What happens when I only leave the house once to go to the yarn shop...

We had to go out last night for a friends birthday. It was a long night for everyone. I had to leave early because I stopped being able to feel my pinkie again. That was my body telling me to get to bed because I'm still sick. We woke up today, one with a huge hangover (the boyfriend) and one still with no feeling in their pinkie (me). So I prepared myself for a day full of knitting and tv watching when I realized I needed new needles for the jumper I'm working on so I made a run to the Wool Gathering up the street. I walked in intent on only buying new size 10 turbos when I saw the completed really cool scarf the owner was knitting the last time I was there...it was still awesome. When I last saw it she only had a sample amount of the yarn and was waiting for the supply to come in. I just had to ask if the yarn for it had come in yet and of course it had and of course I had to buy it. Approximately 12 hours (minus a 2 hour nap) later a scarf was completed!

Isn't it fun!

OK so I look very scared in this picture but its not about me its about the scarf...Awesome scarf

Some detail shots the yarn its simple but funky, I like it.

It does knit up quick!

It was so simple 3 skeins of On Linie 194 Solo, 8 stitches and then you just knit through the yarn as close to the top as possible to make the ripples.

Its great to know that despite being a totally couch potato today I at least have something to show for it. Tomorrow I definitely need to get back to the jumper or clutch or boyfriend's scarf. I hate how I have knitting ADD. Too many projects not enough time...

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!!

A new issue of Simply Knitting has finally arrived States side!!! And its the Noah's Arc issue!! I have been going to the bookstore once a week every week and its finally here!!

I just love this magazine.

Look at all the little animals! Such fun!!

The boyfriend is at another Mets game tonight so I have the whole apartment to myself to read in uninterrupted silence!! And hopefully the Mets won't choke again so he's in a better mood when he gets home tonight because he was definitely pissed off when he got back last night. But I don't have to worry about that till much later tonight!

Stupid Virus

So I was all excited about meeting up with my knitting group tonight however I have some sort of virus. I've been feeling generally icky for a couple weeks and very listless. Yesterday I woke up with a lump in my armpit and it was very sore. Today wasn't too much better but I keep losing feeling in my fingers and hand. I couldn't take it anymore and went to the doctor. I apparently have some virus which means they took a whole lot of blood from me to do a crap load of tests (which I know when its all over will not actually tell me anything useful other than, its a virus) and apparently my lymph nodes are swelling because of this and its putting pressure on the nerve that runs down your arm and therefore I can't feel my fingers. The best part of all...since its a virus I just have to tough it out. So tonight I sleep!

I hope my fellow Upper East Side Knitters have a great time tonight!

Knitting with this lump in my armpit is diffcult...stupid virus.

Torn

My two addictions, Jane Austen and Knitting! They should write about book about that.

I have to say I've been a little torn the last few days between reading and knitting. I tried to listen to books while I knit but my ipod is messed up and skips around to different chapters all the time so I find myself trying to figuring what the heck is going on only to find out I've skipped 5 chapters without knowing it. I'm not investing in a discman (do they still make them?) because I will only brake it like I used to do pre-ipod. So now I have to choose every night, read or knit, read or knit...if only the boyfriend would read to me while I knit. I know that would be asking a lot!

Well here are some shots of the book I'm reading and the clutch. It's getting there! I just have to repeat the cable pattern 5 more times I can sew it up and felt!

I hope you can see the cable pattern in this detail shot. I'm rather impressed with myself. I love taking on a challenge!

I'm reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and I have to admit that I really didn't like it at first. Now with 40 pages left I need to know what happens to Jane Mansfield, will she find her way back to the 21st century? Will she and Edgeworth get together in the 19th Century? Will she and Wes get together in the 21st? And this will all sound totally nuts to anyone who hasn't read or doesn't at least know the basic plot of this book. I'm not really into the whole time traveling thing, especially as a plot for any Jane Austen inspired book, but sometimes I have to admit even contrived, cliche plots can suck me in. It's a weakness, I know.

The question is, what do I read when I'm done?

An interesting day in New York

What a day?

While all this politically charged craziness is going on around me today I'm just going to knit and enjoy my Chinese food. The world is becoming a little too crazy for me.

