I got lost

Sorry about the space between my words. I got lost. Made a wrong turn. Now I’m back!

The Hero is basically done, I’ve been avoiding sewing in the zipper…that requires sewing, and well…yeah you get it. So here’s the photos I have while blocking. I swear I will get the zipper sewn in and take a photo of it actually on the Hero himself. I really like the way that it turned out. The yarn worked well, it’s a little shorter than I’d like but it’ll be ok.

I’ll post the pattern details once it’s actually finished! LOL!

On my needles now? It’s the Garnstudio 103-1 Jacket that half the universe is doing…what? I’m a conformist! LOL! Only I’m doing my in Tahki Donagal  Tweed in an apple green and I couldn’t be happier with it. So far I have no photos taken but I will soon, I promise. I’m also intending to make a few minor alterations in the pattern…if I have enough yarn that is.

Speaking of yarn. My friend Stephanie is having a birthday next week and we’re going to Birmingham yarn shopping on Monday for her birthday. I’m so excited, it’s like my birthday early! Yay! I’ll take photos of our goodies when we get back.

I know that it’s lame, but really that’s all I have for you now. Nothing too exciting. I am in a house now (photos to come…again, yes.) and we’re really loving it here. That’s all I guess…

Bring in the Clowns

The Hero is nearly complete, the sleeves are growing, and I’m growing bored, I may need to cast one something new for my own sanity. My friend Stephanie wore a cabled rangoli hat that she knitted, I fell in love at first sight. This is not hers, hers is a beautiful green color. Anyway, I’m thinking of doing it with Noro Kureyon. I’m thinking it needs to be cast on tonight…

I’m not sure how the interview process really went. Now it’s the waiting game. So in the mean time, I’m catching up with knitting that I missed out on while I was studying.

Currently I’ve been obsessed over Bravo reality shows, I’m watching Paula Abdule being followed around by a camera crew. Why this interest me I’m not sure. Except for the fact that she’s really not got it together at all. Oh well, I’m being entertained at her expense, I think that means that I’m the one that’s not all together.

Word Ass…ociation

Since I’ve been re-exploring my inner wordsmith (or lack thereof) I found this on one of my fellow knitters from the local group’s website. You can take the word association here.

Dream big ::  Weimeriners
Competition :: Cheerleading
Torn ::  Paper
Modeling ::  Reality TV
Coaster ::  the image of a coaster floating on the ocean (no one said it had to make sense)
Slut ::  Purple Feathers (Pimp)
Spread ::  Butter
Amanda ::  NH Knitting Mama
Romance :: Satin and Chocolate
Paradise ::  Lost

Sweet Home Alabama…

Well, I know that I’ve been absentee for the last few weeks. I apologize. I am however finally here! Yes, I am in Alabama, my new home.

We’re living in the hotel and really, it’s not that bad. In fact, I’m getting quite spoiled. My dinner is cooked for me Monday-Thursday, my room is cleaned daily, the people are friendly and know me on first name basis. Jonathan’s work schedule is a bit of a pain, but we’ll get used to it, he goes in around 2:30 p.m. and gets home around 2:00-2:15 a.m.

As for me, I am already on the prowl for a job. We got here last Monday, and not without incident, but I’m so tired of talking about that that I just give up. Maybe I’ll have the energy later. Anyway I knew from Ravelry that the knitting group here met on Tuesdays, Tuesday we had spent the day unloading our truck and though I didn’t feel much like going anywhere, Jon was gonna be gone so why not? I went to the knitting group thanks to the help of my new friend Stephanie that I found on Ravelry. When I got there and we all started talking I found that Stephanie is a copy editor for the local paper, The Montgomery Advertiser. Before I really knew what was happening she had my resume and I had an interview with the editor of the paper set for tomorrow, Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. The interview itself doesn’t really make me nervous, however the fact that I have to take a spelling and AP style test first thing when I get there makes me want to throw up! I’ve been studying but I’m not really feeling any better about it. The tests that I’ve been taking online are so unnerving.  I really hope that the one that I take for them is not half of what these have been. Either way I know that this refresher is good for me, but it still is succeeding in making me feel completely retarded.

As for knitting I have completed the front of the Hero Pullover and I am well onto the sleeves. I’m hoping to get it done in the next week, I’m ready to move on to something new, even though I haven’t be consistently doing this for a long time, I feel like it has been on my needles for a long time.

Happy Christmas and Elf Shoes

My Christmas was fantastic. Everything was nice even though it was away from family and all of the traditions that we know, it was time to make some new ones. My best gift from Jonathan was this Japanese tea pot, I love love love it!

I was told then yesterday to go shopping for shoes because that was really something that I’ve been wanting, fabulous shoes! The boy saw that Charlotte Rouss was having a shoe sale and wanted me to go get some. I didn’t see the ones that he liked but I saw a bunch more. Here’s my loot.

Yeah, they’re not “normal” but they’re AWESOME!!!!

The Puney Elf

I woke up feeling a bit on the puney side today. Sinus crap mostly but just feeling pretty icky in general. There was a terrible storm last night and I think a mixture between the storm and strange moving dreams I didn’t get the best sleep possible.

