So, This weekend I've made a ton of progress on Leslie's cowl, which is great because maybe this year I'll actually be able to do knitted holiday presents for people! huzzah. Well, I'm starting with my siblings since there's only three of them, and perhaps in years to come I'll have amped up my knitting speed to be able to gift for more people. As it stands, I have a good plan set out, and I'm liking this New New Shale pattern enough that it doesn't bore me.
I got through about three repeats while watching tonight's Mad Men, which was fandamntastic, and much more emotionally satisfying than last week's episode. I loved Betty in this. And I looooooved Joan. I always love Joan. but ACK I am dead from Jon Hamm pathos. That man is a powerful talent. eesh.
What I'm most proud of this weekend (which was largely spent at Innsbrook with the family for my grandma's 80th birthday party, and that was great fun for everyone, I love those folks) is that I've ventured further into the epic world of...I don't know, urban homesteading? DIY cooking? Being Awesome? whatever you want to call it. Mom's been listening to this audiobook called I Love Pie! (great title) and has been convinced that we need lard in the house. Finally! She thought I was crazy when I started talking about cooking with lard earlier in the summer. Granted, I may have been foaming at the mouth a little, but that is only because the thought of delicious flaky biscuits and pie crusts and dumplings and cornbread et cetera is enough to drive anyone mad. But I digress. I now have a partner in fat-rendering crime, and to this effect we took a trip to Whole Foods (yes, yes, more like Whole Paycheck) after dropping off the bags and whatnot from Innsbrook and dithered around buying bread and various kinds of chocolate and looking at what kind of shortening they offered in their baking aisle. Mom chickened out at the meat counter, so I had to nut up or shut up (thank you, Zombieland, I will be saying that....forever, now) and lo, asked one of the butchers if they had pork fat. We ended up taking home a pound and a half of fat scraps, quite a bit of which was actually meat and my goodness it's a shame how much food goes to waste in a supermarket world. they were going to throw this stuff out! And I got it for free! FREE. And I know it's not ideal for making lard, but this is more of a trial run, in my mind.
We used the oven method, cutting up the fat (and separating a lot of the meat out for use in stews or whatever later) and putting it in the oven at 250 for...a couple hours, more like two and a half. Since this wasn't leaf lard or pure back fat, there wasn't a whole lot of lard rendered, probably about...1/4 of a cup. But it WORKED. And it's sitting in the fridge now, snowy white and ready for pie-making, which mom is all excited to start, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. More exciting still, I have a whole mess of pork cracklings which I plan to put in the green beans for Thanksgiving, unless I use them for something (or hell, just eat them) sooner than that.
To those of you naysayers who are going "LARD AUGH THE HORROR," including my dad and my girlfriend, I say to you: Shut your pie-hole. I am going to make kickass pastry with this lard, and complainers and folks who have bought into the actually quite unproven idea that saturated fats cause heart disease and are evil evil evil to the core but gosh does that do wonders for corporations that refine and sell vegetable oil OH WAIT ARTIFICIAL TRANS FATS..well, complainers are not going to get any biscuits. or Pie. Shazam.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dan Brown Strikes Again
So we just got our (eighteen) copies of The Lost Symbol circulating today, which leads me to muse on the nature of the explosive breakout hit from #1 New York Times Bestselling etc Dan Brown. Now, I have little patience with these #1 New York Times Bestselling folks, particularly when they or their ghostwriters churn out a new monstrously thick thriller ever three or four months and they immediately top the bestseller lists because their legions of fans, who are apparently sheep, put things on pre-order and the books are automatically popular. James Patterson, I'm looking at you. If you aren't actually dead and your ghostwriters are just using your name to keep writing bestsellers. Now, in a capitalist society, there's nothing wrong with this practice. Hey, if these authors have figured out a way to make the big bucks with a minimum of effort, more power to them. But I cannot stand the collective cultural assumption that simply because these books are popular, they are also necessarily good. As the TWoP mantra regarding American Idol tells us, Loud Is The New Good.
And Dan Brown is very, very loud. Granted, I believe he actually does write his own books, and I've read Angels and Demons and DaVinci Code and found them both to be readable, somewhat exciting, and more intellectually stimulating than say, Twilight. But of course the ingredients label on a jar of mayonnaise is more intellectually stimulating than Twilight. Anyway. Dan Brown's books aren't bad, but they're not particularly good, either, or at least they're not exceptional. Angels and Demons was new and exciting when it was new, DaVinci Code was the one that made Brown popular because he hit on the clever tactic of Getting The Religious Right All Riled Up By Ripping Off A Book That Had Been Published Years Earlier. Holy Blood, Holy Grail actually is a fun read, and its artistic and symbolic content would actually make a decent novel. It's also a blatant lie, as admitted by its team of authors some years after its publication. The rampant OMG Jesus had a secret family silliness was taken by Brown and shoehorned into his second Robert Langdon novel, and it made the series wildly popular and controversial, but it also made DaVinci Code the lesser book in the series.
Here's a funny story about my experience reading these books: I read DaVinci Code first, because I was working at the Art Museum at the time, and everyone in the office was all abuzz about how there's this hit book making art exciting and accessible to people. So I read it, and was pleasantly surprised for the most part, but I also wished that this guy had maybe included the Illuminati and left all the Jesus nonsense out. Because he really did just take HB,HG, Gnostic philosophy, and some Wiccan stuff, and put it in a blender. This does not make for compelling revelations. At least not for me, thinking erudite person. Where were the Illuminati? I wondered. And then I read Angels and Demons, and realized that Dan Brown really did have the capacity to write intelligent thrillers, and had in fact done so, but then he wrote the Jesusy sequel and started pandering to the mob.
