La deuxieme stitch

Happy Slapsgiving!

2007-11-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

If you don't already watch this show, proceed immediately to Blockbuster, Netflix or my living room and watch the whole enchilada, from the Pilot to last nights Slaptackular.

Things I love: Pincushions

2007-11-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

I am besot with pincushions.

1. three + three, 2. yet another, 3. cat pincushion, 4. bird nest 2 003, 5. Zingy!, 6. Donut Strawberry Erdbeer Pincushion, 7. red ladybird, 8. Cupcake Pincushion (bottlecap), 9. bottlecap pincushion, 10. koi pincushion, 11. custom order for fgantner, 12. Festival de alfineteiros!

They are just so adorable and small and fantastically useful! After stumbling upon the Flickr group, I discovered some great vendors of handmade pincushions:

Kup Kup makes the most fantastic scenes with them
MoJo has Poo
CrazyCakes has, well, cupcakes!

edited to add: All of those pincushions inspired me to try my hand at my own. I used Purl's tutorial...but only as a rough guide. I cut the fabric a little too small, and my pincushion is minuscule.The dog added himself for scale, but keep in mind, he's little!

What I love: Sleeping

2007-11-13T20:06:00.000-05:00

I've overslept the last two morning because my alarm has failed to come back on after hitting snooze. I'm so frustrated that I'm not waking up on time.

Saturday I slept in later than I have in..years? And we spent all day Sunday like this:

Just thinking about it makes me ready for a nap.

Things I love: Websites and Pumpkin Loaf

2007-11-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

breakfast with Stephanopoulos

Ok, so even though I'm in a new job that I'm pretty happy with, I have thoroughly enjoyed wasting my time at Working for the Man this week. I'm also a big fan of Felicia Sullivan (it was from her site I found the recipe for the pumpkin bread pictured above). Each week I download her show Writer's Revealed...so you can imagine my delight when I opened my email to learn that she used my question in her interview with Jeffrey Yamaguchi. Yeah, I'm so excited: further proof of my geek-dom.

But it paid off: I won the book!

I love that website because it's more interesting than just: here's my book, blah. It's more of an experience. Which is great for times you can't be whipping out a book (like at work) . For me, I'm always feeling this tension between wanting to spend my time with "real reading" (books) and the time spent with "less-real reading"(blogs and Slate) which is, honestly many more hours/week than I spend with any book. Book websites, no ANY website with real content or a novel approach lessens that tension a bit.

Another "experience" book-related website that I just love is Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You. Actually, any of her websites. I fell in love with Ms. July after seeing Me and You and Everyone We Know (watch out that website opens with audio).

Oh, and the pumpkin loaf, it is DI-vine. I altered it a bit (because that's how I roll) and so this is my take on it:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups white sugar (I will be using cane sugar)
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup fresh ground flax seed (it substitutes 1:1 for oil, did you know that? I didn't!)
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (actually, I might have forgotten the 1/2 cup, I got distracted)
1 cup wheat flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips (After I measured 1 cup, there was just a bit more left, so I tossed it all in...and really, it could have used even more!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (the original recipe said 3, but I found it just made 2, sort of flat, not filled to the brim loafs...next time I'm gonna make it in just one, so it has that puffy, super-full look)

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, flaxseed, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill loaf pans 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans. (I never wait this long, we dug in about 15 minutes after it came out of the oven)

Slice and eat. Or warm up and spread some cream cheese on top. Or some peanut butter. I like it for breakfast (the chocolate chips don't count due to the healthful benefits of canned pumpkin!)

Let me know if you make it!

listing

2007-10-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

After a few baseball-filled nights (yay Red Sox!) and hours of hot tea-fueled picture taking, I feel like I'm finally catching up to my goals. So much has been accomplished in the last week and so much is changing in the coming week, I have to resort to lists:

Finished: Knitting: Hub's Red Sox Socks : : writing: pattern for the Sox Socks : : posted: my handspun/handdyed yarn for sale : : reading:Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Thinking about: eating locally::new job on Monday::buying a new camera:: spinning more yarn

Learning: Microsoft 2007 Access (for new job)::bread machine recipes::Etsy

Baking: Bread, Apple pie, cobbler

Woolen inspiration

2007-10-23T19:35:00.000-04:00

Fall must surely be here, because I'm aching to knit some warm woolens. When I first flipped through the Fall 2007 IK, I was immediately smitten with yoke on Eunny's Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I love this so thoroughly. I am just smitten. It seems so different from everything else I've ever seen. I planned to knit it (when I can afford to buy the yarn) and have something so unique and original.
And then I went in Old Navy:

Certainly not the same (I like Eunny's better), but the same idea: a cable wrapped around the yoke. Seeing it in person actually gave me a clearer idea of how I could execute this myself.
And of course now I'm seeing it everywhere:

Emily unkowingly pointed me to Tulle and this fantastic number. And that cable pattern keeps popping up everywhere too. I loved it when Alicia attempted it and here it is another sweater.
And you know it's a good idea when Anthropologie jumps on the wagon:

Something very different, but seems like a similar construction (yoke knitted side to side and then attached to body), see the details here.

I definitely plan on knitting a cardigan like this sometime this winter (maybe for NaKniSweMo?)!

My trolling for clothing I can't afford also turned up these Anthro-lovelies:Ok, so I'd never wear this one, but it fascinates me.

I'm actually knitting a sweater in a similar shape, in this very shade of pale natural gray. This sweater has given me a clue as to the issue of button bands (which I never to decide until the last minute) and look at that, it's on sale!

This is probably too frilly for me, but I love the gorgeous back.

Authentic

2007-10-04T13:17:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I was with friends. Longtime friends that I can feel silly and free with. And I came to an acute realization which has unleashed a barrage of self-inspection/self-discovery this week:

I have, for these past 7 years, considered myself one in a quartet. Met freshman year, in the dorms and lived together for the 4 of college. Roommate Trip every summer. Sometimes I can’t remember why we’re friends and other times I ache at the distance between us. And while we don’t talk often, I still feel part of the larger whole of “roommates”.

After spending the weekend with 2 of my quartet, a weekend in which I noticed all of our dissimilarities and felt acutely out of place…in the car my dear friend pierced me with her observation, “You know, Tara, we’re not surprised, because you’ve always been…different from the 3 of us. It’s a matter of priorities, and we all know that you’ve made…different…decisions”. It was said with such kindness and genuine acceptance that I suddenly felt…free.

I am different.

For years we’ve all chalked it up to Hub; my honest and involving courtship and subsequent marriage as the others went through crushes, boyfriends, elopements and breakups. But the truth is, I’m just different, with or without the Hub.

I’m committed to in season and organic food when I can find it. I unwind with knitting or baking. I fantasize about having children on a farm with some sheep, fresh eggs and a my own studio. I do not care for shoes or bags or sunglasses, any more than that they must be cute and feel good. I love being frugal.

It’s somewhat disconcerting to no longer feel part of that quartet, to know that I really never was; but also honest and authentic.

Autumnal lunch

2007-09-18T22:21:00.000-04:00

With 2 tests and a presentation this week, I'm barely beyond simple syllabals and simpler thought; the following written in my journal during my outdoor lunch break:

Sun shining on my face, crafty podcast in my ears
i reread my paper (due tonight)
Study a bit (also tonight)
took out my knitting (hub's sock)
A bee landed on my hand, walked the length from pinky to wrist, felt like kitty whiskers
(Kerouac says Metaphors are odious)
I swish my hand & the bee ascended.
Sunlight on my face,
Moves oh-so-slowly until leafy shade protects me
A gust blows a few leaves into a quiet celebratory descent.
One falls on my plate, meets my sweet potatoes
Golden soft potatoes and crunchy brown leaf.

Lists

2007-09-16T18:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of my Autumn:

We slept with the windows open, awoke with a chilled nose and the quilts piled high.

Read Kerouac's Dharma Bums, ate eggs and homemade toast, felt like being out-of-doors.

Piled Hub and Pup in car and drove all over green mountains.

Stopped in the Cherokee National Forest and ran around, drank water from the stream, layed in the sun.

I'm starting my to-do-in Autumn list (and marked nearly everything off my To-Do-in summer list!)

Make apple pies

Make homemade bread every week

Eat more butternut squash, sweet potatos, everything seasonal at Farmer's Market

Replant herb garden and bring inside before it frosts.

Plant tulip bulbs.

Buy a new camera (mine broke last weekend, thus the lack of posting and the end of my picture-a-day plan)

Knit a sweater in season! (I'm just finishing up a top that would be great if it was still 90+)

Finish embroidering and sewing my kitchen curtains.

I have more things to add, constantly inspired by all others who are making lists.

And this, 101 things in 1001 days, has to be the list to end all lists.

Weird

2007-08-30T21:36:00.001-04:00

This has been an exceedingly weird week.
On Tuesday night, I had my first class in 3 years. I have a BA in French from a charming, enveloping Christian college. This class was a state school. A business class. Quite jarring. Halfway through, however, my heart swelled at the site of the syllabus, the desks, the whiteboard. I'm back, baby! Right where I belong, in a desk, soaking it all in.
On Wednesday morning, when I arrived at work, everything was dark. No Internet, no power, no boss. When she arrived, the VP of the College of Med decided we had the day off, with pay (yay!). I spent the morning at the Farmer's Market (blackberries!), the thrift store and the coffee shop. That afternoon they cancelled work on Thursday as well.
Today, right after I brewed my first cup of coffee, listening to a new CD, the power went off. Seems something on our block is down and we were without power, at home, all day.

No phone, no Internet, no TV, no microwave.

I ate tomatoes that I grew with the cucumbers from yesterday's Farmer's Market with a splash of vinegar. Still starving, I polished off the blueberries with a dollop of yogurt.

Thrilled, at first, to be eating so fresh, it soon occured to me that all that was left to eat was cheese, chips and salsa.

Luckily I just bought a bag of charcoal, so we had a frozen pizza, cooked on the grill. It tasted exclusively of charcoal, which still lingers in my mouth. I spent the day cleaning, reading and napping.
The silence was amazing and calming. This evening, sitting in the computer lab at school (after my second class), I'm a bit annoyed at the kid next to me who won't stop giggling but I feel rested and renewed and...aligned, for the first time since moving....

(That's me under the blanket and animals)

Stashing

2007-08-22T11:18:00.000-04:00

Inspired by all the really organized knitters out there, I been updating and improving my yarn spreadsheet and my Ravelry stash. Lately I've been fighting back some crazy yarn-buying urges as my creative ideas have been bubbling, but I feel I lack the materials to render them properly. The spreadsheet gives me a clear overview of what I have when creativity strikes and seeing it all laid bare helps to squelch the yarn lust.

Although, in some cases, I really don't have (and can't afford) what I need and this is immanently frustrating! Now that I sew and embroider more, I find this frustration unique to a creative endeavor in knitting. With many of the 'fine arts', an inspiration, idea, sketch and the finished item (painting, sculpture, etc) can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. But knitting takes longer and is more dependant on specific tools and supplies. Lately I've been overwhelmed with various ideas and despite the fact that I sketch them and record them, there's always a lag before I can put needle to yarn and actually render my creation. I need measurements (both myself and my swatch) and then the actual knitting, which for a full length, long-sleeved sweater can take months. I make most of my "creative" decisions while I'm actually knitting, so I very rarely get exactly what I sketched. I'm right in the middle of knitting one such top and while I'm really loving how it's coming out, I'm feeling the drag of time, as thousands of other possibilities keep popping up.

This is the appeal of the 1-skein project. Just one skein of yarn to wrangle and nearly instant gratification. When I listened to Stash & Burn last night and they mentioned their 1-skein contest, I decided it was a perfect way to get started on Christmas gifts and clean up some of those single skeins in my stash. Every year I say I'm just going to make one thing for everyone and be done with it, but then I get sidetracked by pretty patterns and new yarn and never make anything easy or thrifty. I'm hoping that if I start NOW and just knit some things out of yarn I have, I'll end up giving them away when the time comes. We'll see.
The projects I'm considering:
Fetching
Hats, lots of hats
Kolenya
Endpaper mitts (I don't have the yarn for this yet....)
Hemlock Ring Blanket (more than one skein, but this would be a great, quick Christmas gift)
And a few Market-ish Bags

5 things I learned this weekend

2007-08-20T12:21:00.000-04:00

...in no particular order:

It is really hard to get a good sandwhich is JC, especially after 9pm (even on a Saturday!) Luckily Fox's is open past 10pm. Oh! and ice cream! We really need an ice cream shop! Don't talk to me about Dairy Queen or Marble Slab. We need Ben & Jerry's, Baskin Robbins or a small family-owned, ice-cream-made-fresh-daily place (like Clumpies)
Seeing the World Series trophy is cooler than this non-baseball fan thought
Extra innings during a minor league game is a great oppurtunity to knit Red Sox-inspired socks.
Watching Stardust is not (see those dropped stitches? It was a great movie!)
Embarrassing two-parter:

Gene Simmons isn't so scary (or sexy!)
Given the right levels of hormones, exhaustion and boredom, I can be entertained by watching hours of his reality TV show.

