i know i should be writing about something like the g20 in pittsburgh. and i do have my concerns about that. but the thing really keeping me up at night right now is, probably unsurprisingly, diablo cody buying the rights to sweet valley high. there is really nothing i can say here though that has not already been said. however, as someone who possibly takes ya lit a little too seriously, i will just reiterate some of the finer points that have been made recently and say that if i see enid rollins on a burger phone, i will flip a table.
as for yarn-related content, i have some serious etsy updates to make soon. gotta find a way to finance all those svh and bsc books i thrift. but in the meantime, maybe you want to take this little treat off my hands:
it lives in electronic form over in my etsy shop, but in tangible form it lives in my apartment and i came dangerously close to knitting with it this weekend. help me stop the madness. this yarn is delightfully soft and the colors are amazing. and i hear yinz want to be responsible and start your holiday knitting early this year…
Filed under: books
being grown up means i can take a hot toddy in a travel mug to a spelling bee and stay out late on a monday night. that’s seriously what it means. and honestly, that’s kind of great. i spelled silently along in my head and watched sarah and nicole spell their little hearts out, and it was awesome. sarah spelled so quickly it blew my mind, and nicole made it to the top three.
ulysses is actually treating me pretty well too. i love waking up early to read before work while it’s quiet and my little brain hasn’t had a chance yet to feel tired and/or frustrated. the last time i attempted to read this book, i gave up 150 pages in and instead i embroidered a picture of james joyce.
this was also clearly a good use of my time, but i’m glad i’m sticking with the book this time around.
i also want to throw this out there: “beer: now scientifically better than water.” as someone who has long understood the wonder of a large, ice cold beer after a long run (i prefer to drink mine in the shower), i would just like to say, duh but also thank you. i love when anyone confirms or validates things that i know in my heart to be true.
i haven’t had a whole lot to say about current knitting finished objects lately, and honestly, it’s because i haven’t finished anything recently. that’s not entirely true: i have finished a few pairs of socks. but i don’t want to really talk about them until i’ve finished all five pairs. i’m looking at the set of five as one project. when all of them are finished, i will have something real to say. but just for the sake of acknowledging that i’m making progress, here’s a peek at the latest pair:
and apparently i’m just a glutton for punishment, because i decided that a relief project might be nice. you know, something to knit for when my fingers are tired of socks. something on big needles. something like… a blanket? WHY?! why, in the midst of a long-term project would i start an even longer-term project. no, actually, an ENDLESS project. i’m using up all of my gross worsted weight yarn scraps and knitting a zig-zag stitch throw. this is going to be one ugly blanket. or at least, it will be in approximately five years, when i finish it.
so after admitting that i started a blanket as my “non-committal knitting project,” i kind of hate to admit that i’ve also started reading ulysses. um you know, just one of the longest, slowest books i could choose to tackle right now, or ever. this is my second attempt at this book, actually, but this time i have a partner in crime, so i think i might be able to stick with it. and the thing is, for all its difficulties, it’s honestly kind of an enjoyable book. i’m keeping track of some of my favorite parts on my tumblr, so follow along if you wanna. maybe you’ll even want to take this beast on too, who knows?
yesterday i also noticed that the bridge reopened so i can start biking to work for the summer, which is awesome. at around the same time yesterday, i was thinking about switching from distance-measured running to mostly timed running. this winter at the gym i could run slowly for an hour. how about an hour and a half? maybe eventually two? i normally hate things that require patience, maintenance, stamina, etc. but suddenly those are the only things in my life. no instant gratification to be found. there’s no end in sight, for any of this, i’m afraid.
a weekend so nice i won’t even tell you about it. just imagine a really phenomenal weekend, and double it. it was kind of like that.
instead, i give you: octopus turtleneck, swine flu masque, promotional knit beer sweaters, an awesome cat, and a lost in austen book review. if you’re wondering what happened to me in my own jane austen adventure, i did not get married and was left for dead by a bitter rival. i will now give you some time to get over your total shock.
okay. back to knitting. forever and ever.
ps. nicole – this morning at my meeting i almost said “it’s the little deets that make a big diff,” but i laughed just thinking about it and couldn’t actually say the words. so it looked like i was just gazing into my coffee and chuckling at nothing. oops.
…and here are a few reasons why.
1. nicole gave me lost in austen. a jane austen choose your own adventure book? yes!!! i seriously couldn’t sleep last night, i was so into it!