And what pandering and/or ripping off has he done in his third book about Robert Langdon, I wonder? Why he is only stealing from that actually very fun and clever Jerry Bruckheimer film, NATIONAL TREASURE. I'll repeat that. Dan Brown is Ripping Off National Treasure.
You may argue, but Allison, wasn't National Treasure pretty much ripping off The DaVinci Code in the first place and dumbing it down for an American moviewatching audience? Yes, that's true. But! National Treasure also had great pacing, really smart writing with funny quips, and an entirely satisdying plot. And it's a better movie than The DaVinci Code. How National Treasure managed to be that fun despite having Nicholas Cage in the lead still boggles the mind to this day. But the point it, it's good shit. And now, Dan Brown's latest literary offering has Langdon uncovering mysteries in Washington DC (!) involving the Freemasons (!!) and the lost treasure of Solomon (!!!). Of course since Dan's got to be a Debbie Downer about things, this mystery involves not an actual treasure but something about the secret name of God, probably. This I gleaned from the dustjacket and flipping to a random page that had a code on it. Secret name of God. I get that Brown is trying to make nerdy things exciting for the mainstream, but honestly, fella, an ACTUAL TREASURE (see: National Treasure and National Treasure 2: Electric Boogaloo) is miles more exciting than ancient secret wisdom that has apparently been covered up in a vast global conspiracy that could bring the civilization of the world to its knees (but probably ends up not doing so). Also, if there's a villainous villain with some sort of religious obsession and/or bizarre fetish, like Dan Brown seems to love writing, I'm officially declaring National Treasure as Less Lame.
But I'm not making truly official until I actually read the book. We'll see, folks! we shall see!
Last Point: Benjamin Franklin Gates has better hair than Robert Langdon. And Gates is played by Nicholas Cage. This pains me, but also proves my point.
And Dan Brown is very, very loud. Granted, I believe he actually does write his own books, and I've read Angels and Demons and DaVinci Code and found them both to be readable, somewhat exciting, and more intellectually stimulating than say, Twilight. But of course the ingredients label on a jar of mayonnaise is more intellectually stimulating than Twilight. Anyway. Dan Brown's books aren't bad, but they're not particularly good, either, or at least they're not exceptional. Angels and Demons was new and exciting when it was new, DaVinci Code was the one that made Brown popular because he hit on the clever tactic of Getting The Religious Right All Riled Up By Ripping Off A Book That Had Been Published Years Earlier. Holy Blood, Holy Grail actually is a fun read, and its artistic and symbolic content would actually make a decent novel. It's also a blatant lie, as admitted by its team of authors some years after its publication. The rampant OMG Jesus had a secret family silliness was taken by Brown and shoehorned into his second Robert Langdon novel, and it made the series wildly popular and controversial, but it also made DaVinci Code the lesser book in the series.
Here's a funny story about my experience reading these books: I read DaVinci Code first, because I was working at the Art Museum at the time, and everyone in the office was all abuzz about how there's this hit book making art exciting and accessible to people. So I read it, and was pleasantly surprised for the most part, but I also wished that this guy had maybe included the Illuminati and left all the Jesus nonsense out. Because he really did just take HB,HG, Gnostic philosophy, and some Wiccan stuff, and put it in a blender. This does not make for compelling revelations. At least not for me, thinking erudite person. Where were the Illuminati? I wondered. And then I read Angels and Demons, and realized that Dan Brown really did have the capacity to write intelligent thrillers, and had in fact done so, but then he wrote the Jesusy sequel and started pandering to the mob.
And what pandering and/or ripping off has he done in his third book about Robert Langdon, I wonder? Why he is only stealing from that actually very fun and clever Jerry Bruckheimer film, NATIONAL TREASURE. I'll repeat that. Dan Brown is Ripping Off National Treasure.
You may argue, but Allison, wasn't National Treasure pretty much ripping off The DaVinci Code in the first place and dumbing it down for an American moviewatching audience? Yes, that's true. But! National Treasure also had great pacing, really smart writing with funny quips, and an entirely satisdying plot. And it's a better movie than The DaVinci Code. How National Treasure managed to be that fun despite having Nicholas Cage in the lead still boggles the mind to this day. But the point it, it's good shit. And now, Dan Brown's latest literary offering has Langdon uncovering mysteries in Washington DC (!) involving the Freemasons (!!) and the lost treasure of Solomon (!!!). Of course since Dan's got to be a Debbie Downer about things, this mystery involves not an actual treasure but something about the secret name of God, probably. This I gleaned from the dustjacket and flipping to a random page that had a code on it. Secret name of God. I get that Brown is trying to make nerdy things exciting for the mainstream, but honestly, fella, an ACTUAL TREASURE (see: National Treasure and National Treasure 2: Electric Boogaloo) is miles more exciting than ancient secret wisdom that has apparently been covered up in a vast global conspiracy that could bring the civilization of the world to its knees (but probably ends up not doing so). Also, if there's a villainous villain with some sort of religious obsession and/or bizarre fetish, like Dan Brown seems to love writing, I'm officially declaring National Treasure as Less Lame.
