less than a month later!!!

woot! i managed to post less than a month after my last post!!!

well, the job search has commenced, mostly b/c i've mostly finished working on the apartment and am starting to get bored. and when i get bored, i get mopey. and then downright morose. ergo, job search.

but in the meantime, i've been doing some knitting. now, if you were expecting photographic evidence of said activity, you are doomed to disappointment.

mostly b/c i was too busy taking pictures of my stash!

actually, more like pictures of stash management. previously, all my yarn was shoved willy-nilly into plastic bins and while it was all nice and safe from evil moths and such, it was not the best way to have an idea of what i possessed. which led to a massive amount of yarn shopping when i felt i had NOTHING to knit with.

Before: Neat, but unorganized



During: Uncontrolled Chaos



After: Order restored



categories include- 1 skein, Remainders, Fair Isle, Bulky, Cotton, etc. And Sock Yarn. There is A LOT of sock yarn.


sadly, i had a massive allergy attack during the cleaning. i've been tested for dust mites, etc, but i'm starting to become a wee bit nervous that i may be allergic to fibers given off by the myriad variations of yarn i have in my collection.

so how do you explain to your NYC allergist when you have to call and ask "can we check and see if i'm allergic to sheep?" that could get me some funny looks, i'm thinking

oh, i just give up

yeah, its been 2 months since i updated this blog. i give up on making promises to update once a day/week/month/year. i'm letting go of the guilt (sort of).

well, the biggest news is that in the last 3 weeks, I quit my full time job. a bunch of small things just avalanched into issues that I no longer wanted to deal with and I realized that my ability to go anywhere in the company was limited. therefore, it was time to leave and re-evaluate.

so what have I been doing?

knitting :)

first off, knee socks!!!



and an in-progress shot



these were cool b/c i did an afterthought heel, which was necessary b/c i only had so much of the main yarn color and I didn't want to waste it on a heel flap. so you just knit a tube, pick up a bunch of stitches and basically knit another toe! worked so well that the BSG socks will follow a similar vein!

the yosemite sweater is finished! i made the sleeves longer. it looks totally shapeless in the pictures, but it looks really great on. sadly for the (small) viewing public I have out there, its freakin' 90 degrees in NYC and there is no amount of money that will induce me to try on that sweater for a picture. you'll just have to wait for fall, when I will probably wear it to death.



and a scarf, made out of 1/2 a skein of the yummy Malabrigo lace weight I purchased at Knitty City when Glenna was in town.


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i love this scarf and suspect it will be made a few more times for Christmas gifts. Its insanely easy and is so damn soft you just want to roll around in it nekkid. good stuff, that Malabrigo.

It was heartbreaking to hear about the fire at the Malabrigo headquarters. So of course, I went on a wee bit of a spree. I had picked up 5 skeins of the Malabrigo Worsted in "Paris Night" at ImagiKnits in SF, but when I heard about the fire (and subsequent delay in being able to get more Malabrigo) ordered 6 skeins in "Cabaret". i know the yarn is not plied, and will probably pill like crazy, but i don't care! yarn that soft needs to be made into garments for me to wear, to hell with the upkeep!!!!

current projects include the Hourglass Sweater from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" (in the "Cabernet" Malabrigo) as well as the BSG socks. And I just (sort-of) finished a tank top, knit out of the 100% silk yarn ("Hana") that i fell in love with at Artfibers. Sadly, I don't see it on their site right now, which is worrysome. i loved the yarn, and the only complaint i had was that the color bleed a bit and so i noticed my right thumb (which pushes stitches around) was a bit blue. i need to finish the straps and weave in the ends and then I will post a picture. i sort of made up the pattern by combining 2 different patterns from "Knitting Lingerie Style" and i'm really quite happy with it! I'm hoping to get it done this week as I have a bachlorette party to go to on Saturday and i think it would look amazing. i just can't wear the white skirt with it, since I'm afraid it might bleed.

there are also some sewing projects taking place, and that's been fun. its been almost a year since i had a working sewing machine and its great to hear that lovely sound.

so fingers crossed that the "vacation" will allow me to work on projects and post more often. but you know, i'm not making any promises.

well, i have 5 projects on needles right now, because with my seasonal insomnia comes knitting ennui.