Cake for breakfast (and dinner)

2007-08-17T13:56:00.000-04:00

I've never been a fan of the self-portrait. There, I said it.

They often feel self-congratulatory, self-important, self-conscious.
This opinion started to shift while reading The Yellow House, the story of the time Van Gogh and Gauguin spent together in a yellow house in the south of France. In their correspondence they traded self-portraits, as a way to explicate their self-perceptions. Both were self-important and self-conscience, but fully human in their insecurities. I found it particularly amusing that Gauguin framed himself as Jean Valjean, the struggling good guy/criminal in Les Miserables.
This was interesting, but not forefront in my mind until I washed my hands in the bathroom of my favorite Mexican restaurant. I was faced a Frido Kahlo self-portrait where the mirror should be. There she was, looking back at me, instead of myself. I wondered if she could have imagined herself hanging in the bathroom of a cheap Mexican restaurant in Eastern Tennessee? Just like me, not expecting to find myself here, looking like this, doing this.

I take pictures every day of the things I find beautiful and real and in-this-moment only. This collision of historical self-portraits gave me pause: How would a self-portrait reflect this search for reality and beauty? Isn't my youth, my in-this-moment me real and beautifully fleeting?
So when I got home and cut myself a piece of anniversary-cake, I set the camera down with the timer on and let it go. I normally don't alter my pictures at all (I'm going for reality here) but since I wanted the self-portraits to reflect my perception of the moment I've messed with the colors a bit to reflect the nostalgia I was feeling.

Warm sun, through the broken blinds.
Home from work, changed into jeans, took off button-down,
left in tank top.
Listening to This American Life.
Thinking about MY American Life as I wash the dishes.
Anniversary-cake to celebrate:
clean kitchen, washed dishes
3 years
life.

And today, I feel like this:

A comic book archetype of Office Worker Slacker, who blogs instead of working, who takes Casual Friday too far in her favorite worn t-shirt when the boss is out, who rolls her eyes and snaps a picture while her coworkers bore her.

Planner

2007-08-16T17:11:00.001-04:00

I've always loved to plan. Whether it was organizing my beads by project as a 10-year old, updating my to-read list at 15 or the ever-growing constant-companion to-do list that sits next to my computer today: I like to plan.
However, I'm not one of those 'together' people. And I love waking up on a Saturday morning and doing whatever pops into my head. I've tried living more like this, more 'carpe diem', but the truth is: I like to have a plan. When I don't, I can be overwhelmed with fears that I'm going to get stuck here, in what I'm doing now. I've been trying to just 'flow with it', but the time's come to make a decision.
Starting this month, I can take 3 classes a semester for free. Whatever I want. Completely free. Degree-seeking or not.
And while this is exciting and great....I need a plan. I don't intend to stay at this job (or in this town) forever and I want to make sure I use this free education in the best way possible.
And that's where I'm stuck. With a BA in French, despite lots of small-business management experience, I'm just not that hire-able. And when the rent check is due, I want to be hire-able, more than I want to take classes that are fun.

I've always wanted to have my own small business, so an MBA is the most sensible option, so that's what I'm most strongly considering (except oh! how I'd love to get a MFA in Fiber Arts!) Not only (in theory), will it prepare me for my dream job, but in the in-between time; between now and the day in the future when I own my shop, it makes me more hire-able.

So this is where my chart comes in.

It shows how much longer Hub will be in school (ie. how much longer I MUST stay full-time at this job) and I've charted my different options...how long each will take me.

What's freaking me out is that according to my numbers, even if I start as soon as possible (January)...I would be in school until...2012. Shortly before my 30th birthday.
So now, I see the cracks in my plan...do I want it the MBA this bad? Bad enough to dedicate the next 4 years of my life to it? Enough to spend the rest of my 20s working towards it?
If the question was: do I want the shop this bad, the answer is a resounding 'Yes!'...but an MBA hardly guarantees a successful business. For that matter, would it even help? Or just waste my time?

I've looked into some of the funner options; unfortunately, the school doesn't have anything near a writing program (English majors only study literature and criticism; only one Creative Writing class in the catalog!) and I can't get an MFA unless I have a BFA, which means getting another bachelor's degree that doesn't so much help with that hire-ability I'm worried about.

In making these plans, trying to sort out my options, I have to just accept: not everything can be planned. And then I need to pick myself up and plan the life I want while enjoying the life I have.

Doc.u.menting

2007-08-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today's my third anniversary and I'm feeling appropriately reflective (and grateful). This past year, since moving to the South, the birthplace of my darling, I've become increasingly introspective. Our move and the subsequent emotional, financial and marital stress overwhelmed me in a way I haven't been overwhelmed in my adult life. I began to doubt my resilience and ability and path in life. During this dark period, however, I began to notice the small things, the beauty in creation. This lead to an obsession with capturing these glimpses of the divine, in photography and in words.

This weekend one of my college roomates visited and we had a riotous time; driving, eating, laughing. We ruminated on the goodness, the comfort of our company, on simply being with someone who didn't require explanations, who didn't question our self-definitions. On Sunday we met another of the roomates for pizza and we spilled out the things I've tried desperately to hold on to. The quiet desperation, the fear that this is it.
I've called it my quarter-life crisis and have reassured myself that it is good to be questioning and digging and really trying to figure it all out now, before responsibilities and routine settle around me. Talking with L confirmed this and bolstered me.

With all this swirling in sub-consicous, I stumbled upon Doc.u.menting, another 20-something that so clearly verbalizes our struggle. It's with glee that I find that I'm not the only one trying to avoid that mid-life crisis by waiting to make a "career" until I figure myself out, and that I'm not alone in documenting the minutiae of my life as it is: imperfect, confused, searching.
As Mae Jane says:

Our quarter-life crisis stems around the fact that we want to become our REAL selves, but are trapped by obstacles and ground-shaking issues that the outside world imposes on us. We're just not sure, we're not ready to settle down yet, and we want to live a little more before we miss the chance-- before we become like the other sad saps that "should of could of would of" in life.

This "living a little" means something a little more...sedate for me than for most 20-somethings, I think. I'm not partying, sewing wild oats or meeting crazy new people (although I'm open to that!). Instead I need to live richly, fully, expressively: exploring the small beauties, stretching my creativity, figuring out relationships, asking the hard questions of myself.
The first up: what am I doing?

Welcome August

2007-08-07T12:05:00.000-04:00

After spending the weekend working a conference and getting up at 4:30 each morning, Monday I decided to treat myself by going to my favorite coffee shop, getting a latte (splurge!) and a muffin. As I walked from my car to the office door, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that this is august. The thick air, sticky with the scent of freshly-mowed grass. The sound of birds and lawnmowers. The sight of trees heavy with leaves. I glanced down at the sidewalk and there was one perfect leaf streaked gold and auburn. The first autumnal leaf, so out of place on this decidedly summer day.
July creaked by, with oppressive heat and afternoon thunder storms but I feel (for the first time since Junior High) that I am really absorbing this summer:

California trees and skies and waves

Saturday mornings at the farmer's market, relishing the color.

Homemade salsa, using the above ingredients

Riding around with the pup

Going to Baseball games

I've found that the blogging world is relishing the palettes and palates of the summer as well.
A few of my favorites:
Sheri's farm shots
Anna Maria's palette cleanser
Alicia's Astoria
Toni's Vintage-ish shots
Blair's summer lunches
Jane's French vacation

The combination of the above has my head swirling with colors, both muted and bright, of the summer. This summer feels like a time of absorption with the vaguest hint of inspiration...

The heart of obsession

2007-07-27T15:58:00.001-04:00

Hub asked me, during my fog of reading, researching, practicing, thinking, talking design ideas; "what's with embroidery all of a sudden?"
And at first, I just didn't know. I blamed the library (with that big pretty book right there speaking to me!) and my odd knitting-mood (not too happy with any current project). But his question got me thinking more about it and my crafting in general.
I think the real appeal of this is it's infinitely use-able and practical. Pillowcases, skirts...we all need those! As much as I conceive of fantastical non-usable fiber art, the truth is I keep returning to creating things I know I'll use. Part of it is my limited budget, I'd feel wasteful to spend money on supplies "for fun". Part of it is the fun of re-creating something that seemed to outlive its usefulness; to use something old instead of buying something new. Thus the embroidery on the old skirt pictured in this post.
But more than that, I want to create beauty in the "real" world. I love art and I dream of a life creating beauty just for beauty's sake. But I wonder if those devoted to ART and the creation of things that hang in galleries forget that our daily life is full of beauty.

The obvious, like the butterfly I captured on my car last week...but also the mundane: catching my husband humming a song from my favorite musical, my first cup of coffee as I swirl in the cream, the head-butt from a cat that wants to be petted, a handmade blanket to snuggle under on rainy nights. When I get going on this train of thought...I realize what I'm appreciating is..the domestic arts. I spent the majority of my young life escaping reality in the cradle of books, imaging I'd spend my life in academia, surrounded by the cognoscenti and literati, eschewing thoughts of making a home, creating a family. So this recent free fall feels like...waking up. Looking around at the reality of the world, it's beauty and pain and potential, I'm truly seeing it all for the first time. And pondering my place in it all, how exactly to add beauty, while still living in the reality of it...
I guess I just want to spend my time, energy, creativity to making our life, right now, beautiful. To filling it with creations that I can look at every day, that we can use to build a more beautiful life.

And thus ends our philosophical portion of the evening, onto the reality...If you want to get started in embroidery, the following links helped get me stitchin':
Great tutorials, starting with, well, getting started
The french knot design I used on the skirt was inspired by the Purl Bee's Pillows
Craftster thread on embroidery provided a bunch of inspiration this week
My interest in embroidery was piqued by Wee Wonderful's Stitchettes
The Flickr group provides continuied inspiration

Not my fault

2007-07-24T22:26:00.001-04:00

That's right, I'm blaming the library.
Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching was sitting on the "New Books" shelf and man, I should've seen it coming. 1 day later I was smitten, staying up all until all hours, thinking, dreaming of embroidery designs, planning new projects.
Before I had made a stitch.
The next day, I did, in fact, make a stitch.
Several in fact:

I made this little sketch as I practiced each of the new stitches. A little patch of flowers, a rain cloud and some stars.
I was so anxious to start I didn't even wait to find embroidery floss, I just used some laceweight Zephyr wool/silk yarn I dyed a few weeks ago. Oh, and that canvas is a vintage tea towel that has a really ridiculous embroidered design on the "front"...I never was going to do anything with it, so I flipped it around (using the blank half) to practice on.
The next day I immediately started on a bigger project, altering a linen skirt I hardly wear (I actually conceived of this project weeks ago, before the embroidery bug bit me), again using laceweigh wool/silk yarn (this time in white)
I chopped off about 2 inches.
I blanket stitched the edges.
Crocheted a lace edging.
and created an abstract design using the yarn and the embroidery floss I finally bought (in cream).

I had a finished skirt in less than a week, started on Friday, finished on Tuesday, wore it on Thursday!
Pictures of it on me tomorrow!

Song of the summer

2007-07-24T17:27:00.000-04:00

This song has been in my head since I heard it last April on All Songs Considered...I haven't been able to remember the artist or song name...but every once in a while I get a bit of it on the radio (KCRW stream). Thanks to Floresita, I found it again!
Horrah!

Home Sick

2007-07-13T15:48:00.000-04:00

Upon returning from sunny southern California, I contracted some sort of cough/flu/cold thing that has kept me coughing and unsleeping and sleepy for the last week. I took Monday as a sick day and was told to leave early yesterday and not return today (my office is germ-phobic!).
So I've been thinking and reading and knitting and thinking summery thoughts:

reading: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver::The Yellow House by Martin Gayford

listening: The Decemberists (specifically 'Oh! Valencia', which you can hear for free on their website)::This American Life::NPR's All Songs Considered

knitting: Mystery Stole 3

celebrating: signing my full-time contract after one year of living here!

admiring: this bookshelf(the color, the placement!)::this cafe (the globes! the floor!):: this wall

looking forward to: tomorrow's farmer's market::The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Transitory

2007-06-29T13:51:00.000-04:00

Sunrise

Sunset

Today is a transitory day, between one trip (for work, in the mountains of VA) and another (for family, at the beach in SoCal). I should be doing laundry, cleaning toilets, packing. Instead, I'm transferring hundreds of pictures from my camera to the computer, trying to find the thread to weave it all together.

I can't.