But I'm not making truly official until I actually read the book. We'll see, folks! we shall see!
Last Point: Benjamin Franklin Gates has better hair than Robert Langdon. And Gates is played by Nicholas Cage. This pains me, but also proves my point.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Stitch 'n Pitch 2009
WOO! I actually went to and (GASP) enjoyed a baseball game! those of you who know me irl know that I hate baseball so much. But! watching baseball while KNITTING, that is another thing altogether. Also, the Cards actually won tonight, so that made it more fun.
Goodie Bag! Here's what I got:
2 cross-stitch patterns
1 cute jacket pattern "Sierra" in KidLin
1 basic men's sweater pattern, "Jonathan"
1 July/August issue Crochet Today
1 October issue Knit 'n Style
1 booklet of cardigan patterns of Virevolte yarn. totally 80s!
1 Louisa Harding pattern book which I actually already have a copy of from Myers House
1 Go Red Heart scarf pattern designed for Stitch 'n Pitch events
1 brochure telling me how great Manos Del Uruguay yarn is, as if I didn't already know. ha ha
1 brochure promoting Heifer International, good folks, them.
A ton of coupons for the various sponsoring LYSes
1 point protector which looks too much like a twizzler bite and I really wish it was, so I could eat it
1 ChiaoGoo 9mm bamboo crochet hook (well, I've got to re-learn sometime!)
1 set size 9 ChiaoGoo bamboo DPNs, 6"
1 skein Lamb's Pride worsted in a shade of pink that almost EXACTLY matches the shirt I wore to the game! Mom also received a skein of something cotton that matched her shirt! it was madness!
I also caught a ball of black Berocco eyelash yarn, and who knows what I'll use that for.
more importantly! I made a TON of progress on my St. James sweater! or should I say, my totally sexy Joan Holloway sweater that is red red red and super cute. I was able to try it on not once but Twice! at the game to see how it was coming along, and it's going great, fits nicely, and my adjusted decreased seemed to work out well. I did the first half of them with only 2 rounds between decrease rounds, and the second half with 3 rounds between. Now I'm going strong on the plain stockinette portion, and wondering if I should shorten that and get to the increases sooner because 1) I am short and 2) I have a tummy. we shall see! but for now, I'm extremely pleased with what I've accomplished.
Top-down knitting is so great! I never want to knit a sweater in pieces ever again! I will not be making that mistake! This is so much more fun. and not drudgery.
Goodie Bag! Here's what I got:
2 cross-stitch patterns
1 cute jacket pattern "Sierra" in KidLin
1 basic men's sweater pattern, "Jonathan"
1 July/August issue Crochet Today
1 October issue Knit 'n Style
1 booklet of cardigan patterns of Virevolte yarn. totally 80s!
1 Louisa Harding pattern book which I actually already have a copy of from Myers House
1 Go Red Heart scarf pattern designed for Stitch 'n Pitch events
1 brochure telling me how great Manos Del Uruguay yarn is, as if I didn't already know. ha ha
1 brochure promoting Heifer International, good folks, them.
A ton of coupons for the various sponsoring LYSes
1 point protector which looks too much like a twizzler bite and I really wish it was, so I could eat it
1 ChiaoGoo 9mm bamboo crochet hook (well, I've got to re-learn sometime!)
1 set size 9 ChiaoGoo bamboo DPNs, 6"
1 skein Lamb's Pride worsted in a shade of pink that almost EXACTLY matches the shirt I wore to the game! Mom also received a skein of something cotton that matched her shirt! it was madness!
I also caught a ball of black Berocco eyelash yarn, and who knows what I'll use that for.
more importantly! I made a TON of progress on my St. James sweater! or should I say, my totally sexy Joan Holloway sweater that is red red red and super cute. I was able to try it on not once but Twice! at the game to see how it was coming along, and it's going great, fits nicely, and my adjusted decreased seemed to work out well. I did the first half of them with only 2 rounds between decrease rounds, and the second half with 3 rounds between. Now I'm going strong on the plain stockinette portion, and wondering if I should shorten that and get to the increases sooner because 1) I am short and 2) I have a tummy. we shall see! but for now, I'm extremely pleased with what I've accomplished.
Top-down knitting is so great! I never want to knit a sweater in pieces ever again! I will not be making that mistake! This is so much more fun. and not drudgery.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Lifetime: Television for Watching Ironically!
Although if there's one thing Lifetime is good for, it's showing bizarre movies starring Valerie Bertinelli about former Lohan-esque starlets who go to rehab and then go into hiding in Indiana and...stuff. And of course now Lifetime is also good for Project Runway.
But! crazy cheesy movies make for excellent time spent knitting! and I'm making real progress on my St. James sweater. I love love love love love top-down knitting. this is so fun, this project actually looks like a sweater now and I can try it on and see how it's turning out and it's not a big huge mess like that ill-begotten cardigan was! hallelujah! This thing is gonna look super cute.
Just for the sake of keeping track for myself: I finished the raglan shaping, put the sleeves on waste yarn, and doing a few rounds of stockinette on the body before I start the first bit of shaping. woohoo!
tonight's Joanspiration on Mad Men was woefully lacking, but Christina Hendricks still looks supermegafoxyawesomehot, and great in turquoise. Also, Sal in his jammies. that scene killed me in several different ways. oh lord. I ought to go to bed, but I want to make a bit more progress on this sweater before I sign off. hooray for motivation!