Lazy Sunday

Why are they doing a So You Think You Can Dance marathon??? And why can't I stop watching??

PS I need to see Across the Universe...it looks awesome!!

Ok back to my Sunday!

A new friend

Mom and I had a wonderful and productive afternoon. We spent too much time at Quilt City but she's a quilter so she was in heaven. It was fun to watch her be so happy. I picked up a few needle felting kits and I made myself a new friend. Meet Kiley my new calico.

I don't like cats mainly because I'm allergic so well I can't like them but every knitter should have cat friend so I made one and I there's no sneezing or watery eyes or stealing of yarn.

Look at that face...isn't she sweet!

We also went over to mood and a few trimmings stores. I picked up some fabrics, handbag handles, buttons...oh all kinds of odds and ends.

Time to get ready for my brother...whooo this is a lot of my family for on Saturday.

Oh and the clutch is going strong!! I haven't done much on the scarf since I need to wind the two new skeins of yarn and I still don't have a swift. I'm procrastinating. I know I'm being bad but look even Kiley likes it!

It's not perfect but I've got to say its not too bad for my first real cable project!

Ok back to work! vodka tonics and cables!! Ok I'm not really sure how its going to turn out but there will definately be vodka tonics!

Happy Weekend!

TGIF

I've been waiting for it all week and finally its Friday!! a

I don't have much to report today since I haven't been feeling well. All food makes me want to hurl but my mother tells me I must eat so I try and stop and try again.

a

Tomorrow Mom and I head down to the garment district to look for fabrics. She's big into quilting so she's excited. I'm going to look for things like trimmings and notions. Maybe I can find some fun buttons and whatnot. It will be fun to spend the morning with mom. Then when she leaves my brother is coming over the hang out with me in the afternoon. The boyfriend leaves for his mother's house out on the Northfork of LI early tomorrow morning so it looks like we're both having a family weekend.

a

Hopefully after a good night's sleep tonight I'll start feeling better so I can make some progress on the clutch and the scarf. Both are going strong!! Thanks for the encouragement Jen on the doing cables and felting. I know it's probably a lot to take on in one go but I'm accepting the challenge. What I've learned as a knitter is you just need to do it to get it and to not be afraid to make mistakes. Which I believe is also a great lesson for life.

a

Well I'm going to curl up with the new book a bought today, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict because I am a Jane Austen addict. I was trying to listen to it on my ipod while I knit but my ipod has some issues and skips around and stops all the time (I think I need a new ipod, again!) so I broke down today and bought the book. I like reading better anyway. So back to the 19th century (where I wish I could be always).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cables all in a bunch

So I needed a little break from the scarf. You know something that required a bit more brain power. I went on a hunt last night for something that was challenging, small and could be done with the yarn I got from Krystal Sunnyside Wools. I searched thedailyknitter.com and found this pattern for the cleo clutch (which you can try to get to directly from here http://spunmag.com/article/060421cleo or you can just hop on to thedailyknitter.com and search in the bags section:

These are the images from the pattern of the finished clutch in both felted and unfelted stages. Isn't it fun?!

This will be my first attempt at cables, well my first real cable project. I have done swatches before but never attempted a whole project so I'm excited to see how it goes. I started it twice yesterday once on a pair of bamboo needles but there was way too much friction so I ended up pulling off half the stitches half way through the first cable pattern. Which is funny because the night before I was saying how much I love bamboo needles because the friction keeps me from dropping stitches. I was kind of right. I didn't drop them so much as fling them. So I had to rummage and find a pair of metal needles I stole from my mother many years ago. Then I started again and it has been much easier.

This is my second attempt, note the metal needles. They are so much heavier than what I'm used to. It's like lifting weights in comparison!

This will also be my first felting project. I spoke with Heather at Krystal Sunnyside Wools in Cape Cod and asked if the yarn I bought would felt. She says it felts beautifully. I don't know how to felt exactly since I have never done it before but I have instructions and keep reading up on it so hopefully when this is all over I won't ruin the project in the wash.

The scarf is coming along. I'm now in the middle of my 11th stripe but I think I need another 11 to make it long enough for boyfriend. He apparently would like it long. I haven't forgotten it and will continue to work on it on the bus. I definitely can't do cables on the bus. I did get some mild guilting when he saw I started something new but I don't care, after 11 stripes I need something new and challenging to breakup the boredom.

