I'm not dead! I've just been really, really busy. And now I seem to have caught a cold, just when things are slowing down a bit. (The timing could've been so much worse.) I am very slowly catching up--there is much laundry to fold, and my Bloglines is full! I've also been working on some unbloggable projects. Anyway, I should be getting back into the swing of things over the next week.

My Venus is finished!



I don't think my chest looks so particularly enormous in real life...ignore that. Here are my modifications, if I'm remembering correctly:

1. I worked six decrease and increase rows instead of two, with six rows between each. (My row gauge was a tiny bit off, since I used size 8s--size 9s made a less opaque fabric than I was looking for.)
2. I lengthened the body by three inches (I made the 44" size, so have about 5" negative ease, but it basically fits like a fitted T-shirt--it's not overwhelmingly clingy).
3. I left off the final increase row for the shell, and BO after row 33.
4. The fronts are only 11.5" from the underarm--they were originally WAAAY too long--and are 32 sts at the widest point.
5. I decreased in the back to 64 sts.
6. The back seam is 14" (there's a bit more give in the back than in the collar).
7. For the sleeves, I picked up 72 sts around the armhole, worked two rounds in st st, then worked the short rows that corresponded to my stitch count twice. I worked two decs at the underarm every other row until I had 64 sts, then half an inch of 1x1 ribbing.

In general I think this is pretty successful. I definitely like having sleeves--however tiny, they do make it feel more "office- appropriate". Plus I have big arms. =p





And there are the finished socks--Phineas for Mark in Araucania Ranco (which was supposed to become Spring Forwards for ME!) and Leyburns for me in Plymouth Happy Feet's Lisa Frank colorway. (Just in time for me to not wear socks for six months.) In works-in-progress, the Berlin socks are going well--still can't get that lace pattern memorized!--and the shawl is going great after I decided to frog the acrylic and start again with the cashmere I recycled last year. This is going to be yummy... Oh, and I'm officially 30% done with the afghan. (Did the math and everything. The eighty-one squares alone will be about 84.5" square, and I'd like it to be a minimum of 88". So once I finish the squares, I'll be 97% done as far as size goes. This does not count seaming. Right. Hmm. But I'll be able to do some of that as I go, plus doing four squares at a time is a total life-saver. Factoring that in makes things more complicated.)

The office is almost entirely cleaned out, thanks to lots of work on Mark's part--looks like we'll have an ersatz dining room very soon. It will be nice not to have to eat in front of the television. I'm still not sure where my practice space will be. In the summer it gets way too hot upstairs (think upper 80s), so I don't plan on spending too much time up there during the day. Maybe we'll keep the keyboard downstairs for now. I really haven't been practicing much lately--headaches, back issues, laziness--but I have a lesson tomorrow and ought to have something to show for it... things were really weird yesterday vocally, so I couldn't do much even though my neck is feeling mostly better. Today definitely.

I finally had my neurology appointment! The doctor was nice, and referred me for a sleep study--the headaches may be caused by plain old sleep deprivation. (And if the way my parents and grandparents snore is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if I had inherited sleep apnea.) He also gave me a list of potentially headache-inducing foods to avoid. Which included all the food I like, no kidding. Fresh bread, cheese, chocolate, citrus, tea... I haven't had yogurt in about a week, and it may actually be making a difference. Still, I would much rather go at it trial-and-error than develop some monastic lifestyle where I only eat boiled chicken and rice. Truthfully, food lists do not jive well with my history of eating disorders--"off-limits" foods are so, so bad for my brain--so determining that eating feta cheese gives me a headache and avoiding it would be much preferable to the mindfrack and slippery slope of total deprivation.

We had a low-key anniversary last week, which involved an Outback Steakhouse gift card, spending the night at a nice hotel, then going to the new IKEA in Charlotte. (It would've been much more fun if the guy in the next room hadn't chosed FOUR A.M. to have a cellphone conversation about Snuggies. I am not joking. Are people actually getting MORE inconsiderate?! Maybe I shouldn't be surprised.) We had no real goals for the IKEA trip, other than to possibly address storage in our living room, but we did buy this as part of our grand plan to actually have a dining room in place of my office stuff, which is moving upstairs to the actual dedicated office. Brave new world, this. We're using it on its side so it can eventually double as a credenza, and it mainly has yarn and some scores in it right now.

In yarny news, actual finishing is going on! Mark's socks were done in record time--about five days, considering I couldn't work on them over the weekend--and he seems to approve the color choice. My Venus sweater is finished as well--I made a whole bunch of modifications, which I will catalog here once I have pictures--and I even finished my Leyburns (Lisa Frank) and a crochet dishcloth I put aside a while ago. I actually got some work done on the afghan this week, and started more socks for myself (pretty!) with some gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill in shades of purple and brown that I got in a swap some time ago. Yesterday I started the Fountain Pen Shawl from the latest IK--so far so good, but I fear the anonymous cone I'm using is less mohair than acrylic. Hopefully it will still block well enough. I was never a particular fan of triangular shawls, but I love the way the model wears the shawl wrapped around her neck. Very chic.