But! crazy cheesy movies make for excellent time spent knitting! and I'm making real progress on my St. James sweater. I love love love love love top-down knitting. this is so fun, this project actually looks like a sweater now and I can try it on and see how it's turning out and it's not a big huge mess like that ill-begotten cardigan was! hallelujah! This thing is gonna look super cute.
Just for the sake of keeping track for myself: I finished the raglan shaping, put the sleeves on waste yarn, and doing a few rounds of stockinette on the body before I start the first bit of shaping. woohoo!
tonight's Joanspiration on Mad Men was woefully lacking, but Christina Hendricks still looks supermegafoxyawesomehot, and great in turquoise. Also, Sal in his jammies. that scene killed me in several different ways. oh lord. I ought to go to bed, but I want to make a bit more progress on this sweater before I sign off. hooray for motivation!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I can't wait until fall.
I feel bad that I haven't been knitting as much lately, but the weather is hopefully going to stay cool for a bit, so I can work on my sweater. Yes, I need to block some scarves, and finish that tank top, but the sweater is, so far, a nice bit of easy circ stockinette knitting and I can work on it while I watch Mad Men, which is awesome (both the show and the ease of knitting while watching).
when is it going to be in the 60s? I want to be able to knit heavier things without dying!
when is it going to be in the 60s? I want to be able to knit heavier things without dying!
Monday, August 3, 2009
SWIIIIIFT!
After the orgy of yarn-purchasing yesterday, I spent most of this afternoon wrangling a lovely swift that Sue brought to work. Otherwise, there was no way in hell I'd be able to get that giant skein of Baruffa Cashwool into something workable for my Triinu scarf. But I prevailed! after hours of work and a nap in between tries. XD And then I balled up....pretty much all my other yarn, or at least everything I'll need for upcoming projects. woohoo!
Also I've finished eight repeats of the Raha scarf out of a total twelve listed in the pattern, but it's getting pretty long as is right now. (news flash: using a bamboo blend for a lace pattern: IT STRETCHES. oh lol) Since I don't want my gf to drown in this thing, I might stop it at nine. that should be good.
Other things I've learned today: The History Channel has finally, FINALLY got some new programming that does not suck. Sure, I miss the good old days when every other program was about the Civil War, or Hitler, but they've got a diverse audience now! and I need something more in my life than freaking Ice Road Truckers, which I will never watch, ever, and there is no way on god's green earth you can tell me that belongs on the history channel. it's crappy reality programming! just because they filmed it in the winter doesn't make it historical!
But tonight, oh joy, I sat (or rather stood by the swift, winding) engrossed through Sex in the Ancient World: Pompeii, which is fairly close to my heart since Pompeii was the setting of the first-year Latin books we had in sixth grade, and it's just hilaaaaarious what they left out. Friday's episode on ancient Egypt should be just as salacious, if not more. And then I watched Clash of the Gods, which is the basic mythology show with a focus on human psychology and how that informs the creation of these immortal figures, and what I like immensely is the visual style of it, very striking character design for the actors "reenacting" the lives of the gods to make the divine archetypes more relatable to a human audience and at the same time clearly otherworldly and awesome. Whoever did the hair and makeup on that show deserves an Emmy.
Also I've finished eight repeats of the Raha scarf out of a total twelve listed in the pattern, but it's getting pretty long as is right now. (news flash: using a bamboo blend for a lace pattern: IT STRETCHES. oh lol) Since I don't want my gf to drown in this thing, I might stop it at nine. that should be good.
Other things I've learned today: The History Channel has finally, FINALLY got some new programming that does not suck. Sure, I miss the good old days when every other program was about the Civil War, or Hitler, but they've got a diverse audience now! and I need something more in my life than freaking Ice Road Truckers, which I will never watch, ever, and there is no way on god's green earth you can tell me that belongs on the history channel. it's crappy reality programming! just because they filmed it in the winter doesn't make it historical!
But tonight, oh joy, I sat (or rather stood by the swift, winding) engrossed through Sex in the Ancient World: Pompeii, which is fairly close to my heart since Pompeii was the setting of the first-year Latin books we had in sixth grade, and it's just hilaaaaarious what they left out. Friday's episode on ancient Egypt should be just as salacious, if not more. And then I watched Clash of the Gods, which is the basic mythology show with a focus on human psychology and how that informs the creation of these immortal figures, and what I like immensely is the visual style of it, very striking character design for the actors "reenacting" the lives of the gods to make the divine archetypes more relatable to a human audience and at the same time clearly otherworldly and awesome. Whoever did the hair and makeup on that show deserves an Emmy.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
My Stash Just Exploded!
And by Exploded I mean there was a massive yarn sale at the Myers House Weaving Department and I spent a ton of money there, om nom nom yarncakes.
I now have laceweight yarn for my Triinu scarf! OMG! only ravelry lists it (Baruffa cashwool) as cobweb, jeeeeesus that is thin and I hope I don't have to use two strands together. it's gonna be gorgeous. Dark green soft as sin merino which I'll turn into a gorgeous Estonian lace scarf and drape around me like an elvish princess. mmmmm.
