knitter next door

Still Knitting

2009-01-07T05:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a year-and-a-half since I lasted posted. Rest assured, I am still knitting. Perhaps not as prolifically before, but nevertheless, I still have projects I've been starting -- and finishing -- since that fateful Argosy Shawl (see below).

Perhaps I will revive this blog this year. Or perhaps, once again, it will become dusty again as New Year's resolutions fade into the February sunset.

I'm a different knitter than I was in 2007. I buy far less yarn (it's a bad economy, in case you hadn't heard). I have a different job that I like much, much better, so knitting-as-therapy isn't as crucial to my psyche. I have sworn off knitting sweaters (for now) as I have found even the FOs that look beautiful blocking are difficult to wear. I hate to admit it, but I'm much more fond of sporting my Gap sweaters.

Signing off until next time -- be it in 2009 or 2011!

argosy shawl

2007-06-17T07:51:00.001-07:00

argosy shawl
Originally uploaded by knitfreak

Here it is: The finished Argosy Shawl from the lovely knitter at inahappycamper who I automatically like because her happy camper reminds me of my 1973 Boler.

I knit this out of 6 skeins of Classic Elite Premiere on size 6 needles. The pattern, which is another take on the Argosy scarf pattern the same knitter published in Knitty, is very addictive, soothing and all that good stuff that knitting should be.

Stay tuned for two soon-to-be-done FOs: A shrug from Lace Style and my Lace Leaf Cardigan from Fitted Knits. (The latter is on my lap right now, waiting for me to finish seaming it).

D Sock

2007-06-03T06:05:00.001-07:00

D Sock
Originally uploaded by knitfreak

I've been back a week from my little road trip, but didn't get around to downloading photos until this morning. Okay, make that photo. I'm still in the process of updating my Flickr page with vaco pics.

But, in order to reduce the suspence, here is the husband sock I blogged about on the road. This is the one that turned out the first time. The one that I had to rip and start over got finished about 30 miles outside of Boise, thankfully not making a liar out of me. I had promised D that he'd have his pair of socks before the trip was over. Of course, I thought I'd be started on this during the trip, too (using the sale cotton angora), but that didn't happen until last night.

Also, work continues on the Argosy.

In none knitting content, I had more fun with vending machines yesterday than I have since I was in Japan. First, we got $1 fresh made mochaccinos out of the new machine at the Boise Public Library (and I got the May Vogue for 50 cents in the book store there). Then, we booked it to Albertsons on our bikes and rented "The Queen" via vending machine for $1. I love it!

(And I'll let you know what I think of "The Queen" later....).

Another vacation post

2007-05-25T09:57:00.001-07:00

See how often I can post when I'm not working?

Today is the last day I took off from work (I've still got the long weekend ahead) and I'm already feeling nostalgic for this trip. This morning, we got up early and rode our bikes into the Foothills here in Chico and now we're getting ready to leave for Sacramento, the penultimate stop in our little California/Nevada road trip.

Yesterday we hit three places of note: First, we lunched at Tacos Cortez, a super-cheap burrito joint D discovered 15 years ago when he lived here. The place has been a legend in our relationship. It's possible he told me about it at our very first meeting 13 years ago in DC. And now I have seen it with my own eyes.

Second, we hit a yarn store, Knit Wits in Paradise (in the mountains above Chico). I bought some lovely Cascade Magnum to make this. D helped me pick it out, then waited patiently while I pawed through the sale bin. What a sweetie!

Third, we walked around the Thursday Farmer's Market, buying locally grown cherries and almonds and buying a bottle of locally made olive oil. We'd have a hard time doing that in Boise!

Now, into the shower, one more trip to the Naked Lounge for the requisite double macchiatto, then in the car again, still knitting the socks I flubbed up a couple of days ago.

Still on the road

2007-05-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here's another posting from the road. Work on D's sock has come to a halt as I realized halfway through the gussett decreases that this, the second sock, was significantly shorter than the first. Drat. And now for some on the road ripping.

As for the trip, it's been splendid. Yosemite is beautiful. I lost D on a hike and cried in front of a nice man named Richard who helped calm me down until D came off the mountain. The entire incident was entirely my fault. Really, I have no common sense.

In Yosemite, we stayed in this place called Curry Village, with wall-to-wall tent cabins, shared bathrooms, and about a million middle-school aged kids there for some program. We ate pizza two nights in a row, and one day, due to my poor planning, went on a 8-mile-round-trip, straigh-up-straight-down hike with only banana chips and sesame honey almonds for lunch. Needless to say, when we drove into Chico, CA, (where we are now) and walked into our fabulous room at the Hotel Diamond, I felt like I'd gone to heaven.

On the agenda today: More bike riding, burrito eating (we had burritoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday), knitting, and yarn shop finding.

On the road again

2007-05-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this from Carson City, Nevada, on my way to Yosemite. I have a camera, but no fire wire, so you'll have to make due with my descriptions.

It's a car trip, so there is much knitting. D's birthday was yesterday, so in honor of that event, my first car knitting item of business is a pair of socks for him. I've got one down and about 3 inches on the second. I also plan to work on my Argosy Shawl and I'm hoping to start this Fitted Knits cardigan using Cotton Angora I scored at an LYS sale.

Interesting sights so far: All the crazy casinos (like the one right next to the state Capitol building here); the beautiful mountains after the straight, long road to get here from Boise; a cottontail bunny hopping as we road our bikes this morning through a cool old Carson City neighborhood at dawn.

Puffed Sleeve Cardigan 2

2007-05-06T14:54:00.001-07:00

Puffed Sleeve Cardigan 2
Originally uploaded by knitfreak.

It's Fitted Knits, the sequel. And while I thought nothing could top the first entry (the ribbed shrug), this one definitely comes close. It may even be the Spiderman 2 of Fitted Knits (fitting, isn't it, then that it's red?).

The details: I used Knit Picks Merino Style in Maple Leaf (just like the sweater in the book). The project took six skeins, and I do mean six skeins. I have about a yard left over.

I followed the instructions in the book to make a 33-inch chest (instead of 34) and made it a few inches longer (because I am longer).

I began it on a flight home from Baltimore. I bound off at a party with my knitting friends. I sewed the buttons on while watching America's Next Top Model.

Overall, a very satisfying knit.

Now, on to Fitted Knits project 3! (I'm not counting the two failures caused by my boneheaded yarn substitution ideas).

(I've also got another couple of projects on the needles. See photos of them on my Flickr page. I'll be blogging on those as soon as I make a dent in that huge stack of portfolios I need to grade by the end of the week).

In a Fit!

2007-04-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Fitted Knits Shrug 2
Originally uploaded by knitfreak.

So here it is: My first project from Fitted Knits (that I didn't have to rip, that is) for the Fitted Knits-along. The details: Two balls in yellow Karabella Aurora 8; two balls of the multi orangish/reddish color in Karabella Melange. Pure yum! I loved knitting with this yarn. I wanted to marry it. When I got to the part where I bound off, I felt sort of sad and wished that I were making a full blown sweater.

But then I tried it on and all that nonsense was forgotten. This is a GREAT pattern. Fun to knit. Clever construction. Nice fit. Everything I could ask for.

Now if only I could say the same about the second Fitted Knits pattern I'm working on. Or should I say almost finished but might never finished? I'm making the Bulky Mini Cardi, and when I bound off this morning, found myself with about five inches of live stitches left and not a scrap of yarn to finish them with. Argh. Argh!!!!

Must. Breathe.

And go put on my cute shrug.

P.S. I just signed up for Sockapalooza 4, because I need to get my sock knitting on.

Ballet T

2007-04-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Ballet T
Originally uploaded by knitfreak.

I like to call this little number a one flight wonder. I began it as I left Boise for Baltimore on March 7. I finished it with enough time before we landed to get through an issue of Marie Claire.

It's part of my year of sweaters plan. I've also finished the Big Sack Sweater from SnB and Rusted Root (which, if I can get the old camera out again, I'll be picturing shortly).

I'm also all about the Fitted Knits, so you'll be seeing a shrug and cardigan like this (but probably not as fab) from that book, too.

And I just found my eye drawn toward the slouchy cardigan like this from Knit Cafe. Must. Knit. Sweaters!

(I love how I can go and find inspirational pictures of sweaters I want to knit all over the Internet. What an awesome community of knitters we've got going here in Cyberspace!).

Squared Away

2007-01-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Here's my first square for Lizard Ridge. See, I really am knitting in the New Year. In fact, if you could see my kitchen table right now, you'd see the halfway-done sleeves of Jenna Wilson's Big Sack Sweater (to match the front and back already done) and the nearly finished front of a Banff (also a Jenna Wilson pattern; it's the year of the Jenna for me). And there's a two-thirds done clog for felting in my knitting bag. See? I'm only a slacker when it comes to posting. But I have excuses...

First, there's the Fiesta Bowl, which I covered. Go Broncos! I'm totally into football (and knitting while watching football) now.

And then there's this first-year writing class I'm teaching at BSU.

