Chartreuse Knits

Thrifty Thrills

2006-10-10T20:36:00.000-05:00

I love thrifting. I love it even more when there is a lot of selection at the stores I go to. I love it best when the company is excellent. Needless to say, I had a glorious time thrifting this weekend. I went with my dear friend Alexa and a friend of hers I was glad to meet named Maria. We spent about four hours together luncheoning and exploring the isles at Saver's and the Goodwill. It was a perfect way to decompress from the stress of the past week.

One of my latest obsessions has been simplifying my life while at the same time making classier choices in the things I decide to buy. For example, I try to buy posters that I know I won't regret having on my wall next year, or buying a pretty dress as opposed to a witty T-shirt. But I am such a sucker for things on sale. For example, at the mall yesterday, I got a lovely blouse that is a teensy bit too small because it was only 5 bucks. My reasoning is that I'll loose a bit of weight and all will be well. But still, I'm all about the low prices. So on Saturday I ended up getting some great and comfy plain t-shirts, an adorable blouse with roses on it, some brand new sequined flats, a cookbook, a beautiful embossed tin made from heavy aluminum and a series of lovely frames to house cross-stitch projects. It's things like this that make me very happy.

Life's Better with a Cupcake

2006-10-09T16:37:00.000-05:00

Today heralds the beginning of a series of stressful and very hectic weeks. I have to coordinate various events in addition to schoolwork, and manage money for school groups as well as for myself. Coupled with meetings and visitings by my Daddy, and this week is quite full.

Today, however, is more relaxed than the rest of the week, and I felt like taking a walk around my neighborhood with the purpose of relaxing (and getting a carrot cupcake from Quack's bakery). The glorious temperature and lovely little houses along the tree-lined avenues of Hyde Park were exactly what I needed. Coupled with a delicious, moist cupcake topped with rich, smooth, cream-cheese frosting, and my afternoon was complete.

Blogland has a soft spot in it's heart for cupcakes. It really does. And I do too. When I feel upset, stressed, or in need of comfort, I often turn to sweet things. Diabetic in the making? Maybe.

May you all find a way to de-stress, and then get all your work done!

Like a Banana

2006-08-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

Like that old Groucho Marx quote: "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." The good old clock most certainly has wings.
Firstly, I would like to apologize to those who read this blog for my lengthy absence. My summer was spent in the lovely lands of Germany and Spain, and I only got back a few days ago.

Germany was a new experience for me, and Spain a very familiar one. Germany is a beautiful country with lovely greenery, castles and churches. The people are friendly and beautiful, the food scrumptious, and the language simultaneously difficult and alluring.

The picture with the roses was taken in Konstanz, a city on the Swiss border, and incidentally relatively unaffected by World War II. See, since Switzerland was neutral, if it turned off its lights at night, it wouldn't be bombed by either Axis or Allied forces. Konstanz got word of this deal and turned off all its lights, and therefore wasn't bombed.

During the month I was there, I explored Freiburg, which is in southwestern Germany, and an enchanting town on the edge of the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. I also visited Konstanz, Colmar, and Heidelberg, each lovely and charming cities. Amidst the joys of Germany and the World Cup, I managed to learn a bit of German, including but not limited to phrases involving payment, counting, scenery and classroom objects. It wasn't as difficult as I expected, but it was very different from what I expected too. I sampled a variety of German food, including many types of wurst, (my favorite being the tasty weiß wurst in a bread roll), Radlers (lime soda and beer) and one scoop hazlenut, one scoop mocha eis (ice cream).

Spain was fun, though familiar, and quite relaxing. Some of my favorite things about my home country across the pond are the food and the mountains. Coming from Texas, and South Texas at that, any sort of topography is a welcome change from the sheer flatness. I think that's why I love Austin's hills and tall trees, since they are virtually nonexistant in my home town. However, Spain has a myriad of hills, mountain ranges and other sorts of topographical features. The food is so lovely and tasty and filling. It's very simple food, with humble and ordinary ingredients, but splendid results. My favorites among the rustic Spanish cuisine are lima beans cooked with chorizo, manchego cheese on a slice of rustic bread, and paella. Mmmm.

This picture was taken on our farm, viewing the Sierra de San Vicente, to the north of the Tagus River, which lies just behind those trees. I love the farm, and it's a lovely sanctuary from the fast-paced lifestyle of big cities, both in the United States and in Europe. My favorite thing about the farm is walking out on a clear night and picking out constellations amidst the cloudy stripe of the Milky Way. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

On the crafting and 101 things in 1001 days fronts, there are quite a few things to say, which I will save for a future time. Suffice to say that cross-stitch has made a reappearance, Germany has a lot of sock yarn that made its way home with me, and I am striking things from my 101 list as I re-work it slightly. More soon!

My Very First Time

2006-05-18T13:20:00.000-05:00

I finished knitting and began blocking my very first lace project. I have another lace project on the needles and plans for many more on the way.

Currently on the needles is the Flower Basket Shawl. It appears that all knitblog-land has made this shawl, and for good reason! It's totally gorgeous! I'm following everything in the pattern exactly, except I'm holding one strand of cream and one strand of lime green alpaca together. It'll be my Key-Lime Flower Basket.

The finished project is Branching Out from Knitty. I wanted to knit my grandma a light scarf in purple. I had some mercerized crochet cotton in a lovely little violet color that I knew would be perfect. Since she and my grandfather are coming down for my sister's high school graduation in a week or so, I wanted to give her something nice, especially since I won't see her on her birthday.

I am also officially done with school for the semester! Out of four classes, I've made three A's, and I'm waiting on the final grade. Hopefully I kicked as much butt as I thought I did on that final exam (worth 50 percent of the grade, by the way). After the last exam, I went out and took pictures of some of my favorite sights on campus. Well, actually, of one building in particular. It's scheduled for remodeling next year, and I'm afraid they're going to get rid of what I most love about the building: all the wood paneling. They'll probably put lots of tile and light in the rooms, and presumably they'll make the elevator a tad larger (it can't be more than 3 by 4 feet square) and put ugly plastic moveable desks instead of the lovely 1930's style that are bolted to the floor. It's such a lovely building, though it does need a good remodeling.

A big congratulations to all my buddies who graduate this year, especially my knitting best-bud, Laura!

Heh...

2006-04-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

Yeah I'm still here. I apologize for the lack of content, but there literally has been a lack of content here. I'm knitting the same thing, except a few inches on my Salina sweater, which I just realized I screwed up by doing the shoulder shaping all wrong. Oh well. I'll get to fixing that sometime.

I got yarn to make a Durrow Scarf as well, but I think I need time to do that, and now that the semester is ending, there isn't much of that around. Who knew homework and tests were so time-consuming? News to me!

Finally, I just discovered how utterly hot Axl Rose is. Thank you Transbuddha for digging up old Guns N' Roses music videos to remind me of the glories of 80's rock. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to disappear again, and resurface when something interesting happens with me. Who knows when that'll be.

Close, But Not Quite

2006-03-27T20:43:00.000-06:00

So I decided I would try to accomplish #98 on my list of 101 in 1001: Donate Blood.

The blood donation buses are all around campus, people are talking about it in virtually all my classes, I see people with the little arm bands walking around, there are people handing out flyers for it and all sorts of other stimuli, reminding and insisting that healthy individuals donate blood. I've donated blood before, and both times were very rewarding (not only did I get a T-shirt and cookies, but my blood could be used to save 3 lives!). So today after my Geology lab, I figured, "I'm feeling healthy, a little tired, but not sick in the least. I haven't had any medication recently or gotten injured. I should donate blood, and knock that off my list of 101 things to do." So I go, fill out the paperwork and get ready. The nurse takes my blood pressure and pricks my finger to measure blood iron, takes my temperature, asks me a few questions, and is about to give me my little blood donor packet when he looks at my blood iron reading. He tells me with a serious face that I have a slight bit of iron-deficiency anemia. The iron count is supposed to be 12.0, and mine was 10.7.

I don't really think about it, but I remember from my nutrition class last year that not eating balanced meals can lead to iron-deficiency anemia. I'm a little concerned, and I call my mom to tell her about my inability to donate blood for a few days. I explained what the nurse told me about my iron levels, and she freaked out. (She's a nurse, so any health problem is either shrugged off or made a huge deal of). She asked me if I'd gotten injured, what foods I'd been eating recently, all sorts of questions about things that can impact blood iron. Well, it turns out that I haven't been eating much in the way of iron-rich veggies or meat. It's been mostly pasta and rice for the past week. Plus, I just got through with certain female occurrences which are known to cause iron deficiency in women (Sorry for the TMI). So that's why I'd been feeling tired recently. In short, all I neeed to do is eat well for the rest of the week, and I should be good to go.

So that's the story. However, I encourage any of you who are healthy and over the age of 17 to donate blood. It's really not a painful or scary thing, and even less so when you have a friend who will go with you. I find I can handle it about twice a year or so, and it's really quite rewarding to know that people who need blood can get it because of you. :) If you get the chance, do it!

Long Time No... Blog

2006-03-18T13:44:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I don't even have a good excuse. And since today is dreary, ugly, and very grey here in Austin, I don't even have knitting update pictures for you.

But I do have a few little life updates.

I've made some progress on Laura's bedspread. I had made it up to 15 pattern repeats, was totally psyched that I'd memorized the pattern, and was ready to add ball of yarn number 3 to the strip, when I realized that somewhere around repeat 10 I'd skipped a row. So from then on, everything had been off. I mean, it wasn't that noticeable, but it irked me. So I frogged. And now, to catch up on a week's worth of knitting, I've popped in "The Goonies" to knock #65.15 off my 101 in 1001 list.

And finally, I knocked number 61 off my list, to test drive a Beemer. Ok, well, not quite a Beemer. My dad took me to the BMW/Toyota/Mercedes dealership in Harlingen when I was up there to get a cavity filled (woo hoo) this past Wednesday. We pretended that I was graduating this May, and that in honor of graduating with honors (ha-ha!) my dad would buy me a sweet little sports car. Unfortunately, they didn't have any BMW sports cars to test drive, but they did have a sweet little Mercedes convertible roadster. So in that vein, I got to test drive this baby:
It was sweet. I was a little too chicken to take it above 50 mph (you know, speed limits do exist), but I did get to do a little donut in the parking lot. WOW, the thing turns on a dime! I even got to drive it with the top down! The only drawback was that they didn't have any with standard gear shift. But the dealer assured me that they could order one for me, if I decided I wanted one. ;-) Maybe when my dad wins the lottery and I graduate Summa Cum Laude from UT. Tee hee.

So it wasn't a BMW, but it's about as sexy as the BMW roadster. Oh yeah, baby!

It all starts Tomorrow

2006-02-28T22:28:00.000-06:00

Well folks, my 101 in 1001 "officially" starts tomorrow. It's kind of weird that I chose the first day of Lent to begin a project of self-improvement. I mean, Lent is a time of reflection and sacrifice (somewhat) and in some ways I'm not going to be sacrificing much, but in other ways I think I will be. So here we go, and I'm working on improving my religious/spiritual side. I've already fulfilled 2 of the items on my list pre-March 1, which I'll elaborate on later. But I've got to get myself in order in other respects to complete this project well. More on that soon.

Knitwise, I completed my iPod cozy with a cable, and am currently working on one for Steph. Hers is out of Peaches n Cream cotton in a beautiful sky blue. I used slightly smaller needles than called for in order to make a dense, protective fabric. I also have the most adorable buttons for it, but those are at home, fruit of a wool baby sweater that accidentally got felted.

I'm having some camera problems, which I'll work on, to hopefully get you guys some pictures in the near future.

Now I'm going to bed so I can wake up early and attend Mass, which has a whole lot to do with #32. :D

Week of Doom

2006-02-21T11:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions about books and the like on my 101 list. I've added the books to my list, and have bookmarked the websites both for tea and sewing machines, for when the moment arrives to bring those into my life. You guys are so awesome!

I have been knitting, believe it or not, despite this week's stress levels. Yesterday I managed to complete one more repeat on Laura's wedding bedspread, bringing the grand total of completed repeats to 6. Only 14 more to go on that strip. It's really quite enjoyable, and the pattern is so easy that I've practically memorized it. However, there's one section where I tend to add an extra ssk, and then start freaking out that my numbers don't match, so I rip back, knit and screw up again, rip once more, and then realize, "Oh! There's only one ssk on that section, not two!" I highly recommend the pattern, even if you decide just to make one of the narrow strips and turn it into a scarf. The leaves just pop out, and the cabling without the cable needle is a great thing. So pretty, so easy! (Doesn't that remind you of the whole "Very easy, Very Vogue!" label in Vogue Knitting? hee!)

Speaking of cables....
I've been working on writing a pattern for an iPod cozy, much along the lines of the digicam cozy I made my sister for Christmas. It's going to be made out of the Rowan Calmer I used for hers, and it will also have a cable running down the middle. However, I'm having a little trouble getting the cable to match when I pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on. So I'm going to start it again, even after having frogged it 6 times. It will work. I'll also provide instructions for iPod nanos, the new iPods, and ye older generation iPods. Also, it'll include ways to knit your own, sans designs, and based on the gauge of whatever yarn you have available. (Whoa, Scary!. Me, giving instrucions on how to do math? Scary, indeed). Never fear, the pattern will be free, since I'm all about the free.

Speaking of free patterns... (I'm on a roll here, dontcha know?)
I know I promised a .PDF version of my Dragon Scale Gauntlet pattern some time ago. However, I'm not sure of how the heck to post it to Blogger. I'm going to look into Blogger's help system, and that'll be one more thing I get up on the website as part of #91 of my 101 in 1001. If you feel a .PDF would be better for you and you're anxious to start soon, be sure to email me, and I'll send a copy your way.

Despite this week being one of the most hectic I've experienced in college thus far, I'm surprisingly upbeat, happy, and tranquil. So let's hope it stays that way, with two exams down, and two to go. Onward!

Template

2006-02-19T15:14:00.000-06:00

3 posts in a day... impressive, I know.
Sorry folks about updating a gazillion times today. Blogger ate my template source code for some obscure reason, and since I'd saved a copy before I even had Haloscan, I decided to simply forgo altering it again, and got a new template. I managed to insert the important things in the sidebar, and I'll be tweaking it some more in the future.

So I wanted to apologize (if you have Bloglines or another feed aggregator) if it says I've posted 20 times. It was just the template messing up, mostly.

Now, on to study for this semester's first week from hell!

The Book List

2006-02-19T14:47:00.000-06:00

Here is the list of the 50 books I want to read during my 101 in 1001. I was going to attempt 101 books, but I realized that for some, the approximate 10 days of reading per book would not be enough. Besides, 20 days per book is more doable, and I can get ahead more easily for times when I probably won't be able to read.

The list is incomplete as of now because I don't have my well-stocked bookshelf to look at and say "Ah-ha! I had forgotten about that one, and so I'll read it!" In addition, I'll admit that I have read a few of these books before, but either don't remember, or wish to re-read them (Lord of the Rings fits the latter, Alice in Wonderland fits the former). Also, if anyone has a recommendation of a book that I *must* read, I'll put it on here! Email me or post your recommendations in the comments!

So without further ado, here goes:

1. Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul – Douglas Adams
2. The Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood
3. Sense & Sensibility – Jane Austen
4. The Wizard of Oz - Frank L. Baum
5. The Adventure of English – Melvyn Bragg
6. Angels and Demons – Dan Brown
7. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll
8. Under the Black Flag – David Cordingly
9. Timeline – Michael Crichton
10. Little, Big – John Crowley
11. The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
12. Middlemarch – George Eliot
13. Middlesex – Jeffery Eugenides
14. The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen May Fowler
15. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
16. Wives and Daughters – Elizabeth Gaskell
17. Faust – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
18. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
19. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
20. Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
21. The Sand Man – E.T.A. Hoffmann
22. The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table – Oliver Wendell Holmes
23. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
24. The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster (Complete: March 5, 2006)
25. Sons & Lovers – D.H. Lawrence
26. The Republic – Plato
27. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque
28. Midnight's Children – Sallman Rushdie
29. Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott
30. Pygmalion - George Bernard Shaw
31. The Road to Middle Earth and/or Author of the Century – Tom Shippey - recommended by Jeff R.
32. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
33. The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien
34. On Fairy Stories – J.R.R. Tolkien
35. The Return of the King – J. R. R. Tolkien
36. The Two Towers – J. R. R. Tolkien
37. The Silmarillion – J.R.R. Tolkien
38. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo, The Pearl – J.R.R. Tolkien
39. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court – Mark Twain
40. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami - recommended by Kym
41. Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer - recommended by Erin D.
42. Snowcrash - Neil Stephenson - recommended by Jeff R.

The List

2006-02-19T14:45:00.000-06:00

Well folks, Here's my 101 in 1001.
The list still needs improvement, additions, etc. As I've perused the various blogs of participants in this project, I've gotten several ideas for things I'd like to do. So if you see something similar to what you're doing, you probably inspired me to do it! Also, feel free to adopt some of my goals as your own. If something's slipped your mind and you see it here, woo hoo! Take it and run, my friends!