Also, joy of joys! I found more Classic Elite Premiere there! I bought two hanks of this lovely spring green at Knitorious, those were the last two they had, and in my foolishness I hadn't really thought about the fact that that is not enough yarn with which to make anything substantial, garment-wise. I scoured other LYSes for months trying to find more (nothing at Knitty Couture, Knit and Caboodle had it, but not the color I needed, no one on ravelry had any to trade or sell, etc) until today, where there was a whole shelf full of the stuff, and TONS of the spring green. Biggest shocker of the day? I got home with my stash, four new hanks of Premiere, and get out my old balls and their tags to discover that it's the SAME DYE LOT. whaaaat?!
I repeat, joy of joys. And I rode that high straight to the JoAnn way the hell out on Manchester where mom and I found a copy of French Girl Knits (I reeeally need to return the library's copy) and it was purchased at 40% off, and I'm going to make the Delphine Lacy Cap-Sleeved Top in beautiful bright spring green pima/tencel blend.
I also got some bargain barn yarn (sooo much fun fur in there, oh god) at 75% off, five balls each of some Crystal Palace Shimmer (in sparkly navy) and something nordic called Svale I've never heard of, but looks fairly nice. it's a sort of a pale grey. lovely.
the day of yarn continues! Kara and I are going to hang out and watch Brideshead Revisited (the real version, not that new movie) and work on our respective lace scarves. ta!
I now have laceweight yarn for my Triinu scarf! OMG! only ravelry lists it (Baruffa cashwool) as cobweb, jeeeeesus that is thin and I hope I don't have to use two strands together. it's gonna be gorgeous. Dark green soft as sin merino which I'll turn into a gorgeous Estonian lace scarf and drape around me like an elvish princess. mmmmm.
Also, joy of joys! I found more Classic Elite Premiere there! I bought two hanks of this lovely spring green at Knitorious, those were the last two they had, and in my foolishness I hadn't really thought about the fact that that is not enough yarn with which to make anything substantial, garment-wise. I scoured other LYSes for months trying to find more (nothing at Knitty Couture, Knit and Caboodle had it, but not the color I needed, no one on ravelry had any to trade or sell, etc) until today, where there was a whole shelf full of the stuff, and TONS of the spring green. Biggest shocker of the day? I got home with my stash, four new hanks of Premiere, and get out my old balls and their tags to discover that it's the SAME DYE LOT. whaaaat?!
I repeat, joy of joys. And I rode that high straight to the JoAnn way the hell out on Manchester where mom and I found a copy of French Girl Knits (I reeeally need to return the library's copy) and it was purchased at 40% off, and I'm going to make the Delphine Lacy Cap-Sleeved Top in beautiful bright spring green pima/tencel blend.
I also got some bargain barn yarn (sooo much fun fur in there, oh god) at 75% off, five balls each of some Crystal Palace Shimmer (in sparkly navy) and something nordic called Svale I've never heard of, but looks fairly nice. it's a sort of a pale grey. lovely.
the day of yarn continues! Kara and I are going to hang out and watch Brideshead Revisited (the real version, not that new movie) and work on our respective lace scarves. ta!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Grotto Wrap - Knitting Daily
Grotto Wrap - Knitting Daily
Shared via AddThis
So maybe I should be doing something besides ogling our copy of Interweave, but...free pattern!
Shared via AddThis
So maybe I should be doing something besides ogling our copy of Interweave, but...free pattern!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Lacy days
It seems like everywhere I turn lately there is some lace action going on. I suppose it's a summer thing, knit something light and airy so you're not being crushed by a giant woolen sweater in the July heat. So, with that in mind, I picked up the Juliet scarf again, which has lain dormant for a little bit while I was working on my Karma tank/watching Star Trek/having my dear girlfriend come for a visit.
I think I'm finally getting this whole wacky "chart" thing. I mean I still kind of hate charts with a passion and they make my eyes hurt, but the pattern on this scarf is simple enough to memorize and I've finally gotten a good grasp on why the chart symbols are the way they are, so I think I won't be slowed down on this scarf anymore. The yarn is still a bit sheddy but I think that's the needles, they're getting a bit dull and perhaps now that I have the pattern down I could switch to something smoother, like a knit picks harmony, and not have this sticking problem. I love the color, though, it works well with my skin.
Now I think there will be more lace in the future...I want to work with finer yarn! this silk is like...sportweight, and I like it for this scarf, which is not, say, the ultimate in lace artistry, but I've also been eyeing Estonian scarves and such and I think I'd want a finer yarn for something like that.
Also also, I started reading Let The Right One In a couple days ago (I LOVED the movie) and it's so...bleak and Scandinavian, it makes me want to design a lace project for it. that might just be a pipe dream. For now I've got 3 repeats of this scarf done, and I am dead tired. ^_^
I think I'm finally getting this whole wacky "chart" thing. I mean I still kind of hate charts with a passion and they make my eyes hurt, but the pattern on this scarf is simple enough to memorize and I've finally gotten a good grasp on why the chart symbols are the way they are, so I think I won't be slowed down on this scarf anymore. The yarn is still a bit sheddy but I think that's the needles, they're getting a bit dull and perhaps now that I have the pattern down I could switch to something smoother, like a knit picks harmony, and not have this sticking problem. I love the color, though, it works well with my skin.
Now I think there will be more lace in the future...I want to work with finer yarn! this silk is like...sportweight, and I like it for this scarf, which is not, say, the ultimate in lace artistry, but I've also been eyeing Estonian scarves and such and I think I'd want a finer yarn for something like that.
