I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Mostly just 'fun' books that aren't going to make me any smarter. I reread my fave: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, for the poopteenth time earlier this week. I very badly want to go to the lower east side tenament museum right now! I'm almost finished with We Were The Mulvaney's, which is depressing and makes me want to hit people. I also read a book I picked up at Wal-Mart, called Happiness Sold Seperately, and it kind of made me want to die. Lots of fertility issues, miscarriages, and infidelity. Fun. Next up is Water For Elephants, and I've still got Rhett Butler's People sitting on my shelf collecting dust.
I've not gotten much further on any of the socks I posted in my last entry. I finished my baby quilt though. I'm not thrilled with the binding so I'm not taking pictures of it!
I want to go to Ohio for the weekend. I wonder if I can pull it off. I keep changing my mind. It's such a long drive to only really spend 1 day there. Plus there's the issue of gas costing 1 billion dollars a gallon, and add that to the issue of us not really having any spending money, added to the issue of our vacation scheduled for the beginning of may and we've got quite a conundrum. It will work itself out in the wee hours of this morning. Hopefully I will not be bummed about whatever decision I come to!
Hey guys. I've been sorta avoiding blogging because I really don't have much of anything positive to say. The last few weeks have sucked for me. Losing Dee was very sad, and I'm also having such a terrible time getting over losing my baby. I cry alot, I can't focus on anything... I try to just sleep the day away just so I won't be alone that long. It's been hard. I know I was only pregnant for a few short weeks, but I think it's the fact that i wanted it so bad, and had been trying for so long, it was like a dream come true and I immediately was so happy and fulfilled and everything was going my way. I instantly was in love with the idea of being pregnant and having the baby and I made all these plans and had all these hopes and goals for this baby.... only to have it all fall to pieces.
It might sound dumb, but the only thing really helping me cope right now has been knitting and knitting and knitting my little hands off. I've finished several pairs of socks and started several more. It's compulsive but it helps. It's meditative. I don't need tv - because when i do watch, I find myself drawn to shows about babies and adoption and all of these things that I can't handle emotionally yet. Ugh. Well here's a mosaic I made of the socks I've been working on/finished lately:
Jon and I have kind of agreed that I should start seeing a therapist again, to help me get through this. I've become pretty anxious and worried about the idea of trying to conceive again. I'm really terrified of losing another pregnancy. I am hoping that with time and talk, I can get past this and want to try again:)
I can't believe it, and I'm sure you won't either, but this is the latest I've been up in about a week and a half!! I've been going to bed between 9 and 10:30 everynight and waking up at 6:30am. I'm trying to keep it that way, but I was catching up on some shows and some knitting, so I thought what the hell.
Last night we were going to get Mexican and go see Rambo, but Kevin made us go get Indian instead, and also refused to see Rambo! I got this Tandoori platter that was kinda good. But I have to be perfectly honest and say that Indian food really isn't one of my favorites. I enjoy trying new things, but I'm not a spicy food eater, really.
This week I've got a few doctor appointments. First I have to have a long awaited root canal, and I'm so relieved. It was actually scheduled for a couple Friday's ago, but I got lost somehow, on my way there (even though I've been to the specialist before!) So I had to reschedule (and they were mad at me for some reason, so I feel weird going there now) the appointment for Tuesday.
Wednesday I have to go back to Livingston/West Orange (whatever, it's by Short Hills, that's all I know) and get a pelvic ultrasound to make sure everything's going ok with my innards.
I'm also hoping to schedule another root canal by the end of the week because one of my teeth is really bothering me and I'd like to take care of it before I get too involved with the fertility meds (which, hopefully I will be starting in the middle of next week, if the first course of meds works correctly!) I'm pretty excited, but also kinda "bleh" about it because I already got nauseous and barfed in my car on Friday outside of the grocery store.
In other exciting news, we'll be seeing Pat on Friday! !! !! He's coming to NJ for the weekend, and Jon took the day off so we can pick him up from the airport and have lunch and hang out! I'm psyched! My life is so much more boring without our Friday lunch dates :( Taco Bell (I know) and Red Robin are not the same without him being there doing embarrassing things.
I'm gonna go to bed now. Maybe I'll be back tomorrow with some KNITTING PHOTOS! I know you're excited about that.
Jon and I went shopping in Morristown today. He needed wardrobe help and I'm pretty good at picking out clothes (for other people, not for me.) The knitting store, Accent On Knits is right by the parking garage we used, so we stopped in. Ugh. What a waste of time.
