trip to our friend's house who was on bed rest during her pregnancy with twins. She was about 8 months along at that point and could only sit up so many hours during the day. So, we brought her a knitting starter kit with yarn, patterns and needles.
S&B Meeting August 6, 2004
Location: Nasus's house
Food: Subway and Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tea
Projects: Nasus - "Maude"
Whirlypurly - "Amelia"
Disentangled - don't remember :-( But this was the night of my car accident in which my little red Miata, Wendy lost her life.
Discussion Topics - Devistating and embarassing moments.
Food: Subway and Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tea
Projects: Nasus - "Maude"
Whirlypurly - "Amelia"
Disentangled - don't remember :-( But this was the night of my car accident in which my little red Miata, Wendy lost her life.
Discussion Topics - Devistating and embarassing moments.
S&B Meeting Minutes July 22, 2004
Location: Disentangled's house
Food: Pork chops with cream of mushroom gravy and white wine sangria.
Projects: Nasus - "Maude"
Whirlypurly - "Amelia" in Lion Brand Baby Soft in Bubble Gum on 10.5 needles.
Disentangled - "Sir Ribs A Lot" in Berroco Softwist in 7478 (a maroon) on 10.5 needles.
Food: Pork chops with cream of mushroom gravy and white wine sangria.
Projects: Nasus - "Maude"
Whirlypurly - "Amelia" in Lion Brand Baby Soft in Bubble Gum on 10.5 needles.
Disentangled - "Sir Ribs A Lot" in Berroco Softwist in 7478 (a maroon) on 10.5 needles.
1st Official S&B Meeting July 6, 2004
This day marked the first official meeting of the petite San Diego S&B chapter.
Location: Nasus' house
Food: Okonomiyaki, yakisoba and Bri-Tais.
Projects: Nasus - "Maude" in Caron Perfect Match with alternating color blocks of Lace and Taupe on 8 needles.
Whirlypurly - "Frederic" in Caron with alternating color blocks in Sayelle and Williamsburg Blue on size 8 needles.
Disentangled - "Fraggle" in Patons Cha Cha in Salso on 17 needles.
Location: Nasus' house
Food: Okonomiyaki, yakisoba and Bri-Tais.
Projects: Nasus - "Maude" in Caron Perfect Match with alternating color blocks of Lace and Taupe on 8 needles.
Whirlypurly - "Frederic" in Caron with alternating color blocks in Sayelle and Williamsburg Blue on size 8 needles.
Disentangled - "Fraggle" in Patons Cha Cha in Salso on 17 needles.
Knitting sighting - Stacked
It was only during a commercial preview for a TV show (Note: I did not actually sit and watch the show to find out how legit the knitting was), but here you go: "Stacked" with Pamela Anderson. Get out! I know! It was a fleeting moment, like I said, but this is what I saw: Pam and some other girls were sitting in a circle, and they were all knitting. Pam's project on her needles was a small square and the joke was, "I'm knitting a tube top for myself...I'm almost done!" Oh yes, high comedy. ..
Meeting Minutes
Yippy! I found our old meeting minutes from our S&B meetings. I knew I hadn't thrown them away, but I couldn't figure out which pile they were currently living in. As always, my organization was to blame. I found them in their own plastic bag along with a couple knitting related photos and scraps of yarn, destined to become scrapbook pages. This is generally how I organize for scrapbooking, so when the mood hits me, I can pick a topic I feel like working on and easily see what I have to work with and what I need to get from the store.
I have also uploaded the photos from our old meetings to my Flickr page and you can see them through the link underneith Knitting in Public. However, I will also prepare a post to highlight each of the meetings I have "minutes" for.
I have also uploaded the photos from our old meetings to my Flickr page and you can see them through the link underneith Knitting in Public. However, I will also prepare a post to highlight each of the meetings I have "minutes" for.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Its baby blanket makin' time.
My husband's friend is having a little boy in August - their first. I wanted to make them something, but its hard to pick an appropriate knit gift that will be summer appropriate. Some of the dresses seem a little pervy to me, plus this is a boy anyway, so that point doesn't even matter. I decided to do a blanket and quickly realized that most people must crochet baby blankets because the patterns out number knit patterns like 5 to 1. I liked the baby blanket pattern in the Stitch 'n Bitch book and liked the idea of making it with a nicer yarn to make it more of an hierloom than an acrylic nightmare. But, giving new parents a blanket for a baby that can only be handwashed will pretty much ensure that no one will ever use it. Since I'd rather my blanket get use, I opted back for acrylic. I found a cute pattern that has some design interest to it and will be fun to knit since I haven't done all that much with patterns before.