I can't wait till they are both done so I can show them off!

Sad

Last night I dreamt up a really nice day. Waking up early to meet up with my new knitting friend John online so he can correct the way I'm knitting so I can stop abusing my poor index finger (seriously when will this bruise go away!!), settling down with some coffee in a comfy robe and slippers and starting that jumper I've been meaning to knit for a month or so. Then I woke up and realized it's Wednesday not Saturday. Now, I'm sad.

I like to swap...

Yarn that is!!

Tonight my knitting group met and we had a little yarn swap. I don't hoard a lot of yarn since I don't really have the space in my little New York City apartment so I brought three skeins of the pink yarn I was using to make the 1930's bra and panties set (I really need to finish that by the way). I accidentally placed the same order on two different days so I ended up with double the amount of yarn I needed. That's about all I could part with. However, I did get a couple things in exchange. Nothing fantastic but I'll figure out something to make with all of them.

First:

Fiesta Yarns - Rayon Boucle
color - painted desert

I have no idea what I am going to do with this but maybe a pair of ankle socks when I get around to learning how to knit socks. I need to finish that scarf. It's one skein but its 225 yards I should be able to make socks from that.

Second:

This is some sort of unknown hot pink fun fur kind of yarn. I have no idea what to do with 1 skein of this but something will come up. Or this will make its way back to the next yarn swap hahaha.

Third:

Two Skeins Lion Brand Moonlight Mohair Color - Purple Mountain

I have no idea what I am going to do with this but I think I have actually made a pair of fingerless gloves out of this before. They have since been lost. I am flirting with the idea of remaking them. We'll see.

All-in-all it was a great meeting.

Family Dinners and Knitting

Every Sunday the boyfriend and I get together with our friends and have what we call Family Dinner. It's a nice tradition that was started this year and I hope it continues for years to come. However, one of our friends seems to be very uncomfortable with my favorite hobby. He is hosting this week's dinner and the following excerpt is from an email he sent to me: The S**** residence has a strict "no-knitting" policy, which goes nicely with its apparent but unintended "no-girls" policy. I swear he's 7 not a 29 year old litigator at reasonably prestigious law firm in New York.

I find it interesting how many people can mock you for knitting in one breathe and ask you to make them something in the next? Why is it so interesting and foreign to see a young woman knitting? Particularly in New York City. I don't understand it. But then I guess knitting has always been part of my life, even before I knew how to myself. My grandmother knit, all my aunts knit, my mother knit and I sat around begging someone to teach me until one day (many many many years later) my mother finally did. I'm sure my friend did not grow up in a similar environment so I can understand how it could be strange the first time it comes into your life. But he's been around me for sometime and he's seen me knit. Its time to get over it.

People will always confuse me.

Custom Labels

As the scarf for boyfriend gets ever longer and ever closer to completion I keep thinking about the labels my mom used to sew into all the clothes she made me growing up. Even my prom dress has a little tag "Handmade With Love By Mom" and I love that dress. I also love that there is a tag telling world that it was my mother who made that beautiful dress just for me with her own hands. It helped me feel even more special when wearing it. So now that I can make something for someone else I want them to feel the same love I do when I see that dress. I went looking for labels, custom labels to be exact. I didn't like any of them. They all look like something out of the 50's-60's and not in a hip-retro kind of way. I want something youthful and classic with just a little whimsy. After some looking I found it. Thanks to the wonderful world of the Internet and Google I stumbled on the following blog/website http://www.grumperina.com/ Kathy, aka Grumperina, has some wonderful projects and tips on the website portion including a lesson on how to make your own labels. I was inspired by her site and I have started designing my own labels. I have ordered the supplies she recommends and I can't wait to try it out! She also has a great blog, which you should all check out, showcasing wonderful projects and yarns. I particularly love that her Gatorade bottle exploded in her bag with a few skeins of light colored yarn and a WIP and that all the new stains created by this mess have become new design elements. That's what I love about knitting, whatever happens you can either rip it out and start over till you have perfection or you can just keep rolling with punches so to speak and see what comes out in the wash.

Colds...

"Knitting - The obsessive use of needles and yarn to create an array of fuzzy objects in various states of completion. See also Yarn Lust."

