Whee!

I am pooped, for one (work, work, and more work), and a trunk show that ended a week ago, and another one starting this week. Craziness.

But in the midst: I won a ring! A trollbeads ring! Here is my winning entry: http://trollbeads.com/thepakkekalender/slideshow/winners.aspx?pageclicked=3

(I'm the second one on the page).

Casting on

As if I have all the time in the world, what with trunk shows, Christmas, and getting things done (paperwork and all that fun stuff), and studying, I decided to cast on a couple small projects for mindless knitting.
So without further ado, these are some socks I am working on...

This first pair is made from yarn that my friend Carolina sent me--it's Phildar Hobby, and is very brightly colored, but I am liking how it is striping up into solid greens and blues, with the red and white in between. It's kind of neat knitting with something that someone else picks out for you, because there are times when we just don't look beyond a certain color or composition. So, thanks Carolina (again!) for this yarn! It also feels warm (or at least feels warm to my toes). Now, for some yarn I picked out for myself--Panda Silk in pink (for those of you who know me, pink is not a color that I gravitate toward, but...well, there you go! Pink socks! This is actually the first pair that I tried with toe-up construction so I didn't cast on enough stitches, and it looked rather silly. So I frogged it and started all over again. I'm liking it better now.

And my knitting group had a bag swap--and I'm too lazy to fetch the bag that I got--which was knitted by Meg--it is awesome and is a nice shade of green (and funnily enough, matched what I was wearing on the night of the swap!) I finished my bag (which went to Juniper) on the day of the swap. I'm glad that I remembered to take a picture of it :) before it went to its new owner.

Dancing on Keys: Finished!

I have officially finished Dancing with Keys! I have made it available online and will also have it available on ravelry. How exciting--my first pattern, and it is available to you for free!
Here is the pattern: Dancing on Keys. Enjoy, and if you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

This pattern includes three charts and instructions for making the scarf.

The pattern

I am excited, because I am making serious headway on the scarf that I am designing. Yay! I hope to be finished with it by the end of the week (or at the very latest, the beginning of next week. I've gotten two of my charts written up, and will write up the last chart when I get to that point, so I can see if I made errors in the draft. This is a sneak preview, as seen through the macro function on my camera.



Look what else I started--finally! My second Trollbeads bracelet, built with beads that I've been collecting over the past year. I think it looks nice, and there is most definetely room for more.


And, today, I bought some chocolate.

Dolores Park Cowl, food

So on Saturday night, I got really tense. My remedy: Knitting. And these days, I have been attempting to stash-bust, so in addition to winding some of my skeins into cakes of yarn, I decided to knit something new (now that Clessidra is done, and didn't really want to continue with the My-So-Called-Scarf at the moment -- that's a good enough, and quick, knit, but I wanted more immediate gratification). And I had this skein of handspun wool that I bought last year at Yankee Peddler in one of those moments of impulse buying. Granted, it was not very much yarn (around 130-150 yards, I think). So some time on Ravelry revealed some hats I didn't like very much, and some purses, and small knit projects. One of them was the Dorlores Park Cowl.

So I cast on 60 stitches, and in the span of two-and-a-half hours of Lifetime movies, (seriously, I was kicking myself mentally because I thought I was taping this Lifetime movie in the afternoon. But I taped the wrong channel) I finished the cowl.

Who this will belong to, I do not know. If it will be mine or someone else's....I have no idea. But I still have a bit of the handspun yarn left.

And of course, I am still working away on the double knit scarf (it will be named "Dancing on Keys" (Anyone get the reference?) and I will post a pattern as soon as it's done. I'm determined to finish this scarf in the next couple weeks. I'd say this week, but with the Holiday Open House this weekend, I can't guarantee that).

At work, we're getting ready for the Holiday Open House, so today I moved products, reorganized stuff, etc. Hopefully we'll have everything in place by Thursday night. I hope. I'll be working some more this week. After I came home, I made some gnocchi with a cream tomato sauce, and the results of that are shown in the photos below.

While watching the tail end of a sappy Lifetime movie, I finished this:

As I write this, the kids in my neighborhood are trick-or-treating, and I get interrupted by the doorbell now and then. And some of those kids look way too old to be trick or treating, in my opinion! I'm actually not a huge fan of Halloween, to tell the truth. But that's a very long story.