And then there's my part time gig teaching and working at the yarn store.

Okay. Now I'm too tired to go on.

I suppose I can make all sorts of resolutions about this blog, but, frankly, it's lower on the list than say, getting up at 4:30 a.m. every morning so I can go to work at the Statesman.

But for now, I'm still here, whether you want me or not.

Knitting New Year

2007-01-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I never actually got around to posting in December. That means I really must make a New Year's resolution to tell the world at least weekly about my world of knitting.

I just read Stitchmarker's knitting list. I'd like to compile one, too.

But right now, I've got to get ready to cover the Fiesta Bowl baby.

Yep. I'm in Phoenix for New Year's writing about Boise State fans. It's truly the best assignment I've ever had at the paper.

Even though I brought tons of knitting with me, I only managed part of a sweater front (a much scaled down version of Banff).

Let's hope it doesn't make the still-unfinished list of projects for 2007.

2006-11-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my third meathead. Yes, I'm knitting other stuff, but none so cute and blogworthy. This is knit in Lamb's Pride bulky Kiwi doubled. The flower uses the very last of some Manos I made a hat and glove set out of and a bead obtained from my favorite thrift store. All my meatheads have to have some sort of thrifty/recycled component...

2006-11-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

My friend Susanna and I had a little photo shoot with my latest Meathead. This one is done with Steadfast worsted weight yarn (Lamb's Pride bleached and dyed by an Idaho-based company). I tweaked the pattern for worsted weight yarn and chose a color that suited one of my favorite thrift store pins. (Really, for me, the Meathead is all about showcasing my favorite pins).

Meathead complete!

2006-11-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

This just may be the quickest Knitalong ever.

I cast on for this Meathead hat (as part of Stitchmarker's test knitalong for her book) about halfway through Standoff on Tuesday (the Mister likes the dude from "Office Space;" I like the chick from "Angel" and "Firefly").

I cast-off the last three stitches just before Hugh Laurie said his final lines in "House."

Now that's my kind of pattern.

The details: I used Lamb's Pride Bulky Bronze Patina (because it has just a hint of metally shine in it and I thought it would go good with a gold-ish pin). I made the small size and have enough yarn leftover for my cat to play with.

I knit it in the round (because I HATE SEAMING).

There was no question my embellishment (which is called for in the pattern) would be a pin, because I embellish all aspects of clothing with pins daily.

But which pin?

I found this sparkly gold leaf at one of the local thrift stores and couldn't help notice the similarity between it's pointy little head and the pointy top of my meathead.

Overall, a pleasure to knit!

And it's been so fun to see everyone's finished meatheads. To see them for yourself, visit the Flickr site here.

2006-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

What's that I see? Why it's the Knitter Next Door and her mister on vacation in Oregon. We spent a few nights in Manzanita on the coast (near this spot at Hug Point) and a few days shopping and sipping coffee in Portland. We heart Oregon! (And all it's many, many yarn stores).

2006-10-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

There was much, much shopping on this vacation. I'm delving into the wallet for some moola to purchase socks. I've really got a fascination with foot coverings, whether hand knit or Portland-market bought.

2006-10-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

Ooooh. Pretty!

2006-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is a lot of what we did in Portland -- sipping deliciously strong coffee and a variety of spots. Here's the mister dipping into his latte at The Albina Press in the Mississippi area in Portland.

2006-10-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is Portland, too (a pattern from Knits in reference to Portland, Maine). I worked on this in Portland, Oregon, and recently finished it. But it's going to take a lot colder than 50 degree weather to wear it. It's mohair (super warm) and pretty much a dress (super long). But I like it more than I thought I would. (You'd get a picture of me in it, except that it's Sunday morning and I haven't showered and I can't bear the thought of combing my hair just yet).

The Fair and Next Affair

2006-09-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

No, your browser isn't fuzzy; it's just a mohair sweater. It's going to be my first completely post-Western Idaho Fair project (Jaynesey was started long before the fair).

I'm using some Plymouth Outback mohair I bought on elann ages ago when I thought I was a hippie (hence the tie-dye). I'm not necessarily knitting this because I want a big purple fuzzy sweater but because I wanted to knit something using the mohair and because I liked the name (Portland from this fall's Knits) and I liked the construction.

Aye, there's the rub. So many of the projects I would like to wear are not the projects I would like to knit, and vice versa. I've spent far too many hours over the past couple of weeks trying to figure out what I'm going to knit this fall. Sure, there are the Christmas gifts (which deserve a post of their own), but what about for me?

In a fit of sweater mania, I've got three more big-needled sweaters planned to follow closely on the heels of Portland. Plus there is the finishing of Jaynesey (which, because the cotton sometimes hurts my wrists, will take longer than planned).

Even as I whine a bit about the selection process, it might be my favorite part. It's so full of hope instead of the errors, frustrations, gauge problems, dropped stitches and all that of the actual process.

And now that I've addressed the beginning of the process, here's a note about the end: My experiment at the Western Idaho Fair netted me a first place, two second places and a third place. That means the prize money adds up to a whopping $14 (I'll show you the two skeins of on-sale Rowen yarn I bought with that later).

Here's some pictures, minus the shawl (because I couldn't find a good picture of it and I'm too lazy to take another):

2006-09-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

The Clap, well, the Clap was the only thing I entered that didn't earn a ribbon. One judge suggested it needed fringe. I think that's just a polite way of recommending that I not enter a project that wasn't really saved from disaster by a poor yarn substitution (but that's a different story). I probably shouldn't have entered it, but the pattern is just so darn cool. I wanted to show it to Western Idaho.

2006-09-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

This would be my second place cardigan made from a Vogue pattern from year or so ago. This is one of my favorite things I've ever made. I'm glad the judges agreed.

2006-09-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

These are honorable mention mittens made from Manos and some random brown yarn using the flap-top mitts pattern from Handknit Holidays.

2006-09-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

These are the 2nd place socks (I think that red ribbon earned me $3). Knit out of Mountain Colors, I used a pattern from Knits. Interestingly, it appeared that the first place socks used that same (or at least a similar pattern).

I Heart SP8

2006-08-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

My secret pal, who isn't so secret anymore, is great! Look at the spoils in my final package: two luscious balls of Habu silk/mohair (I definitely am a silk/mohair ho!), the cutest, most functional tape measure ever, and sweet, sweet stitch markers. If you want to know more about the fabulous Bee who sent this to me, visit her blog. Thank you!!!!

2006-08-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

See this sweater? It's a prize winner. Even as I write, there's a first place ribbon hanging on it at the Western Idaho Fair.

Knitting On

2006-08-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

First, what I've been working on. Yes, that's another dishcloth you see. I never thought myself a warshcloth kind of gal, but there's something soothing about this eensy project, and something gratifying in being done in under a day. Plus, warshcloths go so well with all the lotion and soap I have stashed away in my gift box. This bricked beauty is going to a friend I'm meeting this morning who just finished her thesis (hooray for Amy!).

The cabled footie, from One Skein, is intended for someone else. But that's a secret.

Now that you've seen what I've been knitting, I have to tell you about what I want to knit. This last week, the fall knitting bug finally bit hard enough for me to pull out my posties and my "To Knit" notebook and get to work dreaming. Oh, my. I've got a list of scarves a mile long, plus sweaters, plus those beautiful sock patterns sent to me by my secret pal with the equally beautiful yarn (really, secret pal, I'll get to those socks soon!).

I've got projects in the new Knits (and this), Knitscene (like Verde, Matador and Links), One Skein, Alterknits and Handknit Holidays (triangle scarf and those cozy socks). And I saw a picture at a blog (I think it might be my pal's) that I really, really want to knit and that, amazingly, I already have the yarn for.

I haven't posted much about knitting all summer, in part because my enthusiasm for the sport always wanes a bit as the thermometer reaches 100 (not to mention all that camping; you can't really haul the cashmere or fine wool/silk blends to the woods). But it's back, baby, and I feel a spate of productivity coming on.

But first, the second cabled footie, followed by more work on Jaynesey, and possibly, if I'm feeling really ambitious, a wrapping up of the intarsia tube top I started last spring.

Weeeeeee! It feels so good to have my full-blown knitting compulsion back!

All's Fair

2006-08-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I had this little fantasy about getting work discussing Victorian literature in a minor way (as opposed to the major way required if you get a PhD in the stuff). You know, I'd draw in little bits from the culture museum I went to in York and the costume museum in Bath and even some bona fide academic jargon from a class I took 10 years ago in grad school.

Then I shook myself out of my daydream (nobody would pay me to pretend to know more about the Victorians than I do) and went on to prepare my entry to the Western Idaho State Fair.

Today was the big day. I stuffed my holy pink! sweater, my Clapotis, a pair of socks, a pair of mittens and some lace work into a big Banana Republic sack and headed to the fair grounds. I'm not really sure it's my best work, but it's the work that I finished this year and haven't given away or sold. Next year I vow to be more prepared. I didn't even look at the categories until I filled out my form today standing beside my stack o' knitted goods.

