Novel Knits NY

V. bad blogger!

I could list all the excuses for not posting lately: out-of-town guests, dancing lessons, reading more.  Or I could go into the lack of knitting progress: my gauge was waaaay off on the UO bolero (pictures and mini-rant to come), Lara still half-seamed.  So I'll update with visuals and my new project in the next few days.

For now, I just wanted to mention the knitting that was all over Grey's Anatomy this past Sunday.  That and Gilmore Girls (despite it's recent pattern of re-runs) are really the only shows I make an effort to watch every week. Izzie gifted her patient psuedo-boyfriend, Denny, with a sweater (she's an intern and still has time to finish a sweater - makes all my excuses rather weak, don't you think?).  Obviously the writers have not investigated the curse of knitting for a non-husband, so we'll just see where this relationship goes.  May be doomed before they ever go on a date...And then Grey was knitting throughout the hospital and in her vet's office.  Guess who the vet is.  None other than the object of my middle school affections - Chris O'Donnell! 

Sigh.  Had such a crush on him and his charming good looks until I grew taller than he is. 

I Choo Choo Choose You

No, I wasn't buried in a snow drift in the NY Blizzard '06, I just have woefully little in terms of finished projects to post.  Maybe I'm unintentionally taking a post-holiday-knitting breather...

As updated by the other, more punctual Spiders, most of us spent a Saturday eating and watching so-bad-they're-good movies at the dyeing party graciously hosted by Marie and E (thanks again!).  These beauties are Knit Picks Wool of the Andes dyed with Scarlet, Orange, and Yellow Gold.  I haven't found the right project, but I think a chunky scarf for chilly spring days may be in order.

I did manage to finish knitting Lara at the dyeing day at Marie's (which was over 2 weeks ago - oops).  Until I motivate to seam her, here's a teaser for you. I really love the colors, and the Brooks Farm Four Play was dreamy.  Although the colors went from a darker red with strands of chocolate on the first sleeve to sections with light pink, I now have a new appreciation for the variance of hand-dyed yarn.

This Sunday, while the snow continued in record-breaking amounts, I finally settled on a new project - the UO Shrug as shown over at Peony Knits.  I'm using Cascade 220 in a navy color (as seen on Virginia's tubey), but since you've all seen k2p2 ribbing, I'll wait until I have more than an inch to show.  I think I should have some time tomorrow between work and my Valentine's date to stop in at The Point for a few rows.  Hope you all have a fun Valentine's Day!

Meme

I was tagged by Miss Sassy herself, and this is a perfect way to pass a drizzly Saturday afternoon.

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.

step into my thimble
scissorina
gleek.net
Sassy Stitchess

Novel Knits NY

Then select three people to tag:

http://anabundanceoflisa.typepad.com/ because she's the first knitter I met in NYC

http://www.imaybeknittingaranchhouse.com/ as I don't usually get to talk to her much on our Spider Fridays

http://ramblingmebeth.blogspot.com/ because I just met her at The Point

What were you doing 9 years ago?
In January 1997 I was 15 and in my sophomore year of high school.  I had just joined the school newspaper, of which I would eventually be the editor.  Since we moved to Colorado before my freshman year, I was still figuring out my group of friends but met my best friend, Emily, the summer before when we both trained and tried out for the volleyball team then both didn't make it.  Even junior varsity - I guess height isn't everything...I was taking an English class with my favorite teacher, Mrs. Taylor, who decorated every inch of her classroom with beautiful British art and Shakespearean quotes, and her enthusiasm definitely encouraged me to pursue literature.  She was the kind of teacher who challenges her students to an extreme level, but I also learned the most by far in her classes.

What were you doing 6 years ago?

As an English major (I'm never going to be rich, I know) I was 18 and a freshman at the University of Colorado - Boulder, which is still the most amazing campus I've seen.  Settled right next to the flatirons, the buildings are all similar in Italian design with red tile roofs.  I was in an honors dorm, and we actually had nice new-ish furniture and were next to a pond (only drawback - ducks that invaded the sidewalks - think really big pigeons).  I was in a literary theory class with my twin friends from Chicago, Bridget and Colleen, who now conveniently live 7 blocks from me in Brooklyn - small world, huh?  We would get together on nights before papers to stress over writing 6 pages on a 2-line poem then procrastinate and start at 11.  Bridget lived in my hall, and we started watching Felicity weekly with 2 other girls, Steph (who's still a dear friend) and her roommate, Lindsey.  Nothing much to cover on the party or dating scene - I hit my stride sophomore year.

What were you doing one hour ago?

napping on the couch

Name 3 movies/tv programs you can't turn off if you stumble across them on television:

What Not to Wear, most decorating shows, Gilmore Girls

Name 3 things you want to improve upon this year:

Organization (although I blame this on genetics), calling or writing out-of-state friends, saving money (right - at least the intention is there)

Name 3 things you can't live without:

Despite the obvious choices of family and friends, coffee of any kind (black tea too), books, sugar in any form

Name 3 things you could:

Trash and its corresponding stench on the sidewalks, groups of people who shuffle 5 across in busy pedestrian areas (this frustration is not something I've developed in the city either - malls, airports, these people are everywhere), doctors who require blood - blech

Name 3 things you really like about yourself:

My adventurous/nomadic tendencies, my mix of skepticism and optimism, my 5'10" height - all the better if I'm wearing heels

Happy 2006!

