Nothing to see here

Please pardon the lack of activity. I swear that there has been much going on, not all of which is blog-worthy, but much of which is and I have been severely disappointed in my inability to get any interesting pictures up to describe said goings-on. Problem is that I somehow managed to massively screw up my computer by, of all crazy things, doing a disk cleanup. It no longer recognizes my USB ports, which means no camera (and no ipod for that matter) updates. This means that even if I did remember to take pictures, I'd never be able to get them up here for all to see! But can I describe to you what I've been up to without pictures? Not really. It doesn't seem like nearly as much fun for either of us, now does it?

There has been baking. But all that I'd be able to show you now would be an empty springform pan that contained this little marvel. Or the nearly gone chicken pot pie that was made from leftovers of my first roasted chicken (the carcass of which also produced some stock that's currently frozen in some ziploc bags). Actually I should clarify. The chicken was technically steamed, but whatever. It was delish.

There has been knitting. But it's really just a big blob right now so even if there was a picture, it wouldn't be particularly interesting. Instead of the Venezia sweater, I decided to start a blanket as my first major longterm project of the New Year. It was nearly impossible finding a pattern I was totally on board with. It had to be warm and cozy obviously. I preferred some sort of lacy pattern but not too lacy that it sacrificed the warm and cozy. And as much as I love what Brooklyn Tweed's been doing to elevate the doily, I wanted something in a more standard blanket shape. That's when I happened upon this shawl. It's perfect. It's also just interesting enough to keep me from being bored to death while not so complicated that I can't knit while watching some Arrested Development on dvd.

There has also been progress on more personal levels. I'm doing pretty well on the diet and activity front. Still haven't gotten around to checking out some yoga studios as I'd like to broaden my exercise repertoire, but I'll get there eventually.

I also signed up for match.com... yeah. I know. So far I am less than impressed but I'm clearly not giving it a chance. I need to be a bit more open to possibilities. Tonight before going out to dinner, a friend who did online dating and I are going to sit down and evaluate my profile and some of the dudes who have been emailing me. Also, is it weird that I don't want to click on dudes' profiles because then they'll know I was checking them out? It is, isn't it? I knew it.

In addition, it looks like my completely useless/selfish roommate will be leaving next month which means that my other roommate and I are evaluating our options. I'm putting an apartment with decent light all day long on my wishlist. This means that once my computer decides it wants to recognize my camera again, I can upload glorious naturally-lit pictures of my knitwear instead of pictures that look like they were taken in a cave. Huzzah!

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...

Confession Time

I made quite a fuss about planning out my projects for the year, didn't I? Well suffice it to say, the reason Venezia isn't still on the progress widget over there is b/c I've stuck her in hibernation. There will probably be a fair amount of frogging going on when I pick it up again (read: Starting over from the beginning). And Juno is theoretically there as well, but I like the symmetry of having 6 WIPs.

Problem is that I quickly lose the knitting mojo on these long-term projects. Meanwhile, I've churned out the Drops Cardigan (ends are all woven in, I just need to get buttons). Brompton is coming along nicely, if slowly b/c I'm knitting from the huge hank of Briar Rose (sometimes I put it on my swift and knit while I'm in bed which is quite convenient and cozy). Of the two socks I'm working on, only one is getting much attention, but they're both luckily past the 50% mark. Picovoli was put aside for a bit until I could finish a cardigan since it's not quite tank weather yet. And I finally found a project for the Sea Silk thanks to blogless Jenn in DC for which I, naturally, cast on this weekend.

The startitis that spawned the two cardigan projects has spread, aided by my recent yarn-buying binge. Because I've bought so much, I feel this incredible urge to get stuff out of my stash and out of my sight if only to justify all the buying. Just wait until you see my Messy Tuesday post tomorrow, you'll be appalled by the state of the stash.

ETA: Juno just got put into hibernation as I've added the scroll stitch scarf I'm doing to Ravelry

Projects and Pics and Updates, Oh My!

I managed to upload a set of pics to flickr last night (finally). Mostly they're a stash update with the yarns I picked up in Boston with the addition of some UFOs (Hey there cabled blankets! Where have you been hiding?). I think the fact that I feel guilty walking out of a yarn shop empty handed is not a good sign. But out of all the vices I could have, I feel like yarn gluttony is least likely to get me into any kind of serious
trouble. I just need to work on these projects.

You already saw this Malabrigo lace in my Secret Pal post, but good lord it's so purty I felt the second skein deserved its own moment in the spotlight.


I'm trying to decide which lace pattern to use on this unbelievable stuff. Both are lace shawl patterns by Miriam Felton: Icarus and Seraphim. I'm leaning towards Seraphim, but gosh it's hard to decide.

Then there's this little beauty:


That's Colinette Mohair. I'm planning on doing the Branching Out Scarf with this.

The lace pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Baby Sweater has whetted my appetite for some lace. So I think I'll have to bump one of these projects up in the Ravelry queue.

Ok, enough with the lace already! This bad boy I can't even remember which yarn it is. I'll have to check later when I get home. I do remember it's in a colorway called Midnight and I think it's beautiful.


Then there's the Debbie Bliss SoHo. This yarn just leaped off the shelf into my arms and before I even knew what was happening, my credit card was swiped and the balls were tucked neatly into a shopping bag.


It's like I blacked out and had one of those "Ohmigod what did I do last night?" moments. But Jebus this is pretty. Perhaps for another My-So-Called Scarf? Perhaps a felted hat? The possibilities are (nearly) endless. I only bought 2 balls after all.