Anyway, progress is being made on Clessidra. I will see how much I finish by the end of this weekend. But I've turned the heel and finished the gusset, so I'm thrilled. I can't wait to wear these socks...and then finish up other projects...

Even more progress.

I promised a picture of Clessidra progress. Here you go.

But I've been working on something more mindless (the so-called-scarf. BUT! While I was knitting, I encounted an impossible tangled up mess--so I pulled some of it out from the center of the ball...and this is what I found.


















I spent part of the morning untangling this unholy mess and winding it up into a ball. Then I proceeded to knit a few more rows...

I think I'm making excellent progress, wouldn't you say?

The Dreaded Brooke's Column of Leaves

I'm sort of getting caught up. Over the weekend, I knitted tons, and I'm down to the ankle on the 2nd pair of Clessidra (picture coming later). And, over the weekend, I finished this:

Finally. This is one of the few projects that I've done, which made me want to poke my eyes out with knitting needles. I have decided that I absolutely hate knitting lace. When I first started (even after frogging the beginnings of this scarf a few times), I was optimistic. The first few repeats, once I figured out where all the yarn-overs went, I was like, aha! I can do lace, whee!

But by the halfway point, I was starting to get tired of it. I'd pull this scarf out purposely and think to myself, Gotta finish this, and I would do maybe a couple rows and shove it back in my bag. In the meantime, I would work on other things, like the monkey socks or Clessidra. Or the sweaters. Anything but this darned scarf.

I finally finished up that second skein, and if you know me, you know that I love super-long scarves. So I joined the third skein of yarn to this scarf, knitted a couple rows and put it back in my project bag. This must have been in June, because the last time I worked on this scarf was on the drive back from Columbus after my brother's graduation. (Incidentally, I also found my CD, Ohio, by Over the Rhine in this project bag, after wondering where I had placed that CD).

So this weekend, I pulled out this dreaded scarf and told Terra that I was sick of it. Her suggestion was a good one. "It's long enough, so just finish it."

Finish it I did...and I still have a whole ball of sparkly merino. I'll find something to do with it, but I also just feel so relieved that this stupid scarf is done. And I doubt I'll seek out lace patterns anytime soon.

And although I finished this long ago, I don't think I actually put up a picture of the finished project. Here is the Chevron scarf (the Noro!)

The saga of the Sonata

Well, the past few weeks have been busy. This is why I have not written anything. In a short amount of time (in about 3-3.5 weeks), this is what I have done:

1) Trunk show. As you may or may not know, I am hooked on a certain brand of jewelry, and we planned a trunk show, which did end up being busy (except on the day the rep was there—can you believe it????). After the big weekend, I spent time preparing for

2) My aunt’s visit. My aunt decided at the last minute to come to visit (and to take care of things here, such as social security, etc.). So this meant that I was cleaning house, working and trying to study. Meanwhile, while all this was going on, I was also getting ready for

3) my friend’s wedding. Not just that, but I was a bridesmaid, so I did fab things like get a haircut, a manicure (my first one ever!) and buying last minute things, like a pair of flats for the wedding reception (I purchased a really gorgeous pair of stiletto heels but realized that while I’m taking dance lessons, I’m not experienced enough to swing dance or do the cha-cha-cha in stilettos. One other thing I brought with me was a draft of

4) a research proposal/grant. Basically, my prof and I sent in a proposal to a large funding agency in the hopes that people will love us and give us lots of money for three years to investigate our topic of interest. I hope we get it. If we do, it means I will have a job for three years.

But all went off without any great drama. Well, I wouldn’t say “without” – I should say with “relatively little drama”, or as little drama as one can experience at a wedding, for instance. Like, I caught the bridal bouquet—with my head (it hit me on the head and landed on the floor right behind me). As usual, I was standing in the back of this crowd of women and girls who were vying for the bouquet. Very surreal. The bride’s mom also got sick but soldiered through (you seriously would have never guessed that she felt like crap during the reception—it was only after the reception was over, and that they were back at the hotel that she went to the hospital with a kidney infection). I do plan on selling my bridesmaid dress—it’s not my style and I have no idea where I would even wear it again. And a little extra money is always nice.