First of all, they have no sock yarn which is basically the only yarn I'll buy from a yarn store because you get so much more for your money online. The place was a mess and was also organized by colors. Ridiculous. I won't comment about the people in the store, because that's rude. But seriously, what a crappy layout and what a mess! I lingered for a second and ran out as quickly as my legs could carry me.
Aside from that our outing was a success. Jon's new wardrobe is adorable and stylish and HOT. I'm pleased with myself.
We didn't go into the city tonight. I was really sick and cranky and miserable all day, and then Jon called and said there was a problem with our tickets, (we weren't sure they were validated, oops!) so we decided not to chance driving into the city for nothing. Waste of time and money, especially with how crappy I felt.
Instead Jon decided to take care of me. He brought me home my favorite soup, Baked Potato, from Panera, and a sandwich. We were going to spend the evening watching a girly romantic movie, Becoming Jane, but I didn't think I had the stamina to pay attention, eat, and knit. I know, it's a rough life. Instead Jon turned on another 'romantic' comedy. Usually British comedies are my favorites, but I wasn't really into this one. It was Love and Other Disasters. Brittany Murphy is cute, but her accent going from British to American was just really annoying. I'm glad they explained it finally, but it was weird. It was a kind of cute movie and it sort of poked fun at itself and its genre.
I watched the Colbert Report from home and it was sort of a boring show, so I'm not heartbroken about missing the taping. We'll do it again soon, I'm sure. Right now I'm catching up on some recorded programs on the DVR and finishing up the last bit of knitting on a surprise I want to finish by tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do all the seaming and blocking tomorrow, but I'm going to be busy catching up on stuff I've been to sick to do for the last few days.
While we were in the Outer Banks, I picked up the 2 end yarns, Sockotta and Cherry Tree Hill (which I started knitting Monkey Socks out of.) The middle yarn is from Sunny Side Ellen's etsy shop. It's really nice. I think it will become Giotto socks.
I also got some other new yarn but I'm hesitant to talk about it for 2 reasons. 1. Jon's mad about it and 2. It's for a surprise. Meh.
My sock pal contacted me! How exciting. Now I'm so curious! I'd love blog-stalk the person I'm knitting for, but she doesn't have a blog. I guess I could e-mail her cryptic messages to get a little thrill, but I can't think of anything cryptic or thrilling to say.. Anyhoo, here's what I'm making for her. I was wrestling with 3 different patterns - Monkey & Hedera from Knitty, but after seeing alison's Embossed Leaves socks, I made up my mind:
In Rowan Cashsoft 4ply. Yes very soft. Yes I want to keep them.
Mods so far: PGR short row heel. I'll probably do the toe as stated in the pattern to finish off the leaf pattern. I'm also making them quite a bit longer than the pattern states, simply because I bought an extra ball of the Cashsoft 4ply, and I have no use for it once these socks are finished. I'll send the leftovers to my pal, in case she needs it for any repairs!
I'm also knitting something else. Well I'm always knitting something else. But this is something I just started:
Familiar? Yea, I'm not the happiest kid at camp right now!
You see, Jon left his socks on the coffee table in the family room for some reason. My laptop was a little warm and melted a candle, which created a pool of hot wax, which got all over one of his socks. I tried to salvage the sock but it was a lost cause. So I'm making him a new one. He better keep them in a drawer this time!
Well I'm gonna go. I'm kinda spazzy today so this post is riddled with grammar & spelling errors and I'm getting tired of correcting them. Please try to overlook them.
In my last post I said I'd be back tomorrow. I lied. I was busy. My brother and my Mom came to visit for the weekend. On Saturday we took the train into the city, and from there we took the subway to Coney Island. We ate hot dogs at Nathan's and walked around on the boardwalk for awhile. It was a really nice day, but a little too chilly for the beach. I will say though, I LOVE sitting and listening to the waves. Someday I need to live near the ocean. It's one of my favorite things, listening to the waves break. Why I only do it once or twice a year is a complete mystery to me. Life's too short to not regularly do the things you enjoy doing.
And here's a picture of Devan (and part of my thumb, whoops!) by the gigantic tulips near the boardwalk.
After our long afternoon in the city, we went out to this nice restaurant, Attilio's Kitchen. It was so cute inside, and the food was pretty good. We couldn't stay long, but it wasn't a problem.
After dinner we came back to our house and watched a movie, and then I was pooped so I went to bed. Sunday we went out to breakfast for Mother's Day, and then my family had to leave.