My brain is travel-fried (like diner over-easy eggs), so today I'll catch up on my photoblog and share a few of my favorites here:

Porch at Wintergreen

Andre, deep in thought

Brothers with Beau

Have I mentioned that Hub got me a dog for my b-day? I looked over my archives and can't see that I've ever mentioned him...but here he is:

Beauregard Farnsworth Swiger (say it in a snooty voice!)

He's a rescue pup; we think part Basset Hound and Beagle.Have a lovely weekend and week, friends!
I think I'm over my self-imposed technology fast and should be back to regular blogging when I return from Cali. While you wait with bated breath, go say hi to my new friend Jillbe, who organized the conference I just returned from.

KIP roundup

2007-06-19T17:14:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, I've spent so much time at Ravelry, I darn near feel like I've already blogged this.
I have to do this every once in a while, round-up all my knits and decide what's staying and what's being pushed back into the closet. I always tend to get this ennui about my knitting in the summer months and vacillate between casting on new projects, finishing old ones and just generally being wishy-washy. This results in very little getting done. Thus summer my knit-ennui combined with my crochet passion has resulted in very little knitwear but plenty of useless granny squares and many rows on the never-ending ripple blanket.
Despite all this, out of the blue, I picked up the Shetland Triangle and took off in a whirlwind of rekindled passion:

I believe it'll be a gift for my darling step-mother, who initiated my coming trip to visit her and my father and helped us bridge this weird-family-weirdness we've been mired in.
I expect it'll be finished in the next week! (after only 9 months on the needles...)

Realizing that the Dulaan deadline is drawing near, I cast on for a Baby Surprise sweater

More details when it's finished.

I have three socks-in-waiting:

Hub's Red Sox Socks, lost a US0 and put it aside (socks this big are BORING!) but just initiated trade on the Knittyboard for some replacement needles.

Mom's Wool in the Woods sock. Finished one and am just not in the mood for a second. The pair will probably be a Christmas gift, so I've got the time!

Kneehighs in Scout's Swag...realized I would run out of sock yarn and stopped short...I got some KnitPicks gloss for toe and heel...I could do them toe-up and would have enough, but I just can't decide...maybe I'll make Monkeys or Sidewinders instead?

I've really been craving a big sweater project, but all contenders have been defeated. Maybe I'll just make it a lace shawl summer and return to sweaters in the fall...

Long time, lots of crochet

2007-06-15T22:11:00.000-04:00

Crochet is taking over my home. In the month since I last blogged, I've been drawn to crochet the same way I first was to knitting; I find myself searching for patterns, trying new stitch patterns, scouring forums for more information! Crochet is definately harder to find good info on than knitting was, but all the same I've managed to work on the following:
Ripple blanket:

Sweet Pea Shawl, init in 12 days for a Mother's Day gift:

US9 hook, handpainted cotton/wool yarn bought at Woolgathering 2 years ago.
Pattern: Sweet Pea Shawl from SNB: The Happy Hooker

Beach bag for Grams (another last minute Mother's day gift):

Mystery cotton-ish yarn, 2 balls
My own pattern, will write up soon, because I LOVE it and need to make thousands more, for myself!

Granny Squares (currently functioning as coasters):

From my handspun yarn, using the Babette square pattern from IK crochet.
And lots of little flower pins (like the one in the first picture) with vintage buttons in the center, been selling at local farmers market. And little bits of jewelry (nothing at hand to photograph).
My knitting has been in fits and starts, lots of new pattern ideas, but the yarns I have aren't matching up to the designs in my head...and I can't afford to buy new yarn...so I'm just working with what I have, clearing out some old projects, letting these new ideas percolate.
Tomorrow: a knits-in-progress round-up.

Away

2007-04-26T14:56:00.000-04:00

I've been avoiding the computer more and more in my off hours. Not sure if it's that I'm technologically overloaded at work, or that, now that we keep my little brothers 3 nights a week, I'm simply too busy feeding and cleaning up after others. The little bit of time I have to relax, I'm spending crocheting on my ripple, snapping pictures , falling asleep at 10pm (!) or reading.
Yes, reading, real books! For the first time since moving (and leaving my fantastic multiple-branch library), I've really started reading again, mostly non-fiction. I'm searching for some summer novels; suggestions are welcome.
Today I've been really pondering a new word I just learned: zakka. Here's an article about it. I wonder if this zakka-fad is a reaction to the handmade/crafting movement. It's like giving non-crafters the same feeling crafters get when they make something special and full of meaning for themselves, right? Any thoughts?
My lack of blogging was causing guilt pangs, but to get over some life-related guilt/stress/fear, I'm seeking a more centered/ in-the-moment approach to my free time. Taking pictures and writing in my journal is keeping me present, but blogging, though not much more than that, feels like a chore. So for now (and I don't know for how long) I'm relegating the blog to when-I-feel-like-it time. No promises of pictures of every completed object, no running commentary of crafting and designing...I'm not going away, I'm just...freeing myself from the sense of obligation. I'll still be posting my picture-a-day here.
Have a happy Thursday!

French Press Cozy

2007-04-19T23:23:00.001-04:00

Morning French Press, mug and sock

When I was digging around in the yarn jar (where I keep leftover bits and bobs of yarn), I came accross the Malabrigo left over from this sweater. I had just a small little ball left, and as I sat there fondling it, I happened to glance at my cold French Press.

Clearly, it wasn't cozy enough! I love how the yarn matches my red kitchen, but still adds a kick of pinky brightness!

Little bits of yarn, stolen knitting time and vintage buttons from the stash and i had a warm coffee pot!

This is all that was left after crocheting the button loops!

Here's more information about French Press Coffee. I find it to be much richer and coffee-er than drip coffee as the water and coffee actually hang out together before you push (plunge, really) the beans to the bottom. This gives the coffee more caffeine (yay!) but also more oils (boo!) and is the method Starbucks encourages employees and customers to use to enjoy their coffees.

Saddened

2007-04-18T19:12:00.000-04:00

I recently learned that two of my dear, sweet friends lost the baby they were eagerly anticipating. I was overwhelmed at hearing of their lost and the ensuing medical procedures she's had to (and continues to) go through.
I feel the desperate urge to reach out in a physical way and don't know where to begin. If they were nearby, I'd hug them, long and hard; I'd hold their hands in waiting rooms; bake cookies; sit in our donut shop quietly.
But they are over 400 miles away and I yearn for a way to connect, more than awkward phone conversations or emails.
So I turn to you, fellow crafters, knitters, women: what can I do? What could possibly convey my sentiments?
Thank you for any ideas, and for keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.

Ripple Watch: Day 74

2007-04-15T17:38:00.000-04:00

I continue to love my ripple, but, frankly, it's a bit dull to blog. I manage a row a night, during The Daily Show, unless my little brothers are over and then I get in a row during SpongeBob.

It's nice and long now, plenty to drape over my lap while I sit cross-legged on the couch. Even though it needs to be at least 6 inches longer before I could consider it complete, I've been using it for some time now, just to drape over my feet. It feels like little visible progress has been made, but compared to 4/2's picture, I guess it has!

Red Sox Luck

2007-04-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

I should have known.
Naming a project after a team known for it's bad luck and close calls is just asking for trouble! Even though the Red Sox won last night, our house had a moment of mourning: Hub's Red Sox Socks weren't ready to wear for opening day.
In fact, the first sock was zipping along:

into the cuff when we decided to try it on Hub's foot. Unlike my lady-like feet, the circumference of his foot increases by a full 2 inches as it moves into his ankle, nearly 2 inches before the heel starts! I wasn't anticipating this, as I'm anke-less and the top of my foot is perfectly flat until my leg begins.

See that knitting needle sticking in the fabric?

That is the point that the sock goes from snugly fitting to evil strangulation.

Which means, this is the point that I had to rip back to.

*sigh*

Yesterday was a day of bad news; knitting, financial, and otherwise. At least in knitting, unlike life, I can rip back and make it right, make it good for those I love, and give myself that few more inches of knitting pleasure.

exhausted success

2007-04-09T11:04:00.000-04:00

After a week that contained 4 nights and 5 days of little brother-watching/playing, I'm spent.
The time I spend with the boys (6 and 8) is both exhilarating and exhausting. I love being a part of their lives and sharing my loves with them (easter egg dyeing and my night at the gallery), but most days it felt like I was spending all my time preparing meals, convincing them to eat the meals, or cleaning up the remains of our meals.
The highlight of our long weekend was definitely the night at the gallery. Hub kept them most of the night, although they did visit long enough to snap some pictures of the sculptures on display and to give their insights into the meaning or mood of a piece.
My spinning demonstration was quite a bit of fun, despite my feeling very self-conscious when onlookers stood too close and stared with glazed-over fascination at my hands and feet. One 6 year old boy was so enchanted, I offered him my seat and let him "peddle" while I fed the wool...not such a good idea, given he decided he would spin all of my wool. Another 30 minutes of me standing awkwardly while he "peddled" furiously as his grandparents looked on.
My Fiber Whimsies (above) were a hit, in theory (ie. no one bought any, but plenty gushed). It's still really weird to be in this space...techinicall a part of the art supply store, but in space identical to the gallery spaces...people mostly don't know what to make of it: is it art? do people knit with this? Why do you spend so much time making yarn to make...what do you make with all this?
I'm somewhat glad to be here, to raise the public's consciousness of fiber art, but at the same time, I'm sick of the questions! They didn't ask the guy (Hub's cousin, actually) who carved the vaguely penile statue (called: Innuendo) why he spent time on that, so what's with the double standard? I understand the confusion... people (especially in Appalachia, where fiber arts where prevelant in the home life of many) aren't used to thinking of fabric (woven, knit or crochet) as art, it's simply utility.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T20:13:00.001-04:00

Dip Dyeing, originally uploaded by Tara.

Little brothers have spent 4 of the past 5 nights with us, as Mom had to work. Some days they drained me, today they're handiwork inspired me!

Taking over the coffee table

2007-04-06T13:20:00.001-04:00

My "studio", aka The Coffee Table

Getting ready for tonight's First Friday event at the Nelson Fine Art gallery. I'm adding a new product to my space there: Fiber Whimsies. The above is a shot of my coffee table this morning as I sipped tea, cut out cards, wrapped fibers and strung buttons.

I am completely in love with these little packets of artistic goodnes, but they take a LOT of time to produce. However, that only adds to their whimsy and makes them more valuable to the artists who will incorporate it into their work ...I like to think that it adds another layer of meaning to the final piece and creates a connection between the community of artists and of work.
Since selling my yarn at Artopia (the adjoining art supply shop), I've really started to look at yarn and fiber in a different light. It isn't just a tool nor is it just a pretty thing to collect (although it certainly is that)...it can be a layer of the finished piece. Choosing one yarn over another doesn't just change the drape or guage, it changes the meaning and personal value of the final piece. This change occurs when you choose an organic fiber over a petroleum product, making your piece a statement of your beliefs. But it also affects your work in smaller ways: when you use a skein you bought with your friends at a fiber festival, or one from your grandmother's stash.

This interaction between yarn maker and knitter/crocheter/weaver is what appeals to me about the history and culture of crafting. I could spin or dye yarn for myself, but I would miss out on seeing my yarn become a part of something bigger, something beyond what I could imagine. In this way, I'm joining in, becoming part of the culture and contributing to it.

And if your in East Tennessee, come see me tonight, between 7-9pm, as I share our culture with the masses and give a spinning demonstration at the Nelson Fine Art Gallery.

In a whimsical, eclectic name

2007-04-04T16:54:00.000-04:00

Ok, friends, I need some help! I'm creating a product for Artopia (the local art supply shop) that makes my yarns appealing to mixed media artists. Each package is a unique blend of hand-selected fibers and will include a myriad ofhandspun/handpainted or recycled yarn/fiber. Hub designed the packaging and but now I'm stuck on what to name it!
The working name was Eclectic Fibers...but now I'm not so sure about...
I've gone through an assortment of ideas, and I particularly like the words:

Whimsy, whimsical
fanciful
Eclectic
string, fiber, yarn

The label name (for all my handspun, handdyed yarn) is Blonde Chicken Boutique and we primarily use organic, fair trade and recycled materials...so incorporating that would be good, as well.
Any suggestions?

To generate some responses, I'll send one of these packs to anyone who suggests a name, either in the comments or via email (taraswigerATgmailDOTcom)...the winner will be the one who nominates the name I use, or if there are multiple winners, I'll chose randomly.
Thanks!

Belated -versary

2007-04-02T19:30:00.000-04:00

Wendy's recent Blogiversary just reminded me of my own...I completely missed it: March 13!
To celebrate, belatedly, (which is really the only way I do it, just ask friends and family), I'd like to recap, for my own records, all the crafts I've picked up since starting this lil ole knitting blog:
Dyeing:
My first post was about my first dyeing experiment, and I'm still doing it (professionally, some might say). Here I've dyed the fiber, spun it and plied it (bigger pictures on flickr.)
Spinning:

I started spinning last March, but have only gotten regular (and better!) in the last month or so.

