No knitting but NKOTB!

For some reason I've been on a bit of a knitting hiatus. I think Wicked sucked the knitting mojo out of me. All that stockinette and for what!? My knitting heart will go on but sometimes a little break is good.

As a result I don't have much of a knitting update. I'm working on my Dimple Lace scarf and hope to be done with it by the weekend after next. It's an extremely late Christmas Gift for my step-mom. I'll also be giving my dad his Christmas scarf as well . . . I've gotten a lot of use out of it over the winter so I'll be sad to see it go. We're going to see the Pompeii exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

This weekend, Ronaldo and I are going camping for 5 days/4 nights so I'm sure some knitting will get done then.

The highlight of my day was listening to a radio interview with none other than Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block!! They also played their new single "Summertime" which is pretty darn horrible but hey, it's the New Kids! It's a walk down memory lane to when I wore my Jordan Knight pin on my jean jacket every day . . . coveted my best friends NKOTB sleeping bag because my parents wouldn't buy me one . . . and watched the cartoon every Saturday morning.

They've released tour dates for the East Coast but not the West . . . YET. You better believe I'll be there . . . whose with me!?

And now back to your regularly scheduled knitting content . . .

SFGYW@TB!

Dear M,

So last weekend was our Super Fun Girls Yarn Weekend At The Beach! Rose showed off her finished Central Park Hoodie, three hooligans chased us out of the hot tub at the Doubletree, you gave directions to the restaurant whilst inebriated, we ate cupcakes. Basically, a good time was had by all.



I also increased the stash. but I have plans for ALL of it I tell you! These are destined to become Koolhaas hats for the Professor and me (I sort of wished the colorways matched so we could be even more pathetically adorable, but alas it was not to be).












This is going to become Snicket Socks from the now defunct halls of Mag Knits. It's tough to find plain sock yarn that's not TOO plain, you know? This is a nice sort of tan/white blend.



What was this for, again? I'm such a sucker for the Debbie Bliss on sale. Maybe Sizzle or something similar... I'm sort of undecided at this point. I love the pink color though.



Haven is quietly blocking on my living room floor... I'm pretty sure it is HUGE. Oh well, seeing as how it's just going to get folded up and put in the closet until December I guess it doesn't much matter at this point. I have a lot of yarn leftover, so maybe I'll make a matching hat... something cute and beret-like, maybe. There are tons of such patterns on Ravelry, so I need to wade through them to see what will work best. Maybe something like Gretel... although really, how many cabled hats do I need to make? And why does everyone else look so cute in the berets but I just look like I'm trying way too hard? Blah. Ooh, maybe this Robin's Egg Blue Hat. Then I can buy a badass button to sew on. And since I only need ONE I could even get it from Wildfiber and be able to afford it. Woot!



Also, as it is Earth Day (well okay, it was yesterday, but let's just say it's Earth Week) I have a little factoid for you: did you know that the dude who started the whole thing went to my high school?? That's right, good ol' Camas High. Nice suit, right? He gets his own Wikipedia article so clearly he has made it in the world. Go Papermakers go!

Bobmas Eve at The Grove!

Dear Anna,

I went to my first Ravelry event/meet-up of other San Diego knitters! It was really fun and I'm glad I went, I got to meet so many people. It's kind of strange when the on-line world of Ravelry merges into "real life". I actually recognized some folks from their screen name photos. Weird but cool!

I brought my camera but left it in the car. I got permission from SmittenKnitten (Ravelry link) to post one of her great shots (thanks again Jessica!):

That's me in the tan working on my Dimple Shale Scarf. I haven't worked on it in months but I don't know why! It's a beautiful pattern and the yarn is super soft. It is definitely going into regular rotation again. There are more photos from Bobmas (including a photo of some great cupcakes with marzipan balls of yarn that some crafty knitter brought) on SmittenKnitten's Flickr.

The great San Diego Knitting Adventure and Yarn Shop Crawl is only one day away!!!! Whoot!

A Small Tragedy

Dear Margaret,

So basically, Lantern Moon rocks my socks.


While enjoying lovely Palm Springs this weekend (speaking of which, have you been up that aerial tram thing? It's pretty great) with my parents, one of my rosewood 7" size 1 dpns SNAPPED IN HALF whilst in my knitting bag. Fortunately I tend to be overprepared, so I had a 5" birch in my bag and could continue on my Thuja uninterrupted, but I was not happy. Those needles cost $24! That's like 5 bucks PER needle!! They should not snap or bend. They should carry on forever and I should be able to be cremated with them if I so choose.


Anyhoo, I emailed the company and they are sending me a new one, free, no questions asked. Hooray! Customer service!! And did you know that they are socially responsible and have a good environmental policy? I feel better about the expensiveness of their yarns now. I am okay with paying a little more if it means I'm saving the earth. And getting kickass needles. Hear that Lucy Activewear?? Why is a little hoodie $70? Am I supporting a woman's cooperative in Uganda or something else similarly worthwhile? Because if not, your prices are redonk.

But back to my LM story, since I know you're dying to know. Prior to getting smart and emailing the company, I got online in a furious rage and ordered the Knit Picks set of metal dpns. I'm assuming they cannot be broken, even when stuffed into a purse or sat upon (although that would hurt, so I won't test that theory). And you know how if you spend $50 it's free shipping? Yeah, they totally saw me coming. I ordered 8 skeins of this stuff ("asparagus") in order to make this. Why, why why?? I have no idea. I just decided that I NEED to make it. Like, soon. I also ordered a cool little pair of scissors. Again, why? It's just COOL.

