I'd love to post about knitting, but (1) I haven't finished much of anything, and (2) I can't post about anything I'm working on, since I'm mostly working on gifts.But I have been reading a great deal! Multiple two-hour flight delays really help one run through the books. I am now up to eight 33 1/3 books read this year (almost 1/3 of the total books I've read), the most recent being Scott Plagenhoef's about Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister. If you like Belle & Sebastian, this is worth picking up, even if you've read This is Just a Modern Rock Story (which I have); it's more a history of being a fan of Belle & Sebastian back in the early days, and how finding out about them is different than how people find out about bands these days. For an editor at Pitchfork, Plagenhoef's awfully down on the cycle of discovering music online.
I read David Lodge's The Art of Literature and Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer concurrently, switching to a few sections of Lodge after finishing a chapter of Prose's book. They're both guides on writing that favor examining passages of famous works, with Prose a little more focused on close reading (chapters focus on words, sentences, and paragraphs, while Lodge's sections break into things like "irony" and "aporia"). I'm not yearning to become an author, but I love reading well-written how-to books, and books about how to write are more likely to be well-written than, say, books about transformations of random variables. Though if you know of a well-written book about those, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
A bookish update
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuscany!
...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.
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!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Font nerdery.
Please insert the requisite "OMG, so long since my last post" comment here. Moving on.
I went to go see a movie about Helvetica yesterday. Yes, the font. It was good.
After a brief history of the genesis of the Helvetica font, the movie was more of an exploration of typeface design (and design in general) over the last 50 years, as filtered through the lens of Helvetica.
In brief: before Helvetica, things were ugly! Then there was Helvetica. It was great! Every company in the world used Helvetica! So Helvetica became the corporate typeface (and, as one designer stated, "the font of the Vietnam war")! So people started hating on Helvetica! Boo, Helvetica! Yay, weird fonts! Hooray, ugliness! Then the youngsters decided they could make Helvetica new again!
Also, there are a lot of designers with interesting eyeglass frames and gorgeous studio spaces. The soundtrack is also nifty (Sam Prekop and Battles were the two I could easily identify).
Fun times: after the movie, the woman in front of me stood up and said "So who here's a designer?". Everyone else raised their hands, and someone asked if there were any non-designers who would watch this. In a sotto voice, I said, "I thought it looked cool."
I've already prepurchased this on DVD. Helvetica party?
So yeah... if you get a chance to see the film, do so.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Works in Progress... Saturday?
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.
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.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Another FO...
Hey! I finished something.
Pattern: Tamarah from Knitty
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Pure & Simple (Burnt Orange, 1 1/2 skeins), purchased at kpixie and Habu Textiles Silk Mohair A-32D (205/red, 1 1/4 oz.) purchased from Habu directly
Needles: Size 7 Inox & Addi circs
Modifications: None really, apart from the yarn changes.
The pattern is modular and lace, but once you figure out the progression of the pattern, it goes pretty quickly. I had to do a lot of math at first, and there was great furrowing of brow, but by the end, it was mainly mindless knitting. This pattern doesn't seem to have been knit very frequently, but it's super-cute! Why isn't this at least half as popular as Clapotis?
I like this a great deal; I may make one for myself soon, in something not-orange (this is for Mr. Z's mom--this orange is lovely, but I can't wear it).
In other news, I got my invite for Ravelry. Ravelry has made me aware of my ten active projects. I should work on them/work on getting photos of them... after I finish that entire moving thing.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Stash honesty.
So. Not including yarn I'm using in a project, or yarn at Mr. Z's, or yarn that I have hidden from myself in a mysterious place...
I showed this to my roommate. He said, "Oh my GOD." I said, "Really? Because this was much less than I anticipated."
I mean, it doesn't even fill my queen-size bed! I am an amateur. Right?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Knitting related...
Here are some things I received from my Knitty SP last Friday:
Scharffenberger nibby bars (my favorite chocolate bar) plus a 16-pack of minis. Thank you so!