Crochet:

Andre insisted on jumping in this picture of my ripple blanket.

Happy April!

Color Theory

2007-03-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

I have been very inspired by the various color going-ons around blogland lately.

Project Spectrum, of course.
The Ripple-along and Granny-along have inspired me to look into color combos I normally wouldn't consider.
Speaking of blankets,Mitered Blankets are always an inspiration, but Cara's has me panting!
Which led me to Ruth's great tutorial on making a color pallette from a picture (and check out the Patterns in Nature!).

And that very neatly brings me to a project I've had rolling around for quite a while. As you might have noticed from my daily photos, I've gotten kind of obsessed with branches and the patterns they make against the sky. At the same, I've been swatching some unusual yarn. This started me mulling over the ways to recreate the branch-on-sky affect in knitting. There is, of course, lace. But I wanted something more...literal, I guess and hemp yarn fits the bill. I want to recreate some of my favorite photographs and display the photo and the fiber art side by side.
At first I imagined knitting the shape of trees and branches out of the hemp and imposing it on a painted canvas, but that seems too flat and frankly, I'm not that comfortable with paint. I've also considered handmade paper collages and/or dyeing fabric for the background. It wasn't until last night, while flipping through my mom's Freeform Knitting and Crochet that the most obvious answer appeared: I could knit the background! And not in St st, but in the bumpy, nubbly texture of freeform: combining knitting and crochet and a variety of yarns to get the softly shifting colors of the sky.
This is where the photo-editing software really comes in handy.
I took the above photo and applied a mosaic filter in Photoshop and ended up with this:

A pretty good guideline for the knitting.
And then I used the tutorial to pull out the colors for the palette:Which I arranged vertically the way the photo is. In other words, the colors in the bottom third of the photo are in the bottom third of the palette, etc.
Now (I think) I'm going to find, dye or spin yarns to match my palette and get started on the background.

Around town

2007-03-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

New interview on CAC, with Cara from January One.
I love the new project/blog Street: every other week a new street name is posted and anyone can take a picture of that street in their town. Check out my Wilson Street!

Went for a walk this afternoon with Hub and saw the town in a new light...I officially love Spring!

Happy Tuesday!

This weekend

2007-03-23T13:40:00.002-04:00

In the next three days, I'll be:

driving to my mom's
packing mom up, into a Uhaul
Driving home tomorrow
Spinning some more of this
Knitting in the car

A little more

2007-03-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about why I like that quote from Alicia below and it all really jelled while in the car listening to these lyrics by Death Cab for Cutie
I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here

This song is full of imagery I love, but what is so relevant for me right now: the concept of soul (or mind) versus body (the physical world). What struck me today (for the first time) is that the song's versus mimic this dichotomy...The writer wants to find the balance and describes the joys of the physical (feeling sun and water) because he's been living in his head, with his thoughts.
This conundrum has been on the fringes of my thoughts ever since reading With Roots in Heaven...the idea of joining (or folding up, as Alicia said) the disparate parts of my life: my childhood (full of visceral joys and pains) with my adulthood (full of thoughts, questions, dreams, spiritual/mental/self-searching); the things I enjoy most in life are divided between the physical work of my hands (knitting, spinning) and the mental acrobatics (writing, reading, studying, learning).
Usually this dichotomy is manageable but lately I've been drowning it. The epicenter is this one huge question: What do I really want to do? I studied French, dreaming of being a professor (mind) but after 2 years of running (in the stead of the owner) a pottery studio (body), I was smitten with owning my own business. So now...now...I either need to go back to school to be a prof and live in the world of thoughts and ideas or I need to commit to the business idea and even a creative business is firmly rooted in the physical world (profit, loss, customers).
I've been living in this awkward, painful place of the unknown, of the in-between...reading, studying, thinking, planning, selling handspun, handpainted yarn in an art studio...and sometimes it's just so overwhelming, to go to work 8-5 and come home and dye and spin yarn and knit and still have time to read the books I want to read, the study the subjects I want to learn more about. I struggle under the weight of my own expectations (this much yarn in shop, this much good work at the real job, this due date, etc). Although I sometimes fear I'll be crushed...I really belive it's worth it, to try to balance the two, to fold up my life into something I understand, to live where soul meets body.

Interview with Posie

2007-03-21T21:14:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to point out my recent interview with Alicia from Posie. She was a delightful interview and I really enjoyed her answers. My favorite line: "I try to connect the past and the present, and the old places with the new through my work, I think. They feel so disconnected to me, so I'm always trying to fold things up and make them touch corners."
The metaphor, of folding up our past and present, it's been haunting me since I read it...

Snippets on a sweater

2007-03-16T16:54:00.000-04:00

I haven't had time for a proper photoshoot or to collect the details yet...but I couldnt resist capturing a few shots of the sweater at work.
Now, to fully appreciate my deviance, you have to keep in mind that these were snapped in a room full of people...there are 3 other desks in my office:Over my shoulder, if I'm sitting at the PC (that's the back of a computer you're looking at) is an older, grumpy woman...I snapped this while she was at the copier). You can also see the collar detail, where the big braided cable goes into a cable and rib.
If I turn the laptop at a 45 degree angle you can see the other two deskes: for our grad assistant and the database specialist, she might get a kick out of my snapping pictures, but well, everyone here thinks I'm weird enough as is...so I keep it my self!

Directly over the top of Macbook: my bosses door! (she was gone for the day when I took this...but was standing right on the other side of my desk when I snapped this:

A great shot of the cuff, which I am unreasonably proud of! I knitted it on after I finished the sweater and it came out exactly as I wanted. This sweater is, officially, my most favorite thing I've ever knitted. It is imminently wearable; with a polo and jeans (like today) or with a button down, slacks and heels (on Tuesday). There are so many details that I love about it: the way the braid flows out of the cable rib, the cute little cable in the raglan decreases, the way the yarn blocked and the way the collar is slightly wide , allowing for wearing collared shirts with it, unobstructed.Now, the real question...what to call it? It's my own design, totally off the top of my head as I knit...

Glimpse of Tuesday

2007-03-13T17:46:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I haven't already mentioned: I'm doing Interview Tuesday's on Create a Connection. Today is with Scout, last week was Lolly.

I wore my new sweater today! Here's a glimpse of her, hard at work:

The Sew Green blog: crafty eco-responsibility--something I'm very interested.
Take a Stitch Tuesday: a great idea!
Last night while dyeing, I really enjoyed the recent episode of It's a Purl, Man.
I love Sheri'sSpring Manifesto. I feel one a-brewing myself.

Funny thing

2007-03-11T22:53:00.000-04:00

The odd thing about keeping a knitting blog is that, so often, in taking the time to think through and write about how I feel about my knitting, I work through it and past it. And the next day, that previous blog entry isn't even true.
Like Friday, when I said I wasn't interested in my blue cabled cardigan: Not True! I spent the rest of Friday night gleefully cabling and decreasing away (for the yoke). I even stayed up WAY past my normal bedtime and couldn't put it down until 3 am! I left it next to my bed and Saturday morning, even before my first cup of coffee, I finished the yoke and bound off the collar!

After a couple of hours on the cuff, I was ready for blocking!

It's still damp, but hopefully it'll be off the towel and on my body by Tuesday morning.

All that and I even have a matching mug: 30 cents at Salvation Army. There was a set of 4, but they were all so badly stained, I just bought one until I found out if it could be cleaned up. And much to my surprise, All of the stains came out with just a bit of hot soapy water! Off to get the last 3!
In the same thrift store outing, I found this fantastic sweater for yarn recycling (I'll dis-assemble the sweater and skein the yarn for my own knitting). $3 for 90% wool/10% cashmere blend: yum!
Now just to decide if I'll leave it as is, or dye it darker (it's a green/gray blue)...

Uninspired knitting/ inspired life

2007-03-09T19:25:00.000-05:00

As much as I love my daily dose of crafty blogs, sometimes they overwhelm me. When my own knitting is feeling uninspired, I often turn to blogs and spend more time reading than knitting. All of the fantastic projects I find through blogs are immediately added to my To-Do list. The combination of these two facts, means I have less crafty time and more crafty wants.
I've noticed this effect lately, more than most. I was telling my Hub that I just feel overhwelmed with my own expectations and he asked me verbalize the things on my list. As I recounted them he kept asking "But why, why do you have to?" and at first it was annoying but then, I realized, I don't have to. I've been pushing myself to finish my blue cabled cardigan, but Hub's rephrasing made me realize I'm only struggling to finish the sweater because I want to be done so I can start on something else.

The real irony?

There's nothing else in queue that I'm excited about! I'm lined up to work on two designs, and frankly, I'm not interested.
I usually crave knitting time; I'm normally lusting after 20 patterns and 12878 different yarns and lately I just haven't felt that same desire that's kept me going these 2 1/2 years of knitting. I think part of what's bogged me down is I've gotten really obsessed with knitting wearable items. Pieces that I can wear at the office (ie: boring!) or that I can write patterns for. These limitations cut off my creativity every time I think about a yarn or stitch...and I've felt the effects.

But that's enough of that: I'm officially giving myself permission to give into my funky whims!

On the non-knitting front, I'm actually brimming with ideas for mixed media art and for spinning yarn and then knitting it. And oh, did I tell you? My yarn (dyed and spun) are now for sale at the local art gallery/art supply store! Being surrounded by other kinds of art and artists really got me thinking about non-wearable knitting and the interesting things I could be doing with my yarns and my pictures.
I think my first bit of "art" knitting will be a reflection of my recent obsession with local trees and the lace-like patterns their branches make against the sky.

IFun

2007-03-06T16:07:00.000-05:00

IFun= fun with Macbook!

My job (which just became permanentyay!) involves finding, learning and implementing new technology that will aide the office (Continuing Medical Education) in providing better education to the physicians we serve.

Translation= I get a Macbook

So while I waiting for my audio files to convert, I experimented with Photobooth and made quite the office comicstrip.

Enamoured by the new Mac, she dreams of fun *ahem* industrious ways to use it.
A Warhol moment of inspiration!
A phone call distracts her. Oh! how she longs to return to Mac's cool blue glow!
Her constant companion, coffee, keeps her fueled as she works. Must learn new interface, must download proper files, mustPay attention to boss
(note: hair down, end of day).

Ok, completely silly, I know, but so fun to just snap photos as the day goes along. It's like my own little secret log of the day's moods...the co-workers have no idea and as I nod and smile and file, I catch little visual snippets.

Rippling

2007-02-28T23:28:00.000-05:00

I've been happily rippling along on my ripple blanket, quietly adding blues, blue grays, teals and whatever else I find laying around.

I was quite excited to find the Ripple-along and joined right up.
I'm finding endless enjoyment in seeing how the ripple stitch changes the interplay of colors, in my own blanket and in others'.

Looking at other ripple blankets, however, I realize I'm not decreasing in the same way everyone else seems to be. I'm just skipping 2 stitches in the "valley" of the ripple, as opposed to actually decreasing them. I actually like it, though, the lacey holes it forms!

The blanket is getting to be warm in my lap, so I hope to have it finished before the weather gets too warm. I started it for Project Spectrum, so I would really like to have it done by the end of the month!

January's sweater?

2007-02-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

*Sigh* I had such high hopes when I joined the Sweater-a-month knitalong. Such hopes that I would knit 12 sweaters this year. These hopes weren't totally unreasonable, as last February (for the Knitting Olympics) I knit a huge jacket/cardigan in 16 days. And last September, I knit a sweater in a month. Heck, nearly all of my sweaters have been knit in less than 30 days!
So why is it March and I have yet to finish a sweater this year?
Probably because I decided to design one with an intricate (for me) cable panel. Actually 2 cable panels, one on each side of the cardigan front.

I'm very happy with how it's looking so far, but I can't believe how it's plodding along! I'm thrilled to be nearly ready to attach the sleeves (which are already finished), so perhaps it won't be but another week.
My next sweater was going to be another one I designed, but I'm still swatching for it, so it probably won't begin as soon as this one ends...perhaps I need an easy-knit interlude...any suggestions?

Socks Complit

2007-02-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

Remember the UT socks I was knitting from yarn I received in Project Spectrum sock yarn swap? No?
Well, neither did I. Last May I finished the first sock, put away and left it be. They were supposed to be good luck socks for Hub to get into a grad school...but that didn't work out the way he wanted, so I didn't want to work on them again until his school stuff got worked out.

Well, he's not going to his first choice, but now he's a Poli Sci/Teacher Ed student at ETSU and after months of paperwork, confusion and waiting, today the last of the financial aid came through!

All that and today my job became permanent! I'm employed! Health insurance will soon be mine!
More good news tomorrow...