Now, last week, in addition to plugging away at Elizabeth Bennet, I also went car shopping. I swear, this is the saga that never ends. It started Saturday afternoon, and I tried out a Hyundai Sonata (a bit over 17,000 miles and around $14K, used), in great shape. I then tried out a Toyota but did not like the salesman. Monday (since on Sunday, the dealerships were closed), I tried out a Honda and a Nissan, but still, the only thing I could afford was the Hyundai. So we called the first car salesman, said we wanted to sign papers, etc…but…

Here’s the thing! Despite the fact that I actually make enough money to make payments each month, I don’t have enough income to make the car dealership let me buy the car (not to mention that I have super credit). Anyway…so the next day (Tuesday) I had to go to the bank, get a loan, and go back to the dealership to get the car.

So, I took my beautiful new car home, drove to dinner with my boyfriend (in my car, of course). Came home, and my dad tried my key to open the car door—but could not do so. So bizarre—I can get in my car with the little remote control but not with the key? But I can drive with the key…

Wednesday, I go back to the car dealership, but the salesman I worked with is not there, and no one knows where he put the extra keys. So I went back today, and the car salesman cannot open the door with his key either! So off to the service department, where the guys try and figure this out (meanwhile, I am sitting in the relatively posh waiting area, with a bunch of Golf Digests, Sports Illustrated, a couple Forbes magazines and one lone copy of Teen Cosmo, and a couple sections from the paper). So I read everything in the local paper, flip through that horrible Teen Cosmo and trade the paper for a different one (whom another bored, waiting woman had finished reading).

It turned out that the previous owner had taken the car in to get the ignition changed…but the locks were the same (factory). Now, the guy who has the power to call up all the specs and make the keys was not there today, and the mechanic guy who was working on the car today couldn’t figure out how to call up the code to make the key.

Guess where I’ll be tomorrow…stay tuned...

More progress (and trollbeads love)

I'm making very good progress on my Elizabeth Bennet. I have TWO sleeves and part of the front. Today I've set up for the waist shaping, but other than that, have not really knit, because we are getting ready for our Trollbeads Trunk show (yes, it is time for some Trollbeads love... :) In case you want to come join us, it is at Vale Edge Florist & Gifts, starting this Friday (September 12) and goes through Sunday (September 14). Our rep will be there on Saturday from 1-4. There are new Trollbeads out.

But all that aside, I went to Yankee Peddler over the weekend and got myself some face mugs from Tom Phelps Studio (seriously, the best mugs anyone will ever see... :)

Update on progress

It's official.

I have ONE sleeve finished!

Progress on Elizabeth Bennet

Now that I've finished the yoke (Yay!) I have started the sleeve. I made a small mistake, though--in the book, it mentions that I need to do 3 repeats of cable c (or at least, one cable pattern), then 3 repeats of another cable pattern (cable d). Well, somehow my mind glanced over that and did cable c 6 times, and got to this point (as depicted in the photograph of my progress) before I realized my mistake. I'm not going to bother ripping back, though. I decided to do this sleeve in cable c, and the next sleeve, I'll do cable d. I think it will be fine, because all the increases appear to be the same, anyway. At least I hope so, from the way the pattern looks. If not, I'll just do cable c on the second sleeve.

But it is nice to be making progress. I just want to knit, but I have work to do. Fun times. Speaking of which, I probably should get back to my work...

Activities

Last week, J. gave us blueberries to take home. I thought that perhaps I would make some blueberry grunt (having seen a recipe for it in Cook's Country but I didn't have quite enough blueberries (one would need 8 cups of blueberries).
So, I decided to make blueberry muffins. Absolutely delicious, and I finally got to use my silicone cupcake liners--so I've got nearly two dozen blueberry muffins (of which we've already eaten four).
And last night, the boy and I went to a dinner and dancing riverboat cruise on the Nautica Queen--we both had imagined something rather fun, with a large dance floor on the uppermost deck, but it turned out to be this tiny little dance floor in enclosed within the top (enclosed) deck. It wasnt' big. It looked like the size of an area rug, and I wasn't exactly sure how my dance class/fellow dance students would fit on the floor. While we were able to do a little cha-cha and swing, we were out of luck when we tried to do the rhumba, where we just wound up shuffling our feet on the floor to some really bad music.

Despite that, I still had fun. I would have liked to spend a little more time outside on the deck, but it was a bit cold and not very easy to balance on in high heels, and it had just finished thundering and pouring outside. So of course, I was a bit nervous about staying outside. But here are some shots I took of the Cleveland skyline at night.

