...plus some thematically-similar food.
So, finished blocking the Tuscany shawl today.
Details:
Amy Singer's Tuscany Shawl, from No Sheep For You.
Made with a 150 skein of Sea Silk, in the Nova Scotia colorway, purchased from The Loopy Ewe.
Mods: I moved down to size 5 needles for the slightly lighter-weight yarn. This wasn't necessary, just a personal choice.
It's pretty, but... I'm not sure I'd ever wear it. (Insert "something something 'process knitter' something something" here.) So, maybe this will be grandma's Christmas gift. What do you think?
In other news, the party last weekend went well. I made focaccia, something roughly akin to Mario Batali's recipe from Molto Italy. 
In other news, I'm heading off to SF for a long weekend soon. There will be much coffee, a trip to the pirate store, and maybe some yarn shopping. I'll see you after that.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuscany!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Apartment tour with a little YPF
Man, isn't it like this is a real knitting blog now? I'm sure all my non-knitting friends are thrilled. I promise I'll write about books, music, or the CTA soon.
First off: I met a knitting fellow at Intelligentsia yesterday, named the Fiddlin' Fool. He and his wife (whom I actually know from volunteering at the Old Town School! Chicago's a small town city) have a joint knitting blog, and he's written a charming account of how we started talking (it involves Knitpicks) here. Also, they work on KnitML, which was just mentioned on the Brenda Dayne podcast. Wonderful the folks you can meet when you knit in public, isn't it? (Also, my Ravelry name is bluetangle, if anyone wants to find me. Same as my knittyboard name.)
So I'm having a party tomorrow, which means this is the first time the apartment has been clean since we moved in back in August. As I've mentioned before, I'm in this apartment on an extremely part-time basis, spending most of my time over at Mr. Z's. Because of this, I agreed to take the smallest bedroom (less than half the size of the other two).
The condition on which I took the wee bedroom was that I got my own desk/craft space in the dining room. As of today, it is now somewhat organized, which is as organized as it'll ever be. Here's some pictures:
My desk. A bin full of knitting needles is below the sewing machine. Here's the YPF:
Yarn on hooks! I know I picked this up from another blog I've read (where it was on pegs), but I can't find it now.
Also important:
These were part of a Knittyboard SP package from Froggy Dear. Thanks again!
So yeah. There are more pics over on Flickr, if you want to see my knitting area, but I'm glad it's all set up. Now, time for 35 people to come in and hang out there tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Actual WIP Wendesday post
Okay, so I showed off Salina yesterday, but here's what I've been neglecting while I work on her.
Tuscany: Only sewing in ends and blocking remains. 
I think I'm still a little disappointed that the colors are so contrast-y. I wanted semisolid, which this certainly is not.
Poor Venezia: Size 5s seem so large compared to 2.5s! But a little has been done:
I'm up to the waist, about to start doing increases. Here's a glimpse at the backside:
Pretty in its own right, I think.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Fall Greens
One of the advantages of being a pale redhead is that I can pull off some really noxious shades of green. I am, for example, currently wearing a bright, almost-neon green V-neck from J. Crew.
Here's another example:
It's the hem detail on Salina, from the Rowan Vintage Knits book. It's the cover pattern in the version of the book I have, and it's made in the same yarn, same color. I think it'll suit me, though.
Look what I'm using, despite the fact that I almost never use wooden needles with wool anymore:
They're nice; they've only come loose once, and that was after they were jostling around in my bag for several days.
Speaking of my bag (yes, I'm going to be camera-crazy for awhile, since I just got my shiny new camera), Mr. Z got it for me while he was in Luxembourg, though the company is Swiss:
It's a huge bag. You could seriously fit a toddler in there. Not that I recommend that. I can carry two books, my knitting, my pattern book, my iPod and the massive headphones shown in the picture (a gift from my mum), several lip balms and lotions that fall to the bottom, and my wallet and keys (when I remember them) and still have room for sundry other things.
So yeah... WIP Tuesday for you all.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
So much and so little...
Ah yes, the blog. This thing still exists, doesn't it?
Sorry about the lack of posting, but I have a few reasons:
-I am not at my old job anymore. This is a good thing, but I'm shuffling about, getting things in order. Speaking of which...
-I am about to officially, finally graduate. To those of you who might've thought I already graduated: oops! I gloss that over. Essentially, there's been a rules change that will allow me to graduate in March with no additional tests/classes. Love those rules changes!
-I have finished very little knitting. That's not quite true. The knitting portion of my Tuscanny shawl is done, but not blocked. I whipped out a Raspberry Beret for a Prince-themed party yesterday. But there's been very little going on with Venezia (what can I say? It was 90 a week ago. Who wants to knit Fair Isle when it's 90?). And finally:
-It was my birthday! Yay being old. It's not out until tomorrow, but I'm getting one of these for my birthday. Actual good knitting pics to follow!
