Returning to the scene of the crime

Yes, yes I know. Let's move on from the lack of blogging content shall we?

As many of you may know, the Discovery Channel's annual "event" Shark Week just ended. It (rather conveniently) coincided with Ryan Seacrest getting bitten on the toe by a sandshark. Little did I think that Ryan Seacrest and I would ever have anything in common, but we do now!

This past weekend I took a little girls' weekend time for a trip to Cape Cod with Tara and Melissa prior to Tara leaving us for Indiana and business school. What does this have to do with Shark Week you ask? Well you see, the timing of our trip to Cape Cod during Shark Week was rather fitting, seeing as when I was 5 I was bitten by a shark* while wading out to a sandbar at a beach in Chatham with my mother. Though Dad's Cousin Bobby is oft heard saying "Where was the supervision?" in regards to the lack thereof while he and my dad were growing up, it doesn't apply in this case. Mom was with me the whole time and, when I started crying, she said "Don't worry, you just stepped on a shell." Silly Mommy!

Luckily the shark wasn't too interested in me b/c otherwise I could've lost my right arm which would've been problematic. I was taken to the local emergency care since apparently Cape Cod didn't really believe in hospitals way back in the 80s but I couldn't get stitches b/c the hole was pretty big where I was bitten on the elbow. Fun Fact: Chatham is the "elbow" of Cape Cod!

And then I got Peaches and Cream Barbie. (best Barbie ever)


Dad had to change the bandages for many weeks (he still likes to remind me how disgusting it was every now and then). I remember still having them on when kindergarten started in September and being embarassed. The scars never totally went away, so now I have a big gash and teeth marks on my right elbow.


Bad ass right?


*Shark was what the doctor who examined me post-attack called it. Most likely a sandshark he said. The local paper called it a bluefish** I guess b/c when you're a seaside tourist economy you don't like the words "shark" and "attack" being bandied about (See: Jaws). Personally I don't think calling it a bluefish is that much better than calling it a shark considering bluefish are "voracious and predatory" and "cannibalistic." WTF Bluefish?? Wiki
**They're also called "Pomatomus saltatrix." What socks am I currently knitting? Pomatomus by Cookie A. of course! I told you there'd be knitting content!

Summer: full of fun, knitting, hatching of evil plans, etc...

As you can probably tell from the lack of posting, my summer's been busy. So busy in fact that my blogiversary came and went this month without my noticing. There has been much knitting, and even better, much finishing of projects! But actually photographing said finished knits has been difficult due to the business.

I finished the Leah Tunic from Purl Bee and she had her coming out party at the Bon Jovi concert in Central Park on Saturday. (No cameras were allowed in, so I didn't get a chance to photograph Leah with Jon Bon, alas!). It was a great easy pattern that I made with a fantastic cotton/silk blend yarn. Super pretty, if they had more colors available that are not pastel-y, I'd totally make another but I'm planning on doing the Apres Surf Hoodie using Lyndon Hill in green.

Also the Hexacomb cardigan has been done for ages, also unphotographed. But one thing that has not gone unphotographed is this:



It's some lovely Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn, just acquired at Yarntopia. I had to restrain myself and only bought two colors instead of one of each. Very tempting indeed. I've got some fingerless mitts on tap for this bad boy and some socks for the other. Yum.



And last but certainly not least, you need to run, not walk, to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog . No seriously, go now, I'll wait.


See??? Wasn't that pure (evil) genius? Act I went up yesterday but the overwhelming desire of untold millions to see Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion singing overwhelmed their server and it was down unless, like me, you downloaded it on iTunes (the season pass for all three acts is an evil genius steal at $4). I've been humming these songs all day. Act II goes up Thursday, and the final act (denouement!) goes up on Saturday. The entire thing will only be available online until Sunday so get your fix now! Or wait until it's available on DVD with musical commentary. Huzzah!

As if working here wasn't painful enough...

So on Friday, rather than thinking about what delicious item I was going to order for dinner from 5 Napkin Burger*, rather than planning what new item I was going to knit this weekend, rather than scheduling a multitude of site visits for the coming week, I was busy getting this:


My skin does not naturally have that jaundiced glow

Yup. I got assaulted (accidently) by my boss with a broomstick. I feel like now I could be perfectly justified in quitting.

The knitting is going well though. My Hexacomb Cardigan (Rav Link)was finished this weekend and is currently drying. The Roped Shell (Rav Link) is also finished but will soon be ripped out so I can redo the back. The back is entirely too droopy, so I'm planning on decreasing for the armholes a bit more and then raising the back neckline. Unfortunately, that means a fair bit of reworking which will probably be excessively time consuming. Alas.

*I got the 5 Napkin Burger, natch. As well as a spicy melon margarita... I think I deserved it.


ETA: Here's some yarn to make it better eh?


That's Sundara Silk Lace in Granite Falls (Seasons 2.1: Winter) and Superwash Merino Sock yarn in Arabian Nights (Seasons 2.1: Fall). Yum!

Memories of Memorial Day

Three day weekends, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

1) Finished objects galore!



Here we have Picovoli in Knit Picks Shine Worsted, Mallard Colorway. I added a 2x1 ribbed hem at the bottom to help it stay put and prevent any curling since I didn't do a picot edge.