Earth Day was Wednesday! I spent the day watching Doctor Who on Netflix because I had a back thing (still hurts, ugh) so I wasn't able to do anything particularly earthy. But today is Arbor Day, so this still works: contest for free steel bottle and shopping bag. I was a devoted Nalgene user until all that nasty stuff came out about the leaching... I could definitely use something to replace it.

I get so sleepy at work... I'm beginning to wonder if there's a carbon monoxide problem in my office. Why else would I be so tired? I do actually get enough sleep. And once I leave the office I'm much less tired. Perhaps it has to do with the dark green walls.

Anyway, thanks for your comments about my yuckiness. I have good days and bad days with the headaches. Sunday (my birthday) was a pretty bad one. Of course Mark wanted us to go on a two-mile hike (aka forced march), and we were in the parking lot of the park before the headache got bad... Not a great day in general. I am finally getting Options, though! Woo! No more crappy inflexible cords! No more needle points wearing down! I'm really looking forward to getting started with them.

In the meantime, there was this. On size 15 needles.


There's a reason I named this COOKIES!!! on Ravelry. It's a basic belted cardigan pattern, with lots of extra shaping, a change in gauge and a crocheted belt. If I have an issue, it's that the right arm is taking a beating from my purse. (The yarn is Fleece Artist Curly Locks, which has lots of little loops that catch on things. Not particularly fun to knit with, even on size 15 needles. Then again, those present problems of their own. My wrists are still sore.)

And just in time for warm weather, here's my new house sweater:


You'd think that I'd be really vigilant about counting my stitches at the ends of rows, considering my bad track record with crochet, but no. This is kind of wonky, and the yarn is particularly awful to frog in crochet (Red Heart Symphony--stay away!). It is warm, though, and the kilt pin is just right for keeping it closed.


This was a better crochet project. Isn't it adorable? It's actually a hybrid pattern (found here). Sewing in the filling was harder than you'd think. It took me a while to get it to look okay.

Another hybrid project; this is an elephant (duh) for my friend's daughter. It would've been cooler if I'd had enough bits and pieces in coordinating colors to stripe it, but no such luck. Still, so cute.

In Cotton-Ease news, I decided to try on my St. James when I finished the waist decreases. It was five sizes too big, no kidding. I must've misread my gauge swatch: I was clearly getting 4 stitches per inch instead of 4.5. I think that means my sweater was about ten percent too big. So I'm making Venus instead, for which I get spot-on gauge if I go down a needle size. I'm about half done, but I had to put it aside the other day when I remembered that my anniversary is next week.

They're going way faster than I thought they would. (The pattern is Phineas--modified for a 64-st foot.) At this rate I may have two days to spare...

Blarg. I had been losing a pound a week on No S, until the middle of March when things stalled. I chalked that up to my cycle, but three weeks later I'm still stuck. Plus I've been feeling like crap. Maybe I do need a snack in the afternoons. I don't know. I've been having headaches nearly every day for more than six months--probably due to TMJ disorder (which I've known about for years, but I didn't think it was that bad), plus possibly migraines on top of that--and I have an appointment with a neurologist in a few weeks (TWO MONTH lead time for that appointment, which made me very upset at the time--now I'm just irritated). Just not having a lot of fun here lately...

Much knitting and crocheting going on chez moi (including a crocheted cardigan that showcases my spazztacular crochet skills), but no pictures. I should be able to enlist Mark this weekend.

Speaking of which, Sunday is my birthday! And we have no plans so far, other than my customary ice cream cake. That's how gross and unmotivated I feel. I'm sure we'll figure something out--it's supposed to be gorgeous weather.

Success!



The Noro is finally happy. (I still take bad pictures.) Askew from Knitty, almost two skeins of Noro Big Kureyon on size 10.5 needles. I added waist shaping, and knit the back in a smaller size because I was between sizes. The straps are placed a bit too wide in front, but fixing that would've been way too complicated. Generally I am quite happy, though I was hoping I'd be able to pull it off with V-neck tops (not so much). Temperatures have been below average all year so far, so I should be able to wear this a few more times before I have to put it away.

I have actually been making progress on other projects; maybe I've shaken the frog monster at last! I've finally finished the yoke on St. James (this picture is from a few days ago)...


...and I'm at the cuff of the first Leyburn (aka Lisa Frank socks). I have completed 18 squares of my mitered blanket; I decided this weekend that sewing in the ends as I go is for the best (otherwise I'd have 324 ends to sew in at the end, before any assembly or borders; I did the math!), so I spent a while this past weekend doing just that. Boring... Also, I have a new plan for my crazy Cookie Monster yarn, which seems to be going well. I hope I never have to frog that stuff again...

