Thursday, 29 July 2004

Knitting content... and the promised pics!!

So the knitting continues... the list of WIPs seems to be growing daily (and of course I'm not listing them in the sidebar - I don't feel as guilty then, lol!) - but at least I'm making some progress on some of them! That's a good start, right? (A warning on all the pics tonight - it seems that despite my best efforts with the crappy photo editor I have, most of them don't want to be resized... I apologize in advance for the largeness of some of them.)

I cast on for the Bottoms Up bucket last week and after doing a hell of a lot of bitching about the brim, it's finally going quickly! I am using the Rowan Handknit DK - I hate knitting with this double stranded!! Once I dropped a strand and started knitting the band, I started liking it a hell of a lot better... This is my first attempt at striping too - it seems pretty straightforward... I just had to do some adjustments on the fly to the original idea I had... the brim took up almost the entire ball of yarn, so I had to make the next pink stripe smaller than I had hoped. I don't think it looks bad - now that I'm in the green again, we'll see how it looks. (I actually am almost done with the second green stripe and will start the crown shaping tomorrow night! I like the design... now if it looks good on me, I might have to do a felted one to go with my Butterfly Scarf for the winter... mmmmm... more yummy yarn! :)

Oh how I love knitting shop samples!!!

Not a great picture, but who cares, right? :) Kristine asked me to pick up this Katia yarn (of course I can't remember which one and I left the label in the shop) and knit a quick scarf on Saturday. It's a beautiful feel - a microfiber blend - thick and thin. I love knitting with it - I would never wear it though. LOL. Of course, that's just me. I love the chocolatey brown color and knitting it up on 11's has been a breeze. Since I only get a chance to knit on it for about 15 mins or so at a time, it's going slowly... hopefully I'll get it done while I'm working on Sunday! (Of course to not get it done b/c we were so busy wouldn't be a bad thing either!)

Birthday updates and the promised pictures!!!

Warning!! Non-knitting content ahead!

LOL! The birthday went great - as you guys know, I got my hair cut, went out and worked at the shop. :) I've needed a new watch for a couple of weeks now and to celebrate my new job, I decided to buy one - when I saw this beauty at Swatch, I had to have it!! Isn't it lurrrvely? And oh so perfect for the shop, since it's pink and green! :) (Am I a dork or what?)

I got this lurrrvely gift from Christina the other night too - it's handmade and wonderful! It's almost too pretty to use, but I know that I will eventually, damnit! (I want a pretty bathroom for it to look pretty in first though...)

Okay, now for the pics I've had people ask me about - the drunk pics with friends... I've only posted the halfway decent ones (you know, the ones where I don't look completly drunk, the girls aren't being shown off too badly, etc.)... so there will be no real blackmail! :) If you only read this for the knitting content, there will be none here! Fair warning...





Okay, so as I post these, I realize there's not really what's considered a good one of me in the bunch! Of course, there are some that are "not-so-drunk" - lol! The only really good one of the new haircut is the obligatory drinking shot, of course... Of course y'all could stop by the shop to look at it, if you haven't seen it in person by now, lol!

posted by knitgirl, 23:13 | link | comments (5)

Sunday, 25 July 2004

It all comes together...

I finally can blog about some great news I received from Kristine about the shop!!!!! As some of you all know (especially the Arlington SNBers that have heard me bitching about it, lol), I've been looking for a job. I've been extremely unhappy in the one I have now... well, all that's changed! :) Kristine and I have been working on this for the past three weeks and now it's official! On Thursday, Kristine offered me a full-time job as a manager at the shop! I verbally gave my two weeks notice that day and turned in the written resignation on Friday. My last day is 7 August and I am official at Knit Happens on 8 August! Can we say EXCITED?!?!?! We started telling people on Saturday - it all seems like a dream. :) Now Kristine will have a chance to rest up and spend time with her wonderful husband and know the shop is in good hands... Thanks Kristine for trusting in and having faith in me! This is just way too cool!