Remember me?!  I know I've been an awful blogger since, oh, Thanksgiving, but that will be my first New Year's resolution - blog more.  I do however have some Christmas knitting to show for my time.  I spent the holidays in Colorado, and here is my lovely mom in her Clapotis of Claudia's Hand Painted, Fingering Weight, in the Chocolate Cherry colorway.

It's really a wonder that this made it under the tree in one piece - in addition to knitting the decreases frantically until 12:30 Christmas morning, I had taken this on the plane with me.  Having not slept the night before my 6 am flight, I fell asleep while picking out the dropped stitches and jolted awake to find myself violently jabbing at the innocent shawl.  A true knitter can even continue while unconscious...

To my sister, who learned to knit in a brief Thanksgiving tutorial, I gave Stitch 'n' Bitch, along with the promise to make her a hat while home.  She'd picked out the yarn at The Point when she was here in July, and it went through a couple incarnations since then.  At one point - September I think - I fortunately forgot the pattern I'd started and decided to begin again.  When I took the hat off the needles, I realized I'd sized it for Hagrid.  Cast on fewer, and this was done in about 4 hours.

And here's a close-up of the top.

My dad and brother (although I threatened to make him a jumper with a big "J" on it - brownie points if you catch the reference) didn't get any yarn-y gifts, I'm going to start much earlier.  Resolution two:  learn to crochet, as I feel it would be a better match for the future gift I'm planning for my dad.

Being on the superstitious side, I didn't knit anything for my new-ish boyfriend.  But as further proof that this one's a keeper, he bought me a book of knit patterns that he picked out on his own.  I know...

Now that I'm back in NYC, I've had more time to knit for myself again and have made progress on Lara.  I've even done more since this photo; I now have around 12 more straight rows before the sleeve.  She's becoming quite cumbersome to lug around but the end is in sight, and I want to seam her up by the end of January.

In honor of the new year, a few reflections and projections.  2005 was an overwhelmingly exciting year:  moved to New York, got the job I wanted that actually uses my English degree (it is possible!), started knitting again and became a Spider, made wonderful friends,  and met my boyfriend.  Now I feel I can truly enjoy all that I have here.  Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving 12 days late!

Here I thought November was busy, and I haven't even had a day to update yet - how is it already December 5?!  I have some serious knitting to finish (actually, some to start), but since it's all gifty, I'll post details and pics of the recepients post-holiday.

I got to go home to Colorado for Thanksgiving, and I was barely off the plane when we went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!  Note my Gryffindor shirt and Amy's shirt with Fluffy, the three-headed dog from The Sorceror's Stone (her shirt needs to be burned as it's way overworn!).  I loved the movie, realizing of course that they can never match the glory of the books. 

We spent the holiday cooking and eating, and fortunately had no  repeat trips to the emergency room - last year as I opened a champagne bottle, the neck snapped and I sliced my thumb to the point of needing three stitches - try knitting then!

Then on Friday, my parents and I continued our psuedo-rivalry at the Colorado-Nebraska football game in Boulder - I went to CU, but my dad played for the Huskers and my mom is from Lincoln.  I obviously cheered for the wrong team because the Buffs lost by 27 points (which pales in comparison to their recent embarrassment against Texas: 70 to 3).  The view distracted me enough so that I wasn't too depressed.

The humidity-free weather was perfect, and I appreciate the open space so much more now.  I had every intention of visiting some friends while there, but I felt anti-social and will be back for Christmas in less than three weeks anyway.

I did however make some progress on Lara.  In this photo, I had just split for the back, but now I'm about 20 straight rows more into it.  Lovely, isn't she?  The Brooks Farm Four Play is uber-nice to work with, and just look at that cranberry color.  Mmm, reminds me of Thanksgiving cranberry sauce...

I have to add photos to the albums, but in the meantime, here's another gratuitous mountain shot:  sunset on the way to Harry Potter.

Do the chickens have large talons?

No, that's not the real Napoleon Dynamite, that's my baby brother, John, in the sweetest Halloween costume ever.  Gosh!  He even won fourth place in his high school costume contest.  And no, the prize wasn't tater tots.  (Hope most of you have seen the movie, otherwise all these references make zero sense...)  And if you look at the wall behind him, you'll notice the uber-spooky Halloween art that he, our sister, and I created and that my mom has saved for about 18 years.

So here's the rest of that knitting quiz...

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)  As it was my first non-scarf pattern, I'm choosing the Clapotis.  Just challenging enough to keep me interested, and I look forward to wearing it more in the chilly weather.

Most valuable knitting technique?  Checking gauge, which has already prevented too-tight sleeves on my Lara. And I'm trying to get better about tinking, rather than giving up and completely starting over (flashbacks to math homework with my dad - if I don't get something right away, I get frustrated).  Thank you, Veronique, for teaching Virginia and me the origin of "tink" - knit backwards, and "frog" - rip it, rip it.  I feel as though I've had a knitting epiphany.