I'm certainly not expecting any glory, but I can tell you I'm so excited to go a'Fairing (either Friday or Saturday) and sneak peaks at my work on display in between eating corndogs, fried Twinkies, extra-greasy fries, corn on the cob slathered with butter, a big fat side of grilled onions and some fresh-squeezed limeade to wash it all down.

I love, LOVE the State Fair. I can't believe I'm actually going to be part of it!

Balance

2006-08-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

There's a balance to my life that I just can't seem to shake. When I try to be frugal and thrifty in one area, the spending/consuming demon comes out in another. For example, awhile ago, I vowed to quit added yarn pellmell to the stash. Instead of yarn, I bought clothes (that were on sale, of course). Then I decided, enough clothes! So I bought enough lotion and bath products to clean and lubricate a small nation. When lavender-scented bags started spilling out from my storage closet, I put a halt on that, too. Now I've turned to eat extreme amounts of cereal and taking really long really hot (second) showers. I just can't be all good. A little bad always manages to squeeze out.

I wouldn't say that I'm Wicked (random allusion to "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire which I just finished reading). I'm just not all good.

What's this photo got to do with all of that, you ask? This is an example of the mostly-good coming out. In a fit of stash-busting frugality, I cast on for Jamesey/Jaynesey (since I'll be wearing it) a fur piece back and look at what's become of those humble cast on stitches! It's going to be a really, really close finish (and a really, really long and narrow sweater on me), but the journey has been so worth it so far.

And tomorrow? Any goodness tomorrow? Well, it's the day I finally fulfill my end of the bargain for joining the Fair Along (that I've hardly blogged about at all). At one point, I'd plan to enter this sweater. At another, Lucky. Since neither is finished, it will probably be the Clapotis.

Fashioning

2006-08-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've got a new project in mind for the blog, this time dealing with fashion. It all begin last Fall when I purchased these Born beauties for $12 on super-duper Clearance at Dillards.

Well, maybe that's not the exact point that I became a mallie obsessed with all those beautiful 75 percent off sale signs. But sometime in the last year, it happened. I suddenly acquired a wardrobe with which I can put together infinite combinations (well, maybe not infinite).

I'd like to chronicle these combinations because I'm a firm believer that we are what we wear (just as much as what we eat). I'm no artist (and no photographer for the matter), but I love, love, love to think about how to combine colors and textures and shoes and shirts and jackets and vintage pins into ensembles. Really, it's a good 50 percent or more of the reason I get up each day to go to work.

All I'm doing now is taking pictures and giving the brief history of each outfit. At a minimum, it should fill the blog in between my slow-to-progress knitting projects.

And since its nearly fall and fashion season, there's no time better to begin.

2006-08-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

And so it begins: My chronicling of my own personal fashion. At the end of this project, maybe I'll have some conclusions. Maybe I'll decide I'm an overpriveleged American with too many clothes. Or maybe I'll just decide to go shopping.

Here's the details on this outfit (as near as I can recall). Jacket: GAP on clearance fore $13 last fall (it's a Spring 05 product). Shirt: GAP on clearance last fall for $2.50. Necklace: Gift from Susanna (my jewelry supplier). Earring: Christmas gift from the hubby from several years ago. Not pictured: The pants: Imagine green Target khakis hitting just below the knee with darker green embroidery on the side. These were a gift from my mom, and I think they were on sale for about $12.

2006-08-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Remember how this is a knitting blog? Me neither. Here's proof that I really do still knit. I've been on a washcloth mission all weekend. Here's three, all from Maison Dixon and all soon to be tucked into a wedding gift with dish soap and a kitchen candle from Williams-Sonoma (on sale, of course). The next thing I've got to take care of: My entry for the State Fair. That's coming up in two weeks. I signed up for a State Fair Along, and I don't even think I've blogged about it once (which, along with the lack of knitting content, goes to show you just what a slacker I've been this summer). Hopefully, you'll be reading/seeing more about that later this week....

2006-07-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

My mom, my sister and her 5-year-old and 1-year-old are visiting. I dragged the 5-year-old (Dylan) to an event I was covering for work at one of the libraries here. He ended up with the coolest tied balloon ever. So cool, it's almost a craft (and therefore acceptable fodder for the blog).

Secret Pal-laloooza

2006-07-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you Secret Pal!!!

This lovely face mask, yummy tea medley and cute-as-a-button pincushion follow a copy of the fabulous "One Skein." How spoiled am I?

To make this an all-Secret Pal, all the time post, here's my answers to the pal hostess questions:

1. What is your favorite season?

Not summer. Definitely not summer.

I love the fall. September and October rock. Yesterday, I stood in front of my closet and looked longingly at all the sweaters I can't even think of pulling out until then (we're on our 6th day in a row of 100-plus degrees).

2. Where is or would be your favorite place in the world to take a vacation?

I love to travel, so it's hard to pick a favorite. I really, really liked my recent trip to Kyoto, Japan. But I also really loved my trip last weekend into the Sawtooth Mountains.

3. If you could have any job in the world and not worry about finances (everything would be taken care of), which means you'd be doing something you actually like, what would it be?

Isn't this the million dollar question? I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was a kid and I still don't.

So I'm going to say the healthy thing: Journalist (which is what I do to pay the bills now).

4. What is your favorite project to knit or crochet?

Hmmmm. Hard to decide. I like socks (interesting but small). I also like to make sweaters. The monotony is soothing.

I also enjoy making washcloths, and after reading my new Mason-Dixon book, blankets may even make the list.

I just like to make stuff.

5. What is your favorite food - whether it be a main dish, dessert, snack, whatever?

Does espresso count as food?

If not, cheese.

6. What is your favorite way to relax and unwind?

You mean besides knitting? I love, love to read. I love to watch movies. And I love to hike. There's nothing that recharges me more than spending six hours on a dusty trail with gorgeous vistas.

Glacier!

2006-07-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

I'm posting today from my hotel room at the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana, a mere stone's throw from Glacier National Park. The hubby is at a conference here, which means I've had one lazy day of nothing and one lazy day to go lounging by the pool, reading my latest ("The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith) and, of course, knitting more Jaynesy.

I've also done a bit of shopping in town, which will be expanded on today as the yarn store will be open (hooray!). I've got to get the good living down today, because it's a long 13-hour drive home tomorrow. But we've got a book on CD ("Mr. Timothy" by Louis Bayard) and lots of Twizzlers. It's a perfect mid-summer trip (at least for me, since I don't have to do any actual work).

And now, back to nonstop HGTV viewing...

One good thing

2006-07-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying I've had a really bad day. The kind of day when the windshield repair people fail to show up after canceling once last week and then cannot be reached. At all. I'm leaving on a trip in a couple of days. I called last week. I hate, hate, hate them.

But that, my friends, is not the cause for this post. This post, whether you realize it or not, is a happy one.

After walking home in the wilting heat, feeling dejected, feeling like the whole day, nay, the whole summer is shot, I found a package from Amazon on my doorstep.

At first, I thought the hubby must have ordered himself up something. But wait, it was addressed to me! I know I didn't order anything....

That's right, my secret pal did! I'm now the proud owner of a shiny new copy of "One Skein," a book I've most desired, a book that the auto glass people can sleep a little sounder tonight because the murderous rage in my heart melted at the sight of cabled footies and petal bibs and candywrapper sachets.

Here's a big, fat, exuberant "thank you" to my secret pal!

In and Out

2006-06-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peak at some of the goodies that went into the magic yarn ball I sent off to Erin this week. See the little brown button? It's got a bunny on it and it's from the artist's market I went to Kyoto. It's one of my favorite things. I hope my swap partner likes it.

I love all this swapping and secret pal-ing. I love making up packages and I especially love yet another excuse to hit the sales racks at the stores. I'm sure my swap partners appreciate a good deal as much as I do. There's something about a 75 percent off sign that makes my heart beat faster. The marketers love my kind.

Stay tuned for "deal of the week," coming tomorrow or Friday.

2006-06-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

The two magic yarn balls in my life finally meet. The Noro is the one I sent out yesterday; the pinky is the one I received yesterday, all the way from Germany. I have yet to begin to unravel it. I'm sort of saving it for a nice quiet evening or lazy weekend afternoon. So far, I know it's fun and pink and cotton, which suits me just fine.

Katja!

2006-06-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

"Look at me!" says my beautiful niece Olivia. "I'm wearing a shirt my auntie knit for me." (And a sweet little peasant skirt this aunt found at Target).

What goes together better than peas and carrots?

Why, organic cotton and Knitty, of course. In the past few weeks, I whipped up Katja from my Pakucho stash and I've got about six inches of Jamesey on the needles in it (only mine is called "Jaynesy" because it's for me and it's using two colors; more on that later).

There's soemthing about summer and cotton, too. In addition to Jamesey/Jaynesy, I've got a burp cloth on the needles out of Peaches and Cream (for a different baby in the family). I couldn't resist after reading Brynne's obsession with them. I think I've discovered my own.