Also, since the package has been received, I can post a picture of the mitts I made for a swap (This is What a Feminist Swaps Like, on Ravelry):


If the pattern looks familiar, it's because it's the Monkey lace pattern; I was on a deadline, and I figured if I was going to knit lace on size 1 needles I should pick something I already had memorized! The yarn is Misti Alpaca Lace held doubled. It was great to work with; there's something about it that feels and looks like there's some silk content. I think I'm less allergic to baby alpaca than adult alpaca. Does that make any sense?

So since I've been immersed in fiber (sometimes literally), it would be safe to assume that there's not much happening on the singing front. I did have school performances last Thursday--and a lesson tomorrow, rescheduled from two weeks ago--but other than that, nada. I did get my first rejection-with-encouragement letter ever the other day, from one of my December auditions. And I found out that my spring show is being moved to the fall for budgetary reasons; I'm just glad the company is not in immediate danger, you know? And I've been pretty unmotivated to practice lately--which is partly cycle-related (Midol is currently keeping me upright and semi-alert), and partly because it's a lot easier to stay motivated when you have gigs on the horizon...

What else is new? Um, well, we're trying to decide where to go for our anniversary (a short weekend trip, probably in-state). At this point it looks like Mount Airy, so we can hike on Pilot Mountain and get pork chop sandwiches at this landmark lunch place. It's Andy Griffith's hometown, and they have all this touristy Mayberry stuff to do, but I'm not a huge fan of the show or anything...

I've been living in Frogland lately... First there was the Lisa Frank sock yarn (which is Plymouth Happy Feet, by the way), for which I found an appropriate pattern on the fifth try... Then I was all gung ho for the Sweet Tee from the new Interweave Knits. I thought it would be a perfect three-season sweater in Cotton-Ease. My gauge seemed okay, so I cast on. Miles of garter stitch later, it was clearly way too big. After playing around a bit more, I realized that the yarn had a lot more elasticity than I thought. It would've taken a little math and a huge leap of faith to make the sweater fit. So what to do with 1000 yards of Cotton-Ease? I'm making St. James instead. Very cute, very Sweater Girl, plus it was in my Ravelry queue already. I'm about halfway down the interminable yoke. (Why so many stockinette patterns lately? My brain is melting out my ears. I need to make a lace shawl, ASAP.)

Then there's my lovely Big Kureyon. I frogged my Versatility--it didn't fit right as a cardigan, shrugs look nasty on me, and I don't need another big wrap--and looked far and wide for a vest pattern that would work. I started with Heartening, because it is adorable; I changed the gauge, but I realized 2/3 of the way through that I wasn't going to have enough yarn. So I switched to this asymmetrical vest, which I was planning to elongate after also changing the gauge; my attempt came out more fugly than funky, so that got frogged as well. Now I've moved on to Askew, which I added to my Ravelry queue very soon after getting my invite--with a note saying I could make it with the Big Kureyon after changing the gauge and adding shaping. Both of which are pretty simply done, considering the entire thing is three rectangles (two mitered, one not) with straps. It's a pretty ingenious design for Noro, since it helps avoid the evil horizontal stripes. I've finished the two fronts, and the back should be fast; I won't know how well it fits until it's blocked (you're supposed to block the hell out of it), but it sure does look pretty. Noro, how I love thee. It's not even that scratchy; I don't know what people complain about. That, and it holds up surprisingly well to frogging. You wouldn't think... I do hope this is the last time in a while I have to do so much gauge-changing. The disappointment is not good for my soul...

Not much else going on here. It's been cold and raining for three days straight (Binghamton weather, if you are at all familiar with my alma mater). Last Wednesday it was 80 degrees. By Friday it was 40. Ugh, when will spring stay put?!

I ended up going back to the infamous store (I had store credit, after all, plus I needed to pick up something for a swap), and they were actually nice to me, mostly. Plus the store had a much better selection in this particular item than the newer store in town, where everyone was super nice but they didn't have what I needed. Anyway, I'm gonna consider the karmic debt paid. But I'm still not going to go in there any more unless there's a YARN EMERGENCY. I'm not sure what really qualifies. I do have a decent-sized stash--nothing enormous, but I could go for a while just working from stash.

Speaking of which: I decided to start making socks from my oldest yarn first. I bought this yarn in Charlottesville, Va. last March when I was there for a competition. I tried five patterns, and I've finally found one that works.


The pattern is Leyburn, recently immortalized by the Yarn Harlot (she made them for the BSG premiere, if I remember); I've made a few MintyFresh patterns, and they're always cute and well-written, but I am just SO glad I found a pattern that (a) can be knit at a gauge under 8 stitches per inch (it's a heavier fingering weight); (b) actually fits on my foot; and (c) doesn't look like utter crap. I have dubbed this colorway Lisa Frank Unicorn Barf.

The mitered square blanket is moving along, and it's rather more preppy than psychedelic...

Though I should've known, since I let Mark pick the colors. Should I expect a call from James Spader circa 1984, checking on the status of his blanket? (Actually, that would be a good thing...) I have nearly 14 squares done--17.3% of the 81 total I will need--but then there's the border to think about. I'll probably go with a few rows of crochet. I think I have a month or two to decide.

