bellamoden

Moving on

2006-07-27T22:47:00.000-05:00

So, this site has finally horked (yes, the technical term) on me one time too many. You'll all be able to follow my continuing adventures of knittage and off the wall rampant catchenage at my new site, at bellamoden.

You'll all need to update your bookmarks to follow this exciting journey, and if there are any problems then leave me a comment here, and I'll see what I can do.

Interlude

2006-07-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

As a reminder to new readers, the name on the blog doesn't mean I didn't write the post, it means I had help posting it because I didn't use a computer to write the post.

Also? Don't forget, today's the last day for my contest! Don't forget to leave a question on last Friday's post. Thanks!

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For some reason, when I took my weekly pilgrimage to Hobby Lobby yesterday after having my Tuesday $1 ice cream at the Baskin Robbins, I was drawn to the crap yarn. I am a serious knitter, as serious as anyone can be after knitting nonstop for nine months and still not have produced a sweater. I love Rowan and Debbie Bliss and Noro and Cascade and Brown Sheep and Koigu and and and. You know, good self-respecting non-Fun Fur encrusted stuff.

So why was I drawn to crap yarn? Worse, store brand crap yarn. Generic yarn.

But I was. It is hard to resist the call of 70% off this week only yarn. Petting is free, right? Yarn yarn yarn molest molest molest yarn yarn.

Trouble was, I liked some of it. I did. The Hobby Lobby's yarn line is called Yarn Bee, and there was this yarn called Jewelsong. Of course, Tiphanie and I had a small cacklefest over how jewels sang and how we were missing out. But I digress.

Jewelsong.

It's sort of a cross between a ribbon yarn and a slight slight eyelash yarn. Satiny ribbon on one side, and short cotton eyelash on the other. If I had a real camera I'd take a picture, well I do, but I mean, if I had a computer to upload it to, you'd all see what I meant. The cotton means it's not prickly and when knitted up it sort of has what feels like to me the visual and tactile feel of old velvet. It's not wool, obviously, but it really is soft and tactile, and the colorway I got, Autumn Sky, is golds and pinks and hot pinks and plums and blues and greens and blue-greens. It's all mottled knitted up, I like it a lot. It's heavily textured, but unalike fun fur type crap, you can easily see the garter ridges.

It's just a simple garter stitch scarf on bamboo 8mms, 30 stitches a row for a ten inch wide scarf, the better to fold onto itself and scrunch nicely.

I like it a lot. 2 feet worth so far.

Not bad for 70% off yarn.

The Girl and the Matisse

2006-07-25T09:36:00.000-05:00

Unalike babochka the greatest geriatic catchen ever, the Matisse doesn't own me. If he owns anything, it would be the bowl, yes?

Still I cannot help but be captivated by him, how beautiful he is, how silly he is, how well, short bussed he is. How graceful he is, how far he has come since we met on my birthday four years ago. He was so little, especially compared to now. Yet, from the first, he was larger than baba. He was so sad, a traumatized giant six month old kitten with fresh cuts on his nose and a sad sad sad demeanor. But from the first, this tiny giant kitten was a contrandiction, loving to be close yet being so so afraid.

Never once hiding in fear, yet not understanding how to hide when he wanted to play. He still hides by putting his head under the bed. It still cracks me up. It took him a year before he would sit on me at all, 18 months before he would sit on me in front of *gasp* other people, and longer still to learn that he absolutely loved wearing me and sleeping on me and other now-normal Matisseisms, including drooling on my yarn and attempting to cram his giant self into my armpit.

But he is a bundle of joy in a giant furry container. He is happiness epitomized. He is bowl obsession incarnate. He is expandable, able to reach from my ankles to my chest. He is squishable, able to fit in the depression that forms when I sit indian style on the sofa. He is never sleek, and always always always fluffy. He doesn't like having his teethies brushed, but loves the toothpaste. He sets himself on fire and sits in wet sinks. He comes up and snuggles close when I don't feel well, and headbutts the wonderful brush Maia sent because he loves it that much.

Most importantly, he knows to tell me whenever the Vogons attack, because it is imperative that I be aware of their invisible bad poetry spewing presence.

Hat Hat Hat

2006-07-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

Hat #3 this morning, made with Sugar n Cream yarn in Hot Pink. This is being knitted up with the Chic Knits bucket hat pattern.

I wish my progress would be greater, but oh well. It's pretty!

Think the contrast color (just a small band above the brim, and a crocheted flower) should be white? Or tan? Or black?

BTW, I'm loving everyone's questions! I'll be answering all of them here sometime this week, and the contest will stay open until Wednesday because I'm awesome like that. Keep them coming!

Bite

2006-07-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

Remember that attempt for red cotton yarn last weekend?

After rinsing off the black and the red and the purple and the pink dyes, which had left the yarn looking distinctly lavenderish, this was what was left. Pink, but with a bite. Bite me pink. Not pale baby pink. Lurid, but not fluroscent.

On the left is the Sugar n Cream Hot Pink, and on the right is Bite. I rather like it, even if it's difficult to get a good representation of its color.

Anyone know if it'll just wash out if I wash it? Should I use a fixative? If so, what?

It'll be a hat. Of course. Pretend to be shocked.

Window

2006-07-22T23:08:00.000-05:00

What's the big deal about this picture? Simply put, THANK YOU GRAMMA for the curtains! I finally washed them and hang them up and I am so thrilled with them... they keep out light better at night while still keeping the room bright during the day (it's my paradox and I'm happy with it, thank you). They're 54" which are hard to find, but I really wanted that because Matisse has a habit of snagging the ends of the 63" drapes I had in the living room. 54" doesn't keep him from trying to reach the drapes but he's not tall enough to reach up to the ends. Neener neener!

O. And they are washable.

I suppose this is when you know you are an adult, when you are thrilled beyond what you thought possible for two small drapes over the bedroom window.

Friday! Friday! Friday!

2006-07-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to say that despite constantly falling asleep the minute I get home and waking up as late as possible, it seems, every morning, I managed to finish my hat! I like how it doesn't pool on the body but pools on the crown. And I'm wearing my matching Gramma Sweater, with a white tshirt under. Way too too.

I was going to post pictures yesterday of the Yarn Box, but short of filling up the bathtub with yarn, it was waaaaaaaaaaay too dark outside to do any pictures, basically, the last couple days. I might go ahead and do the tub filling tonight and talk about the haul tomorrow!

Hm, today's my 180th post. I always associate the number 180 with school. How about a mini contest? Leave a deafie-type question you've been wondering about, and hmmm, there will be random drawing for a prize! How about a small pile of hand-dyed yarn, winner's choice of weight and colors?

Promises of Good Things to Come

2006-07-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! But I also can't believe that I only got this postcard yesterday, when the date on the card says 20 June. Wow. My sock kit swap pal is British! I think. At the time she sent the card, she was in the UK. Heeeeeee. The postcard does have British stamps on it and there's a picture of Canterbury on the other side:

I love the stamps! Especially Mr Orange Head:

It's really too bad Benkei sucks at macro.

I am so excited about the kit that's coming!

Oh look!

Yarn Box tonight! Can't wait. This is a box where a bunch of us get on a list and throw what we don't want in the box and take out what we want, and then ship it on to the next person. Fun!

But really? All I want to do is work on my cute! cute! summer! hat! $2 buys a lot of pretty, doesn't it? Can't wait to wear it with a matching shirt and be too too.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-07-18T06:34:00.000-05:00

Very often, catchenage serve as mirrors, I think. They hover when you feel ill. They sit on you when you feel contented. They play with you when you just want to sleep. They trip you when you want to cook. They eat your yarn when you really want to knit. They drink your bath water when you're tubbing. They run out when you want them to stay in. They stay in when you give them permission to run out. They snuggle up close when it's really past time to get up and you should get up now, you know this, but they are so snuggly and warm and purrtastic and and and.

And sometimes, sometimes, they share their joy with the world in an unabashed and unashamed way. And they let you share in with that moment with them.

I love this picture so much. When I look upon it, even in the middle of feeling pretty sick and mostly tired, I cannot help but smile and feel a little bit of that pure joy.

And that smile within yourself I hope you're feeling right now? That's the real portrait for today.

Bowl!

2006-07-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

The boys are very very very very very very very very very happy with their bowl.

How happy?

This is the view of the Matisse enbowled, as I sit at the sofa.

The Matisse in situ. Can you find his face?

The Picasso and the Matisse, examining this strange concept called "sharing".

The Picasso demonstrates his mad sharing skillz. Aren't we so proud of him?

For the love of cotton

2006-07-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

Hm, do you think I might have acquired a little bit of cotton yarn today? Gramma and I went to Michael's and Walmart in pursuit of two things, 1) enough yarn to make a Sitcom Chic, and 2) red yarn.

I struck out on the latter, but did find a small mountain of hot pink Sugar 'n Cream at Michael's the better to be chic and not too cold inside at work.

You know, just as soon as I cast on.

And enough yarn for three hats may or may not have fallen into the basket, as well.

I'm still working on the second hat. It's still a brim. It'll be a hat very very soon, I'm almost to the point where I switch from the tiny needles to the bigger ones and that will make it go that much faster. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee.

It's 100s here. I need to turn the air on.

Omnipresent

2006-07-15T23:32:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I forwarded all of them to my sinus cavities. I hope that you know, someday I'll have a life without infected sinuses. Not that I'm bitter or anything that it's now six months and change. Nope. Not aggravated in the least nor do I have a hateon for the ent who cancelled on me. Nope. I don't know what you're talking about.

Right now I'm not feeling too bad. More wiped out than anything really, and the pain of the migraines are gone though my right sinus cavity, between the eye and the jaw, yes that one, is feeling as overfull as ever, and I am dealing with that. You know, short of creating a new hole for the cavity. Forcibly. Maybe with a straw, like those orange juice commercials. Then somebody could drink from it, like that one weird Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Slurp slurp, infection gone!

People on medication have strange thoughts, and that's the story I'm sticking to.

In between weird British movies and unplanned naps on the sofa, I've managed to knit a little bit on bucket hat #2 using Sugar 'n Cream in hot blue for the brim.

And I even got around to dyeing cotton yarn using Wilton's and lets just say it'll take a lot more work for it to even approach my dream of dark deep red... Right now it's more in the arena of "lurid light pink" which I'm guessing won't go with my red shoes. Foo.

Hey, if anyone has pointers for how to force white cotton to become red I'd love to hear them, or to read links.... Thanks! Or you know, cotton yarn in a good red I could get for a couple pennies... That would work too. Grin.

Tomorrow: the gramma comes to visit. Yay!

In Sickness and in Health

2006-07-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

The crapass part about being sick is that you have no choice in it. You're seized by the SICK and you shake when you are shaken and you urgle when you are urghled.

Thursday afternoon, I had a migraine on my left size, unusual both in its scope and its location. I had taken some Imitrex and yet it continued unabated. Like one of those borg creatures.

The good thing about being alone in Champaign-Urbana is that my mother could take me to the hospital, and take me she did where I got diagnosed with a healthy case of a sinus infection, and a migraine. Antibiotics for the first, morphine and phernagan for the latter.

And I realized I must really have been in denial about the sinuses, especially looking at Wednesday's entry when I complained about how full my sinuses were. Sigh.

Today was equally crapass waking up and tossing all the cookies I had in my system and then more, and revisiting the horrid left side migraine, with another visit to the hospital, where this time I got a cat scan and was pronounced to be brainproblemfree which is both great and sucky.

Much appreciation for my gramma, who drove me to the hosptial this time and hovered at home as only a gramma can, and for my mother, who brought me food.

Needless to say I didn't knit or work today, and I feel especially bad about the not working.

DYE-O-RAMA!

2006-07-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

I'm so thrilled! SO THRILLED! Isn't this gorgeous? It came from Megan of Stash to Treasure. I love her stash swap idea!

The yarn, it reminds me of an hydrangea, like this one:

It appears to be a skein of worsted weight, so I'm thinking that to make the most of it, I should crochet (YES I SAID CROCHET) a one skein scarf:

I love it! As it happens, I have a ball of Rowan Cashsoft DK slated for an Odessa in a coordinating green I'm thinking about dyeing to be closer to this green. How many packets of green did you use, and what flavor was it? What a great springy set this will be!

Also, Megan sent me a set of felted circle coasters - circles are my favorite shape! I wasn't able to take good pictures of them because it was dark outside yesterday and I had put them on the Matisse's back, laughing at him and pointing, saying "spotted dragon!" For some reason he wasn't amused.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Bowl!

2006-07-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

The Matisse wishes to inform his adoring public, those people known as "the catstaff's friends", that he loves his bowl, though it may not be big enough for him to cram his head in, and he degined to allow his catstaff to brush her teeth in peace for the first time in six weeks, although he has no idea why that's such a big deal. Besides, that Tom's toothpaste the catstaff uses is grosssssssssssss. Who the heck uses licorice? Blech! The chicken flavored toothpaste is a lot better, although he wishes the catstaff would just let him eat it, instead of rubbing it onto his teethies. Slurp. Where was he? Oh right. Bowl. He is happy. Bowl bowl bowl! No one throws him out of the bowl! Now all he wants is a place to cram his head in and some wool, the catstaff has been hiding it and that's cruel. Bowl! Bowl! It's blue and it's a bowl! It's pretty and it's a bowl! It's naptastic! Bowl bowl bowl. He was surprised, and so was his catstaff! Bowl!

Wait. Does this mean he has to stop protest sleeping?

The Picasso thanks his adoring public for giving the Matisse a bowl, because now he has a place to nap when Matisse isn't in it, and isn't he cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute? The Picasso, not the bowl. The. Picasso. Is. Cute. Especially when his head is upside down. Isn't it? Booooooooooowl. Cuuuuuuuuuute. Happy.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-07-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

The only thing better than preening over a pretty thing you're knitting is wearing the pretty thing you knitted!

Especially when it's a crapass day and you wake up late, jello explodes all over your jacket, you sit there shivering all day as your sinuses are so full you can't move your face and you glug so much diet Coke you might as well have had it hooked up to an IV, and the piece of the soggy cake of the day, being huddled over a laptop for seven hours editing possibly the worst paper known to man, which included this choice entry, "This question connects classroom research with my own university level teaching in which I will be examining both preservice and inservice teacher understanding about the design of investigations and data use."

And my ENT cancelled my appointment on me, foooooooooooooooooooooooo.

But look at the pretty hat!

Confessions of a Knitting Traitor

2006-07-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

I have learned how to crochet. The world has not ended. Yet.

I've been learning in order to make round things, and to make some of the stuff in the Happy Hooker book, and more especially because I couldn't teach my mother how to crochet if I didn't know how to crochet. I've been having fun! I can't say I prefer it to knitting at all, but it's a great thing to know how to do.

And all those crochet books I've been reading! I'll have talk about these sometime soon. Not today though.

Today, the shock of my crocheting is enough.

Hattage

2006-07-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

There are few things happier than being totally pleased with the object you are creating.

Cotton

2006-07-08T22:25:00.000-05:00

I confess I am thoroughly sick of wool. SO sick of it. There's the Matisse wearing me while I handle wool, there's the sticky squeaky feel of the wool as it glormphs past the metal needle, there's the clammy hands, there's just nothing good about wool right this moment.

In with the cotton! In with the hats! I saw that Bonne Marie had bought Sugar n Cream yarn to make her bucket hat with. INSPIRATION! Hobby Lobby had SNC for $1 per... and I was off to the races.

Please note the marked absence of the Matisse on my lap. I'm very happy! And isn't that yarn working up cute?

Work

2006-07-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

Today was a wonderful day. It was the first day of work, and I wasn't bored for a minute, truthfully. It turns out that I was placed in the one office on campus, perhaps, where my officemate spoke fluent ASL and had deaf parents, though he himself was hearing. Crazy!