(I also dearly hope that I'll accomplish this, as I looked through the initial project ring, it was so sad to see that many, many people had given up about a few months in, especially after extolling the virtues of the extra length of time, etc.)

As an explanation, I'm putting things on this list that I've already made plans for, was going to do anyway, etc. That way, when some of the more difficult and time-consuming tasks come up, I'll have some major things crossed off my list, and thus will be motivated enough to finish.

*hem-hem* Without further ado, here is The List:

101 Things in 1001 Days:

1. Blog about the 101 in 1001 (Changed because some of these things can't be photographed)
2. Keep a notebook chronicling the 101 in 1001

Learning/Scholarship
3. Read 50 Books (list here)
4. Get into the English Honors Program
5. Write an honors thesis
6. Study abroad
7. Graduate from college
8. Learn to use Flickr
9. Learn to use Photoshop
10. Memorize 10 poems, so that I can recite them on command (0/10)

The Lay of Leithian – J.R.R. Tolkien
Kubla Khan – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms – Thomas Moore
Earendil the Mariner – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Bells – Edgar Allan Poe
Nostalgia – Billy Collins
Somewhere I have Never Travelled – e.e. cummings
The Naming of Cats – T.S. Eliot
Birches – Robert Frost
Strange Fits of Passion – William Wordsworth

11. Learn 10 classic fairy tales and learn to tell them (0/10)
12. Learn to use my manual camera
13. Take a course in Classical Philosophy
14. Take a course in Latin
15. Take a course on Anglo-Saxon England
16. Maintain a GPA above 3.5
17. Learn the names of 5 different constellations and their location in the sky (0/5)
18. Take the United States Foreign Service exam

Aesthetics/Habits/Health
19. Get into the habit of going to the gym at least twice a week (for two months straight)
20. Get down to 145 lbs, or a size 8
21. In celebration of achieving the above, buy a whole new wardrobe
22. Learn CPR
23. Stop biting my fingernails/cuticles
24. Get a manicure
25. Let my hair grow out

Food
26. Make sushi from scratch
27. Learn to cook 5 traditional Spanish/Family recipes (0/5)

Cocido
Tortilla Española
Paella
Croquetas
Mom's Cheesecake

28. Visit a registered dietitian
29. Pack my own lunch for a week
30. Drink 3 different types of alcoholic beverages in each European country I visit, though not all in one sitting ;-)
31. Make a scrumptious cake entirely from scratch

Relationships/Friendships
32. Find a man who makes me swoon
33. Get into a serious relationship with said man
34. Repair a certain broken friendship
35. Write letters of appreciation to my immediate family, grandparents, and cousins.
36. Organize a Family Reunion
37. Kiss a boy on New Year's Eve
38. Take pictures of all my friends

Fiscal
39. Save $2,000 in my bank account
40. Get employed
41. Go 1 week without spending any money

Crafting
42. Knit a bedspread in time for my best friend's wedding
43. Knit an “heirloom” shawl (Garden Shawl from Fiddlesticks' Knitting)
44. Make gifts for family and friends' birthdays and Christmas (0/2)
45. Catalog and knit entire yarn stash (new stuff can be added provided the current stash is gone)
46. Finish cross-stitching my enormous princess/unicorn tapestry
47. Make a quilt
48. Learn to make crocheted lace
49. Knit something purple and lacy for my Grandma's birthday in 2006
50. Learn how to make a pattern for an article of clothing, and then make it

Shopping
51. Find and purchase my perfect satchel-purse (must be leather)
52. Get all new underwear
53. Get a good sewing machine
54. Get a serger
55. Find the perfect little black dress
56. Buy a special ring to celebrate my 20th birthday
57. Buy a shirt from jinx.com
58. Buy flowers for no reason other than to make my room look pretty
59. Buy a poster, have it framed/matted and hang it in my room
60. Have a gown made like my sister's green Cotillion dress, but in red and black
61. Test drive a Mercedes (Complete: 15 March, 2006)
62. Buy the Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit game

Fun/Entertainment
63. Go to at least one awesome concert with my sister here in Austin
64. Play one videogame from start to finish without hints
65. Watch 15 “classic” movies I've never seen (1/15)

Back to the Future
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Evil Dead 2
Army of Darkness
The Producers
Casablanca
A Clockwork Orange
Rebel Without A Cause
Fight Club
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Dr. Strangelove
Princess Mononoke
Blade Runner
The Goonies (Complete: 18 March, 2006)

66. Pull an all-day Lord of the Rings Marathon
67. Learn to play Cribbage
68. Learn to play Poker
69. Learn to play Monopoly
70. Play a live-action roleplaying game
71. Watch 5 Entire Anime series

Ayashi no Ceres
Cowboy Bebop
Trinity Blood
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Legends of the Galactic Heroes

72. Go to Austin City Limits or SXSW music festivals
73. Dress in costume and go to class that way (NOT on Halloween)
74. Create a “Soundtrack to Annemarie” playlist
75. See the Brobdingnagian Bards in concert (Complete: 2/25/06)

Religious/Spiritual
76. Read the Catholic Catechism
77. Go To Mass every Sunday for a year
78. Take a class on Hindu Religion or Buddhism
79. Visit the Cathedral next to the Royal Palace in Madrid and attend Mass there.

Travel
80. Watch all Spain World Cup games at German pubs
81. Take a road trip
82. Go the Texas vs. OU game, or the Texas vs. A&M game with someone
83. Sing folk songs with my dad and siblings on a long car ride
84. Photograph my favorite places on our farm in Spain

Kindness
85. Knit a blanket and take it to an elderly person in a nursing home
86. Genuinely complement 5 complete strangers (0/5)

Organization
87. Organize my hard drive, renaming folders and files and organize appropriately
88. Alphabetize and categorize all my books at home
89. Put all my books at home into a cataloging system on my computer

Miscellaneous
90. Build a tea collection (15 different types of loose tea that I love)
91. Revamp my blog, and learn things like posting pictures in the sidebar, percent bars, etc.
92. Attend the Honors Colloquium
93. Learn how to thoroughly clean a house the right way, not necessarily the easy way
94. Update my blog for an entire month
95. Get a professional portrait of my dad and me, and my sister and me
96. Write a short story
97. Publish it in a campus literary magazine
98. Donate Blood
99. Keep my college dictionary with me wherever I live
100. To be Determined
101. Create a new 101 in 1001 List on October 6, 2008.

My Beautiful Sister

2006-02-07T23:51:00.000-06:00

Because a big sister must brag and show off her gloriously gorgeous and hot younger sister, I present you with a few pictures of my sister's dress and date from the Cotillion Ball this past weekend. Her date is an incredibly sweet (and cute) German exchange student named Meikhel. He's incredibly polite, a little shy, and apparently, a phenomenal dancer. Her dress was made by an incredibly nice, elegant, and beautiful Mexican seamstress with incredible talent and an eye for design. It's made from a traditional hand-embroidered Spanish shawl and green chiffon.

Now let me introduce my little sister. Not only is she a bombshell, she's also incredibly sweet, loving and funny. She's amazingly intelligent, determined as ever, and energetic to boot. She pressures me to watch new episodes of Yakitate Japan when I'm in town, she has her heart set on being a University of Texas Longhorn, and she wants to travel to Germany this summer to learn ze Deutsch. She loves Orlando Bloom, she loves animals, and the Sims. She is strong-willed, generous, and a phenomenally good person.

I love that girl, my Bulbie, my Gigi, my Palomita. I couldn't have dreamed of a better sister.

Super-Luxe Minisweater

2006-02-07T22:25:00.000-06:00

Behold: *update: pictures fixed*

Glampyre Knits Minisweater (Pattern)
Yarn: RYCashsoft DK in cream, (57% extrafine merino, 33% microfibre, 10% cashmere), Habu Textiles Kusaki-zome Silk in color 23, a mint green (100% silk), and Misti Alpaca laceweight in cream (100% baby alpaca).
- 3 balls of Cashsoft
- 2 balls of Habu Silk
- 1 ball of Misti Alpaca
Cashoft had about 1/2 a ball left, Habu had about 1/6 of a ball left, and Misti Alpaca had about 1/4 of a ball left
Started: A few days before going to Disneyworld, so December 26? 2005
Finished: February 5, 2005
Embellishments: Antique mother-of-pearl buttons found in Houston (I *did* have them with me!)
Pattern modifications/notes: The combination of these three yarns is probably the nicest thing you can do for your hands... it's on par with angora's softness. All three are luscious on their own, but together...WOW! Since I made a minisweater before, I was able to modify this one to suit my tastes. I changed the garter-stitch border to seed stitch, and began the bust increases about 16 rows into the raglan increases. Good thing I did. I was aiming for more boob coverage without having to lengthen the body substantially. It worked out perfectly. Those increases also allowed for a slight overlap of the edges, for a less strained fit at the bust. I also lengthened the sleeves and made them less puffy because that way, the design is a bit more elegant. Overall, the pattern is quite well written and I will probably be making more of these soon, since they seem to be a hit amongst fashion conscious teenage girls (*cough* my sister *cough*).

Blush

2006-02-06T18:29:00.000-06:00

Wow you guys! I feel so very very special! Melanie, THE Melanie from Daily Guilt commented on my blog! That's like getting a visit from a celebrity! Hi Melanie! *waves* So so very cool! (end exclamations.)

This got me to thinking... I'm not really sure who reads my blog. I know a few friends read this (hi guys!) and a few very sweet knitbloggers pass this way from time to time (Hey there! to Knitannie and Carola and all you other peeps out there!). But one of the cool and weird things about having a blog is that you're never really sure of your audience. A number of people comment, but far more read through and lurk. So anyone who passes by and sees this post should leave a small comment or something, just to know who's out there! It can be a quick hi or a long-winded greeting (we all know my tendency towards verbosity, so if that same quality is in you, feel free to go on...and on)!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go off dancing and smiling joyously for the rest of the evening. :)

How do you Angst?

2006-02-06T18:27:00.000-06:00

Everyone has their share of troubles in life, right? We all deal with death at some point, we all deal with loss, and only a minority of people are strangers to tragedy. And even so, with all this hardship, our lives are considerably easier, less grim, and, some would say, less traumatic than those of our predecessors. Gone are the days when we would give little girls coffins with their dolls, so that they could play "funeral" in addition to "wedding" or "house." Gone are the days when smallpox ravages entire villages, and no one is safe from a torturous, painful death. It is an anomaly to have a woman die in childbirth, and infant mortality rates are a meagre percentile of what they once were. We have more property, overall, than at any other point in history. We can travel and communicate at speeds unheard of until the past century. Gone are the days (mostly) when entire communities would lose their men in war, leaving countless widows and orphans in their wake. Gone are the days (in our culture at least) when women and men were unequal, and marriages were arranged. Now we can marry for love (multiple times, even) and women enjoy unprecedented status and wealth alongside men. And finally, we live in a time when one of the greatest afflictions that our poor face in this country is obesity, that is, an excess of food.

These changes in our way of life in a single century raise various questions: Were people in the past more preoccupied with life, and therefore happier since they knew death and suffering was a part of life? Are we weaker, both emotionally and physically, and can we sustain this life with our ingenious, though artificial, means of support? If we were to revert to a more primitive time when machinized artillery was nonexistant, how many of us would be strong enough to wield swords, or in times of peace, labor under the sun with our beasts of burden, tilling the earth to survive? What does this do to our status as a species, if it becomes increasingly easier to have weak, sickly, and ill people live longer? I know that sounds very harsh, but what I mean is, it allows people who otherwise would die to have a great chance at life. Yet when Natural Selection can't take place, what happens?

It would seem that as our physical chances for survival increase, we tend to be weaker emotionally. Since we don't deal with massive epidemics or the destruction of our life as we know it as often as other people did in their lifetimes, what is it that causes us modern people to break? Do we simply not deal with death the way our ancestors did? Do we reach an emotional breaking point far more quickly and for a comparably lesser trial? I don't believe there's much evidence in favor or against this assumption about our human ancestors, since proper psychological diagnoses were nonexistant until this past century. Still, it raises the question: were people more or less depressed than they are now? Were people more emotionally equipped to deal with hardship and sorrow simply because they were exposed to it throughout life? Or did they simply deal with it as many do today, with suicide, silence, and depression? Did they blame themselves as many people do nowadays? Or did they trust to God and move on? My hunch is that people are much the same as they always have been. Some people harden under the strains of dealing with the death of a child or spouse, or of war and disease. Others break and shrivel to become hollow beings. Others become angry at everyone, and seek to enact revenge on those they feel have wronged them. And finally, others grieve, accept, and move on, working toward the hope that they will experience joy again.

Finally, what happens to those of us who have not experienced tragedy and loss to the extent that others have? Does this make us weaker, less prepared for catastrophe? Fewer of us experience death at an early age, and many of us are not greatly attached to those we lose, such as grandparents we rarely see, or a great-aunt or uncle who pinched our cheeks when we were five, or something like that. We grieve, it's true, but not with the overpowering wave of grief that afflicts those who lose someone they are well and truly attached to, like a parent, a spouse, a sibling, or a grandparent who we in fact are close to. In my opinion, these people who emerge intact from an emotional cataclysm are more prepared should the world end. They are the ones who can survive, they are the ones who would know what to do when the rest of us would go insane with terror and curl into a ball and blubber like idiots. They are the ones who can handle the angst hurled at them by life. But what about the rest of us?

I apologize for the pessimistic tone of this digression. I contemplated the blog of a friend, the blog of a friend of a friend, as well as the plight of the Rohirrim (and by proxy, King Theoden) in the Lord of the Rings, and came up with this thought process. Let me know what you think.

Quizzy Quiz Quiz!

2006-02-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

Your dating personality profile:

Intellectual - You consider your mind amongst your assets. Learning is not a chore but a constant search after wisdom and knowledge. You value education and rationality.
Conservative - You take a conservative stance on most issues and aren't shy about saying so. Your political views are an important component of who you are.
Romantic - You know exactly how to melt your date's heart. Romance comes naturally to you and is an important component of any relationship you have.

Your date match profile:

Intellectual - You seek out intelligence. Idle chit-chat is not what you are after. You prefer your date who can stimulate your mind.
Traditional - You need someone who is a bit old-fashioned. A person with traditional values and beliefs will perfectly compliment your lifestyle.
Shy - You are put off by people who are open books. You are drawn to someone who is a bit more mysterious. You want to draw him out of his shell and get to know what he is all about.

Your Top Ten Traits

1. Intellectual
2. Conservative
3. Romantic
4. Religious
5. Traditional
6. Outgoing
7. Wealthy/Ambitious
8. Adventurous
9. Stylish
10. Big-Hearted

Your Top Ten Match Traits

1. Intellectual
2. Traditional
3. Shy
4. Religious
5. Conservative
6. Romantic
7. Practical
8. Funny
9. Adventurous
10. Stylish

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

Except for me liking really shy guys, this is pretty much correct. wow.

A little bit of the knit-blues

2006-02-05T17:16:00.000-06:00

I haven't had a finished object in over three weeks. Despite having knitted like a madwoman on various works-in-progress, I haven't made much of that "p-word:" progress.

See, I have a grand total of 4 projects on the needles. Salina, the Luxe Minisweater, Natalya Gauntlets, and Jaywalker Socks (speaking of joining bandwagons...). Luxe Mini just needs sleeves, but I left my gorgeous mother of pearl buttons at home in Brownsville, so I can't wear her until I get those. I'm looking forward to wearing her soon, and I'll post pictures once I get the sleeves done.

Salina is a project on the cusp. I don't know if I'll have enough yarn to finish her. And if I don't, then it looks like she'll either be frogged or made with 3/4 sleeves. I hope neither is the case, since I'm quite fond of the sweater. All I have left is that small ball of yarn and two hanks for the sleeves. And that's it. I have no idea if there'll be enough for seaming.

The Natalya Gauntlets are pretty much doomed. Behold:
That is how much of the mohair I have left. And here I was, thinking I'd run out of the cotton/silk Dale yarn. Unless I can find another ball of that olive green Katya, these babies will remain unfinished, or will need to reincarnate as shorter gauntlets.

And finally, Jaywalkers. I love the pattern and the look of the socks, but as I tried them on last night, I realized that it was quite difficult to get them over my heel. And since I don't have inclinations of chopping it off (a-la Grimm's Fairytale version of Cinderella), I probably will *sigh* rip these back and start afresh with the larger size. But re-starting a pair of socks is not quite high on my "things I want to do" list.

Oh well, that's the project lineup for now. Yet once the Knitpicks yarn gets here, I'm going to be leaf-knitting like crazy! I even made a chart and everything! I probably should finish a project or two before tackling the bedspread. You know, victory before the battle even begins? ;-)

101 Things in 1001 Days

2006-02-04T16:44:00.000-06:00

Whilst surfing my blogroll, I came across this splendid Idea.