I also picked out a soft acrylic yarn that hopefully won't be too squeaky to knit with - ah, memories of my first project come flooding back - squeak, squeak, squeak. Another thing I did - which I will claim I did on purpose - is that I chose a unisex yarn so that it can easily be used for the next baby as well. It's a varigated yarn of purple, pink, green, and blue. Really, I brain farted in the store and forgot that I already knew it was going to be a boy - I even know his name, Brody. So I picked a yarn that could be for either sex. Then right as I left the store I remembered - BOY!!! I stopped, and was like "do I exchange while I'm here?" Then I remembered that a little girl had just thrown up in the yarn isle right as I was leaving, so that pretty much made my decision for me. And I made up my clever little "reason" for the multipurpose yarn on the way to the car.
I also picked out a soft acrylic yarn that hopefully won't be too squeaky to knit with - ah, memories of my first project come flooding back - squeak, squeak, squeak. Another thing I did - which I will claim I did on purpose - is that I chose a unisex yarn so that it can easily be used for the next baby as well. It's a varigated yarn of purple, pink, green, and blue. Really, I brain farted in the store and forgot that I already knew it was going to be a boy - I even know his name, Brody. So I picked a yarn that could be for either sex. Then right as I left the store I remembered - BOY!!! I stopped, and was like "do I exchange while I'm here?" Then I remembered that a little girl had just thrown up in the yarn isle right as I was leaving, so that pretty much made my decision for me. And I made up my clever little "reason" for the multipurpose yarn on the way to the car.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
1st Annual S&B Retreat
Today marks a beautiful day. The day that the 1st Annual S&B Retreat was made a reality. Not only did the members of this little S&B clan filter through countless possibilities for this unprecedented event, but a consensus was reached and the reservations made. This achievement alone deserves its own commemorating event given the practically unlimited possibilities, but seriously limited funds available for the event. So, sandwiched between trips to Hawaii, Europe and Australia, we have it...the 1st Annual S&B Retreat at the Oaks in Ojai. Such a memorable weekend the knitting lushes will have with their contraband wine. August 12th has never seemed so far away...
la ponchette
I am happy to report that I am almost done with Carley's little poncho. I am not happy to report, however, that it is lopsided. (I think "lopsided" should have been my username.) I'm finding that I'm not always so good at eye-balling measurements. But, Carley will be turning 5, hopefully she won't notice or care all that much. Or maybe I'll have to include instructions on stretching it out first, before wearing. I've attached the front and back pieces together, now I just have to add fringe and I'll be finished. Hopefully by then I will have solved the photo posting mystery so I can show it to you. :)
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Nerd Alert
Well ladies, I have been playing with the blog tonight - I know, its a Saturday night, but I was adding some sections with some html blogger help that Krista walked me through (thanks Krista!!) and I lost track of time. Once you guys get your photo posting capabilities set, I will add links to your photo group pages as well. Anyway...I have places for us to show our finished projects. This will help to archive our old projects without having to write posts about them. I also added a section where we can comment on yarns we've used as well as times we are caught knitting elsewhere. We can add our old S&B meeting pictures here once I get them scanned. If you guys already have digital picks from some of our meetings - you can add them to your section. Hope you like it and please let me know if you have suggestions for other sections or changes to these.
Wow - I haven't even eaten dinner yet!
Wow - I haven't even eaten dinner yet!
Friday, May 13, 2005
New flick
In fitting with my previous post about male knitters. I thought I would pay homage to one of the most frequently speculated male knitters - Russell Crowe. I have read in several different places that he knits, although the truth behind this seems to be boarding in the realm of Urban Myth.
Anyway, whether or not Russell Crowe knits is actually not the point of this post. It is to spotlight his new movie called Cinderella Man. My brother gave us free passes for a screening of this movie last night. And due to the craziness and logistics of getting into the theater we almost decided to leave (including, but not limited to: 1) difficulty navigating the grid of one-way streets surounding Horton Plaza, 2) general grumpiness due to lack of dinner, 3) long ass line into the theater because we were late, 4) genuine fear of not being able to get seats together, 5) having to check our camera phones at the box office after standing in the long ass line to get into the theater - I mean, what were we going to do, take 50 bazillion photos in order to bootleg the movie?, 6) not being able to separate because a) it was crowded, b) we no longer had our phones and c) we only had one pass for the both of us - meaning one couldn't get seats while the other checked our phones and got food).