Onto other things... by the time I actually get around to hitting "post and publish" it'll be Monday... which is my birthday. (I know that Rossana will probably post about this already, lol!) I've spent my birthday weekend with friends - and have had some fun pictures taken, lol. Along with all that, I've cut my hair for the first time in almost a year and a half! I'll try to post pics tomorrow - doing a little editing here and there, lol! I ran into Rossana at the bookstore today and she got to see the haircut and approves... so that should say something! LOL! :) (And she was quite flattered that she got to be the first to see it too...)

posted by knitgirl, 22:02 | link | comments (6)

Tuesday, 20 July 2004

Socks????

While there hasn't been a whole hell of a lot of knitting going on, there has been some... and, of course, like all the other WIP's that seem to be on the needles lately, it's been frogged about 10 times. (I'm not exaggerating either!) After talking to Carol when I was at Knit Happens the other week (or two ago) I decided to try my hand at socks. (After all, when Carol tells you that she knows you can do socks, you at least try - or at least I did, since I know she's not trying to blow sunshine up my ass... what a visual, right? lol!) So I visited Wendy's blog and decided to give her toe-up sock pattern a try. Can we say that I must be absolutely, 100% off my damn rocker for trying this??? Me, who has never knitted on anything smaller than size 6 US needles am now knitting on size 0 US needles. I feel like I'm knitting with toothpicks - and that I'll end up breaking them, lol. But, since I've started this project with some lurrrvely Lorna's Laces sock yarn I picked up at the shop, I am determined to see it through - come hell or high water! LOL! :)

Whatever will I wear these with? I am finally happy with the result after 10 frogs or so... Can we say "ribbit"?

posted by knitgirl, 23:21 | link | comments (5)

Monday, 19 July 2004

SNB night tonight

Tonight was the night I look forward to every two weeks - my SNB night! We had a few new members there tonight - including one who just started knitting not too long ago. We're getting to be so popular, lol! :) It helps that when I'm at the shop I'm forever telling people about it, Rossana keeps telling people on the Metro about it, and that everyone in the SNB is bringing the new knitters that they know.

Erica finally got back from her Alaskan anniversary trip - she told all of us about the Quivit (am I even close in spelling it correctly?) that she bought at the Musk Ox farm they managed to visit... and brought us the skeins to fondle! I was in love with that stuff - it's too bad it's so expensive. :( She was telling us how its harvested (quite interesting story, really, it is!)... then she told us how she gave Joel his anniversary gift - the wonderful Jo Sharp sweater she's been knitting for the past few months - really, almost the entire time I've known her! I was quite amazed when I saw the finished product - it looked so professional, yet you knew how much love went into making it. :) Awwww! Erika had to tell the story of the "reveal" about 20 times - I loved hearing how she made him try it on right in the middle of the restaurant! LOL!

I intended on working on Iris while I was at Greenberry's, I thought that she had been punished enough and should see the light of day. Yeah, that didn't happen... I ended up working on the Opera Scarf. I frogged her back b/c I wasn't happy with the lace pattern. It's an easy pattern repeat, but it just didn't look right. It looks much better now, but it still doesn't look like it should look in the picture. Oh well, we'll just call it a "design element," why don't we? Hehe! It's supposed to block out to 7.5" wide when I'm done... somehow, I just don't see that happening, but who knows... stranger things have happened, right? Here, take a look at her:

Tonight I showed off my finished Butterfly scarf using the new Karabella Butterfly novelty yarn. It's beautiful, it'll be warm... I used two balls of Butterfly, which when knitted up on size 15 needles, ended up being about 7 feet long or so. I love it! I asked Rossana to take a couple of pictures of the scarf for blogging purposes - I told her to feel free to cut my head off - in the tradition of knitting bloggers everywhere - but of course she didn't... The first one isn't so hot (it's too dark) but you can really see the length on it... The second one was just a fun one b/c Rossana wanted to, lol! Actually she told me to send it to the bf... maybe... of course, with the festivities planned for the weekend, he may have a mailbox full of pictures from me, lol! You can really see the colors in it... that's the only orange I'll be wearing anytime soon, lol!

posted by knitgirl, 21:51 | link | comments (3)

Tuesday, 13 July 2004

Look at all this...