So I am officially sick. But I still have to work and go to the dinner we've had planned for weeks. I'd so much rather be at home on my couch getting stuck into a new pattern. Maybe I could even start those socks I've been meaning to learn. **sigh** It will not be. I must plug on at work and play. Dinners tonight and dinners tomorrow. This is not the weekend for recovery.

So now some random things that have entertained me throughout the day:

If I could knit online from work that would be truly awesome. I would totally get fired though.

Oh Gromit how I love thee....

Oh Ziggy the things you get yourself into...

Take me out to the ball game...

So the die-hard Yankees fan was brought to Shea Stadium. This is what happens when you date a die-hard Mets fan. I took this oppurtunity to just gorge on hot dogs and knit up a storm. My best friend's boyfriend (also I die-hard Mets fan who managed to find a die-hard Yankees fan as a girlfriend) didn't believe that I would do it...what was there to believe? Its the perfect time to knit. Especially since people will bring you food and drink!

So my camera happy best friend had a feild day (no pun intended) photographing me and my knitting. So here's the documentation that yes I knit and yes I went to a Mets game:

Apparently my sheep tape measure was a hit!

I learned that if you knit a scarf in the round so you can have an extra thick scarf (and an easy way to stripe without caring about the tails) it confuses people. I think I explained what I was doing not only to my friends but to the four guys behind us as well.

Who knew me knitting would fascinate someone so much?

This is the face boyfriend apparently makes when I knit. Come on I came to the game...isn't that enough? Guess, not! Too bad that's all you get.

It was a good night and I got a lot done on the scarf.

Today I went out after work and finally picked up a book and knitting socks. I think it is time for me to learn. Once this scarf is done its sock knitting starts!! I'm very excited.

I'm coming down with something which isn't very fun. My throat hurts and I'm just hoping its not going to be strep. YUCK! We'll see. Hey, if it is I get to stay home from work and knit knit knit! We'll see what happens.

Its been a while

So I realized today that I haven't written in a while and I think its about time I do. Nothing in particular has been going on except a ton of work. It's Tuesday and I've already racked up 20 hours of work. Its going to be a very long week.

I have been knitting a lot more on the bus to and from work. I have been getting a lot of stares from strangers but I have been also making a lot of progress on the boyfriends scarf. I really want to be finished with it so I can move on to something else. I have four stripes done only...15 more to go!

I also got a new phone this weekend and I'm totally obsessed with it. Isn't it cute!

Sunday I went for a little walk while the boyfriend was off showing some apartments. I walked up to 84th street to check out The Wool Gathering. Its a really nice little store with floor to ceiling cubbies of yarn. The lady who was working there Sunday was very nice and talkative. She was helpful but had a little bit of an attitude. I don't think she was trying to be mean I just think she was very New York, quick talking and blunt. But she was helpful and definitely knew her stuff. They had some wonderful yarns there. I picked up some sock yarn to go with my dp that I bought to make socks so one day I will actually start making pair. I also picked up some fun green yarn to make a hat for the boyfriend as well as 6 balls of Debbie Bliss cashmere blended yarn in midnight blue. I had no idea what I would make with it but it was so soft and pretty. I got home and furiously started going through all my knitting mags and books for something to make. I found a fun vest pattern and I think that's what I'm going to make with it...one of these days.

So it looks like I have more projects than I have time to complete...I will complete them though!!

Alpacas!

Since I bought that natural wool from Heather at Krystal Sunnyside Wools and started to actually knit with it my outlook on life seems to have changed. Just the smell of the natural oils in the yarn and on my hands takes me away to a place I never thought I'd want to be -- a farm. I'll be honest I like to go camping and can be rather "rugged" but only for short periods of time and in the right context. I have reared farm animals before but that was for summer camp and the adults really did most the work. Lets face it I'm a city girl and a New York City girl at that. Farming, not really something I ever would have thought I'd ever even think of wanting to do. Come on you can't wear $500 5inch heels on a farm and I live for shoes...shoes win...normally. However, since I read about and saw Krystal Sunnyside Wools and their farm I want to do that. Only I want to raise Alpacas.