I mean, really, what're the odds of that?

Wonderful.

It's a good experience to have office chat and yakking.

I spent all day working on CVs, and it's plain to see why they brought me in, with all the work that's necessary, and it takes so much time to do each item!

This is the view from the lounge... gorgeous. I find the painting to be fascinating, and I can't help but wonder how I would translate the feel of it in a yarnly medium... I'll have to take pictures with the real camera.

Fruition

2006-07-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

Do you ever try to bring your visions to life, and struggle with the expression?

Perhaps the best medium to try to express my thoughts, my ideas about this scarf I have in mind isn't through watercolor. But it's an interesting challenge isn't it, to try to communicate what you want and what you're looking for, without the benefit of the materials you need.

Because I don't have them. I have in mind this Rowan kidsilk haze scarf, perhaps a tube, perhaps flat, but nonetheless some sort of largeish airy squishable thing, with 2 strands of the Rowan kidsilk haze held together, with the pink being dominant and other random colors being held with it, changing at different intervals.

Is this a crazy idea to start with? I wish I could test it more effectively, I have only the pink Rowan kidsilk haze and a single half skein of lavender. Does anyone have any leftovers they'd like to offload? We could trade! Or something. I would be deeply grateful....

But really, as much as I love the yarn thing and the project planning and the happy joy that is the noncompletion of the orange strap and yet another date with the sinus migraine fairy, there are more important things.

Such as the starting of a job tomorrow! Wish me luck. I'll be proofreading and editing, and doing my best to ignore the lys that's right on the way home from work.

Of colors and patterns

2006-07-05T20:40:00.000-05:00

I love color. I really, really do. The apartment is white, very white, but for me this serves as counterpoint, as respite, as refuge.

All day every day I surround myself with yarn, with textures, with blogs, with dvds, with knitporn. But mostly the yarn, within my hands, through my fingers, on needles.

Lately, of the violently orange persuasion. (Is it finished yet? No. Am I bitter? Don't ask.)

I spent the day with gramma today, and we got a few binders, as you can see. My printout and copy collection, of way too many patterns, scratch that, you can't have too many, but let us say that it is likely more will be inspirations rather than projects I will accomplish.... Anyway, they needed to be more properly contained, because the two original binders I had (the first and third pictures, if that sort of thing matters to you) were threatening to explode.

And now they won't. The world is a happier place (chez Fraro, if nowhere else), and I rest easy knowing I have room for more inspirations and more plans.

Before my latest round of additions, which began on the 26th, I had done a head count of the patterns I had. Frankly that number at the time was frightening enough as is, I thought, with:

3 blankets
16 bags
27 sweaters
2 baby sweaters
14 hats
19 scarves
5 wraps
5 fingerless gloves
16 socks

Which is all probably delusional and overtly optimistic given it is Wednesday and I still haven't finished the strap. But you didn't ask if I was bitter, so I won't tell you.

Do you like that blue sweater? I'd visited and tried it on at the Gap last Friday, but returned it to the rack because I didn't want to spend the $20 for it, clearance rack or no. Even if I really really liked it. Monday, Gramma emailed me saying she wanted to take me out on Wednesday and take me back to the Gap to buy the sweater. Hahahahahahahahaha. She is funny. And I own a new sweater.

I do have a good reason for not having finished the strap today, though. And no, it's not the Matisse's fault... He's been parked on me since I came home, because I felt like crap. My sinuses are hurting again (who wants to take bets on when they'll be infected again?) and had to worship at the altar of Imitrex again.

I do feel better for the nonce, wearing the healing Matisse, and for now? That's enough for me.

Now, excuse me while I go back to the orange strap of DOOM.

Confession is good for the soul

2006-07-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

I confess that this picture of me is from 2 weeks ago. Nevertheless, enjoy!

And I confess that I saw weird things while out shopping today:

This is a doggy toy, and it's a kitty in a bikini. What the!?!

And:

This is a set of 4 apples sold for $5, solely because they have caranuba wax flags stenciled on them. I love America.

And I confess I didn't finish the strap today. Still love me anyway?

The Process

2006-07-03T22:17:00.000-05:00

The thing about happiness is that it's the byproduct, never the result, of what you do.

In other words, it's the process.

Or so I console myself, as I see this tonight:

When that ball is gone, the strap is done, whether or not it's done.

Have you heard I've got a blog?

2006-07-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

First off, thank you, dear readers, for not letting my page count drop despite the fact I may or may not have dropped off the knitting blogosphere this week. It has been a very difficult week for a few reasons. And I hardly wanted to talk to anyone at all, though I am grateful to my mother for her ice cream cones and to my grandmother for taking me out again Friday where we went to the mall for a haircut and 3 new white cotton blouses on clearance at the Gap. My hair is now more or less chin length and flippy flippy, and it's what I always wanted, wash and go hair.

It's a holiday weekend. What are you doing?

Me, today I went to the uni library and then the public library, where I acquired a small nation's worth of dvds, one featuring the sainted Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland, and 19 knittage and crochet books. I may or may not deeply enjoy knitporn. I've just spent a wonderful hour or two poring over Knitting Nature, and I can see many designs in it that are just plain interesting. I can't decide which of the sweaters I would like to do, probably because it's in the 90s and a sweater? Shudder. So at the moment, I am most intrigued by the triangle scarf, which I would make with 4 skeins of perhaps, a Sundara somewhat solid color. Because I have an absolute need for another scarf, of course.

Knittage?

I'm still working on the strap. The orange strap of doom. I have 9 feet done and g-d and spirit willing, I shall have the rest no later than tomorrow, when I may or may not finally get to felt the bag! Imagine that... Oof. It'll be ridiculously hot, but it'll be done, and the faboo Mary will finally have her bag, and that's greatly enchuffening, enough of a motivation to dooooooo the felting. The strap, on the other hand? I could do better.

Because I need a scarf like a hole in the haid, I've been designing. This is the pattern I've worked out colorwise, using the Pick Up Sticks geometric scarf pattern as the template. It'll be the unfelted version, using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted yarn. I plan to pair it with the Loop-d-Loop corrugated hat, using a red Lamb's Pride bulky yarn I'll need to procure, and fingerless gloves in the grey, using Ann Budd's garter stitch fingerless gloves recipe found in Weekend Knitting, using the grey. The colors, obviously, in the picture, are not true to life, because they are red, fuschia, hot pink, teal, and royal blue, with the grey every other row, forming the blobby stripes. I think it'll be a cute yet funky set, and all of it is from stash, except for that yarn for the hat, which is nice, no?

You can see here that the catchen have been very very very very busy.

Matisse and Picasso have been busy sleeping, and alternate between Protest Sleeping and Making the Catstaff's Lap Rilly Rilly Hot.

Baba, on the other hand, much prefers the bamboo yarn that Katie sent.

I may or may not have knitted a swatch that seems to grow and grow and grow. It will be a gift, I think, it's really a yummy scarf.

The other bamboo scarf on the other hand... I loved it very much but it seems to have ungrown a bit.....

It's grown since then, but I'll talk about that another day.

Did you miss me? I missed me, too. And I missed you guys.

Fridays are a good thing.

2006-06-23T20:12:00.000-05:00

I may or may not have an utter and complete love for the delicious and kieflicious Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland.

Which is just another way of saying, thank you Fox, for having 2 hours of Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland every Friday night. And thank you for Sean Astin. He is utterly delicious in his own right. He's no Shohreh Aghdashloo but you know, he's hardly sloppy seconds.

Knitting? Well um, not yet, and it's 915 pm. Maybe after the laundry is done and I've ingested more food. I love doing laundry on Fridays here, I can do six loads without people bothering me, and it's wonderful.

Five of these loads, by the way, are pure white. White towels, white matelasse, white sheets, white chenille, white quilt, white white white white. I love white.

Sorry, I know that's terribly inane stuff and you don't come here for that. Or maybe you do, I don't know!

I didn't knit today yet for good reasons, though. Not because I was avoiding the orange strip. Not on purpose, anyway... My gramma came over today! She filled up my freezer with 38 billion things, and gave me a chocolate cake she'd baked for me! Mmmmmmmm chocolate cake. With vanilla frosting. Which I will have right after this post, now that I think about it.

We went to Sears and le mart du Wal. I know, I know, I know, on the latter. At Sears I was able to get a pair of mocha colored pants, a chocolate brown skirt, and a white blouse that fit and didn't make people go holy moly you've lost weight. Which did happen a lot when I wore it in DC. The shirt and pants are a size 6, which I know will scare the people who know me in meatspace. That's what happens when you're sick forever, not that I'm bitter. It's nice to have a miniscule wardrobe of professionalish nice things to wear for interviews and (potential) temp placements and whatnot. And I have 2 capri pants that fit. That's my entire bottoms wardrobe. Feel sorry for me.

But yes, yes yes yes, I am eating, mom. I am only 11 pounds underweight now, thanks to the ice cream diet. It was 20+ before. From experience, it will take me 6 months to gain the other 11. I can live with that. By the way, I have always sort of been sick of when people tell me I am so lucky because my problem has never been concerned with being overweight or with gaining weight, but with the opposite, where I lose weight rapidly and have a difficult time gaining it back, especially when sick. I've always had a crazy metabolism, and constantly need fuel. It's a different issue and is no more lucky or unlucky. It just is.

I've been here in this apartment for 24 days. I've read 185 pages in Cell by my favorite author I refuse to be ashamed of, Stephen King. I've frogged the bamboo scarf and restarted it. I've been on one course of antibiotics, one interview, several intakes, a squintillion million bus trips, and a thousand trips to the library for knittageporn and DVDs.

I wish I could post pictures for you today but it's way too dark, all day today it's been promising to rain. Which is wonderful, because it means it's cooler, but is bad photographically because Benkei the Sidekick is not up to overcastedness. But I'm so glad it's windy because the breezes into the apartment are so nice.

I love all the suggestions I've gotten for the bag! And I think I'll try to get the Nicky Epstein knitted flower book from the library for inspiration, and keep an eye out for catchenal pins. Both options are theoretically free, right? Hee.

In catchenal news, the Picasso is so happy today with the balls I got him, the kind where he can pick up one in his mouth and bring it over to me for me to throw for him. He loves chasing after and losing and finding and pouncing at these balls. He seems to have a preference for purple. (And llamas. But we knew that.)

Matisse, too, is very happy thanks to the amazing Maia who sent him a bright pink brush that is the first brush that's ever worked AND didn't make him cry a lot. Matisse has only one layer of fur, not counting the fur in his furbrain, and normal brushes you see have sharp tips and are painful for him, giving him scratches. He has wonderfully soft and nonmatted fur right now. Which is just plain amazing. Truly. I'm hoping Matisse will let me brush him daily, because that would help his severe matting issues greatly.

The boys went wild over the scratching post when I dosed it with catnip, particiularly Matisse, and I'll repeat the dosing to try and reinforce the use of it. Ooooooh. Baba has no claws, but she very much liked the catnip, thank you. Here she is on the sofa next to me, being her trademark grumpy self. Hi baba! She's all curled up onto herself, making sure her foot is on my arm, and is basking in the fannage.

By the way, dyepal, thank you for your note! I appreciate that a lot, and I'm not overtly worried... At least about you! I indeed still haven't received the box and the poor melted and solidfied and melted chocolate bar... Mmmmmmm chocolate. Speaking of chocolate.

I'm gonna get that cake and then some dinner after I post this.

It's a Friday night, and it's a good one.

Of Picassos and Llamas

2006-06-22T21:58:00.000-05:00

Oh. I'm tired. But it was a good day all the way around, even though my lungs have developed a tasty layer of slime in the last 24 hours and the cough is worse than it was last week, which sort of sucks monkey rocks given the weekful of antibiotics I've ingested. On the other hand, I don't feel like death warmed over, and the sinuses feel pretty good if I stay inside.

Which may or may not be at odds with the pursuit of ~~more yarn~~ a job. But I digress.

I had the interview, and it went great! The woman seemed impressed with me and had great questions and a good sense of humor, and we laughed over my lack of voice. See, I'd asked for a interpreter even though I could have managed without one because even if I could lipread the person, my voice is pretty much shot. Hopefully I'll hear back from her soon!

And it's always good to pretend to have a good sense of humor over the BEING SICK FOR FIVE MONTHS thing. Ahem.

Anyway, here's a picture of the bag that ate Champaign-Urbana! I hope Mary likes it. Well, when I finish the strap and all. The strap will take as long as the bag itself did if I continue to knit it at the rapid pace I'm doing, which is like, a pathetic foot or so. In the last 36 hours.

I had slightly more fun with the Cascade Pastaza bag, you see... Yesterday I knit the last 10 rows I needed to make on it, and then added the straps to it that I'd wisely knit a looooooong time ago. The next strapped bag I make may or may not begin with the strap as opposed to the bag body because then I'd get the crappy part done first and get to have the high of casting off and felting all in the same day!

I don't know why the strap last is so bad but it is. It really is. I am so lame.

But yesterday, on the hottest day of the week, I went ahead and felted the bag in two runs through the hot hot hot washer in the hot hot nonairconditioned laundry room and created this:

I'm not sure if I feel like the bag is "done".... Does it need something? But what?

Picasso would say that the bag neeeeeeeeeeds him, because it's made of 50% llama yarn and the Picasso, he loves the llama yarn muchly and wants to make out with it and lick it and snuggle it and sleep with it. And call it George.

But I'm not looking for quite that kind of accessory when going outside, so I'm guessing that the Picasso option is out.

Anyone have any ideas? I do have half a ball left of the matching main color yarn.

A time to kill? No, a time to dye!

2006-06-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

Has it been a week already? At least, thanks to the miracle of antibiotics and decongestants, I am feeling markedly better. I don't feel 100% yet, and confess I wonder how long the remission this time will last, but at least for now? I feel better.

And that's enough.

I finally finished the bag that ate my town last night. Prefelted, it is 3 feet long by 2 feet wide, full of stripedy wool hotness, just the thing you want to have on your lap when it's 90 out. Yum. It's done! It's done! The only thing I have left is the 11 foot long strap, which at least is orange so I won't resent it so much. I am possibly a wee bit tired of yellow at this point. Mm.

I also added the last 10 rows that my cascade pastaza bag needed, and went ahead and felted it despite said 90 degree weather and the hot hot hot water in the washer. It made sense at the time. Picasso loves it just as much as he did when it was unfelted, and was observed snuggling up with it and macking it, which was strange given how sopping wet it was. Is. Catchen is weird.

Tomorrow I interview for a job, we will see how that goes.

Following you'll see a bevy of pictures of the dyeorama fun I had. Please note the appropriate use of the chairs. Heeeee.

blerk

2006-06-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

Sick. With a sinus infection. Again. I'm a broken record by now, I do think. Fourth round of antibiotics! A new one, too. I hope it helps, my cheekbones might as well weigh 50 pounds for all the pressure they're exerting. More exciting things will be talked about tomorrow, promise.

On knitting and yarn

2006-06-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I went to the yarn shop, hoping to catch the owner so I could talk to her about a part time job. Nothing doing, because she was out and wouldn't be back until Saturdayish. I probably will return on Saturday just to talk to her nicely... seesee.

But before I went to the yarn shop, I had to get ready to go, right? And this was what my bag looked like, before I cleaned it up:

Yeah I know, the yarn threw up. That's what happens when you're knitting an endless bag for Mary! with five different colors of Cascade 220.

Oh, the bag itself so far? Here:

I think it looks nice, but I'm glad it's for Mary! and not for me. I'm doing it with a modified Fibonacci stripe pattern, 4, 4, 8, 16, 32. But the orange yarn is always 2 rows, no matter where it is, so the other four colors move around in size due to the five stripe repeat. Nice, no? The orange stripe is only 2 rows because that's the color I'm making the double I-cord with.

