Reasons I never manage to do WIP Wednesday:
-I am very forgetful.
-I stay at my apartment two nights a week, max, and for the last month, it's been two nights total. Half of my projects are at my place, half at my boyfriend's place. This is especially a problem right now, since...
-My digital camera is broken, so I'm currently using the camera on my darling MacBook Pro. Hey, it's better than my cameraphone by a long shot.
That being said...
This is a v-neck, sleeveless lace pullover from the summer Vogue Knitting, in Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. It's really quite a fast knit, but cumbersome to carry around. For travel knitting, it's currently either the Socktopia mystery sock (at Mr. Z's; also, get well soon, Momma Monkey!) or this little number:
Toe-up Jaywalkers, with contrast toes and heels.
Here's my current challenge project:
Venezia Pullover from Interweave Winter '06. Oh, fair isle. We don't want to talk about how long it's taken me to do these few rows.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Works in Progress... Saturday?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
More Secret Pal goodness
More SP goodness:
Left to rightish, there's a mug with "I've got knitting needles and I'm not afraid to use them" (my new motto), which contains one of three skeins of Frog Tree Alpaca lace and fruity on-the-go antibacterial hand cleanser; stitch markers (in the baggy, hard to see, I swear, I'm getting a digital camera for my birthday in October and all the pics will be nicer), yummy chocolate, another type of hand cleanser, and yummy Duet Sock Yarn. I may have some guesses as to the identity of my SP, but I'll keep those to myself for now...
I took half a day off work today, because I had a nasty throatache. Much tea was consumed, much Seinfeld was watched, and much knitting was done (in particular, the Socktopia mystery sock and the oversized lace pullover from Vogue Spring/Summer). This evening, I also watched the first chapter of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage, a six-part miniseries about the breakdown of a couple. I'm amazingly undepressed for having watched an Bergman work. Maybe if I keep it to one hour a day, my soul won't be filled with despair.
I also keep staring at the furniture in the miniseries and marveling over how cute 70s Swedish design is. This is a slight problem, since I've missed some subtitles and had to go back.
But look at this couch!
(Sorry it's so tiny--it's the only pic I could find.)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Another FO and some owls.
One more thing finished!
Campfire Socks. Got the yarn in an exchange from Kelly Girls. Thanks, Jodi!
In other news, I love owls. Let's consult Etsy on this, okay?
That which I already own:
Owl spiral journal from Seamripper. I actually bought this at the new Renegade Handmade shop, which you should go to, if you live near Chicago. They like owls possibly more than I do.
That which I will have purchased by the time you read this:
Two varieties of owl greeting cards from Blackbird Letterpress. I adore a lot of this store's stuff; I'll certainly be getting some personalized pink and brown cards, and I'm giving a gift of thank you cards to a friend. (Does this mean she'll have to send me one of the thank you cards?)
That which I will buy at some point, once I figure out my apartment decorations:
Owl wall decal by Holly. I may actually get this in the faux wood finish. I will also probably be getting the "Knitting Geek" decal, too.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Ms. L is: The Finisher.
(Please say the title of this post in that deep movie voiceover-guy voice that says "In a world gone mad..." and things like that)
Ravelry has made me aware that I have ELEVENTY BILLION unfinished knitting projects out there, so I've decided to knock some out. Final finishing on all of these happened today. Yes, all of them today. From the top:
-Ene's Scarf: I started this on August 1st. I worked on it for many hours a day. It is ready in time for Mr. Z to give it to his grandma on his trip to Poland (which is coming up soon). I'm getting the yarn for this (plus Victorian Lace Today) as a thanks for making this.
-Montego Bay Scarf: Mmmm, Sea Silk. Since Ene was knit from Voile de la Mer, I'm knitting with seacell a lot these days.
-Espresso Shawlette: It's the Clementine Shawlette from IK Spring '07, but in brown.
-Sahara: This is my gratuitous chest shot for the post. Enjoy!
Now... do I finish another project, or start something new?
In other knitting news, man, is Rowan 42 ugly. So many drop-shoulder sweaters. So similar to Rowan 20. I'm unhappy with this.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
SP9 goodness!
I got this package two weeks ago, but because of the move, I'm just putting up pics now. Sorry, my wonderful SP!
So yeah: DK sock yarn from Fearless (in a colorway I seriously was looking at the day before), tofutsies sock yarn, DPNs, a sock project bag, supercute knitting cards with my name on them (!!!), a sock project bag, and chocolate, which is not terribly visible in the picture. Thanks again!
In other news, I found out via Ravelry about the massive colorfastness issues of MCY yarn. Has anyone else bought this stuff on Etsy? I rinsed out a green skein I had several times over, and there was massive yarn bleeding every time. I have done this at least seven times. Every time, the water is dark green. And I have such a pretty blue skein of the stuff awaiting a good project. GRRR.