I love them! They're so sweet and awkward looking plus they have such great "wool". I told the boyfriend that this was something I seriously wanted to do. His only response was "Farmland isn't cheap in NYC" which was his way of nicely saying "you're insane, we're not doing this". I know this was never going to be something where I could just drop everything and move upstate and start breed alpacas. But I'm begining to think its something I could do in the future and maybe something I'd like to look into doing, seriously. It would be a nice retirement plan. We'll see what the future holds but I hope it holds a little pack of alpacas somewhere in Upstate New York. And hopefully I can get the boyfriend on board!

Some fun Alpaca pics...come on they're so cute!!!

Don't you want a little pack of them?

The First Meeting

Last night was my first meeting with the knitting group and I must say I enjoyed myself. It was nice to KIP with other knitters and not alone. I actually feel like people stare less when there are multiple knitters as opposed to one person knitting alone at Starbucks. It was very nice and the leader, Jen, was very sweet, knowledgeable and helpful.

This is the scarf I started for last night's meeting. Its going to take me a while to finish it mainly because I really don't want to make another scarf but what boyfriend wants, boyfriend gets (with this only).

I'm not far from the first stripe and what is nice about doing this in the round is that I don't have to worry too much about the weaving in the tails since the tube will just be folded in half to become a double thickness scarf and the end sewn up with tassels. I like that!

I've started knitting on the bus to and from work which is nice. I love when people stare at me while I'm knitting. I think its shocking to see someone my age knitting. I like to stop and look at the staring people sometimes because they get uncomfortable when they realize that I know they're watching. I get a kick out of it.

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. I guess I'm stressed about something but I can't figure out what. You'd think the knitting would help with that but I guess there's something else going on. Hopefully I start sleeping soon because I'm becoming a bit delirious. Even writing this is hard. No more writing till I get some sleep.

I'm So Excited...

Tonight I have my first meet up with the Upper East Side Knitters. I've been so psyched about this I really can't wait. Tonight's meeting is "Double Points and Decaf" and I'm supposed to start a new project working in the round. I've never done a real project in the round before so this will be interesting. Thankfully there will be people there to help me if I get stuck. I hope the girls (and boys if there are any) are nice. I guess if its really awful I can always go home right? Making new friends can be scary sometimes.

The boyfriend helped me wind the skeins of new wool for his scarf last night since it calls for knitting in the round I needed the yarn ready to use for tonight's meeting. It was an interesting experience. I had a bit of a tantrum when the second color got all tangled and I couldn't fix it. There literally was feet stomping and whining (what can I say sometimes the five year old in me comes out). He had to take the yarn from me and untangle it because the more frustrated I got the worse the tangles got. Thankfully we got them all wound into nice neat balls so I can start on his scarf.

I'm also now a proud member of TKGA (The Knitting Guild Association). I know its dorky but I can't wait for my pin! It kind of reminds me of my sorority just one for knitting and well men can join and I think there might be less drinking but I've only been a member for a day so I can't judge yet.

This morning on the bus I also finished Zen and the Art of Knitting. It was a very good book and I recommend it highly. I like the way the author addresses the many issues that surround the idea of knitting as meditation. I also found her personal stories and anecdotes from other knitters charming and easy to relate to. However, what I really liked about the book was that she addressed the resurgence of knitting as a popular craft and how many young people (like myself) have taken up knitting. She discussed celebrity and its effect on this new younger knitting population as well as feminism and the role of feminine. It was nice to hear someone arguing what I have been saying (and my mother has been saying) for years. Why can't a woman be an executive and a mother? Why can't we be both? There are people who might look negatively on women, especially young women, taking up arts like knitting that are traditional anti the feminist ideal. But why can't we? We've proved we can be like a man in business but why should that mean we need to give up on the traditional womanly arts and roles entirely. We should be able to embrace both. Yes, in the office I want to be seen as a business person with no gender but at home I want to be a woman and there is nothing wrong with that. I particularly enjoyed this passage:

"No, we're women who are educated, who are competent, who can make out ways in the world. We want to spend time with ourselves, awake and aware, as we go. We want to relish the fruits of all out hard-won educational and professional pursuits by taking the time to sit still and count our blessings. We want to show others how much that mean to us by making a piece of ourselves for them to wear. We want to fuel that great creative urge into a productive outlet."

