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April 28, 2006
Here's a fork
so you can eat your heart out because goddammit if I don't feel pretty!
Diamond Fantasy Shawl
Pattern by Sivia Harding
Yarn by Sundara - Superwash Merino Sportweight, custom over-dyed - BLACK
Beads by ? - made in Japan, glass, size 6/0. I used a 11/12 crochet hook from Susan Bates to add the beads - I did not string them before hand. (Be careful - that sucker is pointy!)
Needles by Addi Turbo, US size 6 (4.0mm)
Dress by Donna Ricco New York
Shoes by Chinese Laundry
Body by Ben, Jerry, and the fine people at Tastykake.
I cannot say enough about the pattern, the yarn, or the photographer! Sivia's pattern is a dream to knit. This is my second time through and it's well written, clearly charted - easy enough for a beginner, but challenging enough to keep you going and the results are phenomenol! Sundara was GREAT to work with - I emailed her and told her my vision for the shawl - how big I wanted it to be, how I wanted it to look, the way the beads would work with it and she helped me decide on a yarn and the color (I knew in the black family, but how dark, etc. I left up to her.) The yarn, while stiff and a little scratchy while I was knitting it up (which actually helped me in the knitting) softened up AMAZINGLY after a Lavendar Eucalan bath and it blocked gorgeously. I would not hesitate to buy yarn from her again - no matter what the project.
And Jen the photographer! What can I say about my friend Jen? Jen was a super sport - not only did she take amazing pictures that I actually feel good looking at, she told me I was HOT. She liked my hair, she liked my dress, she liked my shoes, she told me I didn't need to wear panty hose - that girl really knows how to boost your self esteem. She fed me pizza and root beer. She didn't get pissed or flustered when I yelled out photography directions (sorry about that.) And she's got just about the cutest kid ever.
Thanks Jen & Xavi!!! L, C
PS - Shot on location in Jersey City, New Jersey!
Posted by Cara at 07:44 PM | Comments (115)
WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!
My host server had a DoS attack today, so my websites were off line for awhile. I wrote this post this morning before Jen called and asked me to hang out. So off I went AND she took pictures for me all gussied up. They'll come later. Patience my pretties.
Build a house and build it high
Build it right up to the sky
See the roof, see the floor
See the little swinging door
See the momma making bread
See the children asleep in bed
1…2…3 WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP
This children's song was going through my head yesterday while I was trying on dresses for the wedding. The red one from Nordstrom’s doesn’t fit. It’s not really bad, in fact, G first thought it was good – the problem is the dress is really nice. The fabric’s nice. The color’s nice. And it sort of fits. It’s the kind of dress you try on in the store and you carry around with you for an hour because you can’t decide so you buy it anyway and end up returning it. Instead I bought it online and now I’ll return it. The fit is just off. It fits through the middle, sort of, but it’s too big through the chest, sort of. And no, I don’t think alterations will help. Plus, as G said, if you’re going to pay $188 for a dress you want it to fit RIGHT. (Please don’t tell him I thought the price was pretty reasonable.)
Anyway, so when I went out to the P.O. yesterday I stopped at some of the outlets around my house, you know, just to see if there were any dresses out there.
DUDE! When did my body get so old?!?!?
I had an older friend tell me once that 25 was it. That you start to lose your body after 25. She neglected to tell me that it’s gone by 36. ;-) It’s not really that I need to lose that much weight (20 lbs would be great, 15 probably ideal, even 10 would make a big difference) it’s just that everything needs to be toned up. I know, I know. The weather’s nicer now and I have no excuse (well this week I do – PMS is kicking my ass – actually my boobs) NOT to start running again and plenty of inspiration to get me going: Ann, Elisa, Chelsea, Lolly, the other Lolly. Hell, everybody’s doing it! Why shouldn’t I? And I will. My arms were enough to scare the crap out of me. I used to have nice arms. I want nice arms again. Not all Angela Bassett muscley or anything just a teeny bit cut.
Normally I’m not one to obsess about my body (god knows I obsess about everything else) but this wedding is one of those high school reunion type things. You see, these people knew me or met me when I looked like this. Never mind the fact that NONE of them look like they did back then, I don’t look like I did. And it’s not that I really want to look like that again – well the body, yes, but the hair was a pain in the ass and I actually think I look younger with shorter hair – but I want to look like I feel and I still feel like I did back then. Only smarter. And wiser. And better. You know?
Now I’m even more happy about the shawl. I’ll wear the San Simeon dress and cover myself with my own handknit luxury.
To assuage my bruised ego, I started a new sock.
It's Pomatomus in one of the new spring colors from Blue Moon: Dutch Canyon. Sometimes it’s good to try new things because I learned that a) the whole time I was knitting this I kept thinking how nice Dutch Canyon would be as a jaywalker and b) that Pomatomus is an interesting pattern but maybe not so much for me. Especially in this yarn. It will be ripped.
Live and learn people. Live and learn.
Have a great weekend. I will let you all know how the wedding goes. Thank you so so so much for all the compliments on my shawl. It means so much, especially since it will probably be ignored at the wedding. ;-) I PROMISE I will do my best to get action shots. I’m not sure how and I’m not sure when, but I will get them for you! I PROMISE! Jen took them for me! Hopefully they'll go up sometime tonight. Thanks!
PS - GO TELL CARRIE MAZEL TOV! The Pants asked her to make it legal! YAY!
Posted by Cara at 05:33 PM | Comments (6)
April 27, 2006
I knit; therefore I am.
One of the things that makes writing so amazingly incredibly difficult (and also why it makes it so so satisfying - please let me write again! PLEASE!) is that there is this HUGE gap between your imagination and what actually makes it onto the page. I can spend days and hours and days thinking over stories and having it be PERFECT in my mind and it never makes it out of my head exactly the way I want it to be. I'm not sure I know why this is - but it is. It's probably the same for painting. Such inexactness is what makes it all so precious, maybe. I don't know. But I know that writing is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life (so far) and that it's like pulling teeth to get started and full of disappointment and the greatest feeling when you've done what you set out to do. I often cry when I finish a story, or at least I used to. Part so glad it's over part awe that I created this.
I called G yesterday and in hushed reverent tones I said, "That shawl. My shawl. You know the one on the floor? Well it's beyond perfect."
"I know. It's great."
"No. I unpinned it. It's amazing. EXACTLY what I wanted."
"I saw it yesterday. You're the best."
"But it's OFF THE FLOOR. You DON'T understand. IT'S PERFECT."
I was like Maria in West Side Story, flitting about the house with that shawl - oh so pretty, so pretty and witty and gay. I tried it on while I was naked. (By the way, triangular shawls - not so good with the naked. Those points don't cover much.) I did Talia Shire in Godfather III pulling it up over my head dramatically. I thought about greeting G at the door with nothing on but the shawl (I can't explain why this particular piece of knitting is causing me to take off my clothes. I'm not usually like that with handknits) but then I had to pick him up at the train.
The best part about this shawl is that I had a vision in my mind and I GOT EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!! No where else in my creative life is this possible. With the writing - well I already explained that. With the photography - it depends. Sometimes I don't know what I want with the flower pictures or the inanimate object pictures until I've taken one - liked it - and gone back to try to recreate it or change it slightly or jump off from there. And the kids, well, the kids is a cross your fingers on one hand, let the shutter fly on the other and hope for the best. It's a split second kind of creativity and oftentimes I don't remember framing the shot except it's clearly obvious I did when I look at the results.
But knitting is different. It's never perfect, there's always some handknit anomaly somewhere in there, which is a GOOD thing and something my anxiety/control ridden/ocd mind wants and needs, but I can GET my vision! I can ACHIEVE what I set out to make. As soon as I finished my first DFS I had an idea about a DFS with beads. I was at Rhinebeck when I saw some black(ish) STR and thought wouldn't it be so elegant in black with beads. I bought the yarn and left it in the drawer, oftentimes dreaming about it, and then the wedding came up. I'm glad I didn't use the STR in the end, because I think the solid black is much more dramatic. And it's HUGE. When I blocked it out I measured that it's 35" on each side of the middle line - so 70" at the wingspan. And from the point to the top it's about 35" as well. (It hits way below my ass, thank you very much.) I feel such a sense of creative accomplishment. I had a vision, and that vision turned out to be true.