2006-06-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

My version of Katja, before it got gifted.

Best Deal Ever

2006-06-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is my best Bath and Body Works deal ever. If there's anything I get more excited about than knitting, it's a good deal. And, boy, did I get one today. Let me explain:

I had an errand to run at the mall (really; there's a branch library there), so I thought I'd combine vehicle trips and take back this Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion I'd gotten as a "spend $10, get a free Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion" deal. I did not care for the scent. Neither did my husband. It needed to leave the house.

So me and the lotion went into B&BW, planning to exchange said lotion for either a Fig and Brown Sugar (which I like) or a Sweat Pea (which my sister likes). They had neither flavor (yes, I do mean "flavor") in the body creme, so I asked the manager lady if I could exchange it for something else. Well, it turns out I could exchange it for anything else worth $10.50.

For those of you who don't hit the mall or have been living in a closet, June is the big B&BW sale month. With $10.50 in credit, I hit the jackpot. I exchanged my "hold my nose" lotion for a Lavender Mimosa Aromatherapy (one of my favorites) and a Rosemary Peppermint Foot Creme (another fave).

But wait, I still have .50 leftover. And a coupon in my purse for a free Mentha lip gloss with any purchase. So I snagged a 75 percent off Pear Blossom bubble bath (we're big into those at our house) for $2.37. With my credit, I was out-of-pocket $1.87.

Yes, that means I got $45 worth of fabulous, delightful B&BW product for $1.87. That's like 94 percent off or something.

I hereby declare June B&BW month!

(Too bad blogs don't do smellovision).

Goody, goody

2006-06-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy, the goodies I got last weekend, and I didn't even know it until I returned from Idaho Falls where I'd been celebrating my grandpa's 90th birthday.

On my doorstep: A package from Amazon containing the new Maison Dixon knitting book and, even better, a package from my secret pal with these goodies. Oh, the lavender! Oh, the sock yarn! What a fabulous (and fabulous smelling) package.

To this I say: Goody, goody!

Wahoo!

2006-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

I got a present from my secret pal today!

To that, I say: "Wahoo!"

It's a series of three sock patterns using my beloved magic loop by Anna Bell. I love, love, love them, and with all the road trips I've got planned this summer, I have a feeling they'll all get tried soon.

It'll force me to venture into toe-up socking, something I've only done once with much assistance. But these days, I'm much, much braver. And the pattern seems so clear. And the end product so charming.

I can hardly wait to get started!

BTW: I really dig the cherry pattern by Anna Bell, too, which I discovered thanks to my secret pal pointing out the site. Thank you again!

Presenting

2006-06-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

This journal and knitted journal pouch with flower pin is on its way to Pocatello to be a graduation present even as I write.

Yep. There's a cash prize inside, too.

I know that the journal probably won't ever get cold enough to need a wool jacket, but I liked the idea of giving its words a little extra privacy. The details: I made it out of leftover Cascade 220 (from my Clapotis and some other mysterious project I can't remember).

I cast on three stitches, knit an I-cord, then did mirror increases until it was wide enough. Then I cast on twice as many stitches as I had plus 8 (for the sides), joined in the round, and knit until it fit. Then I did a three needle bind off (because I was too lazy for kitchener). Voila! Gift and bag all in one, with no pattern and no seaming.

That's enough to make it seem like a present for myself.

Proof!

2006-05-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here's proof that I really do still knit and blog to tell about it. I finally, finally, finally finished these cable and rib socks from Knits. I love, love, love them (even if one is slightly shorter than the other, which is really how all of my socks seem to turn out, no matter how closely I follow the pattern, no matter how many times I try both sides on while I'm knitting).

The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot. I can't remember the color, but I'm calling it auburn. It's Memorial Day and chilly, about 20 degrees cooler this Monday than a couple of weeks ago, so I've been relishing having just-knit socks to help keep me toasty while the hubby and I engage in a little movie-fest (just finished Skeleton Key; Batman, the one with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, is up next).

Stay tuned for another FO, possibly tomorrow!

Da Vinci Code? Check!

2006-05-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

So I fell pray to the marketing machine and went to "The Da Vinci Code" on opening day. How was it? I'll say it was as good as the book, which, for me, says it was mildly entertaining without being great, melodramatic without being controversial. Since I'm not Catholic, I guess, I have a hard time understanding how a work of FICTION can cause a crisis of faith. Faith is faith, and it seems like it would take a lot more than a mediocre author, no matter how well researched, to shake that bedrock.

I also checked out "Capote" from the library. Now that I've seen all best picture nominees, I'm going to label this my favorite. I read "In Cold Blood" in high school, and the story has always sort of haunted me. Watching how it was researched unfold on the screen had that same affect. I think being a journalist for seven years informed by reading of the film, too. Reporting -- and the resulting stories -- are always personal.

And one more review: I just finished Isabel Allende's "Zorro" and I'm going have to say I was sometimes a little bored. Definitely not my favorite book. I've been reading the three parts of Banana Yoshimoto's "Asleep" in between, which is surreal and depressing and affecting while "Zorro" was all about adventure with a narrator who wouldn't ever let you forget she was the narrator. Next on the nightstand: "Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon. And, of course, the second half of "Bleak House" which I haven't managed to crack open since I spilled green tea all over it in Kyoto.

Smell this!

2006-05-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm going to have to revise my response to the "what scent do you like in soaps and lotions" question in light of my recent obsession with the free samples of shedonism butter cream at the Origins counter in Macy's and the (too) many trips I've been taking to slather on crap at Bath and Body Works (just a few steps outside of the Origins counter at Macys).

Maybe the chemicals in my nose have changed, but I can't get enough lavender, rosemary, mint, jasmine, fig, etc. If I were to say I'm favoring one spot of skin over another (there are five separate smell patches, something you can only accomplish when shopping in the summer in a near-sleeveless shirt), I'd have to vote for the lavender and acacia. But the lemon smells pretty darn good, too.

I guess, really, it's all about the scandalously good coupons B&BW has been passing out. And the evil, evil influence of my shopping buddy Susanna.

2006-05-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Aside from knitting my favorite hobby is most definitely shopping. Since the weather has been so lovely this week, I hopped on my bike to hit the Treasure Garden, a thrifty, anitquey store with the most fabulous treasures. I bought these two bundles of fabric. The blue will likely line a purse I'll either knit or sew. The blue and purple flower fabric might turn into a skirt (if I ever get organized enough to learn how to sew). Secret Pal, even though you don't know who you are, I can guarantee you'll be getting some booty from this, my current favorite store. (A vintage postcard will be on its way come Monday).

2006-05-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

This is for my daily dose of green tea. Can you think of a cheerier way to take it? (Also from the Treasure Garden).

SP8 Nitty Gritty

2006-05-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

So here are my answers for you, secret pal:

1.What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I pretty much like all natural fibers. Cotton is a little tougher for me, but I've knit quite a bit out of the organic cotton and have come around to its beauty.

I'm not a huge fan of acrylic, and while I've knit lots with novelty yarns, they are not my favorite. If you go by my stash, you would deduct that I LOVE mohair. Or maybe I just love buying mohair.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I wouldn't say I have a method for this. I've been meaning to get around to making a needle case or two. My straight needles are stuffed into a drawer (mostly). My circulars hang from a hook in the closet in the yarn room.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

My come to knitting story: Like many now-knitters, someone tried to teach me when I was 12. It didn't take. On Nov. 9, 2003, when my hubby was out of town, I sat down with Debbie Stoller's "Stitch 'n Bitch" and retaught myself. I've been a knitting maniac every since.

I hope that I've moved beyond beginner to intermediate. I'm pretty good at deciphering lace patterns, but my fair isle ventures are very few at this point.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Hmmmm. I think I started a wish list once. I'm making a goal right now to do that (maybe even today).

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I'm not big into smelly stuff. I don't like anything that's perfumey or floral. I'm totally sick of vanilla. I have some mint lotion I sort of like and some gingery stuff that I dig. Oh, yeah, and nothing that smells like food.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

YES! And an obsession with candy to match. I'm fascinated by regionally produced candy (like the Idaho Spud made here in my Boise). When I travel, I always stock up. I brought back two bagfuls of candy from my recent trip to Japan. I like anything that's quirky, and I'm willing to try anything once.

And I really, really like nuts with my chocolate (but I can do sour candy, licorice, etc.) When it comes to candy, I'm easy.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I don't spin and I'm not interested at this point in adding that to the rep. I crochet some. I really, really want to sew more, but all that I've managed to accomplish on that front is borrowing the mil's sewing machine and buying a pattern for a funky bag.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I have a Tori Amos CD in my car that I slip in every time the news on NPR gets boring. I like Beck and the alterna crowd (Green Day, etc.). But I also like jazz and classical and I've really been meaning to buy some opera, probably starting with Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

I'm totally not snobby in my music tastes and pretty much like anything with a good tune and a little rhythm.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Those socks I got from my sock pal? I love those colors! I love color and unusual pairings of color. My favorite sweater right now is spring green. My current favorite shirt has grays, greens and oranges. I've sort of been on an orange kick (which I think is a spring/summer seasonal thing). I have pretty purple shoes.