Slowly springing

2007-02-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

After the snow of last weekend, the atmosphere has been nearly spring-y, this week. I don't know what it is, exactly, but this weeks 45F feels warmer, more hopeful than last weeks.
Maybe it's the crocuses

and the warmer light
and the longer days.

Booking Through Thursday-Journals

2007-02-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

Booking Through Thursday

A couple weeks ago, we asked about how you take care of your books, with one of the questions asking whether you write in your books. Well, what about books that are meant to be written in? Like, say, a journal or diary? Do you keep one? Obviously, if you're answering this, you have a blog--do you just let your blog be your journal? Or do you also keep one for private stuff also?

I do keep a journal..or rather, several. I always have a notepad and paper nearby, at work, for jotting work-related notes (work on speaker packet) and for personal notes (banana bread, COC interview, lesson poster). Those personal notes, if particularly...noteworthy, often get stuck in my purse-journal. This journal hangs out with me everyday. I stick it in my knitting bag (a handbag my mom knit and felt for me, always has a sock-in-progress in it) and it mostly stays in the car throughout my workday. On a sunny day, I go out, get my knitting and my journal and find a sunny bench to lunch at; writing, eating and/or knitting. This journal is filled with sketches, post-its, lists, ideas, quotes, musings and questions. It's not a pretty art journal or something deep and meaningful...it's just my thoughts, as they come to me.

I have a "business" notebook that I started when Blonde Chicken Boutique was a nameless, shapeless enterprise. It's a basic, smallish, wirebound hardcover notebook with lined paper and made-by-me pockets on the covers. It's filled with all of business name ideas, logo sketches, lists of things to do, timelines, goals and the most comprehensive business plan I have. When I get inspired about a new direction/goal/idea, I still turn to this notebook, so all my ideas are in one place.
Then there's my knitting notebook...my design notebook. I bought it at the Book Loft with my best friend, because the illustrations cracked me up and I loved the variety of paper it offered me. It collects tearsheets of sweater designs I like; sketches of designs; notes about gauge, needle size, stitch patterns; copies of stitch patterns I've found in library or bookstore books; charts. This journal would make no sense to the non-knitter. It's not in chronological order..but rather split up between the three kinds of paper in the book (lined, charted, blank). I make sketches and tape pictures onto the blank pages, chart stitch patterns and gauge swatches on the charted pages and actually write the pattern on the lined pages. Well, I don't really write out the pattern, I take notes on what I do and then sit down on the computer to write the pattern out.
I have a shelf full of old journals from various times in my life. Junior year of college/2003 was a big journaling year: my mom bought a thick 8x6 notebook for me and I wrote in it daily. Maybe I write more (often and length) in thicker books...like I have to fill them up in a reasonable time. I also have kept a few travel journals, most notably from Maryland Sheep and Wool: me and the 3 friends I went with each kept a journal (slim 10 page, softcover, staple-bound book with construction paper cover) and created a page in everyone else's journal.
I journal because my mind is slippery..I'm always reading good books, finding great quotes, struck with design inspiration and in a matter of seconds *poof*, I can't remember! The journals are my net, keeping those 3am thoughts safe, becoming an index of books I've read, inspiration found and tears shed.

February love, weekend edition

2007-02-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

I love my brother,
who randomly bought tickets and jumped on a plane, to visit me for 10 days.

And I love the snow.
What could be better than seeing a California boy enjoy the snow?

February love, Thursday edition

2007-02-15T12:50:00.000-05:00

I love books, so I love reading the Booking Through Thursday entries, although I never get answering the questions myself. But because this week is all about the love, I had to play along. (also, I'm kind of running out things I love...which is pretty sad!)

Booking Through Thursday

Love stories? Yes or No? Yes, depending...

If yes, "romances" as a genre? Or just, well, stories that have love stories? (Nobody's going to call "Pride & Prejudice" a "romance," right?) No to "romance" as a genre. I've only read one bodice-ripper drama and that was at 13, at a friend's prompting and wow. The references to "throbbing members" make me blush now; I don't know how I even made it through the thin plotline and thick innuendos. However, I love books with love stories as part of a greater theme. History of Love, for example, or Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, the Anne of Green Gables series.

February Love, V-day edition

2007-02-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

February love, Tuesday edition

2007-02-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

With thoughts of "what do I love" dancing in my subconscious this morning, I snapped a few pictures, not sure how they fit together.

At first I thought:
My morning cup of coffee:

In a cup I painted.
And then, enjoying the springcrisp air, I thought:
Lunchtime outside
And as the day progressed and I admired my cute brown shoes,
The reflection in my compact and the sky; I realised:
I love my workday.

I love getting up before Hub, brewing coffee, talking to the cats.
I love driving to work, listening to the news. I love the pretty campus. I like going home in the afternoon, admiring the setting sun.
After years, nay, my lifetime, of being a student, having part-time jobs and unreliable schedules, followed 2 years of non-scheduled on-call constant responsibility, I love knowing when I'll be in the office, when I'll be out and that I can expect the same pleasant experiences 5 days a week.
Boring?

My favorite things...Monday Morning edition

2007-02-12T12:05:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Blair, I'm going to focus my normal February blahs into finding the things I love this week. Just by chance, I happened to catch my very favorite thing right before he woke up this morning.
I love my sleepy, snuggly husband, even if he doesn't like to be photographed.

I love the how soft his morning skin is, I love that at the first sound of the alarm, he rolls over and pulls me into a deeper snuggle, I love his arms around me in the morning, admiring the sunlight on his furry arms, fulfilling the dream I had about this very moment (or moments since it is our daily ritual) a year before we met.
We're not really into Valentine's Day, although I use any excuse to have a day a little more love-y, a little more snuggly, and usually, with a bit better food. This Christmas we decided that for all "couple" holidays (Valentine's Day, anniversaries, etc) we would forgo individual gifts for each other, and instead, buy a piece of art for the house. This year we're finally painting some canvases to hang over our couch. It's a project we've talked about for years and as our first art-buying, we're buying the supplies and making it ourselves! I think we'll get 3 canvases, each paint one on our own and then paint the center one together. So it all goes together we're limiting the pallette to two or three blues and tan...perfect for PS this month.
As I share more things I love, I think I'll also share some V-day traditions from my family, my urban family (college roomies) and my dating relationship.
What are your family's V-day traditions?

Getting the hang of

2007-02-06T17:33:00.000-05:00

crochet, the new blogger, maybe even my life.
I'm finding my first crochet project simple and comforting . It's my watch-during-Lost and Heroes project. (a side note to say we had never watched Lost before, and then, on a whim got it at Blockbuster and have since been spending approx. 10 hours each weekend getting caught up...we might be a bit obsessive)
Despite watching too much TV, I've been able to really ponder what's been bothering me: the incessant question of what am I doing? I could ramble about that for quite some time, but am choosing instead to jot it down in my real (read:handwritten) journal, sketch out my goals, track my progress. Just like the crochet, it'll come together, stripe by random stripe. Right?

New blogger

2007-02-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Have switched over to the new blogger...now the problem of uploading my own banner! Any suggestions?

Poetry Reading

2007-02-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

I've always loved this bit of meloncholy from Jacque Prevert

Dejeuner du Matin (french)


Il a mis le cafe
Dans la tasse
Il a mis le lait
Dans la tasse de cafe
Il a mis le sucre
Dans le cafe au lait
Avec la petite cuiller
Il a tourne
Il a bu le cafe au lait
Et il a repose la tasse
Sans me parler
Il a allume
Une cigarette
Il a fait des ronds
Avec la fumee
Il a mis les cendres
Dans le cendrier
Sans me parler
Sans me regarder
Il s'est leve
Il a mis
Son chapeau sur sa tete
Il a mis
Son manteau de pluie
Parce qu'il pleuvait
Et il est parti
Sous la pluie
Sans une parole
Et moi j'ai pris
Ma tete dans ma main
Et j'ai pleure.

Morning Breakfast (translation by me!)

He put the coffee

In the cup

He put the cream

In the cup of coffee

He put the sugar

In the creamy coffee

With the little spoon

He stirred

He drank the coffee

And he laid down the cup

Without speaking to me

He lit

A cigarette

He made some rings

With the smoke

He put the ashes

In the ashtray

Without speaking to me

Without looking at me

He rose

He put his hat on his head

He put his rain jacket on

Because it was raining

And he left

In the rain

Without a word

And me, I put

My head in my hands

And cried.

Join the fun here.

PS 2.0 Kickoff!

2007-02-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

For a very long time, I've been pondering knitting or crocheting a blanket from my stash of blue yarns...when I saw Jane's, I knew it had to be crocheted and ripply. I have a lot of blue, in part because of the throw I made my Mom: I bought quite a bit of blue yarn for that throw, and used only 1/2-3/4s of each ball. Also, anytime anyone buys me yarn, or when I'm seduced by a single skein (which is pretty rare), I get it in my favorite color: blue! I also have a substantial amount of grays and whites, bought for dyeing project that I never undertook. When we moved, I reorganized my yarn stash and put all the blue, white and gray I would use in this project together in one box...it's been waiting for me ever since!
My original plan was to ball up all of my blue yarn and just crochet at random. It just so happens that today kicks off Project Spectrum v.2 and the first three colors? Blue, Gray and White: exactly the colors I wanted for a blanket that will live in my living room!
And then I saw Alicia's blizzard blanket, and my mind really started whizzing. Should I put a lot more thought into my ripple crocheted blanket? Should I play with the Random Stripe Generator? Of course!

However, ripples change the way colors interact with each other, and I wanted to see what the stripes would do if jumbled into each other a bit. So I opened my stripe picture in Photoshop and then applied the Ripple Filter (which took me forever to find!)

This nearly looks like a crocheted blanket, doesn't it?
Pondering the other rooms this blanket might find itself in...I've considered throwing in some green , yellow and pink (our bedroom colors, and the next biggest stash colors)
I'm heading home to pull out the yarn and crochet hook right now!
(PS. How does one decide what crochet to use...would I use the equivelant to the appropriate needle size?)

Swatching

2007-01-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

I love designing sweaters; there's so much knitted space to play with! But I don't enjoy the overwhelming feeling of not knowing what to do....but wanting to do something cool! Most of the time I can picture nearly the entire sweater as I cast on, but with this cardigan, I knit 2 whole sleeves before I knew if it would be a cardigan or pullover! Once coming to that decision, I still vascilated on what pattern to choose...which is exactly why knitters invented swatching! I swatched quite a bit this weekend, more than usual really butI really came to love the yarn and finally decided on the pattern.
This shows the first patterns I tried; on the right: a 9 st braid from my stitch-a-day calendar and on the left: some knit and purl patterns and a lacey cable attempt.

My husband voted and the following cable is the winner!(something about this design has made it impossible for me to make any decisions all by myself).
Sorry for the blurry shot...it's a modified Saxon Braid from one of Nicky Epstein's edge books (it's featured on the front, but I can't remember which book). It's very easy to make the ribs flow into the cable chart, which I like a lot. Hub chose this one because he thinks the flatter nature of the cable will be more flattering, less bulky and visually bulk-ing.
I had hoped to successfully knit a sweater a month this year(I joined the knitalong, for goodness sakes!) but I can't imagine finishing this before Thursday (Feb 1), since I only have about an inch of ribbing for the body (both sleeves are already finished). Anyhow, I'm not one for rules and I think that a total of 12 sweaters (or shawls) at the end of the year will be incredibly satisfying, whether each month has a sweater by it's end!

small things

2007-01-25T15:45:00.000-05:00

My photo-a-day challenge(pictures here) has brought on a bout of introspection: a desire to focus on the small, mundane, simple. My goal with this project isn't to capture the perfect shot, but to capture my life, as it is. I'm trying to improve my "eye", in the photographic sense (to fram the shot, etc) but, more importantly, in my life. I want to see the daily things that make and keep me happy, the small traditions of the work day that bring order and peace into an otherwise hectic day. During this particular hectic day, I had to test a PDF I created, making sure the fields would stretch to fit the content...the following is what I wrote, typing as fast as I could, trying to fill the space:

The snow is just barely drifting down outside and lately I've been focusing on the small things in my life, the things that make me happy. It may sound cliched (carpe diem and whatnot) but truly admiring the tiniest snowflake as it rested on my windshield, the sound of my kitten's purrr, the pattern of the bare skeletal branches against the slate sky outside my window at work, this gives me peace and makes my life full of joy and happiness and love. My mom is coming to visit this weekend (today, in fact) and being with her, in the hurricane of joy, anger, tears, raw emotions that swirls around her and her household...I realize that I've made myself a small life, a quiet life. I rarely allow big emotional storms into my life, in the form of drama-queen friends or by getting sucked into family drama. My family is full of passionate, impassioned matriarchs. women who love wildly and ridiculously and fight and make up and weep. And I do my share of those things, but I refrain from living for those moments, from letting it wash over me and overwhelm me.