List nerd and bandwagon fiend that I am, I can't help but jump for joy at a project that's been in my mind for a long time, but has never found the time to materialize. What exactly is this project? Well friends, it is a project called 101 things in 1001 days. Apparently, much like the 52 books in 52 weeks project, the goal is to complete a certain number of things in a certain amount of time (duh!). However, many of these "overarching projects" involve a short period of time to complete a rather large amount of tasks. This "101 in 1001" project is a bit more manageable, in my opinion, since you're given 1001 days as opposed to 100 or so to complete a number of tasks. These tasks can be anything that you've been "meaning to do" or have "always wanted to do," but haven't really been able to accomplish in three months or whatever. This project gives you the freedom to plan and organize big events, little events, classes, or trips over a period of almost 2.75 years. For example, if you've always wanted to take a yoga class, it's perfectly possible that you can complete that task, without simultaneously having to manage 30 other projects at once.

That sort of flexibility appeals to me.

In addition, the goals you set for yourself should be tangible, definitive goals... not something vague like "lose weight" but something like, "get back to a size 8" or whatever. And it can be anything from "read something I've never read before" to "get married."

So I've decided to do 101 Things in 1001 Days. And my beginning date is March 1, 2006. That means that on October 6, 2008, I will have completed 101 things I've been meaning to do or have always wanted to do. I may keep a link in my sidebar to keep track of these projects, and those of you with an interest can join or watch along. Naturally, I don't pretend to be on the level of "Daily Guilt" in coolness or interest with my 101 in 1001, but I do hope to catalog my own progress, and maybe get other people interested as well.

Plus, it'll allow me to prove to myself that I can actually have the self discipline to accomplish a feat like this. Want to join?

Holy Crap!

2006-02-03T15:04:00.000-06:00

I just spent 100 dollars on yarn. At once. And it's for a crap-ton of yarn. 27 hanks, or almost 6000 yards of peruvian highland wool. That's verging on four or five miles of yarn. Miles. Whew, I need to breathe.

"What," you might ask, "is such a collossal amount of yarn for?"
"Well," I shall respond, "I love my dearest friend enough to knit her one of the most complicated and intricate bedspreads ever conceived by knit-kind for her wedding."

Yes, people. That's love. The foresight to realize my sanity might not remain intact. Enough love to realize that I probably will knit the bulk of it in September of next year, when the deadline steadily approaches. And yet I will do it anyway. And it will be a masterpiece.

My greatest wish is that once this ordeal is complete, my darling friend will cherish and love this thing and pass it down in her family, complete with stories of swearing, insanity, hilarity and triumph, all told in her inimitable style. And that anyone who sees it knows that each and every stitch was crafted with love.

I just won't think about if it accidentally gets felted at some point in time. Even if it's years later, I do believe my world will come crashing down should that happen. There might cease to be Annemarie.

Perhaps I should stop being pessimistic before this knitting marathon even begins.

I'm sure you all are incredibly curious as to what this mammoth undertaking will look like:

Here's the link, should you decide to tackle it yourself. It's beautiful, ain't it? Picture it entirely in cream-colored yarn, though. Hooray for Knitpicks and their high-quality inexpensive yarns. Otherwise, this might've cost my firstborn.

An aran bedspread. Wow. I like it.

Classes have Begun

2006-01-18T17:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I emerged from the beginning of classes feeling thoroughly exhausted. Not to mention that after braving the zoo, er, Co-op for textbooks, my energy for the rest of the day was totally sapped. I had returned some books and got substantial store credit to buy more books at the Co-op, but still had to pay 50 dollars out of pocket. And I still haven't bought 100 dollars worth of books, because the Co-op ran out!!! Overpriced textbooks should not be allowed. But oh well. Now I just have to get on with the reading that has already begun to accumulate... bleh.

Yes. Those are my books. I realize several are concerning Jesus. They are for my Jesus in American Culture class. It should be fun, since the professor is a former baptist, gay, and a total hoot! He's very knowledgeable, funny, and still apparently quite strict. Laura, darling that she is, recommended the class to me (this is her 3rd or 4th class with the man already). It promises to be like one of my religion classes from high school. Provided Dr. Miller is anything like Mr. Tony Cantu, I will be delighted with the class.

This semester is going to be FREAKING busy, I can feel it. I have a habit of writing my reading assignments/tests/etc in my planner at the beginning of each semester, so that I can see at a glance when an extra-special week from hell will appear. It's also useful to have all assignments in one place, as opposed to skimming through syllabi, which tend to disappear when they're most needed.

I think I've spoiled myself by taking relatively enjoyable and light-workload courses throughout my previous semesters, and not to mention 4 classes per semester for two of three semesters. This semester, I have 5, and I can predict the stress levels will skyrocket. Lots of reading, plenty of papers, and hopefully, fewer core-curriculum courses to take later on.

I fear what implications this will have for my knitting time...

Knitting Parade Part 2

2006-01-16T14:35:00.000-06:00

Continuing the Knitting Parade:

The next project on the needles is the Saxon Braid Scarf. It has been completed since the taking of these pictures (read: 3-hour meeting to sit through) and just needs a bit of blocking to fix the fringe. However, it is deliciously soft, and the color is quite fun! (And quite a bit brighter than in the picture).

The pattern is quite easy once you get the hang of the cables, and even I, who have had only mild cabling experience in the Vintage Velvet scarf was able to figure it out. It looks really complex, and just requires a little bit of attention so that you don't mis-cross cables at any point. One thing you must do if you have Knitting on the Edge by Nicky Epstein is to check the Vogue Knitting errata.

I made the scarf out of a recycled L.L. Bean sweater, a cotton/mohair/nylon blend. I hadn't quite gotten down the way to "unzip" the crocheted seams when I unravel, so there are a few little snipped strands here and there, as the twist is not very tight in this yarn.

Click Here for an alternate texture view.

Finally, the back part of Salina. I loved this sweater from the moment I saw it. Hopefully, it will turn out as beautifully as it did in the Rowan Vintage Style book. I'm using some of the marvellous blue alpaca I bought in Spain this summer. Hopefully there will be enough yarn for it, since I can't do much if I run out. It's very soft and holds texture very well. However, the back part needs a thorough blocking before I seam it. And seaming, I predict, will be just as much of an adventure as knitting it.

I knit most of this whilst watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and about 10 episodes of Yakitate Japan, an adorable bread-making anime.

The new semester is starting up, so please bear with me as I get adjusted to more classes and continue to unravel sweaters.

Speaking of which... I bought a GORGEOUSLY SOFT men's XL Banana Republic sweater. It's a deep, dark olive green, was purchased for $3.50, and was unravelled perfectly and without incident (read: one knot and no accidentally cut strands). It is now in 7 balls, waiting for the perfect pattern, probably Teva Durham's lace leaf pullover from Interweave. Though Demi from Rowan Vintage Style has struck my fancy as well.

Sigh. I love thinking of the possibilities of cheap, high-quality recycled yarn!

Back to School and the Knitting Parade

2006-01-15T19:31:00.000-06:00

Two days till the first day of classes of semester number 4 at UT Austin. It's so exciting!! I just witnessed a lovely display of fireworks outside my window, since the Texas Longhorns are National Football champions this season, and of course, we have to celebrate it.

My dad is doing much better with his eye, though his vision improves quite slowly day by day, and his frustration at not being fully recovered was palpable in the week I took care of him.

In that week, not much of anything got finished, though a little progress was made on several WIPS, and now, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you a long-promised project parade. (All pictures taken about 3 or 4 days ago, when there was sunshine at home in Brownsville).

My super luxurious silk/ cashsoft/ alpaca minisweater deux is coming right along. I've personalized it a bit from number 1, including the seed-stitch edges, and bust coverage that begins a bit earlier. I also have some gorgeous vintage mother-of-pearl buttons purchased at an antiques store in Houston on our way back from Disney. I'm so excited about finishing this, and wearing it.

A few other alterations include lenghtening the sleeves a tad to about the middle of the upper arm, instead of cute capped sleeves. One thing you might notice is that I'm using cream-colored alpaca and cashsoft, and the minty green silk. I was initially going to use some lovely lime green alpaca, but the two shades of green clashed a little. This white with subtle green has equal the softness, and a bit more elegance than the other combination. I think I have to purchase another skein of white alpaca, in order to make a lacy-spiderweb something-or-other at some point.

Here's another view of the lovely texture as well as some beautiful get-well flowers my dad's boss sent him upon hearing of his surgery. (His boss is such a nice guy, I made him some cookies!) I also really like this picture too. :)

Next in line is the Natalya gauntlet. I've completed number one, and have not progressed too much on number 2. Second Sock/Gauntlet/Mitten syndrome is well an evil to avoid. However, my dorm room gets so freaking freezing that I might need to get my butt in gear just so that I don't get frostbite. The cables and thumb gusset are really spectacular addition to the pattern. Although the gauntlet reminds me of hobo gloves, the warmth and beauty of it quickly dispels that thought from my mind.

Alright, part 2 will come tomorrow!!! I even have it written already, all I need to do is post it! So hold on to your seats and watch the knits continue!

Happy New Year

2006-01-06T21:37:00.000-06:00

It sure has been awhile since I updated. Let's see, between then and now, several events transpired, both good and bad.

1. Christmas
- Presents included four puff-balls of baby blue angora yarn, Vintage Knits, Marie Claire Idees, the 2006 Knitting-Pattern-a-Day calendar, some clothes, and tea.

2. Disney World
- We explored all the parks, watched fireworks at Magic Kingdom that made me cry with emotion at the beauty of it all, ate at the Japanese Pavillion (and squealed with delight at the knitting kits available at the Norwegian Pavillion) in Epcot, and got a little queasy on the Star Wars ride in Disney-MGM studios.

3. New Year's
- We saw one of the most fabulous displays of fireworks at the Disney-MGM Studios park, and then my brother and I decided to be clever and take a "short-cut" to avoid the collossally long lines for the buses back to our hotel, and ended up spending an extra hour in line. But at least the fireworks were lovely.

4. Emergency eye surgery
- My dad had a detached retina, and all went well with the surgery. Now he's recovering, but if you can, send good vibes this way for his full and perfect recovery.

5. Knitting and New Year's resolutions.
- Pictures will come for these soon, including photos from Disney, as well as photos of the 4 projects that I have going at once. Not to mention some descriptions of the books I'm trying to get under my belt before the new semester starts in a little over a week.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, a safe and happy New Year, and are excited about what 2006 has to bring!

2005-12-24T00:48:00.000-06:00

At this time of year, with all the festivities, bright lights and colourful gifts, I sometimes like to sit back and reflect on wonderful events and sensations that might slip through your fingers if you aren't careful. Here's a list of things in my own life that I've stopped to appreciate. What have you thoroughly enjoyed recently?

1. Cold crisp pomegranates
2. Dancing like a lunatic to the rhythms of ABBA with my sister
3. Pinning my brother down and tickling him
4. Having a usually vile and cranky cat purring in my lap
5. Singing Christmas carols
6. Not eating microwaveable or take-out dinners, but mom's cooking
7. Reading for pleasure for hours on end
8. Smelling Wintertime and Christmastime in the air
9. Decorating the Christmas tree with my daddy
10. Family dinners, with all of us together

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

P.S. I'll post a knitting post later today, once I yoink my sister's camera for a little while.

Bookish Pleasures

2005-12-21T16:40:00.000-06:00

I had forgotten just how wonderful drifting away into another world can be. This afternoon I re-read The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, book 1 in the Chronicles of Narnia. It was so lovely just to be sucked into a novel, a different world that's just real enough that you feel you possibly could become a part of it. It reminds you of all the joys and realities about life you've forgotten or neglected in the modern world, truths about humanity that are often blurred in the cinema or on television.

I don't know if any of you all felt this way, but when I was younger, I learned much about the ways of the world, interacting with people, romance and love from books I read. Granted, there were often mixed messages, and I might've learned more from "social interaction," but I was an introverted child, excessively affectionate, and often books proved more constant and reliable companions than the children of my neighborhood. Interestingly, the books that I've read and re-read to this day--the ones I remember, the ones that stick with me--are the ones that provide universal truths, truths that have shaped the person I am today.

It's sad that I've neglected pleasure reading for so long.

I think in some ways, books are more fantastical and out of touch with reality than television or movies, but yet they are often more in touch with the human experience, and can be far more influential. Granted, books have existed far longer than motion pictures, and often a great deal more time and effort is poured into a book, even a cheap paperback, than is poured into a television show. And precisely for that reason, books have a more resounding impact on the world. It's been said that a book can change your life. I hope someday to provide someone young and eager to learn with a book that can change theirs. If I can accomplish that, I will have fulfilled one of my greatest desires.

So I'm going to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe later this afternoon, with a cup of tea in hand, wrapped in a warm blanket on the couch, with the smells of Christmas engulfing me, once again getting swept away into Narnia and characters I once wanted to be, and hope one day to share with another young soul.

Let yourself get lost in a book. Make the time for it. You really will feel better. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2005-12-18T13:36:00.000-06:00

Or, my scarves have gotten lots of use this winter!

A long-promised knitting update. Since it's light outside, and I'm still procrastinating, here are project specs and pictures of my most recent Finished Objects!

First, both Vintage Velvet and Ravenclaw #3 (for me) are done. Vintage Velvet needs to go through the wash for the semi-felting Muench Touch Me goes through, and once she's in that finished state, I'll show before and after photos for comparison.

If you've seen my stash, you'll observe that I tend to gravitate towards green yarn. I don't know what it is, but most of the yarn I own is green, though most of my clothing is not green. I don't even have any really green scarves in my closet, except the ribbon and angora ascot from earlier this year. Yet these scarves betray a different attraction: blues. Vintage Velvet is a glorious midnight blue, and Ravenclaw is a harmonious contrast of cool tones. If you're familiar with Harry Potter, you know where the scarf's design is from, but if you're not an HP fan, it's a pretty scarf combining this season's colours.

My warm, cheap, and beautifully long Ravenclaw Scarf:

Project Specs:

Begun: Um, a week before Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out, so I'm guessing the 13th or 14th.
Finished: November 18th, late in the evening
Pattern: atypically.knit Hogwarts Scarf, but with 24 rows of each colour as opposed to 22
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Dark Country Blue and Grey Heather
Needles: US 7 - 12" circulars
Comments: By scarf number 5, this one was very tedious. Each bar took me about an hour to knit, and I was knitting like a madwoman on this one, since it came down to the wire. The yarn was very inexpensive acrylic, and it pills a little, but it's very very soft, which redeems it in my book. I bought several 6 and 7 oz skeins to do all the scarves, (since both the Slytherin scarves and Ravenclaw scarves shared the silver CC) and I ended up having perfect amounts of the silver 7 oz skeins, including for the fringe. The 6oz MC skeins were not nearly enough. I ended up using about 1.4 skeins for the master colour on some scarves, which left me with plenty of odd balls here and there to finish the fringe on the various scarves.

It's a simple and elegant scarf, which I like, and despite my aversion to the miles and miles of stockinette in the round, I might make a PoA one eventually. It's very very easy, and as testimony to their simplicity, I knit most of these scarves whilst watching TV or a movie. Now, to balance out the mind-numbing nature of this scarf, I'm addicted to complicated cables. Go figure.

I am (I am) I am Superman, and I know what's happening...

2005-12-18T12:48:00.000-06:00

A good REM song to the unfamiliar. But seriously, I think I may be overestimating my abilities for today and over Christmas break. Let's start with today, shall we?

Today I must:

1. Get several hours of studying in for my final exam tomorrow morning
2. Go to a review session for said final exam
3. Pack up all my stuff since I leave for home tomorrow
4. Defrost my fridge (dorm policy)
5. Do my laundry (I need a dryer to felt Vintage Velvet, and the one at home is broken)
6. Watch American Dad and Family Guy new episodes

Today I have:

1. Listened to 2 podcasts and countless songs
2. Made a mess of my desk with all my papers
3. Decided I *must* cast on for Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style, or the Natalya Gauntlets... but I'm trying to hold off on actually doing it
4. Realized my roommate isn't going to come back to get rid of her food in the fridge
5. Thought about going to the Library
6. Realized when I go to the library, I will inevitably spend a few hours updating Linux on my laptop
7. Spent over an hour updating my blog template and writing this post.

And over Christmas, my ambitions are even more extensive, and even more self-gratifying:

I will knit.
I will read.
I will watch several seasons of TV I have become addicted to.
I will go to DisneyWorld.
I will bake many, many desserts.
I will drink tea.
I will sew.
I will go to the movies.
I will enjoy every minute of it.

If I were to go into specifics, I think I'd be overestimating my abilities. But then again, I always overestimate time and energy when I go home. It's all good.

I have a dancing penguin

2005-12-17T00:08:00.000-06:00

Widgets are little desktop program thingies that do things, on your desktop. Some are useful, such as notepads, calendars, weather updaters, and rss feeds. Others are not, such as a widget of Stewie Griffin that blurts out quotes when you click on him. My favourite of these "useless" widgets is a little waddling penguin, known as TuxNTosh. (Blend of Mac and the linux mascot?) As a new linux user (freshly installed on my laptop 2 weeks ago), I've found myself strangely attracted to the penguin. And what's even better is when he waddles across my screen in time to Bach's 5th Brandenburg Concerto.

