Happy Halloween!!

I hope everyone is having a very Happy Halloween! Way too many goodies inspired the following Halloween haiku:

My heart is racing
Too much Halloween candy
Are there more cupcakes?

Thanks to Nonnahs (thanks Nonnahs!), our office has a fine tradition of dressing up for Halloween. (Unfortunately, she had to go and move to a different office, where she is on her way to starting a new tradition as well.) This year we had about a 75% participation rate, which I think is pretty darn good!

I'm a big fan of creating/making your costume and ever since I spent too much on a graduation gown that I wore for 2 hours, I have been trying to think of a way to incorporate it into a Halloween costume. Well, after seeing all the Harry Potter movies earier this year, I was finally inspired. So, this year, I present me as Harry Potter! (This is also the reason I had the funny glasses for the Harry Potter scarf photo shoot.)

I also present another FO of sorts: my wig! I got the idea from here, but I ended up following the beanie formula in the latest Yarn Harlot book. I used less than one ball of black Lion Brand Fun Fur, so it only cost me $2.50! If I had it to do all over again, I would have made the hat a little longer, because after a bath it lost some of its 'boing' and rode up a bit. By the way, a black Fun Fur beanie getting washed, is not a pretty sight, but was needed. You wouldn't believe the gunk that washed off that 'new' yarn. Ick.

Anyway, I hope you all have had a happy and safe Halloween!

Trick-or-Treat!

The Peanuts realize their desiny

Happy Halloween!

Why a Stash is Good

I'm pretty sure there are just as many reasons for stashing behavior as there are types of knitters. For me, I stash because I am frugal. Stashing allows me to knit the things I want to knit out of the yarn I want to knit them in, with less of an impact on my wallet.

When I first started knitting, I was shell-shocked with my first "real" yarn purchase at a LYS. I made the Cape Mod from Stitch 'n Bitch for just about $150. I made it over my Christmas break with my Christmas money. I realized that if that was the average cost of a nice project, I wouldn't be able to make something like that more than once or twice a year. I decided that the rest of the time, I would just have to limit myself to what Michael's had to offer. Fortuntely, a few months later, two things happened simultaneously to make me realize that I wasn't limited afterall.

I made a poncho - a poncho that has never seen the light of day except for the photo I took of it for my FO records. The thing is, the poncho ended up costing me about $60 because of the rate it gobbled up $5 balls of yarn (I had made several trips back to Michael's to get "just one more ball"). Around the same time, I decided that Kyoto would become my next "nice" project. We went to the Grove and I picked out the Cotton Classic for the project, which came to about $50. Wow! I was so excited to realize that the "cheap" yarn wasn't so cheap and the "expensive" wasn't necessarily all that expensive (especially considering it's entertainment value). I also realized that the good stuff went on sale. This let me pick up the nicer yarn that would otherwise be out of my budget at full retail prices.

Since that time, I have added things to my stash as I come across them on sale. I have a pretty good index in my head of the things I want to make, so when I see yarn perfect for it and I have the money for it, I pick it up. It may be several months (or years - my stash is, ehem, healthy) before I know I will knit it, but the yarn is there and accounted for. I would say that 80% of my stash is for designated projects. The rest are things that I pick up if the price is too good to be true and I know I will be inspired by just the right thing some day. And just such a thing happended this weekend.

Knitzalot, Cora and I went on a mini yarn crawl to Encinitas on Saturday with a detour to the Forum shops in Carlsbad/Leucadia (How in the heck I had no idea these shops were here, I have no idea). Anyway, I finally picked up a copy of Rowan 40 from Common Threads. Overall, it is a pretty nice collection of patterns. Sure there are things I would never make, but there are several sure things. The one I became the most excited about was Celtic.

I have been craving a sweater like this - a zip up cardigan that is simultaneously simple and interesting. I think this sweater is so much fun, yet classic. And the best part? I realized I had the yarn IN MY STASH! And since it's been in there awhile, I believe that makes it free. (Just nod. It makes me feel not so crazy.)

So once my holiday knitting is all done, I'm pretty sure this will be my next project. See I made a deal with myself to get the over abundance of WIPs and UFOs in my house done: If I stay focused for the next couple of months, not start anything new and just clear the backlog, I can start something *special* just for me. And I think a pretty Celtic in this yarn, would fit the bill nicely!

Heeling

Well, MJ, I told you I wouldn't give up on them, and I didn't! I've done it, I completed my first (and second) short row heels! It wasn't nearly as complicated as I made it out to be, but it did take a couple - okay, several - tries until I finally got the hang of what I was doing with the wraps and whatnot. For some reason I almost always have to try something several times before I get it right. Which, I guess is my own subliminal way of allowing myself some practice to really get down whichever new technique I'm trying. Helpful of me, to me, right? Alright, well, looking at it that way makes me feel better, okay? It's better than the alternative, which would be that I am a very slow learner who makes a lot of mistakes for no good reason.

Now that I've accomplished the toe-up toe and short-row heel, next on the agenda of sock firsts for me: working with calf shaping for these knee highs! Unfortunately, this requires a bit of math, and knitty or not, math and I? We broke up after 10th grade and have had a tenuous relationship at best ever since. I'm sure I can figure it out, I just have to clear my brain...or at least sweep away some of the cobwebs.

Thankfully, the stripes seem to be working out, to the delight of the symmetry monger in me. I may be crazy, but anal retentiveness seems harmless enough when it works out without much difficulty. Thus, I revel in this. Aah... It's the little things...