Fortunately, we stayed and had a wonderful time. The movie is great and I highly recommend people seeing it once it is formally released. Both of us had tears following during several parts of the movie, but it wasn't a downer. It was very motivating and I was surprised to see that Ron Howard had directed it at the end (we walked into the theater knowing nothing about it - in fact we were both expecting some kind of cheesy romance movie).
So check it out, even if you are not a big Russell Crowe fan - I'm not, but I definitely have more respect for his acting following this movie. Who knows, maybe knitting helps him get into character.
Anyway, whether or not Russell Crowe knits is actually not the point of this post. It is to spotlight his new movie called Cinderella Man. My brother gave us free passes for a screening of this movie last night. And due to the craziness and logistics of getting into the theater we almost decided to leave (including, but not limited to: 1) difficulty navigating the grid of one-way streets surounding Horton Plaza, 2) general grumpiness due to lack of dinner, 3) long ass line into the theater because we were late, 4) genuine fear of not being able to get seats together, 5) having to check our camera phones at the box office after standing in the long ass line to get into the theater - I mean, what were we going to do, take 50 bazillion photos in order to bootleg the movie?, 6) not being able to separate because a) it was crowded, b) we no longer had our phones and c) we only had one pass for the both of us - meaning one couldn't get seats while the other checked our phones and got food).
Fortunately, we stayed and had a wonderful time. The movie is great and I highly recommend people seeing it once it is formally released. Both of us had tears following during several parts of the movie, but it wasn't a downer. It was very motivating and I was surprised to see that Ron Howard had directed it at the end (we walked into the theater knowing nothing about it - in fact we were both expecting some kind of cheesy romance movie).
So check it out, even if you are not a big Russell Crowe fan - I'm not, but I definitely have more respect for his acting following this movie. Who knows, maybe knitting helps him get into character.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Knitting Sighting - Friends
I was watching an old Friends episode a couple nights ago and had a Knitting Sighting. I had seen the episode previously but never noticed the knitting - strange, since they actually talked about it. It was when Elle had moved in with Joey and she started putting "girlie" things around the apartment. Chandler came over and Joey and Elle were knitting pot holders at the counter in the kitchen - and Joey was very happy about it :-) I hope they show more men on TV knitting - maybe more of our male counterparts would pick up the hobby. I know my husband will probably never pick up the needles - unless he knits with something other than yarn - since he hates the way it feels. I know! Can you imagine? The humanity...
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Stripe-ed
Here is a picture of the current state of my poncho. I realized after I finished the first ball of "hairy" yarn (Patons - Carmen in Steel), that I didn't have enough. With 50 stitches on my 17s, it only got me 8 inches. The finished poncho is supposed to be 60 inches long - so, with 6 balls, I would be short. To solve this problem, I decided to add irregular stripes of my solid color to fill in the difference.
I think it will look neat, especially since the stripes will be diagonal in the end. However, my husband said he didn't know if the color of the solid grey fit - we'll see. But, it does make me a bit nervous, because he is really good with colors and textures. So, I thought I would share a picture to get some additional feedback. What do you think?
I think it will look neat, especially since the stripes will be diagonal in the end. However, my husband said he didn't know if the color of the solid grey fit - we'll see. But, it does make me a bit nervous, because he is really good with colors and textures. So, I thought I would share a picture to get some additional feedback. What do you think?
Monday, May 09, 2005
Lights, Camera, Action!
My brother is a film maker and he is currently working on a project with his wife, who is a writer. They had requested the assistance of my husband and myself several months ago, but had no idea my knitting would be incorporated in it as well!
Their film is a series of 8 stories about 4 couples in various stages of their relationships. We are proudly playing the "married couple in their 30's." I still have no idea what our stories are about, since the audio will be recorded later. But, needless to say I was quite pleased when they decided to incorporate my hobby into my scene! Last weekend we shot all of the footage for our two stories and this is a picture from the shoot. The idea of this scene is that he is capturing my point of view while I knit.
I promise I will post the pattern for the poncho I was working on, once I am famous! Hee, hee.