Instead I have my knitting, my snuggly Hub and a few favorite TV shows. There are snowflakes on noses, whiskers on kittens, coffee in my handpainted (by me!) mug and hanknit socks on my feet (even in heels).

On the knitting front: it's been decided by popular opinion that my blue sweater will be a cardigan! I've been swatching stitch patterns for the front panels...I've been scouring the internet for interesting cables, but I might just go with a gansey (knit/purl) pattern. Since I bought the yarn to make a pattern decided on by knitters, it is only fitting that, instead of that pattern, I knit one decided by you, dear knitters and friends. You convinced me of a cardigan's superiority...now help me decide on a stich pattern (it won't be an allover pattern, just one on the front panels of the cardigan...maybe on the back). I'm looking for a great cable or an interesting knit/purl design. Leave your ideas in the comments.
This weekend I'll share my swatchings.

Sweater Conundrum

2007-01-22T17:55:00.000-05:00

I purchased, nearly a year ago, enough Cascade 220 in a beautiful blue heather to knit The Perfect Sweater. But who am I kidding? I never follow patterns! I cast on for the sleeves/swatch at the movies late in December, planning to decide on the sweater specifics as I went. Well, both sleeves are done (to the armpit, I'll do the yoke EZ style). And I'm frozen at a crucial impasse: Cardigan or Pullover.
I bought the yarn imagining it in a pullover; at the time I hadn't knit any pullovers I wore, since then I've knit 2. Tennessee weather doesn't require wool pullovers for more than month; a cardigan that can be easily removed is ideal for those iffy days, or when the office is unnaturally warm/cold, while a pullover is a commitment for the day. But I want something to wear to work; a pullover seems more "professional" to me than a cardigan...then again, a pullover in this blue color might be a bit much. Another consideration: wardrobe: a pullover is your top for the day, while with a cardigan, you have to pick out/wear/dirty another shirt (I'm terribly poor in the office-appropriate shirt department).
Ah! I've been going back and forth like this for DAYS and canNOT decide! Not to mention working out the details of stitch details (cables, gansey patterns, lace)!

So what do you think?

Office Decor

2007-01-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

Address Box
Originally uploaded by UglyKitty.

My desk, at work, is terribly dull. And lacking certain office-y accoutrements that a more seasoned working girl would have on hand. Like, for example, a address book/phone book/rolodex . I realized my need for one, when my printer was covered in post-its filled with numbers I call nearly daily (the server guy, the podcast guy, the database software folks) but I was overwhelmed with desire for one when I saw Ugly Kitty's on Whipup.
You can see details on her flickr site and she's selling a tamer version at her etsy shop.
I have a box this approximate size somewhere in my paper craft stuff...I'm off to craft my own rolodex!

Mom's handspun scarf

2007-01-17T17:27:00.000-05:00

Remember the alpaca I dyed and spun?

After trying quite a few stitch patterns, I went with the simple Multi-directional scarf.

The pattern has historical relevance for my Mom and I, as it was the 2nd knitted item I gave her (probably 3rd I ever made.) Yarn: Handspun Baby Alpaca (from MDS&W), dyed by me plied with handspun silk hankies
and a bit of Merino/Alpaca blend plied with the same silk hankies
Needles: US 10.5
Pattern: (see above)
For: Mom's Birthday!
(PS. I'm pretty proud of those pictures, click to make them bigger and really get a feel for the texture!)

Too sick to knit

2007-01-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

But I felt well enough to set out my yarn and needles and snap appreciative photos!

This yarn is what I spun from this roving

plied with pink silk hankies.
Both balls have the same long color repeats, I just wound them differently.
I've experimented with some entrelac, but for it to really show off the color changes, I think I would need to have bigger sections, or pick another stitch pattern. Perhaps the Multi-directional scarf?
I definately want to try spinning a Noro-esque yarn again, but next time the color repeats need to be shorter, and there need to be MORE colors.

Dinosaur hat and scarf

2007-01-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

This little cutie is wearing a hat and scarf patter I designed for For the Love of Yarn.
You can see the pattern here.
I'm home sick today and don't have the energy for any more details than that, but if you have any questions about it, ask in the comments!

Finished Mom Me Socks!

2007-01-08T21:12:00.000-05:00

Remember these socks? Originally started for my mom, for her upcoming birthday, the became mine after I ripped the leg for the second time. Oh, and after she said the colors looked like someone threw up the dye on it (she didn't know I was knitting them for her).
Their path has been one of revision, ripping and rebirth. Both socks have been ripped, at least once after being almost finished, all the way back to before the heel.
Yarn: 1 skein Koigu in a very bright "Rainbow Puke" (which I looove) and about 15 grams of a matching pink
Needles: Susan Bates US0 dpns
Pattern: Wendy's Toe Up, although their not identical: one has a pink toe, the other has a bigger pink cuff.

The round up

2007-01-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

I have been remiss in gushing over my many Christmas gifts. Hub gave me two "vintage" knitting books (found at the used book store for under $5/ea!):

This one is signed by the author!

My mom, well, my mom is fantastic! She gave me...28 ozs of white Merino roving. I haven't photographed it, because, well, it's a big pile of softsoftsoft wonderfulness but it just looks like a white puffy cloud. I have no earthly idea about what I'm going to do with it (other than spin and knit her something in gratitude!) and I'm currently taking suggestions. It's easily enough to spin and knit a sweater from, with enough left over for a shawl, but for now it's next to the desk for easy pet-ability.
Speaking of photographing, Mom also got "us" a camera for Christmas (Hub has no interest in photography unless he's catching me in my robe, hair disheveled, pre-coffee growl on my face). It's a pretty wonderful camera (Nikon Collpix L3) but it's definately taking some adjustment. I've actively sought this re-education by taking walks around, camera poised and by restarting my photo-a-day blog here.
(the photos throughout the entry have nothing to do with the text just pictures that haven't made it onto the photoblog.)

2006 FOs

2007-01-04T16:38:00.000-05:00

I like to have all my FOs in one place, so here it is, most recent first:

Mom's Slippers

Mom's Christmas gift socks

Toe-up Socks in MDSW Koigu

Backyard Leaves from Scarf Style

Leafy Lacey Cables Fingerless gloves (original)

Malabrigo diamond sweater (my own design)

Wendy'sKitty Pi

Log Cabin Pillow (free pattern!)

Silk Sari Bag

Jaywalkers

Entrelac Wrap

AssymetricalMalabrigo Cardigan of my own design

Winter Gray Noro Cardigan

Jamie's Armwarmers

Fuzzy Feetfor Mom

Armwarmers for Mom

And of course, the Norwegian Monstrosity, which I only the sleeves and collar for, but which caused great panic and pain throught the year.

New Year's Thoughts...

2007-01-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

My mom was never into New Year's Resolutions, in fact, I didn't even realize it was something people did until some time in high school, when asked to write about mine. So it suprised me when, at about 11:30pm, December 31rst, she revealed she was resolved to make decisions this year, to clean the clutter and pain out of her emotional life (she's been vacillating about finalizing a necessary divorce since last January). This caused me to reflect on the coming year in a way I normally don't. 2006 was incredibly...overwhelming. Emotionally, maritally, spiritually, financially, phsyically even techinically (both laptop and digital camera forsook me in '06), the year kicked my ass.
I'm feeling better, stronger and, like Mom, more decisive this year. Ready to make my bi-annual list of things I'd like to accomplish or improve before my birthday in June.

Compile a list of To Read books for the coming year (with NPR's help)
Crochet a blanket using all of my blue leftover yarns, something like Jane's wavy blanket.
Find pleasure in cooking and shopping, inspired by the Slow Movement
Submit a pattern to Knitty (a goal for last year I didn't accomplish)
Read A Taxonomy of Barnacles and participate in Ship of Fools
Apply (and do all appropriate paperwork for employee discount) for Summer Session classes in subjects that please me!
Refrain from yarn purchases until Hub and I are both permanently employeed and after that, limit such purchases to indie businesses (both manufacturers and merchants), souvenirs and yarn for my future designs.

O Christmas Tree

2006-12-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas trees and, as a child raised with the same artificial tree each year, I especially love live Christmas trees. The first year we were married, Hub and I got a pitiful, Charlie Brown tree. Last year, after decorating at work, I just wasn't up for it at home.
This year, Hub (the grinch on all things Christmas) insisted that we didn't have the money for a Christmas tree and with that, I gave up on it.

Imagine my suprise when I came home last week and this was in my living room:

Christmas tree in stand, lights strung, Christmas music playing.

We had a lovely evening of dancing to the Beach Boys Christmas album and pulling out our favorite ornaments. I'll add to this post as I take pictures of them
(remember, my camera's still broken, so click on an ad!)

I painted 4 of these sweet little angels last year.

Ok, so these salt and pepper shakers aren't ornaments, but they sure are Christmas-y. I painted them last year.

A plethora of imagined hats

2006-12-19T16:49:00.000-05:00

Despite my grand idea yesterday, I actually didn't knit any hats last night! Instead, Hub and I got out the scissors, paper and buttons and started the assembly line of making 30 mini-button wreaths (not mini-buttons, but mini-wreaths). We're putting the small wreaths on the cover of blank cards, signing "Merry Christmas" and calling them gifts/ornaments/cards for the extended family (all those aunts, uncles, former roomates, etc.). We're being very laid back about it, so it took most of last night to just cut out the cardboard and to gather supplies.

So, no hats.

However, I am not dissuaded from my grandiose hat-concept. I took the time before leaving work to become hat-inspired, in case I have a chance (between hot-gluing buttons) to knit a hat or two this evening. Here are some of the patterns I hope to knit this week:

I like many things in Knitty's Gallery of Hat Patterns, especially this and this.
This is a great way to use leftover Noro
Whether now or later, I'm definately knitting this. (I'm thinking of using some angora for one of the accent colors)
Interweave has some good unisex hats
I have long wanted to knit any of Marnie's hats, especially this one
A Star Wars Hat!
I need to make at least one Ganomy hat

My hope for this Saturday's Christmas party is to actually arrive with a basket of 10 hats, so that the 6 kids have a selection and the extras can be sent to Dulaan. Considering the wealth of fun hat projects and the affordability (most only take 1 skein!) of knitting them in spades, this might just be my go-to project for holidays and birthdays. I'll be the woman who shows up at family events with a basket of hats for all to choose from with the extras going to charity.

4 days left, 10 hats to go!

A wonderful, terrible , awful idea

2006-12-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit of a grinch this year, overwhelmed by the monstrosity and the loss of my camera. I had (wisely) limited my Knit Gift List to include only Mom (although I had some ideas for others there was no stress to actually finish the gifts). So after finish the monstrosity and spending an evening with no knitting in my hands, watching the hilarious, though vulgar, An Evening with Kevin Smith, I decided to enter a new era in knitting. In my new era (it started this morning), I am knitting what I want, when I want, with no concept of other WIPs, seasons, gifts, deadlines.
As I mull over the New Era (I'm still working on it's official name) in the shower this morning and thinking about Christmas plans, I was overcome with strong desire to knit a hat. Not only that, I want to knit hats for Hub's family Christmas party. At least one per kid under 15. For this Saturday. 7 hats. I read (somewhere) of a knitter that, instead of knitting specific gifts for family/neighbors/coworkers, knits an assortment of one item (slippers, scarves, hats), puts them in a basket and then lets the giftee pick their gift from all available knitwear. I love this idea and it is perfect for a family with a ridiculous amount of people (Hub's mom is one of 10, all of them married with kids). I don't have to worry about specific likes and dislikes (other than to remember that there are 2 boys, 4 girls, 1 newborn).
It may sound like I've already forgotten that I am living in a New Era of my Knitting, but I haven't. I want to knit 7 hats in 5 days. I cannot wait to go home and cast on for hats! Oh, and I blame it all on this post and this Flickr group which opened my eyes to thejoy of knitting 7 adorable hats in 5 days.
I hope to have at least one hat to tell you about tomorrow!
PS. I added a picture to the Crocheted Wire Votive Sleeve Tutorial.

Finished Norwegian Monstrosity

2006-12-17T18:17:00.000-05:00

Finally! After months of working on this comission sweater: I'm done! Just in time for the Stranded Colorwork Challenge. My client knit the body, but got confused at the shoulder and hired me to finish the shoulders, knit both sleeves, cut the steeks, sew it all up and knit the collar.

A sleeve

I had quite a bit of trouble with steeks (read about it here) but got that straitened out.

I'm just so glad I'm done with it!