I'm glad I didn't bring my hemp yarn
I already posted this at the Knittyboard, but I thought I'd share here, too.
I brought my knitting to Lolla this weekend, because (1) I'm just that dorky, (2) I have a project that needs to be finished ASAP, and (3) there was gonna be some sitting-around downtime, so why not utilize it?
So, this is the yarn I brought in. I had two skeins, unwound, and a partially-knit shawl, all in a baggie. In retrospect, this yarn does kinda look like pot.
When I was at the gate on Friday, I opened my bag to let the security guard check what was in there. I was slightly concerned that the knitting needles wouldn't make it through, somehow.
SECURITY GUARD : Damn, gir- (suddenly stops)
MS. L : It's yarn.
SG : Oh man, I thought it was something else for a second. I was like, damn, girl! You can't be bringing that in here!
MS. L : Oh my god! You thought I was bringing in weed!
SG : Yeah!
MS. L: Dude, that'd be a LOT of weed. What, do you think I hang with the Roots or something?
The next day, I became more proactive.
MS. L : It's not pot, it's yarn!
Security Guard 2 : Yeah, when I saw that it was sort of furry, I knew it wasn't pot.
Later, with Mr. Z...
MS. L : You know, I wanted to respond, "Man, you must not have had the good stuff, because the good stuff IS furry," but I thought that would've just caused more problems than it was worth.
MR. Z : That was probably wise. Also, that yarn isn't that furry.
MS. L : I know!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Lolla!
I've been bad about posting recently, in part because I've been busy packing/unpacking/hauling out bags of trash/cursing my materialistic nature. The standard moving drill. I'm also busy knitting a last-minute gift for another relative of Mr. Z (more pics of that later). But enough of that artsy-craftsy stuff for now. This weekend, it is time to rock. Again. Yes, it's Lolla time.
It is a fundamental law of nature that, in a given summer, either Lollapalooza or Pitchfork Fest will be hotter than a radiator in the warmest part of hell. Since Pitchfork was incredibly temperate and pleasant this year, Lolla is the scorcher. I'm a delicate flower, used to the lower humidity and higher concentration of air conditioning in Oklahoma, so there will be lots of breaks this year. Here's what I plan to see, as long as I don't get heatstroke:
Friday
-M.I.A.: Because I have to work today, I'm missing the Polyphonic Spree This is partially remedied by seeing I'm From Barcelona tomorrow (see below), so I'll start here. I love the first album. Loved the mixtape. Am intrigued by the hostile interview on Pitchfork this week. We'll see.
-Silversun Pickups: This guy likes them. I've heard a few songs and I like them. That's good enough for me.
-LCD Soundsystem, followed by Daft Punk: I'm more excited for LCD Soundsystem than anything else this weekend. Any excitement I feel regarding Daft Punk may entirely be due to LCD Soundsystem's "Daft Punk is Playing at my House".
Saturday
-I'm From Barcelona: They're from Sweden, actually. My regret about missing Polyphonic Spree is greatly mitigated by the fact that I'm seeing these guys, who are what PS would be if they were Swedish, more of a glee club than a cult, and wanted to be Belle & Sebastian instead of The Flaming Lips.
After four hours where I may see some stuff, but may go hang out at a coffeeshop...
-Hold Steady!: HOLD STEADY! Love these guys. I hope they play new stuff, since I've seen them tour on the current record twice, but I still love these guys.
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs: They're fun live, even if their new album is eh.
-Patti Smith v. Spoon: I'm torn on this. In Patti Smith's favor, she' PATTI SMITH. In Spoon's favor, their new album is great, and Patti Smith's covers album is really weak.
Sunday
-The 1900s: I've not seen them yet, and I've been meaning to, since their debut was on the label I used to work for. However, it is high noon. If I don't see them, I will likely roll into Lolla around 5pm, skipping Dios, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Lupe Fiasco v. Amy Winehouse.
-Yo La Tengo v. Peter Bjorn and John: Again, highly ambivalent. I know I'll love Yo La Tengo, and it'd be nice to possibly see some old songs (unlike their show at Pitchfork last year). I do love poppy Swedes, though.
-My Morning Jacket vs. Modest Mouse: I can't bring myself to care. MMJ is nearer to the TVOTR stage, so I may decide in their favor.
-TV on the Radio: They're sometimes great in concert, but I've heard their festival gigs aren't so terrific. I could go see Cafe Tacuba, but I'm not going to want to walk the mile between those stages just to do it again for...
-Pearl Jam: Oh, why not?
So yeah. That's my low-key, aware of my boundaries Lolla schedule. I'll be the girl with four different suncreens.