Also also, I started reading Let The Right One In a couple days ago (I LOVED the movie) and it's so...bleak and Scandinavian, it makes me want to design a lace project for it. that might just be a pipe dream. For now I've got 3 repeats of this scarf done, and I am dead tired. ^_^
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Out with the old...
I really have to keep up with this whole blogging thing better.
More importantly, I've finally given up on The Sweater That Would Not Die, which you may remember as the one I started in november of 2007, good lord, and kept hacking away at even though I quickly realized I didn't like the pattern and I thought no, wait until it's done and then see how you like it....
yeah it's horrible. after finishing the pieces and blocking it and realizing that there's no way in hell that huge amount of fabric is going to fit me in any way whatsoever, I bundled it up and let it languish in the dining room until a few days ago.
Mom and I sat down and finished watching EZ's knitting workshop DVD, and along the way I decided once and for all that the first sweater I make should not be, nor ever have been, a piecemeal thing with seams. I hate seams! I hate sewing! Knitting in the round is so much easier and I did that shrug entirely without seams and it's gorgeous and fits me like a glove, and I could find a much better use for all that red yarn, which is not all that horrible. (Lion Brand wool-ease)
So we frogged all those pieces of cardigan like there was no tomorrow, and now instead of a huge pile of big floppy pieces there's several neat little balls that look a lot like pomegranates, and I am going to find a better pattern and make a Better Sweater.
I think I finally have closure. :D of course I have a few other summer projects to do before I think of knitting cold-weather items, so that yarn's going to sit around for a while, but it will be something more beautiful, and more loved.
Current Projects: Karma tank from Custom Knits in Berocco NaturLin (purchased at Knitty Couture, thanks for the advice Thi!), Juliet scarf in white silk. Good lord that silk sheds like anything. But I made the pretty rosette pin!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Razor Cami.
Okay. this camisole is taking much longer than it really should because I also have a ton of books I ought to be reading, and in the case of House of Leaves this is taking up most of my waking hours, damn you Danielewski.
but! I've finished the main body of the cami and I need to divide the back and front now. I haven't decided what mods to do for the straps yet, since I want them wider, and maybe placed farther apart...in any case, mum bought me some lovely birthday yarn that I'm going to use to do a shrug to match, once I finish this piece. yay!
Tonight endril and I are popping in to candypoodle's knitting group, since this week it's just around the corner. Divided the front and back pieces, now it is extremely awkward to knit as I can't seem to find suitable straight needles in size 4. boo. ah well!
ETA: aww, what a fun group! found the right size straights just before I left so I can work on the front, but unfortunately I added a stitch somewhere in a pattern row and noticed it after knitting like three more rows, and had to undo it all. bah! it's fixed now, though, and I'm continuing work on the front. My tension is off, now that I have to purl. I hope this won't be too much of a problem, although I can always block it.
but! I've finished the main body of the cami and I need to divide the back and front now. I haven't decided what mods to do for the straps yet, since I want them wider, and maybe placed farther apart...in any case, mum bought me some lovely birthday yarn that I'm going to use to do a shrug to match, once I finish this piece. yay!
Tonight endril and I are popping in to candypoodle's knitting group, since this week it's just around the corner. Divided the front and back pieces, now it is extremely awkward to knit as I can't seem to find suitable straight needles in size 4. boo. ah well!
ETA: aww, what a fun group! found the right size straights just before I left so I can work on the front, but unfortunately I added a stitch somewhere in a pattern row and noticed it after knitting like three more rows, and had to undo it all. bah! it's fixed now, though, and I'm continuing work on the front. My tension is off, now that I have to purl. I hope this won't be too much of a problem, although I can always block it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Garments.
I feel like I've reached a point in my knitting skills where I need to start making serious wearables. I love hats, of course, and I'll always make hats. Hats are awesome.
but I think I'd have to be held at gunpoint to make another scarf. I mean, unless it were a really nice pattern. and I would say it's because it's spring now, and the weather's getting warmer, but it has been soooo cold this month.
Anyway, I've been looking at books like Fitted Knits and Dominknitrix lately (thanks, library!) because they have good technical stuff and not just patterns, so I'm starting to break into this whole new world of yeah I have to make a gauge swatch and calculate pattern adjustments (thanks, boobs) and eventually I'll be able to make things that I can wear, that actually flatter me, and won't be like that dubious cardigan that's currently in huge, tent-like pieces on the dining room table. I have nightmares about trying to seam that horrible thing. I may try to get mom to do it for me...because the idea of all that finishing is euuurgh; and when it's done it may very well not fit me at all and then I'll have to find some poor unsuspecting friend to dump it on.
Whatever, cardigan. I'm working on a much more fun project now, a Razor cami, and after an epic battle of wills between me and the pattern in which I decided that the K1 listed at the end of the lace repeat is a flagrant error because it would give me 13 stitches on the last pattern repeat and I'm working with a multiple of 12 stitches and it would shift the pattern and make it look all froogly (as it did when I made a practice run on the lace pattern with a disgusting skein of sage green red heart super saver). So I'm ignoring that last K1 and now the lace on the actual camisole is going swimmingly. hoorah! With this pattern there have been a LOT of people who've done mods to the neckline and straps and such, and I'm thinking I'll be among them. For one, I'd like to have the straps wider, both to cover bra straps and to have a more classic steampunky look over or under a corset. Since I went up a size from the pattern (still need to try it on before I get too into it to see if it's going to fit) I'll have 14 repeats of 12 stitches and I might see if the neckline would work better if I divided it as 8 and 6 for the front and back instead of in half...need coverage for the girls. We'll see.