In actual life, minor disappointments have been the theme this week. Last Saturday we had our long-awaited financial planning meeting; we are in very good shape, but we were really hoping we'll be able to buy a house this spring. Because the banks are so skittish these days (and rightfully so, I suppose), we'll need to save more money for a bigger down payment--so now we're looking at late fall. If I don't kill my A-hole neighbors first... Sunday we were supposed to visit my parents (it was my mother's birthday Saturday) and then go to a knitting friend's birthday party, but there was a snowstorm coming so we canceled everything. It didn't start snowing until after 11 P.M. No wonder I got so many of those damn mitered squares finished! Then the other day I found out there's a serious chance that the show I've been looking forward to this spring may be postponed or canceled because of the financial situation. The company wouldn't be the first to shorten their season this year; I've even heard about several companies that have gone bankrupt. It would be a shame if the show got canceled, but it's understandable...

So the economy sucks. These two links might help some people:

*A yarn bank for charity knitters--donate or claim yarn for your charity projects. I don't do a whole lot of charity knitting, but it is rather popular...

*Lunapads has a program where you can donate cloth pads to African girls who would otherwise miss school during their periods. This is such an awesome idea.

There's a yarn store on my way home from work--I pass by literally every day, but I almost never go there because other stores in the area have a better selection, and they can be unfriendly. Well, today takes the cake. I went in with certain yarn requirements in mind, but the store is not laid out by fiber or weight so I had to look around (plus I just wanted to squish some stuff). There was this woman who was kind of under my feet the whole time, who I later realized was an employee. It just occurred to me that she was following me around the store. There were other customers--okay, it was one or two little old ladies--and this woman apparently decided that I was a shoplifting risk! I didn't have a tote bag with me or anything--what, was I going to shove a skein in my purse?! (Okay, I guess there was room, but that's beside the point.) Not only that, but when I checked out they were extremely unfriendly. As God is my witness, I am NEVER shopping in that store again. This is fricking ridiculous. In fact, I bought some size 0 dpns that I don't need for this project, and they are going back to that store TOMORROW. At one point, one of the other employees (manager?) asked me if I was finding everything okay. She had to ask twice, since she'd come up behind me and I didn't hear her (hello, bum ear), and when I did turn around she had this awful look on her face like I was unpleasant in her eyes. I had come from my office job--I wasn't exactly wearing dirty sweatpants. Ugh, I am just beyond PISSED. Although...I do have to say, the yarn is lovely--not anything rare, but very nice (and also secret, for now). Granted, if I hadn't already started swatching I would return it, too...

Rant over. Here's one of Mark's finished socks:


It's a plain stockinette sock, toe-up; I used Judy's Magic Cast On and a short-row heel. He likes them, and no longer thinks the yarn looks purple.

Here are the socks I just finished for myself (Elfine's Socks):


I made the leg a bit longer than I meant to (these were also toe-up), so it's a little snugger than I would've liked. I haven't washed or worn them yet, though, so maybe the patterm will relax a bit. If not, I may frog an inch or two and do a ribbed cuff instead.

So I was going to crochet this Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired afghan for our bed, but after crocheting a test square I realized it was going to take close to 40 skeins of Caron Simply Soft. Can you imagine? I decided instead to make one of these.


I have four more squares done; I'm doing four together as suggested on Mason-Dixon Knitting, so I can minimize seaming (basically you pick up half the stitches for your new square from the cast-on row from a previous square). Still, at my gauge I'll need to knit 81 squares. So I have 7.4%* of the squares done. Then the sewing, then a border, which I will probably crochet... Well, I should be done well before next fall. The mitered squares are great TV knitting. The eight colors and all their combinations are Mark-approved, which is a miracle...

This weekend my parents came up to deliver my great-grandmother's baby grand to a storage locker we've rented (they're having carpet installed this week in preparation for selling their house). Once we buy a house (which will hopefully be soon (!!!) since we'll finally be meeting with our financial planner on Saturday) we'll have it put back together and begin the protracted process of making it moderately playable again. It will never be concert-quality again, and that's fine--but I would like to get it in good enough shape to be able to use it for my meager purposes (i.e. vocal lines, harmonies and very simple stuff--I'm a pretty mediocre player, so I won't be attempting any concertos). I only hope it's actually worth shaping up. It has been sorely neglected since my great-grandmother died in 1992--I doubt it's been tuned once since then, and my parents actually left it in their garage (disassembled) for more than a few months, which I am still angry about. I know there's a crack in the soundboard (which is apparently not a big deal), and the strings and hammers will probably all have to be replaced. I hope there's nothing else wrong... Also, it will apparently take several tuning sessions--and maybe a year's time!--before it can be brought up to the proper pitch. I have no idea how much this will cost. I guess even if it's not worth bringing up to playing, it's still a family heirloom, the delight of my wonderful great-grandmother--and plus it's an antique (made of mahogany, with scrollwork and ivory keys) made by a good New York maker. I don't know how good I feel about a half-ton knickknack holder, but what could we do?