I'm pretty open when it comes to color. (I have a lot of blue, too). I tend to be less entranced with pastels and greys.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

Me, a husband (of 10 years on July 20!) and Scully, the cat who like no one but us.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Love scarves. LOVE scarves. And hats and mittens, too. I knit a poncho for myself once and I really can't stand to wear it. I feel funny. In theory I like them. I like them on other people. I just don't like them on myself.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Hmmmmm. All these favorite questions. My problem, I guess, is I have too many favorites.

I knit a lot of scarves, because I sell them at the holidays. But I won't say they are my favorite.

I really dig knitting socks. I prefer lace patterns to color work (but I'm working on that). Basically, I choose patterns that interest me, whether it's a sweater, bag, socks, hat, gloves, etc.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I'm finishing up two pairs of socks that got put on the backburner while I finished the sock pal socks. I want to start the Prairie Tunic from the Spring Knits issue in this orange cotton I've had sitting around for a long time.

I've also been working on a tube top from last fall's Knit Scene (which I definitely heart).

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Depends on the project. I've really only used bamboo and metal. I like both.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

No/no.

17. How did you learn to knit?

Let me recap and expand: I taught myself the basics from "Stitch 'n Bitch." I knit a couple of scarves, then headed to my LYS for further help with more complicated projects. I continue to teach myself by taking on projects that I think look too hard.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

About a year. (It's Lucky from "Stitch 'n Bitch Nation." All I have left is sewing the 1x1 rib around the neck. It's been this way for quite some time).

19. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. Hands down. (But I like Thanksgiving, too).

20. Is there anything that you collect?

Clothes? (That's what my husband would say). Yarn? Notheirng specific.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I've been wanting to buy "One Skein," but I have to wait until we pay off the credit card with our Japan trip charges on it this month.

I don't have any knitting magazine subscriptions, but I almost always buy the current issue of Knits and often Vogue.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Fair isle! Color knitting!

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yep. I wear size 9 shoe (my foot length is mostly in my big toe).

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

Sept. 20.

Whew! That's a lot about me!

I got socks!

2006-05-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Here's me wearing my brand new socks that rock (in my Docs that rock) from Katherine, my Benbrook, TX, sock pal. This picture was taken literally minutes after I tore open the package. Love, love, LOVE them! Love the colors. Love the cable pattern on the leg. Love how they fit my feet better than any socks I've ever made myself!

2006-05-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the whole, expertly packaged shebang, complete with extra yarn, stitch marker adornment, double-pointed needles and a cute Texas postcard

In the mail!

2006-05-02T17:25:00.000-07:00

I did it! I sent my sock pal socks by the May 2 deadline!

Here's how it went down: I frantically decreased gusset stitches during "24" last night, then knit the foot during lunch today (yes, at a table, at a restaurant, in between bites of pizza). After work, I decreased for the toe while watching Oprah.

At 5 p.m. straight up, I wove in the last end and packaged it all up. Then I hopped on my bike, rode to the post office, got it stamped (after waiting in line behind a woman in a lengthy discussion with the postal janitor about her parcel) and put it in the bin five minutes before pick up. I know, I know. I really shouldn't be so proud of myself for nearly failing to get it mailed. But the deadline at the post office across town is much later (in my defense) and those of us procrastinators know there's nothing like just squeaking in through the slamming door of a deadline.

Sock details: Lorna's Laces in a color I like to call "summer beach" (the Lorna's Lace's people apparently prefer "Aslan"). I used the Waving Lace Socks pattern from Spring 2004 Knits, with really no variations, except for the odd (barely noticeable) mistake or two.

2006-05-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

A close up of the wavy lace pattern.

Quick update

2006-05-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

In my 24 watching I noticed that even though Chloe has managed to escape the office, she's still shackled by that sweater. Maybe she should use that taser to knock out someone wearing a decent sweater and swap.

Guilty pleasures

2006-04-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

The guilty pleasure I'm indulging in this Sunday is most definitely sloth. And I feel guilty as hell about it. Even as I try to enjoy not leaving the house and lounging in jeans, flip flops and my favorite bright green cashmere cardigan, I feel regular waves of guilt.

The weekends have become a little to precious. They're this holy space, whose every drop should be used to the fullest. "What if I knit most of the day, but don't really enjoy it," I wonder. "Will I have wasted my weekend?" "Shouldn't I have been outside pulling up our unsightly shrubs, or, worse/better, pruning the rose bushes?"

I'm coming along quite nicely on my second sock pal sock, so I should be able to finish up just in time to get it to the post office by 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. I suppose that isn't very slothful.

But then, again, what about the rose bushes?

As for the picture, I wanted to post one more Japan food photo. I read about omusubi (hand-pressed rice) in "Washoku Kitchen" today, and the author, Elizabeth Andoh, relates her first experience with Japanese food: Omusubi at a train station filled with pickled plum. Me, too!

We have mere minutes before catching the train from Tokyo to Kyoto on our first day in country and Dave ran in to one of the many shops at the train station, grabbing a couple of foreign objects he hoped would be edible (and some lovely green tea to wash it down, of course). One of the treats, the triangle thing, happened to be rice pressed around a tangy, tart umeboshi. The whole thing was wrapped in nori. As we shared it, we knew we were going to fall in love with (most) of the food we'd be eating.

Friday: Food Day

2006-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm off work. I'm tired and have become a little too dreamy blazing through Kate Atkinson's "Case Histories."

So I thought I'd take a break and come back to the reality of my stomach (the one thing sure to bring me out of a reading jag). Beside my diet Pepsi on the patio table near the chair where I'm gobbling up the sad-and-funny tale of loss and the infuriating inability of adults to have real relationships with each other sits "Washoku Kitchen" (which I've mentioned before).

To better help me saver my book -- and not turn into the half-crazed weirdo my mom warned me I would from dwelling too much in a fantasy world -- I've been leafing through recipes for noodles and rice. Which of course got me thinking about all the food pictures we took in Japan.

We are as obsessed with food as much as anything else and couldn't help shooting almost everything we ate. So here's a sampling. This picture shows the noodles we ate at Omen in Kyoto (or rather the veggies we scooped into our big bowl of brothy udon that we ate in Kyoto).

I would be willing to pay someone a ridiculously large sum to come to my house right now and make this for dinner. Any takers?

2006-04-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

No food essay of our Japan trip would be complete without a nod to the ubiquitous vending machine. We were able to get a cool, refreshing bottle of unsweetened green tea every few feet. These machines (and the nice people who stock them) are one of the things I really wanted to bring back to Boise.

2006-04-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Me with my grilled eel and tempura in the nicest place we ate in Tokyo. Wish I had such a set menu before me right now.

2006-04-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Who knows? It looks like a half loaf of Wonder bread topped with ice cream. We saw this display in many restaurants in Tokyo, but never got around to trying it (it would leave less room for glorious udon).

2006-04-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Some Japanese guys make a treat we, with our Idaho-American tastebuds, dubbed "tako-yucky." As near as we could tell, it's a dumplingy, eggy thing with cabbage and squid sprinkled with the very strong tasting katsuo-bushi. We tried it in Muryama Park in Kyoto in the rain when we were so hungry we would have eaten anything. To get the taste out, we found a Starbucks where we ordered hot chocolate and a chocolate chip scone. How sad, sorry, totally-American is that?

2006-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

When I'm not blogging (or working, boss), you'll find me frantically knitting my sock pal's dreamy, beachy wavy lace socks. I don't want to document just how far I have to go, so, instead, I give you a picture of the Tokyo subway. This picture helps remind me how glad I am to live in Boise where I never have to press my face up against the glass of the train because there are a hundred other tired, stressed out people behind me.

Soxing Mightily

2006-04-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is what I intend to be -- a mighty soxer -- this week as I race to meet the sockapaloooza deadline.

(This is the first of many pictures I hope to post from my nine-day stay in Japan. This shop is located in the uber funky Harajuku neighborhood).

I've only started sock number one, but no worries. I've made a pair of socks in less than a week before (but then I wasn't obsessed with finishing the Tales of the Otori trilogy).

Sock details: I'm using a lovely Lorna's Laces that reminds me of the beach with its tans, greys and light blues. I'm using the waving lace socks pattern from the very first Knits issue I bought (Spring 2004) because I wanted to make these socks even back then when reading a sock pattern was a lot like reading Kanji. Fear not, sock pal!

Japan, Here I Come

2006-04-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here it is: A finished (almost) baby sweater and my last entry before I fly over the Pacific Ocean and spend my long anticipated week in Japan.

First, the sweater details: I adapted the pattern in last summer's Knits baby section to work for some Pakucho cotton I had hanging around. It gets two colors because I didn't have enough of the white to make an entire sweater. This little cutey (which I love, love, love) is destined for my grand niece. Yes, grand niece. It'll get a purple ribbon tie near the top and the baby bonnet (see post below) before it's sent off in the mail. That, of course, will be after I get back from Japan.

