Gettin My Groove Back

Things have been so crazy since we’ve been back so I was really happy to have the ballet on Friday night. It was a wonderful performance. I woke up bright and early Saturday morning to spend the day with my mom. She got Lymes Disease while I was on vacation and was feeling rather crummy. She’s all alone at home so I thought I’d spend the day with her. We bummed around Nyack, NY for a while and of course…I bought things. We found a little place called The Soap and Paper Company and picked up some great soap and solid perfumes. Oh they’re just wonderful, I wish I could share the smells with you. We stopped in another store and found some shoes. Now Carl sometimes buys me shoes and he owed me a some and he just so happened to call me while I was looking at these shoes….and…they’re mine.

I love him. I don’t know why he does it but it sure makes me happy.

Oh and of course we found a yarn store and mommy bought me three balls of Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb.

They’re so pretty. I’m thinking about making some really large circular shawl starting with the darkest and moving to the lightest. And maybe give it to my mom? She really loved the colors.

All in all it was great day.

I spent the rest of the weekend trying to get all our vacation pictures up on flickr. It took a long time. I still haven’t labeled everything. I did manage to take a shot of the lovely gift I got from my Secret Pal.

The yarn is super soft and I need to think of something to make with it…any suggestions? There is still some chocolate left amazingly and the soaps are so yummy. The stitch markers are gorgeous…I love everything…thank you!

Today was a bit rough but I have my knitting mojo back so I have something to do to help me relax.

Tomorrow I might just show you all the yarn I bought in San Francisco. Get excited!!

I'm back!!

And exhausted. We got back Tuesday evening, unpacked and crashed. I've been too tired to even knit the last few nights and have been falling asleep on the couch by about 10pm at the latest. I want to tell you all about my trip and show you pictures but I've been too tired to think or upload pictures. Hopefully I will get them up this weekend and I can do a proper post for you all.

I did come home to a wonderful package from my Secret Pal (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) and will post pictures of all my goodies soon.

For now I will finally answer the two secret pal 12 weekly questions that I haven't answered yet.

1) As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?
I was always most excited about summer camp. I went to this little Methodist Bible camp called Camp Aldersgate. I know this probably sounds odd to those of you who know me...ME at bible camp? I know it's strange but it's true. It wasn't all praying and god we got in all kinds of trouble there. That's where I had my first real drunk experience, my first kiss, several boyfriends and my first cigarette. I used to have the time of my life there. My parents loathed taking me there because each "camp" was a week long and there was no hold over on the weekends so ever saturday my dad would pick me up and every sunday he'd bring me back. It was a 2.5 hour drive each way but I think they knew just how much I loved it there. I used to ride and camp and sing songs...oh I loved it! If only it had made me a bit more wholesome.

2) What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?
The perfect amount of stash would be enough so that I was happy and could just pick yarns for any project right from my basket and not have to leave my apartment. BUT it would have to be small enough (or well hidden enough) for Carl not to complain.

Ok I promise a proper post this weekend with vacation pictures and yarn purchases and secret pal gifts oh it will be fun!

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

I know when I'll be back again but I don't want to think about that. I'm at work till 4 today and then I'm off to the airport with my AMAZING boyfriend Carl for a week of fun in San Francisco! We need alone time especially since work has been so miserable for both of us. I meant to update you all on father's day yesterday but there were just too many things that needed to be done around here so I had no time to write.

I just wanted to say goodbye and I'll see you on the flip side!

World Wide Knit in Public Day 2008!

It was a wonderful WWKIP day! I spent the morning knitting in Central Park with a wonderful group from Sit N’ Knit New York.

I managed to finish booties and a hat for donation.

I won some cool Sit N’ Knit stitch markers made by Shameka of http://www.Shamekaknits.blogspot.com/

And I even got some spinning done today.

Off to listen to the thunderstorm!!

Get your Knit On!

It's WWKIP Day! Where did you knit today?

Shh don't tell Carl...

NEW SHOES!!

I've been asked where I bought these, well I picked them up here. Happy shopping!

What's your favorite summertime drink?

I'm going to apologize now for the random question answering posts that will be going up over the next 3 or so months. I'm participating in Secret Pal 12 and these questions all pertain to this swap. My little stalker needs to learn about me so there will be many questions.

Now what's my favorite summertime drink? Well there are a few. I love a good vodka tonic anytime of year, I love tequila sunrises (I make a really good one if I do say so myself) and who can resist a margarita on the rocks with salt...mmmm mmmm!

See you all learned something about my drinking habits today!

Death Cab and Booties!