Oh, and then I was still high on Knit Picks love, and ordered this freaking adorable little cupcake tape measure! I heart Etsy so much. I really want to buy every little home accessory I could ever think of from there, but fortunately my apartment is small so I can't fill it with too much crap.

On the knitting front, I'm working away on my Haven (artfully arranged on my patio furniture). I'll probably finish it in time for Summer. In Southern California. Sigh. Fortunately we'll be in Philadelphia for Christmas this year so The Professor can go to his interviews, but still. I'm making it in Rowan Cocoon, which is lovely and soft and wonderful, but rather sheddy. I've been knitting it on my lunch breaks and finally got the brill idea (check me out, I'm British) to put my pashmina (okay, just a scarf from Target) on my lap FIRST so I don't go back to the office with little white bits all over my black pants. For some reason the sheddy stuff doesn't stick to the polyester cheapness of the pashmina, so it's a win/win!

Your Wicked looks GORGEOUS, by the way. I love that heathered Cascade 220. And really, better arm holes too big than too small, am I right? I love the neckline too.



Oh and PS: how much does it suck that the Yarn Harlot is totally skipping CA on her tour? Look at the crowd! I shake my fist.

High Fashion Beer Can Hat?

Dear Anna,

I'm so glad it's spring! St. Patrick's Day always signifies the beginning of the Spring/Summer months that I love. The only downside is that there is less opportunity to wear wooly knits. That's why I'm working like crazy on my Wicked. I want to finish so I can wear it once or twice before it gets too hot.

I've actually made real progress - I've been working on Wicked almost exclusively all month and I'm about 3/4 done.


I just finished the last decrease round for waist shaping and now just need to add a few inches of length before starting the increasing around my hips. My only concern right now is that the arm holes seem a little big - otherwise the sweater fits nicely.

With the beautiful weather outside I could resist and cast on for a pair of Jaywalkers in sunshine yellow:


St. Patrick's Day is an interesting holiday because it generally involves beer . . . and that can lead to some UNIQUE fashion choices . Ron and I were at a pub that Saturday and there were a few poeple wearing beer label crochet hats. Yes, I did just say "beer label crochet hats."

The quality of photos aren't so hot because I was trying to be incognito with the camera (not as easy as it may seem . . . .). I googled the pattern but couldn't find one but I did find this jewel of a photo! Behold:
Apparently there is a designer named Meghan Fabulous who incorporated the beer can crochet hat into her 2007 collection. I don't even have the words. . . just. . . woah.

Éire go Brách!

Dear Margaret,

On this day of Patrick the Saint, allow me to take the opportunity to say that I heart Maureen O'Hara .




She's beautiful, was born in Ireland and has THE BEST hair color. In case you're wondering where you've seen her, she's the Mom on the original Parent Trap. She looks like a pretty pretty princess in this picture and it makes me happy. I've been thinking a lot about Ireland lately, as we're planning a trip for September. Before we started our research, most of what I'd known about the country was based on Lucky Charms commercials and Darby O'Gill and the Little People, so I'm not all that educated. I’m getting better, though. I just watched a whole hour on the History Channel about the history of St. Patrick’s Day and everyone knows the History Channel makes you smart.

So I've been working diligently on Gustavo's scarf, which is long and very hairy. I made it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, which is a 50/50 wool/alpaca blend. It's my first alpaca experience and I'm a little annoyed with the shedding issue.



It seems like it will be warm though, which is important since Gustavo is originally from Argentina, moved to Calfornia and now lives in Massachusetts. It like, snows there and stuff. I used the Yarn Harlot's pattern for the One Row Handspun Scarf. It's good because it's not too girly and looks impressive, even though it's super easy.



He'd requested black yarn, but I just couldn't do SOLID black - so I chose a nice charcoal instead. I think it looks quite nice. Especially with the track jacket on this attractive model.



I have some leftover yarn, so I'm making him a pair of fingerless mitts to go with. I'm using the pattern in the book you gave me for Christmas last year (or was it my birthday? so hard to keep track). I may have to modify it a bit as I go along - so far I've only done the ribbing for the cuff.

Dude, speaking of cupcakes I had a brilliant idea the other day. Someday when we live in a place with more than one bedroom AND we have a daughter - I am totally decorating her room in cupcakes and/or baked goods. So cute! Little knitted cupcakes everywhere. Or maybe like a French Provincial theme? Knitted baguettes and berets! I have a vision, and it is lovely.

We'll bake with the butterfly cupcake thing for the baby shower, okay?

Wicked

Dear Anna,

The lace shawl is really impressive! What is even more impressive is that you are knitting shawls not only for the bride but for the bridesmaids too!! Plain old stockinette socks will be your friend after the wedding is over.

I don't have much to share this week. I cast on for Wicked ( Ravelry link) by Zephyr Style last Thursday at knit night. I was drawn to this pattern because of all the options . . . you can knit it in worsted weight or lace weight yarn . . . with short or long sleeves . . . with or without the front pocket. Some knitters have even converted it into a cardigan (like THIS and THIS super adorable example). My plan is to knit a 3/4 length sleeve without the front pocket.

Wicked at Mission Bay

Hey, did you know that Target.com has three whole web pages dedicated to cupcakes??? Check out this train and butterfly cupcake mold! If I had kids I'd be all over these for birthday parties. And the cupcake courier solves that age old question of how to successfully transport cupcakes without spillage or frosting getting all over the place.....