Expect to be bored to tears by pictures and stories of Janglish, hardships searching for Japanese yarn and longings to go back (I hope).

In the meantime, here's some interesting stories:

-- The case of the farting chair.

-- I'm not much of a sausage eater, but I've got a hankering to try these.
.

-- Speaking of food (and Japan), I've fallen in love with Elizabeth Andoh's "Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen" cookbook. I checked it out of the library, renewed it twice and put it at the top of my wishlist. I'm following the lead of Rebecca's Pocket and only buying one cookbook a year (me and my fat jeans are slogging through the stick-to-your-ribs diner fair of Rachael Ray just now). I can't buy until December, but I'm pretty sure this James Beard nominee is it.

It's Tuesday

2006-04-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

That's about all I can say about today. It was gray and rainy and my resolve to ride my bike to the library to take back Weatherman drizzled down to a nap on the couch instead.

Now, feeling oh-so-rested, I bring you these random tidings:

-- You can get a chance to be in a McDonald's ad or something by going here. Not that I support McDonalds in any way (except maybe in the way that the cup of Seattle's Best McDonald's coffee Katy at work gave me saved my life on Monday, the first day of work after springing forward).

-- This site helps you figure out how to deal with a bad boss. We've all had one of these at one time. (My worst boss: My very first one at Subway sandwiches. I got hired because I played the piano and chewed out on my first day for not having enough enthusiasm about the meatball sub).

-- And finally, the yummy-sounding cinnamon hot chocolate recipe I found while browing BHG:

3 cups skim milk
4 (3-1/2-inch) cinnamon sticks
12 ounces
bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Simmer the milk and the cinnamon sticks. Remove the cinnamon sticks and add the chocolate. Let stand for a couple of minutes, then whisk the chocolate until it melts. (The recipe calls for home whipped cream on top, but I'm not a fan of the stuff).

I'm hoping when I make myself a cup tonight that it's as good as the cuppa hot chocolate I had at the French Cafe on Sunday. Holy cow. It was enough to make one swear off coffee.

Experiments

2006-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

I thought I was using Larissa's baby bonnet pattern, but mine turned into a hat for a very pointy-headed young thing. I guess I sewed up too much of the crown? At this late date, I'm not sure what to do (it's for a niece; her shower is soon). I hope all my recent experiments don't turn out so alien.

My other big experiment is at work, where I've just officially become the online morning reporter. I help break news on our web site and I'm supposed to be this fun, quirky personality. The latter hasn't really happened, so I'm experimenting with ways to be fun online with this blog. That's why you'll see the new poll question (which all of two people have answered; the third is me answering from my home computer after answering at work). The next step may be "appearing" on the radio in the morning with news updates from the paper. It's either a stellar opportunity or a chance to make a fool of myself (the same holds true, I suppose, of giving the above bonnet).

Here's a couple of things I'm not quite ready to experiment with yet:

-- A lighted up bra.

-- Homemade vegan twinkies.

Sold

2006-03-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

If you belive the New York Times and this story, I'm about to become a McClatchy employee, after spending a mere six months working for Knight Ridder. If it's true, it's a relief, if only for this reason: The sale of my paper from Gannett to Knight Ridder happened while I was on vacation in July. I didn't want a repeat sale while I'm in Tokyo in April.

And in knitting news, I've stalled a bit on Jaywalker after having to redo the heel flap and cup because, once again, I felt myself too smart to closely read the pattern. Yeah. I'll never learn. (Don't tell the people at McClatchy).

It's ANTM time

2006-03-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

So don't go expecting some long post from me. I'll be spending my evening checking out the ANTM web site then actually viewing the long-awaited start of cycle 6.

In case there are any snobs left out there who haven't jumped on the reality show bandwagon, now is the time to do it. Yes, AI is the ratings juggernaut, eating up the precious collective viewing time with its bad fashion, bad vocals and bad boy Simon. If you think you can't commit to both of these all-American shows, well you need to get to your Best Buy stat and order yourself up Tivo.

BTW, I'm going into ANTM tonight rooting for Mollie Sue. One of my coworkers likes Kari and Sara (and I say to the latter, do all ANTM Sara's have to have massive lips?). Another coworker is in the Jade camp. There's no telling who will be the catty girl we love to hate from the fairly boring pictures on the web site. Who'll be stealing granola bars this season? That, kittens, is something only time will tell.

And, knitters, just so you know, I only knit during the commercials when this show is on.

Jaywalking

2006-03-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here's an Oscar's worth of work on my first pair of Jaywalker socks. It's gift knitting, which means it's okay that the tube top spent Sunday night packed away in a bag in the yarn room. There's nothing wrong with it (other than it's boring as hell to knit), but I feared the olive green may have clashed with the beauties on screen. Pinky stripes seemed much more appropriate.

On the whole, knitting the sock was the highlight of the annual awards show. It was a bit of a stinkeroo, with it's uptight celebrities, spinach-y best picture nominees and complete lack of streakers and swan dresses. For more dish, go here.

In Like a Lamb

2006-03-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

A sign of spring -- and the cycle of life: The lamb.

The lamb heralds the beginning of a new season and a new crop of wool beginning to grow, waiting to be sheared later on, while at the same time signaling that spring is here, which means an end to the winter/wool knitting season.

For you meat eaters out there, the beginning of spring, the birth of the lamb, means the farmer's market is just weeks from opening. At the market here in Boise, you can buy that lamb, locally grown, sans antibiotics and hormones, from Meadowlark Farms. Go here for a recipe on how to serve said lamb (as well as plenty of reasons to buy local).

Spinning Right Round

2006-03-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

The knitting continues (you didn't really think it would stop, did you?), but it's boring as hell so no pictures and no details but this: It's a tube top. Just knitting k2 p2 around and around and around. There's no anticipation of shaping (but there is of a fair isle section). No sleeves to contemplate. No buttonholes. It's great for relaxation or meeting friends in a coffee shop to talk about our respective encounters with poet Billy Collins. But it's not much good to write about. So I won't.

Instead, consider this lucky and enterprising woman who captivated the stars with her Diapees & Wipees idea.

Or perhaps you'd like to see what you'd look like if you, like Tim Allen will in movie theaters everywhere this month, turned into a dog.

Or maybe more to your liking is a moment to ponder why Japanese men are snapping girdles. Men. Girdles. I thought that was supposed to be one of the great things about being man. No girdles. No plastic surgery. Not anymore. Those silly men want to take on all the unpleasant trappings of womanhood (sorry to anyone I offended by disparaging the girdle).

Substitute knitting

2006-02-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

I'm still a little sore about the whole failed Clap thing, so I think I'm going to take a few days off from knitting. I know, I know, it's an almost sacreligious act, but my bruised ego will be the better for it. It's not like I'm going to give it up for Lent or anything. Four days without the needles I can handle. Forty days? Impossible. (Just watch, I'll be knitting tonight anyway. We all know I have absolutely no willpower, as is evidenced by the mounting pile of clearance clothes in my closet. Two weeks ago, I said no more shopping. So how, last Friday, did I end up with five new shirts, a pair of boots and a pair of shoes? And what about those shoes being UPSed to me as I write?).

Anyway, about the picture: As I replace one creative endeavor with another, I bring you the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cupcakes from the January Martha Stewart Living. Pretty, they ain't, and I can't tell you how the finished product tastes because I'm still feeling ill from all the batter I ate. Which says, at least, the batter is mighty tasty.

Done, But Not Well Done

2006-02-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Here it is the finished (but failed) Clapotis with its silly stiff point at the end caused by my emergency substitute yarn not being the right gauge afterall. As for so many other Americans my (knitting) Olympics ends in disappointment. I think I'll go punch somebody now.

For a few more sad details, check out Team Clapotis.

2006-02-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

This little patty of yarn (Cascade 220) may just be the savior of my Clapotis. I've still got a teensy bit of the variegated yarn left which I'm planning to use for the very tippy tip so it looks more intentional. We'll see.

Disappointments, the Third

2006-02-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Oh, Speedy! What the heck! I can't believe Idaho's own ended his Olympics in a brawl that had nothing to do with speed skating. Shameful. Shameful!

And speaking of poop, check out this, a story about San Francisco collecting dog poop and turning it into energy. Pure genius, if you ask me. Judging from the amount of dog poop I've encountered walking in the Foothills here, we in Boise could generate plenty of energy to heat our houses and cook our food (now isn't that a disturbing thought: Poop-fried steak, anyone?).

And hats off to the headline writer for "Behold the Power of Poop." To write "poop" in a headline is cool. To use alliteration, even better.

Speaking of recycling, check out The Idaho Statesman on Sunday for my primer on paper recycling from one of my personal heroes. Craft alert: There are
instructions on how to make your own paper without going to the store. Reduce, reuse, recycle, baby! (It helps assuage the guilt brought on with all this
wasteful yarn buying).