Yes, that’s right, moving dreams. It seems like it may actually come to pass. But, as things go in our lives, who knows what will change in the next three weeks.

Regardless of all of that Christmas is still coming. Here’s what I’ve gotten done in the last few days:

Project: Koolhaas, Holiday Interweave 2007
Yarn: Tahki Donagal Tweed
Amount Used: 1 hank
Color: Forest Green
Needle Size: 6 & 8
Time: this is negotiable, actually about 4 days.
Notes: 5 repeats is HUGE!

Project: Koolhaas, Holiday Interweave 2007
Yarn: Rowan Summer Tweed
Amount Used: 1.25 balls
Color: Goldenrod
Needle Size: 6 & 8
Time: 3 days.
Notes:

 Project: Old Navy Inspired Scarf
Yarn: Noro Kubuto
Amount Used: 1.5 balls
Color: Plum
Needle Size: 13
Time: 5 hours
Notes: this needs some heavy blocking but I’m happy with it. It’s inspired by an Old Navy mock-cable scarf that I saw last week. It’s actually begun then put on holders little at the time and knit into three strands, braided together and then knitted back together. This is the husband’s favorite scarf I’ve done. It’s for Maw-Maw for Christmas.

Project: The Christmas Cat
Yarn: Purro Furryon
Amount Used: 19 lbs.
Color: Yellow Tabby
Needle Size: HUGE
Time: about 6 weeks
Notes: He gets into everything, but a well worth it pattern, I suggest to everyone!

Photo Journal – Here Come Santa

Unspoken Rules

The thing about unspoken rules is: they’re unspoken. On occasion I think that maybe those rules should be stated. Like perhaps that a chart should be read from right to left!

Yes, I am stupid…no, wait, I refuse to be stupid, I was simply uninformed. However, this now explains why certain charted patterns I had to improvise with. Some patterns have been Eve patters, the same frontwards and backwards. Apparently Koolhaas is not an Eve.

This all came to light yesterday on the phone with Jo. Had the following events not occurred she just would have said she didn’t know what was wrong with me but that her’s looked great!
*Event 1- I own the pattern, she doesn’t, I don’t have a scanner so I took a slightly blurry photo of the pattern for her to copy.
*Event 2 – Jo doesn’t own a printer so she needed to use her roommate’s printer.
*Event 3 – Jo’s roommate had girl over, can’t use printer.
*Event 4 – She tells me to read the pattern to her before realizing that she could just look at it from her screen.
*Event 5 – I begin reading…backwards…she informs me.
*Event 6 – DUH!!!

So…now that I know, I think that it is important for someone to state, perhaps repetitively that charts are to be read from right to left, though I know it makes sense cause that’s the direction that you knit, it is not the direction that you read. Each pattern needs to state this for people like me who previously didn’t know the unspoken rules. Since the beginning of my knitting time I’ve been doing charts backwards. I guess I wouldn’t hate Rebecca so much if I was reading the charts correctly.

The most embarrassing part of this is that I had to give public resolution since I complained publicly about the problem. So, there we are, problem solved.

SP11 Finale

My downstream secret pal finally got her last gift. I always hope in these swaps that I am sufficient and equal to what I’m getting, but sometimes I know that I tend to fall short. I want my Secret Pal to really feel truly treated and completely appreciated. I do so enjoy getting to stalk and later getting to know those involved in my SP experience.

I wanted to share my last gift with you guys. I’m never especially good with “packaging” or presentation, but I try to be thoughtful in my giving. However this last time I had a dose of inspiration and created my holiday martini. I’m not sure what state it arrived to LaDonna in but this is the state that it was in when it left my house.

I must admit that I was proud so I had to share it with all of you.

Cheers!

Nothing Like Defeat…

There is nothing like a “simple” pattern to make you feel completely retarded! I’m a good knitter, and I feel totally inept right now!  I’ve not only frequented the frog pond, but I have now taken up a mortgage on my own quaint and slightly disheveled piece of Lilly pad. I want to scream!

What is this pattern? The Koolhaas! My knit lover Jared does as they often do and has both confused and mystified me and I keep going back for more.

Remember that I don’t swatch? Ok, that being said I got 1744 stitches into this “hat” and when a pattern still hadn’t manifest it self I decided to rip it. Yesterday I swatched using the same yarn, I apparently still didn’t get it. It was too late, and I was too frustrated to continue for the night, however it kept me up. I laid in bed listening to the sound of the angry wind ripping my project apart and couldn’t figure out how to make it work. Today I was raring to go and thought that I would use my favorite yarn ever to swatch, easy on the hands, and perfect stitch definition, yes my other lover Malabrigo. It still looks like a child just started tying knots in some yarn. In complete frustration I have now demanded that Lynda Jo swatch for me and help me figure out what my problem is. I’m now waiting on my phone to ring and to hear the sound of “You idiot!” and it be something beyond simple and obvious that I’m not doing. I refuse to be defeated by this. Ravelers love the pattern, can’t get enough of it, plan to do it more. This is my Christmas knitting for the brothers, and I refuse to be defeated.