Workin

Look at what I got for Christmas!:



I have entered the world of spinning. And it is good.

Flicca is going well too. I'm on the last stretch of the back piece. Soon my chunky yarn monstrosity will be complete (insert sinister laugh).



Here are my notes from my Ravelry entry:

1/5- Finished the first section of the back piece and decreased down to the k2,p1 rib. Work measures about 15 inches. Didn't quite hit the gauge so the work is coming out a bit smaller, but that's not taking into account the stretch of the rib and its pre-blocked state. Confident it will fit with some room to spare.

1/6- I'm about 2-3 inches away from the armhole shaping on the back piece. It's growing large and rather quickly. It's also quite heavy already. I've used almost three skeins so far just on the back piece. Will 10 skeins be enough for the whole thing? Iunno. I still have to finish the back piece, work the front pieces, the sleeves, AND the collar.

Yesterday I went to the new LYS Sheep Thrills in North Syracuse. It was their Grand Opening so I went to check it out. It's a cute little shop with the usual "luxury" yarns but also some more affordable options. It was there that I committed an act of hypocrisy: I bought a skein of Noro Silk Garden. Yes, me, the queen of economy. I have said in the past that although Noro yarn is very pretty, I found it a bit too pricey considering the complaint about its lack of softness. Then the winter Knitty came out with Three Tams and I am now eating my words. I could have went with the Kureyon instead of the Silk Garden since it was cheaper, but one feel of the Kureyon and I said "eeww, I'm not paying $8 for a skein of scratchiness. I don't care how pretty the colorway is". Silk Garden feels MUCH better but at a cost of $11 and some change. Mr.V laughed as I continued to pet it on our way to Walmart.

PS-I miss the sun. I can't get any good indoor pictures. Of anything. At least without photoshopping the crap out of them, which is really tiresome after a while. Is anyone else having this problem?

Election Year

It's now 2008: Election Year. This is a very important year for Americans. We once again get to pick our new President. Want to vote but don't know how? I've been using Rock the Vote's website to register for the past couple years now. It's very easy. Click on the banner below. Fill out the information it asks, print out the nice and neat pdf it gives you, and then mail it in! You can also find all kinds of information about voting there as well.

Do. it. now. If you're reading this and you're an American, it is your responsibility to vote. Don't give me excuses like: "I'm busy" or "Why bother?" or "I'm just chosing the lesser of two evils"... Why not pick your candidates now during the primaries?

If you live in NY state and want to vote in the Primaries (which are in February) you must register by January 11, 2oo8. If you need to re-register due change in address or change in name but want to change you're party it is unfortunately too late. But don't let that stop you, re-register and vote in the primaries anyway. Who would you like to see on the opposing ballot?

I'll be keeping the "Rock the Vote" banner on my site until November. Get registered! Get informed!

Winter Holidays 2007

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your holidays were enjoyable. Do you do the New Year's resolution thing? I admit I do the New Years Resolution thing and I have about as much success with them as everyone else.

Last year's resolution was to start and consistently play the piano again. I got some new music books and fished out my old ones, so with the exception of a piano teacher, I had all the resources. I kept it up for about a month. I blame this failure solely on the class I was taking and the constant distraction of knitting. Piano playing has now been relegated to the list of "things to do when I win the lottery and quit my job" OR, more realistically "things to do when I retire".

What's my resolution this year? Well, I have one, but I'm a little shy about it. It'll be a difficult one, but I'm telling myself all I have to do is make real effort at it, not necessarily be successful at it.

So anyway. The Poseidon socks and Floral Lace Anklets have been officially gifted. My MIL and SIL seemed to like them a lot. My MIL put her's over her tights and wore them the rest of the day. I guess that's a good sign.








The Poseidon Socks pattern can be found here for free. The Floral Lace Anklets are from the Lace Style book from Interweave Press.

My Vinnland Socks are finished finally. After I opened up all my yarn for Christmas the socks didn't seem very interesting anymore. So as my last knitting act of 2007 I knit the last few pattern repeats of the Vinnland socks like my life depended on it. Now it's time for Flicca.

And I have a running list of pictures I want to take and post, but I'm not making any promises. I haven't been very passionate about blogging. But I will at least keep Ravelry updated (my Ravelry name = Tookish). Perhaps being more committed to blogging should have been my New Year's Resolution.

Poseidon Socks Finished, Vinnland Socks Begun

The Poseidon Socks from Exercise Before Knitting are complete! Yes, both of them.





I broke down and used my lightbox to take the pictures. It's becoming obvious that winter is here and, therefore, adequate sunlight is gone. For good. Or at least until about April of next year. (ah, Upstate NY winters). Wouldn't I just love to take interesting action shots of my FOs! But being a the model and photographer of my finished items means that my options are rather limited. But I digress....

Pattern: Poseidon socks
Source: Exercise Before Knitting
Cost: FREE
Yarn: Knitpicks Essential "Gulfstream"
Quantity: <2 skeins
Needles: Addi Turbo US 1 (2.5 mm) 32 in circs (magic loop baby)
Recipient: MIL

Great name, great color, great pattern. The lace pattern is quite simple but gives deceivingly fancy-shmancy results. I like how reversing the right and left slanting decreases gives a nice wavy look. My MIL likes coral blue colors (it matches her tan, she says, which is probably true, I just wish her tan was acquired from less-carcinogenic methods). Let's see, they're knit from the toe up with a short row heel, which is cool cuz I don't normally do toe-ups so it was nice getting acquainted again. I would like to know how one does leg increases so I can make knee-highs from toe-up socks. That way, I won't have those pesky partial skeins leftover. If anyone knows of a tutorial on this topic, please point me in the right direction. It would be much appreciated :)

And thus completes my x-mas knitting.

Now back to me ME ME!

The Vinnland Socks are now in progress:

Cardigans vs. Pullovers

Here are the projects that I’m breaking my yarn diet for:

Provincial Waistcoat by Mari Lynn Patrick (Interweave Knits, Winter 2006)

Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan (Interweave Knits, Winter 2006)

Flicca by Anna Bell (My Fashionable Life)

Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan (Interweave Knits, Fall 2007)

Phyllo Yoked Pullover by Norah Gaughan (Knitting Nature)

I noticed something: only one pullover in the bunch. Hmm… why this obvious preference for cardigans? Can’t say for sure. My guess would be that I like to layer. By acquiring layering items for my wardrobe means I have more options. More options = more bang for my buck.

Or maybe I just like sewing buttons.

Oh man, I am having so much fun picking out yarns and colors these projects!! I’ve only ordered yarn for two projects so far. I think I’m dragging out the other purchases on purpose. Must make the fun. Last. Longer…