The Big Decrease

2006-02-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

So I've finally made it to the decrease section of the Clap. And none too soon. The hours left in the Olympics are ticking away, just like all the failed US attempts at gold. My once fat patty is becoming thin at an alarming rate, and I'm quite sure a "design feature" color change is inevitable.

But I knit on. And as I do so, I think about the things I read online today (all in a day's work, you know?):

-- I think about how I wish we had a peeps diorama contest at the Idaho Statesman here in Boise like they do in the Twin Cities. I’d totally enter, if only to torment the Mister. He’s
peep-o-phobic.

-- This makes me glad I’ve vowed to forgo the whole highlighting/hair coloring thing. Yes, I’m a blonde (okay, so I’m less and less of a blond every year), but I can tell you this, I’m definitely not willing to stay this way through the help of chemicals. I had my hair highlighted once, just before I was married. It was torture (but then, I equate hair salons with dental offices). It was stinky. It took a long time. I could hardly tell the difference.

Maybe I’ll feel different when I go from brownish blond to gray. I hope not.

-- The “A Smart Girl’s Guide to Money”sent to me at work by the American Girl people makes me realize that any girl who reads this will already be better at having a little side business than me. I sell a few knitted things now and then and know I
really, really should do the math to figure out how much profit I make (paying myself nothing per hour, of course). But see, then I’d have to come face-to-face
with how much money I actually spend on yarn when children are starving in Africa and the whole world is sort of a big, bad messed up place, in part due to my
own rampant consumerism.

-- The only thing that can quell that kind of thinking? This line from "Saturday" by Ian McEwan:

"It isn't rationalism that will overcome the religious zealots, but ordinary shopping and all that it entails-jobs for a start, and peace, and some commitment to realizable pleasures, the promise of appetites sated in this world, not the next. Rather shop than pray."

Disappointments Part II

2006-02-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Oh, Speedy! Why couldn't you have landed your jump just a little bit better?

Since I've spent the last 20 minutes looking over a coworkers shoulder as he compulsively hit the refresh button on the Olympic aerial results, I figured I might as well spend a few more mourning Speedy's loss of a medal.

I normally don't let myself get so caught up in the results. But Speedy seems like such a nice kid and since he's got Boise roots and all, I pinned all my hopes on him.

I hope this isn't a bad sign for my Clapotis...

Disappointments

2006-02-21T17:03:00.000-08:00

1. The CK jacket I just bought on clearance at Dillards was only 50 percent off, even though it was on the 75 percent off rack. The Mister said that out of principle, I should have huffed off, muttering under my breath about how they should put it on the right rack.

2. "Love Monkey," or as I like to think of it "Ed II" is on permanent hiatus. The show had a quirky sort of charm and I loved the way Ed's sexy coworker dress. A few weeks ago, she had me on the hunt for a wraparound jersey dress.

3. I'm still not to the decrease rows on the Clap. Even after shamelessly knitting through an hour long meeting at work today.

4. The Milquetoast president on "24" still hasn't been sacked, blown to bits or publicly humiliated like he deserves.

5. And, going back to the Oscar nominations, neither "Pride and Prejudice," nor any other movie about women or with really meaty women roles got nominated for best picture. Again. Some day those that give out awards will come to realize that women's stories can be "universal" and "important," too.

After the weekend

2006-02-20T17:21:00.001-08:00

My Clap, with ten stitches dropped. Over halfway there, baby!

Before the weekend

2006-02-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Clap on Saturday morning in its last moments as a triangle.

If I had a million $

2006-02-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

The newspaper was full of all sorts of breaking news this morning. But what's the one article the Mister read aloud to me as I frantically dropped stitches on my Clapotis?

This one, the one about what good (and selfish) things the good people of the Treasure Valley would do if they made like Brad Duke and won the obscenely large Powerball lottery prize (about $119 million AFTER taxes).

This, of course, led to a discussion about what we'd do with the loot. Here's our (always changing) list:

1. Add on a master suite to our house (a sunroom and lux bathroom). I don't feel like I need any more space in the room (except maybe in the closet), but, oh, a bathroom! What a dream!

2. Add on a library loft above our garage opening up into our living room, which would also get a higher ceiling.

3. Hire a landscaper to come and get rid of all the blankety blank grass and rose bushes and replace them with native vegetation and lots more lavendar bushes.

4. Finally put the slate floors in the kitchen and the bathroom.

5. Buy a sheep farm in Emmett.

That's about as far as we got. Note that we didn't, even for a second, consider moving (we would pay people to farm our sheep). Winning the lottery is no reason to get greedy and give up a perfectly good house in the best location of all of Boise.

(You may also note that not one of our top 5 includes any charitable work. Well, I never said we were perfect).

V-Day Redux

2006-02-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

I'll spare you the clapotis recap today (yep, it looks pretty much the same as yesterday, only a little bigger).

But since I love a good recap, here's mine for V-Day: Take out Thai and a movie, as planned. But instead of "Amelie," as we had discussed, the mister surprised me with a copy of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," my pick for best romantic movies in an article I did at work. Also, the sweetie made a card (watch out, Martha!) using a picture of a campfire we shared last summer. And, speaking of Martha, he gave me a subscription to her mag. How sweet!

As for me an my contribution, you're looking at it. A pair of socks out of the blessed Koigu in a distinctly manly color. The details: I cast on 66 and used the irregular rib pattern for the unisex sweater in Loop-d-Loop (k3, p3, k1, p2, k2,p3,k4,p4). Then I followed basic sock protocol (cuff, reinforced heel flap, cute little heel cup, gussetts, foot and rounded toe). In honor of the holiday, I finished it off with a little pink heart out of the same yarn as my Lace Leaf Pullover and Chocolate Dipped Pop Top Mitts. Now if that ain't romantic, I don't know what is.

Getting my game on

2006-02-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

From this (a mysterious patty of yarn missing its tag that I'm guessing is light worsted weight and therefore suitable for my No. 7 needles)...

2006-02-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

To this, the very baby beginnings of clapotis (or as the mister calls it, "crap-o-tee," which I'm going to hope refers to my lackluster start and not the beautiful finished object I have in mind).

Not so impressive, really, especially when compared with my Team Clapotis mates. But I'm going to say it's akin to being in 32nd place after the downhill going into the slalom or picking myself up after crashing hard on the ice. My Olympics has been plagued with issues -- and a few injuries. To begin with, I didn't finish knitting Mr. Knitter's Valentine's socks before Feb. 10 as planned. No. The last end for those was woven in at 2 p.m. on Valentine's Day, a full four days into the knitting Olympics. And while I don't have to contend with it being the anniversary of my grandmother's death, I have had to deal with major upheaval at work (I'll have a new position at the paper starting in March. More details to come). And then there's the chronic dry skin from which me and my father suffer. (Take a close look at my poor thumb and index finger knuckles in the picture. If you dare).

Do I have a lot to overcome in the next 11 days? You bet. But overcoming adversity (if you buy into the newscasts of the Games) is what the Olympics is all about.

V-Day

2006-02-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

Me and my Valentine send V-Day greetings!

On tap to celebrate: Probably take out Thai and a movie (the tradition). After that, maybe we'll go all Chinese and get matching plastic surgery. Or I'll go Japanese and treat myself to a box of $200 chocolates so I can get a leg up on the Swiss who consume almost 25 pounds of the food of the gods each year.

But first, before all of that, there's the 10 percent off red and pink yarn sale at my favorite LYS to consider. Now that's something to love.

Oops!

2006-02-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

First, my oops: I dropped about three stitches on my second cable rib sock last night while watching Bones (which I only watch, of course, as a exercise in nostalgia for Angel and Buffy). I say about because I can clearly find two of the stitches making their way down the cuff, but the third seems to have completely vanished. My stitch count tells me three must have wriggled off the needle. But where is it? Do I need to call in a team of unusually attractive forensic anthropologists to ferret this mystery out?

Second oops (of which I bare no blame): A local news station recently aired a story about how the Idaho House voted yes on a proposal to ban gay marriage in the state constitution. The local newscaster announced this in a voice over as the station aired national stock footage of gay couples rejoicing because they were getting married. Are these gay couples celebrating because Idaho is moving to strengthen its ban on gay marriage? Very curious.

Oh, Martha!

2006-02-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Now, you know I'm a big fan of all things crafting (otherwise, would I be spending my precious time off work knitting, writing about knitting, knitting while I'm writing about knitting, etc.). But I do have my limits.

I've found a couple in the February issue of "Martha Stewart Living."

First is a "Good Thing" that involves slipping slices of fruit and flower petals between sheets of translucent paper, photocopying the combo, then using the resulting paper to wrap gifts. Now, I'm aware that some people do have copiers in their homes. But I can't get the image out of my mind of surreptitiously photocopying fruit at work. Or hauling in produce and flower clippings to Kinkos. It really seems going above and beyond the call of crafting.

Second, also a "Good Thing," is instructions on how to make your accordion file folders pretty. This is not the craft for me. Yes, I own file folders. But I first need to learn how to use them before I go pasting them up with fabric.