Here we have the Child's First Shell Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks in Sundara Sock Yarn, Mossy colorway from the Seasons Yarn Club Autumn.

2) Baked goods!


Rhubarb and Orange Pie

I had never tasted rhubarb until last summer and I was intrigued by the idea of using a less traditional pairing of rhubarb and fruit (in this case, citrus) than strawberry. This happened to be in my much beloved Martha Stewart cook book. I used her Pate brisee crust recipe and it's deliciously buttery. Yum! I used valencia orange for the zest and juice and it tastes absolutely delightful!

3) Spring cleaning!

You may have noticed in those FO pictures above that I have a new background for my finished objects instead of my solid blue duvet cover. I kind of went nuts at Ikea a few weeks ago and got a new summery duvet cover, curtains, and rugs for my bedroom along with some organizational stuff and kitchen paraphernalia.

4) New projects!


What better excuse to stay in bed knitting than a long lazy weekend? (plenty of time left to get all that other stuff done, right? ha!) I started on the Roped Shell from IK Summer '08 and it's flying along. I'm really digging it so far and hope it turns out nicely.

5) Walks in the park



It wasn't all sitting on my butt knitting and eating pie. I actually forced myself to get out and enjoy the nice weather. I strolled through Ft. Tryon before heading downtown on Sunday and was handsomely rewarded for shlepping my camera around all day with some glorious shots.



These reminded me of Georgia O'Keeffe's Black Iris III which I discussed in my senior Art History thesis lo those many years ago. I got another shot that was very reminiscent of a different O'Keeffe flower painting, this one of two poppies:


I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers. -Georgia O'Keeffe

Then on Monday I took a walk down to the George Washington Bridge. The Gay Recluse likes to photograph the GWB too, but I liked being able to view it from some different angles.


This one makes me strangely excited for the new X-files movie:
I want to believe...

Don't call me converted just yet...

I know that Clapotis has developed a rabid following, and while I think it's a good pattern, I'm not exactly wild about it. Truth be told, it's a bit boring, which is fine when mindless knitting is called for, but it was a bit of a let down when dropping those stitches was not as much fun as I had envisioned due to the stickier yarn I used.

I finished my mini-Clapotis a while ago but have been wavering over whether to block it or not. It's actually a decent scarf length as is, though I am curious how big it might get after a soak. As of now, I've decided I like it just fine. I ran out of yarn during the decreases (that'll teach me to eyeball it). But unblocked the ends curl under a bit so you never really notice. I'll just call it a design feature and have done with it because the yarn is lovely and I'm looking forward to having it shed all over my winter coat come fall. :)


Clapotis sets the mood... Hey, look! Doesn't my desk look neater?

Pattern: the ubiquitous Clapotis
Yarn: Brooks Farm Riata (Wool, Mohair and Silk) in unknown pale green "orphan" colorway
Yardage: Every bit of 375 yards
Bought at Rhinebeck.

I'm now starting to make some good progress through my Rhinebeck acquisitions. The Touch of Twist Alpaca was almost completely used for Enid. This takes care of the Brooks Farm (which I shall certainly be re-purchasing this year). The Briar Rose Celebrations is quickly being eaten up by the Brompton Cardigan (which I'm LOVING despite only being able to work on it at home since it's gotten large and I'm knitting from the hank). I've also spun up singles of the Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm wool roving and think I'll try Andean plying this weekend.



This leaves me with the Baby Alpaca lace from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm (above), and the sale Araucania Nature Wool as well as a considerable amount of fiber. I'm actually quite pleased with myself in that accomplishment but I have absolutely no clue what to do with the remaining yarn. I had considered Buttony for the nature wool, but it's quickly losing its appeal and I'd like a different sweater. As for the lace, I'm more than content to just pet it for the time being.

I also have quite a few projects waiting in the wings. As soon as I finish up Brompton and Picovoli, I'm planning on starting a summer Interweave Knits project. I've got the yarn ready for the Roped Shell, the Apres Surf Hoodie, and the Wallis Cardigan. But can't decide which I'm more excited by. As of now, I think it'll be the Roped Shell so I can get a colorwork fix, but who knows what mood will strike when the time comes to cast on.

It must be stopped!

I told you the stash was taking over:


(Click for notes)

It's now made it's way almost 200 blocks south to my office.
There may or may not be a cone of Harrisville Shetland under there.

On Moms and Making Things

I'm going home this weekend, which is good for several reasons but mainly for the travel knitting. Hopefully my father will respect my wishes about not being ready to meet his new ladyfriend and there will be minimal awkwardness on this weekend of all weekends.

Because this weekend's all about moms. And there have been a bunch of things that have caught my eye recently as wonderful things to make for Mother's Day. My mom's not around, but I know that if she was and I made these for her, she would totally love them and brag about them at work or take pictures and post them on her cube at work or on the fridge or on her blog (good lord, my mom would totally have a blog). Because that's what moms do, right? Maybe your mom would like them too!

Wouldn't your mom like some flowers for Mother's Day?

Perhaps you could make her a lovely pound cake? yum!

Or some adorable mug cozies for when you're sipping tea whilst eating tasty cake?

Moms love crazy stuff like that!