Unfortunately, I haven't discovered how to take a screenshot of my widgets. But for gratuitous cuteness purposes, here is little TuxNTosh, plus the link to the widget in question (Mac and windows users only, no yahoo widgets for linux yet). It might get annoying in a few mintues, but if you just keep him in the background, it's a burst of adorable waddling penguin to surprise you.

(Ain't He cute!?!)

Oh, and you need Konfabulator, or Yahoo's widget engine (one and the same).

One of these days, I'll expound on the wonders/virtues of open-source software. I am aware this is a knitting blog, but who can argue with free software that is supported by a dedicated community? And plus, it's useful free software! (I love the Photoshop alternative, Gimp, and the AIM alternative, Gaim.) Besides, I'm a computer dork at heart, a noob though I be.

And speaking of knitting... I haven't done much with finals and all, but I'm getting there. Vintage Velvet is in the bag, and Saxon Braid isn't far behind. I can't wait for Christmas break!

A law that applies to virtually everyone

2005-12-13T13:31:00.000-06:00

The chances of your printer screwing up are directly proportional to the time between printing and when your paper is due.

For example, my final paper is due in 1/2 an hour. My chances of my printer screwing up are very high, and are higher and higher as the minutes dwindle between the current time and the time which my paper is due. Had I printed my paper this morning, I wouldn't have got a paper jam that induced the blue screen of death to my computer, and made my printer make noises that can only be comparable to the biblical wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). I like the word gnash. It sounds so archaic and... well, biblical. Plus, it's fun to say.

Luckily, I got it to print without any more scary noises. Wish me luck, this paper will make or break my grade!

An Idea I have

2005-12-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

I've decided to put together a website of Harry Potter Knitting patterns. All free, and many of them user-contributed.

HP Knitting Compendium

In theory, I'll get cracking on the site layout and looking into emailing people and working things out with the site as soon as finals are over in about a week or two. I have big dreams for this site, and I hope they reach fruition.

Maybe I can also get to designing over Christmas, too. (Since I've non-committed myself to Christmas presents this year).

If you're willing to help with the Compendium, email me at hpcompendium(at)gmail(dot)com, replacing what's in parenthesis with what it says. :)

A good day gone sour

2005-12-01T21:23:00.000-06:00

Overall, today was a good day. I got a pretty good grade on a history exam, so if I do well on the final, I've got an A in the class. I got a really good grade on a response paper I had to write over Thanksgiving break, and I got very constructive and positive feedback on a major research paper for one of my other classes. To top it off, my dad took me out to dinner at a WONDERFUL place my dear friend Laura recommended. We also went to the yarn store and the book store. And I left empty-handed at neither one. *grin*

However, I had a falling out with a friend of mine on my birthday (long story, and one that makes my blood curdle). And looking today on facebook, it turns out he removed me as a friend. I was holding out hope (despite the advice of everyone I know who's heard the story) that he'd come around and we'd be friends again, but apparently, this is the blow that makes it well-nigh impossible to recuperate the friendship. Very sad. 3 years of friendship, fun, and a hope to sew a Star Trek costume for him has just been flushed down the potty. Much as it breaks my heart to be on such terms with a person I once considered my best friend, I am too angry and too hurt and too insulted by his actions to feel differently. Unless he apologizes profusely to me for his actions, which not only hurt my feelings, but signalled a very callous and insensitive attitude I had hoped never to know, I am no longer his friend.

But I think today's good events hopefully at least balance the painful ones.

Coming soon.... KNITTING!!!!!

Firefox

2005-11-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

For those of you who use Internet Explorer, I hope you consider switching to Mozilla Firefox.

http://getfirefox.com

I'm not getting any sort of benefit from blatantly advertising my favorite web browser, but if you switch over, you will. You'll get faster navigation speeds, way fewer popups, and far fewer security breaches. Not to mention a tabbing system which declutters your Start Bar in Windows, extensions that let you customise your web browser experience, and a built-in Google search bar that doesn't have loads of spyware attached to it. Best of all, it's 100% free!

For you Firefox users, and those who've made the switch, here are some wallpapers to spread the love:

All taken from DeviantArt.com

And for you who are up to spreading the word: SpreadFirefox and Explorer Destoryer. The latter is for people who actually want to make a little money by helping people make the switch to Firefox. I'm not affiliated with it, I do it just because in my opinion, people deserve great browsing, and I don't care if I benefit.

So spread the safe, fast, free, wonderful web-browsing love!

I should be doing homework

2005-11-19T16:20:00.000-06:00

Quiz on 80's music...

I took that quiz instead of reading Isaac Newton's biograpy. I also finished my Ravenclaw scarf (finally). The knitting was complete whilst watching Goblet of Fire last night. All I can say about the movie is WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it so much!

Now, on to knitting my saxon braid scarf and reading the Aeneid. Damn you Roman Mythology!!!!!

Sorry guys....

2005-11-18T15:19:00.000-06:00

Sorry for that previous post. See, I had intended to click the "save as draft" button and then go back and edit... but apparently not. I do tend to write mean and angry notes to myself just so don't forget to change the date/time and then freak out when the post doesn't show up (cuz it's dated from a week ago). I apologize.

I'm not going to finish my scarf on time. I have two stripes still to go, and it's 3:30. Oh well. I tried.

Braiding Away

2005-11-13T19:03:00.000-06:00

I've made quite a bit of progress on my Saxon Braid scarf. I did end up ripping back to the beginning, since those errors in the pattern glared at me very fiercely. Now it looks much better. Each repeat takes me about 45 minutes to do, and the picture below represents a total of 6 repeats finished. Whee!

See, I can keep my promises!

2005-11-12T12:53:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are some pictures of the progress of my Saxon Braid Scarf:

That's the cable. I think I messed up on about row 14, but I'm going to continue knitting one more repeat, to see if it's an error in the pattern. Otherwise, look how beautiful those cables are. My tension probably could improve a little bit, but in and of themselves, those cables just sing!

I'm really enjoying this pattern. I know I need to be dutiful and finish at least one HP item for myself for the premiere (6 days!!!!!), and since I don't think I'll be able to finish Weasley, I'd better get cracking on the Ravenclaw scarf. That's the reason I haven't been blogging... the past month has been so... bleh with the miles upon miles of stockinette. Ah, the self-actualization that a knitter receives upon embarking on a new and interesting project.

Edit: I looked at the Vogue Knitting website and found their errata. No wonder the cable looked wonky in that part! I've fixed it now, and though I probably won't rip back to the beginning, it's good I discovered the errata early on.

Cables, How I love thee!

2005-11-11T23:59:00.000-06:00

Tonight I finished the third of four Harry Potter scarves that I needed to finish before the premiere (except the fringe on this one, but that's coming). That means everyone has an HP scarf, except me. And let me tell you, the miles upon miles of stockinette, and each stripe (which takes an hour) is incredibly, incredibly boring. So boring in fact that knitting has not given me almost any real satisfaction in weeks. So boring that I wondered if I would someday toss aside the needles out of sheer boredom (God forbid!) Looking for a cure, I went to Barnes & Noble with my friend Irvine, after a delicious Thai dinner, and I checked out the Saxon Braid scarf from Knitting on the Edge. Wow! That'll be the cure for the stockinette blues, as well as a way to practice gorgeous new techniques.

(Scarf by the Crazy Coffee Knitters, I just wanted to show the pattern. Isn't it GORGEOUS?)

I pulled some splendid mohair cotton yarn in a vibrant turquoise from my stash, grabbed me some size 8 needles, and cast on.

So It has begun. I'm only 9 rows into the third repeat as I type this, but I hope I can finish at least one repeat by tonight. The cables every other row make the pattern really interesting, and it's so gratifying to see the twists of the cables appear right after I knit a row. I may not have an HP scarf by this coming Friday, but by Jove, I'll have a Saxon Braid Scarf on the needles to keep my love of knitting strong!

I promise good pictures in daylight tomorrow!

Smiles for Miles

2005-11-10T18:53:00.000-06:00

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people
you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street
and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.
--Maya Angelou, American Poet and Writer

Things that made me smile today:

I saw a boy knitting on the West Mall.
They took the scaffolding down on WCH hall, one of my favourite lecture halls.
I saw this on the internet yesterday (and the sequel). Found via Supereggplant.
I am three stripes short of finishing the 3rd of 4 HP scarves.
I looked through pictures I took at the Harry and the Potters concert.

Edited to add: Sorry about the lack of posts recently. Lots of stuff converging and not much of interest going on worth mentioning. Except the Harry and the Potters concert. That was just plain fun!

Shine!

2005-10-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

[Music: Aaron Howard - Shining]
(You can download this song 100% legally at Garageband.com)

This weekend was quite enjoyable. I didn't do much productive homework, although I finished a response paper well in advance, to make the week from hell less, well, hellish. And I knit. I'm over halfway done with my buddy Steph's Slytherin Scarf. Since I hung out with Laura all weekend, we ended up watching all six hours of the Pride and Prejudice miniseries, and swooned over Colin Firth for just as long. (On an amusing side note, I saw a newspaper advertising the new version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley... and it called the movie "Pride and Perjudice" tee hee!).

(Image snagged from here, an awesome P & P Site)

On Saturday, as part of Freecycle, Laura and I got over 200 books! After searching through, I managed to get quite a few gems: some children's books, some old-school classics, such as a 1972 edition of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles and other classics to enhance my collection! And I also snagged some old back issues of Martha Stewart Living! By no means a complete collection, but a few sweet issues with ideas and colors that make me weak at the knees. Whee!

Yesterday, Steph's wonderful parents took a group of us to the Hyde Park Bar and Grill (THANKS!!!!) and then to Quack's Bakery, which is just around the corner from HP B&G. OH. MY. GOD! The pumpkin cheesecake, the brownies, the pumpkin tea bread, the old fashioned oatmeal cookies! If you live in the Austin area, definitely check it out! (Corner of 43rd and Duval, I believe).

Finally, this morning is chilly and cold... so it's most definitely time to bust out the knitwear. I'm donning my Jayne hat, dragon scale gauntlets, and perhaps one of my handknit scarves to pull together the doubtlessly mismatched nature of it all. ;-) And to top it off, my first class today was cancelled! Free T-Shirts and a little bit of knitting before my other class of the day makes me so happy!

Have a Great Day!

Google Print - Yes, Please!

2005-10-22T14:11:00.000-05:00

(swiped from Google last Haloween)

In my various wanderings thorough the infinite bookshelves of the internet, I've discovered many a gem hidden within the multitude of pages. Many discoveries I've made have been through the wondrous entity of Google. Just as many have been links I've discovered on blogs, which, in turn, I discovered serendipitously through Google. Their special-event logos make me smile when I chance upon them, their webmail interface is insanely easy and wonderful, (since I often find that as soon as I delete an e-mail, I need to reference it), and doing random searches such as "[Your name] needs..." offer no end of amusement. All in all, Google is glorious. And they're constantly thinking up new ways to make information accessible to the world. And that's a good thing.

Google is now working on a new project called GooglePrint-- basically, access to every book ever written via the Google search bar. You search for something, and your search results consist of lines from every book on the planet that mentions it. You can then choose to access the actual text of the book from there. Out of print books, books that only exist in a few libraries or private collections, or books you saw once but have no idea where to get them are at your fingertips.

Imagine, being able to write a research paper and acquire obscure and out-of-print sources that aren't available in your local library or on websites. Professors could also easily spot plaigarism, since they could access the material just as easily as students. Imagine that you read a book as a child, and only remember a line or two, and want to find it again... GooglePrint could make that happen. An Online Card Catalog... with an infinite number of cards. A universal library, where none of the books are checked out! All with Google's marvelous simplicity.

On the flip side, publishers or authors have the right to withold their books from GooglePrint, if they wish, although having it available on the web gets the word out and provides millions of people with access to texts that otherwise would have a very narrow audience. Google's respect of copyright makes it so that you can't access the *entire* book if it's under copyright. Thus you can browse, but you don't get the books for free. On this note, as inevitably happens, people try to hack/steal books-- there was an article on Kuro5hin on how to hack GooglePrint, but Google obviously read it and fixed that. As tempting as getting "free" books are, I will inevitably amass hard copies of the books myself, cuz I'm a paper and ink sort of girl.

The only (quasi-) drawback to this project would be the strain on my wallet. ^_^ With an infinite amount of books available, I'd be able to look through knitting books and see just how wonderful many of them are, and then I'd have to go out and purchase them. To be able to peruse books before purchasing them, to be able to read and access old books just as you could in a library... That's my idea of heaven on earth.

Here are the links I found referencing GooglePrint and exposing me to this wonderful project:
Google Print site
Google Print Information Site (FAQ)
Google Blog - Editorial explaining GooglePrint written by CEO of Google in the Wall Street Journal (what spurred this entry)
Google Blog - Why Google believes in Google Print
(You may need to create a Google account... do it! Gmail is so worth it, and GooglePrint is the icing on the cake!)

All Hail Teh Google!

Needle Fiend

2005-10-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

It feels like Christmas here! Why? I just received a lovely set of vintage needles all the way from Australia! There are so many, they put my current needle collection to utter shame. (Though the variance of sizes is not as wide as my current collection).

To the left is a picture of my "before collection." I have a pair of needles in almost every size from size US 4 to US 15, and a few double pairs. My DPNS don't show that well, but they're there!

Next, the lovely package that was waiting for me in the mail--
There are so many of them, and they're virtually all aluminum. Much as bamboo holds a special place close to my heart, I simply can't beat the speed of aluminum. And here are some lovely Aero's and Queen Bee needles among others. I can't wait till I get my replacement set of bamboo needles from England soon! Whee! I won't feel so bad about lending out a set of neeles or two, when I have so many now to replace any that get lost. And finally, all together, the beautiful, the lovely, the complete needle collection, displayed in their respective free drinking cups from various Austin businesses.

(Click here for an open shot of the needle case)

Hooray for mail days that make it feel like Christmas!

On Tea and its Miraculous Healing Properties

2005-10-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

Or perhaps the miraculous ability to keep one awake and sane.

Wow. Almost a week since I posted last... I haven't done that in awhile. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I am seriously overwhelmed. And it doesn't look like the pressure is going to let up for a few weeks, even. The past three weekends I've gotten behind on my readings (Saturday and Sunday usually are spent in the loving arms of the library), and haven't caught up. Normally, I would just be lazy and forget them and forge ahead, but what with text identifications coming up in a midterm next week, I can't really pull it off.

But I have discovered my new favorite tea. Two weeks ago, my dad came up to Austin for some meetings. (Yes, I took him to the LYS, he was amazed at the fiber Mecca, and he bought me yarn). We went to P.F. Chang's one night and had the most amazing ginger peach oolong tea that I've ever tasted. I asked the waiter where I could get some, and he told me Revolution Tea was their supplier. So. Tasty. And the food was great too! I know some people have their issues with P.F. Chang's not being "true chinese" and blah blah blah, but come on, they call themselves a "China Bistro." They virtually shout out that they're whitewashed Chinese food. But they're tasty, so I love 'em.
But back to tea. I went to Central Market with my friend Jan on Saturday, and found Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach. I've found it to be as good as the Revolution Tea one, and plus, it's probably my favorite tea vendor. I also like how they support both breast and prostate cancer research. Having known victims of both types, I think it's important that both types of cancer get funding, since they're gender-specific diseases. Just as it's important for a cure to be found for breast cancer that affects women, I think equal funding and press should go to finding a cure for prostate cancer, since, after all, half the world does consist of men.

And with regard to knitting, I just got a set of needles I won off e-bay! There was a little misunderstanding about them (I thought they were bamboo, but they turned out to be a mix of aluminum and plastic), but the seller is being really great and sending me the set of bamboo. Now to wait for my set of vintage needles to come from Australia, and I should have a complete set of straights! (Now to work on the DPN and Circular needle collection)

But before I peruse the infinite "shelves" of e-bay, I definitely need to read the Odyssey.

As promised...

2005-10-13T09:12:00.000-05:00

This post contains many needed pictures! I was able to pull a small photo shoot this morning, as some lovely natural light made it through my window.

To start us off, Sock Pal Socks!

They're so lovely! My Sock Pal did an amazing job. She's wonderful and sweet and knit the most perfect socks on the planet! Whee! I'm taking them out to show them off today. I don't care if you're not supposed to wear socks with a skirt... these are too awesome to keep 'em hidden under jeans.

They're super-soft, and the fit is absolutely perfect. They're also the perfect height, since I love calf-high socks. These socks have also convinced me to invest in "Knitting on the Road" by Nancy Bush. So many knitters knitting so many absolutely delightful socks, I can't say no! ;-)

Next, my Glampyre Minisweater:

Sorry for the blurry photo, it was pretty much the only one I could get with good light. I may have to get my roommate to photograph me, rather than the self-portrait mirror shot.