Colin and Eddie, and Elizabeth Bennet

Here it is: The very first issue from Mask and Cape Comics (well, the Colin and Eddie comics, at least). The boy was over in San Diego at the ComicCon, promoting these comics of his. He'll be in Baltimore in September to promote some more. I also told him to do the Fell's Point Ghost Walk tour, which is totally awesome.





















And as I mentioned, Elizabeth Bennet is in progress. And over the past couple days, I've been working away at the yoke, which gets more and more exciting because it is starting to look like a sweater! I knitted away while watching Penelope (which I highly recommend. And maybe someone could sew me a jacket just like the one she has? Thank you).

Elizabeth Bennet

Perhaps I am crazy. Really. Like I have time to do anything, but I have to admit that as much as I enjoy Clessidra, spending a few months on a sock is enough to drive one mad. So the remedy: Cast on for an entirely different project (thereby ignoring the unfinished double-knit scarf and other mini projects hibernating in my bags...)

So far, I have knit the collar for Elizabeth Bennet and a little bit of the yoke--yay me! And in the midst of all this, I will try to work on Clessidra! I have to admit that knitting this sweater is a little relaxing now, as I am not paying attention to all those teeny-tiny cables.

I was going to post a picture of my progress, but blogger is not letting me do so. You'll see the pictures later, I suppose. But in case you have a really good imagination--this is being knit in this angora blend, this lovely mauve color that is more of a dusty purple color (which is a very flattering color on me, unlike this green that I made the boatneck sweater out of--what was I thinking?) But every now and then i get a little angora fuzz in my nose or mouth, which is a little disconcerting.

Yay!

So last night, when I finally got to the toe, I rejoiced. Whee!

So now I have finished ONE knee high sock in all its glory!


















Then I decided to model it. I have no more excuse--so I immediately tried on the sock. First, I tried it on inside-out and wondered why the heck the toe felt so weird. So I managed to convince myself that I had sensory integration problems (after all, I can't stand some of those sock seams), then I took a closer look at the cables, and realized that I wasn't even wearing it right. Luckily, when I put the sock on right, no more "sensory integration problems." Whew.


In order to prevent second sock syndrome, I have cast on and started the cuff of the second sock. At this rate, it will be October when I am done.

Progress

Finally, FINALLY, I've made it to the foot of this sock. Oy. It is taking me a while, but my gosh, it looks so darn cute in person! Now, between this cute sweatshirt that I got today (it is a very cute top that looks like something Jackie O would wear) and these socks, I'm totally ready for fall.

And I am completely itching to knit this awesome Habu sweater that is in knitty's new suprise. Here it is: Sea Tangles. But I think I shall wait till I get through a little more yarn. Though Habu doesn't exactly take up a ton of space, either...

The boy's at the comic con, and for those of us who are stuck at home--here is the comic book--well, their site: Mask and Cape Comics

Picture it

Ah, Estelle Getty.

How you made me laugh.

Here is one of my most favorite moments from "The Golden Girls."

Win a quilt!

Because I can't sew--I'm going to enter this contest to win this gorgeous quilt. It would be easier to win it, than for me to sew it. It would take me an eternity to do something like this.

http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/2008/07/win-this-quilt.html

What a week....

You know the saying: When it rains, it pours? It's been a little bit like that for me these days. It's one thing on top of another, and finally, today, I caused a minor traffic jam on the way to school. I was driving up to the university, when all of a sudden, my car just stopped in front of some guy's driveway. Luckily, the fellow and his wife were kind enough to help me out (by getting my car into their driveway), letting me into their home for a while before my dad came to get me, and just lovely people.

I'm just glad someone was kind enough to help out. Hopefully things start to turn around (maybe I ought to go for chinese tonight, and hope I get a good fortune?)

In knitting news: I have finally turned the heel on Clessidra. Yes, sock #1. I hope I don't get second sock syndrome.

Procrastination

I am procrastinating. I should be working on my paper, but this is ever more enticing (of course). Actually, my plan is this: I will work on my paper for a bit, email some people regarding my research study, and hopefully have some time left over to squeeze in an episode of "To Marry a Millionaire" (a k-drama that I am enjoying so far). Then, I will take my parents out for their 30th Anniversary dinner--which I hope will be nice. My dad has a nice surprise for my mom, so hopefully my mom will be happy (it's a necklace from the man who never buys jewelry).