Now everything's normal and boring again. I put another card up at my etsy shop. I'm kind of 'meh' about this one. I've also been working on packaging, to get everything just right before I send out the orders. I planned to use my gocco for a couple small things, and my last 4 bulbs were duds so I'm not sure what to do while I await the arrival of my new bulbs from Japan. Maybe I'll just send them out without the extra embellishments. I don't know.
I bought some yarn. That's always fun. It's Opal Tiger stripes.
I've been working on jaywalker socks. I haven't had batteries to take a picture. No, they're not for my sock pal, they're for me! I'm also working on another pair of socks for me:
I'm still waiting for my yarn to arrive for my sockapalooza socks, but it's coming from England so I thought I'd keep myself busy with socks for myself.
These yellow socks are from Debbie Bliss Living Simple or Simple Living, I can't remember the title. I've used Baby Cashmerino and I'm using PGR short row heeels and toes, and I've made the leg quite a bit longer than the pattern says to.
1. I don't like Entourage
2. I'm psyched about the sock exchange. I've decided I'll make these. Maybe out of Rowan Cashsoft 4ply or a beige-y Koigu solid.
3. I don't think Carlos Mencia is funny at all.
4. I want to work on my press right now but a. it's late b. i have nowhere to put drying stationary c. i'm kinda tired.
5. I've had terrible allergy/cold problems for over a week.
6. I want to have another baby and I'm jealous of everyone with babies, even though I have 1 child.
7. Grey's Anatomy is getting stupid and I don't like the episode that aired tonight (the 2 hr special where addison goes to LA)
8. I have a dentist appt. at 9 am tomorrow. BLAH.
9. I miss my Ohio people.
10. Devan's finally feeling better!
Did you see the Colbert Report last night? I did. Jon, Patrick and I had VIP tickets to the show. Since we stood out front and arrived early (for once) we were able to catch Sean Penn getting out of his car (looking tan and tough, as usual.) That was pretty cool. And then there was 'the word' which was sooo weird! And one more thing:
A personal message to Mr. Colbert: I see you like Neutral Milk Hotel. I like Neutral Milk Hotel too. We were meant to be together. This is just one more sign. P.S. I hope you feel better.
After the show we walked around and over to Maxie's and had, you know, the best cheesecake in New York. I was disappointed and sad about not being able to go see Lisa Congdon's opening at Rare Device in Park Slope (Jon and Patrick decided to join forces to deny me the opportunity to see her work up close and personal.) The fresh strawberries on our delicious cheesecake might have made up for this disappointment though.
In other, not as interesting news, I've been knitting. and knitting, and knitting aaaahhhhnnnd knitting. Thermal isn't as much fun as I thought it would be but I'm sure it will be worth it when all is said and, uh, knitted. I'm still working on sleeve 1. It doesn't seem to be growing:
See what I mean? Because this project is becoming so tedious, I keep starting other projects. Here's 1:
I just bought this yarn yesterday after my dentist appointment in Denville. I also bought the needles (crystal palace- so nice!) yesterday. I started these babies sitting in traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel. We had an in-depth conversation about how someone needs to make another movie focusing on the Tunnel, because the only movie reference we've got is that shitty Sylvester Stallone movie. (ex. "Oh, I hate going through the Lincoln Tunnel!" "why?" "Haven't you ever seen Daylight?") Anyways, The socks are just my normal 64 stitch, short row heel & toe with a turned cuff... to look more professional, because the clowny stripes are so professional. It was a split second decision, give me a break.
Oh I also started another project but I'm not showing you the whole thing. Just a peek:
And I'm not gonna talk about it either, so there. See ya later.
I made these little guys last night from a free pattern at Wee Wonderfuls. The one on the left was in Devan's Easter basket this morning, and the one on the right was a present for Jon's grandmother. I also gave her the cabled socks I was making. Here's a pic of them finished:
I'm super duper tired right now, so I'ma go relax for a few minutes.
Today, as I said early this morning, was the anniversary of my wedding. First I gave Jon his presents (I already bought myself some presents so there wasn't an exchange) I knit my sweetie some gray tweed socks.
and I made a little gift tag and matching card (anniversary pres) on my letterpress. The more I look at this the more I love it. It's so striking. I might make a few more, and actually cut them correctly and put them in my etsy shop with a letterpressed 'to and from' area on the back. What do you think?:
Here's a pic of the card (which contained 2 tickets to see Ricky Gervais at Madison Square Garden Theater in May! (excellent gift, if I may pat myself on the back a bit)
After the present exchange, we had delicious soup and watched The Pursuit of Happyness. It was pretty good. We had to stop in the middle so I could go get Devan from my in-laws, they were watching her so Jon and I could chill together for a little bit. (thanks!)