I have to confess that today, when I've lived in the apartment here for two weeks? I hardly remember the old apartment at all. The only thing I miss is the bed. The metal frame, the mattress, the size. That's all. The rest, I hardly remember. I don't know what that means, but that it's the truth.

I don't wish things were different. I just need a job, so I can have minor accidents at the yarn shop, which has all sorts of goodies that I completely need, of course.

PS: dyepal, I'm worried! Your yarn isn't here yet!

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-06-13T18:35:00.000-05:00

Once again, apologies for the bad pictures. But this is what I woke up to this morning, covered in catchen. There was the baba, in my face and wobbling around.

There was the Picasso, on my head and wanting me to settle down so he could put his paws back into my hair.

And there was the Matisse, putting my legs to sleep.

Ah, life with catchen.

With all the excitement of the last several days, I decided that today would be a fake Saturday, where the most challenging thing I would do all day would be picking up Benkei and answering emails. I knit and knit and knit, wore catchen, and watched DVDs and TV programs. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

DYEORAMA!

2006-06-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

Leave it to me to keep everything to the last possible moment... But today the sun was finally shining and I could take pictures! This was the best of the bad pictures on Benkei. I also took "real" pictures but without a computer, we'll all have to wait. MYOI.

I think it turned out well! Greens and blues and purples and teals and bright blues. Do you like it? I hope my dyepal does!

Today was EXTREMELY busy. I was up at o bright 30 to get on the bus and head over to the uni, where I took the clerk civil exam. I have a scary amazing edietic memory up there in my noggin, where I could type the typing test from memory because it was the same exact documents as the last time I took the test 7 years ago. But could I remember where I put the chocolate bar the other day? No. I could not. *sob*

I typed my little heart out, flew through the organizing, spelling, grammar, etc section, plugged in my resume, and I was done, with 70 minutes to spare, even with reviewing everything. That was fun! So I walked over to my mother's office and we had lunch and then we went back and I worked and worked on cover letters, a newly typed resume (I had an old hard copy but given I had learned the new address after I no longer had a computer, it was necessary to retype it), and filling out application forms on the typewriter. Two applications I was filling out were due at 5 pm today, and I'd only learned of them, what, last Friday? Eep. Type type type type, plow plow plow. Straight keyboards make my arm seriously burn and throb, but there was nothing doing, I had to finish them! And I did. I got them in to the library by 4 pm. I was proud of myself, frankly, even if by then it was all I could do to go home and ingest medication that may or may not be Canadian, and flop on the sofa.

Ugh.

Sundays are for Grammas

2006-06-11T15:16:00.000-05:00

I was tired after the work all day Saturday, but today wasn't going to be a day of rest, because gramma was coming over and we were going to get some stuff! I'd finally decided what to get, and it wasn't going to be a laptop (snif) or a TV. Gramma had a hard time finding the new apartment, but eventually I found her! And then we went to Linens and Things, where we looked over the memory foam boxes and selected one that was firm and thick enough, and also had a zipup cover included with it, and with that, it was very reasonably priced, for what it was. Also? Sheets! Queen sheets, 300 count sateen cotton, in a random stripe woven pattern. Please don't ask me what color they are, you should know me by now.... heh.

No pictures because, well, you know. Also, how exciting are sheets? To look at, anyway. But as a sheetophile, I loves sheets. Loves them muchly. MmmmmMMMmmMMMmmm.

Dye-a-rama!

2006-06-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Pretend you see pictures here. I sent them to someone to have them uploaded, but they're still not uploaded, so let's pretend together.

Anyway today, I could dye! Because I had the yarn! The pot! The dye! Amazing.

So I put the two skeins of Dale Baby Ull on the counter and divided them roughly in half, with a cotton yarn tightly (on purpose!) tied around the middle. Then I plopped half of each skein into the dyepot with a glopped amount of Wilton's royal blue. The yarn, it must be noted, was orignally a flouroscent yellow. Yum!

After a little bit, the dye exhausted, and I took it out of the pot (ow! ow! hot!) and flipped it over to do it all over again, with some violet dye. After that was exhausted, I took the hot skein, ran it under cold water until it wasn't boiling hot, and then went ahead and wound it into a super long skein across four chair backs. Thanks for convincing me to take all four chairs, mom and gramma! I know that wasn't exactly how you envisioned me using those chairs, though....

I then hung it up. And while Verde thought it looked cool and loud, I, as a known non-proponent of yellow, dithered over it a couple hours, and finally dumped it into a bath of more blue dye. And then, as Chris knows, I forgot about it and took a bath :) Came back out when it "smelled" done. Mmmmm done! But I'd messed up and tied the strings around the yarn too tightly so there was still yellow. So I got to *ow ow ow hot* cut all the ties, retie them loosely, and dump it into another blue bath.

And I had a heck lotta fun and would I do it again? YES!

Housewarming Yarn!

2006-06-09T21:39:00.000-05:00

Look at the present I got in the mail today from Dave! Immediately upon sighting the box, I had a big :D on my face. Of course, I also got all of the last outstanding boxes too, including the dyeorama yarn, which meant I could finally dye dye dye this weekend, but no, I wanted to open this box first. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE.

The visual texture is similar to Cascade 220, where the yarn is plied and even and doesn't have bumpiness in its plying like Koigu does. Since I love Cascade 220's texture, this is a good thing. But touching it, oooooooh. So much softer, so much more, I don't know the word... Spongy? It's squeezy like a Charmin roll. Squeeze squeeze squeeze squeeze. And also? Squeeeeeeeeze.

I let Dave pick the yarn, and I love the colors, lots of different blues, and some purples and plus a purply-pink that that matches the corduroy jacket Verde and I both have. The picture above doesn't do it justice, and I'll be fashion shooting it before I ~~sully~~ knit it up.

I'd originally been thinking a pillow cover, but you know, that corduroy jacket just needs a matching scarf.... It's so soft next to the skin. I've got 420 yards worth of sport weight... Thinking a lace scarf with this. Any recommendations for a pattern? I'm currently thinking about an all-knit feather and fan, for perfect reversibility. I want something that'll have movement (wavy stripes! Cool!) but won't be obscured by the yarn itself.

Matisse isn't trying to drool this yarn to death, a first because he seems to think wool is edible. Or that it should be. I wonder if he smells lulukitty on it?

I'm being good and not casting on it right.this.very.minute.

The things we do for catchen

2006-06-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

It occured to me this morning, as I was taking a quick, and thus shallow, bath that my life is possibly overtly catchen oriented.

Matisse and Picasso love drinking out of the tub, making it necessary for me to buy nontoxic labelled cleaning products and hoping that they don't get poisioned. And of course Matisse sleeps in the sink continually as his protest continues, so I have to worry about what his fur gets in contact with there also.

No, I don't think that's doing too much for the catchen.

What got me started on pondering the catchenalism of my life was that Picasso was delicately pawing at my hair with claws extended as I lay there in the tub, which was clear Picassoese for "catstaff, the level of water in this tub is too low for me to drink out of. Cup your palms and bring me water!" And as I obliged him, I couldn't help but think this is so messed up, not that I stopped what I was doing.

They infuritate me sometimes, and sometimes I'd like to punt one or another of them, but I know without a doubt they are worth every cent I have spent on them in the last month.

And so I wish I could buy Matisse a bowl, so he will stop searching and protesting. And possibly so I can wash my hands and brush my teeth without it being a contest, but really, that's secondary. I want him to be fully happy. Isn't that funny?

And I hope for a scratching post soon because the Picasso, he likes the new sofa. Noooooooooooooooo. Does anyone have scratching post training advice? I want him to love the post. A lot more than the sofa.

And the baba, she is grumpy and grouchy and depressed. I want to do something for her but I don't know what.

I have learned it's often better to change my own behavior than to try to bend the catchen to my will, thus why the yarn is never left strewn around, because it will be drooled on faster than you can say Matisse.

Which doesn't explain why I readily accede to Picasso's demand for hand-cupped water in the tub.

Wednesdays are for wish lists

2006-06-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

What do you choose, when your grandmother emails you, telling you to pick whatever you want, as long as it's not too expensive?

A rug?

A new tv so you can see it from further than 5 feet away, given the slight need to be able to read captions?

A new laptop (ok probably way too expensive)?

A floor screen?

Some kind of new bed and/or headboard?

We know what the Matisse wants. A! Bowl! We can put that on the list too.

Strange as it may seem I honestly feel as though I'm drowning in things somehow, and will be purging more, even though my dressers are virtually empty and I am using only two cabinets in the kitchen and my bedroom closet is virtually empty. How does this work?

What would you choose? Why? Or can you think of something better?

Tuesdays are for self portraits

2006-06-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

I am Baba. Watch me lounge.

I have a new sofa and coffee table. Let us rejoice.

Hey! That's my spot!

Matisse has taken up semi-permanent residence in Protest Spot 2, the space between the fridge and the cabinet above it. Picasso was caught sleeping in the tiny space next to Matisse, probably in solidarity. Bowl for Matisse! Bowl for Matisse! Bowl for Matisse! Bowl for Matisse! Bowl for Matisse!

No it is not! Grr!

Baba is my favorite grumpy geriatic catchen. She gets mad at everything these days and that's ok. Still my favorite. The only thing I'd change about her is not haing to grow old. But wishes are like horses.

Baba is angry! Fleeeeeee!!!!!

Picasso is goofy. I think he's the favorite for a lot of people, just because he's so friendly and playful and stuff. He reminds me a lot of baba when she was young, when she wasn't grumpy and loved everything.

Comic courtesy Two Lumps

This comic is the best! Matt showed it to me and I thought it was perfect for today, especially with the new sofa and all, because this is their life with Benkei the Sidekick. Bzz bzz bzz bzz bzz!

Goodies!

2006-06-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

Look! A box! A box I had never seen before. A box that didn't have my name as the FROM sender. A box that didn't have forty-eleven layers of tape that seemed like a good idea at the time. (Can you tell I've been getting a lot of boxes? Nine today. Including the possibly overinsured box of knitting needles. And a couple underinsured boxes of yarn. Yay! But I digress.) A box! From Chris.

I was apparently sadly mistaken that this box was meant for me, because just moments after I took the first bad picture, these mousies were on the floor. Does Picasso have mousie-dar or something?

I know at this point Chris is thinking, "wait, there were three mousies for three catchen, where's the third one?"

Well, Picasso was slightly busy with it, as we can see.

Pounce! Watch! Bat!

Now, this is a bad bad bad picture, and for that I flog Benkei the Sidekick with a dry noodle (can't risk frying him, after all), but hopefully you can see the white blob that is the mousie and the very very very very happy Picasso. I love that you matched the mousies to my apartment, Chris!

There were, shockingly, things in the box that were not mousies! Wilton cake icing dye, which can be used for yarn dyeing. Perfect! I sort of owe yarn for the whole dyeorama thing, and um, well, dye! Dye is a good first step. I'm still waiting for the yarn and the pot, which will eventually arrive, I hope, by the end of the week. Dye party this weekend sounds fun! The colors are violet, kelly green, and royal blue, which I think could be fun. They remind me of the dead muppet scarf I knitted Paws. I promise no dead muppets will be scalped for my yarn.... Can't promise about not dyeing catchen, though. Good thing this dye has sugar in it, eh?

Yarn! Good summer knittage yarn, in cotton/linen blends. These have a good hand to them, I can see an early fall scarf in this. One skein is a rather silky one, with the watery blues I've been liking, I'll have to see if it's enough to make the front of a pillow cover, maybe

More yarn! A lovely cream shiny/not shiny plyed ball, I'm not sure yet what I'd make with it but it sure is pretty to look at. I love textures, and this one is an unusual one.

More yarn! Three skeins of DK weight superwash yarn, for you know, the yummy flavored yarn dyes. Heeeee. Sugary yarn. Seriously though this is enough for a scarf, maybe even a hat also if I did it right. Or socks. Socks are good! Depends on what the sugared dead muppet yarn looks like. I love possibilities! Though that's a pretty bad name for the yarn, I'll come up with a better one I promise.

But there was still more! A book stand, to knit and read concurrently, using, you know, books rather than a dvd. Chris did point out to me a while ago that I was reading while knitting already if I was watching dvds. Duuuuuuh. I'm so used to captions and subtitles I'd not thought of it that way, I guess. And! A book with dyeing recipes, for both yarn and fabric. I confess I always wanted to dye fabric, and this was a neat book to read over dinner (sans knitting. One sharp implement at a time, please!) I will have to feel good with dyeing yarn first before I get into farbics, though.... I think.

The cherry on top! That mug IS THE CUTEST THING EVER. Really. I love it! If I ever get my tea (I mailed tea to myself. Shut up.) and my kettle, tea in a catchen mug we come! For now it'll be my water mug. Which I should say, in all truth, it'll be my mmmmmmmmmno kitty MY water mug. There are four paws on the back of the mug. Three for my herd, of course, and the fourth I think of as Chaos's pawprint, because really, this is such a wonderful way to greet my first week in my new apartment. Thank you soooooooooooooooooo much, Chris!

Catchenalism

2006-06-04T19:02:00.000-05:00

The catchen, they are happy. And Matisse and Picasso, particiularly Matisse, are containertastic.

You might even say that Matisse has made it clear that he misses his old red bowl and needs a new bowl right now.

Because venture a guess at how much time he's spent outside the bathroom sink today.

The only time he's left it today is to bother me and complain about his bowlless status while I eat at the dinner table.

That's okay, because I know exactly where to go when I want to bother him.

Brownout

2006-06-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

With no point in shopping around for more furniture since I'd seen every place that offered furniture, I knitted a new warshrag, in the extended twin rib pattern which is a neat effect, really. And then in the afternoon, I finally got to go hoooooooome.

The solid wood round table turned out to be a signed Ethan Allen piece, which greatly enchuffed me. And my grandmother let me take these four vintage handmade chairs, which are a dark shade I rather like, and don't feel all matchymatchy with the table. I do fully intend to paint the table something because the whole combination is entirely too brown. And I'm thinking seat cushions that are knitted, or are a nice thick fabric, and doing these in white for the ease in bleachability. I am a great believer in bleach.

I was disappointed the solid rock maple dresser, while double dovetailed and with peg connections, was not an antique, but was a very very good vintage version, made by hand by an American company. How rare is that? Yeah. I can see painting this white, and adding oversized pewter pulls and I think removing the mirror. The finish seriously needs some help, no matter what.

This dresser wasn't an acquision this weekend, as this dresser is my childhood dresser. But the pewter bin pulls on the middle two drawers were, as my grandmother generously got me enough pulls to do the entire dresser. Once again I'm seriously considering painting this unit, because I don't think it'll look "right" with the new pulls until I do so. But the pulls are in my opinon an immense improvement over the original faux colonial brass pulls.

Paint paint paint paint. Right now the entire apartment is essentially nothing but browns and creams and that's just too depressing for me. My clothes are the sole bit of color in the entire space! Uggggggggggggh. I like a good dark brown, especially in wood, as a counterpoint, as a complement, not as the main entree. Makes me want to run screaming into the night. I'm envisioning watery blue-greens as a counterpoint to all this oppressiveness.... It's a lovely well lit apartment most of the day just from natural light, and it's a waste to have the apartment be so.... brown. If you ask me.

Rummaging

2006-06-02T19:14:00.000-05:00

The annual citywide rummage sale was here. And while I had every intention of waking up super-early and walking around to check out what was for sale, the truth was that I was exhausted and counted it good that I was out by 815 AM. I saw a few things I liked, but most were, in my opinon, staggeringly overpriced. And most of the furniture I saw I hated because it was either faux colonial or faux wood, or *shudder* both.