*Edited: I made an algebra mistake! On my blog, for all to see! Oh the shame... Anyway, this is the corrected number.

I had a very weird morning. I slept in waaaay too long, after having a crazy dream that woke me up at 5:30 AM and kept me up for a while. (To summarize: I had flown to Toronto for the day to visit the Yarn Harlot, and had a great time hanging out with her and her daughters, who were really silly and fun. One of them was dressed up for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I apparently left home without a printed itinerary, which is very unlike me, but I had written the time "9:30" in my planner. At 9:30 I said it was time for me to get to the airport. Then I remembered that 9:30 was the departure time for my flight. So I try to call home on a very weird telephone, and one of our friends answers the phone--the name not matching the person's voice--and I hear little kids playing in the background, as if there's some child's birthday party going on. Yeah, crazy dream.) So I got ready for work in under fifteen minutes, drove to work (where I was tailgated by a Division of Highways van, nice)--and at the door to my building is a huge Canada goose (damn things), guarding the place. There was a nest behind the building last spring, and the geese were very territorial and threatening, so we've learned to avoid the things. I waved my arms in the air and started yelling at it, but it didn't even move. I ended up using the back door. Anyway, weird.

On a serious note--and I hate even changing the subject this way--a girl I went to school with died the other day. We'd known each other for 25 years, and were even in Brownies together in second grade, but we weren't close after elementary school (I blame the bus route changing in middle school). She was nice, though. I suspect things at home were not so good, or maybe she just fell in with the wrong crowd or something, but there were some rumors about her getting pregnant a few times in middle school. She did have a baby when she was fifteen, a daughter who is now about seventeen. We reconnected on Facebook a few months ago, and if her activity is any indication, her daughter was her whole life. She'd been going through a rough patch lately, but it was beyond shocking when her sister posted that she had died a few days ago--of a heart attack, in her early 30s! She was a sweet person who had a pretty rough life. I can only hope she has found peace, and that her family will get through this. My husband lost both his parents suddenly (his father at sixteen, and his mother at twenty-two), and I just cannot imagine what that's like, but I know that he and his siblings are successful people who did eventually learn to live with their grief. (Not that it was easy--Mark had a few really awful years after his mother died where all he did was work crazy reporter hours and eat McDonald's and go out drinking, and he still has sixty extra pounds to show for it.) So I wish that for her daughter: success in spite of a terrible, heartbreaking loss.

I liked this. Yes, it's thirteen minutes long. But he's sincere and cute and funny... There is so much awesome here.
(The Prop 8 Special Comment, for which he was given the award, is here--a link to the text is also included there.)



There should be knitting content tomorrow or Thursday. To tide you over, I've been whittling down my collection of tiny balls of acrylic. Two socks finished, another cast on, and a big ass blanket in the works. Valentine's Day was uneventful--we went to a lovely, lovely place, where we purchased a chocolate bar so nice I haven't even tried it yet plus a very tasty guava truffle. The socks went over well. We haven't been feeling well (my ear thing has not improved at all, and I have an ENT appointment next week), so we've been very slack lately. I did get through quite a bit of the Verdi Requiem today, though.

Pictures, as promised.


Since it's Friday, the pencil case I finished a few weeks ago for HELPSudan. I need to get this into the mail, along with this chemo cap I've had hanging around for a while...


The obligatory secret sock for Mark for Valentine's Day. Unlike most yarn husbands, my reporter other half is incredibly observant (except when it comes to the pile of his shoes in the living room--seriously, baby, the shoe racks in the bedroom closet were your idea!). I have just one row left on the second sock! I don't usually (read: never) block socks, but these will need a bit; I dropped a stitch on the heel of the second sock and didn't notice it until about thirty rows later, so there's a nice tight spot up the back of the ankle that I have to work out.


Here's my Versatility, still blocking. I've put a few buttons on and played with the ribbon a bit, but I'm not sure... I left off almost two whole repeats to conserve yarn, but I'm short so that's not the problem. The cardigan look is OK, but kind of snug. (I'm not small-busted, in case you haven't noticed, and my shoulders are on the wider side. Oh, that and my arm fat. :'p) The shrug definitely looks better on me unbuttoned (here I could've used another repeat!), but I haven't figured out how to tie the ribbon so it looks cute like in the pictures... I haven't tried the "sleeves" option yet, but in my experience that is not a good look for me. It does make a nice wide cushy scarf.


Awesome! And it only took five months. I really love this. I can't help noticing the odd spot near the center, which showed up in other pictures, too... I have looked it over several times, and I can't find a mistake, so I'm going to let it go.


The cabled jacket, finally finished. I would show the back, but Mark didn't take any pictures of it (I wasn't feeling well and was in a bad mood, which turned into some drama, so I wasn't really in the position to ask for more pictures). I am generally satisfied with it, but will probably add a few hook-and-eye closures, especially to the collar (which is supposed to stand up straighter).