In other knitting news, I'm happy to say that I've got what is shaping up to be a regular Stitch'n'Bitch. Tuesday nights uptown (err, for me downtown?) at Yarntopia. I love this store. I love it more and more every time I go. Not least of all because Dona the owner was nice enough to take a pic of me in my Tilted Duster with some decent lighting. Check out those fabulous yarn displays! Is it any wonder I have no willpower?

Lady Eleanor is progressing nicely. I'm almost done with the 7th ball of SWS so I'm more than halfway there. But more exciting, I practiced knitting backwards on the subway this morning. And wow, did that make a difference. I'm still getting the hang of it, but not having to flip the whole project every 8 stitches (especially now that it's getting pretty big) will hopefully improve my knitting speed. I'm doing it in the Combination Method described for English Knitters, which I didn't discover until just now when I went looking for a link. So maybe my made-up methods of knitting aren't totally made-up!

I'm also trying to find some little goodies to use as filler in my Secret Pal package. Hopefully I'll get it sent out early next week.

There have also been some really cool links out there on the internets that have gotten my interest piqued:

• Like HomeEc from Flirt via Brownstoner via Subway Knitter. Rentals of sewing machines? Classes for beginners? Wine and chocolate? Sign me up!
• Or Park(ing) Day via NeoKnits.
• ETA: And then I just found this sweater from Urban Outfitters that is like a cross between Buttony and the Tilted Duster with some lace thrown in. I am probably getting way over my head but I totally want to make one.

Next project

I know what you're thinking. But I swear, I will finish Big Red first. I'm having too much fun knitting it to leave it unattended for long. I was actually a little annoyed that I couldn't get a seat on the way to the Yankee game last night (woo!) so that I could annoy my bro with my knitting on a big red thing. I also figured that knitting in red at Yankee Stadium is not a very good idea. :) But if there could be no knitting, at least there was a Yankee victory. An awesome game with some really awesome (Way to go, Joba!) and really atrocious pitching (I'm talking to you, Ron Villone!) with an awesome 9th inning (Yay Melky and Derek!).

But where was I... right, new project. Say hi to Lady Eleanor:

(pic from Scarf Style by Pam Allen. Pattern by Kathleen Power Johnson)

Thanks to the Ravelry project gallery, I've decided to use the Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Earth. I really love the jewel-toned look of the stole in this colorway, but believe me it did take quite a while to make a decision. So I have ordered the yarn and it will be making its way to me shortly. Hopefully it'll show up just as I've finished Big Red and am itching for a new big project. I can't wait to try out some entrelac.

And, ok, I'm not being completely truthful here. I have 2 new projects I'm planning on starting in the near future. But one is really because I am going to be in need of a smaller, subway knitting project. So I'm planning on using up my remaining LL Shepherd Worsted in Icehouse to make the My So-Called Scarf. That'll be a lot of cold weather gear in Icehouse, but it is such a fantastic colorway that I don't mind. I'll just be sure not to wear the gloves, the beret, and the scarf all at once. That would be an unfortunate fashion decision, not unlike wearing denim on denim.

Knitting Jenn in DC also happened to cast this on yesterday so with her input and advice I'll be able to get this done quickly. (Knitting Jenn in DC, you seriously need a blog so I can link to you. Your ravelry ID will have to do, I guess).

Also Yankees-related, Peter Max "honored" Alex Rodriguez with 2 portraits and a sculpture last night. Um... interesting. He also managed to knock the sculpture to the ground. That drew a laugh. I don't think Alex knew what to do with himself.

Pics added to post below to show my fabulous finishing techniques!

Bohus

Wendy Keele's Poems of Color has been sitting on my desk here at work for about a week. I leave it there so that whenever I'm desperate for something to distract me, I can open it up and stare longingly at that beautiful colorwork.



I confess I had no idea what this type of knitting was called until the Harlot wore her Guld Bohus to the Represent event at FIT in March. So pretty, it makes me want to weep.

I'm pondering this as my next big project. Premature? Hush, we shall not discuss the numerous UFOs currently taunting me. It's not my fault if you're all unappealing to me at this moment in time because you're:

a) not for me (Fair Isle Kid Cardigan)
b) hefty and cabley and very much a boring solid color (That's right. I'm talking to you, Blaze)

c) hefty and cabley and very much a boring solid color and so old I can't remember why I ever thought you were interesting (cabled blanket)

Only my knee socks are at all appealing right now. Could it be because they're tiny and portable enough so that I can knit on the train? Could it be because they're stripey in all kinds of weird wonky ways? Could it be because of my schoolgirl fetish for knee socks? Could it be because just the name "Cape Cod" gives me warm and fuzzy memories? Perhaps it is all of these things. But they will soon be done and that means I want another eye/brain/hand candy project to keep me glued to my needles.



This leads me to a dilemma (or actually two dilemmas):
1. What kind of yarn to use?
2. Where to find a suitable yarn?

I have been all over the internet (in the absence of my knitting books, which are currently packed away until a post-July 20th time when they will be accessible once more) looking for a source of angora/wool blends. Harder than one might think actually.

Then, since it's been so difficult to locate angora/wool blends, I've been trying to determine whether there are any substitutions that will give me similar results. What are the characteristics of the way the yarns behave that might make them good/bad for use in a sweater like a bohus. Do I really want shedding angora fuzz all over me anyway?

Another problem is that I would like to have the colors readily accessible so I can experiment with color combinations. I don't want a kit because, for me anyway, that takes a lot of the fun out of it. Between the Yarn Harlot's bohus and the fantom bohus over at Hello Yarn, I just can't get these sweaters out of my head! Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's a particularly sweet form of torture to think about nothing but beautiful knitwear all day.

So what to do??? Do I:
a) wait for Rhinebeck in October?


or b) try to find yarn elsewhere?