I would just like to say I apologize for any weird font issues in this post, Blogger sucks sometimes

The Death Cab concert last night was great. I managed to meet Carl on the right platform so we could head out to Brooklyn together. I hate meeting people on subway platforms. If you don’t into the right car it can become a terrible mess rather quickly and cell phones don’t work down there so you can’t really call and find each other. I stopped at a little luncheonette to have a drink before the concert. There’s nothing like a cold vodka tonic on a 90+ day to make you feel better. We met Sarah and headed over to her bus. Those tour buses are pretty freakin sweet. We hung on in the AC during the opening act and had a beer. We went into the venue which is this old city pool that they use for concerts and I got to stand about 2 feet from Ben but I didn’t get to talk to him or anything. They played a great set till the storm rolled in. The wind was so bad they had to end early. Concession tents were lifting up and the hanging lights were swinging pretty bad. The crowd basically ran to get to the subway before the rain started. We said a quick good bye and thank you to Sarah and ran (sorry I ran off with your memory card). We made it to the station just in time. Ending early was actually a good thing because I had to work at 7:30am this morning and if we had stayed out any later I would have been a complete zombie this morning.

Picture time:

Ben singing…

Me backstage (I believe that’s Sarah’s smoke behind me):

I love this one:

Me and my knitta Sarah:

I almost forgot, I’m now holding onto Sarah’s yarn purchases from earlier in the tour to make room in her suitcase. I can only assume that this is so she has room for more.

Ok, time for some knitting content. This Saturday in WWKIP day and our Sit n’ Knit group is meeting in the park to knit and we are asked to bring some charity knitting if we could. I checked out the charities they were collecting for and I decided I could make a simple pair of booties for premature babies by Saturday (maybe even a couple pairs?). I have all this baby yarn left over from this baby blanket I made for a co-worker and I thought I could use that. Well…worsted is a little thick. I did make one bootie in about an hour but I think I will need to run to the store tomorrow and pick up some sport weight or maybe even fingering. I still think its super cute!

I need to pay more attention

When did the summer Knitty come out?

And because I need another sock pattern to covet like a hole in my head, I found this pattern today which is awesome!

I'm strange and so is my dad

I realized last night that in the middle of a heat wave I was knitting a cashmere blend sweater. What the heck was I thinking? I'm not going to wear this thing for another 4-6 months but I'm probably going to be done with it in about 1-3 weeks. I really am special.

I also realized last night that my dad is bored. I haven't figured out what is boring him yet (work, new wife, life in general...who knows) but I know he's bored. My dad isn't a talker. You call him to say "I'm not dead and I love you. How are you?" that's about it. This is the second week in a row that he has called to chat. Each time we chat for somewhere around 30mins to an hour. This is so not like my dad. He only does this when he is unhappy with something in his life but doesn't want to address the problem, he calls me to talk about anything else but the problem. I wonder what could be up...well Sunday is his birthday and father's day so I'll have the whole day to try and figure out whats wrong with him. Maybe he just needs a nice old man cardi. Maybe I'll make him one to cheer him up.

Oh and Sheri really needs to stop updating over at The Loopy Ewe because I'm going on vacation in exactly a week - I can't be broke! Luckily I'm doing that whole secret pal swap this so I can buy some things (can, haha, I already did) for her and just fondle them a whole lot before sending them off.

I'm off to see Death Cab tonight, let's see if I can "bump" into Ben Gibbard...

Its actually starting to look like something!

This is my favorite part of sweater knitting. It actually looks like a sweater or at least something that will one day become a sweater.

It's Sunday so I have the apartment to myself. I love Sundays. I'm supposed to clean up a little but I really don't want to. Maybe I'll knit a few more rows and see if I'm up to it. Its the Puerto Rican Day parade today so I will definitely be spending the day inside. Too many people make me nervous. I hate parade days.

Secret Pal 12

I'm participating in Secret Pal 12 and I have to answer the following questions so that my secret pal knows just how to spoil me. You can choose to read this or not maybe you'll learn something new about me, maybe not.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love anything especially if it is soft. The only fiber I have some problems with is cotton. I like organic cottons because they're soft but some cottons hurt my hands when I knit with them. I'm not so into the novelty yarns either.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I use my knit picks options the most so I keep everything in the little black binder. All my other needles are scattered around my giant knitting basket.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've known how to knit for about 5 years but I've been knitting seriously now for about 1 year and I just want to learn more and never stop. My mom taught me back in college and I made a few scarves and then forgot about it. A friend was having a baby last year and I decided to make her a baby blanket. I knit this thing for 6 months and when it was finally over I realized that I was totally hooked on knitting and had to knit more things and challenge myself to learn new techniques. I think I'm somewhere between intermediate and beginner. I think I'd need to push myself more and learn more things before I can consider myself advanced by any means. Of course I think we all sell ourselves short when we need to pick a skill level so who knows what I really am.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Oh I have an amazon wishlist that will scare you. I think its currently 9 pages long. I also have a wishlist at The Loopy Ewe.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I don't like really musky scents or anything super sweet. This is a hard one. I love gardenia and orange blossom.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Anything chocolate, especially with mint...yum yum!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I learn to use a drop spindle and love it. I took a dyeing class and love that too but I don't have any supplies to dye anything on my own so I haven't done much dyeing. I'm big into photography and I'm trying to learn how to sew but I'm awful at it.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
This is another hard one. I like indie bands, well they used to be indie now they're all popular and crap. I like opera, classical, jazz, some rap...basically if it is composed well and is interesting musically I will like it. I love love love Martin Sexton...he's awesome!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I don't know. I like all colors except maybe puce. I live in New York City so I feel like my whole world is black so my knitting needs to be colorful.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my boyfriend who must love me dearly to put up with my knitting and fiber obsession. We met just about 2 years ago, started dating and a month later we were living together. I have no pets but I really want a puppy but you can't mail a puppy.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats and mittens no ponchos but I like wrappie things since I'm always cold.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks and I'm starting to really like sweaters. I'm working on my second one right now.