At the moment, I've just spliced in the second skein of this delicious KnitPicks Shine Sport I'm using. hooah!
Lost tomorrow (yay Hurley and Miles 70s comedy hour!), and I've got the lace pattern memorised so I will have noooo problem working on this baby during the show. ^_^
but I think I'd have to be held at gunpoint to make another scarf. I mean, unless it were a really nice pattern. and I would say it's because it's spring now, and the weather's getting warmer, but it has been soooo cold this month.
Anyway, I've been looking at books like Fitted Knits and Dominknitrix lately (thanks, library!) because they have good technical stuff and not just patterns, so I'm starting to break into this whole new world of yeah I have to make a gauge swatch and calculate pattern adjustments (thanks, boobs) and eventually I'll be able to make things that I can wear, that actually flatter me, and won't be like that dubious cardigan that's currently in huge, tent-like pieces on the dining room table. I have nightmares about trying to seam that horrible thing. I may try to get mom to do it for me...because the idea of all that finishing is euuurgh; and when it's done it may very well not fit me at all and then I'll have to find some poor unsuspecting friend to dump it on.
Whatever, cardigan. I'm working on a much more fun project now, a Razor cami, and after an epic battle of wills between me and the pattern in which I decided that the K1 listed at the end of the lace repeat is a flagrant error because it would give me 13 stitches on the last pattern repeat and I'm working with a multiple of 12 stitches and it would shift the pattern and make it look all froogly (as it did when I made a practice run on the lace pattern with a disgusting skein of sage green red heart super saver). So I'm ignoring that last K1 and now the lace on the actual camisole is going swimmingly. hoorah! With this pattern there have been a LOT of people who've done mods to the neckline and straps and such, and I'm thinking I'll be among them. For one, I'd like to have the straps wider, both to cover bra straps and to have a more classic steampunky look over or under a corset. Since I went up a size from the pattern (still need to try it on before I get too into it to see if it's going to fit) I'll have 14 repeats of 12 stitches and I might see if the neckline would work better if I divided it as 8 and 6 for the front and back instead of in half...need coverage for the girls. We'll see.
At the moment, I've just spliced in the second skein of this delicious KnitPicks Shine Sport I'm using. hooah!
Lost tomorrow (yay Hurley and Miles 70s comedy hour!), and I've got the lace pattern memorised so I will have noooo problem working on this baby during the show. ^_^
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Dark Chocolate!
So tonight was library staff knit night, super fun party times! babies and pineapple and chatterboxing! Apparently City library's policy is made by CRAZY PEOPLE and staff pay fines on their books there. AHAHAHA WHAT. WHAT. no seriously, what? That is outrageous. that is...2/3 of the reason for working in a library out the window right there. Oh City library. Why you so crazy. I will be over here in elitesville indie library land keeping my books out for five weeks and not paying a dime on them and collecting hilarious yarns (ha, ha) about the wacky patrons so I can write awesome memoirs. Not that this is relevant to knitting.
I'm actually really proud of myself because usually when there's a lot of people around talking I can't concentrate on anything more complicated than ribbing, but I was able to do about...1 1/2 cable repeats for my Evangelines AND set up the thumb. woooo! I'll finish the thumb tonight and then maybe take my bag-o-yarn to work tomorrow and start the second glove since I'm working a long day. (yes Kara I would LOVE to hang out after you and your dad get back from the play, as long as it involves sitting and watching movies because my back will probably be super sore)
Also: I like dark chocolate now. Alert the media! it goes really well with knitting, for some reason. However chocolate and green tea, not so much. but OMG I love the new kettle we have a work. it's electric and boils water crazy fast and I will never have to wait on the microwave again, hooray!
I had a great time tonight, I like the energy of knitting with a group and talking about the projects and everything, because there's so much self-doubt and obsessing and madness that goes into a project when you're just working by yourself and it's wonderful to be able to share anxieties and techniques and whatnot. a real sense of community! Thanks, everyone! :)
finally, tonight's life lesson: Friends, if you and your family ever accrue $600 in library fines, for the love of god, don't repeat your mistake and borrow a billion books and never return them and have to pay ANOTHER $600. For real real, not for play play.
Now I am going to finish this thumb.
I'm actually really proud of myself because usually when there's a lot of people around talking I can't concentrate on anything more complicated than ribbing, but I was able to do about...1 1/2 cable repeats for my Evangelines AND set up the thumb. woooo! I'll finish the thumb tonight and then maybe take my bag-o-yarn to work tomorrow and start the second glove since I'm working a long day. (yes Kara I would LOVE to hang out after you and your dad get back from the play, as long as it involves sitting and watching movies because my back will probably be super sore)
Also: I like dark chocolate now. Alert the media! it goes really well with knitting, for some reason. However chocolate and green tea, not so much. but OMG I love the new kettle we have a work. it's electric and boils water crazy fast and I will never have to wait on the microwave again, hooray!
I had a great time tonight, I like the energy of knitting with a group and talking about the projects and everything, because there's so much self-doubt and obsessing and madness that goes into a project when you're just working by yourself and it's wonderful to be able to share anxieties and techniques and whatnot. a real sense of community! Thanks, everyone! :)
finally, tonight's life lesson: Friends, if you and your family ever accrue $600 in library fines, for the love of god, don't repeat your mistake and borrow a billion books and never return them and have to pay ANOTHER $600. For real real, not for play play.