Thank you all so much for your comments. I will absolutely try to get pictures of me wearing it with the dress. Whatever dress works out. Wouldn't you know it - I ordered some books from Amazon on Monday and did the regular shipping (not the free one) and the freaking books came yesterday. I ordered the dress on Sunday, paid for two day delivery - supposedly it shipped on Monday - and it's not here yet. Today, I'm hoping. And please think good thoughts for it to fit. I would really, really like to wear the red dress and not the black one. The shawl will look SO much more dramatic against the red. ;-) (And I don't really know the bride - I may have met her once, so I'm not feeling too bad about showing her up!)
I'll end with this. SOMEONE better ask me about the shawl at the damn wedding. I asked G if he thought someone would ask about it. Did it look really good? Would people be impressed? (I know - Hello my name is Karen. I'm a validation whore.) He told me that I shouldn't get my hopes up and used a couple of derogatory monikers to describe the people who most likely will be attending the wedding - excluding us of course. ONE person. I just want to tell ONE person that I made it myself.
Posted by Cara at 09:45 AM | Comments (50)
April 26, 2006
To say I'm happy would be the understatement of the fucking year!
I have no clue as to how I'm going to properly photograph it. It's magnificent. If I thought it wouldn't detract too much from the shawl, I'd go to the wedding wearing nothing but this beauty. The beads are cool against my arm and gently remind me of their presence. The yarn is soft. It's (amazingly) light. It's perfect.
Anticipation
as a form of procrastination.
Posted by Cara at 05:31 PM | Comments (69)
Let's get ra-andom, ra-andom. I wanna get ra-andom. Let's get into ra-andom!*
I had two chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. Because, you know, I have a wedding in two days.
Yesterday was LOADS of fun. Lorette is everything and more than her blog promises. Although she was a bit quiet so I hope my big mouthed enthusiasm wasn't too overwhelming. Really. I'm a good listener! Wanna know how enthusiastic I was? Welp, at School Products I pulled out the shawl to show Lorette. At Purl Patchwork I pulled out the shawl to show Kay and Lorette and poor Joelle. Kay had to talk me down from all the glorious fiber. I chose SPINNING as the OTHER hobby. NONONONONONO to sewing and quilting! JUST SAY NO! And then later on I showed Jen and Lorette the shawl at Seaport, where we got to take a survey about vitamin water and got $10 bucks off! I told Lorette is was a business disguised as a yarn shop. It was fabulous to meet Lorette! Great to see Jen! THE BEST to play with Xavi! And, as usual, too cool for school to hang with my world traveler and renowned author friend Kay. (Although I know now that I will have to fight her if there's a baby in the room!)
Speaking of the Mason-Dixon girls, MAN have I drunk up the Kool-Aid!
I told Kay I bought the Gee's Bend book and she was all like what made you buy it? Where did you hear about it? Um. Kay honey. I read your book. DUH! And that there on top of the book is some rilly fine Euroflax linen for handtowels. The handtowels in my guest bathroom are looking kind of ratty so I thought I'd spiff up the place. I'm a goner as you can plainly see.
I've decided if you come to New York there are three yarns stores that are MUST visits. There are a gazillion yarn stores all over the city (well, not a gazillion, but if you look at it statistically by how many actual knitters there are in this city of 8 million or so people, then there are quite a few.) I've actually been kind of down on the yarn store lately - feeling like if you've been in one you've been in them all and since I don't really have a knitting community (besides, you know, you all) I don't have any particular allegience to any particular shop. There are, though, quite a few I actually can't stand, but that's another random Wednesday. Anyway, I'm basing this observation on many, many yarn store visits around and about Manhattan. First off, you've got to hit Habu. It's just so out there - the yarns and the shop - that you won't find anything like it anywhere. It's quite the experience. (And while you're at Habu, you might as well stop at School Products, because, well, it's around the corner.)
The next shop I think you should not miss is Purl. Just for the sheer beauty of it. It's incredibly tiny and more than five people you're like looking for an exit but the walls are covered in color. Gorgeous, rich color. The prices are eh and the yarns are all yarns you've seen before, but it's the environment you need to soak up. (The Point is a few blocks away and I know lots of people hang out and knit there. It's okay - I'm not enamored with the layout - yarn in baskets on the walls - but I do like the big table in the middle perfect for a nice big knitting party.)
The final shop I think anyone MUST see in New York is Seaport. By now you probably now the story behind the store - it's an actual office with actual office workers working amidst piles and piles and rooms and rooms of yarn. Andrea, the owner, has hands down the best variety of yarn and excellent prices and the fact that they only take cash is a nuisance overcome by the ATM machine in the Duane Reade across the street. She also has the best book and pattern selection anywhere. Seaport is messy and overwhelming and site to behold. A must stop.
I know there are many other stores around the city - including a new one - Knitty City. This might get an add on to the list because it had the best atmosphere - warm and inviting. Sadly you don't get that very often in stores around the city unless you're part of the "in" crowd. I'm not "in" anywhere. (That's why I have a blog so I can pretend I'm in somewhere!) At Knitty City it felt like you were in if you were a knitter - or aspired to be one. Those were the only requirements. And it's a beautiful store - I just wish it wasn't quite so uptown!
Wanna come for a visit?
Yesterday was a much needed day of adult (and baby) interaction. I've been home alone A LOT lately - G's been working working working - and while The Donner Party is fun and all to hang with - real people who don't dine on each other can be a special treat as well. When I got home last night I was so excited and exhausted and exhilirated I set out to BLOCK MY SHAWL RIGHT NOW! So I prepared the guest room/den (pulled up the futon and dumped the clean clothes on my bed) so I could lay out the damn thing on the floor. I got a nice tepid temperature running in the sink and submerged the shawl into a relaxing lavendar bath. And IMMEDIATELY realized I had forgotten to weave in the ends. Duh! (Although the Zen master tells me she does this all the time - weave in the ends after the blocking. Made me feel so much better. As opposed to the HEN master who laughed at me.) I persevered though, on my hands and knees, and blocked the fucker home!
This mofo is BIG!
Unpinned, ends woven in pictures later. Gotta have something for tomorrow and hopefully the red dress will come today and it will be fantabulous on my chocolate chip cookie enhanced body and all will be good. I'm not real worried though because I tried on the dress I wore to my San Simeon adventure and it fits. Worse comes to worst, I can wear that, with my shawl draped over my head so I can look like an old Italian widow. So hot!
Dear Comment Spammer: I'm a little bit worried about you. I know you're trying to convince me that certain parts of the body, which I may or may not have, would do well with a little enhancement, but maybe this isn't the best way to go about it:
Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. I haven't been up to much these days. I just don't have much to say right now. I can't be bothered with anything , but whatever.OR
I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.
DUDE! Way to bring the party down! MamaCate, Colleen and I have a suggestion though - it may just help this nihilistic streak you've got going.
When the world seems dark and cold, there's no meaning left in the sun and stars and the flowers, you're alone with your empty carton of milk and your double thick oreos, I have a suggestion. KNIT SOCKS!
Just keep on casting on my friend. Too many are never enough!
* My homage to my High Energy Friend! GO SEND HER THE BEST VIBES! Love you COMPADRE!
Posted by Cara at 01:50 PM | Comments (31)
April 25, 2006
Uncle
I didn't do the next repeat. Here's a really, really awful picture of the unblocked Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl:
Click on the picture - it definitely looks better bigger. Anyway, I'm SO glad I decided not to go on - first off - this thing is 56" unblocked - hell - it's not even stretched out at all. And it's heavy - between the beads and the yarn another repeat might have sent it over the edge. I added beads below the bind off edge - where the middle of the diamond would've been had I done the next repeat, but right now the edge is folding over on it and you can't see it. And that edge! MY GOD! I can not sing the praises of the I-cord bindoff enough. It's GORGEOUS! But it also took me like five hours to do. Granted I took breaks every now and again, but still. See that red thread running through? That's some left over STR that I'm using to do Stephanie's blocking trick for straight edges. She threads in a piece of waste yarn much bigger than the biggest size you might want to block the piece and then pulls tight. I forgot with the last shawl but I was smart this time. Here's hoping it works better than pins across the straight edge.