PS: Much love and virtual hugs to Julia until I can give her a proper hug in person.

Secret Knit - no more!

This secret knit has been in the works for awhile. It has seen some things, has been learned from and even went to a baseball game. But all the while, its true identity had to remain a secret. See, the recipent of this scarf just so happens to be one of Nonnahs' best friends and I had a sneaky suspicion that he may check in on the blog from time to time.

He is also a good friend of mine, who helped cultivate my completely hopeless inner Harry Potter fan that I now am. He was the one who lent me the most recent books that I devoured. I've already promised him that I would go with him the night of the last book release and now he has a groovy Gryffindor scarf to go along as well!

Onto the detail stuff...If you are so inclined to make yourself or one of your favorite Harry Potter fans a scarf of their own, I highly recommend this pattern from atypically knit. She has done an amazing job of detailing the scarf specifications from those made for the movie, down to the proper number of stripes and tassels. She even made yarn and color suggestions for every House.

She also wanted to provide people with a pattern for a traditional scarf, not just one that was striped with the right colors. As such, this scarf is not worked back and forth. It is worked in the round like a big tube. In places where it actually gets cold, this obviously provides for a much warmer scarf, since it is twice as thick.

Now, my friend is a human furnace who lives in San Diego. In fact, I'm pretty sure he contributes the extra energy he generates back to the local power grid. However, the point of the whole thing was for him to have a 'real' Harry Potter scarf. So, imagine my joy when I learned he would be traveling to Wyoming for Thanksgiving...and was looking into buying a Harry Potter scarf for the trip. Talk about perfect timing! (Hee, hee.)

Anyhoo, so using the pattern from atypically knit, I made the scarf on size 7 circular needles with worsted weight Nature Spun from Brown Sheep with almost 2 complete balls each of Sunburst Gold (308W) as suggested and Scarlet (N48), which was available and pretty darn close to the suggested color. This is where I marvel at how much yardage went into this scarf - close to 1000!! The yarn knits up as a light worsted and was wonderful to knit. I look forward to using it for other projects because the yardage for the price is unbelievable. In fact, a couple of the girls, including Knitzalot, are using Nature Spun for their Deep V vests for our class.

I didn't worry about gauge too much, so it is off a bit. Consequently, I had some extra yarn because my stripes are a little narrower and shorter. And since my friend is tall, I just kept knitting stripes until I wasn't sure I would be able to get another one out...and began contemplating jumping off the roof of my office building. The end result is about 4 extra stripes and a few more tassels, because I like the look of more tassels with less bulk. I call it artistic license.

When I was all done with the knitting, I steam blocked it, and added the tassels to close up the open tube. The scarf's transformation was amazing after the steam blocking. I feel like it really looks like something you would buy in a store, very semetrical, very orderly, very uniform. I am very pleased with the results, but even more pleased by the reaction I received from my friend when he opened it up.

Despite nearly a sweater's worth of knitting on this scarf, it was a really fun project. It was one of those knits that just flows off the needles and only toward the end, did my hands start to hurt. I realized I had been knitting over the top of the scarf on my lap - the hight of which kept growing, which threw my posture out of wack.

One of these days, I will have to make one for myself because it is a great all-around, very wearable scarf...for cold weather, that is.

Unraveling Those Curly-Qs

Well the toe, foot and heel of the Dakota socks are no more...and the yarn resembles curly soup (what B grew up calling raman :-). I am in the process of re-knitting the heel with fewer short row decreases and in the 'solid' black STR to extend the life of the main hank of yarn. I will be at the foot by lunch easily, so my question is this:

How many of you REALLY uncurl your yarn before you re-knit it?

I remember when I first started knitting reading about how to uncurl yarn in Stitch 'n Bitch and after the Kyoto disaster of 2005, I even put this practice into effect. But what I want to know is this REALLY necessary? Is it one of those things that in a perfect world one would always uncurl the yarn or do you REALLY need to uncurl it because your re-knitting will be thoroughtly jacked?

This is coming from someone who would rather just start re-knitting the sock foot so that I can just get on with things, but will take the time to fix the yarn if I really need to. Any suggestions, advise, or admonishments are accepted.

Happy Birthday Nasus!

Birthday haikus for one of our favorite loopy girls!

Such a busy girl
Trying to master the law
Yet always a friend

- Dis


Tonight: Miami
with good friends and mojitos-
no possums allowed!

- Nonnahs

Have the best birthday ever!

Love, Us

Pretty in Pink

The Grove hosted a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Knit-In on Sunday. Knitters could come and knit a pink scarf or drop off finished scarves for sale at the San Diego's Komen Race for the Cure and auction. I showed up a little after openning and stayed pretty much until the end....and this is what I have to show for my efforts:
I knew I wanted it to be a bulky knit so that I would be able to finish it that day. With the help of Nonnahs, I scoured the internet for a quick knit and finally settled on the formula presented by the Yarn Harlot here. I liked the idea of knitting it lengthwise to mix it up a bit. The only problem is that I spent the whole day not really knowing how long the scarf was going to be, since it was bunched up on the needles. I felt like it was going to be fine...but I've been burned before. Needless to say when I finished binding off, I was *delighted* that the length was just exactly what I was hoping for.