Pattern: Dale of Norway Norge2000
Size: Men's XXL (I'm swimming in it!)
Yarn: Dalegern Heilo

How to fix a Steek Mistake

2006-12-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's right, misplaced steeks, in colorwork knitting (Fair Isle or Norwegian) can be fixed! When my husband came home, he calmly looked my steeking disaster and said "Wait, this can be fixed" and proceeded to describe a perfect fix. It's the same solution that colorwork genius, Janine, gave me in the comments and I'm happy to report it's working.
I'm going to outline it here, in case anyone else makes the same silly/ridiculous/heart-rending mistake that I did:My mistake was that I had placed the steek (red line) 6 stitches to the left of where it should be (black line), on both sides. The black dots are the three flower motifs at the side of the sweaters. This meant that each side (front and back) had the right amount of stitches total but the center motif (and neck opening) was off center by 12 stitches.
The solution: center the steek by widening it. It helped me to imagine the line I should have cut on (black line) and put that in the center of my actual steek. So, if I was to the left by 6 stitches, I needed to cut another steek 6 stitches to the right of the correct steek line.
So the sleeve will go in the right place, centering the neck. However, the shape of the sweater is now changed. Traditional Norwegian sweaters are drop shoulder designs: the sleeves come out at right angles from the strait tube of the body:

from knitty.com

But widening the steeks so that they are no longer just slits, but a 12 stitch wide gap, means the sweater now resembles a modified drop shoulder:
From Knitty.com

I was able to ease my sleeve into the armhole without altering it all, but if you need to, it wouldn't be too hard to rip back the last inch of your sleeve and add some increases.
Let me know if you have any questions about this fix, or if it isn't clear let me know!

PS. Thanks for the kind comments regarding my knitting disaster; reading them returned me to some sort of sanity!

I beseach the knitting and steeking gods

2006-12-12T16:12:00.000-05:00

Please someone, give me some advice!
I crocheted the steeks in the monstrosity and left it to marinate for a few days...I pulled it out, looked it over, cut a steek, seamed the shoulder, sewed in a sleeve, sewed down the facing, cut the second steek, started to seam up the shoulder when...wait...what's that? Why isn't the front and back lining up right? What's going on here?
Sweater laid out, inspected from all sides...what can be wrong? The body was knit by my client, maybe she did the neck decreases wrong?
NO! Holy Mother of #$%@#$ NO! I crocheted (and subsequently cut) the steeks in the wrong place...off my 5 stitches on both sides! What to do? The sweater has a huge center motif that is, uh, not in the center! I could redo the shoulders so that decreases work out but the pattern won't be centered!
What do I do?
Besides lay down in a dark room?

Crocheted Wire Votive Sleeve Tutorial (ish)

2006-12-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

Enough whining about my camera! I'm moving on to full on Christmas crafting!
For the first time in my working life, I'm taking part in a Office Christmas Party (I keep hoping it will turn out like The Office's Christmas party).

(picture from The Office, not mine)

At first it was feared that everyone (all 6 of us, everyone other than me, over 60) was expected to buy gifts for everyone, but soon we decided on one of those White Elephant/Yankee/Whatever-you-want-to-call-it swaps where we each buy a gift, wrap it and then take turns choosing a gift or swapping with someone else. The limit was set at $5 which is great for my wallet, not so great for the chances of getting a good gift. I decided, while wandering/wondering the aisles of Micheals, to make wire, beaded votive sleeves. Much like Grumperina's, but crocheted (I haven't done an extensive comparison, but it seems crocheting with wire would be less painful than knitting, since the hook does all the looping and pulling, not my delicate fingers).
Now, I'm not a big crocheter, so if I can figure it out, you can too. I used :

Size I metal crochet hook
1 spool of 26 gauge wire (75 yards for 2 votive sleeves)
assorted clear and crystal-y beads (so it'll match any decor!)
and some votive holders I found at Target (8 for $5)

First, I strung on beads. No counting, just until I got tired of it. I chained enough to fit around the base of my votives (about 15?) , joined the round and double crocheted (I think) around, slipping the beads onto the stitches at each YO. After 3 rounds, my sleeve fit my votive, so I cut the wire and pulled the end through the last loop. To "weave in" the ends, I just tucked them on the inside and crimped the end around a stitch.
Voila! Crocheted Wire Votive Sleeve! (pictures will be posted as soon as the camera issue is resolved, read this to help).
If you make one, show me!

Still camera-less

2006-12-09T17:37:00.000-05:00

and very very sad. This season is full of so many fantastic photo oppurtunities; of family, for sure, but also the first snow (last Thursday!), the cold mountains at dusk, and the delightful culinary treats. Moving to east Tennessee has really developed my love of photography as I feel I am daily surrounded by beauty, history and poignancy. It inspired me to make a photo-a-day promise to myself, one that has been dissapointed by the loss of my camera.
I realize that lacking a camera is certainly not the most desperate situation, but it has put a damper on my enjoyment of the season, so I've been searching for a way of rectifying it.
After talking to some family members and examining are budget, it become clear that no camera will be coming my way anytime soon.
Unless I do something out of the ordinary.
So, I've decided to do something out of the ordinary: put advertisements on my blog. I'm using Google Adsense, which places text links that are (or should be) appropriate to the content. I make money if readers click on the links. I assure you, any money gathered by this little experiment will go directly to a new camera. I have thought long and hard about alternatives, but while working a full time job, running a business in which I take no profit, knitting a huge sweater on comission and designing a friend's website and being paid in trade, my options are limited.
My original plan was to take down the ads after reaching my goal, but I decided, instead, to keep it up one month after reaching my camera goal. All money earned in that month will be donated to the Appalachian Service Project, which builds and repairs homes for the people who live and struggle to survive in this beautiful place.
I'd love to hear what you think of this decision, honestly. Have you/would you ever do something similar? Do you feel it changes the blog-reading experience when blogs have advertising on their sites? Please share.

Christmas wishes

2006-12-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the camera advice. I tried to fix the E/V shift (although it was at 0) but I can't make it low enough to really fix the problem. I'll call the manufacturer, but I've pretty much given up on it, since the rechargeable batteries bit the dust, it's using regular batteries at an alarming pace. I am aching with holiday picture ideas, not having a camera is putting a real damper on my holiday joy.
Another damper is the monstrosity that I'm attempting to complete by December 15th. I've promised myself no new sweaters until this one is complete and the total lack of variety is slowly sapping me.
I have noticed that at times like this, when I simply can't start a project and I have no time, this is when I'm most creative, internally. I came up with some great patterns while working 2 jobs and I'm currently overflowing with craftyness, now that I've committed to one project. Why is this? Is it the limitations that push me to think creatively? Or do I take these flights of fancy to keep myself from monotony?
Anyhow, to get out of the funk, inspired by Shari, I'm making a list of things I want to enjoy this holiday season. These things are always floating around in my head, but I hope putting pen to paper will call them into existence and give me the little extra push to partake in the spirit.

Make and give simple gifts
Create lovingly-made felt ornaments with Hub while relaxing with hot chocolate
Bake cookies (perhaps as a simple gift?) and decorate with obscene amounts of icing and sprinkles
Knit a Christmas stocking for my beloved
snuggle with my brothers while watching Elf
Get out the decorations with Hub and remember fondly when they were purchased/given (we both have our first baby Christmas ornaments!)

Camera Help!

2006-12-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

My camera is being weird, and it's stressing me out!
It seems (to my uneducated eye) that the shutter is staying open too long, letting in too much light. I've tried to change everything possible in the menu and nothing changes this problem. I have a Casio QV-R40 and I need advice!
The following pictures were taken in my normal way and look how weird!

A tree, at dusk

Bowl of ornaments on my desk...

Contemplatively over

2006-11-30T19:07:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a lot of meta-blog posts lately. You know the ones, where the blogger blogs about blogging: why they love it, hate it, how it's affected their lives. While I generally enjoy reading thees posts, I've always avoided writing them. For one, it assumes the blog has a readership, and frankly, I'm not so sure my blog really does, or that I want it to. Second, blogging hasn't changed my life. I've always kept journals, diaries, notebooks of my lists. Back in 2000 I started a Diaryland "diary" and kept it up for all 4 years of college. As far as I know, the only people who read it were other diaryland members in my group of friends (or their group of friends). No one called it "blogging" then and, in fact, I was a lot more me in that diary. I wrote what passed through my mind, free associating, stream-of-conscious, grocery lists even (if you're interested, you can see it here, but go to the archives and read the reeeaal old stuff) and it just felt good to have it saved somewhere...out there, but not really out there because hundreds of people didn't read it.
I had hoped NaBloPoMo would bring out those Karouacesque musings lingering inside of me and I would write something real and me. But, well, that didn't happen. Almost daily I scribbled down a note for myself, a blog post idea or topic, but when I sit down at the screen, all lofty ambitions and writerly ways vanish and I ended up keeping things light. Not intentially, it just, doesn't come out here.
So this blog, it sticks with the knitting, crafting, reading, watching. The tangible what of my life, without touching the how or why. And although sometimes I wonder if I'm missing out on 'the joy of blogging' because I'm not making close new friends or really freeing myself, I'm ok with it. I love having a place where my knitting is orderly, I can track my progress, remind myself of my crafty plans and link to the inspiring things I read on other blogs. The trick to blogging is that it can be so much, so awesome, so personal but it doesn't need to be, to be effective. It just has to be what you want, when you want and that, right now, is what I need.

More Christmas Craftiness!

2006-11-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, I just couldn't pass up pointing this out!
little birds handmade: button wreath
So cute!
Short post, because tomorrow is the LAST day of NaBloPoMo and , for once in my life, I'm all talked out!

Christmas crafts

2006-11-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

Now that I really feel settled in a dwelling, with no intention of moving for several years, I'm anticipating decorating for the holidays in a new-to-me fervor. I've been finding so many good Christmas-y crafts that I'm excited to try, I can hardly contain myself:

a Christmas village: here are instructions for one, although the picture isn't so great. I want mine to look more like Alicia's or Blair's.
Gumdrop wreaths!
The other day I had a link to instructions for cone trees, but look how great these look!
Christmas cookies in all forms are always on my list, here's some info on decorating them.
Snowflake ornaments, tutorial here (Thanks K)

Of course, I'm not sure when I'll have time for these, but I like to imagine I'll start spending my evenings in a flurry of crafty productivity, instead of a tired, braindead blob. Here's hoping!
Do you have any Christmas crafts in mind?

Another sock for Mom

2006-11-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

I feel bad about those other socks being a Christmas gift, so I started another pair for my mom. She'll still be getting the others, but if I finish these by Christmas, she'll have at least one normal pair.

That is, if I can make these normal!
If I don't finish it by Christmas, the pair will be a birthday gift (it's in Jan.)
Oh, and I'm trying to make the pair from 1 skein of Koigu... am I crazy?

Recovering from a long drive

2006-11-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

...so I have little to say, but some nice driving pictures.
The way there

On the way home

To see daily pictures, visit my photoblog.

Have you seen...

2006-11-25T06:09:00.000-05:00

MapMuse.com? You can search for knitting/crochet shops (or any number of other categories) all over the country. Here's the link to my current search.
The fabulous cone tree pattern? Yes, it's sewing, but I'll be using my recycled, felted sweaters for it!
This great screen printing tutorial?
Port2Port's "Art for the Holidays" gift guide? If I was buying any gifts this year, it would be from this list.
Eunny's Endpaper Mitts? If I had the time, yarn or money, I would be knitting these, this very second.
this crazy book about losing weight through art-making? I recently heard the author interviewed on Craft Sanity and love the concept!
Hub wants these, in stocking form (as in, Christmas stocking, not stocking for his legs!)

The Highlights

2006-11-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling a bit dodgy and grumpy right now; after a long drive, finding out I'll not be suprising my friend until tomorrow, and having a mother-in-law that keeps calling (3 5 times now) to see if we're home yet, despite us calling and leaving her a message to that affect and we told her (before) that Hub's at work and I'm out of town with my friend. And yet...the phone keeps ringing and I am not picking up. I hope to have a quiet night alone with some TV movies, the kittens and my knitting.
But before the phone started ringing, I was going to cheer myself up with some Thanksgiving highlights:

The men standing around, teaching themselves to play a mandolin

Grandma, picking it right up (though she had never seen one before) and showing them how it's done while leading a sing-a-long of old-timey gospel (God, I love this family)

Playing light sabers with 4 yr olds

Teaching 3 eight year old boys how to knit.

List Thusday -Thanksgiving Edition

2006-11-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

A small (certainly not comprehensive) list of things I'm thankful for, today:

A chest full of quilts, some made by my mother
Cats to snuggle with
a basket full of yarn,
and the husbandly permission to have yarn strewn around the house
A Thanksgiving full of family, kids and food
My darling
The opputunity to see a faraway friend tomorrow (it's a suprises!)

Thanksgiving journey

2006-11-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

The first 2 years of our marriage, Hub and I lived in Ohio, near both of our parents. Beacause of this proximity, we stuck close to home for the holidays and spent them with my family.
Why not with his? Because his parents always drove down to Tennessee, to see their families for the holidays.