In other knitting news, I'm working on a pair of debbie bliss baby cashmerino socks from her book, Simple Living for Jon's grandmother who is sick right now. These socks are really simple. I don't know why I was so reluctant to try them. Plus they're knitted on size US 3 needles, which makes them go super fast. I think any stitch pattern where you're building a pattern goes fast. You want to keep going and going and you make little mini goals for yourself to finish pattern repeats. It's so much fun to watch the pattern grow. Anyways, Gotta finish these by Sunday, when we'll celebrate her birthday/Easter:
Here's another, closer pic of the leg/cable. I love these socks. They're soooo soft!:
ANNND, I started that thermal sweater. Here's the sleeve. I love the stitch pattern. This is another one I love to watch grow. I've just been busy finishing other projects, so I have been neglecting it a little. Pretty soon it will be too warm for such a garment, so I'm not in any hurry to finish it:
I'm making an effort to not use flash, and to take better quality photos, (with a little mood) to showcase my knitting and other crafts. I hope you can see the difference, and that you like what I'm doing. Good photos are the main thing that attract me to blogs. Speaking of which, 3 of my favorite bloggers are either stopping, distancing themselves, or have already quit blogging! No fair. I hope they change their minds!!! darnit.
Any photography tips? I'm working with natural light (which was not really present today, as it was so gloomy.) But I'm trying not to use flash, and only doing the teensiest bit of editing, for sharpness. I was really shaky for some reason when I was taking the photos this afternoon, so a good deal of them were blurry. I wouldn't alter them in any other way though, because, um, that's cheating.
Yea. Tired. I woke up at 5 this morning, because I couldn't keep my eyes open past 9 last night. I had a dentist appointment yesterday that sucked all the energy and enthusiasm out of me. I won't go into it, boring gross details no one wants to hear about.
Before my appointment I met Jon for lunch but I had an hour to kill. Thank you Jon, for choosing an eatery next door to a yarn shop! I bought some yarn for some gifts, and some Crystal Palace circular needles for Flicca.
And in other news, thanks to some brilliant artists on etsy, my love of bookbinding has been rekindled. I did a couple practice books using scraps, so I don't waste materials on poorly made books. I've got a great Japanese bookbinding guide that I have read over and over. I haven't tried any of the techniques yet. What I have done is some coptic binding, which is my favorite anyways. Don't mind the bottom book. Devan claimed it so I wasn't really careful and the binding is super loose (plus I didn't use waxed linen so it's kind of crappy.) Click the pic for a larger version.
I decided to set up an etsy shop, but I haven't got any items up for sale yet. Subscribe to the feed!
I'm still super bummed about blogger. Aside from that I thought I'd start this blog on the right foot by posting some stuff I've been knitting. The day before we left for Ohio I started knitting Devan a sweater. I'm using this pattern from Knit & Tonic.
I'm using some Lion Brand Cotton Ease that I had laying around for 2 years.And over the last couple weeks I've finished a pair of socks:
These socks are made from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in "Argyle" on size 2 needles.
They're a basic inch rib, short row heels and toes.
I also started another pair of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Socks in "Bee Stripe" - These ones just have a rolled edge, short row heel and toe. I knit one in the car on the way to Ohio, and started the other before we arrived, but then I got bored and worked on the Drive-thru cardi.
And finally - Does this look familiar?
Ugh. Yea it does, doesn't it?
After I uncovered an unused hank of Handpainted Yarn in the colorway I'd knit my Clapotis out of, I got this bright idea to unravel to the point before the decreases and make it quite a bit longer. I figured it was worth it, because I wasn't going to use it otherwise. It's been sitting, folded up with all my other scarves for a year and a half.
Well that's all well and good, but I wasn't paying close attention, nor did I consult the pattern before I started unraveling, and I actually (embarrassed to admit) started unraveling the 3 other corners before I got to the right one. SO I had to start over. Here's where I'm at right now.
So that's what's been up with me. Still waiting on a few key things for my press. I am itching to get started! Speaking of itching. My skin is so itchy that I haven't been able to sleep for the last 2 nights. It's unbarable! Winter is miserable!
I've had alot of time on my hands lately, and I've been, surprisingly at a loss as to how to use it.
So I finished a sweater.