I did manage to luck out and get a round solid wood dining table for $10, it needed to be painted or refinished but it was eminently serviceable and looked pretty good.

I would have liked to buy a trunk I saw, but the sellers wanted $40 for a trunk that would have required a lot of scraping and removing of trim (much of the trim woodwork was gone, making me wonder how they thought it was worth 40, but I digress) and I wasn't able to get them to be willing to part with it for $20, with the lowest they would go for being $30. Not worth it, so o well. I also saw a small sofa (really a tiny loveseat) but the seller wanted $80 and was offended when I offered $40. Oh well there too.

Then there was a seller who had a lovely trunk, made in the late 1940s, with solid cedar wood interior. The internal hinges would have had to be replaced or rescrewed because they'd both broken free of the wood they were attached to, and the seller was firm on his $40 price. It really was beautiful, and I considered paying the asking price anyway until my mother took me back to my grandmother's house and showed me a larger but similarly styled trunk in much much nicer condition. Would my grandmother give it to me for me to use? Sure, but, in her words, my grandfather gave it to her when she was 17 57 years ago, and I could have it when she was dead. Um... Yay. I did find it comical I had never known it'd existed before, and it was buried in a pile of 1970s rugs. I am not exaggerating that these rugs were from the 70s by the way. Nope. But I understand sentimentality, especially since my grandfather died last September of lung cancer.

So sum total of rummaging: a table. MYOI. And a mirror I found for $1 with a nice frame I'll repaint and hang in the bathroom, the existing sole mirror is a bit on the you've got to be kidding side sizewise. I can hardly see my entire face in it! So the mirror will be a nice addition.

Today I caston and finished a feather and fan warshrag. While my mother and grandmother liked the ballband one better, I enjoyed the feather and fan one much more, because you could see the pattern better. Plus? Wavy! Doesn't that make you feel smart? It does me. Perhaps I am easily amused.

Acquiring

2006-06-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

My mother picked me up at ten in the morning, and we headed to my grandmother's. I agreed to stay at her home through Saturday because I knew I needed furnishings for the home, and this weekend was the annual city-wide rummage sale in her town. My mother and her husband were heading to her place a day early in order to assist my grandmother in getting ready for the sale itself. I took this opportunity to pre-shop the wares, if you will, and picked up a couple plant stands I would use as end tables, as well as accepting my grandmother's generous offer of the vintage solid rock maple dresser I'd coveted for years.

And I cast on for a Mason-Dixon ballband warshrag, in solid white. While it lacked the visual appeal that multicolored versons had, it still had a lovely tactile quality I liked, and I finished it by 10 pm, watching along to Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland season 4. Mmmmmmm.

Casting On

2006-05-31T21:01:00.000-05:00

The day began inauspiciously, with my being so exhausted I never felt my alarm clock, which had bizzed continuously for 24 minutes. My mother woke us up, and they had the energy of a small nation while I was a black hole, sucking energy in but having none for myself.

Loading up the pickup truck with my few new old possessions was uneventful, as far as I knew, but loading the catchen in their carriers wasn't. They became agitated and completely freaked out, and even placid mellow Matisse got into the action, bashing his head into the metal door of the carrier enough that his nose became swollen and gashed, with blood everywhere. It was almost as though they'd decided, while I laid there slack-jawed and comatose, that they should band together and surely if they put up enough of a fight they couldn't be taken anywhere. This was their last trip of course, but they don't know this, and it's hard to blame them for their freakout.

I received sixteen of my boxes that I shipped today, all of them boxes I mailed on Saturday. How does that work? I don't know. But I was glad to have a few things, at least, and put it all away and broke down the boxes tonight.

I did no knittage today, but did pick up a pound of Peaches and Creme yarn in white to make dishcloths with. As Verde said, did I ever think a year ago I'd be knitting dishcloths now? Um. No. But does it matter?

The catchen nestled with me in bed in a catchenpile as only they can, and it was good. If sparse and empty.

The Time Now

2006-05-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

I woke up before my alarm clock went off at 5:30 AM, despite going to bed very late. This, to me, is auspicious. I don't believe in signs or portents, yet little things, things like having someone buy and cart away all my remaining outstanding possessions seven hours before I was due to depart, were a great comfort to me, and I felt released. Feel complete, somehow. Is this what is meant by "less is more"? I made someone's life better. I didn't get as much as I wanted, but got more than I expected, and in life, I think that is perhaps the best thing possible.

Little Saran Wrap's borrowed carrier is full of his toys and balls. Of all the catchen I have known, Saran Wrap is the most, I suppose, playful. During my emptying of the apartment I found a great many things he'd say he'd borrowed and accidentally lost. It makes me smile, and reminds me you just never know what you will find.

We are in the Supershuttle together just around 7 AM, and while I feel quite calm, if a little dazed and tired, poor Saran Wrap is not taking things with such enquamity. But I am not worried, because I know what frightens him is the newness of the experience, and the enormity of his losses thus far. I talk to him, but I know he doesn't yet have the context to believe me (please don't think I'm nuts for talking about talking to catchen, they are family members and I try to communicate what I can to them, I know they understand the concept of communication, for they have developed their own sign language with me so I can understand who wants what perfectly even when asleep at 3 am). For him, this process thus far has been nothing but a series of frightening losses, and I hope he will soon see it as a process of gains. In a way, I am glad he was the one not certified for cargo travel, for he of the three has never yet met my mother. In a few hours he will know his world is not lost, but for now, all I can do is sit by him, respond to his need for comfort, and be there as the one familiar thing left in his world.

I remember the last time I felt this auspicious. Oddly enough, it also involved a trip and Illinois and even the Dulles airport. Seven years ago, about now, actually, I flew into Dulles from Budapest and knew my entire world was changed. Everything was known and yet looked unfamiliar and felt awkward. The key difference between then and now is that then, I was not ready to return to America, and to Illinois, not really, and the adjustment to my new self took years. Now, I feel a sense of completion, of having had enough and not wanting seconds, with living in the DC area. It was beautiful and wonderful in many ways but I know it is not the be all end all, and no one place is. That is only found within myself.

It's now 9 pm local time and I've had a long day. Saran Wrap, who's also been named Captain Thrashpants and Thrashy McMeatpants (an inside joke) didn't tolerate the trip over well and he, well, thrashed around a lot. Fortunately, though, as soon as he saw Matisse and baba, he settled down and is acting as well as the others, which is to say that there's a heavy demand on my attentions.

I love the catchen.

I'm tired and I must confess I feel rather as fish out of water, but not in a horrific way, just all of this will take getting used to. I have furniture I want to modify and to paint, to take ownership of in my own way. I don't want a slapdash good enough apartment, even if the items are gathered inexpensively and are not meant to be forever.

I think I know pretty well by now just what "not forever" means.

And yet I wish to take ownership and to love what I have, because a home full of things I love is worth the pain.

Tomorrow morning I will walk into my home for the first time. It's unreal, almost, and despite how familiar the floorplan is, I'm just not quite sure what will go where. But that's okay. Tomorrow night I will have 3 catchen and a bed in my own one bedroom apartment and that's something. That's a start.

Frogged

2006-05-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

The wonderful thing about knitting is that if you don't like what you are making, you can frog it. Start over. Make something new, better, something that pleases your eye and that you love every moment of creating.

I think you can do that in life, with the same raw material, yourself.

You're still the same person. The same yarn. Nothing can change that. But the miracle of knitting, of life, is that you change a few things and everything changes.

I'm still Rebecca. I'm still catchen equipped. I still have a knitting obsession. I still wear glasses and have a bad jaw and recurrent sinus infections and a bad hand. I still love interior design, color, and furniture. I still have a crazy obsession with desserts. I still love white towels and neckscarves. I still love light, art, and hot bubble baths. I still love snuggling, good food, and my friends. I definitely still love Benkei the Sidekick. And my love for Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland will never die.

I am still me.

But my surroundings will change tomorrow, and this time now, is very soon to be the time before. What I did, how I felt, the work I did, the things I possessed, is gone. Are gone. Will be gone. All of it. And my friends mourn, are sad, and are angry for me, and that is their right, their job even. For me the task, the outlook is different. Must be different. I feel excitement about the new apartment, feel a goodness in knowing I will see my grandmother more often, and hold before me the possibility of a new and better and better paying job soon. My yarn, knit into a new life.

I don't know what exactly it'll all be like, or what I will feel or experience, but I have hope, and in the end, that, a few catchen, Benkei the Sidekick, a little yarn, and friends to walk to my side, are all that I need.

Up the hill both ways in the snow

2006-05-28T06:37:00.000-05:00

Rereading the blog because I could not remember the context in which people were making comments (it felt like reading someone else's blog. Weird. Guess I have been in a haze lately, wonder why.) I noticed I talked about calling my mother, I don't know if you wondered how I do that? A lot of people do. Nowadays you can use a relay service in a variety of ways, there's the traditional tty machine, but I haven't used mine in years and just got rid of it. You can use a relay service on several different websites, www.sprintrelayonline.com or www.ip-relay.com, which is quite useful since computers? Far more common than public ttys.

But ever since I got Benkei the Sidekick I haven't used these sites either. On Benkei the Sidekick, I have the option of using specific (free!) programs you can download to it that behave a lot like the "traditional" web interface relay sites, but I don't like that option, and no longer use these sites online or on Benkei the Sidekick. The newest option is to simply use the relay on AIM! IM chatting is of course easy and painfree and that's even more common nowadays than computers are because lots of cellphones have AIM. So I just use AIM to place telephone phone calls. The strange thrill of placing my very first phone call for a cab while I wasn't umblically attached to a computer, man! I never thought I'd do that.

And just think, 10 years ago interstate relay calls on TTYs were a newfangled concept. I used to be forced, when I was in uni, to call my mother through a tty and she had to have one on the other end too because it used to be that relay would only work intrastate. And trying to place calls "blind" sucked, because my only option was to dial and hope someone (was home and) picked up the phone, heard the tty announcement I maniacally keyed over and over, and knew where the tty was. Ttys were expensive and only my mother had one, I never called my grandmother or anyone else.

Yes, I'm one of those "old fogey" deafies who remember real well just how bad communication used to be.

The newest relay innovation? You can sign up for a free phone number assigned solely to you, and give that number to people, who think it's a normal phone number. Because it is. But instead of having to explain to people until you are blue in the face that you have to dial relay and then call me through that, (or giving people a number and telling them never to call because I'm not gonna pick up and talk on a phone, because it's a fax machine and thus you know, please fax, and for the love of g-d don't tell me, when I asked why you didn't fax, that you called repeatedly but the fax machine kept picking up because that plume of steam? Not boiling water. I'm just saying.) because does that ever work and do people do it, noooooooo, plus the hassle of a phone lamp signaller and yadda, you give this normal number that's all! yours! And people call it and a relay operator picks up and then talks to me through AIM.

Omg. Being *called*. Even when I'm on the go! Any computer anywhere when I'm signed in. I plotzed.

Especially when the first time someone called, it was the airline telling me my flight had been cancelled and they wanted to help me pick out an alternate flight. And I was on the bus to Chicago at the time. In the era of Before Equal Acess, they would have called my mother, which would have done me a lot of good because I haven't yet honed this telepathy thing.

I know, people take communication for granted. But you will not rip Benkei the Sidekick from my hands for all the tea in China.

In knittage news, I wish I hadn't knit last night (gasp! Shock!) because knitting lace when on codeine? Bad bad idea. I have to somehow insert a lifeline and frog five rows. I don't know what I was thinking. Wait. I wasn't. That's the problem. I don't normally have 2 projects going but I am thinking I need to cast on for a simple bag so you know, things like that won't happen again because I do have to lug every last blessed box to the new apartment from the apartment office.

Although I am trying not to think about that right now.

After nearly 15 hours on the sofa (I no longer have a mattress....) my legs are finally just sore. I'm a big time walker and it's sort of shocking to learn, yes, you really can walk too much. I also may or may not have eaten a lot of chocolate last night on top of the codeine. Which I know contributed to making me feel better.

Saran Wrap is better this morning, he woke me up to play fetch. Yay! Boo for the 6 am wakeup thing but yay for happier Picasso. And thus why I'm blogging so early. I'm awake. But not up. Nuh huh. No way. Not gonna putter around just yet. I think I'll read a few knittage blogs and go back to sleep....

Especially now that Saran Wrap is on my chest and purring loudly.

16,000 feet, or why I'm going to hell

2006-05-27T16:55:00.000-05:00

I know, the picture quality sucks and I'm blurry and I'm not sure whether that's the camera or me. Probably me, because all the pictures looked like that.

From now on, the tag on the posts may or may not say Frarochvia, but it'll always be me unless the postee says otherwise. I sold my computer this morning and uploading pictures to the blog through Benkei the Sidekick requires machinations. Meh.

But I promise to persevere with the blog nonetheless because I love you guys and I love blogging and I hope you like reading what I have to say, even if it isn't all that exciting or knittastic.

As of 2:37 pm this afternoon, I fulfilled my goal: I mailed every last box to the post office. Which was good because I was wearing out my welcome there. Sighs became eyerolls and comments on the size and quantity of my visits. Ok and the boxes. But more importantly, I was thrilled to meet my goal because the post office closes at 3 pm! And I could not mail any boxes between 3 pm Saturday and 7 am Tuesday, of course. I had nightmares of being forced to play Survior with my boxes.

The walk home from the post office, well. My elatement quickly morphed into a grim ~~march~~ stagger as my foot became feet became feet feet feet feet and feet and suddenly I had 16,000 feet. And every last one of them hurt. O how they all screamed and sobbed as I lifted them, as I stepped down, as I -horrors- lifted again. I felt like the little mermaid, lurchingly waddling as I cursed myself for the usage of these feet. A posse of motorcycles passed by, and I wanted to get on one of them, just to go home that much faster. My eyes gazed upon each taxicab that passed by longingly as my lower back burned and my calves became overcooked meatloaf, tough yet crumbly at the same time. People stared at me as I staggered by grimply. By which I mean gimpily and grimly.

I stopped by Panera because I realized I was starving and had nothing to eat at home and the odds of my surviving a trip to the Whole Foods grocery store was nil. Then I walked out, and walked past a girl who'd just had one leg amputated below the knee and the other one in pins. And I should have felt grateful for my 16,000 feet and their choir, but the truth is I just wanted her wheelchair. I'm going to hell for having thought that.

Somehow I made it home, in a haze of pain and longing for anything with wheels. I took pills that may or may not be Canadian and the 16,000 seem to have thinned their ranks some.

That terrible picture above? That's me and saran wrap. I mean, Picasso. I keep calling him my saran wrap because ever since baba and Matisse left yesterday, he's been hyperclingy and superneedy, and I realized yesterday morning was the first time in his life he'd been totally alone. He was born in a kitty foster home and I adopted him into a pre-existing 2 catchen home 2 years ago, so. It was very strange for me to see a normally 100% happy and cheerful catchen be sad, clingy, and crying. Poor little guy... Poor saran wrap.

I wish I could post progress pictures of the oceanic scarf but I have done, you know, maybe 10 rows since Wednesday? Definitely time for a knitbreak tonight.

twenty hours

2006-05-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

I have been up 20 hours straight and it's time for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzcrashthunkow.

But first.