1 pair of stockingette socks that are perfect for mindless knitting in front of the tv. sadly, i haven't been watching that much tv, ergo the socks are just sitting there taunting the cat.

the yosemite sweater progresses. body is done (FINALLY!!) all that is left is the placket and the sleeves. problem is, its now too large to take with me, so i really just need a nice weekend day to head to the park, sit under a tree and knit. maybe this weekend.

a lace sweater that is destined to be ripped back b/c my gauge swatch lied to me. this is a polite blog, so i will not repeat the words i used when i realized this.

a sweater based on the tulip baby sweater. sadly, its for someone i don't like, but its family, so i'm sort of screwed on that one.

and my current little travel project, a little lace scarf using my Malabrigo Lace Weight yarn. i wish i could find the smart card for my camera so i could post pictures of it, b/c its so beautiful and it is allowing me to regain my self-esteem when it comes to lace.

so here is the plan to deal with this glut of WIPs.

1) don't worry about the socks. there is plenty of tv to watch and they'll get done...eventually.

2) finish yosemite in the next 3 weeks. I'm going to SF on vacation over Memorial Day weekend and that sweater will be joining me, preferably finished.

3) rip out lace sweater. swear at it some more.

4) finish the baby sweater this week. i need to give it to the mom-to-be in about 10 days anyway.

5) fawn over the lace scarf and rub it against my skin as much as possible. i freaking love that stuff.

and then my project for my travels?



this yarn, made into socks.

as evidence of my utter geekdom, the colorway is called Eye of Jupiter. yes, its BSG inspired yarn. And before you say anything, let me just say something.

Bite me :)

let me explain

well, maybe just sum up.

its been quite the 6 weeks here, and while most of it is boring personal stuff (existential crisis at work which has led to a massive amount of yarn shopping), there has also been quite a bit of knitting and knitting events going on!!!

the first was the pilgrimage to go see the Yarn Harlot on her stop in NYC. as always, she is a blast to experience as she is witty and sarcastic and ever so Canadian that it makes me smile with joy.

and it was extra special b/c Glenna C came down for the book signing and stayed for the weekend. We got there late for the book signing, but the other women from my knitting circle got there early enough to get seats. And between Glenna, Melanie, and Holly, I ended up with 3 close friends all pictured on the Harlot's blog!!! That's pretty big stuff!!! Go here if you want to marvel at the awesome that is Glenna's Venezia Sweater, Melanie's first sock and Holly's 3rd project which was an Endpaper mitt (I'd been knitting for 5 years before i braved that thing!)

the stress at work led to a whole ton of "yarn shopping as Xanax". Rather than try and post all the pictures here (i did a LOT of yarn shopping), I will simply direct you to Flickr where you can survey the damage for yourself. And there has been more purchased since then. Seriously, its been a really crazy month at work.

So pictures of some FOs (I need to start a list at the side, i suspect this will be a very prolific FO year)

Here is Catherine's sweater. Catherine is the daughter of one of my oldest friends (we met the first day of University- 17 years ago!) and as befitting her Irish heritage, just had to make her a green sweater.

Here is her sweater:


and here is Catherine in her sweater smiling at her daddy.


So freakin' cute!!!

I also finished a set of mermaid gloves. here i was, all intimidated by yet another of cookie a.'s patterns, but it was simple and soothing and stunningly beautiful.

here is one glove at its midway point. the set is actually done, but i can't find my stupid camera (i know its here somewhere!!)



the first set i made was a wee bit too small. luckily they only used up one skein of shu bui sock yarn i bought. this pair will be gifted, and i will make a new pair for myself, with some minor adjustments. i really loved knitting the pattern and will have to make the socks very very soon.

i am still working on the Yosemite sweater. there was a minor setback, due to the fact that i can't read, but its been fixed and i'm almost done with the body of the sweater. i would show you my progress, but again am thwarted by the lack of camera situation.

now i'm just knitting an uncomplicated sock in some yarn. by uncomplicated, i mean its in stockinette and while a bit boring, i can knit while re-watching episodes of Battlestar Galactica (shut up! yes I'm a geek. and i love it!) and do so without making mistakes.