So today I'm off for some knitblogger play. Lorette is in town! YAY! and we're going to go yarn shopping and a couple of friends might join us. The more the merrier!
Obervation: Last night I was laying in bed - Georgie came home late - and I had just finished watching this super scary PBS show on The Donner Party. The pictures of these people? The true definition of haunted. They labeled the freaking body parts so people didn't have to eat their own kin. WOW. Oh and by the way - is there anything that Ric Burns HASN'T made a documentary about? I digress. G and I were laying in bed flipping around the tv and he landed on Jay Leno. Robin Williams was the guest. As we were laying there laughing, I had that feeling I sometimes get - I am a grown-up. Nothing says grown-up to me like late night talk shows. It brings me back to my childhood - when my parents would watch Johnny Carson and I would wake up and wander into their room - they were laughing at things I didn't understand. It was a grown-up thing. Weird huh. I'm the grown-up (sort of) now. Sometimes it feels really good. It's nice to get the jokes.
Posted by Cara at 09:43 AM | Comments (23)
April 24, 2006
You can never be too rich or too thin
or have too many diamonds. Or can you? I'd take a picture of the BDFS but it's black and outside is gray. Very very gray. Which means even when I turn on all the lights in my house it's still very dark. How is it that when it's dark at 9AM it seems so much darker in the house than when it's 9PM? I don't understand, but it's true.
Anyway, back to the shawl. All I did the entire weekend was knit this shawl. Really. I kid you not. Starting from Friday night (G had a work thing) all the way until about midnight this morning I knit this shawl. That's a lot of black knitting on a pattern I practically memorized nine repeats ago. (I do still need to consult the chart at the beginning of each row.) And while it's still a great pattern, it's lace and that means I have to pay at least a little attention. Did I mention it's black and that every eight or so rows I have to add beads which is becoming more and more tedious as the shawl goes on? At least I had good tv to keep me entertained. The King and I Friday night. West Side Story immediately followed up by Fiddler on the Roof on Saturday. Sunday I woke up and knit during the news shows and then took a small break for a visit with my in-laws for Easter. Excellent lamb by the way. Then it was home to watch Mean Girls (Heathers is just SO much better) and the Sunday night shows. May I digress for a minute? I may be a true romantic cornball at heart but OH MY GOD I'm loving the way The West Wing is ending the series. I know this makes me a nerd of gargantuan proportions but I *heart* Josh. I'm like a broken record but Donna and Josh are SO perfect together and last week when CJ got that big smile on her face because she's doing it with Elliot from thirtysomething? How cute was our very own Claudia Jean? This is the way a series should end! Hook everyone up! Make everyone happy!
Back to the shawl. Here's the sitch: ostensibly, I'm done. I've got like three rows left (yes that will probably take me three hours) but once I get to the end of the current repeat I've done my ten repeats. Which gives me 21 diamonds across the top. When I count the diamonds across the top of my previously finished DFS, I get 23 diamonds. I guess I did an extra repeat. Call me overzealous. Now I don't know what to do - should I do the extra repeat on THIS shawl? Or just leave it? I hate that I can't tell how big it's really going to be, but it's going to be pretty big given that I knit it with sportweight wool and I think it's going to look really nice REALLY blocked because then they'll be all the pretty empty space between the diamonds and the beads but I feel like if I don't do the extra repeat I'll know I didn't do the extra repeat and that will niggle at me. Or will it? Because honestly I'm SICK of this thing and I don't even want to go to the wedding because I'm REALLY fat and I ordered a perfect dress yesterday from Nordstrom's but even though I ordered a fat size (for me) I bet you it will be too small and then I'll be really upset even though I know this particular designer probably cuts her stuff really really tiny. I've got the yarn - that's not an issue - but I know I'm going to have to break into the last skein, which in and of itself isn't a big deal except that I've been having a lot of trouble winding up this yarn and currently that last skein is in a knotty heap on the floor in the living room. It'll probably take me a whole day to untangle the mess. Which isn't the best reason NOT to continue on, but I don't know for a fact that I'll have enough yarn in the skank I currently have working to finish the next repeat. Sigh. What would you do?
Thank you all so much for your comments on my handwriting post! It touches me that I was able to touch all of you. This ABC thing continues to inspire me - I'm so grateful to Anne for the brilliant idea! Thank you Anne!
PS : A friend just sent me a link to this very excellent (obviously European) commercial. Gotta love those Europeans!
Posted by Cara at 09:28 AM | Comments (37)
April 21, 2006
H is for
Handwriting
I started out this morning with this meme - first seen over at Craftapalooza Nicole's and most recently seen at Mim's. Original idea can be found here. Basically, write out a pangram, snap a picture and blog it. Instant - very cool - very different - meme! Yesterday I was at Staples getting some supplies and I saw this 24 pack of Sharpies. I thought PERFECT! I have so many meme choices.
And then, when I was in the middle of taking pictures and uploading them and processing them I thought - I've got my H!!!! The pictures in this one aren't half as creative as I usually try to make them but this is by far the most personal series of photographs. I'm giving commentary too so it's a bit different than my usual ABC A-Long set up.
When I thought about the different things I could include in this series, I immediately thought about one of my favorite doodles - I used to do it a lot when I was in school, but I don't do it much now. Not a lot of note taking going on. It's the alphabet written as one long word. I LOVE to do this. I thought it would be perfect to use every Sharpie in the pack too.
In this day and age of computers, it's rare that I'm writing stuff down. Mostly I just scribble stuff.
This is a collection of post-it notes. There are an awful lot of numbers on these pages - some phone numbers - but mostly math because I suck at math and I often try to figure it out myself before opening the calculator on the computer.
In thinking about handwriting I tried to find the places in my life it's affected me most. Handwriting is incredibly intimate, don't you think? It says so much about you and it takes time (I mean I search for a least fifteen minutes to find a pen) to write a letter.
A million years ago, I started leaving G cards in his suitcase when he went away. Flying specifically - but it's become something of an obsession for me. He MUST have a card in his bag if he's flying. I often hide them in his suitcase and he used to be surprised most of the time, but now he expects it and seeks them out. They're usually cheezy sappy cards and I always write how much I love him and that I'll miss him and we've saved them over the years. I don't know where all of them are but they're here.
Speaking of G, when I told him my idea for H he asked if I was going to put some of his chicken scratch in there. I said sure - he's got the WORST handwriting I've ever seen and he's made an art of using handwriting fonts. He can't write at all - and I can't read it. This is a letter he wrote to an old high school girlfriend - it's pretty funny - some convoluted story about seeing her picture in the paper and reading it while sitting at breakfast in the south of France on vacation. He had to be a year out of college? Maybe 23? His handwriting has deteriorated completely - this is gorgeous, but I can see traces of what it's become.
In contrast, this is an example of some of my favorite handwriting in the world! When I came up with this idea, I took a trip down memory lane and found myself in our storage room looking through old letters. This one was written by my grandmother, my mother's mother, who will turn 85 in a month or two. Her handwriting looks exactly the same now as it did in 1987, when this letter was written. I love her handwriting. It's so beautiful to me. The shape and flow of the letters - I would be able to identify this handwriting anywhere. She's got great capital letters.
While I was looking through all the old letters, I found some from my other grandmother, my father's mother - my Nana. Also letters from one of her sisters, my Aunt Annette. Once I had their letters, I went looking for some old pictures I had of them which I took from my Aunt's house when she died. I was very close with my Aunt Annette - she lived the longest of the three, but it's their oldest sister, my Aunt Syl, I've been thinking most about. I've been asking her to come to me in my dreams (an outshoot of the medium stuff) because she has before and so far no go. I think about my aunts and my grandmother often and miss them a lot.