I used almost a full hank of Lamb's Pride Bulky in Lotus Pink (M-38) and almost another full ball of Moira in color 58. Both yarns have the same recommended gauge and suggested needle size. Since it was a scarf, I didn't bother with a swatch but just casted on 160 stitches (a number chosen based more on the length of the yarn tail and not with any stitch calculation) with the Lamb's Pride on size 11 needles, worked a few rows then started randomly alternating with the Moira through the rest of the body of the scarf, finishing with the Lamb's Pride. I left tails as I went and then added a few more tassels to fill them out when I was all done.

The Lamb's Pride was so soft and was lovely to work with while Moira was a little stiff. It turned out to be fine for the center of a scarf since the Lamb's Pride provided a nice cushion on the edges.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon and the Grove had a great turn out. This year nearly all the San Diego yarn shops were involved in the pink scarf project one way or another and I am really honored I could be a part of it. Each of the scarves are going to be sold for $35 - which will go straight to Susan G. Komen since the materials (and knitting) were donated by the knitters.

A day that will live in infamy

Such a momentous day, I'm not even sure where to begin. The setting: A ginormous deck overlooking an amazing view. The players: new friends Andrea, MJ, Kat, Lori, and Francesca, and old (you know what I mean) friends Mary-Heather and our gracious hostess, Julia. (Marnie was missed, but with us in spirit.) The table:

Gluttony at its finest

There was food and drink, knitting, chit-chat, show & tell, more food, more chit-chat, and last but not least, spinning...even by moi!! Yes, this day will go down in history as the day I officially succumbed to the spinning goddesses. How thrilled was I? Very!

I knew going in that I would learn to spin that day, but I had no idea just how much spinning wisdom I would be surrounded by. These ladies were all so generous with their knowledge, help, and encouragement- not to mention their spindles and their roving! I couldn't have been in a more supportive environment. The result:

My first try at spinning, courtesy of MJ's spindle and some heavenly roving donated to the cause by Mary-Heather.

I made yarn!! Hee hee! I'm still giddy, two days later (Hi, Dork)! It may not be much to look at to experienced spinners, but it's my very first wonky bits and I couldn't love it more. Of course, I couldn't have done it without some help. Mary-Heather generously donated some of her gorgeous Spunky Eclectic BFL for me to try. MJ taught me the fine art of pre-drafting and let me learn on her Kundert, as instructed by the ever patient Julia. It was (is) a learning process, to be sure, but I was spinning! And I was told I was doing well for my my first time, so that was very encouraging. It's so much fun! And lookie at what I made! (Insert squealing noise here.)

My first born, wonky handspun. (I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to have curly cues in it, but whatever!)

Spinning will definitely take practice. I can at least comprehend the process in my mind now, and I can even grasp each little part individually, but pulling it all together, getting the coordination down, that will take some time. But, I am optimistic and look forward to improving. I think patience and persistence will be key.

I feel it's worth mentioning that I had been keeping my distance from all things spinning related for a good while now, because I had a sneaking suspicion that I would be instantly hooked, and...wouldn't you know...I was right! When I first learned to knit, I was thrilled that I could take some yarn and a couple of needles and make a garment. And now- being able to take some fiber and make actual yarn? Amazing. And the day I can actually make a garment out of some yarn I've also made? Holy crap! How gratifying must that be? I can't wait! And now I'm on my way. Thanks to a few friends (*cough*enablers*cough*) and...what's this thing here??

My first spindle: Kundert in Cherry, with Walnut accent

As prompted (coerced) by Julia and MJ, I took a slight detour from my weekly Whole Foods trip on Sunday and veered off to A Mano, where I purchased my very first spindle. Since I was grocery shopping solo again this week due to B's current state of health, I justified the extra stop. One must have priorities, after all: food can wait; must buy a spindle!

Another highlight of the day on Saturday was getting to see Andrea's gorgeous Icarus! Seeing a finished one in person has definitely inspired me to keep plugging away at mine!

So, thanks again ladies, for a wonderfully fun afternoon/evening- you will forever be linked to my very first spinning experience. And just so you know, along with this "honor" comes simultaneously felt profuse thanks and affectionate blame for any part you may have taken in my new, impending addiction. ;)

Dragon Boat Racing

This morning I participated in a Dragon Boat Race at Mission Bay. Our team: Civil Serpents (if you haven't guessed it, it's a team consisting mainly of lawyers and judges...) Did you know that dragon boat racing is second to soccer in terms of world-wide participation? I still can't believe it. Considering that our boat consisted mainly of women (not that we women can't kick butt at this, but I believe many of us have stronger legs than we do arms), and that our first rival was an experienced team with coordinated jerseys, I think we did well. We didn't win either of our two races, but we gave it our all.

Check us out on the front page of the local section of the Sunday 10/22 edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune!

More surgery, crabs and swag

Happy Friday everybody! I'm especially happy today because I don't have to go to the office today. Woo Hoo! But, one thing I am doing today, which isn't so fun is going with B while he gets an MRI. Why does he need an MRI, you ask? Well, like Nonnahs's B, my B decided to go get himself all banged up at the skate park. Although instead of being on a skateboard, he was on a BMX. And instead of breaking an arm that required surgery, the doctor thinks he tore the maniscus in his left knee...that would require surgery. I'm going save Nasus's K's broken bone and surgery story for her to tell. What the heck. It's like they all got together and decided to do sacrifice their bodies just to help us get a little extra knitting time. The really are swell guys!