Stuff kept happening, and I ran out of time to blog! This was my post from Monday:
_____________________________________________
Wendy had this cute meme on her blog, so I stole it:

Use the first letter of your name to find a word for each of the following:

Your Name - Jennifer
Four letter word - just
Boy name - Justin
Girl name - Jessica
Occupation - journalist
Color - jaune (French for yellow)
Beverage - juice
Something found in a bathroom - jojoba oil-infused conditioner
A Place - Jamaica
Reason for being late - jerk in an SUV cut me off!
Food - Ju-Ju-Bees
Something you shout - Jumping Jehosephat!
___________________________________________

And also, I wanted to write about this No S thing that Heather has been doing. I was skeptical--this medicine I take for PCOS completely screws with my blood sugar, and I really do feel like I need to eat snacks. But eventually I said what the hell, and have been doing it for nearly four weeks. I've discovered that I can actually do it, but I need to space out my meals differently--like, eat lunch at 1:30 instead of noon (I eat breakfast at my desk, and sometimes not until after 10). Also, I need to eat a bit more for breakfast than 80 calories of yogurt. Staying away from sugar is not really a problem (though when I have a headache, damn it all if I don't want chocolate), and neither is the seconds thing--I have this issue with salad dressing or sauce "contaminating" the other food on my plate, so I leave empty space on my plate where the salad would go. It's the snacks! I'm starting to get over it--and it's partly because I usually go seven hours between lunch and dinner--but I really feel the need to consume mass quantities in the late afternoon. Funny, usually a cup of tea will tide me over. Anyway, I may or may not have lost about two pounds. And certainly not because I've upped my activity level. So there's that.

In craft news, I have finally finished my cabled jacket, and just have to block and buy buttons for Versatility--and I've even all but finished my little acorn bag--but I have no pictures right now. I'm still working on the lace socks, plus I've started a new pair for Mark in leftover grey and light blue yarn (vanilla toe-up). And I've started a very simple scarf for Knit Your Bit.

Just writing to say I have finally caught up on all the blog posts I didn't get the chance to read last week. Maybe I'll even leave some comments tomorrow.

(p.s., Heather, your short story is still freaking me out...)

When it snows in North Carolina, the place shuts down. And that is a good thing, considering how lousy everybody drives around here in the first place--plus there are too few plows and too little rock salt to really be anything but a Band-Aid. My office was closed on Monday for MLK Day, then again on Tuesday and Wednesday because of poor management of a lousy six inches of snow. I wish it had seemed like a five-day weekend, but I had a conference call on Tuesday and was planning to stay home to watch umpteen hours of inauguration coverage (woohoooo!!!) anchored by my TV boyfriend and my TV BFF anyway so I had the work laptop with me. The day job is beginning to consume waaay too much time and energy; even now, it looks like I'll miss the chance to apply for a competition in the spring because I have to be in Salt Lake City for work that weekend. Five days sitting behind a table in a convention center. Whoopee. Maybe I should live-blog. Anyway, it's making private teaching look increasingly more attractive. I was supposed to get specifics by email earlier this week (ought to follow up)...but we'll see if I really like teaching for hours at a time, versus sitting at a computer. I guess ideally I'd only sing and/or sit on my ass all day, but until I have regular major gigs that would get pretty boring after a while. How much HGTV can one person watch?! Also, it might seem a bit selfish, while Mark works all day. You think?

Oh, I finally got a picture of Mark's socks the other day:



Paraphernalia, available on Ravelry, etc., etc. It's such a striking pattern, and pretty simple (it's mainly 3x1 ribbing).

Since it's Friday, here's a (bad) picture of my pencil pouch project for HELPSudan:


(Will I ever develop photography skills? Stay tuned.) I have a few repeats left, and should be done very soon. Also, I'm almost done with my cabled cardigan. Finally! I had to unravel and change the yoke construction, since it was coming out way too large, but I'm now half done with the final collar band. After I block it and pick out closures, I'll be DONE! This is a five-month project--it'll be so good to be finished.

Speaking of long-term projects, check this out. I'm in love! And Mark really likes Frank Lloyd Wright, so it's perfect. But I'll make it for our bed. A queen-sized bed. It would be 7x7 squares, and come out approximately 94" square. I may have lost my mind. But can you imagine how irritating it would be to make a queen-sized afghan out of granny squares?! Not me, not ever. Forty-nine squares is more than enough, thank you. At least it'll keep me out of trouble...

One last knitted item: I got started on Versatility the other day. I may well run out of yarn before the end, but I've been holding onto two skeins of now-discontinued Noro Big Kureyon for more than three years. I'll figure something out. I mean, hell, it's NORO.



The colors are more muted in real life. It's glorious, and it really does create a pretty soft fabric. I've left off the bobbles, by the way--otherwise Niki would kick my butt... Truthfully, I'm not a huge fan of bobbles, plus I wanted to conserve more yarn (I'm already leaving off a pattern repeat). I've substituted single purl stitches instead, which can be interesting with the Noro color changes. I have to say, the pattern is marked "piquant", but it's really not that hard. Or maybe I'm just too used to the cabled jacket to have any sort of perspective.