I used Cascade 220 held together with Misti Alpaca laceweight in a light pink on size 9 circulars. The fabric produced is so yummy and soft, and feels delicious on my skin. I did a few more pattern repeats and modified the sleeves a little--puffy sleeves didn't appeal to me. As you can tell from the picture, I still have an end or two to weave in, tee hee! I'll get to it. *yeah, right*
Last but not least, I present my work in progress, Weasley:
It's not much, just the back of the sweater. I have about ten inches to go, but I'm hoping to at least get that piece done this weekend watching lots of bad movies with my friends. And perhaps at the UT vs. Colorado football game this weekend! Hooray for student tickets!

I know the fabric might be a little looser than would be best with the yarn, but since the yarn is so very scratchy, I prefer it like this. I'm also fuddling my logic, but I believe that by using bigger needles, I'll be using less yarn, and therefore can actually pull a sweater out of another one. (It's yarn from a ripped sweater).

Sorry for the rushed post. I have class in 15 minutes, so my writing isn't what it could be. I just felt so inspired to share the lovely knitwear in my life. Have a great day everyone!

Indeed, I do concur

2005-10-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

A nap today saved my sanity, and going out with my girls did as well. Doing no homework whatsoever is kind of stupid, but the results of this quiz are uncannily accurate. At first i was like, "Nah! not me!" And then it all falls into place. Crazy, isn't it?

The Priss
Deliberate Brutal Love Dreamer (DBLDf)

Mature. Responsible. Aristocratic. Excuse me. The Priss.

Prisses are the smartest of all female types. You're highly perceptive, and confident in your judgements. You'd take brutal honesty over superficiality any time--your friends always know where they stand with you. You're completely unfake. Don't tell me that's not a word. You're also excellent at redirecting internal negative energy.

These facts indicate people are often intimidated by you. They also fall for you, hard. You have a distant, composed allure that many find irresistible. If only more of them lived up to your standards.

Your exact opposite:
The Playstation

Random Gentle Sex Master

You were probably the last among your friends to have sex. And the first to pretend that you're pregnant. LOL. Though you're inclined to use sex as weapon, at least it's not as one of mass destruction. You're choosier than most about your partners. A supportive relationship is what you're really after. Whether you know it or not, you need something steady & long-term. And soothing.

ALWAYS AVOID: The Playboy, The Loverboy

CONSIDER: The Manchild

Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

Ben Franklin Said...

2005-10-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Let me tell you, I'm not feeling any of those things. Except perhaps the wealthy part. See, I finished my Glampyre Minisweater!!!!!! It's gorgeous and soft and I'm going to wear it out today.

Reason I'm feeling a little out of sorts? I finished the beauty at 2 AM. I'm hoping I can squeeze a nap in at some point, or else today will suck. Way more than it already does. *Yawn* I should probably heed good ol' Ben's advice at some point. At the very least I'll get enough sleep.

I know I've promised pictures of my finished objects, but the sky remains overcast and grey, ergo, not ideal photography weather. If all else fails, I may just have to settle for less-than-sunny documentation.

Today's goal is to catch up on most of my reading. Then I will allow myself the luxury of knitting on Weasley. November 18th is fast approaching, and I've got me a sweater and three scarves to crank out! O_O;;

I hate it when I procrastinate.

What Hat Are You?

2005-10-09T15:47:00.000-05:00

Your Hat Personality Is A

Beret

What Hat Are You?

These quiz things are so fun! Funny when they're off the mark and fun when they're on it. This is further proof that I should knit and/or buy myself a nice beret.

Found via: Life and Such

Fall, Fall, Fall!

2005-10-07T23:57:00.000-05:00

Fall has finally hit Austin. Both yesterday and today had sweater temperatures, and today was even cold enough to bust out the knitwear. I donned my Dragon Scale Gauntlets and Jayne hat, and was ready to take on the world. It's quite a beautiful feeling, knowing your knitwear is coming to use in a place that doesn't have a "real" continuous season for it.

To celebrate, Laura and I went to the yarn store. I was able to use the ballwinder and swift there to ball up a whole lotta hanks I had lying around, especially the ones for use in the Sesame Sweater from the September issue of MagKnits. I also happened to pick up some Dale of Norway yarn and some Katia mohair to make another pair of soft and subtle Dragon Scale Gauntlets that won't cause my arms to itch up a storm.

Last night was wonderful, though. My daddy's in Austin, and I showed him some of the Austin sights---including my LYS. He was quite amazed by the sheer quantity of fiber available, but he allowed me to enhance the stash a little bit. I got the desired yarn for another minisweater: Cashsoft, Misti Alpaca, and Habu Silk. Mmmm. Well, I'll post pictures when the sky ceases to be quite so overcast.

A revelatory post

2005-10-05T00:24:00.000-05:00

I got inspired to make a list of things that bother and please me. I decided to post it to reveal a little bit about myself. These are in no particular order, except the order in which I thought of them. Be inspired to make one of your own (I am quite verbose, so feel free to reduce it to ten or even five things!)

25 Things that bother me:

Greasy hair
Adults ridiculed or outwitted by their children
Being vain and thinking I know something, only to be proven dreadfully wrong
Pretentiousness
My haircut
Not being able to understand things easily
The taste of milk that’s beginning to turn slightly sour
Acne
Realizing I’m much stupider than I believed myself to be
Feeling fat
The feeling of spiderwebs on my skin, either real or imagined
When I make a fool of myself
Knowing I’ve made a mistake, ignoring it in the present, then in the future coming across it and remembering my laziness at not fixing it
How mean I was as a child
Being overly flattered or overly criticized
Humidity
Getting mango fibers stuck in my teeth
Poor grammar
Unrequited love
Unhappy endings
Naming someone Jesus
The totally irrelevant naming of subdivisions and street names, such as “The Woods” to describe a subdivision that is scrub brush and weeds
Extreme disorganization
How I’m always in love
The lack of inspiration for poetry I’ve suffered in recent years

25 Things that please me:

Wearing warm sweaters when it’s cold out
Listening to melancholic music and feeling a surge of melancholic emotion, even if I’m happy
Capturing an awesome photograph
Random acts of kindness
Waking up ½ an hour early, and then realizing I get to sleep that much longer
Ice Cream
Knitting
Bagpipes and violins
Blue eyes
Getting chills of excitement at a movie preview
Being a Spaniard
Fantasy worlds accessible only through literature
Music moving me to sing and dance
Long Hugs
Disney movies
Online games like Alchemy, Fowl Words, or Gold Miner
Unexpected but harmonious color combinations
Bargain shopping
Overstuffed chairs and cups of hot tea
How attached I am to my family
My ability to memorize and recite poetry
Looking at the scale and realizing I’ve lost weight
Cute artistry and stuffed animals
Teaching someone something they didn’t know
The smell of rain

Awwwwww....

2005-10-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

You are Dishcloth Cotton.
You are a very hard worker, most at home when
you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly
born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain
Jane, but you are too practical to notice.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

*pouts* now THAT helps my self-esteem....

Home Again

2005-10-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

I went home this past weekend, and had a pretty good time. I cut my hair (yes, shorter than it was, which is pretty short) and dyed it. I had initially planned to go blonde, but that ended up being the color of my cat. Yes. My hair was orange. So after that little mishap I went back to brown. I like it.

My haircut now looks like this:
I'm not 100 percent pleased with it, but I like that I have the option of bangs... something I haven't had for years. I will let my hair grow from now on, so maybe a talented and knowledgeable stylist somewhere can tell me what looks good for my face. Also, I think it's only fitting that they have more hair than I have right now to work with.

I finished some projects this weekend too! Clapotis got her ends woven in. No pictures, sorry, though my sister might send me some with her pretty new digicam. And speaking of her digicam... I got a commission from her to create a cute little iPod-like sweater for it. I've realized that wool has amazing scratching ability, so cotton it is. I just need to find some good and pretty cotton for a thick case. Rowan Calmer, anyone?

Among other finished objects is the Panta from Craftster. I liked the pattern, it was very easy and quick, though it needs a serious blocking. I used some of the leftover merino from my sister's Clapotis, and it turned out quite well. I might make another in green.

The pinaccle of excitement this weekend was when I got my Sock Pal socks! All I can say is WOW! My sock pal is truly amazing. She's wonderful, talented, and spectacular. The socks are soft, warm, and fit like a dream. The color is absolutely divine, the pattern beautiful, and her packaging splendid!I will post pictures when the light's better, but I am very much in love with them. Thank you Sock pal! And thank you Alison for the knitalong.

Last but not least, I cast on for Glampyre's Minisweater. Holding two strands of laceweight Misti Alpaca with Cascade 220 yields a deliciously soft and beautifully variegated fabric.
I don't have very much in the way of pink in my wardrobe, though I quite love dusty roses and baby pinks. This will coordinate nicely both with jeans and jean skirts, as well as with a few cute skirts I own with hints of pink in them. I can't wait to make another minisweater out of the most delicious yarns available: Cashsoft, Habu silk, and Misti Alpaca, all in glowy shades of mint and celery green. Mmmm. Oy that's going to break the bank!

Now I will stop procrastinating and finish writing a paper due tomorrow. I get to watch The Little Mermaid in class! How cool is that!?

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clapotis! clap, clap

2005-09-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Yes friends, she is finished. With four virtually uninterrupted hours of knitting time waiting to see Robert Rodriguez give a lecture, it only follows that once I hit the decreases things would go quickly. And they did, though I did have to finish up the final rows as Mr. Rodriguez began the lecture. Both scarf and lecture were fun and satisfying, though a little repetitive. Once Clappy gets a few ends woven in, I'll post pics of her. Now, I have to go study for my test tomorrow morning. Yes, knitting for four hours certainly supersedes studying. ;-)

What City Do You Belong In?

2005-09-25T21:17:00.000-05:00

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Found via Life and Such

Blue yarn, blue Clapotis, nothing but blue yarn, do I see

2005-09-25T12:17:00.000-05:00

I really must stop with the song references, for the sake of your sanity, dear readers, but I am quite amused with the punning. Makes me happy.

(Look Ma! Dropped Stitches!)

And the reference to my current project isn't a bad thing. I love making Clapotis. I've finally got the pattern down pat, with only a glance down every so often. I'm just about halfway through the straight section, and if I keep at this rate, I might just have it finished for my trip home next weekend. Only thing I'm worried about: I've heard horror stories about blocking superwash merino. Read: Yarn Harlot's new book has a chapter all about it. Any suggestions for what I should do just in case my knitting expands to epic proportions? Or perhaps, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Once Clapotis is finished, though, I really must get into hardcore Harry Potter knitting. November 18 is fast approaching, and I don't need to reach extreme levels of stress... that's what Christmas is for ;)

Apologies

2005-09-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

I have just received word that my sock pal socks have arrived.... at my house in Brownsville! I will be meeting my socks next weekend during my visit home, and will post pictures as soon as I possibly can afterwards. I am itching to see them and officially thank my sweet, lovely, and patient sock pal.

I greatly rue the day I decided to be so picky about my preferences. I think I put her under a lot more stress than anyone deserves! Especially over a pair of socks. I feel terrible and immature for being so particular and everything. It was quite sobering to read her blog and realize just how hard it must have been for her to stick with this exchange. This was supposed to be a fun exchange, not a stressful one. I think I've grown up a little, and in that vein, I know I should suck it up and say sorry. I apologize to my sock pal, and wish to say, "Thank you for your patience!" It is appreciated more than words can express.

Blue Deja-vu

2005-09-23T18:50:00.000-05:00

About 6 months ago, I completed my first Clapotis and loved it. I made it out of Caron's Simply Soft in black, and have loved wearing it, both as a neck scarf and as a head wrap. When I brought mine home, my sister decided she wanted one for herself. So when we went a-yarn-shoppin' in Spain this summer, she picked out a lovely blue merino.

And last night, I cast on for that lovely french-wave scarf. I seriously doubt I'll have it ready for next weekend when I go home, and we celebrate her birthday (which was yesterday), but at least she'll see her present in progress.
The merino superwash is from Lanas Stop, and for 1.50 Euro a ball, I couldn't resist getting this for her Clapotis, and then an *ahem* other 20 balls for a pretty cardigan. I have seven in the light blue, and hopefully I'll have enough for a full Clappy, and perhaps a little left over for a small project or something.

I'm using size 6 needles instead of 8's. For some reason, I thought the pattern called for 7's. I guess that's becauseI used US 7's for my other Clapotis. I've just reached the straight section, and am *really* excited about getting to drop those stitches.

Is it so wrong to long for such excitement?

Jayne Hat

2005-09-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

As other knit-bloggers have done before me, I have knitted a Jayne Cobb hat in tribute to Joss Whedon's show, Firefly. The show is awesome, and I give enormous thanks to my cousin Matt for introducing me to it. So, in anticipation of Serenity, which comes out a week from tomorrow, I knit my dear cousin a Jayne hat. It's already in the mail, winging its way towards Walla Walla, Washington (I'm not kidding, he goes to school there... cool town, btw). Since I loved his hat so incredibly much, I used the leftover yarn to make myself another one!

Based on various patterns on the web, I adapted mine for a wider circumference (I have a large head, or don't like tight hats or both). Some pictures of Jayne wearing his hat are here, here, and here. I was inspired by the lovely Sarah to use Lamb's Pride Bulky for my hat. I know the colors are a little brigher than those used in the series, but I used red I already had in my stash, and picked a yellow and orange that would complement it.

Here are the project specs:

Yarn: Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride Bulky
Colors: M022 - Autumn Harvest
M155 - Lemon Drop
M180 - Ruby Red (For some reason I thought this was "Red Baron" when I got it... I like this shade better, though. It's richer.)
With this amount of yarn I was able to make two good-sized hats. The yellow is used the most, then orange, then red. I have a good bit of the red left, a bit of orange, and only about three or four yards of the yellow left. (That is, after all, having made two pom-poms as well).
Needles: Size US 10 DPN
Time taken to complete: A few hours. I finished mine in a day, my cousin's in 2.
Notes & Comments: The yarn sheds like a mofo. I had forgotten this about Lamb's Pride from my previous uses, but I think the mohair makes it look a little more "worn in" and such. I altered the pattern(s) slightly to compensate for my unusually large head (I didn't know this until I made this hat). Instead of the 64 or 56 stitches called for in the patterns, I cast on 80. It fits nicely, though is not super-snug or tight. A quick knit and very fun. The pom-pom was made by tracing a 4.5" diameter coaster and a 1" bottle cap. I like how big and floppy the pompom is, just like Jayne's! I recommend this hat for anyone who likes bright colors, even if they're not fans of Firefly.

November 18, here I come!

2005-09-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

In preparation for the new Harry Potter movie that premieres on November 18 (for those of us not lucky enough to be in the UK or New York or Los Angeles), I've gotten down to business finishing HP scarves and beginning my Weasley sweater. I'll post pictures of it when it's more than simply a strip of green stockinette stitch. Instead of a letter, I'm planning to put this little baby on it. The colors are not indicative of those you should knit. The blue is the MC, and the red is for a black or dark outline (since counting little black squares might be well-nigh impossible), the gold and white are accurate. For my own Weasley, I won't be doing the lettering, but you can include it if you want.

In terms of the HP scarves, I only had four stripes to go on the first Ravenclaw scarf, and I finished two. Then I bound off. So now I have to go back and knit two more stripes. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Perhaps that's how I'll occupy my time while watching Firefly. Wow! That show is amazing! I don't think I've ever been so enthralled in a TV show before. And now, I can't wait for the premiere of Serenity. As a thank-you gift to my dear cousin Matt for introducing me to Firefly, I'm going to send him something secret and special having to do with the show for the premiere of the movie. Since I don't know if he reads this blog, I don't want to go spoiling the surprise. All I will say is that it requires a short trip to the yarn store this afternoon.

Enjoy yourselves, and let me know how the pattern looks!

Dragon Scale Gauntlet Pattern

2005-09-18T10:17:00.000-05:00

Here is the pattern:
(12/07/2005--a few small errors have been corrected)

Dragon Scale Gauntlets

By: Annemarie Pearson
Inspired by: Wyvern Sock Pattern by Marnie MacLean

Yarn: 100 grams DK weight yarn

Needles: US 6/ 4mm needles or size needed to obtain
gauge.