I got up at 4:30 am to ~~herd catchen~~ stuff baba and Matisse into carriers, get myself into a reasonable fascimisle of a clean calm collected well slept person. Then I went downstairs and met the Supershuttle guy and got in, at 5:30 am. MYOI. The catchen were in individual carriers in the luggage section and I was so shocked the driver was going to stack baba's carrier on top of Matisse's without any securements that I yelped. And no stacking took place. We rode along for a hour as he drove from place to place way too fast, always my favorite way to start a morning. It was a good thing I was too comatose to be deeply frightened by his driving. We finally arrived to Dulles, and he managed to get me to the cargo shipment area, which was as far from the airport proper as to pratically be in another state. And I honestly wondered just how they thought I was gonna do that Tuesday!?!? But ah well. I did get there about 6:30 and was met by helpful people who carted the catchen up the stairs and and were kind to them as their paperwork and labelpalooooooza was processed. I think the lady put no less than five stickers on each carrier, my favorite was LIVE ANIMAL with a picture of a fish.

I was thrilled baba hadn't soiled herself this morning, I'd honestly been worried. I confess I did put baba in the litter box just before I stuffed her into her carrier, and for once she did what I asked her to do. I held her in my arms until it was time for the courier peeps to take them to their plane, and she was calm and cooperative, which is to say, not her usual inclination when in Strange Places, especially if Her Human is going to leave her and she knows it. But she didn't want to be put back down that much I can tell you.....

Anyway, because the cargo building was so far away from the airport proper I successfully begged for someone to drive me to the terminal, because um, walking there? Might have taken 30 years? I got to the terminal just in time to barely catch the 5A metrobus back, and I did this strange thing called "knitting" while I rode along and pretended I wasn't worried about the catchen.

I got home at 9 am, and felt like it was 11 pm. Or something. So tired. So tired. I cooked turkey sausage and had eggs with hats, and finally at 1030 am I could call my mother, tell her the catchen were on the way and I was for some reason still awake, and o by the way, do I have an apartment!?!? Because I still hadn't heard from the apartment peeps and it was Friday and I was flying in Tuesday and I most assuredly wasn't having nightmare visions of being denied an apartment, nope nope. I don't know what you're talking about, that must have been someone else with those visions. Yeah.

But finally, yes, I was told I had an apartment. A large one bedroom hardwood floor apartment with 3 bigass closets on an upper floor, with the laundry room right next door, which is a bonus not a drawback given it's not like I could hear them to be bothered by their running...

More importantly? AN ADDRESS. Strange concept, to want to know where to mail your boxes..... Ahhhhhhhh! Thus began the endless trips to the post office, to the apartment, to the post office, to the apartment, to the post office, to the apartment......the post office clerks sighed visibly when I came up to their counter because there was box, and box, and box, and box, and box, and also? Box.

I confess at this point I lost count of how many boxes I shipped and how many trips I took, and was more concerned with how my calves began to feel like a nation unto themselves.

Then, because I have had perfect timing thus far and have had nary a mishap nor a last minute plan change, the moment I stepped out of the post office at 5 pm, the skies opened up and poured so hard that if the water had been a bit warmer, it'd have felt rather like a refreshing massage shower. I giggled and sloshed along in the rain as I became completely soaked from top to bottom, except for the area of my tshirt directly below my chest, which amused me far beyond which such things should be amusing.

And then I came home. And ate. Called my mother and learned that babachen and Matisse had arrived safely and were calm. Yay! And took the longest bath I'd taken since this whole thing began, which, ahhhhhh! Much needed! And did laundry, because stinky bedlinens are just too depressing to open up. And I tried to knit, despite the fact that at this point it was getting past 11 and I was getting more incoherent by the minute.

And then I piled the stuff on the laundry cart, wrote, and now? The heck to bed. I am so tired. I have to get up early tomorrow too.

Dear g-d it's Thursday.

2006-05-25T21:32:00.000-05:00

And that meant this morning I had to take catchen catchen catchen to the vet. This was greeted with great excitement and enthusiasm. O wait. Except not. The appointment was for 10 am and I was sooooo tired after all the working on the apartment and stress and lalala, but I managed to wake up at 9:28 and cram the catchen into one large carrier, and go across the street to the bus stop. I was proud of myself for not giving the bus driver the finger for refusing to fold down the handicapped ramp thingie so I could just pull the catchen on, I could barely even lift the #*#82^3! carrier. Ugh.

Arrived at the vet, and lets just say it's not generally my favorite thing to realize that babachen had soiled herself and got urine all over the carrier, herself, and the boys. Ugh!!! So you know, no pictures of the vet visit or anything. Blech. Baba got a shampoo and dry and the boys... cleaned themselves. I'd prefer not to think too hard about that.

They all had to be certified for flight because of the flying them thing, and baba and Matisse got certified for cargo shipping, but the vet required that Picasso be flown coach with me because she found that he had a heart murmur. While I did feel some level of concern about the murmur I must be honest and say I was more concerned about the suddenly changed kittyflight logistics, which presented no hassles at all whatsoever. Except not. 57 emails later, my mother booked a coach ticket for Picasso. And I managed to find someone who would loan me a soft carrier because the odds of finding a shop that would gurantee delivery of a soft sided carrier by Saturday looked increasingly dismal the more I looked for one. Because, of course, for the last 2 weeks I had planned on flying all three cargo and had 3 hard sided carriers. Sigh.

Then my mother emailed me and said that babachen and Matisse had to be flown cargo Friday morning, not Tuesday, because of the heat that was anticipated, and if it was too hot, they would not be allowed to fly, which would slightly ruin my transport plans. Sigh. Okay. What time do I need them there by? 630 am? Well... Okay. I'm running on fumes here, but... Okay.

I just wish I could have knit today. I am so sick of boxes and tape and the mess and you know what I mean. But I must persevere. I only have Friday and Saturday to ship everything....

Wednesdays are for wish lists

2006-05-24T15:26:00.000-05:00

If anyone sees my sanity, please pick it up and carry it home? It got out and ran off on me! I'm not sure what it looks like exactly, but picture a plied yarn that's got its plies all snagged and yucky looking, and it's stiff from being stained with the soda it spilled onto itself. Sexy!

This week I only really want one thing, because I sold my desktop computer. A laptop computer. Yessssssss. I wants.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-05-23T16:29:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken three and a half years ago, on a beach in South Carolina, in the middle of January. Still and all, it's hard to capture something that makes you feel like you really are sharing a part of yourself with others in a picture, and I think this picture is my favorite. It's nice to be captured, just once, in an unguarded moment when I'm laughing, to just show another dimension of myself that's there all the while, but that I, or others, can never see in a carefully posed picture.

It's a Verdeful Monday

2006-05-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

Yarn shopping with the best Verde ever is a hoot and a half. For some reason, she was on a mission to find the worst possible yarns out there. I think you'll agree that she did a bangup job.

At Knit n Stitch = Bliss in Bethesda, Verde found this concotion we could only describe as cat hair mixed with kitty hork composed of Fruity Pebbles. No? Come up with a better description of this frightening... thing.

Stuck on a scavenger hunt? Marooned on an island with 15 other poorly-dressed castaways? You should have Verde with you. Look! She found a guinea pig at Bliss! Wait. That's yarn???

Don't shop at AC Moore if you don't want to support a store that doesn't stop at muppet yarns, but actually sells dead muppet pelts!

Meet Yarnivore, the newest catchen of the household! Wait, that's just a bunch of yarn.... in a cat carrier. O the joys of riding the Metro home with a carrier and people seemingly being unable to understand there was nothing in the stupid carrier.

It's the process, right?

2006-05-21T19:44:00.001-05:00

Perhaps I am not fated to have utterly simple projects that require no fits and starts and frogging and whatnot, at least not for the nonce. Exhibit A : Oceanic scarf. When we last visited the specimen, it was a little scarfling. Pretty! But I hated the caston edge. Then for some strange reason I had the "brilliant" idea of frogging just the caston edge and casting off more swelegantly.

Did this work? Well... It was a looser edge at least, but please, it looked even lamer, if that was possible and it most assuredly was.

Bleck! Ptui!

But let's admire the beautiful texture of the scarf itself, before it met an inauspicious death:

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip.

I did a cable caston this time. And? It's so pretty! It's perfect! Now I despair of having a castoff half this good.

And I managed to get this much done today (apologies for the crappy picture):

Will the castoff line suck? How big will this scarf be? Stay tuned.

Starting

2006-05-20T15:31:00.000-05:00

It's starting. The move's starting. This afternoon I shipped 13 boxes totaling 70 pounds for a total of $88.11. Only one box was for me, which means total shipped for me: ONE. The rest were items I sold.

Still, that one for me box? Funny, and I'm sure it'll be weird to my mother (who's recieving the boxes for me) that THAT was sent priority when it holds onyx tealight holders, not very important. But, it was the best way to do it. See, I shipped a 18.5 pound box for $8. Why? Because I'd crammed these onyx tealight holders into one of those flat rate boxes. That was a brilliant decision, because it would have been $24 otherwise. I know that that's probably not what the post office peeps had intended, but the flat rate box is helpful in situations like that. To me. Anyway.

I also started this scarf, which is a pattern from my a pattern a day knittage calendar. Slanted eyelet scarf, actually written for bamboo yarn, bonus. I'm doing it on 5 mm needles instead of the 5.5 called for because I like the look of this better. Did you notice the little stitch markers? These are Project Spectrum stitch markers from Straying Power. I was signed up for the stitch marker club for my birthday, and those sheepies are sooooooooooooooo cute. And quite useful, because knowing which color is on the right tells me which of the two rows I'm supposed to knit in my two-row pattern.

Verde

2006-05-19T12:03:00.000-05:00

Verde is here on the right coast for a few days. She's off with her family for a bit, but she will be back on Sunday and we'll hang out for a few days. Woot! It's wonderful to see her. Unalike me, she works on 47 things at one time. Hee. But like me, she has a love for yarn. She, you see, was the one who Taught Me the Way of the Knittage. And recently, she was in Hawaii. And thought of me! And got me yarn! I'm special.

You know Verde is a real knitter if, you know, she went to a yarn shop in Hawaii. Twice.

I tried to take a picture of the yarn. This worked out really well, as you can see. There was the Picasso, sniff sniff sniff sniff what's this? I think this gets the Manx sniff of approval!

Okay, so I'll stand behind the yarn. This yarn is fully backed by Manx Catchen International!

Eh. How about the full back, Mamochka? Full backing! No?

Oh look! I finally get to take a Picasso-free picture. Pretty shiny stuff isn't it? It's bamboo yarn. Plymouth Yarn Royal Bamboo yarn, to be precise. Color 20. Exciting colorway name here.

Verde said that it reminded her a lot of the ocean and the sky surrounding her in Hawaii. My little piece of Hawaii! I think I'll make a bias eyelet scarf out of this....

Getting Things Out

2006-05-18T11:22:00.000-05:00

Look! I finally finished the warshrag. Jeez. Being so sick sort of crimps your style, I'm learning. Today sucked monkey rocks. I'd never had a sinus cavity so full of gunk that I couldn't move that side of my face before, and I hope never to again, because, you know, EW. And painful.

But the warshrag is off my needles, and the gunk is finally leaving my sinuses, and maybe we can all move on to better things.

Wednesdays are for Wish Lists

2006-05-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

DYEORAMA! Did you know I'd signed up? Apparently not, because I never got around to announcing it... I am a terrible blogger. Or something.

Hm. If you read through this, I might put an insanely cute picture of a wee little Picasso at the end. Think that'll be worth it? I think so too.

Your favorite colors?

Honestly? Everyone dies a little death when I say this, but white. But yes, I love how it counterpoints to every other color in creation. Other favorites are hot pink, cobalt blue, aqua, deep crimson, lavender, grey, almost any blue.

That being said, I don't like yellow. I don't like orange. I only knit with them for other people. The end.

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)?

I don't mind, really, any weight. Every weight, every yarn has its own surprises and challenges, and I like that. If you need specifics, something I can use with my US 2s would be greatly appreciated.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?

Anything! Somewhat solid, solid, multicolored, variegated, striped, yadda yadda.

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn?

Surprise me!

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)?

I am violently allergic to latex, so nothing with elastic or lycra in it please. I cannot touch the stuff even for five seconds, so knitting it is not an option, either. Other than that, hey, whatever.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it?

The pressure! The pressure!

White/cobalt blue/grey/the faintest hint of aqua or teal = bellamoden

leaf green/purple/hot pink = Verde

brown/grey/purple/white = Picasso's Hippo

red/brown/cream = Matisse's Bowl

aqua/lavender/white/grey = baba

hot pink/white/brown/a hint of denim = Peppermint Patty

aloe green/denim blue/cream/white/lavender/crimson = Spring Street

Can you tell I really like color combinations?

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along?

Forcing me to embrace an experience I would otherwise only think about.

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before?

Nope!

Do you spin?

No. I'm not sure I really need to go down that rabbit hole.

Have you knit socks before?

I sure have!

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too?

I haven't yet, but I am strongly considering making some shawls or scarves with sock yarn.

What are some of your favorite yarns?

Manos del Uruguay. Cascade Pastaza. Koigu. I am highly partial to single-stranded yarns, or those with variegated thicknessess. Or both. Or amazing colors. Or sproinginess.

What yarn do you totally covet?

Sundara Yarn, Sunshine Yarns, Black Bunny, Cabin Cove, Scout's Knitted Swag, Brooklyn Handspun (chocolate covered cherries! YES!)

Favorite patterns?

How to narrow this down?!? I basically love anything Wendy Bernard, Alison Hansel, or Wendy D. Johnson make. I also love Anna Bell's designs, and would love her Bridie. Since I have none of Wendy Bernard's patterns, I would say I would love to make Something Red, Essential Stripe, or Fad Classic. In that order. I also love Bonne Marie Burns's patterns. I love many of Rowan's more classic designs, and am currently tempted by Crinkle.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?

A Koigu shawl or sweater, especially the Koigu sweater in Wendy Knits. Or a Manos full sized blanket, complete with pillow shams. Or a Rowan design. Any of the sweaters I listed.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?

For socks? Definitely Addi Turbo two circs. For other things, it depends. I love Addi and use them for a lot of things, but I also have Boye straights which I like just for the tactileness, and wish I could find Addi straights for the same reason. I also have Lantern Moon straights in ebony and rosewood, which are utterly delicious.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?

Manos. Manos. Manos.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?

I love chocolate. Any chocolate, pretty much.

What’s your favorite animal?

Gee, I wonder.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?

Cat cat cat cat cat cat cat! Okay. Only cat cat cat. baba, who is 16, Matisse, who is 4, and Picasso who is 2.

If you were a color what color would you be?

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. White? Cobalt blue? White? Cobalt blue?

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s)..

A crisp cotton buttondown blouse, with perfectly pressed collar and cuffs, 3/4 sleeved, with a neckscarf accompanying it.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?

Any picture of catchenage is always a winner with me. I also love pictures of flowers, and just anything that focuses on texture. For myself, as a photographer, my photographs are of memorials or other manmade things against things in nature, and looking at how the two interact. I should post some of those pictures later.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.

Wenn du dein ganzes Leben lang glucklich sein willst, musst du guten Freunden haben.

Do you have a wishlist?

Every Wednesday I list some here, hee. And yes, I do definitely have an Amazon wishlist.

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?

I am a voracious reader of design books, and love interior design very much. Aesthetics and porportions mean a lot to me, and part of me would really like very much to go to design school.

And here's baby! Picasso!

baby! picasso!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-05-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

The first rule is that it hurts.
The second rule is that it hurts.
The third rule is that it's a question of how much it hurts, not whether it hurts.

The fourth rule is that doing things like packing makes it hurt. A lot more.
The fifth rule is that picking up things is painful.
The sixth rule is to be ridiculously grateful for people like Verde, who will unscrew things for me.

The seventh rule is that it's incurable.
The eighth rule is to accept that, somehow.
The ninth rule is that when it hurts, it hurts. And if I can't knit, I can't knit.

The tenth rule is to look forward to all the knitting I will be able to do once I no longer have to deal with boxes.

Requiem for an Apartment

2006-05-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

It wasn't my first apartment.