Best knit book or magazine?  I don't have an extensive library of knitting books yet, but I'm in the market for one with finishing techniques.  I must give a shout-out to the Red Heart basic skills booklet that I used to teach myself to knit. 

Your favorite knitblogs?  The Spiders of course!

I don't have very interesting answers for the rest of the questions, but my favorite finished project, the Clapotis, can be seen in my photo album.

 

Knitting Quiz and Meme

What yarn store am I?

You are The Point!

http://www.thepointnyc.com

You want it all.  You might have a hankering for the most luxurious handpainted silk yarn.  Or maybe a couple of skeins of Kureyon.  Don't worry, you can sit down, have a latte and absorb it all... 

Not much of a surprise, but I appreciate the confirmation that I've been visiting the right yarn store!  I've also been tagged by Stephanie with the latest knitting meme.

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?

As a Libra, I absolutely can't decide on a favorite, but I'll give some of them a mention:  Claudia's Hand-Painted in Chocolate Cherry for the yummy colors (on the needles for a Christmas gift), Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted for its softness (gets better with every wear of the Clapotis), and Brooks Farm Four-Play (seen here and now on its merry way to becoming a Lara cardigan).

Your favorite needles?

While I definitely see the benefit of circulars, I think I'll always be biased towards the bright aluminum straights that I learned on.

The worst thing you've ever knit?

My first finished project, an acrylic scarf I foisted on my sister.  Sorry, Amy!

I intended to answer the whole thing, but I have to run out now for dinner, but some updating is better than nothing!  I'll finish this eventually!

Happy Halloween!

I haven't been to a costume party in a few years but decided to trek up to Astoria with Virginia, our co-worker Nicole, and her friend Maria on Friday night.  My costume was a hodge-podge of borrowed boots and clothes to become a cowgirl.  The others were Mary Tyler Moore in a sea-foam green polyester pantsuit, Jennifer Beals from Flashdance, and Bipolar.

The best costume of the party was this Oompa Loompa, complete with white eyebrows and pointy hips. Gandhi and a very un-PC Helen Keller can be seen in the background.  I've posted some other pictures in the Halloween album.  Saturday night I saw a costume that beat even the Oompa Loompa:  the Headless Horseman.  On a real horse!

Tonight, as I was walking home after work, I was saddened to see the Trick or Treat style of urban kids:  run into Quizno's or the local 99-cent store to be tossed a handful of cheap candy by a teenaged clerk.  Where are the friendly neighbors who guess your costume or pass out fun-size Butterfingers?  And there's certainly no smell of wood-burning fireplaces in the chilly air as you crunch through fallen leaves.  Of course the little Spidermen and pumpkins can't ring every buzzer in an apartment building, but this scene made me miss my third-grade neighborhood in small town Tennessee or the elaborate porch display of my best friend's mom in Georgia. 

Nearly finished...

Here are the baby booties and hat for my pregnant Colorado friend - all I need to do is seam them and add cord/ribbon to the booties. 

I'm taking them home with me to deliver at Thanksgiving.  The pattern from Morehouse was super easy, and I'm loving the instant gratification of having three projects done in less than two weeks.  A while ago, this friend, Johnna, mentioned that she wanted to name her future daughter Beatrice.  Adorable, no?  Especially if you know these parents.  So the whole time I was knitting, I referred to these as Beatrice's Booties - despite the fact that I don't know whether she's actually having a girl...

And this is to prove to my sister - who always gives me the truth about the fact that most hats look horrible on me - that I did indeed find a hat that I can wear.  My nouveau chapeau found me when I was in Urban Outfitters this past weekend.  She tried to abandon me on Tuesday in a particularly nasty wind gust, but now that I've found her, she'll have to do more than fly down the subway station stairs to be rid of me.

Bah, Ram, Ewe...

I kept thinking of Babe, the sheep-herding pig, and the helpful words of his sheepy friends when the Spiders and I went to Rhinebeck's Sheep and Wool Festival last Saturday.  No famous pigs, but lots of lovely yarn and poufy sheep.

I must admit I was a bit disappointed that I didn't see any llamas, as I used to be convinced one would make the perfect pet.  If you watched Sesame Street in the mid-eighties, you might remember the particular storyline about a girl who lived in a city and walked her llama down crowded sidewalks to take him to the dentist, while "Going to the Dentist Today" played in the background.  I didn't understand why I couldn't have one.  So I consoled myself 20 years later by buying lots of yarn.

I am now the happy owner of Brooks Farm Four Play in a colorway best described as Valentine - deep reds with hints of pink - that is begging to be made into a Lara cardigan.  The two blues are for a felted bag, and just when my wallet said I'd spent enough, we headed for Morehouse for even more tempting skeins.  The green and coral-pink will be two scarves, and the red/orange/purple is on its way to becoming baby booties and a hat for an expectant friend in Colorado.

As we were leaving, the rain that had held off all day made a brief appearance and we sprinted to the car while protecting our wares from accidental felting.  This rainbow was a perfect ending to our day of yarn.

I'll update my photo albums soon, but check out the other sites on www.spidersknit.org for now.