Gauge: 24 sts in ribbing = 4” or 10cm
32 rows = 4” or 10 cm
1 chart repeat = 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm

Finished Measurements:
About a women’s Medium gauntlets
9” circumference at base (gauntlet edge sits by elbow)
8” circumference at top (gauntlet edge on hand)
Length: 13 inches

Techniques Required: Long tail cast on, ssk, k2tog, p2tog [Optional: pfb]

Left Gauntlet:
• Using long-tail cast-on method, CO 48, divided as follows
Needle 1 = 13 stitches
Needle 2 = 13 stitches
Needle 3 = 11 stitches
Needle 4 = 11 stitches

• Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist
• Place marker to indicate beginning of round, and work in k2p2 ribbing for 7 rounds, or 1 inch
• Row 1 and all odd-numbered rows:
Needles 1 & 2: stockinette stitch
Needles 3 & 4: p2k2 ribbing
• Row 2 and all even-numbered rows:
Needles 1 & 2: Work chart
Needles 3 & 4: p2k2 ribbing
• Work 3 pattern repeats
• On repeat #4 knit row 1, ending 2 sts before beginning of round, p2tog
• Work row 2 of chart, p2tog (2 sts decreased total)
• Continue chart, finishing row 7 two sts before beginning of row, k2tog
• Work row 8 of chart, k2tog (2 sts decreased)

At this time, the ribbing across the back two needles will be k2p2. Continue in this way until indicated.

• Knit 5th repeat of chart as usual
• On 6th repeat, knit row 1, ending 2 sts before beginning of round, k2tog
• Work row 2 of chart, k2 tog (2 sts decreased)
• Continue pattern, finishing row 7 two sts before beginning of row, p2tog
• Work row 8 of chart, p2tog

At this time, 6 chart repeats should be completed. Work 1 more chart repeat.

• After row 12, do not knit stockinette across the chart in the round (as for row 1 of the chart). Rather, turn the knitting around and knit back across the ribbing (working in pattern, of course) and then purl across needles 1 and 2 where the chart section is. Turn the needles around, and continue on row 2, etc., until you’ve finished row 12.
o This back-and-forth method allows for a spacious thumb hole, without having to add a buttonhole.
• Once row 12 is completed, once again join in the round. From here, there are two options:
A. Work 6 rows of chart, then begin k2p2 ribbing for 7 rounds or 1 inch.
B. Immediately work in k2p2 ribbing for 7 rounds, or 1 inch

This option allows you to vary the length of coverage on your hands. For example, I don’t like the gauntlet to extend past my knuckles. Others may prefer a longer gauntlet to extend coverage over more of the fingers. Knitter’s choice, really.
• Once desired length has been reached, bind off loosely in pattern.

Right Gauntlet:
• Work the same as for left gauntlet until 7th chart repeat is complete. For this, finish working the chart’s row 12, but do not continue in ribbing. Turn work around, purling back across chart stitches, and then continue across ribbing, ending before the chart pattern. Turn the work around and repeat, knitting across row 2, etc.
This places the thumb hole on the other side of the chart, making it so the dragon scale pattern is on top.
• Once row 12 is completed, join once again for working in the round, and continue as for left gauntlet.

Finishing:
Weave in all ends. Block lightly

Guidelines for Altering Pattern:
This pattern is very versatile. It can be adapted to quite a few any lengths or widths, and provides a snug, warm, lovely way to keep your arms toasty.

If you want shorter gauntlets, simply complete fewer chart repeats before the decreases and vice versa for longer ones.

If you want the gauntlets to have wrist shaping, but find decreasing 8 stitches makes it too snug on your hand, for the second set of decreases, you might want to purl in the front and back of loop [pfb] one stitch before the beginning of the round, and on the first stitch following the chart. This allows for wrist shaping, while still allowing dexterity. You would then do the same thing after row 7, thus increasing 2 more stitches (4 total).

The number of stitches in the ribbing may also be altered to achieve a wider or narrower fit. Just be sure the total number of stitches is divisible by 4.

Many many many many thanks to Marnie MacLean for creating such a great pattern as a springboard for a practical, comfortable design. Many many many many more thanks to her for allowing me to adapt her pattern.

Please let me know if you find any errata, or if any of the instructions are obscure. Happy Knitting!

Edit: Whoops! It seems I forgot to put the chart in this pattern! And note, I uploaded the image here, so I don't steal Marnie's Bandwidth. Do

Dragon Scale Armwarmers

2005-09-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday's post is about to be revealed:

After seeing my Wyvern Socks, my dear friend Laura suggested that I make some arm warmers with the Dragon Scale pattern. "Those'd be some wicked gauntlets," she said. I figured it would be quite simple: a tube with a thumbhole, patterned with ribbing and the dragon scales. Her requirements were that it be quite lengthy (elbow length or longer). So I set to work on a pattern. I decided to add a little bit of shaping around the wrist, since, more often than not, the part of the forearm closest to the elbow is a bit wider than the palm of one's hand. Instead of working a buttonhole for the thumb, I decided to merely work the tube straight rather than in the round for one repeat, then close it again. Ribbing at the top and bottom add snugness.

The reason I haven't posted a pattern yet is because *ahem* I've only finished one gauntlet. I want to do a lovely little photo shoot with both of them, but as you see there, that is number 1.

Many thanks to Marnie MacLean for providing the original pattern from which I derived this one. She's great, friendly, and wonderful for allowing me make my own variation on a gorgeous design.

Happy Knitting!

Soon to come: a .PDF file of the pattern!

Surprise, Surprise....

2005-09-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

What's this?
Yes, it's Wyvern, but it's not a sock. Stay tuned to discover my first dabblings in knitwear design!

OMG ♥

2005-09-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

-Begin Politics-

Barack Obama is the reason I might actually vote democratic for my very first election. Read about why here.

I don't do politics for the most part. However, especially since the last election (which I was unable to vote in by *2* measly weeks), things get quite heated, especially between my immediate family's more conservative stance and my extended family's quite liberal stance. For my part, I think our president isn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. Not evil, though. I consider myself liberal on things like women's suffrage and women in the workforce, rights for the poor and the right to life. For every human being. However, I think there is a definite right and wrong, and I think the moral relativism present in our country is wrong. Again, my opinion.

And though I could delve into why Hurricane Katrina should not be politicized (since it's not like Bush prayed to God for the hurricane or anything), I will only say this: New Orleans is to blacks what Brownsville, Texas (my hometown) is to Mexicans. An ENORMOUS majority of the population is such. So to say that the disaster and relief efforts are plagued by racism is just crazy. Many people were able to evacuate the city in their private cars. And since the majority of the city is black, by logic we can deduce that many of the people who got out are black. And those who remained probably didn't have the means. And since the majority of the city is black, those who remained, we can deduce, were overwhelmingly black. That's like saying it's racism against movie stars when an earthquake hits California. With regards to Katrina, I do agree that (as Obama ♥ says) the poor were treated unfairly in terms of relief efforts.

That's about as political as I will get. Feel free to disagree with me on my politics. However, please do not hate mail me or flame me for my opinions. If you hate Bush, next election you may vote Democratic. It's your choice what your political convictions are. Don't hate me for mine.

-End Politics-

Trying Haloscan

2005-09-12T15:39:00.001-05:00

Bear with me please, trying to get this to work.

Thanks to Krista for recommending Haloscan to me, and for bringing to my attention the spam that was running rampant in the comments. Thanks!

Green Grows my Stash-o!

2005-09-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Another lame reference to a song, this time, "Green Grow the Rushes-o." My dorky and punster heritage is shining forth these days I guess. (My dad and grandfather are prolific, and, if you're in the mood, quite amusing, punsters).

Last Thursday, I went with my good friend Laura to pick up some magazines I got from a Freecycler. On our way back, she said, "Hey, wanna go to the yarn store?" Never one to pass up an opportunity to spend money on glorious things, I assented. And guess what I left with? Six skeins of Cascade 220, two in the light green and four in the dark green to make the Sesame Sweater from Magknits. Necessity being the mother of invention, and the yarn shop only having two skeins of the light green in stock, I'm going to make thinner stripes of the light green and thicker dark green. That sweater is so gorgeous, classic, and versatile. I will be searching for the perfect buttons shortly. Of course, the needles are for that sweater. I can't believe I didn't have any US size 6's. Wait, that's a lie. I did have size 6's from Spain, but it didn't really register that they were 6's since they're measured in mm. Oh well. One never can have too many needles, especially bamboo.

Next I picked up two balls of the Misti Alpaca Laceweight. OH. MY. GOD. It's soft, light, and thin! I may make a smaller version of the Spiral Shawl from Meg Swansen's "A Gathering of Lace" to initiate myself into the worlf of lace knitting. I've dabbled a little bit in lace knitting before, and indeed, took a class on it last semester. Should be fun and exciting.

Oh the possibilities! (Not to mention the strain on my wallet, but nevermind that, ^_^)

Sockpal Socks are Finished!

2005-09-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

Finally, after much toil and strife (well, not really), my Sock Pal socks are complete. I love them. I sincerely hope my sock pal does too!

(Click Here for a Close-up of Texture)

Project Specs:

Pattern: Marnie MacLean's Wyvern Woman's Sock Pattern
Yarn: Paton's "Grace" (100% Mercerized Cotton) in variegated purple, lilac, white and blue (Color 60903), Lot 207.
Needles: US 2/ 2.75 mm Double Pointed Needles
US 3/ 3.25 mm Double Pointed Needles
Amount: Approximately 2 1/4 balls used, 3 purchased total
Notes: I made the large size, casting on 68 stitches. I slightly modified the heel to make a shallower, and thus (in my opinion) better fitting sock. Instead of making 11 short rows for the heel, I did 9. This then gave a proper foot length, whereas the 11-row heel made it *waay* too long. Another alteration was only doing 4 pattern repeats after the heel, then switching to size 3 DPNS for the ribbing.
I will definitely repeat this pattern. It was fun, relatively easy, and I love the result.

Astrology and the Meaning of.... well, Me!

2005-09-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not overly superstitious for the most part. On most occasions, I am highly amused by my horoscope. However, when something is scarily accurate, I re-evaluate what exactly my stance is on horoscopes/numerology/personality tests, etc. And thus begins a vicious cyle of superstition versus cold hard logic and reason.

I'm Catholic. My religion's history is fraught with superstition and the supernatural. I'm also American. My country's history is fraught with the eradication of superstition and the introduction of logical thinking and scientific reason.
And no, there is no balance between the two for me. Just shifting.

In that vein, let me share some of the uncannily accurate things I've found recently:

Based on my birthday: Impulsive? Demanding? Egoistic? Hmm..... why so accurate!?

Your birth tree is
Ash Tree, the Ambition
Uncommonly attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with its fate, can be egoistic, very reliable and trustworthy, faithful and prudent lover, sometimes brains rule over heart, but takes partnership very serious.

Wow! Ok, so some of them boost the ego even though they might not be true.

But don't even get me started on my Life Path Number. Affectionate? In need of quiet time? Perfectionist? Not too social? This is scary....

A Life Path 7 person is a peaceful and affectionate soul, and by nature rather reserved and analytical. The overwhelming strength of the number 7 is reflected in the depth of thinking that is shown; you will garner knowledge from practically every source that you find. Intellectual, scientific and studious, you don't accept a premise until you have dissected the subject and arrived at you own independent conclusion. This is a very spiritual number and it often denotes a sort of spiritual wisdom that becomes apparent at a fairly early age. You need a good deal of quiet time to be with your own inner thoughts and dreams. You dislike crowds, noise and confusion. You are very thorough and complete in your work, the perfectionist who expects everyone else to be a meet a high standard of performance, too. You evaluate situations very quickly and with amazing accuracy. You rely heavily on your experiences and your intuition, rather than accepting advice from someone; your hunches usually prove to be very accurate, and knowing this, you are one who tends to follow the directions they seem to guide. It's easy for you to detect deception and recognize insincere people. You aren't one to have a wide circle of friends, but once you accept someone as a friend, it's for life. You really aren't a very social person, and your reserve is often taken to be aloofness. Actually, it's not that at all, but merely a cover up for your basic feeling of insecurity. You actually like being alone, away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. In many ways, you would have fit in better in much earlier times when the pace of life was less hectic.

In the most negative use of the 7 energies, you can become very pessimistic, lackadaisical, quarrelsome, and secretive. A Life Path 7 individual who is not living life fully and gaining through experiences, is a hard person to live with because of a serious lack of consideration and because there is such a negative attitude. The negative 7 is very selfish and spoiled. If you have any of the negative traits they are very difficult to get rid of because you tend to feel that the world really does owe you a living or in some way is not being fairly treated. Fortunately, the negative 7 is not the typical 7, at least not without some mitigating positive traits. This number is one that seems to have some major shifts from highs to lows. Stability in feelings may be elusive for you.

Found through Amelia Raitte.

2, 4, 6, 8! We are feeling really great!

2005-09-10T14:02:00.000-05:00

And why is this? Because, officially, I have lost the Freshman 15 I gained last year. Over Christmas, I noticed my face had gotten quite a bit pudgier, much to my dismay. Plus, when I went shopping at the winter sales, my usual size 12 didn't fit. I had to move up a size! Now, after doing some marvelous post-summer-sale shopping, I'm back to a comfortable 12. That summer camp certainly helped me lose the weight. I'm hoping that with a little exercise (read: gym and bike, no buses!) I can lose another 15 pounds, and make it to a size 10.

I'm 18, and this is the time of my life when I should be at my most attractive, since there's not a grey hair to think about, gravity's cruel claim hasn't set in, and my skin is healthy and smooth without products. My goal is not to be a size 6 and stick thin. My goal is to be at a comfortable weight and dress size (so I can shop! shop! shop! at the stores I love) where I feel attractive and confident. My comfortable range of sizes is 8-12, and now I'm at the high-end of that range. I want to get to the middle. Because I know I feel fabulous now, and with just a little more effort, I can feel even more fabulous! When you look good and you know it, it shows, and other people can tell as well! For my part, I notice I have more energy and am not embarrassed to wear some clothes that only months ago I used to think twice about wearing. To have felt that way at ages 17 and 18 is quite sad. But now that I've fixed it, it's great. And at this point in my life, it's quite the time to enjoy it!

Just so you can compare, here are the before/after shots:

Before:

After:

What a change, if I do say so myself!

Falling for Fall Knitty

2005-09-09T20:25:00.000-05:00

I must say that this issue of Knitty is absolutely splendid.

Arisaig is gorgeous, and I've been lusting to make a wrap-around sweater. It's either this, or Lucky from Stitch N Bitch Nation.

Samus. It's based on a killer videogame character, *and* has cables. Uh-huh. I'm in love. (Just as Ms. Singer noted on her blog, I got deja-vu too).

Blackberry is lovely, only I would make it in a thinner yarn.

Leaves in Relief. Another deja-vu experience, since I'd seen a Gondorian White Tree sweater elsewhere. It's based on Rogue, which I am lusting after as well, because, well, CABLES! There is nothing I love more than Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Princess Bride.

Ella is an interesitng shawl, and I like the lace, but it seemed to me that the designer was trying to model it as "the next Clapotis." Lovely as this new one is, the original still holds the key to my heart.

I have one word for Flora. YES!

Falling Leaves remind me of Wyvern, only a tad lacier. Do I really need another favorite sock pattern? Indeed I do.

Finally, Astrodome makes me happy. I don't know if it's the slightly tacky, uber vibrant design and colors, or if I just feel an affinity to it being from Texas.

Coming Soon: A trip to the yarn store provides me with yarn for a sweater and shawl.... oh the possibilities!

Speaking of Poster Boys

2005-09-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Beyond The Wall had a poster sale in Jester Dorm. And I happened to notice that they accept "Dine In Dollars" (Meal-plan money used only at specific university food locales). And I happened to find about 6 posters that I liked. So.... I went ahead and bought them.

(Clockwise, from top left: Aragorn, Ministry of Silly Walks, Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride)

This means I may have a little less money to spend on food for about a week or so, but no matter, since there's nothing better than looking at my wall and seeing Aragorn, Gandalf and John Cleese looking down at me. :)

Just a Typical Situation in These Typical Times...

2005-09-07T14:29:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Despite mega-tons of reading and a little confusion with one of my classes, I had a nice, relaxing weekend. I watched some movies and got my homework done. I also began working on sock number 2. I've already turned the heel! I'm thinking a few minutes between classes here and there should finish them up by this weekend.

One thing I *really* want to make is a Minisweater. I am not sure of the yarn yet, but I may go all out and order loads of yarn from Knitpicks. I want some Andean Silk to make the Modeknit Corset, and some sock yarn for my sister's birthday present. Looks like she wants Wyvern socks too! I was going to make "Poster Boy" from SNB Nation, but I bought Bulky Lamb's pride rather than worsted. That won't go too far. Perhaps I'll use that yarn for the Minisweater, but I think the color combination is too "Hot Topic" for me. However, If I get some pink or white, the contrast might not be so bad. Now my sister wants a pair of Wyvern's in blue, and some of that Knitpicks sock yarn looks perfect for the part. Oh, and that Almost Argyle Pattern too! Last but not least, I'm going to order some Knitpicks Merino to make myself a Ravenclaw Prisoner of Azkaban scarf. Not that I need any more stash enhancement after all the yarn I bought this summer, but I didn't bring most of that yarn with me anyway, since it takes up space, and dormitories don't exactly have loads of that.

Anyway, I must be off, since I have an essay to write, "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen to read, plus other classical myth/history. Add to that that I need to pick up some magazines from another Freerecycler, and I'm one busy bee!