And finally, before I leave the house today, this must be tackled.

the remains of the Icarus Shawl

After a year of hiding it in the back of my closet, i will finally tackle the pain of frogging it (ouch) all because i was stupid and never put in a lifeline.

i have learned my lesson. i will never do lace again without a lifeline.

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER

so spring is actually on the way. i mean, tomorrow its supposed to be over 50! woot!

in celebration, I had started making this sweater:


totally cute, just enough of a challenge. sadly, the yarn I chose, while beautiful, did not display the pattern to its best advantage, so into the frog pond it went.

then yesterday, the Spring issue of Knitty was posted and oh joy! I found this sweater!


love it! its snug and lovely and the cable is a crazy easy pattern. I'll make the sleeves a bit longer.

i was a good girl and swatched and adjusted my needles, etc, etc.

and the damn swatch lied to me. I'm 5 rows in (and this thing is knit in the round, so almost 300 stitches per round) and the damn thing is big enough to fit me AND my cat!

grrr. i want a spring sweater dammit! I'm having a fairly crap week and I need some good knitting mojo!

tonight, I will frog (again), and start the smaller size with a size smaller needles.

*grump*

omg! two posts in about a week! *ducks to avoid flying pigs*

yes, I'm trying to post more than once a week. and since i finished a pair of socks this afternoon, i decided not to wait.

and here they are! really hope i'm not breaking too many RSC rules.

here are my dragon socks.



they took a long time because of the 2 business trip I had. the first sock took almost a month. the second took barely a week.

i'm thinking i'm going to wear them tomorrow b/c this winter never wants to end and i need something bright.

but just in case spring is on the way, I think i'll start on my sweater :)

oh my god, i suck at this so badly! so my pledge to update once a week pretty much went out the window the second week of the new year. blame it on the never ending cold (seriously- it was the plague) and the back to back business trips, both of which were extremely successful.

the crazy ass work thing in Vegas ended up with me and my team being awake for 43 hours straight, but hey, we won, so there! and i managed to impress some serious people big time. now i just have to parlay that success into real work mojo. we'll see how well i do at that part.

in the yarn world, i've done a few things since that post.

1) I lost the damn hat. The one that I almost cried over. Yeah, gone. My hope is that someone at the swanky restaurant saw it and went "oh, squishy and pretty!" and that it has found a good home rather than getting trampled under feet.

2) I made gloves, which it seems i forgot to take pictures of. dammit. but that will be rectified this weekend.

3) finished a sweater (finally!). no, not the lindsay sweater. i'm going to have to rip out the collar and redo it as i got a bit over-enthusiastic with the damn thing and now its basically a blanket. but i finished the Mrs Darcy sweater and it is oh so cute. pictures to come, but for a sneak preview, Glenna C. posted this picture of me wearing it when I went yarn shopping with her and Martha during my trip to Toronto.

4) Oh yeah, I went yarn shopping in Toronto. My credit card was melting. Go here to see the pretty pictures. I bought 9 balls of the Madil Desire to make this sweater from Interweave Knits, and that will start as soon as I am done with the first installment of the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club sock.

5) Yes, I got my RSC stuff, but sadly, I cannot show it to you until I am all done with the socks. The pattern is fantastic and will be used again, and while I like the color of the yarn (beautiful bright reds in honor of Lunar New Year) I'm not crazy about how the pattern is causing the color to pool. But still, they are hand knit socks and I'm convinced hand knit socks are the key to world peace.

So tonight is Monday and that is knit night. This makes me happy. Also? February is almost done and that means winter is winding down and that makes me ecstatic b/c this winter has kinda sucked for a lot of people in my life and that really pisses me off.

I'll have to start that Slyph sweater. A spring sweater in a pretty blue yarn? Says spring to me!