Instead of the Knit Salon last night (although I did get a chance to chat a bit with some of the people who came), I took a class on crochet for knitters. Having recently been fairly disappointed with my crochet ability when I edged my Blue Sky Fitted Tank, I thought this was a great opportunity to learn a little more about what I was doing in the crochet department. And I realized that it is fun and very addicting. Once I got going, I had a hard time not working the next stitch. Here is a look at my crab stitch which is sitting on top of a layer of single crochet.

I'm not sure if this is really the right or wrong side, but I suppose it doesn't matter. Like knitting, you can make the right or wrong side whichever one you want to accomplish the look you are going for. I actually really like the look of the other side of the crab stitch, but I didn't want to bog you down with too many photos of my amature crochet.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't get to the box stitch and only just bearly got to the shell stitch.

I can see adding a ridge of shell stitch to the bottom of a knit top or tank. This one was really fun and I learned a lot about the tension with this stitch and how much yarn it really took to make the stitch look right. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised with is that I am a much better crocheter now that I am using my left hand to knit. I know, duh. But both me and another classmate instantly recognized the change in our crochet after working on our Deep Vs.

Finally, this week I also got my first shipment from Scout's Indie Swag Club, since there may be a few people who haven't yet received their package, I will let you go look at the picture here if you are interested. I was one of the lucky ones who was able to join the Club, not because it was super limited (which it was) but because I was one of the ones that the website let buy a membership when there wasn't any left to buy (I was 12 or 13 of only 10 membership she had originally decided to sell). Fortunately, Scout decided to let us overages stay and the other designers also agreed. So, yay! I can't think of a better way to help support indie business!

No Myth

It's a rather dull Thursday and I have a lot of work to catch up on. However, I'm also in need of a little fun, so let's get our meme on, shall we? I saw this one yesterday here and there, and enjoyed reading both so much, I thought I would add my 2 cents. As a bonus, and because I hate to leave you with photoless posts, I thought I would throw in one of my very favorite photos of us Loopy girls. I love it because we are captured in mid-laughter silliness, which is usually how you will find us when we're all together. (I'm also posting this because I miss them, so seeing this makes me happy.)

And now, the meme:

48 THINGS YOU COULD CARE LESS ABOUT

1. FIRST NAME? Most of you have figured it out by now, but if you haven't yet you will eventually, so I won't spoil the surprise. :)

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, although my middle name, Kimberley, is taken from my dad's middle name, which was after my paternal grandmother's maiden name.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I cry all the freaking time, you'd think I would remember the last time, but I don't. Probably watching TV.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yeah, no complaints.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Eew, just the word "lunchmeat." Gross.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would be honored. Kidding! But, yes, I would. I cherish my friends and (I hope) they know that.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Not currently, no. I've started many journals, but tend to not keep them for very long, regrettably. I managed to keep a fairly consistent journal in college (full of angst and drama and bad poetry), but that's about it.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No. I have absolutely no interest. Something about the idea of being attached to what's essentially a rubber band and the springy, snapping back motion just does not appeal. But, I would go skydiving. Go figure. Who's with me??

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love cereal, so this is hard. Lately I've been into cereals with a flake/cluster of some kind combo. I've tried several different ones from Whole Foods that I like, though I can't think of the names. And I'm always on the hunt for a good granola. If you know of a good one, please let me know. I keep meaning to try making some...

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Most of the time. Not with my Pumas, though I have no idea why that is.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically, not really, although I do pride myself on being able to open jars and bottles on my own. Otherwise, yes, for the most part. I've become emotionally strong along the way. I realized that after going through (and coming out of) my mom's passing. I definitely have my weak, girly moments, though. There's always room for improvement!

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate. Both plain and with stuff in it. Can't really go wrong with chocolate.

14. SHOE SIZE? I wish I had just one shoe size, as it would make my shoe buying experience all the more pleasurable. As it is, I'm either a 5.5 or 6, depending on the brand, style, etc. Thank goodness for Zappos' free return shipping policy!

15. RED OR PINK? Pink. But I love my red shoes!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm somewhat plagued by nagging, irrational insecurities.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Only if it floats your boat.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black and white skirt, black top, black patent leather flats (don't think I match this well all the time).

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Oatmeal.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? An old Michael Penn song just came on my randomly shuffling iPod. Bonus points if you know who I'm talking about.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Probably olive green.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Cookies or brownies baking, Thanksgiving turkey in the oven, onions and garlic sauteing, (clean) babies (need to be specific here), sweet peas, plumerias, freshly laundered sheets, the beach.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A client.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their shoes. I'm kidding (...or am I?). Eyes, definitely.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I haven't had the opportunity to meet either Cara or Sarah in person, but I enjoy reading their blogs and admire their knits, so I'm certain I would like them "in real life." :)

27. FAVORITE DRINK? I've been into iced teas a lot lately. And my genmaicha latte concoction. Favorite alcoholic beverage: Margaritas! Preferably on the rocks, with salt. Yum!

28. FAVORITE SPORT? I don't play sports, because I'm embarrassingly nonathletic, but I do happen to enjoy watching football (Shelley, back me up here). I've enjoyed snowboarding, though, and hope to improve - it's so much fun (especially when I'm not falling on my ass every 2.5 seconds)!