Startled by the Presence of a Finished Object

2005-09-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

Well, it's 5 o' clock on a Saturday...the regular crowd shuffles in... *ahem* Sorry, the Billy Joel reference just slipped out. The date and time are true. What is also true is that I've been awake for eight hours, and I haven't done any of the reading I have to do for my classes next week. Another truth is that Monday is a holiday, but still I feel lazy. All I've been doing is finishing Wyvern Sock #1. And it's startling. Why? Because there's a beautiful, comfortable little sock lying next to me, without any form of knitting needle in it. That means it's a finished object. However, neither I nor my sock pal have one foot. This means there needs to be a second sock to make this a pair. Must...prevent...onset...of....Second....Sock....Syndrome...!

Not that that's a bad thing. I got lots of it completed last night whilst chillaxing with some buddies from high school. I just happened to finish the pattern repeats and cuff and bind off for most of this afternoon. It looks very pretty, and I hope my sock pal likes it. It's quite a fun pattern, and I would definitely do it again. It did, however, take 3 times to get the heel right. In fact, I think it looks and fits better now with fewer short rows.

Since I'm in the mood to finish things, I figure I might as well perform the finishing touches on my cotton candy scarf and my Hourglass sweater. All they need are a few ends woven in and a couple hems to be sewn.

(click on the sweater for a rather blurry photo of me modeling it)

After that, a good blocking for the sweater is in order. Unfortunately, i don't have pins, so I'll probably just have to lay it out on a sheet and let it dry.

Now, to watch the football game from my dorm window! Hook 'Em Horns!

Third Time's The Charm!

2005-09-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

Well, day number 2 of classes is over. This semester is going to be quite a bit of work, with five humanities classes. (Read: booksbooksbooks) However, I think it's going to be quite fun. I'm taking a philosophy class which is an introduction to logic and arguments and how English sentences are arranged logically (how appropriate for an English major). I'm also taking two history classes: one, your standard United States History from 1492-1865, and then History of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century. Then, I'm taking the Selected Plays of Shakespeare, and a course on Hans Christian Andersen. All of them are interesting, the professors know what they're doing (apparently), and aside from the loads and loads of reading, it should be fun.

In knitting, however, the third time's the charm. I finally got my Wyvern Sock heel to look right. I had to reduce the number of short rows, but in the end, I think it'll fit my sock pal well. (After having ripped out and knit the heel twice!) Now, for the leg and cuff, and on to sock number 2 before September 15! Pictures tomorrow!

And now, your regularly scheduled program

2005-08-29T19:53:00.000-05:00

I'm back in Austin once again, my roommate and I both settled into our room. We've shifted the room arrangement around a bit from last year, and our room is on a completely different side of the building than last year. We get to see the UT football field from our room! No need to even attend a football game, since we'll see touchdowns from our window! Heh. Well, I met up with my friend Laura today, we sat around for a few hours at Chipotle, knitting. I finished the actual knitting on the Hourglass sweater, while she started her third Irish Hiking Scarf. It's sort of become her "trademark" item.

I have actually begun hemming the Hourglass sweater, and did the kitchener stitch on the underarms. Now I know why people dislike it so much... it's so complicated to remember all the steps (Purlwise, pass needle through second loop, then off the needle. Knitwise, pass needle through first loop of first needle, but leave loop on. AAACK!) But it's nearly done, so that's what counts. Once the hemming is finished, I'll block the life outta her. She looks so pretty!

Before classes begin the day after tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can pay a visit to the LYS and pick up some Koigu. I'm intrigued by this Canadian wonder, and would love to have a pair of socks knit up in something this fabulous. I also want some Blue Sky Cotton to make a pretty cabled scarf for these cool nights before fall and winter bring jacket temperatures.

Well, I'm off for some free chicken wings (some of which I'll bring home in tupperware), since I haven't eaten all that much today. That's my goal for this year: no eating in the dorms, because the Freshman fifteen were very very real last year. I can't afford even the Sophomore seven. Huzzah!

Let's Get Packin'

2005-08-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

Well folks, I'm packing all my stuff for another year at the Big School. I should be back online and posting (with finished objects, I might add) on Sunday, since tomorrow is moving day.

Hook 'Em Horns!

Busy Days

2005-08-24T21:45:00.000-05:00

Today was an amazingly busy day (for me) in the pre-college calm before the storm. I went with my dad to the University of Texas Brownsville campus to check out the new buildings they've just finished for the Education and Business Schools. Since my dad's a professor there, I also got to check out his new office, since Liberal Arts had to share a building with the Business school, and now that they're gone, he gets a pretty new office with a window. (Nevermind that it's not any bigger than his old office and he outranks everyone in the department, but, *ahem*)

Afterwards, I shopped around downtown Brownsville, picked up three pretty silk scarves and a handkerchief for a dollar. I also got some blank T-shirts for the same price I could've gotten about 5 at Wal-Mart. I'm planning to embroider them by hand with some Harry Potter-themed words. I have a navy-blue shirt I want to embroider with the word "Ravenclaw" and the Ravenclaw crest. I then have a white shirt which I want to say "Gryffindors for Potter - Triwizard Champion" with a little Goblet of fire on the sleeve, as well as house-colored stripes along the sleeves and neckline. If all turns out well, I may make more.

Speaking of Harry Potter, alison posted MA's Weasley Sweater Pattern. It looks so cool! However, since I'm *really* worried about having enough yarn for this project, I've decided to test it out with the "He'll-wear-it-everyday" pattern from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits. It's a man's sweater, but hopefully it'll turn out alright. I don't know if I'll alter it to make the roll bottom work a little better. I swatched already, and the knit is loose enough so the fabric isn't super stiff and scratchy. The yarn, however, is itchy itchy wool. If this version of the sweater fails, (if I run out of yarn, for example) I'll just break down and buy some Wool-Ease and follow MA's pattern. One thing that's for certain: I'm putting the golden Snitch on the sweater instead of my initial. Although Gred and Forge *ahem* Fred and George are my favorite characters, an F&G design might confuse too many people. Plus, the Snitch is too cool!

I'll see if I can manage a finished object sometime soon!

Marathoning through the WIP pile

2005-08-23T19:19:00.000-05:00

I finally bit the bullet and fixed the sleeves. I measured, I counted, and now I can actually say they're the same length. Or at least the same number of rows. When I knit my garter-stitch shawl last year, that ended up being quite a few stitches to bind off. With this pattern at least, the stitches become fewer as you go round, and all I'll have to do is bind off, hem, block and wear!

The easy-peasy garter stitch scarf is coming along quite nicely, since I got a good chunk of knitting time while watching "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" on Sunday. That's ball number 2, with 2 to go before the bind-off. It's deliciously soft, and

the colors are yummy and cheery. The movie wasn't quite as good as knitting the scarf was, since my scarf doesn't curse up a storm, use offensive terms towards women, or completely overdo sexual jokes, innuendos and commentary.

Here's my progress thus far on the Wyvern sock. I have to re-frog the heel again, and I think I'll make it less "deep" by making fewer short rows. This will eliminate the need to cut into a pattern repeat, and still make the sock fit. My sock pal doesn't want it tight, and my aim at the moment is to make it fit, all the while making it comfortable.

In addition, the gloriously soft mercerized crochet cotton is for a lacy scarf for my grandma for Christmas and for a pair of Wyverns for me. The purple is for her, since that's her favorite color, and the green for me, since that's mine. If the lace fails, I may make her a pair of Wyverns as well, since grandmas deserve to be pampered and knit for by their grandchildren!

Have a great Evening everyone!

Monday Fix-its!

2005-08-22T22:11:00.000-05:00

Lots of fixin' going on down here! I finally worked up the courage to unravel and fix my messed up Hourglass sweater, as well as re-work the heel for my sock-pal socks. Unfortunately, the latter is still a little big. I measured my sister's foot, and she has the exact measurements my sock pal has. So I may have to re-do that short-row heel yet again, but I'll be sure to note the changes so that sock #2 goes smoothly. What with all the ripping and re-knitting, there are no pictures of yet, but I have a few sewing projects I'm contemplating doing tomorrow, and hopefully there'll be some pictures then. Good night everyone!

I Think It's Settled...

2005-08-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

I prefer "Chartreuse Knits" as my title.

What can I say? It's descriptive of me and I like it.

Title Change

2005-08-21T22:14:00.000-05:00

I decided to run a little test on the blog, to see if it works. I was looking around at blogs, and realizing that my title was a little blah and mundane. So I decided to change it to something I'm struggling with at the moment: the process of knitting. Here goes, and if this title already belongs to someone else, please let me know!!!

A stalled project is like a stalled car

2005-08-21T21:49:00.000-05:00

Well, for the record, I have two stalled projects due to mistakes that I've had to rip back. The projects in question are the Hourglass sweater (which I haven't gotten around to fixing, since the possibility of missing one of the 400 stitches I need to pick up again is quite high) and the Wyvern Sock. I knit one repeat too many for the foot, and, after finishing the heel, I realized that it was waay too big for my sock-pal's foot. So now to remake the heel.

Let me explain why I don't like meddling and frogging projects: I don't like unraveling because I think to myself, "I spent an hour and a half knitting that section, and now it's gone to waste!" (Which isn't true, since the mistake, if left, will taunt and haunt me till the end of my days and I will rue the day I was too lazy to pick up each and every one of the 400 stitches). But, as always, I remind myself that it's the process.

But a quick and easy garter stitch scarf to boost my spirits made out of this glorious cotton candy yarn won't hurt, either.

Magazinny!

2005-08-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

Look what arrived on my front porch yesterday.

Glorious.

I hadn't been able to find Interweave Knits Summer when I looked before the end of school, and since there are no yarn shops or stores in Brownsville or Spain that carry Knits, I had to order it from Royal Yarns, along with the latest Vogue Knitting and Fall Knits. It's truly glorious!

Sock-A-Pal- Repeat

2005-08-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned previously, I decided to re-knit my Sockapal-2-za socks, since the pattern I originally chose was a little difficult to work with, especially since the instructions for the heel increases and shaping were a little--ahem--difficult. So with a little searching and a little help from other bloggers, I settled upon this lovely pattern from Marnie MacLean. I love the "dragon scale" effect the chart produces. Although the pooling of the yarn isn't quite my favorite, I adore the colors. Plus, I can't wait to knit more to see how the pattern repeats turn a ball of cotton into a glorious sock!

Preppy? Perhaps.

2005-08-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

In the current iPod boom, everyone, it seems, needs something to protect their shiny white gadget.

My Sister and I are No Exception.

New Layout

2005-08-16T16:38:00.000-05:00

If you have me on Bloglines, I'm sorry for the gazillion times it says I've updated my feed. I've been testing out a layout in blue, updating pictures and links, and all sorts of stuff. I think the blue looks better with the pictures I'm uploading, and plus, I figure, Hey! Time for a little change!

Please bear with me whilst I tinker and toy with the code and such. Thanks!

Due to a slight miscalculation on our part....

2005-08-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

Ka-BOOM!!!!!

Well, there weren't explosions involved, but the look of horror on my face after discovering I'd knit two extra inches onto one of my Hourglass Sweater sleeves was comparable.

See? I lined the neckline up perfectly with one of the lines on my comforter, and the difference is blatantly obvious. Though I measured after completing the sleeve, thank goodness I thought to measure again when everything seemed to be just a tad bit off. I was seriously tempted to continue merrily chugging along. However, I knew the mistake would sit and glare at me from now until eternity, and I would just toss the sweater into a box with other not-quite-right knits. And since this sweater is beautiful--the design, the color, the texture, everything--it's not-quite-right to relegate it to an unseen box. Though the time to rip it back and then re-knit it might not be just now, as I'm still a bit too peeved to work on it.

Thank goodness I'm not someone who gets loud and aggressive when angry. I just sit and fume and throw nasty looks. Which is what I'm doing to the sweater sleeve in question. But what do mine eyes find? A gorgeous little knitting bag I sewed up two days ago! With knitting needle pockets on the inside and everything!

Now Here's a Visual...

2005-08-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

To complement the post from two days ago. (PICTURE HEAVY)

Exhibit A: "Hourglass Sweater" or "Miles and Miles of Faded Aqua Stockinette"

Body of Hourglass Sweater. I've actually finished sleeve #1 and joined it to the body, and sleeve #2 is in the works.

Exhibit B: "Stash Aquisition" or "Many a Euro Spent to the Glory of Yarn"

The rather rosy-pink yarn is for a sweater of some sort that I have yet to discover the pattern for. The beautiful blue hanks of alpaca have the same fate as the dusty pink wool. The balls of green are for a cardigan from Interweave Knits, and the blue balls (*snicker*) of Superwash Merino are for a Clapotis for my younger sister. Finally, the four balls of "Arctico" were a gift from my cousin. She said that they're the "in" yarn for this fall, and gave me enough to make a lush, long scarf, plus a pair of adequate needles!

Exhibit C: "Burberry on a Budget" or "Creative and Cheap ways to get Designer Accessories"

I got these balls of Valeria di Roma's "Prisma" and Oso Negro's "New Merino" in order to replicate the Burberry purse on the right. Except that it will be a scarf. Besides, I'm too cheap to fork over the dough for a *real* Burberry scarf... though not if it was on sale!

Exhibit D: "Sockapal-2-za sock" or "Another Prince for the Frog Pond"

Virtually no progress was made to my sock over the summer. The instructions for the increases for the gusset and instep and heel were opaque to me, and plus, I found a better pattern. I think I can finish this by September 15!

More projects coming up, and with the beginning of school in a few weeks, I hope I can knit the time away sufficiently to be psychologically ready for classes and other activities the school year brings.

Have a great day!

Viva Espana!

2005-08-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

Summer looks like it's coming to a close....I just got in from Madrid last night, after a long day of traveling, and although it's great to be back home in the States, sleeping in a bed that's actually my size, I did love my visit to Spain. The summer camp was fabulous, despite the chaos and the ungodly hours (It really is 24-7, since kids will be kids no matter what time of night it is), the fact I got sick with a bad fever and heat exhaustion after camping out under the stars and hiking 22 kilometers, and despite the fact that the day I left, the camp's director underpaid me by 300 Euro. I was a little irritated by this, since I was expecting those 300 Euro, but I remained cheerful and optimistic about my experience.

Camping under the stars, sans tent, was breathtaking. When you can see the entire firmament, with the best-known constellations being obscured by the sheer billions of other stars whose light doesn't make it to our eyes on less-clear nights, you can really appreciate a spectacular view many people don't get to see. Hiking was not quite as lovely, but when you have to keep kids energetic whilst climbing up and down a mountain, you get creative, and end up having quite a good time. Despite being underpaid, I was cheerful as I left, and I departed wanting to repeat it next summer. When I got back from Salamanca that night, the director called and said she needed my mom's bank account number, so she could transfer the 300 Euro she had forgotten to pay me! A pleasant end to an equally pleasant month.

The day after I got back from my camp, we had to go to La Manga to pick up my siblings, who were at a windsurfing camp. A 7 hour drive from Talavera to the Mediterranean coast later, my sibs were chatting up a storm about the great time they had. Then we drove to Ronda, a city encircled by mountains in the region of Andalucia. And guess what? They had a yarn store. Not a fabric and sewing notion store with a room in the back that contained a selection of yarn.... an actual yarn store, called "La Casa de Las Lanas" or, "The House of Wool." It was small, run by an elderly woman and her son. They sold lots of acrylic and acrylic blend wools from the brand Lanas Stop, but they also had some merino and yarn from Valeria di Roma. I snagged some of this in colors to knit myself a Burberry style scarf.

While in Andalucia, we went to Granada, where we toured the Alhambra, to Gibraltar, where the British wouldn't let us get to the rock/island, since we'd forgotten our passports (despite all but my dad being Spanish citizens), and other places around the Costa del Sol.

When we got back to Madrid, one of the first orders of business was shopping. El Corte Ingles (Major department store in Spain), and other shops around the Plaza Mayor and Calle Preciados (Preciados Street) were fair game. My sister got a pair of gorgeous heeled slip-on mules, and I got.... yarn. First we went to a shop which sold all sorts of textile/embroidery/knitting goods. There, for 1.50 Euro per skein, I got 27 skeins total of 100% merino in a light blue and forest green. The blue is for a Clapotis for my sister, and the green is for a cardigan I saw in the Spring issue of Interweave Knits. Next, we went to one of Madrid's oldest and most established yarn shops: El Gato Negro (The Black Cat). As I walked in, I could not suppress the gasps of joy and awe as I saw shelves upon shelves of fiber and yarn. Every color under the sun, in every weight of yarn was there. And although they sold some yarns in skeins from large manufacturers, almost everything was in large hanks on shelves that stretched around the store, behind counters where experienced women would weigh out yarn for you. That's right. They sold yarn by the KILO! Everything from silk to alpaca to wool to angora, in dozens of shades, that they dye themselves. I ended up getting 600 grams each of a glorious blue alpaca and a scrumptious pale pink for some yet-to-be-planned sweaters. Over a kilogram of yarn, 100 percent wool and alpaca no less, for just over 50 Euro. I got 200 grams of alpaca at the yarn store in Austin for 30 dollars, and 600 grams of alpaca in Spain for just about the same price! When I go back next year, I'm going to buy loads of angora for a scarf and mittens, since 30 gram balls at El Gato Negro cost 4.50 Euros apiece, whereas 25 gram balls at the LYS cost 10 dollars. A bargain, really. Some of my paycheck from the camp this summer went to the yarn, I must admit.