13. What are you knitting right now?
The Loopy Frolic socks from The Loopy Ewe and the knitandtonic Somewhat Cowl sweater and I have a pair of lace mesh gloves on the needles but I haven't worked on them in weeks. And a clapotis I haven't worked on in weeks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Circular and aluminum

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes and Yes. I <3>

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
About a year. I ripped out the oldest one about 8 months ago, that one was about 3 years old at the time

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas, I get a little obsessed. My boyfriend loves Christmas too just not as much as I do so every year I sneak another decoration thing so he doesn't notice.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Other than yarn? Nothing really. Though I love Alpacas and people keep giving me sheep related things. I think in a few years it will become a collection but everything was given to me.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Oh wow I have a lot of books (check out ravelry) and a ton on my amazon wishlist. I own one EZ book and I really want more but I just haven't been able to get anymore of her books. I buy almost every knitting magazine that's out there so I whenever people pick one up for me I usually have it already and have read it cover to cover 5 times. But I love knitting books. I'd love some books on spindle spinning so I can get better but I can never find them at the book store. I love top down sweaters and socks. I've never used malabrigo or socks that rock so I'd love to try those yarns out. Really I just like to try new yarns.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I would love to be good at colorwork and I want to learn to do lace.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love socks. I usually have a pair on the needles. I'm about 9/9.5 US

23. When is your birthday?
October 17th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
StitchBitch23

New York

One of the things I love about living in New York City is the theatre. Tonight I went to see Les Liaisons Dangereuses with some friends I met through knitting. The play was amazing. Laura Linney was ok as La Marquise de Merteuil but I think Glenn Close was much better at being evil and deceptive in the Danergous Liaisons the movie version. The actor playing Valmont,Ben Daniels, though was absolutely wonderful. He's a wonderful actor and he looks pretty damn good naked! Many of the patrons though we awful. The worst of which were this young Russian couple who were literally fighting at the begining of the play. I have shushed someone in a theatre (movie or otherwise) before. These people were so bad I actually told them to shut up. When did people get so rude?

Anyway, after the play we went to this dive bar which serves free hot dogs with your beer/cocktail. We grabbed a table outside and enjoyed some drinks and a couple dogs. It's super hot in the city this weekend so eventually we just couldn't take it anymore and decided to part ways. I think the group went off to do something, either together or separate but I saw a cab and grabbed it. I came home to a sleeping Carl and promptly put him to bed. Now that I have the apartment to myself I think I'll watch a little Vicar of Dibley till I get sleepy enough and get some zzz's myself.

I'm somewhat cowl sweater is almost to the point where I can put the sleeves on some waste yarn. Once I do that it will start to actually look like something. No pictures till then becuase it will just look like a brown blob.

I hope you all have had a great night.

So...

...how awesome is this? Go check it out I'll wait....

...I want to dye some right now. That's so cool. I have to finish this sweater and then I think I'll be allowed to buy this and dye me up some self striping sock yarn.

When Knitters Marry…

…They knit boutonnieres

…They invite other knitters who will knit during the reception

…The other knitters will make you an impromptu dishcloth with heart motif

CONGRATULATIONS JEN AND JULIAN!!!!

(PS I caught the bouquet…)

Quick story about this morning

So i made a little accidental fire in the kitchen this morning. I woke up early and went to the kitchen all blurry-eyed to put the water on for coffee. Carl had left his dirty bacon/egg pan on th stove with the lid on but I paid no attention to that. I turned the stove on to boil the water in the kettle and started to get ready. Carl's peacefully sleeping downstairs in the bedroom while I'm getting another row on my somewhat cowl sweater in before I really have to get ready. Before I know it I start smelling smoke. I walk into the kitchen and the pan was filled with smoke. Apparently in my half asleep state I had turned on the wrong burner. I turned the burn off and took the lid of. This was a bad idea because once that oxygen got in there the pot and the lid caught fire so I'm standing in my PJs, pre coffee, with a flaming pan in one hand and a flaming lid in the other. I quickly put out the fire and said a little prayer. The main living area was filled with smoke and I can't open our windows because they're too heavy. I went downstairs and Carl was up and at the computer working. I told him what happened and asked him to help me open the window. He didn't seem phased by this story in the slightest. He also didn't come help me. Eventually I got him upstairs and he opened the window for me. About 10 minutes later he looks at me and says "wait, was there really a fire?" WHY WOULD I MAKE THIS UP?

If was an interesting morning.