It won't be the last.

But I think this was the first one where I could really be proud of how beautiful it was.

The first decorated apartment.

It was small, no doubt.

But all the furniture was chosen with care.

The Plan

2006-05-14T19:01:00.000-05:00

I am hyper organized. I wasn't always, but I sure am these days. I have decided how I will approach the move: I have four types of containers I like and would like to keep, as they make life much more organized and manageable. I have ordered boxes that precisely fit each of the four types of containers from Paper Mart, and will simply pack things into each container, plop the container in a box, mail it, and when I get to the new apartment, I will open the box, put the container away, and that's it. Done. Sounds lovely doesn't it?

With this in mind, I am limiting myself to these containers. What doesn't fit, I don't need. It's that simple. In the interests of making things as light as possible for me to schlep to the post office, each item will be in its own box. It may not be great to see 20 million boxes all individual-like, but I think this will be best for efficiency and cost containment, especially since I have compared the cost of larger boxes that would fit 2 or more items, as opposed to individual ones. The simple truth is that buying larger boxes requires shipping equal to or more than the cost of the boxes themselves, and local sources net me boxes that are $9 each. I don't think so! I have looked for used boxes, and whatnot, but the quality I've seen is poor. I need boxes that will survive a simple plopping of the container and shipping. Plus I need more than 5, so you know.

Overthinking? Probably. But that is how one gains a sense of control and A Plan. At least if your name is Frarochvia and you are known to your friends as the hyper-organized person. That pile in the corner? That's my mother. She has fainted in shock. I don't think she ever thought I would see the day that I was an organized minimalist. Hey!

It would have been nice to simply show up with three catchen and a suitcase, but that's not going to work out exactly; there are some things that simply cost much less to ship than to replace, like shoes or a suit (for interviews!) or my yarn, or what have you. Paying for the shipment of those things will be no problem; the eBaying (sell! sell! sell!) I have done in the past week will pay for it easily.

The smaller Branas basket is 9x9x9.875. I have purchased 10x10x10 boxes that should contain these perfectly. The larger Branas baskets are 13x14x13 and I got 14x14x14 boxes for these. The colorful units are large and small tinted drawer units from The Container Store. These are excellent and high quality drawers that have stood up to abuse for two years and still look new. The smaller drawer units are just under 16x9x6, and I have boxes sized 16x10x6 for these. The larger drawer units are a bit smaller than 20x16x9, and the boxes for these are 20x16x12.

I hope I haven't put you to sleep, but I feel good and feel on track, just seeing all that typed out.

It's been a bad knitting week

2006-05-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

Sinus infunktion number three? Check.

Panicking? Check.

Packing? Check.

Selling stuff on ebay? Check.

Selling stuff through Craigslist? Check.

Listing stuff on Amazon? Check.

Looking frantically for an apartment 1000 miles away with 3 weeks notice? Check.

Waiting for my last (huge) paycheck? Check.

Wondering just exactly how this move will work out? Check.

With any luck, regular blogging will resume today. I am SO sorry, and am thankful for all the emails I have recieved.

Let's see our knitting progress for the week:

That's a really gorgeous looking sock isn't it! Hm. 68 stitches weren't enough, as it turned out. I am going to do the toeup sock ala Chris this time, And It Will Work. Grrrrrrrr. But not right this minute.

This week I've been working on this warshrag in between mad bouts of sneezing, packing, photographing, listing, etc etc. It's a pathetic amount of progress, but it's something.

PS: Dyearama pal, my address will be changing. Please give me a way to let you know the new address. Thank you!

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-05-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

I is for Indian handblock tapestries

2006-05-06T13:53:00.000-05:00

I own quite a few Indian handblock tapestries that I've collected over the years.

These pictures are of only a few of them.

I am a visual minimalist, but for handblocked tapestries from India, I definitely make an exception!

Usually they are the only printed materials in a room, which makes for a lovely focal point, if you ask me.

I find their imperfections utterly charming, and appreciate the reminder that each piece is unique and that every motif was hand stamped.

I think they're art. Don't you?

Is it Friday? Please oh please oh please.

2006-05-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

First of all, I've never crocheted in my life yet. I just have a few crochet hooks, a single crochet book, a pile of yarn, and ~~delusions~~ aspirations thereof. So why is THIS linking a post from my blog? Never mind why it was clicked. Heh.

The things you learn with a site meter.... yow.

You may or may not have noticed there have been no progress shots on the Picasso Bag. That would be because while I have lots of yarn for the double icord, I need one more skein of the main yarn for the bag itself. Oops! I finally admitted this small fact to myself this morning and sent an email to my mother begging for another skein in the same dyelot, since it was purchased as part of the Birthday Yarn Allotment at the yarn shop near her. I will ~~halfassedly~~ diligently work on the double icord in the meantime. So you see, it is not an abandoned project and I don't have project ADD. Really. My love for projects is true, but once one runs out of yarn, one runs out, and all the love of the Picasso does not net one more yarn. Strange, but nonetheless apparently true.

Koigu Sproingu as of Friday morning, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Here's a crappy picture of the purple Koigu sock as of this morning. Really, last night, since I haven't knit on it yet today. I'm heartily sick of the rib pattern but I am diligently continuing because I liked the look of a 2" long rib in the first attempt and dangit I will achieve it even if it takes me 14 more rows with my tiny gauge. I will be measuring every row just in case, of course.

I bent my wookie :(, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And because I always wanted to say it: I BENT MY WOOKIE! Boo. I apologize for the super-crappy picture above, but the top needle is bent. Can you see it? Is there any way to fix it short of going to the yarn store and buying a new one? I mean, the needle still works, but it's rather annoying.

Man I am lucky!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Look what was waiting for me when I got home last night! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Socks! Book! A postcard! One ball each of Knit Picks Palette in hycanith and fog!I had been wanting to try out this yarn in socks, so that's perfect. I'll make striped socks based on (appropriately!) the Yarn Harlot's tulip socks, well, minus the multicolor and probably minus the tulips too, but the stripe numbering order and the basic idea of contrasting ribbed cuff, heel flap, and toe. So almost, but not quite exactly unalike these socks.

SockapalOOOza socks with flash, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

These are made of two strands of the Palette carried together, with the "dominant" yarn, or the one being held on top, randomly changing places. Interesting method! I never thought of doing this... and it really creates a neat variegated-like effect. I love the two colors together because they'll be perfect in winter, since I have lavender sweaters and sweaters in this sort of greeny color. I'm guessing it's mint, but it looks nothing like the color in the sock. Sockpal, would you please let me know what this is?

EDITED TO ADD: You're kidding, Sockpal! Color me gobsmacked. The "green" in the socks is actually grey! I'll have to take them outside tomorrow to look again because I would *swear* they were green. Wow. That's fascinating, actually.

Where's my sockpal from?, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Here's where she's from! She's Perpetual Blonde and I absolutely love the design of her website! But I might have a small liking for black/white/pink combinations. See? Here's a bad picture of the umbrella I took to work with me today:

bad picture of good umbrella, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Socks.

Squish squish, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Forgive the lack of beautiful styling and outside poses and other fancy things. It was eighty degrees and those socks, which perfectly fit, comfortable, squishy, pretty, etc etc etc, were also REALLY WARM and I WAS GETTING AWFULLY HOT. Ahem.

Picasso gives the socks the Manx sniff of approval, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

But not, apparently, AWFULLY HOT quick enough to not go ahead and try them in my clogs! Perfect fit in the Dansko 39s that I wear with thicker socks. See, even Picasso liked them and gave them the Manx sniff of approval. That means something, I'm sure.

I was going to say more today but that's a lot of words and a lot of pictures and it's already noon and um, I took 3 hours to do this post in between clients and eating processed foods and oh yeah, working, with nary a stitch of knittage, so you know, there's always tomorrow! WHEE.

Unraveled

2006-05-04T09:12:00.000-05:00

Dr Jane Fernandes rally, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Yesterday Gallaudet had a big rally. I love the Washington Post, except not, for trying to say everyone who went supported the protest. I went, and I didn't! Why did I go? Historianitis, for sure, and a desire to see someone say something cogent and perhaps even, you know, rational. We got dances, loud drumming, music loud enough a dead person 200 miles away would hear it, and a lot of talking about diversity.

The problem with the whole diversity "argument" is that all three of the final candidates were white. So...

I was glad to sit behind Dr. Fernandes, who showed up to what must have been a horrible experience. Someone needs to show support. It doesn't mean that I wholeheartedly threw my support behind her every step of the way, it means I am not convinced that this protest is anything less than a divisive process that is not based soundly on truthful facts and rational explanations. I know the Board of Trustees appointed her, and I have been nothing less than impressed with her words and her poise in the last few days. At some point the students will stop acting like spoiled brats. I hope that day is sooner rather than later.

Dr Jane Fernandes rally, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I liked this flyer a lot, because, HELLO no, the whole campus is not "united" against Fernandes.

Koigu Sproingu, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Here's the amazing progress on my koigu sproingu sock. No? It looks smaller than last time, you say? How about that? Hm. Yes. I frogged it last night, every last stitch of it. There was this minor technical problem with the longer the sock got, the more impossible it became to pull it over the heel onto the leg. Hm. I'm pretty sure socks are supposed to fit on legs. Defeat conceded, sock restarted. This time with 68 stitches, still on the size 0 Addi Turbos. I like the fabric the 0s are coming up with, so I think going up 8 stitches should do a good job. 4 would have been enough if it was just a leg issue but clearly I have more of a need of stretch when it comes to, what's it called, the ball of the foot? Especially in sockinette. So.

Thank you everyone for your kind emails and comments yesterday. I will get around to replying to everyone sometime today, yesterday I just felt, I don't know, unraveled. I searched around for the right word to use, it's not exactly so that I felt deflated or crushed or anything, more of... all the pieces were there, but it wasn't like a puzzle at all with pieces here and there, just it'd all become flattened out and I needed to make shapes again. Yesterday morning's viciousness with Kahlo affected me, I guess, and I know I'll be just fine. Matisse and Picasso were the absolute sweethearts they always are, and that was a kindness to come home to last night and to wake up to this morning. It's May and I'm tired, I want to be out in the sunshine or at least at home basking in the sunbeams with the catchenage.

Matisse and his hatbox, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Because I feel like it: here's the very first formal picture of Matisse, when he was a wee baby kitten. What do you mean, that doesn't look like a wee baby kitten? Scary thing? Yes! He was a baby. Not even a year old. When I adopted him at six months old, he was already bigger than baba. And you can see that his love affair with Round Things was present from the very beginning. And that box? Long since dead. See, when you keep growing, as a ragdoll catchen is wont to do, things don't fit anymore, even if you squish yourself into them. And one day it was rather splatted into half. But his love was deep, abiding, and true.

Wednesdays are for a Large Assortment of Pictures

2006-05-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

Sproingu Purplu Koigu Socku, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I started some Koigu socks Monday night. Ooh. No, not toe-up. I am... wussy. That's the word for it. I will try toe up for sure but not yet. Speaking of toe-up guilt, Wendy wins... um a gold star! She was the only one to get it right without any prompting, the subway platform was missing the bumpy tile at the edge of the platform. I will take a picture of a "correct" platform anon.

Sproingu Purplu Koigu Socku, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And that was as of last night. Not tooooo shabby. I like how the yarn is knitting up! Greys and browns and various purples.

9 AM the next day, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Gallaudet had LOTS of protesting yesterday. Except you know, not. The big cluster in front is a news crew interviewing students.

The next morning, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Some students camped out two nights ago, and did so again last night. Lots of tents and sleeping bags, and I can't help but think, how are they dealing without a convienent plug to charge their sidekicks on?

We are a wee bit addicted to sidekicks about these here parts.

Sign, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Not sure what to think of this banner. The protestors are a small minority at this point. If you want to read what the Washington Post said about our illustrous student body, please go over there and try not to notice as I expire of shame. Makes me sick, the whole thing. It's fine to not like someone, but to dis a deaf person of a deaf family for not being deaf enough, and you come perilously close to my Personal Issue about having deaf people assume that I am hearing, even though dead people hear more than I do, because I dress well and I have good English.

Accidental Catchen, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Tomorrow I would have had Kahlo for precisely seven months. This morning I gave her to a new family. I did not do so lightly, and don't feel like the world's greatest Rebecca for doing it, but I needed to, in order to protect my other catchen and myself. She has always had terrible issues, as I detailed last week, and while she was wonderful for a few days, over the weekend she began to mark everywhere, including my bed every time I slept in it (but left it alone if I slept on the sofa, maddening). The worst thing, though, was her attacking Picasso and hurting him. I will never again mistake playful wrestling for a vicious attack. The two are very different, as I now know. All I can do is hope that I helped make a difference in her life, and wish her peace in her future.

It makes me sad that a little cat can have that much issues wrapped up in such a tiny body.

Young Picasso, originally uploaded by Kammat.

Here's a picture of Baby! Picasso! Because dangit I need some cheering up now. Wasn't he the cutest wittlest minipicasso ever?

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-05-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Another in a series of Fraro meets Famous Knitters and has fun doing it!

Gallaudet Protests

2006-05-01T17:27:00.000-05:00

Gallaudet protests, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Today, the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University announced the appointment of Dr. Jane Kelleher Fernandes, current Gallaudet Provost, and a deaf woman with a deaf parent and deaf siblings, to be the next president of Gallaudet University.

Personally, I find it sad and even pathetic in a way, that this massive protest seems to be a combination of a desire to have another Deaf President Now type protest, and an ironic claim that this woman is not deaf enough to be the next president.

Gallaudet has a special place in the deaf world, where it is in a sense the Mecca of deaf culture, and deaf people all over the US, especially those tied to deaf schools or alums of Gallaudet, have held an interest in the brouhaha that's been building up to this point.

Things are more complicated than that, of course, and strictly speaking, as a historian I feel like I should say, "oh I am so PROUD to have been personally at the scene of screaming and negative comments and BETTER PRESIDENT NOW chanting... except not."

I am not sure really what I can say, except that I sincerely hope that the student body gets over itself pronto and that this gathering will be the extent of what has gone on. I am not hopeful of that, though.

Gallaudet protests, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

But at least I was there, and I am, at the very least, proud that deaf people today have the confidence to make absolute fools of themselves.

Picasso and the bag

2006-04-30T13:35:00.000-05:00

I thought I was making this Cascade Pastaza bag for myself. I like the contrast of the strap against the body, don't you?

I am told by Picasso that I am sadly mistaken. This bag is not for me, and he has no idea what gave me the impression that it was.

He has taken to hugging and sleeping and snuggling with the bag. I do not know why, and baba doesn't know what the big deal is, but I do know that Picasso's love is true and his claws are entrenched.

He would prefer that I ceded control of it to him, I imagine. Given I am merely the catstaff. The catstaff with a mysterious, entrancing, and neverending wool buffet.

A napping Picasso is the cutest thing ever. Even if I sort of need the bag to keep knitting at it.

Saturdays are for book signings and yarn

2006-04-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

Wendy Knits! There was a book signing scheduled for this afternoon at Knit Happens. Would I go? Was there ever any question of that? This was the third of three birthday knit books. Woohoo!

Sign me up! And with green ink yet, perfect for May's Project Spectrum. Wonder what the significance of green ink was? I didn't ask. I should.

What is this?, you ask. Doesn't she have enough yarn?, you think. It's not fair she has a cooler stash than I do when she's been knitting for so little time, thinks Verde. (hee)

Actually this wasn't a yarn shop accident. Or if it was, it was the best kind: free!

I think every knitter's dream is to walk to a yarn shop and be told they have store credit! MmmmMMMmmmMMMmmm store credit. Just possibly the only thing better than yarn yarn yarn molest molest molest yarn yarn. Remember that sock class that never materialized? That's okay. Look at that bowl of yarn!