Their film is a series of 8 stories about 4 couples in various stages of their relationships. We are proudly playing the "married couple in their 30's." I still have no idea what our stories are about, since the audio will be recorded later. But, needless to say I was quite pleased when they decided to incorporate my hobby into my scene! Last weekend we shot all of the footage for our two stories and this is a picture from the shoot. The idea of this scene is that he is capturing my point of view while I knit.
I promise I will post the pattern for the poncho I was working on, once I am famous! Hee, hee.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Clutter
I have realized in taking photos of my own knitting projects for this blog and looking at those that others have posted as well, a significant amount of "editing" is taking place. When I want to take a picture of what I am working on, I clear all the clutter from my coffee table or foot stool so that there is a nice clean, appealing picture of my work. But would that picture be any less discriptive if it included the normal clutter that surounded the area?
When I was preparing to take pictures of my finished shrug, I realized that the clutter says a lot about me and my husband. So, I took a picture of our coffee table. Yes, this is a real picture of the current state of my coffee table. But what is interesting, is that it really captures the kind of people we are and what we are most compelled by.
So, take a gander at our clutter. You will see that there are a stack of pool and billiard related magazines to the right as well as various Playstation 2 games and a controller. As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband is an avid pool player and is doing that full-time right now. Since he takes it seriously, it ends up also being a major focus of his free time as well. He also belongs to that generation of kids who grew up on the Atari and now comprises a significant portion of the gamers out there.
Both of our current reading selections are accounted for on the coffee table (although you can only see the tail end of my book). My husband's being his latest book about mastering the mental game of pool and mine being a book written from the perspective of a 15 year old autistic boy called "The Cuious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. Pick this book up if you can I am loving it - especially given my psych background in college.
You can also see two unfinished projects of mine (my poncho and my crochet market bag) as well as yarn for several recent projects and knitting and crochet instructions. My needle holder is also right in the center of the table (made from the pattern in the Stitch 'n Bitch book and a selection of discount fabrics at Joann's). Toward the bottom, is my little knitting bag that holds all those important accessories that you never know when you will need (and send me to secondary security inspection at the airport 1 out of every 3 flights I take).
You will also see a NetFlix envelope containing the last movie we saw - Shark Tale, which was pretty funny by the way - and represents another serious past time we enjoy. We are movie buffs and take the time to fit a good movie into our schedule at least 3 to 4 times a week (we also don't have cable, so that means there is a lot of TVless evenings available to us).
Finally, there are a stack of snap shots of our friends and a booklet about houses for sale in the San Diego area - something that we strive for, but will not be able to afford for some time given the current average home price in San Diego right now.
I think what all of these things really say about us, is that we are people who have many interests outside of our normal 9 to 5 schedule (although neither of us work that schedule anyway). We would also rather take time to enjoy our hobbies than have a clutter free environment to live in - something probably most knitters out there can relate to.
So, instead of pretending that the clutter doesn't exist, I say embrace it and look at it for what it is - a reflection of who you really are!
When I was preparing to take pictures of my finished shrug, I realized that the clutter says a lot about me and my husband. So, I took a picture of our coffee table. Yes, this is a real picture of the current state of my coffee table. But what is interesting, is that it really captures the kind of people we are and what we are most compelled by.
So, take a gander at our clutter. You will see that there are a stack of pool and billiard related magazines to the right as well as various Playstation 2 games and a controller. As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband is an avid pool player and is doing that full-time right now. Since he takes it seriously, it ends up also being a major focus of his free time as well. He also belongs to that generation of kids who grew up on the Atari and now comprises a significant portion of the gamers out there.
Both of our current reading selections are accounted for on the coffee table (although you can only see the tail end of my book). My husband's being his latest book about mastering the mental game of pool and mine being a book written from the perspective of a 15 year old autistic boy called "The Cuious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. Pick this book up if you can I am loving it - especially given my psych background in college.
You can also see two unfinished projects of mine (my poncho and my crochet market bag) as well as yarn for several recent projects and knitting and crochet instructions. My needle holder is also right in the center of the table (made from the pattern in the Stitch 'n Bitch book and a selection of discount fabrics at Joann's). Toward the bottom, is my little knitting bag that holds all those important accessories that you never know when you will need (and send me to secondary security inspection at the airport 1 out of every 3 flights I take).
You will also see a NetFlix envelope containing the last movie we saw - Shark Tale, which was pretty funny by the way - and represents another serious past time we enjoy. We are movie buffs and take the time to fit a good movie into our schedule at least 3 to 4 times a week (we also don't have cable, so that means there is a lot of TVless evenings available to us).