Now that we live down here: 3 doors down from a cousin, a mere 2 minutes from at least 5 aunts and uncles, I insist we spend Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas day with his parents.

Easier said than done.

They drove down yesterday and stayed last night in Gatlinburg (about 2 hours from us), so we drove over after work and had dinner at The Apple Barn (the only thing I like about the tourist-attraction that is Gatlinburg).
Today they drove down to Hub's paternal grandparents, to spend Thanksgiving Day there. So, tomorrow morning we're driving the 3 hours down there to have dinner and stay Thursday night.
Friday, his parents are coming here to have a Friday night Thanksgiving Buffet with Hub's maternal family. Which we would be doing too, except Hub has to work Friday night. And Saturday morning. His parents are leaving Saturday morning, which means that after alll this family tag-playing, we'll have had seen them for approximately 10 hours, after driving a total of 10 hours. And they'll actually be in the town we live in for 24 hours. Hmmm

But that's not all!

Since Hub will be at work the rest of the weekend, I plan on either going to see my grandmother in Cookeville (3 hours) or my friend's family in North Carolina (3 hours) until Sunday night.

Whew!

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving plans require a little less mapping.

What I do...

2006-11-21T13:09:00.000-05:00

This day is just cre.e.e.ping by. I have no imagination for writing, so how 'bout a recap of my day?

Firstly, I'm the webmaster of this website, which is also the office I work in.In this building

at this desk

I'm technically the assistant to the Assistant Dean of the department, but 80% of my job has something to do with the website. The other 20% is answering questions regarding upcoming programs and preparing documentation for the classes we offer. And answering my coworkers qustions about their printers, software, etc. I am the youngest person in the office (and by this I mean the phsyical place) by 40 years, and thus, the computer expert. Which I don't mind, as it gets me away from the computer screen a bit.
Today, specifically, I designed and uploaded (which caused major weirdness) a new home page, podcast pages and surveys. Oooooh, interesting, eh? My hope is to soon replace all the old pages (made before me) with my version of them, because frankly, I just don't like a lot of what is there.
On days my boss is out of the office (which is often), I listen to music through earphones. Today, I streamed my hometown NPR station, WYSO during Excursions ,Fresh Air and World Cafe and caught up on KCRW's Today's Top Tunes through I-Tunes.
And yeah, that's about it.

Personality

2006-11-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

More bookstore yesterday, I read Do What You Are, a book I found in the "Career" section that helps you find meaningful work using the Myers Briggs/Jungian Personality descriptions. I found the book imminently more useful than so many other "find the right job!" books I've seen. It takes the time to explain the different functions of personality and then has detailed descriptions of the 16 types, along with a chapter for each one. In each personality chapter it has sample careers from other people with your type, along with a list of things you need in a job to feel satisfied and a long list of careers your personality type might find fulfilling. The book definitely reminded me of things I had forgotten about myself. It's easy to get wrapped up in things I liked/disliked in past jobs that I forget what I really need in a job.
I love personality theory, I took a class on it in college and my roomie majored in it and I'm always up for discussion on how personality affects one life, decisions, etc. In my class we took the looong Myers-Briggs test that were professionally scored but if you're interested in what the test is like, this one seems pretty accurate to me. It gave me the same results that I got on the "real" test: INFP.
What does that mean? Well first, some background. The MB test measures 4 different "functions" of personality: everyone falls somewhere in the range of two extremes for each of these functions. They are:

Extroversion------Introversion (which isn't outgoing or shy but where you feel comfortable: out in the world, or in your own head?)
Sensing-------Intuiting
Thinking-------Feeling
Judging--------Perceiving

I'm barely on the side of Introversion, very close to the extreme of Intuition and Feeling and right in the middle of Judging/Perceiving. You can read a description of my type (or your type, if you take the above test) here or here.

I had to write all this because I found the list of suitable jobs very intriguing. The very reason I picked up the book is because I'm feeling ambivalent and about what I should study when I go back to school (I used to be ambivalent about doing post-baccalaureate work, now I know that if I don't, I simply won't be satisfied): Entrepreneurship (MBA and self-employment), French Lit/Linguistics (translator) or Women's Studies/History of Textiles (Professor).
The conclusion: according to my personality: I'd be happy doing any of the above! Suitable careers include: artist, small business owner (in a service industry), college professor, interpreter/translator, webmaster/editor/designer (what I'm doing now, serendipitously).
Not a lot of help!

If you take (or have taken) the personality test, tell me about it! Are you doing a personality-suited job?

Mom's ^*&%$#@ socks

2006-11-19T20:29:00.000-05:00

Remember when I finished a sock in July and my mom immediately claimed it? Well, I finished the second one yesterday and redid the toe on the first today.They'll be one of her Christmas gifts.

Unfortunately, they're not the same size.

Nor are the cuffs the same.

I didn't realize it until after they were finished, and after the frustration of last year's gift socks (which were never completed), I've decided she's getting them as they are.
She's wanted socks for so long, and she loves me so much, I trust she'll over look their faults!

Thrifty goodness

2006-11-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

I've been really inspired by the recent felty goodness I've been seeing around: Posie has some adorable pens, stockings, and handbags which reminds me of the totes in Alterknits; the adorable toys at Little Birds and Martha's Holiday Issue. So inspired, that after my knitting group this afternoon, I went to two thrift shops looking for wool sweaters to felt and cut.

This blue one was found at the first stop, fully felted! I love that it still has it's buttons!

This gray cabled goodness is huge and will become stockings or an adorable bag (like this one or this one?)
There were so many more feltable sweaters at Goodwill, I was overcome! If you had access to a great stack of brightly felted sweaters, what would you do?

Knits in action

2006-11-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

No WIP picture for today, I didn't get a chance to take one before leaving the house this morning and by the time I get home it'll be dark.
So instead of WIP, I have some KIA shots.
Today was the first chilly day and, of course, the day they (and by they, I mean the men who keep drilling in the hallway) turned off the heat to install a new heater (which won't be on for weeks).
Luckily, I had some fingerless gloves with me.

Which prompted my boss (an elegant woman of 60ish) to wonder (aloud) why I would purposefully knit gloves with no fingers.

So that I can use my fingersBut why ?
Because I'm cold
But why would you take the time to knit something so...
I smiled.
And told her I needed them at my last job, taking hot pottery out of kilns requires dexterity and protection.
A lie.
I knit them because I like them, but that might be a concept she doesn't understand.

Lunch

2006-11-16T17:26:00.000-05:00

I ate my lunch outside today, while OIT hacked my computer to death, at 10:30 this morning. Everything I do is on the computer (uh, designing a website can not be done without one) and while the tech guys tried to fix Photoshop, I enjoyed the nice weather. Sadly, 15 minutes after stepping out (after approx. 2 hours on the phone, waiting for my computer to reboot) they finished and I had to go back to work. 1 hour later, the sky was slate gray and wind was howling.

I believe I experienced the last moments of autumn.
(see more pictures here).

A cookie bar for anyone

2006-11-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

Cookie bars, are, in my opinion, the perfect holiday-family-buffet-style-dinner-with-distant-relatives recipe. They are so very American, very easy, guilt-inducing. Most are simple to bake and their undecorated, gooey appearance reassures the casual snacker that these are not fancy treats. No need for a plate or a fork, just grab a few on a napkin and enjoy.
The kind I make vary depending on the snackers and I'm not sure where I first read this recipe, because I now just make it from memory. Hub likes peanut butter, so his have lots of PB chips. I like toffee in mine. When I make them for the holidays, I usually use butterscotch chips, pecans and shredded coconut (or whatever I have on hand that melts into gooey sweetness)
Ingredients:
Casserole dish, any size
Graham Cracker crumbs (enough to cover the casserole dish you're using)
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
Bag of various chips (chocolate, PB, butterscoth, etc)
More toppings (nuts, shredded coconut, etc)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ish. Thoroughly butter casserole dish, bottom and sides. Cover bottom with crumbs. Pour on condensed milk. Cover with various chips and toppings, making sure to cover every little spot of milk (otherwise it bubles to the surface and covers up your pretty toppings. Bake, until the chips look soft around the edges or your coconut is nice and toasted.
Let cool, if you can stand it. Cut into huge hunks for yourself, small bites for others.

A few words on my favorite shows....

2006-11-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

It may not be edifying, or socially acceptable, but I loove TV. I love the cheap entertainment; I love watching something everyone else is seeing, the feeling that I'm taking part in pop culture, that I have something in common with other Americans. I sometimes feel a bit at odds with my own interests: French Lit and Gray's Anatomy, feminism and Desperate Housewives, a total lack of personal drama and, uh, 90210, knitting podcasts and Entertainment Weekly. I know all that patriotism/pop culture love sound ridiculously pretentious, but I also just love the mindless quiet time for my knitting; the escape it provides while snuggling with the Hub and kittens.
My must-watch list has cycles. I tend to get really into a show, watch (rather, gorge on) all of the past seasons and then move on. In the last 2 years I TiVod all old episodes of Sex & The City, The Sopranos, Alias, ER (up until Season 5), Gilmore Girls, Dharma & Greg and currently, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not all at once, mind you, but one at a time.
I credit this over-the-top TV consumption to a childhood totally devoid of TV or movies. We didn't have cable until my mom remarried when I was 14 and then my step-dad only watched sports and "adult" movies. Living in the middle of corn fields meant we only got 2 or 3 network channels, and most of the shows were deemed "filth". When feeling rebellious, I'd watch Seinfeld on the sly. Going to the movies invovled a long permission-seeking process, in which I provided my mom with a synopsis of the plot, reviews, the rating, etc, ad nauseum. Mom's favorite movie until last year (when she finally saw Sleepless in Seattle? )Homeward Bound. The only show I have memories of watching was The Cosby Show, at Grams' and renting episode after episode of I Love Lucy from the library.
I've more than made up for it. Since moving this summer (and having no friends and nothing social to do) my list of weekly watching has grown exponentially:
Heroes, Studio 60, Gilmore Girls (which is sadly lacking since losing the Palladino's as the NYT so clearly states here), Veronica Mars (we rented the first season this summer from the library and both Hub and I are smitten), My Name is Earl, The Office (yes, we rented all parts of the British version, which I loved, but the joy of this show is how they've Americanized it and it feels like every office I've ever worked in), Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives (but if they even hint at the pedophiliac neighbor again, I'm never tuning in again), and Brothers & Sisters (not because it's all that good, but b/c I like to relax on Sunday nights).
Whew, and I didn't think I had a blog post in me tonight!

Lemon Syrup Loaf

2006-11-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

Argh! Wrote a whole post about this delicious recipe, but blogger ate it. SO,
Here's the details:

from How To Be a Domestic Goddess
I usually make it in a baby bundt mold and it ends up puffier and lighter (and fancier), something about the loaf pan made it denser
I really am blaming the recipe and not myself for its denseness (and lack of rising), as every other recipe I've made from this book has been outragously wrong.
However, Hub loves lemony things and I love the dense, sweet lemonyness of this, so I keep making it
Oh, and YUM!

PS. I don't really care for Nigella's new show, too much focus on her and not the food (I mean, litterally, the camera stays on her face and doesn't show what her hands are doing.

"You must not be from around here!"

2006-11-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

Something I hear everyday since moving to Appalachian Tennessee.
Usually said with a quizzative expression and some kindness in the eyes.
Occasionally smirked in the most mountain of accents and a threatening leer.
An insult or a compliment, depending on the speaker.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The South
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Another bookstore evening

2006-11-11T22:04:00.000-05:00

After a rocky start, my Saturday ended up pretty good.
I went to my Saturday knitting group and was shown a new knitter's first project:

Can you believe how beautiful?
It's the warshrag from the Mason Dixon book, out of KnitPicks Shine. I am SO proud of the new knitter!

Later Hub and I went to dinner at an odd little hole-in-the-wall, the Crazy Tomato. We go out to eat so rarely (it's been...months) it's always a treat. (Even when I forget that, after 2 years of living and eating with a vegetarian, my body can't handle the Meatball Sub)
Afterwards we hung out at Books-A-Million (I finally got my hands on the new IK) until we caught Stranger Than Fiction. Very good, I definately recommend it. Husband thought it would 'darker', but I thought it was fantastic. I've never seen Will Ferrel so, uh, not-big. Last Thursday we listened to his interview on Fresh Air and it really gave me perspective on him and his characters. Have you seen it? What did you think?

WIP Friday

2006-11-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

The alpaca I was dyeing last week?

Turned out beautiful, if a little less rich than I was hoping.

I've spun up 1/4 of it, but can't get any good pictures of it on the wheel, so you'll just have to trust me.
I'm debating whether I should ply it with itself (matching up the repeats as best as possible) or with a solid color silk ply.
Any thoughts?