That is a grey-blue-aqua Lorna's Laces.

The large aqua thingie is a couple skeins of the new Ella Rae classic yarn, which was priced lower than Cascade 220 and is supposed to work just as well. It had a nice hand to it, although its color palette was quite different from 220's.

Koigu! Because um, just because I've not yet made any of my Koigu socks doesn't mean that I don't need really really pretty Koigu. This one is blues, aquas, purples, pinks, and whatever else.
That bright pink blob? Cherry Tree Hill supersock in (gasp!) pink. Shocking hot bright pink. Yum! I'm thinking something fancy, with twisted stitches or cables or lace, to use this yarn to advantage.

The grey blobs you're seeing here and there in the pictures are Rowan 4 ply soft, for the Hedera socks from Knitty. KH didn't have a great selection of colors, and it was a tossup between these and brown. I did think heavily about getting brown, but let's just say that no matter which color I got, I was going to sort of feel like I should have gotten the other color. Which is just another way of saying that Rowan 4 ply soft (which really is yummy) in brown? Will probably accidentally join my yarn family at some point.

Hey, this is the metro platform at Rhode Island Ave. This was taken today. Look carefully. What's wrong with the platform? I, personally, can't believe I never noticed it until today. And no, it's not that weird black blob.

Of Catchen and Fraros

2006-04-28T13:05:00.000-05:00

Poor Matisse. I made the mistake of noticing this new thingie on his gum and I ruined his life. A black spot on his gum! A new one! Eeeeek! It's a huge bump! Nobody knew what that was, or if it was okay, or if it was the harbinger of the giant fur-eating monster. It's not possible to be overdramatic when it's your own catchen, yes?

So I took him to the vet. But first, I stuffed him in a rolling backpack (he is too big for all of my carriers, especially if you're trying to walk around with his flooftastic self), he got out, I stuffed him back in, it was the Wild! Animate! Backpack! I laughed a laugh of nervousness, uncomfortableness, and just plain feeling bad for doing that to my cat.

But he settled into the I Am the World's Saddest Matisse role quite quickly. There he is, in the above picture, in a half open backpack on top of a newspaper dispenser thingmabob, as we waited for the bus to come. You might be wondering (or not) just why I would take a bus with a cat, instead of a cab. The reason is simple. It just so happens that the vet's office is door-to-door from my apartment, on several bus routes. No waiting for a cab (which can take forever, especially if they make you tell them you have a cat with you), no exhorbiant cab fare, and hey, door to door. This does require a relatively inanimate bag, and Matisse fulfilled this part of the bargain rather well.

We sat at the vet's office, where everyone cooed and remarked on How Giant That Cat Is. Matisse sat quietly in my arms, furring my jacket so bad it ended up being mostly Matisse, and crammed his big head into my elbow. He was such a good boy! And of course, was the bump a bad awful thing? Apparently ragdoll cat's gums can turn black later in life. OY. Well now I know for next time. And he has rabies shots. And he's indeed giant, being 15.5 pounds. And I am a lot poorer.

Matisse, in his best catchenal fashion, says in this picture: "I was a good boy. You gave me your jacket to drool on. Can we go home now?"

And thus ends an expensive if relatively (and happily!) anticlimatic day.

Blech

2006-04-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

No pictures, no ability to work, no knitting, no food, nothing anywhere in my digestive tract.

That kind of a day.

On the bright side, Kahlo was super-nice to me when I got home last night, again this morning, and even when I got home early in a miasma of grodyness.

Back when I remember how to be human.

Wednesdays are for Wish Lists

2006-04-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

Kahlo, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

She already has a Kahlo, you're thinking. Why is this picture in this post, other than the oo! cat! pretty! factor?

It's because I wish Kahlo would make up her mind.

Is she ILikeYou Kahlo, insatiably attached to me, rubbing all over my legs every possible moment, parking herself under my chin, mrrphing and making weird squeaky noises as I hold her in my arms, skritch her neck, rub her head until she purrrrrrs?

Or is she IHateYou Kahlo, swatting my hand with a clawed paw if I invade her terrority (it's not a territory at this point, catstaff, I TERROR you and the zone around me is my TERRORity. Get with the program), resulting in manymanymanymanymanymany and did I say? manymanymanymany itchy itchy scratches? I so love it when I need something that happens to be in close proximity to her, like the remote control or a needle, and it becomes a battle of the scratches. Kahlo: 14, hapless stupid terrorfied catstaff: 0.

This morning I woke up to ILOVESYOUCATSTAFF Kahlo, who was lolling all over my feet and loving on them and many other things I really wanted to know as little as possible about.

What will I come home to?

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-04-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

A girl and her human.

Cascade Pastaza

2006-04-24T21:16:00.000-05:00

Still Life: Cascade Pastaza, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Today is another faceplanty day. Of a rather bad sort, since I overslept and woke up at precisely the time I was supposed to be at work. That's painful. I did show up a hour later, and then I worked through my "break" and managed to be caught up on my tutorial time enough that I could leave early. That's quite exciting. I think.

It's the time of the year when students are in the panicky glomtastic state of I AM IN DANGER OF FAILING AND YOU WILL BE MY SAVIOR AT THE END OF OUR FIFTY MINUTES!

I love it! Except not really.

Finals time, ooh lala. Two more weeks of work, and I'm all done here. That sounds exciting, except for the faceplanting.

O! Cascade Pastaza. I started the bag last night, if by "started" you mean "sleepily cast on 39 stitches because I hate casting on at work". And then I knit the base during the day today, a row here, a row there, lots of rows on the Metro, and finished the base, so I could excitingly pick up stitches! Now I'm all in the round.

Pattern? It's sort of a commingling of the basic Booga bag rectangle shape, except I'm doing it with 39 stitches of width and 39 rows of length. And then that of course gives me 39x20x39x20 for a total of ooh! 118 stitches all the way around. Now, because I want to do something different this time, I will be making it unshaped, just a simple rectangle, with the two lighter colors on the bottom and the darker color on top. No stripedyness. And then? Using my Heidi pattern as a reference, I am going to make a strap for it that goes all the way around the bottom of the bag, for more stability, an added design element, and just, you know, SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

I'm really loving the Pastaza. It's a single ply, AKA the ultimate in Happy Knitting, and it's incredibly soft. It's not as rustic as Manos, but it's got just enough unevenness in its spin that I'm enjoying it!

SockapalOOOzed!

2006-04-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

I'm all done! I'm all done! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. They fit me, and seem to have plenty of ease to fit my sockpal, who has slightly larger fit than I do.

Here you can see the colors in more natural lighting.

Wheeeee. Now? I'm deathly curious what my socks are like! Not long yet to wait...

Saturdays are for SockapalOOOza!

2006-04-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

This was my progress as of this morning. Were baba and Matisse impressed? no, they were not.

I, however was impressed by the sheer amount of knittage I got done today... up to just about the toe decreases. Anyone who knits socks knows that's a crazy amount to get done in one day. But I'm glad because the sooner done the sooner I get to do other things! Not that I don't want to make Sockapaloooza socks... oh never mind. You know what I meant.

Fridays are for Being a Lemming

2006-04-21T09:42:00.000-05:00

Or not. Actually, I saw Chris's blog and thought, HEY! I can do that! Apologies in advance for the crappy quality of pictures, I only have Benkei the Sidekick here with me at work.

Photo 314.jpg, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Here's the full shot.

Photo 317.jpg, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And a couple of closeups.

Photo 316.jpg, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I like how different my cursive is compared to my print.

In other news, I'm mildly depressed that yet again someone thought I was hearing. Today's entrant said that she'd told her husband that she was amazed that I had such perfect ASL, better than she did, and she was a third generation deaf person. You know, since I was hearing and all. Except not. This sort of thing happens all the time and I'm sick of it, because 1) deaf people do not, by law, dress differently from hearing people 2) deaf people do not, by law, act differently in a highly identifiable way and 3) deaf people do knit.

Reason number squintillion-million why this job? I will not miss.

Emergency sock surgery!

2006-04-20T16:18:00.000-05:00

Emergency sock surgery!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I had big plans for posting my G in the ABC Along that I am terribly frightfully totally behind for, but the truth is I feel totally faceplanty today, and the only thing I can do that's halfway coherent is to talk about, in great pride, the emergency sock surgery I MacGyvered with two paperclips. I realized that I'd messed up the ribbing at some point and a simple dropdown would not work because the problem was to do with some of the yummy shreddy shreddy shreddy SHREDDY yarn having shredded itself into an incoherent mess at some point. Rip rip rip! Two rows gone. But I knew I couldn't pick up the stitches with the needle, because there lay shredhell. So I asked for two paperclips from the nice front desk guy, mutilated the clips, and did not lose a single stitch! I am so proud of myself.

It's the little things sometimes.

Wednesdays are for a Large Assortment of Pictures

2006-04-19T13:07:00.000-05:00

Also: RANDOMNESS. Let us begin!

I'm glad I'm not this sick anymore. I'm just saying., originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

In an apparently ongoing effort to ensure the worst possible pictures of me are displayed for posterity, here we are. This was me just before I went to the book signing. I am glad that I am quite recovered now, so that we can all live without my massive amounts of whining.

Manos Manos Manos, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

One of the things Huggiebear and I did last weekend was to go to Woolwinders, which is in Rockville, not far from the Shady Grove metro stop. Not that we used the metro, I'm just saying. Anyway, we had what the Yarn Harlot would call a nasty accident. . . the kind of accident. . . where you slip and fall in a yarn shop and accidentally swipe your mastercard on the way to the floor. That kind of accident.

One of the things we got, or I suppose he got, with the evilly enabling shopstaff who gave a discount based on half of my age due to it being for my birthday, a small pile of Manos.

Mmmmmm Manos, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Just a small pile of all the same color, 04, which is supposedly turquoise. I think it's more akin a lovely blue with hints of other shades of blue, some darker, some lighter, but definitely blue.

Why would I need a huge pile of Manos? Am I making the world's biggest bag? Amazingly, no! I'm going to be making this:

Manos Sweater I'll make, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

It's a cute cardigan, I think, and it was actually specifically written to be made with Manos. I absolutely love the handfeel and texture of Manos, so you know, hey! Perfect first sweater project! I wish I could make it noooooooooooooow.

Manos Sweater Book, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I got this sweater from a relatively unknown book called Knitting the Easy Way which has several great patterns in it. It was the first knitting book I got for myself, and it had some tips in the front part of the book that largely convinced me to buy it from the cheap book area at the B. Dalton's at Union Station just before Thanksgiving. Plus, of course, the sweater, which I liked from the first time I saw it.

Proposed Crystal Vase cover, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

This is the ~~legwarmer~~ crystal vase warmer. I think it would look nicer once I felted it and the mohair was more evident and the top of the vase would show the contours of the vase itself. Yes? No? Too crazy for words?

Second Heel Flap, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Second sock! Conspicious lack of progress compared to First Sock's progress, timewise! Not panicing! Oh well. But look at the stripeage! Isn't that cool? I like this sock's patterning better, I think.

Because you've all gotten this far with my pictureathon, I thought I would share my catchenage's favorite pastime, bowling.

No, not the bowling pin thing.

Bowling.

Oh let me just show you what I mean:

The Matisse bowls, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Matisse fills up the bowl pretty well.

baba bowls, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

baba is not sure about this whole bowling thing.

Picasso bowls, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And as Maia said, Picasso "fits better than Baba because he doesn't have to get his tail in there."

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-04-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

Ann, Kay, and the sick Fraro, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I'm forever honored that Kay degined to touch me, even though I Had Cooties.

And also relieved that my skirt didn't fall down during the picture. It was that sort of day, when you realize too late that you've lost enough weight that your hips are not capable of preventing the skirt from being pulled past them, even though it's a zipup skirt. Oops.

Sockly progress!

2006-04-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

Take my word for it, because a picture belongs here, but I forgot to take one, never mind upload it: The heel has been turned and I'm working on the gusset decreases on Sock Two! It's of course the same yarn as the first sock, but I didn't bother to try to match the stripes because well, I'm not hung up on that and I wanted to see what would happen! To me, that seems like a good way to avoid Second Sock Syndrome, to keep myself interested in what new sockly looks the yarn comes up with. Possibly I am easily amused that way.

I believe I have come up with a use for the Single Legwarmer that I fear will never be paired with a mate. I, for some reason, had the bright idea of slipping it over my lead crystal vase that I love the weight/heft of and its general shape, but not the cutwork on it, too fussy and busy for me. It actually looks good! I'm now thinking of felting it and slipping it over the vase to make it less improvised and more intentional. One can never have too much pink in one's life.

Tell me if I'm completely insane. It's okay.

Kay and Ann

2006-04-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

Kay and Ann, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I finally downloaded some of the pictures from the book signing last Thursday. I can't say I was a great photographer and all, but these were pretty good. Kay and Ann talked a lot lot lot lot lot for a hour. And a lot. Showing and telling, making jokes, showing bad knitting projects as well as stuff they made that's in the book. All very cool!

Ann, Kay, and the Pathetic Note, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And here they are, reading the pathetic handwritten letter I gave them in lieu of fawning over them with, you know, my voice, like sane people who are not sick would.

Saturdays are for SockapalOOOza

2006-04-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

Nonfooted view, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

All done! All done! As of 11pmish tonight I am allllllllllll done with the First Sock. One week of knitting, much of it while I was sick, is a Good Thing. Not the sick. The relatively quick progress, and the learning curve and all.

Side view. ooh!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

The more important question is: does the sock I spent a week on fit?

SockapalOOOza sock: done!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I'm happy to report that it does! And there's plenty of room for a larger foot, which my sockpal has.

Friday Friday Friday!

2006-04-14T22:47:00.000-05:00

I forgot to upload pictures. I forgot to take any of happy rather healthy feeling me. I forgot pictures of the sock, which is now ready for the st st part of the toe. Yay!

But I did remember to watch Dean Cain for 2 hours. And spend 2 hours on the sofa with catchen catchen catchen catchen whilst knitting said sock.

Man, I feel *so* much better it's insane. It's like maybe I really had never gotten fully cured the last time, and I had been walking around for the last 2 months with some infecton in the sinuses. I'm not kidding. The difference after 4 days of antibiotics is crazy.

I'm only sorry that I could not see Kay and Ann today... I still don't have much of a voice but does it matter?

It's all in the little things.

Dear Ann and Kay

2006-04-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Ann and Kay:

I must apologize for my tragic wardrobe malfunction. I had meant to put on my "Rebecca is an obsessed knitter outfit" but apparently I dressed in the dark because I grabbed the "Rebecca is the red nosed victim of a sinus infection" getup instead. So I would understand if you would rather just wave at me and use someone else's pen.

Still and all, I did remember to pack in my handknit bag, next to the 50 pound sinuses and a sock in progress, the most important thing: the feverent (not feverish) desire to see the two of you. So here I am. Not even my sinus infection will prevent me from showing my undying (less dying, more antibiotics) desire to meet y'all and have the honor of your signatures in my book!

Please forgive me.

Love,

Rebecca

Wednesdays are for Wish Lists

2006-04-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

And for a small nation's worth of something something something in the sinuses. I'm just saying. Go sinus infections!

I did make progress on the sock, though:

Sockly progress as of Tuesday night, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

The new Knitty came out just now, and I already picked out yarn from The Stash:

Hedera, in the skein, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

in order to make Hedera socks!

I think they'll be really cute. And soft. And cushy. And I feel brave enough to try them, after learning I can really make socks! And it's fun! I just hope my sockpal likes the socks I'm making for her. They're not frilly and fancy because Sockpal is not a frilly or fancy person... But still, overall, quite glad I joined SockapalOOOza because of the whole if I'd never had joined, I would not be making Hedera socks! Because I would still be afraid of socks. So.