I will officially continue to take ballroom dance. Love them. :) Last night, at the group lesson, we all had to trade partners for a couple dances, so I wound up dancing with an asian man with stinky breath and an old man who had tremors and couldn't remember where his feet were supposed to go, but he was very nice. Adam hated switching partners--he only liked one of the others that he had to dance with! Afterward, Adam and I went over to a fellow dance student's house, where we watched some anime, and he (the fellow student) showed us his transformers collection, which was impressive. Truth be told, I had to wonder (as I listened or tried to listen to this half-hour-long conversation about transformers), if I sound the same way to Adam (or males who do not knit or craft) when I discuss various yarns, patterns, designers, and techniques? The only thing I really understood from the transformers discussion was "beastwars"....and that's about it. All I really knew about them was that you can make them into cars and stuff.

I can't remember...

I can't remember if I ever mentioned this blog I started a while ago--it's a little fun for me more than anything: The Fortune Cookies. But just in case you want to see what it is.

Checking in again

There's not that much going on here, except for a couple good things that happened this past week:

I got to see Naomi when she came home from Germany for the week. I love seeing her and spending time with her--wish I could have spent more time with her, but I can't be selfish! When we went to Beachwood, we also stopped at this lovely bakery (good thing it's 45 minutes away from me, otherwise it could be a Very Bad Thing).

Here is a cupcake I brought home from The White Flower Cake Shop:




Yes. It tasted as good as it looked.

And the one that was just as good, if not better--the Red Velvet cupcake (not pictured, as it was already devoured). The next time I head up that way (might be a while yet), I'm making a trip to the cake shop...

Second bit of good news: My psych professor and I got invited to submit a grant proposal! We are stoked; we know we may not get it, but the fact that we got invited to do so--makes us really happy. We have until September 23 to put this baby together, make it tidy, exciting, and fundable. Hopefully the organization will think we're brilliant people and will think that we're worth investing in!

Playing catch up

So the past week or so were days of tinking back on my one Clessidra sock. There are times when you beat yourself up mentally because you just kept on knitting rather than reading the instructions before knitting. Which, of course, is not a smart thing to do. When I realized that I knitted up quite a lot (Instead of knitting 5 rows, I knitted 11--several times), I gave up and put Clessidra away for a bit. Very frustrated. So, essentially, it took me a little over a week to go back to where I should have started knitting the smaller sections. So now I feel better about it. Now I am where I should be, and I am actually reading the instructions...

As far as other things going on in my life: my birthday was awesome--I got a new cell phone (much needed, as my previous one had to be at least 4 years old--though I'm going to miss the smiley face covers I had on the phone), a new trollbead (Trollstone), and some fun gifts from Adam. And--my pen pals Caroline, Carolina, and Eileen really surprised me on my birthday with some wonderful gifts--I dont' have pictures at the moment but I will get around to putting them up!

One exciting thing I've been doing these days is learning to ballroom dance. It's a lot harder than you think--good workout too! I love my instructor, Meg, who is full of energy. In addition to the private lessons, there's also a group lesson (I'll try and go tomorrow) and a dance party--so I've actually met some people there. There's David, this twenty-year old boy who is really nice--and he and Adam seem to have hit it off. It sounds as though the two have a movie date or something this coming Saturday. Although I'm new to this, I think I'm going to keep up with the dance lessons if I can. Which means one thing: new SHOES!

Hee-hee.

Seriously though, it is lots of fun, even if one of us (not me, if that is a big enough hint) looks a little bit like a cross between Billy Ray Cyrus and Penn Jillette on Dancing with the Stars. It completely cracks up Meg when this person dances, sometimes.

But man, is it ever fun...

And, Adam's been working on another project--podcasts. I have a few guest appearances. Go check them out at The Aftershow Podcast!

The last year of my 20's

So today is my 29th birthday, and keeping up with that custom:

And, as you can see, I've been making progress on Clessidra. My one sock is shaping up and I keep trying it on to see how much more I've got to knit (quite a bit) but I don't mind. It is an absolutely beautiful knit and is not terribly difficult to make. I'm looking forward to fall, so I can wear this with my skirts...

And sometime in May, my SnB group had a seat cushion swap. My recipient was Sam, and this time of May was incredibly hectic with finals, Mother's Day, a training meeting, and a Trollbeads trunk show, but somehow I managed to knit up a cushion, felt it, put some applique and embroidery on it. The seat cushion was supposed to be 15"x15" but as you can see, it felted down to the right height but the wrong width. Oh well. But I still like it.