Now I am going to finish this thumb.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
my red cardigan (which I'm so sick of) is my new Lost knitting night project, since it's so mindless. It worked out pretty well last night, though there were still a few mixups with the stitch count, probably due to the fact that mum and I were helping Kara with her baby blanket. And also I was engrossed in Ben's Totally Random Asskicking. What happened to that guy? (my guess is he tried to kill Penny like he said he would, and Desmond beat the hell out of him. although I think he might be more messed up if that were the case) In any case, HILARITY.
I'm at 87 sts on the second sleeve, so less than 20 rows to go, now. I need to get this finished, I want to say before next week, so I can start on something actually fun. like more fingerless gloves!
I'm at 87 sts on the second sleeve, so less than 20 rows to go, now. I need to get this finished, I want to say before next week, so I can start on something actually fun. like more fingerless gloves!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
victory!
FINISHED the right glove last night after Lost (omg I love being right about that show), and it has far fewer mistakes than the left one despite the fact I had to go back and take out three rounds because I'm a doof and forgot the modifications I made to the pattern. They look good! and they're warm as heck, which is the important thing.
Tomorrow I'll weave the ends in and not block them because....I don't like blocking anything. and take pictures! yay pictures!
Tomorrow I'll weave the ends in and not block them because....I don't like blocking anything. and take pictures! yay pictures!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mysterious Mysteries (and cables)
I could easily get to be a cable addict. The Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret was a wonderful introduction and my current project is a pair of cabled fingerless gloves for my girlfriend. I will make more. So many more. I enjoy the idea and imagery of cables, twisting in and out in a confusing mess but eventually making something coherent, and they look so much more complicated than they actually are.
Going with that metaphor, I'm going to try and finish up The Shadow of the Wind since I've had that on my currently reading shelf on goodreads for ages and ages, and I actually got a copy for christmas and yet I still haven't finished it. This book is a little more complicated than cabled knitting, and I expect I'll have to back up a bit to figure out what the hell was going on when I left off. But still, it's wonderful. So many stories interwoven and seemingly random elements coming into play, and deep down it's all about love (aren't most things, really?). It almost makes me want to start investigating the mystery shelves at work...but I don't know if I'm cut out for traditional mysteries. Take for example, my turbulent love affair with Lost.
I've stuck with the show, though season three was hard on me, because I love the moody, mad world of Lost and that's kept me interested even when the writers and producers seemed hell-bent on making it a show about Everyone Has Daddy Issues And Who Is Kate Going To Hook Up With. Please. I'm so glad the show has finally come out, as it were, as a sci-fi series, because I felt that's what it was all along, instead of a network soap opera drama.
Lost has also been a great knitting show up until recently. Now that there's actual (seriously awesome) time travel, I can't half pay attention to Someone's Troubled Past and be merrily clicking away on a project. However the Lost team has helpfully provided last week's eps with those stupid pop-ups for people who have never seen the show before, and those are wonderfully easy to ignore and keep my antsy hands busy knitting while waiting for the new ep.
I'm back on the bandwagon again, so much so that I've even checked out that fake novel Bad Twin in an effort to search for clues. I've heard it's not that good. But we'll see.
Today's agenda: Knit during my lunch break with Kara, attempt to finish the second Dashing glove tonight. Reward myself with more Ruiz Zafon.
Going with that metaphor, I'm going to try and finish up The Shadow of the Wind since I've had that on my currently reading shelf on goodreads for ages and ages, and I actually got a copy for christmas and yet I still haven't finished it. This book is a little more complicated than cabled knitting, and I expect I'll have to back up a bit to figure out what the hell was going on when I left off. But still, it's wonderful. So many stories interwoven and seemingly random elements coming into play, and deep down it's all about love (aren't most things, really?). It almost makes me want to start investigating the mystery shelves at work...but I don't know if I'm cut out for traditional mysteries. Take for example, my turbulent love affair with Lost.
I've stuck with the show, though season three was hard on me, because I love the moody, mad world of Lost and that's kept me interested even when the writers and producers seemed hell-bent on making it a show about Everyone Has Daddy Issues And Who Is Kate Going To Hook Up With. Please. I'm so glad the show has finally come out, as it were, as a sci-fi series, because I felt that's what it was all along, instead of a network soap opera drama.
Lost has also been a great knitting show up until recently. Now that there's actual (seriously awesome) time travel, I can't half pay attention to Someone's Troubled Past and be merrily clicking away on a project. However the Lost team has helpfully provided last week's eps with those stupid pop-ups for people who have never seen the show before, and those are wonderfully easy to ignore and keep my antsy hands busy knitting while waiting for the new ep.
I'm back on the bandwagon again, so much so that I've even checked out that fake novel Bad Twin in an effort to search for clues. I've heard it's not that good. But we'll see.
Today's agenda: Knit during my lunch break with Kara, attempt to finish the second Dashing glove tonight. Reward myself with more Ruiz Zafon.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Somebody Help I'm Trapped Inside A Complaint Box
So essentially this blog is going to be limited to my knitting projects for easier Ravelry updates. Of course I'll probably put book reviews here as well, since that is pretty much how I spend my time these days. Well. And cooking.
Welcome!
Welcome!
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