Last but not least are my birthday books. I've talked about these before - my father gives me (and all of my siblings) a book for our birthday - something special just from him - and I have my books going back to my birth. My father also writes a note in the book. Often my siblings and I will call each other to read the note - my dad's always telling us how proud he is of us and all that other good stuff. Never fails to get a tear.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
PS - As always, you can click on any picture to open a bigger version.
Posted by Cara at 01:34 PM | Comments (40)
April 20, 2006
My Big Fat Greek
SOCK!!
The whole time I was knitting my sock pal socks (thanks for all your kudos by the way!) I kept thinking about how great the Hot Flash would look with the Lover's Leap. So I started looking through books and more books until I found this mosaic pattern I thought would work. It's the Fretwork Pattern from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, p. 82.
The pattern notes say it's based on the famous Greek Fret and as soon as Georgie saw them he said they were "My Big Fat Greek Socks." Seriously. He takes all the credit for the name - he LOVES them! He's got me making socks in greek flag colors for all the little girls at Greek School. Um no. He can't wait to show them to his mother on Sunday, which is Greek Easter. I'm happy because they remind me of the Red Easter Eggs we have at his parent's house every year. Everyone takes an egg and you crack the ends against your neighbors' eggs and the last one with a whole egg (no cracks) wins! (What they win I'm not sure - eternal happiness? Chocolate? Sadly, I've never won.)
I'm THRILLED with the way the socks look off the needles, but so so on the foot. The slip stitches at some of the joins are loose and if I like the way the sock ends up, I'll probably knit another pair and keep this one as the prototype. They're a bit tight getting them over the heel, but I don't think I can go up to Size 3 needles. Maybe if I keep the ribbing on 2s and do the body on 3s? Then go back to 2s for the heel and the foot? I'm going to do the heel in red and the toe in red and the foot, well, I have an idea about the foot, but I'll get to that when I get there.
Today's a process day. I need to mull over some work stuff and G's out tonight so I'm going to concentrate on lots of fiber fun. Like SPIN! Finally. I want to move onto my April Project Spectrum Spinning before April actually ends and I plan on trying to get in a whole repeat today on the shawl. Ambitious I know, but if I don't eat or clean or pay bills or tend to my own personal hygiene, I think I can do it ALL!
Posted by Cara at 01:50 PM | Comments (38)
April 19, 2006
Simply SockapalOOOza
MY! Aren't they lovely?
Simply Lovely Lace Socks
by Karen Baumer, IK, Spring 2006
Socks That Rock, Lightweight, Lover's Leap
Two circulars, Addi Turbos Size 2 (3.0 mm)
Knit for SockapalOOOza.
I know I'm like a broken record, but oh my god I love this yarn. LOVE IT! (The color is actually a bit redder in real life. So hard to photograph red!) This batch of yarn was even softer than usual. The socks are really done, ends woven in and everything, but I still need to give them a nice lavendar Eucalan bath. That will happen soon. I'd just like to point out that I'm done with a week and a half to spare. Thankyouverymuch! One deadline down - one to go. Of course, I'm sure I will be plenty sidetracked. I started a new sock yesterday - and when I say new I mean new to you and me! YAY! But I had to rip it once I figured out that it was going to work. I need to knit it on bigger needles. But all is well, no fear. I'm hoping to have some decent progress in the next few days so I can reveal it. OOOHH! I'm so excited I could burst. It's going to be really cool. (At least I think it is.) There are like fifteen million socks I want to knit. And I've got at least three singles lying around waiting for mates. And I MUST finish the shawl. I will finish the shawl in time. It's just that it's boring at this point and it takes a long time to get through a row and I'm looking at longer and longer rows. I've still got a week and a half for that and it looks like it might rain this weekend, so if I can get this new NEW sock on track, I'll go back to the shawl. And Short Rows. I've been mulling the collar fix off and on for weeks. Here's the problem: I picked up all the stitches I THOUGHT should be picked up (I'm thinking sock gussets here - didn't want any holes) and then I decreased to try to get to the number the pattern said and I got lots of nice puckers. What if I just keep the number of stitches I think I need to pick up? It will work then right? I need to do some more research on this before I try again.
My dear deluded friend Ann yelled at me yesterday when I was talking to her about my many amazing knitty ideas. She said, "Why don't you finish something first?" Hong Kong Phooey on you Ann! YOU CAN NOT HOLD CREATIVITY BACK!!!! You must let it be free to flourish and sing and eat freaking Spaghettios if it wants to. Godammit.
PS - Speaking of socks, head on over to Heather's and help her with her school project. There might be sock yarn in it for you!
Posted by Cara at 09:49 AM | Comments (44)
April 18, 2006
G is for
Growth
Whew! This was a really hard one for me. I had lots of ideas for G (yes, including Georgie) that either I rejected or didn't pan out or I took 8 million pictures and hated them all. Yesterday I went out in search of growth and I found it a myriad of ways! New buds, emerging petals bursting forth in a blaze of spring - along with emotional leaps, creative bounds, psychic jumps. All that good stuff.
These photographs are a real departure for me. It's difficult to get clean, crisp macro shots. I'll often stand, waiting, with a flower for a long time to get things just right. I literally took about 850 pictures when I went out yesterday - these are the best I got. I love the light in a lot of them. I'm not sure I really like the composition in all of them, but I think they tell a story about growth and nature and they are incredibly sexual to me in a lot of ways. Do you see it? They aren't as sharp as I usually like; the wind kicked up stronger and stronger while I was out. Wind is the enemy of a macro photographer. But I like the blur in these pictures and I think it adds to the narrative. Things are blurry when you're growing up - and often times they never become clear, no matter how hard you try to see. Life is fuzzy like that.
Posted by Cara at 12:04 PM | Comments (35)
April 17, 2006
It's just a fantasy whoa-o-o-o
Sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need
Georgie and I had LOTS of juicy, passionate discussions this weekend and one of them was about the merits of Billy Joel's songbook. We both agreed that Glass Houses ranks up there as one of the all time best. All For Leyna puts it over 52nd Street by a knockout.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not throwing over one B Rock Boy for another. Billy isn't fit to tie Bruce's shoes, in my estimation, but he does have some really, really good songs. Really good. ( I mean, really, Captain Jack was one of the reasons I wanted to live in New York. Who didn't want to get high in the Village?) We heard Sometimes A Fantasy on our way home the other night and cranked it loud. I love singing along with my G-Love! LOVE IT!
Anyway, we had a great weekend! Guess what I did? NOTHING! Well, nothing if nothing includes a ton of knitting and laying around in my bed and watching like ten hours of Another World. Frankie and Cass are engaged (my fave pairing) and the Sharlene/Sharlee multiple personality thing is about to hit the fan, although I much prefer the later, eviler Grant Harrison than the doofus playing him now. Josie's fake stalker might be real. Rachel and Ken Jordan are about to do the nasty, only he's working with Paulina and we all now what's coming there. (I prefer the later Paulina as well. Who's on Days (again) right now.) The whole Suspicion thing going on with the Amanda/Sam/Evan triangle is a yawn and I never, ever liked shrill Amanda to begin with and Sam's almost as annoying as Evan, but send me over some Hudson love and I'm happy. I've always loved Donna. And Jake. And Michael and Vicki and Marley. I'm looking forward to Ann Heche being replaced by Jensen Buchanan but I have to give her props. She sure can bring it.