Finally, there are a stack of snap shots of our friends and a booklet about houses for sale in the San Diego area - something that we strive for, but will not be able to afford for some time given the current average home price in San Diego right now.
I think what all of these things really say about us, is that we are people who have many interests outside of our normal 9 to 5 schedule (although neither of us work that schedule anyway). We would also rather take time to enjoy our hobbies than have a clutter free environment to live in - something probably most knitters out there can relate to.
So, instead of pretending that the clutter doesn't exist, I say embrace it and look at it for what it is - a reflection of who you really are!
Friday, May 06, 2005
Shrug back
Here's a view from behind. I was afraid it might be too wide across my back, but it turned out to be a good width I think.
Funny thing is that I discovered there is something weird about my arms! No matter which side of the shrug I put my right arm into - the left twists. So, if you are looking at the seams that should run slightly under my arms, the right is where it's supposed to be and the left twists toward the front of my arm. I thought I had made my left seam wrong at first, but then it does the same thing if I flip the shrug over, so it must be me! Luckily that's something I think only I will notice - although I will probably end up showing everyone anyway.
Funny thing is that I discovered there is something weird about my arms! No matter which side of the shrug I put my right arm into - the left twists. So, if you are looking at the seams that should run slightly under my arms, the right is where it's supposed to be and the left twists toward the front of my arm. I thought I had made my left seam wrong at first, but then it does the same thing if I flip the shrug over, so it must be me! Luckily that's something I think only I will notice - although I will probably end up showing everyone anyway.
Green Shrug: Complete
Finally done!!! Yippy!! So its good to know that this project has an ending - there for awhile I wasn't so sure. This is a picture of the front of the green shrug. Its very soft and does its job well. I think I will probably get the most use out of it at the office, where my arms are ALWAYS cold!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Octopus
I wanted to share with you the crazy mass of yarn that has grown from the side of my green shrug. That tangle of loose ends is comprised of a ball change (hee, hee), when using two balls at the same time - wow, apparently I'm still in kindergarten. So that explains four of the strands - but what are the other ones from? Well, I had the pleasure of breaking my yarn when trying to pull it out of the new ball I had just started. Luckily it was toward the end of a row and I could easily add the new end back in again. Unfortunately, because of the way the Lion Suede is constructed, I couldn't practice any of the fancy joining methods I have read about.
Ok - so there are really only six - a sexopus?
Ok - so there are really only six - a sexopus?
Vegas, baby!
I returned yesterday from a company sponsored trip to Sin City. Almost all of my co-workers were able to make it and nearly all of our expenses were covered - can't beat that one! I intended to do a bit of knitting on both plane rides and poolside at the Luxor, but ended up getting very little done. The flight there was bumpy and made nearly everyone have the "air sickness bag" within easy grasp. Saturday morning I brought my knitting down to the pool, but after a night out and very little sleep once I did get to bed, sleep seemed a lot more appealing than knitting - besides wool yarn sliding through sweaty fingers wasn't really doing it for me either. Anyway, I did finally end up casting on the stitches for a new poncho sometime on Sunday and worked a bit on it coming home - but you can't really do too much on a 1 hour plane ride. I've had this yarn for awhile now - I bought the Patons yarn because it was just soooo soft. I started making it into a poncho on its own, but it didn't quite have enough substance to stand on its own - it also started to look a bit like an old matted stuffed animal when it got smooshed up a bit. So, I added the Wool Ease in a medium gray, which seems to be bulking it up a bit. I have been told that this is a quick project, which will be badly needed once I am done with the eternal shrug.
Also, that's Jenny helping me set up my picture - she's our 7 year old mini Dachshund, who we love/spoil like a child.
Also, that's Jenny helping me set up my picture - she's our 7 year old mini Dachshund, who we love/spoil like a child.
Knitting Sighting
Ok, so now that I am a knitter, I get great pleasure in seeing characters knit in movies and on TV. While I am sure there are formal lists of these kinds of sightings, I thought I would share my latest here. We were watching the movie Frida last night and her sister was knitting by her bedside at the hospital following Frida's near fatal bus accident. Although it was only a couple seconds and they never showed a close up of what she was doing - I smiled to myself. Also, very good movie by the way - check it out if you haven't seen it yet!
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