For any knitter venturing to Madrid in the near future, go to El Gato Negro. You will not be sorry. It's right outside one of the entrances to the Plaza Mayor, and if you ask a non-tourist-looking passerby, "Donde Esta 'El Gato Negro'?" they can probably point you to the right entrance.

Well, I still have to upload the pictures from this summer to my desktop and unpack the suitcases, so I will leave you with promises of pictures of the (greatly-enhanced) yarn stash, as well as the considerable progress I made on the hourglass sweater this summer.

Happy Independence Day from España

2005-07-04T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here I am, in Spain, at the English-language summer camp. Everything is quite fabulous, despite a little chaos when I began. The organization of activities is a little poor, but now that it´s the fourth day, everthing is going a little more smoothly. I have a great group of kids to work with, old enough to be fun, and young enough to respect my authority. I have a feeling the next 22 days will go well, and hopefully there won´t be too much chaos, or too many sick children.

Salamanca is a gorgeous city, the architecture and style of it is phenomenal, and it has a lot of life. There are so many students from all over the world... it´s truly a sophisticated, international city. Anyone who comes to Spain should visit!!!! :)

Knitwise, I´ve begun the Hourglass Sweater, which I work on in my free time. I´m fast approaching the decreases, but I think I may knit a few more rows before beginning them, since I don´t want a short sweater. Knitting isn´t too big a hobby in Spain, but many of the counselors are intrigued by it, and don´t look at me weird because of it. Who knows, mabye a few of them will pick it up this month...

Nothing But a...... OH NO!

2005-06-28T01:59:00.000-05:00

It is 2 AM and I am in the midst of packing my suitcase for Spain. I leave at 11 AM.

As I pack my yarn of choice for my long voyage, choosing my patterns and yarn to take with me, I noticed a very very sad problem: my Nothing but a T-shirt will not have enough yarn. I looked at the balls I had (mostly a kitchen-type cotton) and I realized that 3 of 4 were the same (had a cardboard center which the yarn was wound around, and one of them had a different twist and ply. Yes, it was white, but a totally different brand of cotton. And with three balls of kitchen cotton, I'm not going to waste my time, since I know I'll run out. However, I do have some lovely wool/angora/nylon from a deconstructed (rather enormous) sweater. That might make a lovely fall t-shirt! I'll just have to take it with me and find out, now, won't I?

I'm still debating which projects I'm going to take with me, too. I don't want to take too many pairs of needles, nor too much yarn, since I don't know how much time there'll be for me to work on my projects at the summer camp.

Sock Pal Socks? Check!
Hourglass Sweater? Check!
Poster Boy Bag? Check!
Ravenclaw Scarf? Check!
Space for more yarn? Check! Check!

When I get back:
Nothing but a T-shirt in soft, lovely cream-colored wool/angora
Vintage Velvet (from Scarf Style)
Backyard Leaves (from Scarf Style)
More scarves of some sort!

Now y'all have a great summer, now, y'hear?

The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On The Plain!

2005-06-27T13:33:00.000-05:00

Actually, it doesn't fall on the plain *we* live on, except in winter. In summer it's bloody hot! Well, my dad and I are off to Spain tomorrow morning, and I have a little knitting progress to show before I go, and hopefully a lot when I get back.

I knit the iPod sock for my sister's iPod, Bunny.
I need to knit one for myself, but I don't have enough Paton's Grace in that same color.
I have begun the Nothing but a T-shirt. I have completed the hem.
Hourglass sweater's yarn is coming with me on the trip so that I can finish it in Spain.
All Harry Potter scarves are on hold.
Sock pal sock #1 is halfway done!

Everyone have a safe summer! I'll post progress if I have internet access!

Oh, Ho! Ho! What's This?

2005-06-21T16:01:00.001-05:00

(Oh Look)

What's so Sock-tacular about that?

2005-06-19T00:06:00.000-05:00

After the Blogger fiasco with my template, I managed to fix it up just the way I wanted it, *and* I saved the source code to my computer, so if another catastrophe/erasure happens, I don't have to spend three hours fiddling to fix it.

When I joined Sockapal-2-za, I believed cashmere socks from a recycled sweater would be the perfect thing for my sock pal. They'd be luxurious, warm, and fabulous. But they'd wear thin within a day of normal sock usage. And although bed socks are a lovely idea, I want something summery, wearable, and beautiful for my sock pal.

(Click here for a close-up)

So on my trip to Michael's two days ago, I picked up some Paton's Grace in this gorgeous white, blue and purple colorway.

In the Knitalong, I decided jump in the "seasoned sock knitter's" group, since there are 3 socks in my knitting history, and, why not? It'll be a fun challenge! (By the way, those three socks include my first completed pair and the single stripey sock which had to be frogged because it was way too small.) So as I searched for the perfect pattern with just the right blend of simplicity, fun, and beauty, I discovered this little gem: Roman Rib Stitch Toe-Up Socks. This is fun and exiting for three reasons:
1. I've never knit toe-up socks, but I've found that the toe looks much neater and prettier than the top-down pattern I used on my previous pair, knit from the December 2004 Martha Stewart Living pattern.
2. I've never done Roman Rib. It's interesting, pretty, and the texture showcases the variegated yarn very very well.
3. The Paton's Grace feels fabulous with the pattern.

As promised, here are some close-up pictures of the cross-stitching my sister and I did over the weekend. The teapot is mine, the sun is hers.

(Click here for Close-up)

The lemon tree is the gift for my mommy. If you click the link, there's a nice close-up of hte detail on the stitching.

I think I may finish the Ravenclaw Scarf tonight, and put my NBaT-shirt on the needles again, and get crackin' on it!

Have a great Day!

Another Obsession... With Chimpanzees!

2005-06-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

Barenaked Ladies reference on that title, but truly and seriously, I have become totally engrossed in the world of cross-stitching. It's an addiction, and I just can't help it. I've completed three projects, and am very close to finishing a fourth, and then I have 3 just waiting for me to start. Oh the start-itis! It's like knitting quick, instant gratification projects like hats or scarves. And the result is so lovely. Not necessarily practical, since a cross-stitched tapestry is *not* as useful as a sweater by any means, but lovely nonetheless. I have been meaning to post pictures for the past few days, but haven't gotten around to bringing my camera out of hibernation for some shots in daylight. I shall, I shall.

Sweetest Teapot Suns and Swirls

Live Simply Life is a Journey

(Images from dimensions-crafts.com)

I've decided to cross-stitch a picture from a kit that I found at Michael's. I've already made Sweetest Teapot, and exchanged it with my sister for Suns and Swirls, which she cross-stitched for the first time. I also bought the Live Simply and Life is a Journey to make over the weekend. Since Michael's is having a 25% discount on all Needlework kits, I figured that getting two from the regular price area as opposed to the clearance bin was a good idea. The Life is a Journey is about 70 percent complete, and it'll be a Father's day gift for my daddy, so he can hang it up in his office. The colors are masculine (I think) and it's probably more to his liking than a basket of buttercups or a rose or something. Plus, he can say "My daughter made that"(if and when) someone comments on it. I like making things for my Daddy.

The Live Simply is intended for a family friend who is virtually an aunt to my sister and me. She just had the same surgery my mom had, and I want to make something pretty for her to show my affection for her and to say "Get Well Soon," especially before I'm off to Spain for the summer. Above is Lemon Tree, a kit from the same company, Dimensions Crafts, but sadly it is discontinued. I found it in the clearance bin at Michael's a week ago, and for 7 bucks, I figured it would be a perfect "Welcome Home" gift for my Mommy. The kit came with a frame, the fabric, all the materials for cross-stitching and the decorative tacks. I just needed to glue/tack the fabric to the frame and provide some cardboard for support, and all is well. It looks very proffessional and pretty, if I do say so myself.

I'll post pictures of the projects *I* made, as opposed to the ones found on the web, for better detail and resolution than the images above. Hopefully I'll finish my Dad's project tomorrow, and then get to work on Live Simply before the craziness of packing and getting ready for Spain occurs. Or before my parents get home. Or both.

Have a great day!

Interesting...

2005-06-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Blogger?

2005-06-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

Is this working?

EDIT: OY VEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All my template customizations died as I published tonight's post. I'll work on it tomorrow, but OUCH! To do all that again!

Tomorrow is going to be rough...

2005-06-15T22:25:00.000-05:00

It's definitely past my bedtime, since nowadays I have to wake up at 6:30 so that I can take my brother to summer school, which starts at 7:45... but the drive to school is 20 minutes. Therefore, early bedtimes are necessary. As well as discipline. Neither of which I have tonight. Though today I accomplished more than half of my to-do list. Yet lack of discipline set in as I was cross-stitching the final touches on my lemon tree. I still have a wee bit to go, but it looks so lovely with the outlining. Outlining definitely brings a cross-stitch piece to life, I've found. I'll post a picture tomorrow, then, once it's finished. Then there's a little more to do to mount it on a frame and such, but I think it'll look lovely.

Knitwise, I got another stripe in on the Ravenclaw Scarf. Only two more blue bands to go, and one and a half silver stripes, and then all it'll be lacking is a bit of fringe.

I don't know what the knitting situation will be like this summer, since it turns out I will be going to Spain after all. I'll be doing the summer camp all of July, with spectacular pay, and my mom promised me some wondrous scouring of Madrid for yarn. Loads and loads of yarn. I told her a suitcase full would satisfy me. ;-)

Goodnight.

Even iPods Need Sweaters!

2005-06-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

Charlotte got herself a cozy! I searched online and found a pattern that was easy, quick, and had materials on-hand! I just cast on a few more stitches on needles a size bigger, and since I had some leftover Thick-N-Quick from a scarf I made in December, I was on my way. I cast on 11 stitches instead of 8, and used US10.5 needles. I found a button in Mommy's sewing basket, and there you have it!

Here's Charlotte, nice and warm in her cozy. Not that she needs it in the Brownsville summers, but it's quite useful for preventing scratches she might get in my bottomless purse.

My sweetheart sent me flowers yesterday! I was feeling miserable on Friday, so he decided to send me that gorgeous arrangement to perk up my day. Unfortunately, the flower shop didn't know where I lived, so they called me to ask directions. So the delivery wasn't a surprise, but it certainly made my day brighter.

In other Knitting News, I joined the NBaT along over at nonaKnits. Everyone's T's look gorgeous! I've started mine, but it's been on a little hiatus with the other two projects on the needles. I've got some US 7 circulars that I'll use to make it easier, and plus, tonight us girls are going to watch a movie, which will afford some lovely knitting time. It's The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn. Old movies are so fun, and I'd love to see the famous swashbuckler himself in a classic role. I was able to borrow it for a few days from the public library, since they didn't have the first part of Pride and Prejudice available. I really want my grandma (who's visiting this week) to see it, and Colin Firth. (*drool*) Ahem.

I've also picked up a new hobby this week! (Oh no! Not another obsession!) Cross stitching is a glorious thing, and I can't believe I didn't pick it up before. I cross-stitched a very cute little dancing bear, and I'll post a picture of it soon. I gave it to Grandma, who inspired me to cross-stitch in the first place, and I'll post my work-in progress as well. It's a little lemon tree!

Well, off now to craft away the morning!

Charlotte, Meet World. World, Meet Charlotte.

2005-06-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

My Escape pod turned out to be a precious little iPod. I named her Charlotte. She's kind of cute. :)

(Engraved on her back: Where Words Fail, Music Speaks)

She's just 700 songs shy of having my entire iTunes playlist on her. She's 20GB, but when I'm through with her, she'll have only about 6 or 7 left. Yes, I do have that many songs. 3246 to be precise. However, if you exclude audiobooks, it's only about 2900 or so. She's so pretty and shiny. She needs a sweater... a-la Wendyknits' Irving Sweater. Though her Irving is chubbier than my Charlotte, a cozy little knitted pouch will keep her warm, prevent her from getting scratched, and gives me an excuse to do some serious procrastinating on other yarn projects!
My sister Paloma got herself an Escape pod as well... hers is named Bunny. Charlotte will get some pretty little glamour shots tomorrow, when she's got the music in her!

Escape Pods for the Escapist In Me

2005-06-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

My dad bought my sister and me a glorious little surprise that should arrive by 9:30 AM tomorrow, according to the FedEx website. It'll help me knit, as well as help me at the gym. But more on that tomorrow.

Today I decided to join some knitalongs, since I'll have oodles of time this summer (or so I'd like to believe) and hopefully I'll be able to finish the projects I've been meaning to begin.

First off is the Sockapalooza hosted by Blue Blog Alison, and I have not of yet received my sock pal assignment. If my pal isn't averse to it, I want to knit him/her some gorgeous red cashmere socks (from a deconstructed sweater). Though they might not be wearable everyday, they'll be soft and luxurious.

I also joined the Hourglass Sweater, HP Azcaban Scarf and Nothing but a T-shirt-alongs. More on those when I decide on the yarn and begin the projects!

Harry Potter Knits: A Special Post

2005-06-08T15:02:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I have a love of Harry Potter that is deep and indeed, almost unholy. It doesn't exceed my love for Lord of the Rings, because that love is sacred and beautiful, whereas my love of the HP universe is young, joyous, and perhaps a wee bit naughty. But boy oh boy do I love my Harry Potter. (Actually, the Weasley twins are my favorites, but Harry's not bad either.)

In celebration, a veritable bevy of HP knits are either finished or lined up. First off is this lovely, more-than-halfway-complete Ravenclaw Scarf in Caron's Simply Soft. Seriously, the colors and the softness as well as the price of this yarn can't be beat. And so easy!

Secondly, I'm deconstructing a large, square and highly unflattering cabled J.Crew sweater (although the cables on the sweater are quite striking and lovely). It's a gorgeous shade of forest green, and will make an absolutely splendid Harry Potter sweater. Now, to figure out if the initial on the front will be an "H" for Harry or an "A" for Annemarie.

After that, there is quite a lineup of more HP scarves. I need to make one for Steph, one for Dave, and another for myself before the movie's release in November. We're all going to cosplay for Laura's birthday, so the scarves need to be finished by that time. Following that, I want to make one of the "new" HP scarves for Ravenclaw. The colors are darker and richer, which is fabulous, and I'm thinking I may either use the same yarn or opt for a smaller gauge with Wool-ease. (Note: I checked it out, and Wool-Ease comes in a lovely Oxford grey and a sassy navy blue. ) Looks like I have another spectacular pattern to knit very soon!

Chartreuse Knits

Thrifty Thrills

Life's Better with a Cupcake

Like a Banana

My Very First Time

Heh...

Close, But Not Quite

Long Time No... Blog

It all starts Tomorrow

Week of Doom

Template

The Book List

The List

My Beautiful Sister

Super-Luxe Minisweater

*Blush*

How do you Angst?

Quizzy Quiz Quiz!

A little bit of the knit-blues

101 Things in 1001 Days

Holy Crap!

Classes have Begun

Knitting Parade Part 2

Back to School and the Knitting Parade

Happy New Year

Bookish Pleasures

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I am (I am) I am Superman, and I know what's happening...

I have a dancing penguin

A law that applies to virtually everyone

An Idea I have

A good day gone sour

Firefox

I should be doing homework

Sorry guys....

Braiding Away

See, I can keep my promises!

Cables, How I love thee!

Smiles for Miles

Shine!

Google Print - Yes, Please!

Needle Fiend

On Tea and its Miraculous Healing Properties

As promised...

Indeed, I do concur

Ben Franklin Said...

What Hat Are You?

Fall, Fall, Fall!

A revelatory post

Awwwwww....

Home Again

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clapotis! *clap, clap*

What City Do You Belong In?

You Belong in London

Blue yarn, blue Clapotis, nothing but blue yarn, do I see

Apologies

Blue Deja-vu

Jayne Hat

November 18, here I come!

Dragon Scale Gauntlet Pattern

Dragon Scale Armwarmers

Surprise, Surprise....

OMG ♥

Trying Haloscan

Green Grows my Stash-o!

Sockpal Socks are Finished!

Astrology and the Meaning of.... well, Me!

2, 4, 6, 8! We are feeling really great!

Falling for Fall Knitty

Speaking of Poster Boys

Just a Typical Situation in These Typical Times...

Startled by the Presence of a Finished Object

Third Time's The Charm!

And now, your regularly scheduled program

Let's Get Packin'

Busy Days

Marathoning through the WIP pile

Monday Fix-its!

I Think It's Settled...

Title Change

Blush

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clapotis! clap, clap