It's my Everyday Cardigan by Peace Fleece in Peace Fleece Perestroika Pink worsted. After my dentist appointment today, I picked out some wooden buttons that I thought would look nice.
Ok. Now let's talk about what I don't like about this sweater. First of all, I will be the first to admit that I'm not the best finisher. My blocking skillz are under par, as are my sewing skills. The sweater is a bit lumpy. Maybe another wash will help. But more than that, this baby is itchy. What did I expect? I don't know. I'm sure I'll wear it because I made it, but I don't know if I'll actually like wearing it. Perhaps some fabric softener or something. I don't know. Cross your fingers for me. I never make stuff for myself. It's so much easier to just force Devan to wear itchy things, rather than wear them myself. I'm just kidding. Her knitted stuff is never itchy.
And now that I'm done with one project that's been taking up space, It's time to work on something else. I know!
I mean, it's finally snowing so why not knit a nice lace scarf? This is Trellis from Interweave Knits Spring 06.
I don't even know what to say right now, but I thought I should update. We got our tree on Sunday. (I was going to just put up our old fake tree, but a trip to Rockafeller Center with Jon and my good friend T inspired me to get a live tree.) So we got a real tree. Our first real Christmas tree. Pretty exciting. Devan stayed up late with me, decorating and marvelling at how much Santa will love our beautiful tree. At 6am the next morning I woke to Jon shouting "OH NO! Our tree fell over!" That woke me right up. Jon did a nice job of fixing everything up and cleaning all of the broken ornaments, but the event has sort of soured me. I don't want to get into it all right now, but I have absolutely NO time to spare... so after spending hours on the tree once -- It's a huge pain in the ass to have to carve out time to do it again.
I've also been having spells of getting very sick and vomitting lately. (No, no babies.) :( But it's striking at the worst times. At my new job I was sick all day Tuesday. This is the absolute worst day of the week to be sick, as it is print day, as well as Classified day... as well as being all around busy doing many many things. We stay late on Tuesdays. Well. All day long, from about 1pm on, I was afflicted with... something. My first thought was that I hadn't eaten and had then taken medicine for the toothache that has come back (there's an infection in my jaw.) But after throwing up once in the grass near my car in the parking lot (I went out for fresh air) I felt a little better, and that should have been the end of it. But it wasn't. All day and all night -- Oh, and during the middle of all of this, T text messages me and informs me that he has found out why his body keeps producing huge bruises. Leukemia. This is terrible. Ugh. Poor T. I suddenly feel sheepish for even feeling the slightest bit sorry for myself during all of these 'run to the bathroom with my fingers crossed hoping I'm gonna make it and not embarrass myself in front of everyone' moments. I called out of work Wednesday, due to still vomitting and feeling awful and not being able to eat anything- including TUMS. seriously, aren't tums supposed to help? Turns out they do the opposite. I'm pretty sure it's a stomach flu at this point, and not my Gall Bladder which has to come out soon, and sometimes afflicts me in similar ways, but not for such an extended period of time.
My jaw has swollen up again and feels like it's being stung by about 10 Yellow Jackets right now. That's why I'm not asleep. I just burst out crying a few minutes ago because I'm so overwhelmed. Staying home sick is so stressful, and it eats at me all day long, making it very hard to relax and feel better. Allthough I did watch lots of VH1 celebrity tv today and that did help a bit in taking my mind off it. When I call out there's the moment of relief followed by panic about what my coworkers and other people in the office might think about me (i've had to call off quite a bit recently, due to Devan getting very sick 2 or 3 times since mid-October. And 1 time there was the hellish Dental appointment that left me wounded both physically and emotionally. And one day I had a Gall Bladder attack) So as I was saying, I don't want people to think I'm just screwing around and taking advantage of sick time. I'm absolutely not. I would have gotten my surgery by now if I WANTED to be out of work. A week off would be sweet, even if I was all sore)
I want to talk about something else now. Ugh. Enough complaining, right? on to knitting then. I made 2 mini sweaters as ornaments. They're so cute.
Aaaand, Jon asked me to make him a hat a couple weeks ago to match his coat. Here's a pic of that. Other than these, I've had no knitting at all.
ALOT is going on. That's all I can say right now because I have to get up very early tomorrow and for the rest of my life. I will tell you about it later.
In the meantime I will leave you with 2 photos. My dear husband and my sweetie pie daughter modeling hats I knit for a special person in our lives who was recently diagnosed with cancer. The first hat was knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK and the second (unblocked in the photo) was knit in Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. Both patterns can be found at Head Huggers
I've been getting up between 9-9:30 am and feeling quite good on this new schedule. I'm hoping to really make the most of my new freedom.