29. EYE COLOR? Dark brown.

30. HAT SIZE? I have no idea!

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No. Thanks to some kind of freakish genetic mutation, I have good vision. *Knock on wood* This is astounding, given that my mom wore glasses and contacts, and my dad wore glasses until the lasik. I'm fairly certain my vision will go at some point, but I'm stoked it's lasted this long, and will enjoy it while it does last. Incidentally, B and I have this in common.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Pretty much anything with garlic and butter, crab, , Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, too many "local" dishes in Hawaii to mention (although I will make an exception and give ahi poke a shout out)!

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Definitely happy endings. I've never been a fan or scary movies.

34. SENSE OR SENSIBILITY? Both.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Spring. Sorry, not trying to be difficult, but I don't like extreme temperatures, be it too hot or too cold. I much prefer Spring and Fall.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who's doing the hugging or kissing. ;)

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? I love desserts in general, so that's hard to say, depends on my mood. I love hot fudge sundaes.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Oh, let's skip these next two. It doesn't matter.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? None that I can lay claim to with any kind of legitimacy. My current lifestyle is such that I use my copious *ahem* free time to knit. If I'm not knitting, that usually means I'm too tired, which means I'm also too tired to read, and magazines are easier to flip through and read in bits. Plus, I have a have a magazine addiction, to they are all over the house.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? This is random. It's a really cute one from a short-lived decorating magazine called "Living Room."

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Lost.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My friends laughing, Dakota purring (yes folks, I have a dog that purrs!), palm trees swaying in the breeze, waves crashing at the beach, rain.

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Japan.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? This is easy. Gift-wrapping.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Honolulu, HI, at a pink hospital on a hill.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Hijacked for my own cheap thrills from the aforementioned January One and Blue Garter.

Okay now. Back to work!

Winging it from the toe up

We're getting creative here people, watch out! Why I choose to make things as complicated for myself as possible, I'm never really quite sure. Either I overestimate my skills or I just secretly love the challenge. Case in point: No one needs to make fortune cookies from scratch, but of course I did. I am a baker, but that was just crazy. What was I thinking? I wasn't! I just went for it and figured it out along the way. The process: A huge mess, lots of trial and error. The outcome: Many freakishly deformed and/or broken cookies, several salvageable ones, and a gift I ended up being quite proud of. I can only hope my "winging it" knee highs will yield a similarly pleasing result.

These knee highs will be chock full of many firsts: First knee socks. First knee socks with calf shaping. First toe-up socks. First short-row heel. First time using self-striping yarn. As you can see, this encompasses a lot of firsts. Should be interesting!

I've been itching for knee highs for months and months now. Cute knee socks have been seen everywhere, and dangit if I didn't want to share in the fun! After much deliberation (I will spare you my erratic thought process through it all- poor Dis already had to live through it once), I decided on a simple stockinette pattern, with contrasting toes, heels, and cuff. I was leaning toward stripes, but somehow coming up with coordinating stripe colors on my own seemed to require a little too much decision making, so I opted for this self-striping tweedy variety of Lana Grossa Meilenweit for the main body and an espresso brown color for the contrasts. Now, back to self-striping yarn for a second. How does it work? No idea. How would I like it? No idea. But, I came across this yarn and thought, Why the heck not?

Verdict thus far? I'm liking it. All of it. It took me a while to find a toe up cast on that worked for me- I went with a Turkish CO. I won't embarrass myself by disclosing the number of times I had to start and restart the first toe. But, once I got the first one, the second one was a breeze, and I felt like I had one mini triumph already under my belt. I'm finding that the stripes are keeping my interest, and I'm making a concerted effort to try to not get too psycho about symmetrical stripes, but I'm nothing if not a stickler for symmetry, so we'll see how far I can go with that. (Yeah, I know- it won't be far. I'll pack light.)

I will also have a challenge up ahead when I get to working on the heel, but I have managed to not think about that too much thus far. Nor am I thinking ahead yet to the calf-shaping segment of the show, since more math is involved, and I have profound problems with math- even knitty math. Actually, I know I should start thinking about the short row heel now. I hope I can make sense of it.

So, how'd you like the differences in lighting for the three photos? Yeah, sorry about that. Well, at least you can a sense of the colors in the yarn. The first photo clearly shows the colors best, but I wanted to throw in some progress pics, so crappy night-time lighting was my only choice. They're coming along nicely, though, don't you think?

PS: What is with me and this color scheme?

Broken bones, mistake ribs, and twin berries

Yes, I'm still alive. I've been away (at home, actually, as well as Cedars Sinai), tending to B, who broke is arm last week. Oh no, how did that happen, you ask? Why, skateboarding, of course! Yes, B, who is indeed 34 and not 15, was at the skate park last week with some guys from work (also "adults"), when he fell in a bowl and landed on his right elbow. (I should add here that B is not the first, or dare I speculate, the last, one of them to be injured at the skate park) I remind myself that it could have been worse- I'm thankful he didn't land on his head, for example, and I'm glad he always wears a helmet and pads, but still. A broken bone! I know, from first-hand experience that a broken bone (or two, as it was in my case) is not fun. We spent part of Thursday and most of Friday at Cedars, where he had surgery. He is recovering well, not in too much pain. (And thankfully, not too much of a pain - hehe.) His arm is in a big ol' splint that he has to keep elevated and iced. If you look closely behind Dakota, you can see evidence of the injury.