Have you stopped by the Knit Happens blog yet? :D If not, stop by and take a look... For those who don't know, Kristine hired me to work in the shop a few days a month a while ago. I LOVE IT THERE!! :) Well anyways, I worked there today - I only expected to get enough yarn and the needles to cast on for the Bottoms Up Bucket Hat (I joined the knitalong, I might as well make the hat, lol... I've been dying to do this one though...) and Kristine greeted me with the news that the Blue Sky Alpacas yarn was finally coming in today! Well, we got that and so much more, including the Magritte yarn by Karabella and lots of patterns! Of course, with all the tagging I did, I couldn't resist adding these to my purchase today...

Can you believe that I got all this today? I stayed below my $75 maximum though... (Of course that doesn't count the purchase I made on Sunday... shhhh!)

Look at this beautiful Butterfly yarn... I see a scarf in my future - a long, skinny one knitted up on big needles!

This silk alpaca blend yarn is soooo yummy! Of course I had to buy a couple of balls - that Opera scarf is calling my name!

posted by knitgirl, 22:04 | link | comments (2)

Friday, 09 July 2004

Now for the non-knitting content...

I've seen the reading lists floating around on various sites... and while I've actually read a bunch of the titles on there, the list just didn't excite me.... So in my web-travels this morning (courtesy of Rossana's links) I came across a slightly different list - a banned books list, courtesy of Knitty Kitty (check out her June 19 entry for hers...) I've highlighted if I've read the book or any book in the series... and have made some of my own comments, where necessary, lol. :)

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (I read this in HS too. It really confirmed why I dislike Steinbeck... but I survived! lol)
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (picked this up last year - I am now a confirmed HP addict... I want Year 6!)
Forever by Judy Blume (I thought this was an absolutely beautiful book exploring first love... it helped me understand a lot about what it was going to be like and how love isn't all roses...)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Dieby Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (one of my all time faves!!!)
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole (freakin' hilarious!!!)
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I know that I will never understand why someone would want to ban great literature - and I work in a bookstore! There are so many more on this list that I would love to read, if only I had the time... I realized while doing this that I read most of these while I was a kid - way before the "recommended ages" for most of them. Thank goodness that Mom believed in reading and trusted my judgement in what I chose. I remember that she and I would discuss what I had read if I had any questions... (Like with Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret and Forever.) Thanks Mom! I could say so much about all of the books that I read, but decided to just keep it to a couple of comments (and I'm too lazy to go back and edit the earlier ones, lol). What have you read from this list?

posted by knitgirl, 08:48 | link | comments (3)

I almost forgot!!!

On Tuesday I stopped by Knit Happens to catch up on some knitting and finally got to meet Wendy of blogging world fame! :) I had so much fun with her on Tuesday and was delighted to see her again on Wednesday for the late night at the shop. She is as cool in person as she is on the blog, truly showing that she is a Bad-Ass Knitter! I too, am quite proud to say:

If you haven't checked it out by now, check out the manifesto on her site! Knit what you want, when you want, where you want, with whatever you want! Don't listen to those others who tell you you're doing it wrong - knit however makes you happy, damnit! :)

posted by knitgirl, 08:28 | link | comments (1)

Thursday, 08 July 2004

SNB, Knit N Nosh and the damn Iris!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Arlington SNB?? It's such a supportive environment and I tend to get a hell of a lot of work done while I'm there. You know, I joined just to find some like-minded individuals who wanted to knit and be supportive to a new knitter (me) and it turns out that more than finding fellow knitters, I've found some good friends. :) I would hang with some of these women outside of SNB (and have.... granted, we tend to be knitting when we see each other - especially since we're at the shop!) and just love the support we've given each other. All this was brought to the surface tonight from an email I got from Rossana. She said the sweetest things about me and I sat in front of the computer teary-eyed. Considering my week at work, it was just the pick-me-up I needed! Thanks hon!! :)