Another thing I'd like to make with my new freedom is THIS sweater for Jon. He actually wants it, how exciting is that? I haven't been knitting much lately. well, I take that back, I have. I just haven't been FINISHING much lately. I've always got socks going, and a few sweaters for myself. I have that ribbed cardigan for jon that I'm working on but ribbing is such a pain in the ass to knit.
Well I'm tired so I'm going to go to bed! Before 4am! Can you believe it?!
I have been posting to this blog since 2001, and never in it's history have I been less interested in it. I guess I just don't have much to say (publicly) anymore, or maybe all of the strange thoughts I have floating around in my mind are keeping me too busy to think about posting here.
It's a shame, really. I've got 2 finished pairs of socks to show you guys, and a couple more pairs in the works. Nothing crafty beyond that because a. it's summertime and I'm enjoying it when I get a chance. and b. i'm a busy bee.
Speaking of summer, when I haven't been working I've been having quite a bit of fun with my favorite people: Jon (of course) Patrick, and Jenny. We've been making a habit out of going out for half priced appetizers and drinks. Jenny and I've been making a habit out of getting loaded and giggling and asking silly questions and/or embarrassing ourselves by making inappropriate or much too personal comments.
Friday night we went out to see Clerks 2 and had a delicious dinner. Then we came back to our condo and drank these really good new drinks called 'peels' i like the pear/lemon kind. jenny likes blueberry/pom.
We watched a few episodes of "It's always sunny in philadelphia" which is pretty funny, kind of awkward like watching the american version of the Office or Curb your Enthusiasm. I enjoy awkward. I'm starting to like it more than I used to - anyone who knows me knows that I have a hard time watching comedies featuring an awkward or unlucky character like Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents, or John Candy in both Uncle Buck and trains planes and automobiles. I'm a rooter for the underdog, I can't help it. I'm getting over it though, so maybe that means I'm starting to not care about people?? I don't know.
Ok want to see my socks??? I know you do. I'll start with the works in progress, and I'll apologize in advance: it's alot harder to take pictures of your feet than it seems:
Ok. These are Jaywalker socks. The pattern never really caught my attention until I saw these (not that I'm sassy enough to wear socks like this)and instead of making them with the yarn she used, I decided to raid the sock yarn bin and use the Wildfoote yarn I've been avoiding using for over 2 years, simply because I don't really like it! No offense, Brown Sheep! It's just really splitty and not that soft. Between the yarn and the long ass needles (I can't find my short #1's... damnit) this is not the most enjoyable knit. Although I got this far while watching the Green Street Hooligans (feat. frodo baggins)and people really do seem to be crazy for these socks: see so I guess it's that bad!!
This is the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn dyed exclusively for Purl Soho (that I got on my pre-birthday blitz). I love this stuff and I have to admit, it's been a real challenge to not order like 6 or 8 more skeins of this stuff. It's so soft, and the colors (not this one of course) are so great! Before the end of the summer I'll have to buy the brigh red stripe, so I can make those coveted Jaywalker socks I showed you up there.
This is a pair of short row heel/toe socks in Cherry Tree Hill superwash sock yarn. I love this stuff. It's my favorite. I especially love these socks because a. I bought the yarn in Ohio and that gives me warm fuzzies. and b. because I knit them on #2.5 needles and they're very cushy and cozy. They really wouldn't be good for wearing with shoes, so they're going to be at home socks.
I knit the first sock in Ohio. All of the cuff while watching "Must Love Dogs" back in January when I ran away for a week to escape my troubles. Again, Cherry Tree Hill. I finished these socks on my birthday, but I haven't taken the time to photograph them til just now. I love them. They're at a tighter gauge than the pair above them, so they're good for wearing in shoes. I imagine I'll wear them alot. There's something (to me) about getting alot of use out of something I've knit during a hard time in my life. These were mostly knit while going through some supershitty relationship problems with Jon. The socks made it through (even though my hourglass sweater did not) and that pleases me.
I have no idea what I'm talking about here. I need to just drink my booze and go to bed already.
I'm watching reruns of the Colbert Report where Stephen Colbert is trash talking about the world cup with Alexi Lawless. Very very funny stuff.
Wanna see what I'm making? I bought the Mason-Dixon Knitting book and so now I'm all amped up and inspired to knit stuff out of... everything basically.