Audition tomorrow--and we're going to stay with a friend of ours we haven't seen for over a year. Should be a blast!

(p.s. top picture = the mittens in action)

I want this. If anyone wants to buy it for me, my birthday's in April. But can you imagine? I'd never get out of bed. I'd just keep hitting the snooze so I could hear Stephen Fry again.

On Saturday we went to the inauguration of the new governor (the first female governor in state history) and other state officials. The weather was actually quite nice, and we sat in the sun so we weren't really even cold. It offered an excuse to get a picture of Mark's fakey Noro scarf.


It was absolutely hellish to work with (did I mention before? Debbie Mumm Traditions, looks pretty but it's just awful!), but look! He's actually wearing the scarf! And it looks good on him and everything.


Behold my second Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret. Mark takes better pictures of me than I take of myself. This should not surprise anyone.

Last week was kind of crappy for me, but this week is looking up. I have an audition in two weeks (for someone I've been trying to get a coaching with for a year), and it looks like I'm going to start teaching soon. My day job has been getting on my nerves lately--way more commitment than I signed up for!--and it might be nice to teach instead. It is definitely more lucrative, but I can't exactly, say, blog while I'm giving a voice lesson. Ahem. Anyway, I should have more details in a few days about that.

Oh, also, I finished my mittens! I'll have Mark take pictures for me this time.

This is going around today, so if you're lurking, de-lurk!

There were also some minor stash acquisitions while I was away. I generally avoid the New Jersey Turnpike at all costs, so I planned a route through Lancaster, Pennsylvania to stop at an LYS. It was a store in an old house, crammed to the rafters with yarn (which is how I like my yarn stores), and I bought this:


More sock yarn, yes, I know, but it's kettle-dyed! And I don't actually have pink socks. I was quite tempted by some possum-blend laceweight (New Zealand possum, though not from the linked company--somebody based out of New England, I don't remember now), but with the allergies I decided against it. Very soft and fluffy, though.

Also, that same day I went Olbermann-watching and froze my butt off, I stopped at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio downtown. I don't know what I was expecting, but...eh. Kind of underwhelming. The store looks great, at least. I bought some Sock-Ease, since you can't buy it around here in stores.


Does that look grey or lavender to you? I think it's supposed to be grey, but I definitely see purple there. I swear, though, every single damn colorway has chartreuse in it! Who are these people clamoring for neon green stripes in their socks?! Nobody I know.

Still no photos of Mark's completed socks, or his fake Noro scarf, or my remade beret--I'll make him do it this weekend if it kills me. But in the meantime, a PSA. There's a Darfur awareness group on Ravelry, and they're knitting pencil cases for donation and/or sale. I'll be making Wendy's as soon as I finish the damn stranded mittens. I'm not big into the charity knitting, but this seems like important and useful charity knitting. Read more below...

______________________________________________________
Sudan is an extremely war-torn country, and that for a long time. The current genocide in Darfur, before that the Second Sudanese Civil War, in which over 2 million people were killed have made it difficult for the Sudanese people to go on living normally, like sending their children to school.

HELPSudan was formed by the Lost Boys of Sudan to establish learning facilities, recruit teachers and provide school supplies as well as provide health resources and clean water especially in Southern Sudan. HELPSudan is raising funds for the purpose of starting more schools in Southern Sudan; ”providing pencils and notebooks for hands that might have taken up arms, and an education for minds that once only understood war.”

The Ravelry Darfur group thought the knitting and crocheting community could help raising funds, and at the same time making something useful for the Sudanese children.

The object to be made is a pencil case, because they’re easy, quick, inexpensive and light, and because they can be both sold to benefit HELPSudan financially as well as given to the Sudanese school children along with pens and notebooks.

Some other generous designers have made patterns for the project, too, and are publishing them in their own blogs and Ravelry. You will find the current link list of available patterns at www.worsted-knitt.net.

Once the knitting gets going, there’ll be a voting on the most beautiful pencil case on Flickr with lovely prizes!

The challenge is here: HELPSudan’s next Annual Fund Raiser is just few weeks away. They say some pencil cases would be a great addition to their Silent Auction of arts and crafts… however, HELPSudan have said that they will have need for pencil cases after the event, too, so this KAL/CAL will be active for at least until the end of March. Updates will be published at www.worsted-knitt.net as well as Ravelry Darfur group.

The finished pencil cases can be sent directly to HELPSudan at

HELPSudan
5255 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640 USA

What happens when you don't take pictures for a month? This post. And this isn't even everything...

First off: my Estonian lace shawl is ready to block.


I am over the moon about it. I don't seem to be allergic to it (as I was to the last project I made from alpaca, though this is an alpaca-silk blend), and I think I finally have the hang of nupps--there were a hell of a lot of them, and the video at the above link was extremely helpful.

Another project--I made Mark a Tychus when I first started knitting, and it is quite pointy on top. The man doesn't need any help to look like an elf. So I made him a new hat last week.