The Knit N Nosh went REALLY well on Friday night! The Arlington SNB was well represented... and Kristine had a surprise in store for all of us! WTTG-TV (Channel 5 Fox here in the DC area) were out to do a story on knitters, I guess, to tie in with Debbie Stoller's visit to Knit Happens today. Apparently the story will air tomorrow (Friday) morning on the morning show.

Okay, so onto Iris now... Look at these and you tell me what happened...

What is it with all the frogging going on this week? (If you don't know about it all... check out Kristine's and Rossana's blogs! They've been frogging too... Kristine's even got it documented!) I put Iris down the other night b/c I was unsure of exactly where I was, thinking that I needed a clear head to figure it all out... well that went to crap and quickly. I picked it up tonight to look at it and couldn't figure out a damn thing. So I decided to frog to the armhole shaping and work from there - well, come to find out, I think that I have more rows than I should. Then I discover a mistake that I made relatively early on... and that led to more frogging. So I've frogged about 20 rows and I'm completely and utterly annoyed. So I've put it down again and hopefully I'll have enough strength this weekend to work on it again. Remind me to not do another StSt project again - or at least anytime soon... I get so bored and just stop paying attention. *sigh* I know in every life one must frog, why does it have to be now? In the middle of all the frogging though, I took a break to block the back of Iris... here's a pic (it's not a great one though, just fair warning).

Onto better news!! I finally have pictures of the Sophies (unfelted though)! Once I get the Noro Sophie felted, I'm going to take pics of both and post them... I am then donating the Noro Sophie to the shop for awhile and work on some more felted bags to show off there too. Here's the bright note to end this otherwise depressing blog... *rolling eyes* :) The first one is done in the Cascade 220 yarn the pattern advised... I didn't use the bamboo circs though, I had to use my Addis - I can't knit without them, it seems! The second is done in Noro Kureyon - I bought 3 skeins to do the Booga Bag and never got around to it - so I thought I'd use 2 of them for this (I love that beautiful colorway!!). I'll probably end up donating the third one to the SSRP... along with some of my Calmer. I really need to get that off in the mail soon - I'd like to have the opportunity to double-dip when my turn comes around! ;)

posted by knitgirl, 22:33 | link | comments (2)

A quick update...

Right before I go to work... You know, the place that gives me money so I can feed the yarn habit, lol. :) Last night I finished the scarf I've been working on as a shop sample... finally! I need to learn to not be such a perfectionist at times. Normally, I'm not so much of one - it always seems to rear its head at the most inopportune moments. At least I'm happy with what's come out of it. I'll have Kristine take pics of it and blog about it this weekend when I'm at the shop working. Speaking of Kristine... hopefully she'll have some good news for me to blog about in a few days. ;) Audrey's been cast to the side - she's just pissing me off right now - so I decided to pick up Iris from the same mag to show her how to behave. That worked for the back... the front is a different story. Why won't she behave? Why doesn't she seem to make sense? lol! I am beginning to believe that all the yarn in the world is conspiring against me right now... I have pics to post, but won't be able to do that until I get home tonight, so look for another post from me later!!! Have a great day everyone!

posted by knitgirl, 05:02 | link | comments

Thursday, 01 July 2004

Have you seen it yet??

I'm talking about the new issue of Knitty!!! It's definitely imaginative... and I think I might be trying to knit a pattern or two from there. Hmmm... think that I could get a couple of those things done in time for the boyfriend's return? I've got about 8 months left... that should be plenty of knitting time. LOL!!! Wouldn't he be surprised! Anyways, I wanted to urge you all to take a look at the new issue - it's fab! :) Definitely not your grandma's knitting... ;)

posted by knitgirl, 00:22 | link | comments (1)