After finishing up the taxes on Saturday morning (just some last minute checks - they were really done before I left) and a trip to the post office (did you know it was like $50 to E-FILE?! How ridiculous is that?) we did a drive through of Branch Brook Park to see the amazing Cherry Blossoms. We thought we might sit outside for awhile since it was like 80 degrees on Saturday, but the park was CRAZY. The trees were beautiful though. No pictures. I don't like to take pictures unless I can get really, really close. Or someone's paying me. ;-)
There were lots and lots of religion discussions too. Fitting given the Passover/Easter weekend. We watched a few minutes of The Ten Commandments and had a lively discussion of Cecil B. DeMille's Passover meal. The kid asks why they're eating bitter herbs and Chuck Heston says so we can remember the bad times. Um. WE eat bitter herbs so we can remember THEIR bad times. This is ostensibly the FIRST Passover. The seder didn't come until the NEXT year. We talked about the history of the whole thing - what year did this happen, that happen, when did this one die, that one, who fought against who. G gets really into it and peppers me with questions. He thinks just because I studied all this stuff in college I should know it all. As the weekend moved closer to Easter we got into it about Christianity - and when I say Christianity I'm talking 70 A.D. and such. I watched a fascinating show on the Gospel of Judas. Fascinating! I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but oh my god. It's amazing how much MAN'S decisions influenced what was supposedly DIVINE. Did you know that originally there were over 30 gospels out there? Guess who chose the four that got in the good book? Yeah. A guy. (Before you go telling me it was divinely inspired and all that let me tell you that when it comes to ancient texts, I am an academic all the way. If you'd like to read that as skeptic, be my guest. I don't doubt the existence of many of these people and events, but there are academic criteria that must be met before we can say it DEFINITELY happened. My Jesuit Professor taught me that in one of my favorite classes in college - Jesus and His Times.) Anyway, lively debate all around! We love that.
The rest of the weekend I knit. It was heaven!
I started the second sockapaloooza sock and I'm already on the gusset. I will have this baby finished in no time! Deadlines Schmedlines! Still loving the yarn and the pattern and I can only hope my pal will too.
Most of the time though I knit on my Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl.
I'm already up to repeat 7. I have a little system going. I like to finish a repeat then start the first row (where you add the extra sections) of the next repeat and leave it on a purl row. This way I know where I am and I can just knit - I've already done the next bead row - which is getting slower and more tedious the longer I make this thing - and I don't have to worry about beads again until the second section of the chart.
I still love it and everytime G looks at it he tells me how classy it is. I hope it fulfills its purpose of camouflaging how fat I have become (again!) and making me feel fabulous because I'm afraid the dress and the body won't be helping at all. Anyway, that's my problem. I have a plan. And the plan is to knit a FABULOUS shawl that takes all the attention away from how gross I look. ( It's how I feel. You've all been there I'm sure.)
The only teensy tiny regret I might have is the yarn. Sundara did a fabulous job dyeing it for me and it's perfect, but a little bit scratchy. She told me that would go away with washing (it's from the overdye) but I'm thinking I should've gone with some kind of silk blend for utter luxury. I know it will block out fabulous though, so I think this regret is only from knitting a TON on it this weekend (four repeats?) and that I'm a bit bored of it. Still and all a FANTASTIC pattern and I'm loving the beads.
I'm way behind on the ABC A-Long but not for lack of trying. I had a G all lined up and I took a bunch of pictures this weekend and I hate them all. I hated them while I was taking them and I hated them when I looked at them and that G won't be working. So I'm moving on to another G and I hope to have it up soon. You can't put a calendar on inspiration. I'm trying. I will hopefully get back on track soon, although H and I aren't really helping either. Damn alphabet. One thing that has been working is my knitty imagination!!!! I've got some HUGE plans. HUGE. I'm very, very excited.
Posted by Cara at 10:31 AM | Comments (29)
April 14, 2006
Rare Gems
I guess I might as well admit it. I'm a sock knitter. I know you all think I'm a sock knitter, but I've been avoiding the label because, well, I DO knit other things besides socks. Although it might not seem like it these days.
I finished three socks while I was at my sister's. The first one I'm going to talk about is a mate - so now I have a pair.
Yes, yes. I ran out of yarn. I'm still using the old put up - I've got a lot of STR skeins to get through - but it wasn't all the fault of the yarn. The colorway is a RARE GEM, which means no one else in the world has it but me! Sometimes mistakes are made in the dye pot and Tina transforms these "mistakes" into gorgeous unique colorways through overdyeing. I was worried from the start that I'd run out and in this world of self-fulfilling prophecies I did. The funny thing? I made a mistake in the pattern. I hope you're laughing because I certainly did - this is my 11th pair of jaywalkers? I've lost count to be honest. So here I am knitting on this sock and I decide to do a stitch count and I realize that somewhere I added an extra stitch. The best part is that I made the mistake in a place that's completely obliterated by the pattern! That's why I couldn't see it. (For those of you intimately acquainted with the jaywalker pattern, I added the second ktfbl on a knit row down the middle of the sock so on the next row the pattern was unchanged for the first ktfbl. And if you understand that - maybe it's time to find a new sock pattern. ;-) ) When it became clear to me that I was going to run out of yarn, I called my favorite dyer Tina and asked for some Spinel, which I thought would work perfect for the toe.
And I think I was right! I love the sock. Then I had to decide whether or not I wanted both socks to match, since I had already finished the first sock with the Rare Gems yarn. I decided I liked them different. Truly a pair of Rare Gem socks.
I love them. They will sit in my (soon to be determined) sock drawer and wait for the cold feet of fall.
I also finished one of my Hot Flash jaywalkers:
OH MY GOD! I have GOT to start counting more. This time I made a very similar mistake (left out a ktfbl) and ended up a stitch short. I'm getting better with the whole perfectionism thing though because I didn't rip it out and fix it at the source (the mistake was on the cuff and when I figured it out I was on the foot.) I fixed it where I found the mistake. Same as the Rare Gems sock. Love the sock. Will be making another one.
And in the biggest news of the day, I finished sock ONE of my Sockapaloooza socks:
LOVE the yarn. LOVE the pattern. LOVE the sock. (That's three loves for sockapalOOOza.) It is SO hard knitting socks for someone other than yourself - especially someone far away that can't try them on for you. They are pretty loose on me so and a bit long so I've got all my toes crossed that they will fit the recipient.
I think it's pretty funny that the jaywalker looks bigger than the sock pal sock. So not the case.
Anyway. That's what I knit while I was away. It was excellent to see the kids and hang with my sister but I'm VERY glad to be home. Look for lots of black and bead lace knitting to come and another sock pal sock. That's going to be pretty much it until the end of April. Deadlines loom. Oh and if anyone has any ideas about sending expensive and IRREPLACEABLE jewelry through the mail (fedex, etc.) please let me know. I left my fancy wedding ring at my sister's and I want it back in my possession ASAP. I don't feel like going back down there to pick it up and I'm missing it desperately. But can you really send that kind of stuff?
Posted by Cara at 11:26 AM | Comments (34)
April 12, 2006
He said I was his hero.
All because I taught him to knit. How amazing is that? This morning my nephew and I were knitting - quick - if you get dressed quick we can knit a little bit before you have to go to school! - and he managed to knit a couple stitches ALL BY HIMSELF and when we were done our mini lesson he told me I was his hero. All together now: AWWWW!!!! Tonight, on the ride to his bubbe's, I told him I'd sit next to him in the back of the van and we'd knit some more.
Hanging with the kids is ALWAYS a good time. The baby isn't a baby anymore, being that he's one and all now. Okay, well he's still a baby, but much less babyish all the time. Talking up a storm - if only we could understand what he's saying! - and standing and laughing and dancing. He's a sweetie pie if there ever was one.
And the princess is sick but still cute as a button. Although I think she got me sick too, or maybe it's allergies, but my throat is scratchy and my eyes are all drippy and my nose is stuffed and I'm honestly sick of feeling like crap. Either tired or harried or stressed or like crap. I want to feel good! I want to RUN! The weather is definitely inspiring me to get my ass off the couch and strap those sneakers on. That and the fact that my sister and I tried on about 4,361 pairs of jeans and not one of them looked even remotely passable.
On the knitting front - a pair of socks is finally finished! But with a twist! Another sock is finished. And another one - the sock pal one - has been knit and ripped and knit and ripped and knit and ripped (literally!) and is finally on its way. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week and the next one started ASAP. I'm not worried about meeting the deadline.