2. still plugging away at amber’s socks – about to start the teal and brown pair and actually still so psyched on this project. magic loop two at a time socks! love love love.
3. (and this is especially exciting!) courtney and i are going to be splitting a table at mass market 4 on sunday, june 14. i don’t think i’ll be doing a winter craft show this year (i might apply for craftland, but mostly i’m going to just stick to etsy sales this time around) so this is my social crafting endeavor for 2009! and i think it’ll be really fun!
4. i’m working on a new zine right now, and hopefully it’ll be done in time for mass market. we will see!
clearly things are gonna be a little wild. also this month i’ll be going to pennsylvania for a long weekend to see a few friends but mostly my wonderful family. and then i’ll be coming back just in time to move to a new apartment. so yeah. busy. but you know i wouldn’t have it any other way.
it was in the seventies and eighties all weekend, and it was so nice to spend time outside. saturday i sat on my deck practically all day, eating tofu scramble for every meal and drinking a couple pots of coffee and trying to remember to drink a lot of water too.
it doesn’t matter how many times i’ve read the doris anthology, or even how many times i’d already read the individual issues before i got the anthology, it still makes me feel really inspired and hopeful about life in general.
also, learning a new skill. it was frustrating at first, but i taught myself the magic loop two-at-a-time sock method. one long circular needle, two socks that will be done at the same time. i love the feeling of figuring out something that’s initially really difficult. it makes my knitting a lot more triumphant.
and see? by the time i went to beavertail with steph on saturday, i’d made some decent progress! knitting on the deck was nice, but knitting on the beach was obviously a much better idea. and sunday night i went over to hang out with the grays. sarah and i knit outside, we had some awesome barbequed dinner, and it was just a really good end to a really nice weekend. (and i was able to ride over thanks to the very generous and much appreciated repair of my bottom bracket, which mysteriously fell apart on friday night.)
also i stole this photo from steph. just loading up on the spf 50 and wearing my bathing-suit-dress. beaching with me is not unlike beaching with someone’s grandmother.
and speaking of, rip bea. nicole and i ate cheesecake in her honor. hopefully you did too.
i’ll be honest and say that when i’m looking for knitting patterns, i usually go first to ravelry and then to the library. (providence public library has a pretty awesome selection of knitting books; all the usual vogue stuff, and then things like beastly knits and books about knitting exclusively dancewear.) but there was a time when i worked in a book store, and sometimes while shelving things, a knitting book would catch my eye, and i’d take it straight to the register instead of to the shelf where it belonged. this is actually how i came to own nearly all of the knitting books i own. sometimes i didn’t even look through the whole book, i’d just see a single pattern that i liked and buy the book based on that. frivolous, right?
nikol lohr’s naughty needles was kind of one of those books. i bought it exclusively for the eyepatch pattern inside (and have since made dozens of eyepatches – if you need a knit eyepatch, let me know) and never really paid much attention to the rest of the patterns in the book. i thought the concept was cute, and the patterns looked nice enough, but i never felt the need for a knit straightjacket or even a knit bra, one of the more basic and less racy patterns in the book.
so after the eyepatch novelty wore off, i set the book on a shelf and didn’t think about it much, until my last month of college before graduating. i felt the need for a knitting project to take the edge off, and i needed to get out of my hat-and-cowl-rut. that’s how i ended up spending the last weeks of my education knitting myself hot pink hot pants (the “gidget goes hawaiian” bottoms from the picture above). and that’s how i ended up going back to this book and realizing that most of the things in it are actually really cute. i’m still a little modest for things like a knit ball gag, but i will say that i enjoy knowing the pattern exists. and i’d totally make the zelda garter slip for myself (and possibly will this summer).
another thing i really like about this book is that the patterns are all actually pretty simple, and they’re well written and clearly explained. nikol says in the intro that all of the pieces are beginner to intermediate level, and i think that’s pretty right-on. most of them are also pretty small projects that i think make a nice introduction to the basic sizing and shaping that are required for larger or more elaborate garments. so not only are the patterns really cute and fun, they’re a really good way to start understanding how knit clothing is constructed. kind of win-win, basically.
maybe this book exists at your library. if not, they will probably order it for you, libraries are nice like that. or you can take the plunge and just buy the book, either at probably any major book store or online directly from nikol at naughtyneedlesknitting.com. her website also has an awesome links section full of yarn-buying resources, which is always helpful! also check out everyone’s projects from the book on ravelry. sometimes it’s nice to knit something kind of frivolous. and it’s never bad to have extra hot pants around? that sounds like an okay philosophy.