B is fiercely independent, which is a welcome alternative to the way guys normally are big babies when they are sick or hurt in any way, but I'd still like him to take it easy and not try to do everything himself, when he needs to be resting and healing. He actually thought he might be back to work yesterday - HA - glad he was able to see the light on that one. Still, I think he's going to try to go back sometime this week. Good thing his job doesn't require him to use the computer and mouse at all (she says, sarcastically- he works on computer special effects for movies). I was reluctant to leave him home alone, for fear that he may try to do too much, but the Doogles is home with him, and will make sure he takes it easy. Oy vey!

An upside to this recent health debacle, aside from being able to spend a little extra time with B, was that waiting at the hospital for nine hours on Friday allowed me a nice chunk of knitting time. But, what to bring? Somehow, trying to figure out my first toe-up socks and/or counting for my Carmelita shawl both seemed like bad ideas to knit while waiting for a loved one to come out of surgery. And so, I decided to work mindlessly on a scarf. I haven't made a scarf, for myself or anyone else, in a long, long time. But I needed an easy waiting room diversion project, and the Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts turned out to be just the thing.

It's easy (mistake rib pattern, using 2 skeins of Noro), so I was able to keep an ear out for updates, as well as stop and start again as needed. The pattern calls for 2 different colorways of Kureyon, but I had one skein of Kureyon and one skein of Silk Garden in my stash, so I improvised. (What do you want from me, with one day's notice?) It's not quite finished, but I was able to get quite a lot done. I'm calling this piece, what else, the Broken Elbow scarf.

I also started on my Socktoberfest knee highs over the weekend...finally! It took me a long time to get goin' on the toe-up thing, but I worked it out, and now have 2 mini toe warmers! I'm pretty excited. So much so, that it deserves a post of its own, so I will continue along those lines later.

For now, I leave you with this: The peanuts, sporting the little fruit beanies I made for them. They finally fit! I know I am extremely biased, but I don't think it can get much cuter than this:

Or this:

...Then again, we haven't seen them in their peanut Halloween costumes yet!

ETA: Sorry for the annoying spacing (or lack thereof) - damn Blogger!

Freak Show

It took a little bit, but I was able to get my 'homework' done in time for class on Saturday morning. Fortunately I realized that I better try my vest on now because in a few more rows, it won't be possible to try on anymore. After the steek is set the tube that is being knit will decrease in diameter dramatically, so it was now or never.

I am very pleased with the fit so far. It is not meant to have any ease...and *fortunately* it doesn't. The waist shaping seems to mimic my own well enough and the V is starting were I was hoping it would. (Notice the surprise? I was really afraid all those calculations we made weren't going to turn out at all.) I only had one mild dilemma last week when a knot from the yarn that I thought I could hide well enough on a float, decided to come undone and drop a few stitches. Fortunately it is on the back and after messing with it quite a bit and trying various 'fixes' (I really didn't want to have to rip out fair isle knitting if I didn't absolutely have to), I have it pretty much back the way it was.

Some people wonder what's the point in taking a project class. The pattern tells you what to do, why pay someone to guide you through a pattern? But the reason is simple: expertise. I am someone who learns better from others. Having learned to knit from a book, I have found that I am twice as likely to absorb and remember the tricks of the trade from someone than from the written word. And even though Eunny's pattern is exceedingly well-written, it is the little tips from an expert that you glean from a class. Like this for instance:

This is the cast-on section of my V neck steek. I would have just cast on the number of stitches required and wondered what to do with my gigantic float across the back. So the trick? Use the long tail cast-on method with the contrasting color over your thumb and the main color over your index finger. It's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. I also learned the proper way to spit splice, which turned into a giggle fit as we were simultaneously trying to watch what he was doing and not gag at the reality of what we were looking at. So now we just knit, knit, knit and next class we will practice cutting our steeks on our second swatch. I am really looking forward to that one.

And since I realized I have shared all that much non-knitting stuff in awhile, I thought I would share a couple photos from Friday night. We went bowling with people from my office. And considering I work with 10 attorneys, we are a pretty fun bunch and going out tends to involve public humilation of some sort.

Our team wore matching team shirts and blue hair, which is definitly easier to deal with when you are all together, but a little less comfortable when renting your shoes or going to the bar. And the best part is, I realized that not only do I have flipper hands when I swim, I aparently have a 'thing' I do with my left hand when I bowl.

What is that? I can't even recreate it when I try. I think this is another one of those things that I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing. Man, you gotta love the digital age.

Socktoberfest Socks

I have been meaning to post something pretty much all week. But for now, I find myself unable to talk about pretty much everything I have been working on. I also have a feeling that I will slam you all with FO reports as we get closer to that eminent day of massive gift giving.

So, for now, I will have to distract you with pretty sock yarn. I haven't yet talked about my personal goals for Socktoberfest, so here it goes. There is a certain pair of socks that have been languishing because it turned out that I was going to run out of Dakota yarn (aka STR Obsidian). To jump start this project, I have made my goal for this month to re-work and finish the first of the Dakota socks.

I called up those lovely and helpful ladies at Blue Moon and they just happened to have a hank of Black Onyx in stock in the same yarn weight as the Obsidian. (We will skip over the fact that it costs the same to ship one hank of STR as it does three and that I am a fan of being "economical".) Black Onyx is basically a hand-painted "solid" black yarn, so it will be perfect toes and heels. I think I have enough Obsidian to only need the Black Onyx on the toes, but since I am not happy with the pointy short row heel, I am going to take the opportunity to rip. Although it will be painful, I know that the matching black heels and toes will be worth it in the end. And technically I do have time, since these are one of my December deadlines.