I saw this over at Vicki's the other day and it looked like fun fodder. Have a great day! Happy Pesach!
Do a Wikipedia search of your birthdate, minus the year; list three interesting events, three people who were born, and three people who died on that day.
Events
1. 45 BC - The Julian calendar first takes effect.
2. 1818 - Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is published.
3. 1901 - The first official Mummers Parade is held.
4. 1985 - The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
Births
1. 1735 - Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot (d. 1818)
2. 1752 - Betsy Ross, American seamstress (d. 1836)
3. 1864 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)
4. 1919 - J. D. Salinger, American novelist
5. 1970 - Gabriel Jarret, American actor
Deaths
1. 1953 - Hank Williams is pronounced dead after passing out in the back seat of a car which was travelling to his next gig in Canton, Ohio.
2. 1958 - Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
3. 1972 - Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
See you Friday!
PS - You all know that whole toilet paper thing? A joke. Just a joke. (Albeit a bad one!)
Posted by Cara at 02:14 PM | Comments (12)
April 07, 2006
B-19
BINGO! We have some winners!
First, the winner of the Ghost Story contest is:
And the winners of the Mason Dixon contest are:
Thanks everyone for playing! Tune in for next week's contest: Guess how much toilet paper is in my house RIGHT NOW?!
Posted by Cara at 06:33 PM | Comments (14)
Hissies and Their Fits
You know, the older I get the more I learn from my mistakes. It's all part of that growing up process my 85 yr old grandmother promises me NEVER ends. We're ALWAYS growing and hopefully learning and even more hopefully APPLYING that knowledge. One of the things I've really been trying to learn and apply in my life is knowing when enough is enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our bodies and our minds were like our gas tanks? I get a nice little reminder on my car - it's called DTE. Distance Till Empty. Along with the little orange light that blinks, DTE gives me plenty of warning on when (not if) I will run out of gas. If that should happen, well, then, I'm the only one to blame. I mean, really, the car TOLD me it was going to happen.
I guess, in reality, our bodies do have a warning light - it's just so much easier to ignore. But last night was one of those LOUD AND CLEAR warnings. Sirens wailing. Smoke detectors going off even though you took out the battery an hour ago. A camel dehydrating in the desert. DUDES! I was DONE!
I ended up going to be very late Wednesday night - even though I hadn't planned on it - and then I didn't get anything done I needed to get done on Thursday. Thursday night was great though! I went to see Ann and Kay read at Knitty City - a new shop in NYC on 79th (btwn Amsterdam and Broadway). What a wonderful shop! Great yarn selections - TONS of Cascade 220. Lorna's Laces. They'll be carrying the full line of Koigu next fall. Cottons, wools, alpaca, sock yarn, fun yarn - everything. A nice book selection. Classes. A full service yarn store and the staff was very nice too - the complete antithesis to that OTHER yarn store on the UWS. Give it a try. Anyway, it was great to see Ann and Kay and meet some new to me knitter and bloggers! Hi Mary! Hi Marcela! (Marcela and I have the SAME BIRTHDAY!!! How cool is that?) Hi Margaret! Hi Sahara! And there were so many others that I'm sorry I've forgotten! It was a great crowd and lots of fun knitters. I'll definitely be back. ETA! I forgot to say Hi Ina! And look! Ina has a picture of my funkycoolfabulous new shoes on her blog! Thanks Ina!
So I came home, kind of early, with the hopes of knocking out what I couldn't (wouldn't) do during the day, so that I could leave today to go to Philly and see Ann and Kay at Loop. I have to be in Philadelphia anyway - today is the baby's FIRST BIRTHDAY! Can you believe it?! Tomorrow is his birthday party and next week is Passover. But last night my printer decided to fuck with me. Really really fuck with me. It's been happening a lot lately - when it spits out a piece of paper it either wrinkles or tears the top of the page. So I'm trying to print client stuff to pack into the box I need to send out today and all it will do is rip the top of the page!!!! There were things thrown. There were curses yelled. There were tears. Lots and lots of tears.
I ended up in bed, crying, watching the HBO documentary on Rosie O'Donnell's Gay Family Cruise. Now, I'm NOT a Rosie O'Donnell fan. Annoying doesn't even begin to cut it. But I cried and cried watching all those beautiful happy families. I don't know. I was jealous I was happy I was sad that our fucked up country can't see family for what it really is and should be. Whatever. I was really, really tired. G was giving me space because I yelled at him because I was pissed and all I wanted was someone to rub my back and take care of me. But I didn't ask for it and I did say leave me alone so he did.
This morning when I woke up I realized that I don't have to kill myself to get to Philly tonight. Ann and Kay will be fine without me. My sister will be fine without me. My nephew (the older one) will forgive me for not being there when he comes home from school. I can show up to the birthday party tomorrow afternoon and be there until Thursday and get what I need to get done and relax a little bit and help myself.
So far today I've sat on the couch and knit on my sockapaloooza socks! And I LOVE THEM!
This is Lover's Leap (lightweight) from Socks That Rock and it's absolutely PERFECT for this pattern. I'm using the Simpley Lovely Lace Socks from the new IK and it's beautiful! It's hard for me, though, to knit for someone else - let alone someone I don't know and can't try on the socks. They seem pretty big - I'm knitting them on size 2s and using the 60 stitch pattern - but I only be really relaxed when my pal gets the socks and tells me they're perfect! And SO FAST! I'm only about a repeat away (four rows) from splitting for the heel. I'll have at least one done by the time I get back from my sister's. And hopefully the other one will be just as fast because I really need to start working on my BDFS if I want it done by the 29th.
Okay. G was home all morning working so the computer was busy and I've been knitting and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! As soon as I post this I'm going to eat some lunch and go out and buy a new printer then come home and do the work I need to do and then have dinner with my husband and sleep another night in my own bed and then go to Philly tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. After all. Tomorrow is another day!
Lesson learned. Lesson applied.
Have a great weekend!
PS - Blogging will be sporadic at best next week. I'll be home sometime on Thursday. Knit well!
Posted by Cara at 02:15 PM | Comments (31)
April 06, 2006
All Seats Provide Equal Viewing of the Universe
Yesterday Wendy and I took a detour from the MDK Spring Fling East Coast Tour: Knit Squares or Die and headed off to The Museum of Natural History, you know, in order to feel like we were in third grade again on a SCHOOL TRIP! (I promised Wendy no puking.) When we weren't being lulled into a false sense of security by Robert Redford's crackly voice (in actuality he was telling us we're all insignificant specks on the kitchen floor that is the universe and we will all die in a firey intergalactic collision) I was having the rug of life ripped out from under me. WARNING...WARNING! DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT THE RUG OF LIFE RIPPED OUT FROM UNDER YOU!!!!! Did you people know that those animals in the "history" museum were MURDERED and STUFFED for your viewing pleasure? BABY SITATUNGA were KILLED so you and your kids can point at them and say, "Look, another deer!" By the time you get to the Plains Indians, you're like, hey - they slaughtered the Indians too! And then you remember, it IS a HISTORY museum.
Yeah. I'll stick to paintings next time.
The butterflies were WAY cool though and a very cute boy (and when I say boy I mean he was at least 21) told us about pupas and stuff and even though Wendy was about to puke it was kind of hot to me. And it wasn't because the room was 97freakingdegrees either. Man, though, those MOTHS are scary as shit.
After the museum it was on to another fabulous inspirational evening with the girls. Ann and the LI crew were there, along with Karola, long time reader who needs her own blog, and Katherine and Camille and baby Skye all the way from SLC! (Margene! You were like Kevin Bacon! I felt like I was standing RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!!!) Lots of other cool peeps too. We invaded a regular knit night and were welcomed with open arms. I'm sorry if I wasn't my usual bright and sunny self (just ask Lt. Uhura) but I wasn't feeling so well yesterday. Usually I'm much funnier. And prettier. And skinnier. If you come out tonight I will be a better me! See you at Knitty City!