He wasn't so keen on modeling (what else is new). I really didn't use the pattern much--I knit it from the top down, and of course my gauge was completely different--but the concept is the same. The yarn is the star here--handspun by Michelle, and a wool-mohair blend that feels very light and is wonderful to work with. (The black stripe is leftover Patons--big melons call for big hats, and I ran out with five rows to spare.) Mark actually had the nerve to say it wasn't very warm when he tried it on. There is no possible way this hat wouldn't keep you warm! He must've been reacting to the smooshiness...

I was expecting some KnitPicks action for Christmas, but Mark got me Spafinder gift certificates instead. That will subsidize two hot stone massages. I think he made the right choice. Anyway... I did get one yarny gift, from my (knitter) sister-in-law:


Portable swift! No longer will I need to use the lampshade when I have to wind yarn! It's a neat setup (purchased on etsy, nice), and the wood is quite pretty. The first thing I wound was (of course) some sock yarn. I decided I need to work through my sock yarn stash from the rear. I bought this (SHEEPaints BambooLaine) from a girl at my SnB in March, I think. I was cautious, since the projects on Ravelry in this colorway have been, honestly, kind of gross-looking. Nothing really the users' fault--lots of pooling and general misbehavior. So you can imagine my surprise when it looked so pretty in the ball. And check it out in action:


No pooling at all! I love that the colors are so complex--there's rust, burgundy, light blue and a gorgeous inky blue along with the jacquard. The pattern is Elfine's Socks, which seemed to work well with other handpainted yarns on Ravelry--I was not disappointed.

You know what does disappoint me? Having ginormous man hands. I'm gearing up to make Tatiana--Matryoskhas rock my world--so I decided to make some worsted-weight stranded mittens first to hone my (meager) skills. I picked out a cool pattern--The Green Hand, which sounds ominous but totally isn't--and I got cracking. I have like, a ton of leftover Patons from my frogged Drops jacket, and I had some great Kool-Aid dyed wool from a trade for the contrast color (two different batches, so I overdyed them with more Cherry). Here's how far I let myself get before I acknowledged that there was a problem:




And it's too small across the palm. Way too small for blocking to correct. Of course I tried it on every two rows to admire my handiwork. Of course I noticed that it was pulling across the palm. But for some reason I thought I could make up for it with the thumb. Seriously?! Ugh. So I ripped the whole damn thing out, down to the cuff, and started again up a needle size. It's still snug, but it's not pulling anymore, and I'm sure this will relax when I block it. Bah. Hubris strikes again! I am finally starting to get the hang of colorwork, though...

Still no pictures! Mark is dragging his butt. I will get on him tonight about it. So, without further ado, crazy New York items:

*Two really good auditions! One of which I think could even be promising! I may never hear anything, but I'm happy to have done my best.

*I waited for Mark, my brother and his fiancee for nearly an hour at Rockefeller Center, right across the street from the tree. It was twenty degrees, so I was not happy. It was too cold to knit. I spent the time scoping out the crowd for a tall, handsome man dressed like a capofamiglia, but no dice. (He was off that week.) I also would've been quite happy to see Tina Fey.

*I had to shovel. I hate shoveling.

*I lost my cute beret on my first trip into Manhattan (I made another this weekend), so the next day I wore my crazy hood-scarf thing. Okay, not only do I now feel it looks foolish, but it did not keep me warm at ALL. Compared to the beret and little neckwarmer the day before. The secret is wool. Acrylic does a half-assed job keeping you warm!! I never really believed this before, but now I know. Case in point: when I took off the orange hood and wrapped myself in my flimsy pashmina, I was instantly warmer! Still not warm, but it was pretty windy that day. Anyway, I am now a total wool convert. Natural fibers only for me, from now on!

*My husband's nephews are antisocial and weird. Okay, the two-year-old is in a biting, "mine mine mine" phase, which is to be expected, but the five-year-old is cutting girls' hair in school, barely acknowledges his brother's existence except to steal whatever toy he has, is kind of a terror in general... I do hope he grows out of this. And that our children don't act like this. I will leave them at the orphanage, I swear. My brothers and I were NOT like this. We definitely fought--and I'm sure our parents wanted to drop us off on the side of the highway on several occasions--but we also played together all the time. And nobody ever cut anybody's hair, ever.

*Speaking of child development, my only first cousin is now a senior in high school, and possibly a Unabomber-in-training himself. Got interested in girls less than a year ago, has NO interest in college--wouldn't a normal 17-year-old be itching to go out on his own? My uncle is basically filling out applications for him. I will be interested to see how this turns out.

*In happier family news, Jeff's fiancee L. has invited me to be an attendant. I'll get to match other people and everything! :) And she has good (usually expensive) taste, so prospects are good that I won't look like an enormous eggplant.

*Oh, hey, and I got to see my friend Michele from college, who I hadn't seen in more than nine years, I think. We had a great time--took up right where we left off. Facebook comes through in the end...