I bought some cones of cotton from Walmart the other day, and I also found a nice bright green/cream toile patterned cotton and I've been cutting strips of it and winding it into balls. I'm making the tailgate rug out of the book. So far I have to say: I am in LOVE with it. Click the photo for a larger shot.
Obviously I've just started this thing. And I actually NEED it too! Our doormat fell apart when Jon washed it last week so... wow, I'm actually making something necessary.
In other news - I finally got my test results from my ultrasound, and turns out that I'm not a baby with bad gas (uh not farty gas) I have to get my gall bladder removed! I'm not psyched about surgery. But I am happy that I know what is wrong now and why I get so sick from time to time. So I'm relieved.
Did I tell you I'm going to be part time at my work? There's an ad in the paper for my job and everything!! yay! Also - yay! Summer. I like summer. Happy happy happy. G'night!
Ok I finished that silly little dress in May and gave it to her as one of her birthday presents. I just FINALLY got a shot of her in action. She wore it on the forth of July, and was looking quite patriotic once she put on the silly headgear that Mum-mum supplied her with. It's the sweetest little dress too, goes great as a bathing suit cover-up, and is nice and cool on hot days. It's a little short, but I think that adds to the over all cindy bradi-ness of it! Click here for another view.
In other knitting news, I ordered a second skein of Cherry Tree Hill 'Spring Frost' hoping against hope that the dyelots would be close enough to pull off my second Cascading leaves sock. Well poop.
The powers that be do not want me to knit that particular sock out of that particular yarn. Can you see how the new ball of yarn is so much more vivid and the old one looks faded and poopy in comparison? Nuts to that. And no pair of socks should cost that much money, so Saturday I unravelled my sock and decided that I'd knit 2 plain pairs of socks, and make the cascading leaves socks out of something more appropriate, like green Kroy or something. Have plenty of that in my bins.
I don't really have anything else to talk about. I'm very rambly today because I had to take vicodin and I'm a little stoned! I have a terrible toothache (LIKE SEARING PAIN IN MY JAW) and I have to go to the dentist at 2pm.
Tomorrow is my birthday, so go buy me things from my amazon.com wishlist and my amazon.jp wishlist and uhhh other things I want include tons of amy butler& kaffe fassett fabric, tickets to lagwagon and rancid at bb kings in nyc, gift certificates for yarn, a nikon d70, and the game Grafitti Kingdom so I can draw weiners and fight them against each other like my brother in law did. It was probably the most amazing and fun video game I have ever played.
It's not that I haven't made any progress (see previous post) It's just that I've been SO BUSY making progress that I've been unable or unwilling to tear myself away from making progress that I couldn't post. I'm sure you're ok though.
So, what progress, you ask? Well. I finished Devan's Denim Pinafore, which she hasn't worn yet, so I haven't taken a photo. I also finished Dev's Swing Jacket in time for her birthday. You can see a bit of it in this photo here:
As I mentioned, Devan's just turned 5! Here's a photo of her trying to lick her cake:
As part of Devan's birthday, we had a little celebration at school, complete with hot pink cupcakes and pink goodie bags, which gave me the opportunity to try out my print gocco. Don't get the wrong idea by the prints, since I didn't realize that the crease in the bag, plus the fact that the layers of the bag kept separating, didn't make for the best surface to do prints on, but this thing rules and I plan to use it a ton!
I've also been doing some other knitting. I'm always knitting socks for myself, and usually they're just basic short row heel and toe socks with 2x2 rib up the leg (and if I'm feeling frisky, down to the toe too) but I decided I felt like a little lace, and I really like the Cascading Leaves pattern, so I gave it a whirl:
Turns out that the lace pattern is really simple, but it's also a YARN HOG, and I'm running out of yarn (Cherry Tree Hill - Spring Frost) So I've got to buy another skein to do the second sock.
I've also been knitting here and there on Jon's jacket - the Men's Zip-up Raglan from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. This thing is torture. 1. It's huge. 2. it's 4x4 ribbing and it takes forever.
Last night we celebrated Jon's grandmother's birthday. I was feeling poopy and have a toothache so Jon gave me some of his vicodin. I was feeling pretty groovy after that and I wanted to knit, but I was feeling kind of bored with everything I'm working on, so I brought the yarn for my Everyday Cardigan. I started a little of it over there, and then did a couple rows while Jon, Matt and I watched The War Within. Here's how far I got:
Well. I hadn't meant for this to be all knitting pictures... I'll be back later to tell you about what's been inspring me (and paralyzing me creatively) lately. Later taters.