PS - The contest is open until 11:59 PM TONIGHT. And since mysteriously ANOTHER book has appeared in my home, I will be giving away TWO signed copies. Winner chosen at random.
Posted by Cara at 01:49 PM | Comments (16)
April 05, 2006
Get Yer Own!
Since I've got the luxury of hanging with the MDK girls FOUR nights in a row, and I know some of you won't have that priviledge, I'm giving away a TWO SIGNED copy COPIES of their TOME!
In order to win, leave me a comment stating your most favorite thing MASON and your most favorite thing DIXON. For instance, mint juleps and a heaping bowl of clam chowder. Or reading Moby Dick while listening to Patsy Cline. Opposites attract, but judging from the girls I hung with last night, they also compliment very nicely. GO TO IT! Comments will close Thursday, 11:59 PM. Winner picked at random. Please enter only once. There may be yarn in the mix as well. ;-)
Posted by Cara at 09:42 AM | Comments (199)
April 04, 2006
Too Good To Be True
Yesterday I felt like crap most of the day so I didn't clean for Wendy. She, in her infinite cuteness and generosity, took this as a sign that I really, really, really love her. In her thinking, I would only really clean for someone I was intimidated by, or uncomfortable with - as I wouldn't want to reveal the slob I really am to a stranger, but to someone I love and am close with they get me warts and all. I can see her logic - I would tell her not to clean for me either, but my house is so disgusting these days I'm almost looking for an EXCUSE to clean, you know? I will be doing a bit of lysol handiwipe wipe down and a bit of vacuuming. Because I will feel better.
I have a good excuse for the state of disrepair that is my house. I've been trying and trying to get it all straightened out and cleaned up but a consultation with the calendar the other day proved that I haven't been home two weekends in a row since before New Year's. And I will continue to be gone every other weekend through June. That's a lot of time away. And not a lot of continuum to get things done. While all of the away time has been good time, I'm kind of sick of it.
G did book us a mini-vacation though! That's okay! We're going here. It'll be a hectic ten days - wedding on Saturday (better get kicking on that BDFS!) then Bermuda M-Th, then MDSW F and S. Then I'll be home for a weekend then off again. Then home, then off. Then home, then off. Now that I think of it, I might have two weekends home in April. But that's right before our big week.
So when I wasn't cleaning yesterday I spun a little - I'm trying to get this pink stuff done because I'm anxious to spin up my new PS Yellow/Orange. Then I pushed to finish a sock. It didn't take as long as I thought:
I'm still not sure about how it looks on my foot. And I'm really not sure about the toe.
Gives camel toe a whole new meaning. I mean, my toe looks like I've got a hoof. I'll make the other one, but I may just go back to a regular toe. And then I'll redo the toe on this one. Otherwise, I'm happy with my modifications: I added another full repeat on the leg - 4.5 - and I did the first two repeats on size 2s (Addis) then switched to size 1s. I did my regular jaywalker heel and I'm very happy with that - if it ain't broke - don't fix it!
I was going to change the title of the post because I was originally going to be talking about this niggling feeling I've had - you know when things just all of a sudden start to fall into place and everything is going really well and then you wake up in a cold sweat and think everything's going so well! What's going to happen now? Then I thought I woudn't talk about it but I'm kind of in that place. I was telling my sister about all the good stuff that's been happening while she was away and then I kind of had a mini-panic attack. Are things supposed to go this well? I mean, I've worked hard to get things where they are, but still? Shouldn't it be harder? Or not as good? Or what's going to happen now? I don't like this about myself - this pessimism for lack of a better word - and I'm trying to just enjoy the moment but I can't help thinking the other shoe's about to fall. Is Mercury still in retrograde? Because I'm a Capricorn and we usually do well when eveyone else is miserable - so that we can get back to our miserableness when everyone else is doing well, which is most of the time. Better go check my horrorscope. Right after I clean a bathroom. Thanks for reading.
Posted by Cara at 10:27 AM | Comments (25)
April 03, 2006
Same Time This Year.
In what's become (or at least I like to think so) something of a tradition, I'm announcing this year's blogger/knitter meet-up at Maryland Sheep and Wool!
By the Stage, close to the Main Exhibition Hall.
See Fairgrounds Map.
Leave your name in the comments and I'll put you on the list in the sidebar! Hope to see you there!
Ps - In the great minds category, Wendy, perhaps the knitbloggerest knitblogger of them all, has informed me she'll be signing her new book, at the time of the meet-up, in the same place! WOW! PERFECT!
PPS - I almost wasn't going. Sad I know. All my best travel buddies opted out and I didn't want to go by myself, but my intrepid husband stepped up to the plate and said he'd take me. Don't look for him on the fairgrounds though. I think he's doing the drop and run thing on Saturday. We're staying over Friday night and heading back home on Saturday night. I mean, really! How could I miss my first big fiber festival since I bought the WHEEL!
Posted by Cara at 02:11 PM | Comments (50)
Monday Monday
It's one of those mornings. Daylight savings time really threw us for a loop. I'm up by 7:30AM every day (even on the weekends) and today I slept until 8:30. Then G was really late and I drove him into the city so my morning was pretty much shot. Add to that some seriously hurting boobies and a massive sinus headache and I'm just so freaking happy today!! Yeah MONEY!
I did, though, have a very fun and productive weekend. Saturday was CAR day. G and I had narrowed it down to three cars after all our (his) research and spreadsheets and statistics. We had one more test drive Saturday morning: one was already pretty much out of the running because of cup holders (all things being equal, it's a dealbreaker), one was on the top of the list, and then one needed to knock our socks off. Didn't happen. Then we went and test drove our first choice again and we were both once again COMPLETELY WOWED!! We love this car. It's different - not many people have it all - it's fast - it drives like a dream - it's safe. Everything we want. We're not in a complete rush - we have a couple of months before we have to give our car back, so they're working on finding exactly what we want. (We always go for a weird combination of color/extras that's kind of hard to find.) On Sunday we actually changed our minds a bit about the interior color and G sent the guy an email. Wouldn't you know it? They found the original car we asked for at the port, but now we'll have to wait again for the color combo. I'm so excited!!! I would tell you what car we got, but it's so perfect for the ABC A-Long Letter R that I don't want to give it away. ;-) Suffice it to say we're EXTREMELY excited about our new purchase. It's going to be a blast!!!
Friday I worked diligently on a job and rewarded myself by starting my Sockapaloooza socks.
And the whole time I'm knitting them (I got about two pattern repeats in after the picot edge) I'm thinking this yarn would look really really good as...
...you guessed it. Some people may claim to be a harlot when it comes to their knitting, I'm just basically a whore. I scraped the sockapaloooza socks and started a pair of picot edge jaywalkers for moi. So crass. I knit the entire cuff on Saturday going from car dealer to car dealer. G was nice enough to drive the whole time - usually I'm the one behind the wheel. The heal has now been turned and I just have to pick up the gusset. Before you go and accuse me of being the worst kind of charlatan, the yarn just wasn't working with my chosen Sock Pal pattern. I've since ordered some new fantastic yarn from Tina at Blue Moon, which should arrive later this week, and this yarn is guaranteed to be PERFECT for the pattern and my sock pal. GUARANTEED. And since the socks I've chosen are short, on size 2s with an easily memorizable pattern, we're good to go by the deadline.
The best way to gain back interest in something you claim to be bored with is to actually SAY you're bored with it. All I did this weekend was knit socks. I picked up the Embossed Leaves sock again - and found that I had made a mistake with the instep pattern somewhere after I picked up the gusset so I ripped. Then counted wrong and ripped again. FINALLY I'm on my way to finishing the foot. It's going pretty fast - I think I've got a repeat and a half to go before I start decreasing for the toe. There's only one itsy bitsy problem. I think I like them better on the needles than I do on my feet.