O! Wish list! Right. I know Jamesey was designed for a boy but I like this a lot, and my second favorite sweater is similar to design to this. My only problem, of course, is what size to make it, because um, the chest measurement in my favorite sweater is a 40, but my waist is a 28 and my hips are 38, so I don't need a SACK.

I think that the horizonal stitch line should be removed, and it'd be perfect.

I also would like to wish that you know, my sinuses were populated with nothing more exciting than whatever normally resides in sinuses.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-04-11T11:55:00.001-05:00

Frarochvia, sick, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Exciting! That off my feed bit yesterday? I woke up this morning and it was a full blown sinus infection, complete with infunktion bits. Yum yum. Except not. I am glad, at least that my brazen last-minute plan of okay, the doctor's office opens at 9, it's what, 820, I should just show up at the doctor's office and ask to be seen, it's not going to be any faster to try any other plan, worked. I got seen and got yummy antibiotics and decongestants and should hopefully being right as rain sometime this century.

What's that whole "right as rain" come from anyway.

I did make sure that the doctor didn't give me Biaxin, because I sort of don't want to lose a week of my life again, and she set me up with good old Amoxcillin.

No knitting pictures as of this moment, but at least I did do several rows this morning... Antibiotics, a few stitches, mostly worth missing work this morning.

Exciting life.

Mondays are for... Mondays

2006-04-10T22:26:00.000-05:00

This morning, I woke up late, well, I wake up early every morning, I mean I got up late for the 728th time this year. I was holding Picasso in my arms, and I was just savoring his firm compact plrt plrt purr purr squish wedge presence. There is little in this world more wonderful than having a catchen in your arms and having at least one more on you, and this morning Matisse and babochka were sleeping on my lower half. I figured, Picasso isn't usually big with the snuggles, but he'd walked into my arms and I was going to drink up all that I could. So I figured, five minutes. Ten. Okay, fifeen. Twenty? Picasso wasn't bored with it yet. Neither was I. At twenty five minutes, however, I had to admit defeat and ruin my poor abused catchen's lives by doing the unthinkable.

I got up.

I threw things on and managed to get to work just on time. Go me! But I felt rather off my feed, even if my knee was finally feeling better and only twinged when I'd been walking a lot on hard pavement, and even then, it wasn't a Nancy Kerrigan twinge. Not normal, not unworrisome given its two previous operations, but a knee I could cohabit with.

Exciting exciting.

All day I was overwhelmed with the need to ingest this deep dish sundae. So I went to Pizzeria Uno's (who cares what it's called now? Its ASL name is PIZZA UNO and forevermore it shall be known.) and ate a small quantity of sugar-laden yummiliciousness. MmmmMMmmmMMMmmmMMMMmm. I had company in the form of a work friend, and that was quite nice.

Knitting content! You came for that. Well, I knit a whole whopping (I hate that word. Hence, here, I'm using it ironically) half row! Exciting! So this is what I have, as of now, with Sunday's progress and all.

Sockly progress!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Project Spectrum

2006-04-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

I don't know about others, but I've been having a lot of fun with this month's colors, orange and yellow! More than I expected to. Up there is Picasso trying to help me take pictures of my rug, which has gold in it. Maybe next weekend I can do better pictures, if um, I lock him into the bathroom first! He's a bit... helpful today. You know how that goes, right?

With a bit of my birthday money I got these boxes. They were $5 at Marshall's. Just goes to show you find the weirdest things there... I had initially been attracted to the size and the fact that it had a psuedo-latch, the better to discourage catchen from opening them. The bigger box fits the Addi Turbos in their plastic sleeves and the smaller one fit the DPNS, which is good because those have been a high-theft item thanks to Matisse and Picasso and Kahlo. Mostly Picasso.

While I had thought about repainting them in the future, the truth is the colors and the pattern (I LOVE CIRCLES! Ahem.) have grown on me. And they clash delightfully. So for so long as they amuse me, they will stay as is!

Flowers! I don't know if anyone else has flowers blooming, but we do here! These are pretty! I have no idea what they're called, other than, you know, daffodils. But it seemed rather cool that there's actually a flower with both yellow and orange.

The socks continue to grow, my case of Knitter's Thumb (where the right thumb is all exofliated and purple, not because it hurts, but because that's what happens when a left needle hits against the right thumb 3,000 times a day) is well set in, and the kitties are annoyed with me because I won't let them fur on the newly laundered clothing. All in all, a wonderful Sunday!

Saturdays are for SockapalOOOza!

2006-04-08T21:26:00.000-05:00

I am so thrilled to finally announce that yes, SOCKING WAS DONE!

I never heard back from the knit shop, so I went ahead this week and ordered Socks Soar on Two Circulars by Cat Bordhi.

If you don't want to read a post about an Inordinately Chuffed Knitter Who Successfully Began and Turned The Heel On Her First Sock, you may want to go elsewhere. I'm just saying. Hee.

When I got home from work Friday, The Book had arrived! I read it through, and my initial reaction was exactly the same as that of Knitter's Review so forewarned was forearmed, and I knew not to despair. And I knew to just TRY IT.

So I did. And it worked! I was so proud of myself when I figured out how this whole one circle on two needles thing worked.

Picasso? Not so much with the impressitude, though. At least he didn't try to eat the yarn. Much.

By 10 PM Friday I had this much. My Sockpal only wanted ankle socks, so I said, ok, 10 rounds, nodding off, this will be Good Enough.

Saturday! Saturday was a day of sockknitting with much sockage! By 2 PM today I had this much done:

I just flew through that heel flap! I had so much fun making it, and it's such a clever cushioned design. I picked up stitches around it and knit the gusset, aka making the sock all spiffy and 3D, and I got this:

I would like to say that I did that on purpose, but um, well, I was only knitting along with the yarn, having decided I would just have fun with it and see what turned out. What a happy coincidence!

By 10 PM, I had this much. And I'd decided I was getting all tired and sleepy, which would be my *gasp* cue to go to sleep.

But not before the Matisse did his best to drool on the sock.

F is for FELTING

2006-04-07T12:02:00.000-05:00

As you may or may not have surmised: I like felting. A little bit. A little tiny teeny weeny bit. It's the best thing since, well, knitting! These are the ones I've done in the past month. Month! Can you believe that? I hardly can, myself.

More felting is definitely in my future, as you can see with these patterns. And those don't include these in books, or the ones yet to be printed... so much to do, so much sleeping in the way...

Of Bags and Picassos

2006-04-06T09:25:00.000-05:00

The Picasso, he is the greatest manx catchen ever and I wuvs wuvs wuvs him, even if he wakes me 28 times a hour in order for me to throw! something! for! him! for! him! to! fetch! YAY! FUN! what do you mean you're sleeping, catstaff?

Picasso tests out the bag and deems it yummy, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

But? Some days I hate him a little bit. Today is one of these days. This morning, just before going to work, the manx boy genius managed to wedge himself between my legs just as I was taking a step, and I tripped heavily, letting out a yell of surprise and pain. For my trouble, I got myself a twisted knee and an ankle that feels a bit funny. And because I was the catstaff and he was the catchen, it fell to me to go find Picasso, who had run under a chair in order to cower pitifully, and apologize to him for having committed the crime of tripping over him. I can walk and all, but o does my knee hurt right now, a couple hours later.

Picasso Surveys the Bright Wool, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

That's what the Project Spectrum bag looked like as of yesterday morning.

Project Spectrum Bag, Thursday morning, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And this morning! Not too shabby, for having all that strange "work" stuff constantly interrupting The Knitting.

Someone, please send me an ice pack!

Wednesdays are for Wish Lists

2006-04-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

mostly asleep but for the knitting Fraro, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

No laughing at me! This is what I look like when I'm mostly asleep but I continue knitting because I don't know why, obsessional knitter R us. Amazing I managed to take a picture at all, right?

The sad part? This is the only picture of me on my birthday. GLAM! TASTEFUL! ELEGANT! Except not not notty not not not.

But on to slightly less embarrasing amd possibly more salient things.

You know you are a slightly obsessed knitter if you go to bed, sleep a bit, then suddenly it makes perfect sense to wake up, write out a bunch of stuff in the dark on Benkei the Sidekick while you lie there listening to the fan blow over your skin. I call it listening because it's got a distinct feel to it and I like paying attention to it. Every fan is different.

But I digress. Knitting. Slightly obsessed knitter. Right. Just slightly.

This is not a wish list. Wish lists are fun. Optional. Whimtastic. Textural. Possibilities.

These are not fun in the sense that oo la la I get a fun project. They are tools. Not sexy, like needles. Not creative, like knitting project bags. Not fuzzy and snuggly, like catchen. These are things I suddenly and severely feel overwhelmed with the need for. My knitting life is a barren wasteland without those things Right Now:

A swift. Not a kitty toy. Would have to live in the closet for now. I can live with that. Ever tried to deskein a skein with four catchen in one room? Yeah. This one I want because clamping is a giant PITA I would have a lot of trouble with, and the adjustment knob is on the top, not the bottom, so I can easily use it.

A ball winder. Ballwinding by hand is tedious and takes forever. Infinity forever with the aforementioned four catchen. Even babachen the greatest geriatic catchen ever loves ballwinding. Sigh.

The above because I have yarn to wind (see Sunday's post) and I don't wanna. I severely want to do the project, of course. It's the yarn preparation that Skeeves me.

Scissors. One broke and the other is dull. Which makes cutting felted items sort of interesting.

An i-cord machine. I don't care where. Who. Whether it's made from fossil-fuel based plastic in China by child laborers and sold by Republicans who donate to Operation Rescue. I don't care. I need one. Need need need need. Need. I need i-cords like they're going out of style and I resent spending any valuable knitting time on them. The end.

Tuesdays are for Self Portraits

2006-04-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

Or they would be if I didn't chicken out and not upload the really really silly picture of me last night, with velcro rollers on and my eyes lidded in the "mostly asleep but still knitting" position.

Oy!

This month's theme is silly pictures but somehow I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm lame. Feel like begging me to post it? Do so! I might need some ~~coercion~~ encouragement.

Odessa, ready to be frogged, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

True confession: my Odessa? Ended up sucking. I didn't finish it. Let's look at why:

Odessa, DOA., originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Those decreases look horrible! I don't know what I did wrong, but next time I knit Odessa I'm doing it in thinner yarn and doing the hat knitting itself inside out. I typically knit lefthanded and backwards, for the hat I knit lefthanded and right side out, and I wonder if that was what made the decreases look so... lame. If anyone has advice, please give it to me because I'm so frustrated. Sigh.

Koigu in the sunlight, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

To distract us from the spectacular crash and burn of Odessa, let us distract ourselves with a couple skeins of delicious Koigu I got yesterday at Knit and Stitch = Bliss in Bethesda. The name is rather a clunker, don't you think? But it was a rather sweet shop, and they had a lot of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, which neither Knit Happens nor Stitch DC have. Their Koigu selection was micoscopic compared to that of Knit Happens, but it was MUCH easier to find *gasp* two matching skeins of whatever I liked, never mind actually pretty skeins.

Koigu in the flash, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Strange how much pinker and redder it looks with the camera flash as opposed to clean crisp natural morning light.

Birthday Koigu, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Let us feast upon a macro shot of the Yummy Koigu. Browns, creams, blues, pinks, a tinge of red here and there. HELLO.

No, I'm not at this point planning socks with them. Quelle sacrilege. I'm planning a water bottle bag, I think. Burn me alive now.

April Thirds are for Birthdays

2006-04-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

Without exaggeration or overwrought prose: I have never been happier.

I would say more, but it all boils down to that. That and maybe mmmm yarn yarn yarn molest molest molest yarn molest needles catchen catchen catchen catchen mmmmmm cheesecake.

28? Is good.

Project Spectrum

2006-04-02T08:53:00.000-05:00

Project Spectrum's colors this month are orange and yellow.

As anyone who knows me knows: I like orange and yellow the least of all colors. I keep trying, but it never quite works out.

But I honestly believe that this is a great opportunity to push my boundaries and to see color in a new way. And as I've learned, knitting with an item gurantees I will have a soft spot for it, even if it's not normally a color or texture I like. So I think, you know, I should try this knitting thing with yellow and orange.

But not just yellow and orange. I know I need to include a color I have an irrational love for. It's one thing to experiment with color, it's another thing to try and joyfully integrate it into my life. You know. Pushing boundaries.

Enter pink! Pink is a guranteed HAPPY color. Yes?

All of these colors were inspired by this tote bag. It's made with the Lily bag pattern from Black Sheep Bags, and I happened to see this bag on Flickr a while ago. I really liked this bag a lot, and that was before I knew what the colors for April were.

lily bag, originally uploaded by normanack.

Normally, I would just say, wow! Cool bag! But as much as I like the colors, no.... someday. VERY someday.

But this is Project Spectrum. And I'm enjoying this whole pushing of my color boundaries. So.

Because the Lily bag only needs 2 skeins, and there's four colors, I've decided to make two bags this month. One will have 75% of the neon yellow yarn, 50% each of the goldenrod and orange sherbet yarns, and 25% of the flamingo yarn. The other bag will be 75% flamingo, with 25% neon yellow, with the same 50% of the orange sherbet and goldenrod yarns. I think this will be a fun experiment!

Saturdays are for doing everything except socking

2006-04-01T20:27:00.000-06:00

I'm getting frustrated with the knit shop. They didn't email me all week in order to schedule a knitdate for today. After they said they would on Sunday. Not sure what to do now. I do owe Sockapaloooza socks in 31 days, you know? A refund? Parking myself there all day one day and knitting obnoxiously whilst asking them socktype questions every 32 seconds? What?

I did get things done, for myself at least. That's how Odessa looked this morning as I began the day. I got in a bit of packing, a lot of cleaning, catchening, Dean Caining, and of course, knitting.

That's how she looked by the time I got too tired tonight. I have about an inch, inch and half to do before the decreases. Not too shabby! The pattern is easily memorized, it's an eight stitch repeat, and it still blows my mind that you get this sort of obvious pattern, despite the variegated yarn, with no purl stitches whatsoever. My brain keeps saying, that makes NO sense. But my eyes marvel over the changing directions of the stitches and how every single stitch is a knit stitch!

I think I can easily finish Odessa tomorrow. An inch is about six rows, give or take.

Birthday Set Progress

2006-03-31T09:58:00.000-06:00

Birthday Bag, all done!, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Birthday Bag is all blocked, all dry, all strapped! ALL DONE! The straps are from the same yarn, but you can see why I am wondering about alternate yarn options. I might still swap out handles, but we'll see.

Birthday Bag in semi-action, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I do like short handles, and you can see that this works just fine. I think overall I did great for only having 260 yards of this Araucania nature wool chunky yarn.

Birthday Bag's Closeup, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I am still loving the variegation in the colors!

Birthday Set! Without Flash, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

I'm really happy with how the hat, scarf, and bag work together texturewise and colorwise. This picture was without flash.

Birthday Set With Flash, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

And this one was with the flash. The real color is somewhere between these two pictures, but this one is closer to the real thing.

Birthday Texture, originally uploaded by Frarochvia.

Here you can see the three projects close up! I think Birthday Hat's Odessa pattern is knitting up in a lovely manner. And the variegation is really gorgeous! It's Jade Sapphire 4 ply 100% cashmere yarn. And 100% yum, lemmetellya.

So that's what I've been up to this week. Odessa obviously sort of really needs to be knit up and finished by Sunday night, and I think I should manage that without a problem. The scarf is now long enough that I can knit at it and whatever length it is Monday morning is the length it'll be. And I'll just be walking around all day Monday with the purple Birthday Bag. Awesome.