I am also making good progress on my Deep V vest homework. I think I may be able to finish up what's left tonight while watching a bit of TV. I'll post another picture once I try it on again. Keep your fingers crossed that it will fit!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

On my trip I brought about 6 knitting projects that including a few small things that were very close to completion. I was looking forward to spending the evenings in the motels working away and getting a few things accomplished. Well as is usually the case, that didn't go exactly as planned. We actually didn't end up spending much time in the motels and the couple of nights we did have a bit of extra time, we spent it in the pool and hot tub. The only knitting time I ended up having was on the road. I worked on one of my secret knits that lent itself very well to car knitting and made quite a bit of progress without getting sick - yay! So I guess I can't complain, but I seriously need to get some stuff finished and off the needles so I can feel like I am making some headway.

However, as soon as I got back, it hit me that I had less than 2 weeks to work my Deep V vest from start to the first steek at the V neck line. Given the very mellow schedule for the class as a whole, this of course ends up being the most time consuming bit of knitting...and I now had now lost more than a week.
And here is where I have to give Eunny a gigantic thank you. If her other patterns (forthcoming in her book) are anywhere near the level of detail and thoughtfulness she incorporated into this pattern, I'm sure I will make them all - no matter how intricate, detailed and intimidating they may at first appear. Why, do I say this? Because this vest is EASY!!!

The pattern is a very clever series of matching rows. Each new row is following by an identicle row which means you only have to think every other row. Also, because of the way the diamonds in the argyle progress up and down, it is intuitive as well. You can almost instinctively know what the stitches are supposed to be without having to constantly refer back to the chart. In fact, I can usually just look at the first couple of stitches and then I am off. This characteristic makes it really easy to realize you have made a mistake in the colorwork. You don't have the problem of working rows and rows and realizing they are all wrong. It becomes very obvious after a few stitches that your diamonds are off, so mistakes are caught quick before they get too far along.

And the best part? It's fun! After I worked the ribbing, I was a little nervous to start the colorwork. After all, this is my first real fair isle project. But, it has been great! I have been carting it around to work, the knit salon and even Rebecca's. So, barring any unforseen mistakes (*makes small sacraficial offering to the knitting gods*), I shouldn't have any trouble getting my homework done in time for class next Saturday. (*any progress and homework completion made is only by the graces of the knitting gods and only because I fully acknowledge and accept my humble skills as a knitter and in no way have a big head or think that skill plays any part in such a success*.)

Anyhoo. Today is a beautiful day. One that is marked with a spaghetti dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory to belatedly celebrate my dad's birthday. And since we have to drive north, it may also involve a brief stop by Common Threads...after all I am helping my sister-in-law obtain a back issue of Interweave Knits and sometimes we must make sacrifices of our time for family, right? (wink, wink)

My First

These are them. 'Member?

They look innocent enough, but as my first, they are the ones that ushered me into the wicked world of sock knitting (addiction). Why this trip down memory lane? To commemorate the start of Socktoberfest, of course! Lolly is encouraging us to share our sock histories, and as short as mine is, here you go:

When did you start making socks?
Just about one year ago! Guided with care all the while by the lovely Julia.

What was your first pair?
The aforementioned and depicted Artic Chars. A basic top-down sock pattern with 2x2 ribbing, knit with Koigu KPPPM on size 2 bamboo DPNs.

How have they "held up" over time?
Still kickin' (ha)! They are in good shape, as they should be- after all, they're less than a year old!

What would you have done differently?
Nothing, really. I'd rather have finished the pair sooner (if you recall, I suffered from a severe case of the dreaded SSS, so there was great lag time between sock one and sock two). But, as for the knitting process itself, I wouldn't change a thing. It took me a while to figure out what the heck I was doing, and how this thing would eventually turn into a sock, but the process was great. I learned so much, and had great triumphs like this one along the way.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
So far I've only used Koigu KPPPM (first and third pair) and Cherry Tree Hill supersock (second pair), and I enjoyed them both equally (read: very much). I have and plan to use Lana Grossa Meilenweit and Sundara sock yarn in the near future, and am looking forward to it!

Do you like to crochet your socks? Or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the magic loop method?
I enjoy knitting on DPNs. I tried the 2 circulars method, and while I didn't hate it, I much prefer the DPNs. There's something about the way the work in my hands that I just enjoy. I knit my last pair of socks kindasorta simultaneously on two sets of DPNs, and found it to be a great way to go. I'll probably try magic looping at some point, just for the heck of it.

Which kind of heel do you prefer (flap? or short-row)?
I have only knit socks with heel flaps thus far and like them just fine. Though I think I may incorporate a short row heel next, just to try it out. Being that I'm still such a new sock knitter, I want to try different techniques, for the experience, if nothing else. Won't know if I'll like something (or not) until I try it, right?

How many pairs have you made?
Depending on how you look at it, it's either "just 3" or, as I prefer to look at it: 3 whole pairs!!

I really can't believe I've only been knitting socks for a year. But then again, I've only been knitting in general for around two and a half years. When I take a moment to look back at all I've learned in the last couple of years, it kind of blows my mind. In a good way. :)

Why Arizona is Cool and Everyone Should Visit

It was home to one of the world's most influencial architects, who built from the local rock and wood, with roofs of canvas. It remains a premiere learning facility and cultural center.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen West in Scottsdale.

You can learn just how industrious and resourceful the earliest inhabitants were, first hand.

