Thursday, September 25, 2008

woot!

why am i wooting? new yarn baby!!! prepaid too, so I don't have to worry about my Rhinebeck budget!

my Socks that Rock subscription just came and while I can't post a picture (at least a week so that there are no spoilers), its beautiful, probably my favorite of all the colors so far. its deep fall colors and there is this greeny-yellow (like a dark chartreuse) that on its own i would hate, but combined with the blues and purples really does remind me of a tidepool.

and combined with me eating Braised Short Ribs with Cheesy Polenta? makes being sick at home not so bad.

:)

i'm going to go drown my sorrows in yarn. and knit that damn sweater faster so that i can knit more socks!!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

ok, no pictures.

which is sad, i know, but this isn't about pictures.

1) the damn sleeves of the Espresso sweater have proved to be one big errata, which might be me, but i doubt it. the website for the book already shows there was a mistake in the measurement of the schematic. needless to say, i hit the maximum width somewhere around my elbow. i'm now contemplating unravelling the entire sleeve back and employing Calculus (gasp!) to calculate rise over run and to see where my increases should be. so the sleeves are moving to the side and i'll do the collar.

2) the puncture wound is healing nicely. there was a little bit of a blip when the doctor decided he needed to make sure that there wasn't an abscess (about 2 inches of the needle went into my, um, buttock). and that hurt a bit.

but nothing like the tetanus shot i had to get. no, my knitting needles aren't rusty (that's not the only time you need a tetauns shot). i got the damn shot of friday, today is the first day that i can lift my arm above my shoulder and the site of the injection is still hot and red. and i haven't slept on my left side in 2 nights and i'm getting sort of cranky.

i'll let you all know when i've managed to figure out the damn sleeves.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

you know its going to be a bad day

when the first thing you do after waking up is sitting on a knitting needle and puncturing yourself.

can i go back to bed?

Saturday, September 13, 2008

temptation

now, i know what i said. i really need to concentrate on the Espresso sweater so that it will be ready for Rhinebeck (5 weeks, baby!!). i know i was going to stay loyal and not stray to another project.

i broke.


Interlocking Leaves
from the fall issue of Knitty. its been a while since i really loved anything from Knitty, but i fell in love with these at first glance.

and of course, i pulled out the malabrigo sock yarn i got from Glenna (who just scored some more crack yarn.

don't worry, i'm still working on Espresso. The back and the left front are done, the right front is in progress. it will be done in time for rhinebeck.

as will my socks. and that's all that will be on my needles until both are done.

*fingers crossed*

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

oh what a beautiful morning!

its really lovely in NYC right now. fall is absolutely on its way. warm during the day, cool at night and soon it will be comfy to be in my hand knits all the time.

in that vein, i have 2 new FOs! woot! and both are absolutely in preparation for Rhinebeck which is less than 5 weeks away (and I really need to get cracking on those plans, huh?)

anyway, first up we have a pair of Yummy Mummy Wristwarmers. I had gotten so sick of stockinette that they were a needed respite and i was so happy to have something intricate to play with. the nice part is that in doing this pattern, i finally figured out how to know which way to cross cables without looking at the chart, and that's a nice little shortcut to know.






i also finished the Embossed Leaves socks and I loved doing this pattern. This was the first time I used Koigu for socks and i love the feel of it. I can totally see why people freak out about this stuff! Its the Koigu i bought in SF and i'm happy i have one skein left although i have no clue what i'm going to do with it. But that can be decided later.






and then there is the lovely Espresso Cardigan from "A Fine Fleece". I'm making it out of the Malabrigo Worsted that i picked up in SF. I'm really, really happy with how well the stitch definition is showing up. So far the back and half of one of the fronts is done. And since I'm done with the wristwarmers and the socks, i'm going to concentrate on the sweater b/c i'm absolutely wearing that to rhinebeck. and since its a cardigan, if its as hot this year as it was last year, i can take it off to cool down when i need to (please don't let it be in the 70s this year! that's just wrong for October!).

Here are some of the in progress shots.

The back, with the small cable detail at the base.



And one of the fronts.



and the cable detail:




And in yarny goodness news, 2 weeks ago (i know, i really should post more), Martha came down to NYC for an actual vacation (gasp!) and consented to be my yarn mule. Glenna had picked up one of the few skeins of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in existence and sold one to me and sent it down with Martha. And as a thank you for letting her stay (silly girl, there is never a need for a thank you, if my apartment were bigger, i'd have people over all the time so that i can entertain them), Martha brought me a skein of STR in the Lettuce Knit colorway. So basically one of my favorite yarns in a color way that is a nod to one of my favorite yarn stores. gotta love it!

aren't they pretty! the top is the STR, the bottom is the Malabrigo. loves them ever so much!




now, to decide what to do with them. after i'm done with the Espresso sweater.