Well hello kiddos. I know it's been awhile. I've been kind of busy. And by busy, I mean actually doing stuff, not sleeping. So shut up.
I've got sprouts galore upstairs... just waiting for the weather to stop freaking out every other day and getting cold and shitty out (like it will be doing later today/tomorrow) to start putting those little guys in the ground.
So in my 11 days of nonblogging, I bought 2 really cool things for myself for being so responsible. Behold numero uno:
I've been meaning to pick up a Print Gocco for awhile now. Unfortunately, there are not TOOOOOO many of them around. I got mine from Japan, along with some extra screens and bulbs.
Dos: i tracked down my baby:
Jealous?? It's a Chandler & Price Pilot 6.5x10" letterpress. It's in Michigan. My brother Mike is going to pick it up tomorrow, and I'll have to go out and get it from him next time I'm in Ohio, or Bret will take it to my mom's. Either way, I'm psyched.
I've also been doing a bit of knitting. I started Devan's denim pinafore:
almost done with the front..
can't get enough of the picot edging, so i started the back too.
speaking of picot.....ahh. so neat and cute.
Wednesday I had a really good, productive day. I dropped Devan off at school, and then I went to Wayne to return some clothes to Old Navy (+ $195 for me) then I had some tacos, drove around listening to the White Stripes with my hair blowing in the wind, and then I went to Denville to visit Jon and have some ice cream with him. I returned more clothes to Target (+ $92.00 for me!) and then i rewarded myself for being so responsible:
It's 1:15am on a Saturday Morning. I like to call this "me time". I'm just sitting here, relaxing - contemplating a movie and a little knitting. I did some shopping online last night - got the peace fleece kit to make myself the "everyday cardigan" in Perestroika Pink.
I also bought some denim yarn to make Devan a pinafore for her birthday...as well as a kit to make her this spring jacket.:
does she need the boots too??
I ought to wrap up some projects that have been waiting around, so i don't feel any guilt starting new ones. The problem tends to be that I have no time for knitting. My buying habits outweigh my completing habits. By ALOT. But hopefully this "need to knit" that I've been feeling will help me complete some projects.
In work news - I've been BUSTING ASS trying to make a bunch of different "not-sure-we'll-ever-use-this" projects come together. Ugh. After typing al of that, I need another vacation.
Calgon, take me away.
OH-- PEE ESSS: Here's a picture of Jenny riding the bull at the junction.
I really like the Junction. There's an all male revue thing on tuesday that i was asked to go to -- but... ugh.. I have to work. Luckily the Bull is coming back in March on a Saturday! YEssssSSSssss
This afternoon, Jon, Devan, Gocky and I went to Suburban furniture in Sucasunna and picked out a new bedroom for Devan. The set we chose is SOOOOOO pretty. Normally I'm not really into 'sets' of anything, and like to mix and match, but the style of this furniture is so simple that I thought it would be fine, plus Dev has mentioned wanting her room PINK and I think that's ok if we can throw some green in there, and mixed furniture might be a little busy..
I'm going to start picking up different shades of pink and green fabrics to make a quilt for her bed - but for now I think I'll buy a regular comforter. The bedroom set gets delivered on Monday, and there's no way I can even think about starting her quilt until after the Holidays.
I've made some headway on my secret holiday pal sock #1. Jon was out with friends from high school tonight, so Dev and I cuddled up on the couch and watched Teen Titans, Tellytubbies, Fairly Odd Parents, and Sesame Street together, and I knitted until right before bed, when we added another cotton ball to santa's beard (her school gave her a santa advent calender so I'm off the hook, woohoo!) I got pretty far in the short amount of time I got to knit.
Houston, we've got a heel.
I'm using the sock pattern I use for all basic socks which consists of 64 stitches (or 52), 4 #2 needles, 2x2 rib continuing down the foot (ensures a nice snug, but not tight fit) and short row heels & toes. I've used this pattern that I have it memorized.
During the 3rd disc of season 2 of 24, I switched over to my Perfect Pie Shawl, which is nearing the end of the 5th wedge. I'm thinking about making a few more wedges so that I can wrap the shawl around my shoulders and then toss it over one and secure it with a pin or something. It seems like it's kind of on the small side right now - but it hasn't even been blocked yet so who knows.
I've got a couple other projects in the works but I will not take pictures and show them here, cuz they're top secret Holiday thingz.
There's a new Illustration Friday topic for this week: Blue
If I have time after doing the assignment my boss gave me Thurs. I will work on my contribution. Ah well. It's off to bed.
So I finished a sweater.