Tuzigoot National Monument in Camp Verde.

There are blood red rocks as far as the eye can see.

Red Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon outside of Sedona.

Oh, and some truly clever people decided to build an entire city in a canyon, using the canyon walls as a perfect roof.

Walnut Canyon National Monument just outside of Flagstaff.

You can appreciate the power of Mother Nature from the foot of a volcanic crater.

Sunset Crater Volcano (complete with lava fields) outside Flagstaff.

Some other clever people realized you could build your house right around the big rocks in the middle of the yard. Why build a floor or a wall if the rock already makes one, right?

Wupatki National Monument also outside Flagstaff.

If you ever wanted to see what it looks like when a 150 foot piece of rock traveling at 40,000 miles an hours colides with the Earth, they have something that might impress you.

Meteor Crater, again with the Flagstaff.

If you ever dug Land of the Lost as a kid, you might find the badlands not so bad.

Petrified Forest National Forest in, well, Petrified Forest.

And you can't forget that ginormous hole in the ground. I'm not kidding. It's really big.

Grand Canyon National Park in Grand Canyon (are you starting to see a trend here?)

And don't forget to get your kicks on Route 66.

Route 66 between Kingman and Oatman, just before the Nevada/Arizona border.

Because you just may find yourself in a one horse town...ok, so they were mules, kick me.

The Wild West town of Oatman.

If you are still reading (and have been keeping track), yes, we were successful in making our National Park Golden Eagle Pass worth the fee in just one trip. We may or may not have taken about 700 photos in 7 days, but who is counting - especially with all that amazing scenery!) We also may have hiked every trail in every national monument/park we visited. Except for the Grand Canyon, we stayed on top, because a little bug has bit me and now I want to train and hike that sucker rim to rim. I'm serious.

Sedona was a highlight and a completely unexpected experience. Flagstaff has a great downtown with cute cafes and shops - my favorite breakfast of the whole trip was at the Cafe Espress. But, they also had the worst Howard Johnson motel of all time...don't go there... ever... unless you don't mind bandaid pieces in your towel. Me, I guess I am just picky that way.

Finally, as a little traveler's tid bit for my fellow Californians during this time of high gas prices, not only is the gas in Arizona a bit cheaper, it is a different formulation of gas. So B's gracefully aging beauty that gets ~17 mile per gallon in CA, ended up getting about ~24 miles per gallon in AZ! (Our gas has been oxygenated so that it burns cleaner, but I'm starting to think it may just balance out with such a difference in efficiency.)

And purely as an aside, since this is a post about Arizona, B and I both had a very good night at the penny slot machines in Laughlin (our last night of the trip). We each played $3, B cashed out over $7 and I cashed out close to $23!!!!

Fall Fun: Bring it on!

It's October, and fun is in the air! An anniversary, a baseball game, a pair of socks, and...a spindle?

Fun stuff:

1. Today marks the 3rd anniversary of B's and my first date. 2003 was an especially significant year for me, full of soul-wrenching lows and schoolgirl-like, giddy highs. The first few months of the year were the hardest of my life, with my mom's passing in March. Those first few months were a blur. But then, things looked up, and the year ended on a sweet note. With the laws of convergence working the way it does sometimes, I am able to look back on 2003 with some fondness, because I met B later that summer. We met through a random association of friends and neighbors, and went on our first official date 3 years ago today. My mom told me she would "work on" sending a great guy my way and boy did she come through! :)

2. Today is the first day of the MLB playoffs. Now, the playoffs and World Series are exciting only as long as your team is in the running. So, I'm into it for now, because the Padres are in it- for the second year in a row, I might add! Game 1 is today in San Diego and you have to know how much I'd rather be at Petco instead of my little office, so we'll just stop here. Go Padres!!

3. This month is Socktoberfest. To celebrate, I plan to tackle my first pair of knee-highs, of the toe-up variety...with contrasting toes, heels, and top ribbing, calf-shaping, the whole nine. I will probably follow parts of different patterns here and there, improvising as I go. I'm sooo excited! Stay tuned to find out whether I'm challenging myself just the right amount here, or if I'm being way too ambitious. I think I'll be just fine. Theoretically. ;)

4. And this is really freaking exciting- are you ready? This month, I plan to...dundundun... learn how to spin! What? You thought I swore off spinning, purposely averting my gaze out of fear a potential addiction, and with knitting already an addiction, there wouldn't be any room left for another, and what the heck would I be getting myself into anyway? Well, that's right. All true. But, I'm gonna try it anyway! Hah! I mean, it looks like way too much fun, and a girl can hold out for only so long. And knowing I will have a wonderfully generous, talented, and supportive group (of enablers) around me, I really have no excuse to not give it a go. So there, I said it, I give up! UNCLE! (Who knows- maybe I will be totally inept at it, or maybe I just won't care for it all that much. And yet, I can't help feeling like a person who's about to try crack for the first time. Why is that?) I'll let you know how it goes, of course. Wish me luck!

Back in Californ-I-A

Well after many miles through Arizona, B and I made it back to San Diego late Saturday night. We had a fabulous time and had a chance to get a few errands done Sunday before starting the new week. I will be posting a few more pictures at some point this week, because Arizona is beautiful. If you haven't been, go.

(Oh, and don't worry, the photo above was staged. I wasn't really sitting with my feet hanging into the Grand Canyon, but it sure looks that way doesn't it?)