I think Bernadette Murphy is right. We should celebrate all our skills be they professional or domesic skills. We are all multi-talented creatures and we should celebrate that talent! We are women and there is nothing we can't do!

Cape Cod!

AHH!! The Cape!! How I miss it already. We just got back to the apartment a couple hours ago. I'm almost unpacked and I hate unpacking so I'm stopping to write this which is much more fun. I had a great time and I managed to squeeze in a few knitting stores while I was there. The first place I went to was on friday. The place is called Kristal Sunnyside Wool Shop in Brewster, MA. The lady who runs the wool shop, Heather, was very sweet. I drove over to the shop which is next to the house she shares with her husband and family shortly after lunch on friday, in the pouring rain. The shop and house sit on 6 acres where they raise their own sheep. I parked in their crowded driveway and ran for cover into the shop. There was this very sweet faced lady, Heather, sitting at a spinning wheel hand spinning their yarn with her cat at her side. The shop was quite small but filled with beautiful natural wool yarns as well as handspun yarns. They shear their sheep and either ship the fleece to Maine to be machine spun or Heather hand spins the fleece. The colors were beautiful and the hand spun yarn was so soft and luxurious. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up any of the handspun fleece because it was a little out of my price range (approx. $20 a skein) but would have been well worth it had I purchased any. I did purchase 8 skeins of the machine spun wool in four different colors, all heathered. You can see the colors in the photo below.

We had a lovely conversation about the weather, New York and of course, knitting. All her skeins are approximately 220 yrds which is great. And the machine spun wool was only about $5 which was nice. I suggest that if anyone is in the area and the shop is open (call ahead because the shop doesn't have set hours) stop by. They have a website too http://www.kristalsunnysidewools.com/ check it out.

Saturday we went out to Provencetown and shopped. All non-knitting purchases so I guess I don't really need to go into detail. I think they were all kitchen related but I can't remember. I also stopped by a store in Harwich Port, MA called Adventure in Knitting. It was a very nice big store which many lovely yarns and knitting supplies. I walked in and there were two older ladies working there. I think they were a little shocked to see someone so young walking into a knitting store alone! Anyway, they immediately asked me if I needed help which I think was half them just doing their job and half because a 20 year old just walked in, I kindly declined and just walked around the store. Sometimes its just nice to walk silently absorbing the colors and textures. There were soft cotton and cheniles, rough wools, cashmere, acrylic...oh so many textures and colors. It was wonderful. I didn't end up buying any yarn because I couldn't think of what to use any of them for and I don't have all the money in the world and the boyfriend would be very mad at me if I couldn't pay the bills because I bought too much yarn. Though I could make many sweaters to keep us warm when if they turned off our heat hahaha...Anywho...I picked up a ball winder but didn't get a swift because I seriously thought that I could wind a ball without one. I was wrong. My step mom helped me and it worked however it was very messy. So I now have to buy a swift but I don't mind, trying to wind that ball was such a laugh it was worth it! I think the store has a website but I can't remember it. If you search for Adventures in Knitting it will popup.

Sunday, we went to Rock Harbor at low tide and walked out. Of course I brought my knitting bag because who wouldn't want to knit with this to look out on?

I walked a little with the family and then came back and pulled out my knitting. It was a very nice morning.

I spent the weekend working on the 1930's bra and panties set that I talked about a few posts back. I got a lot of it done this weekend. I have the whole bra knitted I just have to finish it and I'm almost done with 1/4 of the panties. These are all the pieces so far:

My family was very intregue with my knitting. The boyfriend is use to seeing me absorbed in my knitting but I don't see my father, step mom and grandmother very often. I guess they haven't had the chance to get used to it. Last time they saw me, knitting was just something I knew how to do, now its an obession. Anyway I would wake up, grab some coffee and start knitting. I would knit after lunch and dinner. If we were home or at the beach I was knitting. They were shocked. I would catch dad watching me from time to time. He was absorbed in my knitting which I thought was neat. The relaxation it brings me seemed to have brought a relaxtion to him as well. My step mom would like me to re-teach her since she hasn't tried to knit in many many years, I said I would. Next time I see her I think I'm going to make her a little "learn to knit" kit and sit down with her. It will be fun to share my hobby with someone.

All in all it was a fun and very productive vacation.