I've been completely derelict in posting works in progress. Here's something I've been laboring over for awhile:
All of the darker blue bits? Beads. The yarn? Rowan 4-ply cotton. The needles used? US 1, 1.5, and 2.5. Egads, that took awhile. And I still have the front and the sleeves!
Pitchfork was great in parts, annoying in others. More on that later. Off to pub trivia now.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Cinematic Pretentiousness and Musical Awesomeness.
If we are to trust Mr. Z on these matters, the proper 18th month anniversary gift seems to be Criterion Colleciton DVDs. I am fine with this, especially since I now own the following, thanks to his largesse:
The 400 Blows
Alphaville
L'Avventurea
Band of Outsiders
Jules and Jim
Masculin Feminin
Sullivan's Travels
Now that I own the last of these, I have three Criterion Collection editions Preston Sturges movies (the others are The Lady Eve and Unfaithfully Yours; I should also pick up The Palm Beach Story at some point)--movie night, anyone? It'd be more lighthearted than a screening of the 8-hour version of Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage.
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I went to the Metro to see Os Mutantes last night. The last time I saw them (nearly a year ago at Pitchfork), the crowd starting getting unruly due to the lack of an encore, so it was great to see a full show. The only bummer was that, for most of the show, I had to watch it through the gyrations of four hipsters on a double-date. I kept checking my (non-existent) watch to see if we'd turned back the clock to the late 90s, because these people acted like they were on E. Just trust me, it involved a lot of frottage and dancing of questionable merit.
Speaking of Pitchfork Fest... this year's iteration is happening again this weekend. Not a ton of my friends are going, and I'll spend more of this year chilling in the shade (thanks, 826 Chicago booth!), and I may actually arrive after the first band starts on Sunday (not something I've done before)... but it's still a great lineup. I'll be the one with at least four different kinds of sunscreen and red hair styled like Chan Marshall's.
Speaking of Chan Marshall... doesn't Sporty Spice look alarmingly like her these days? Am I alone on this?
Monday, July 02, 2007
A very retro weekend.
This weekend, I watched four episodes of Melrose Place, and listened to Slint's Spiderland, De La Soul's 3 Feet High & Rising, and a mess of Feelies albums. I was listening to Slint and De La Soul in part to prepare for Pitchfork in a couple of weeks; I listened to the Feelies because I finally downloaded their albums and am hating myself for not doing it sooner, because they are awesomeness squared.
Also awesomeness-squared: Melrose Place. As the astute folk at TWOP have stated, you have to love a show where a woman runs down her fiancé, then frames the guy's second wife by making it look like the second wife framed his first wife.
(And the first and second wives are SISTERS. And the second wife blackmailed him into marrying her because they both thought he killed his fiancée! Who then came back and made him kick out the second wife, who was, by the way, a hooker! And a madame! And then, after a fall from grace, a stripper! Until her estranged husband saw her on stage!)
I should get the DVDs.
In other news, I'm almost done with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Unfortunately, it is too large a book for me to fit in my bag without causing shoulder strain, so I can't read it on my way to work. Also, I worked on Bonita and Basalt this weekend, and am over halfway done with the former. Pics to come on Wednesday, I think.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
"Someday I'll change his life, I'll be his weiner-wife."
Puzzle of the day: Was I the only person who was made to sing "Hot Dog, I Love that Weiner Man" as a young child? Repeatedly? With such stunning lyrics as the one quoted in the title? We sang that all the time in Camp Fire when I was young. It involved singing the word "weiner" dozens of times between quicker and quicker iterations of the one verse. Anybody else?
In somewhat related news, I yearn to go to Hot Doug's. If you're not from Chicago, or just don't know about Hot Doug's, check out the menu. Even more important, check out the specials.
I don't even eat regular hot dogs (thanks, high school lit class in which we discussed "The Jungle" coming directly before hot dog day in the cafeteria!), but I love Hot Doug's. I had an elk sausage with mustard seed cheddar (hold the blood orange mayo) last time I was there. If you're ever in Chicago and you can, you should go.