I dont' know. It's weird - I think they look really cool off - the colors the yarn the pattern, but on, they seem just eh. Oh well. I will finish them. I think it's pretty funny that you all got so concerned when I said I was bored with socks. I mean, I don't really consider myself a sock knitter. Of course, I knit socks, but basically I've knit the same sock a million times. I often get questions about socks and sock knitting and I rarely know the answer - unless, of course, you're asking about jaywalkers. I don't know anything about heels or toes or short rows - in fact, I put my normal jaywalker heel on my embossed leaves sock. Not that I mind being thought of as a sock knitter, it's just not really how I see myself. That said, here are the three socks I've got on my needles currently. Two need the gusset picked up and one needs a foot.
Yesterday, I finished another job and sent it off to the printer! YAY! And I'm thisclose to getting the taxes done - I just needed some stuff from G which he provided late last night. Today they will be finished. And then I have to at least make an attempt to clean. A bathroom at the least. Bookish Wendy is coming for a couple wild parties with the girls over at MDK. I hope they don't get sick of me because I plan to go to see them Tuesday, Wednesday (with the LI Crew in da house!!!!), Thursday and finally Friday in Philly! WHOOHOO! I lurve me some Ann and Kay.
Last but not least, I flashed my stash on Saturday. Many of you stopped by to see. When I was taking the pictures I didn't really think much of it - it's just another blog thing why not, but after getting all the comments and traveling around to other people's stashes I actually was kind of uncomfortable about showing mine. The few posts I read about excess and waste didn't help matters, but I glossed over those. I mean, I know I have a decent amount of yarn. Some of it I should really get rid of because I will never knit with it and deep down I know it but I'm not ready to part with it. Besides STR (which I'll get to in a minute) I haven't really been buying a lot of yarn lately. Most of what's in my stash was bought last year: my first experience with elann.com. My first trip to Maryland. My first pair of socks. Since I've gotten rid of all those firsts, the only yarn I've really bought had a pattern to go with it. And I've been trying to knit from stash when I can. The STR is a whole other ball game. I think of that like a collection. And the truth is that I do knit it up - I've got STR socks on the needles (right now three pairs going) at all times since I started buying it. I'm going to Maryland next month and while I will probably come home with some yarn, I don't have any intentions of buying any. I won't be buying any STR (unless I see something I've really been looking for, but I doubt it.) I will be looking for fiber and spinning stuff. That's this year's obsession. Right now I'm too busy making my own yarn to buy someone else's. ;-)
The thing is my house is also filled (and I mean filled) with books. I doubt anyone would comment on the excess of that. Just an observation. I could be wrong, and I'm sure my feelings of discomfort are just that - my feelings. No one said anything unkind to me - it's just the impression that I got from the comments. And no need to stroke my ego in the comments today - it's all just thoughts off the top of my head.
Off to finish the taxes and clean a toilet or two. Ghost story winner announced tomorrow.
Have a FANTASTIC DAY!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 01:50 PM | Comments (20)
April 02, 2006
Meme-Day 2: Art for Art's Sake
Scout tagged me for this new meme: Post your favorite paintings. I'm going with two, although there are a million others I really, really love. Starry Night by Van Gogh at MOMA is always a treat. I've recently fallen in LOVE with Whistler's watercolors and his non-figure paintings - many of which can be seen at the Frick, my favorite museum. Goya's "Black Paintings" that we saw at the Prado in Spain are wonderfully evocative. El Greco's View of Toledo is one of my all time favorites, and when we went to Toledo I got to see the actual landscape and it was like it had jumped out of the picture.
The first painting I'm going with is Ruben's Prometheus Bound.
It's part of the Permanent Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the museum I grew up in. When we would go as a family when I was young I HAD to see this painting. I remember you walk through the old church room (I guess pre-Renaissance works) and then you come into the European Master's Room and there was my painting. I loved this painting so much I had a poster of it that I hung in my room. My sister didn't like that too much, but tough. I'm the oldest. It's kind of gruesome, but what are you going to do? It's what I liked at the time.
The second painting I'm going with is Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights that resides in the Prado in Madrid.
That's the center panel of the tryptich. There's a good story behind my love of this painting. Maybe I've told parts of this before, but you'll hear it again and you'll love it! Anyway, I was a senior in college and I still had to take my Art or Music requirement to graduate. I had been waiting four years to take Modern Art, which was only offered once a year in the Spring and it filled up ridiculously early and you basically had to be a senior to get in (seniors had first priority when registering.) So I've been waiting four years to take this class and it ends up being at the same time as a seminar on Philosophy of Religion (I was a double major Religious Studies and Philosophy) taught by one of my favorite professors and there ain't no way I'm missing that. So I still have to take an Arts requirement. I look over the schedule and figure I can't take music - too hard - so I take Renaissance Art instead. BEST.CLASS.EVER! Seriously. Without a doubt one of the best classes I've ever taken in any discipline. The professor was funny as shit - he was weirdly obsessed with the sex lives of these artists and the art was even better. Having been a Modern Art person (Post-Impressionists more than Post-Modern) I didn't know anything about Renaissance Art besides you know, Leonardo and Michaelangelo and stuff. I FELL IN LOVE! The Van Dycks! The Breugels! The El Grecos! The Titians! The Frans Hals! The Boschs! I was in HEAVEN. I started hanging out at the Frick on a daily basis. I skipped over the Modern room at the Met. I shunned MOMA and the Guggenheim. Instead I dragged G around Italy on a long weekend - getting lost in Venice - searching desperately for a Tintoretto! Then G had a big dinner to plan in Madrid. He was flying back and forth and they were using a Velazquez painting and he had all these private tours of the Prado. He comes home telling me about El Bosco! And this amazing painting he saw! The Garden of Earthly Delights! Did I know it? DID I KNOW IT!!!! It's the most amazing painting EVER! I mean the weirdness that comes out of the mind of El Bosco puts my twisted imagination to shame. This man was really, really sick. In the best possible way.
One weekend G whisked me off to Madrid. He wanted to take me to the Prado to see my favorite El Bosco in person. We walked into the hallowed halls of that beautiful old museum, the ugly Americans. We passed the Velazquezs. We passed the Goyas. The El Grecos. And finally we asked a guard, "Where's the El Bosco? The Garden painting?" After much pantomime and speaking loud slow English, he got it and led us to another room. With a wonderfully large empty space on the wall. The Garden of Earthly Delights. The Genius Painting of Hieronymous Bosch. The WHOLE reason for a wonderful weekend in Madrid. The fucking painting was out being cleaned. Can you believe it?!?! We laughed so hard we cried. All was not a loss though. I did buy a couple of posters.
This painting is filled with the most physical, psychic and spiritual depravity ever imagined! I LOVE IT! You could stare at it for hours. In the last year we had some problems with the heat/AC unit in the room where these posters hang and the repair guy would bring his apprentice - maybe this kid was nineteen at the oldest. He would stand there and stare at the pictures - like he was in a trance or something. Then he'd look at me funny and I'd just stand in the doorway, my hands folded over my chest, with a cheshire cat smile on my face. So much fun.
Thanks Scout, for tagging me for a great meme. I hope you enjoy the paintings as much as I do. And you are now IT!
Posted by Cara at 11:30 AM | Comments (14)
Meme-Day 1: Books for Books Sake
I'm tired and I've got a lot of work to get done today. Perfect time for a couple of MEMES! The ultimate in procrastination!
From Carole:
Meme instructions: Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of.
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (It's a principle thing with me now. Greedy bastards with the hardcovers if you ask me. And yes. I know about libraries. I don't think I have privleges anymore though.)
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger (At least two copies on my shelf - one G's, one mine.)
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (I'm shocked, but I can't find this in the house.)
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller (I've read half of it. Hence the bold and the italics.)
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Atonement - Ian McEwan
(The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
You want to do this? CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED.
Posted by Cara at 10:19 AM | Comments (7)
April 01, 2006
Julia Child Dies All Over Again!
Have you seen this? Amy Lu is a GENIUS in the kitchen! I want to be her as soon as I learn how to cook!!!
Posted by Cara at 10:37 PM | Comments (9)
PS: Yellow and Orange and April
Just a little something to start the month off!