i feel really lucky to have people in my life who understand me and don’t necessarily question my entirely questionable interests. like my roommate, who came home from his job this past week with gifts: two baby-sitters club books, and this gem:
“happy holidays – you’re dead!” is probably one of the best taglines in r.l. stine history. i’ve read about a third of this book and so far i will tell you that it is awesome. although now i do have to check my chapstick for needles. agh! if you want to know about the wonders of this book but don’t have a copy on hand, i suggest you head over to shadyside snark to read their recap: “silent night” or bitch totally gets what she deserves!
so as you can imagine, my time is pretty well taken up by reading, and also by working out (i gave up “not working out every day” for lent. fight club was heavy on the lunges last night and just walking makes my butt hurt today). but i have been finding time for fiber-related activities. i dyed some of my recycled j crew sweater a sort of aqua/green color. i dyed some worsted weight wool goldenrod/mustard yellow for the socks i’m knitting for my friend chloe in chicago. i dyed some corriedale roving tan and dark blue so i can spin up some cowboy-inspired yarn. because why not? i’ve still been chipping away at my frostberries kerchief using my lovely yarn from cantrix, and i’m so excited for it to be finished so i can wear it! i also used the time i’ve spent on the phone with either my mom or jess (pretty much the only people i’m willing to talk on the phone with, besides of course, my nana) to pull apart some yarn that wasn’t quite working for me.
i mentioned getting this berroco memoirs a while ago at the recycling center. but i quickly realized that i could not bring myself to knit the fuzzy stuff. so i separated the fuzzy strands from the really pretty blue/turquoise/purple strands, which were the part of the yarn i was drawn to in the first place. some of the fuzzy pieces went into the yarn bomb i did with meg this week, and i haven’t decided what i’ll do with the new pretty yarn that’s left. it’s lace/fingering weight and there’s a good deal of it, so i have options!
also, etsy sales this week have allowed me to buy some cascade ecological wool, because amelia and i are going to make owls. i used a period to end that sentence, but obviously i should have used something like !!!!!!!!!! owls! i am SO excited to make this sweater.
also also, thanks to tinahdee for featuring me in her etsy treasury. check out her shop, her earrings are beautiful! if i could wear real earrings, these are the ones i’d want to wear!
take it easy everyone. it’s almost the weekend.
i just read this morning on the yarn bombing site that their book has been listed on arsenal pulp press’s list of upcoming books. how exciting! it’s a real thing! i can’t wait to hold it in my bony, creaking hands!
it’s hard to settle back into a work week after a nice weekend of spending time with some really really great friends. i also got some a big, soft sweater at savers to unravel. bulky white acrylic/wool/alpaca with a sparkly silver thread in there. i’m a sucker for the sparkles. i would rather be knitting and watching lifetime movies. fortunately, i bought the new york times this morning and worked on the crossword. killed it. i’m better than i thought; i was anticipating even monday being too difficult for me!
oh, my other good find at savers?
i have so many projects to work on right now, but you know i’ll find the hour required to read this. i remember this one as having awesome outfit descriptions and conversations about art. good.
i still admittedly kinda have socks on the brain. maybe it’s because i’m a lover of function and seriously, what can you even knit that would be more functional than socks? there are cold and wintry days where i don’t feel like wearing a hat, or times when i need to dress a little nicer at the office than in the raglan sweater i knit for myself. but i can’t even say how many times i’ve washed my handknit socks so i can wear them again and again. no other socks are half as warm or comfortable.
with that in mind, i’m taking the two most logical next steps. the first of those is that i’ve started on a new pair of socks for myself (the ever-popular jaywalkers). the second, and maybe for me more exciting, is that i’m starting to design my own custom socks. fortunately, i found this little treasure at the downtown providence library:
this book (by priscilla a. gibson-roberts) is so helpful, and puts sock-knitting into really simple, understandable terms (even for me, and i’m not always the sharpest when it comes to things that are a little mathy, which sadly, pattern-making kind of is). after knitting several pairs of socks, i do already have a pretty good understanding of how the basic sock shape works, and how i can adjust it. but it’s nice to know that i’m formulating the gauge, sizing, and shaping on original sock patterns correctly. i’m working on my first custom socks, for an etsy customer, and so far they’re coming along really well!
and maybe someday when things settle down again, i will finally finish those jaywalkers.