Defeat

2006-02-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little defeated today.

As expected, the library bond failed. I felt that inevitability all day, but especially at my polling place. Usually when I go to cast my vote, there's excitement in the air and a feeling of carmarderie amongst us voters. Not so yesterday. Besides me and the mister, the voting contingent consisted of a woman shrilly, defensively declaring "Of course I voted. I'm a librarian."

The grim faces of the rest of the much older voters didn't bode well for the measure that would raise taxes just a month before we'll be asked to raise our taxes for a school bond measure. I can't really blame them. Why should they be forced to pay for the new libraries we need due to all this growth? They probably haven't benefitted a whole lot from all these people flooding into the valley.

And a continuing note of defeat: I'm getting a little concerned about the tube top. I can't quite tell, but it seems it might fit around a much more robust person than me. The last thing a person wants is a saggy tube top.

What the!?!

2006-02-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Nestled inside my mailbox, right next to a San Francisco postcard from a traveling friend, behind my insanely large GAP card bill, an invitation to join AARP. I won't tell you how much I weigh, but I will say this: I AM 31-YEARS-OLD! The AARP people can't touch me for another 19 years!

Unless, of course, 30 is the new 50....

VOTE

2006-02-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

If you live in Boise, then get your behind to the polls and vote on the library bond issue. As an unbiased journalist, I can't tell you how to vote. But as someone who credits the Idaho Falls Public Library with a good half of her pre-college education, I will say that I think libraries are one of the most important cornerstones of a Democracy. All information, free for the taking. All those books, ready to open minds. All that public space for kids to come and learn that reading is exciting and good. And to that argument that people don't use the library? There's been a rare day in my entire life that I didn't have something checked out of the library. Right now, my card is holding a stack of books on travel in Japan, a CD version of Zadie Smith's "On Beauty" and several books on famous love letters (think Brownings). I have a "Lemony Snicket" DVD on hold to pick up. I can't tell you how many library knitting books that have passed through my house.

If there's one thing I feel more passionate about than knitting, it's libraries.

Jumping off

2006-02-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

This week, I'm stretching my wings and jumping off. For starters, behold the tube top I'm knitting. Yes, a tube top. I'm not sure that I've ever even worn a tube top. And here I am, all cast on and almost a couple of inches in. This ring of green represents my Super Bowl knitting (I had started before, but made the rookie mistake of twisting the stitches and didn't realize it until I was an inch in).

It's from my beloved (and now well-worn) Knitscene magazine. I'm making it alongside my friend Jillian. It's her first tube top, too.

And it's a fair isle first for the both of us.

As if planning to knit a tube top isn't enough of a stretch, I may be changing jobs at work. I mean really changing jobs at work. The new job -- a job yet unheld by any soul -- would involve posting breaking news online in the wee hours of the morning. Like 6 a.m. But then, the work day would end at 3 p.m., leaving at least two hours to do any stealth knitting/yarn store shopping I might desire. I won't know until tomorrow whether the job is mine. It's very, very scary because I really do love what I'm doing now. But, as they say, you never know how great you'll look in a handknit wool tube top until you try it on.

2006-02-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

Another view of the ring of green....

Charitable knitting

2006-02-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

"Chocolate Dipped Pop Top Mittens" in wool/mohair. Photo by the fabulous Shawn Raecke.

2006-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

I finally, finally, finally made something for Valentines for AIDS, a silent auction at Flying M (my favorite Boise coffee house) wherein artists donate Valentines-themed pieces which are then part of a 10-day silent auction to raise money for a local program that helps local folks who have AIDS. It's always been one of my most favorite-ist things about Boise, even before I moved here. I love how so many people in the community -- both professional artists and people like me who just like to create stuff -- brainstorm and make something for a good cause. (To read more about it, check out The Idaho Statesman article).

My entry: "Chocolate Dipped Pop Top Mittens." I used a basic mitten pattern then winged a pop top by knitting a basic fingerless glove then picking up stitches just above the thumbhole, across the back. I cast on over the palm. Really, I had no idea what I was doing, but it seemed to work.

I also designed a very subtle heart using yos, which is the absolute first time I've tried to design an actual motif. I didn't want it to be too heart-y, in honor of Judi who is at war with all things heart-ish. I used leftover Lamb's Pride Worsted Yarn from my Lace Leaf Pullover and some mysterious brown stuff from the stash for the chocolate dipped part. If I'm not totally crushed by my employer tomorrow (major reorg employee chart announced), I'll post the actual pattern.

Cupcake

2006-01-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

When knitting projects fail, when life gets scary, when it rains and rains even though you live in the desert, then it's time to make cupcakes and make it all better. These are my version of the Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe from the January Martha. The recipe didn't call for frosting, but I added frosting (and pink frosting at that) because a cupcake just isn't a cupcake unless it's slathered in rich, buttery frosting. True to their name, these cupcakes are very cookie-ish and almost have the texture of a light bar cookie. I don't know if it's the recipe or my geriatric baking powder, but they didn't raise as much as I like. Still, their very cupcake nature made me feel better in what has been a topsy-turvy, upside down kind of month (with no end in sight).

A little prayer

2006-01-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine (who is in her 20s) had brain surgery this week and found out the tumor is cancerous. Having stuff like this happen to someone you know is like getting sucker punched over and over again. I'm still breathless.

I'm sending all the positive thoughts I can her way as the doctors poke around at the sample cells they took from the tumor to determine what stage the cancer is at. If it's stage one, they go back in and take out the rest of the tumor. If it's stage two, she has to have radiation. In her brain.

Since I am but one small person, I thought I'd enlist the positive thoughts of anyweb folk out there willing to take a moment or two to send out some of their own. You obviously don't know this person, but she might be the most remarkable, funny, kind, best human being I've ever met. She certainly deserves some good news next week.

Panta interrupted

2006-01-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

I started a Panta and ran out of yarn. So here's a picture of the Mister's latest creative endeavor. Being a state employee, he doesn't have to work on any day with a whiff of holiday about it (meaning he was off on MLK Day). I, getting no holidays between Jan. 1 and Memorial Day (not that I'm bitter), headed off to work. When I came home, I found him painting our boring, cream-painted fireplace bright red. It totally rocks! Have I mentioned lately how cool my hubby is? Are you gagging?

Misc.

2006-01-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm putting off delving into the Rachael Ray for tonight's dinner, and what better way to do that then to talk about memememememe.

A coworker of mine recently quit his MySpace.com account in disgust with what he sees as everyone's boring, blatant self-promotion. "It's all vanity," he says.

Being a woman, I know a little about vanity and a lot about self-reflection, especially the type achieved after long hours in front of the mirror wondering if I could will my hair curly. That adolescent exercise was accompanied by my woeful practicing witty and clever responses to the cute young man I kept wishing I'd meet at the Roller Skating rink (hey, I grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho). Combine these practices with the typical mother-daughter exchanges that start with the mother figure asking: "Are you really going to wear your hair out like that?" and I've got a strong helping of neurotic vanity.

(To read more about the mother-daughter thing, check out a linguist's perspective).

These days, instead of talking to the mirror, I talk to the nethersphere of blog land. And I'm not looking for a cute guy anymore (already found that) (oh, how sweet). Instead, I'm looking for approval, acknowledgement that maybe, buried somewhere deep, I might be sort of cool. Or maybe have cool ideas. Or at least have good taste in what yarn I buy and what patterns I choose to knit. Or what awesome bags I'd buy (if I weren't too cheap to buy a purse from anywhere but a thrift story).

With that preamble, here's an unsolicited meme. You didn't ask for it, but your getting is anyway:

Four jobs I've had:
Telemarketer
Barrista
Census taker
Journalist

4 movies to watch over and over
High Fidelity
13 Going on 30
The Matrix
Pride and Prejudice

4 TV shows
Buffy (on DVD)
Alias
America's Next Top Model
Veronica Mars

4 places I've vacationed
London-Paris-Amsterdam
New Orleans
Key West
Maine

4 website I visit daily
www.idahostatesman.com
www.elann.com
www.zap2it.com
www.zappos.com

4 favorite foods
nuts
rice&peas&cheese (a combo I've been eating since college)
No. 911 sushi rolls (super spicy)
jalapenos

4 places I'd rather be
Paris
Treasure Garden (favorite thrift store)
a b&b in stowe, vermont
at the movies

On Feet

2006-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

Since this post is about feet, a visual for you of the felted version of the Mister's slippers (they go quite nicely with his favorite pjs, which, surprisingly, is important to him). And now for the meat of the post: I just signed up for Sockapaloooza! It's my first knitting exchange thingy and I'm super psyched. This should at least temporary quell the end-of-project fear I'm about to feel about what I should knit next from the black hole of my stash after I soon finish my Chocolate Dipped Drop Top Mitts (of which you can expect a picture and details any day...).

2006-01-21T20:17:00.001-08:00

A note about the pin at the shoulder. This butterfly pin I picked up at a local second hand store is a temporary stand in for an actual button, one, if I continue my streak, I'll never sew on.