Recent wanderlust July 1, 2009

This post is a bit late in coming, as I have been back from NY since the sixteenth of June. I was lucky enough to be in NY for ten days. I went with a friend and stayed at Hotel Marrakech on the Upper West Side. The hotel was pretty decent for the cost, though they would often forget about the little things, like soap, when refilling items in the room.

For the most part we just roamed the streets aimlessly for good parts of the day and ate delicious food when we stumbled upon it. I really prefer vacation to feel like a vacation, and that means taking a fairly laid back approach to seeing the sights and planning for me. We went to a couple different Magnolia Bakery locations and smashed cupcakes in each others’ faces. The smell of that bakery is enrapturing. The smell of every block in NY is an entirely new experience.

My favorite part of the trip was probably the music. I got to see PJ Harvey and John Parish at the Beacon Theatre, a lovely lovely place. I saw Apollo Run at Knitting Factory and School of Seven Bells at the Bowery Ballroom. It was three glorious nights in a row of good music. I had never heard Apollo Run or School of Seven Bells. I went to Apollo Run on the recommendation of a friend who knows some of the band members. How could I miss a show at a place called Knitting Factory? Really?

Deciding on School of Seven Bells was tougher because they were playing on the same night and roughly the same time as Sunset Rubdown, a band I’ve loved for awhile now. I watched a couple of YouTube videos of School of Seven Bells songs and that decided things for me. I have been listening to their Alpinisms album over and over since then. You could not forcibly pry it from my ears. It is magic.

We went to the MoMA and the American Museum of Natural History. I adored both of them, especially the MoMA.

I could take up permanent residence within its walls. Here’s the chair I will knit in.

We saw the Tangled Alphabets exhibit. My view of cursive writing is forever altered. Unfortunately it was an area where pictures were not allowed, but I’m contemplating buying the book to have a more tangible representation of my memories.

A very threatening purse:

Here are a few images from the American Museum of Natural History. I had to take this picture, for my love of the Squid and the Whale.

And here is a squid:

I went to Mecca, ahem, Purl and bought sock yarn (it’s a compulsion) and knitting supplies for my friend Greg so I could promptly teach him how to knit. He’s working on a hat, or more appropriately, a toque (since he’s Canadian).

We went to the Bronx Zoo and saw a bunch of crazy animals, you know, like one typically does at a zoo.

Peacock wedding dress: (Yes, I know it’s a dude, more power to him).

We also went to Habu (heaven) and I bought some of the silk/stainless steel yarn in a taupe color to blend with some laceweight mustard colored yarn of theirs, and another sage laceweight color just in case I need to make two scarves… I really want to work with this yarn as soon as possible, but as I have three projects on the needles right now, I feel I shouldn’t allow myself that kind of indulgence, yet. Somehow three projects feels like a good limit for me. It’s good to know one’s tolerance.  (I should specify ACTIVE projects, as I’m remiss to mention the sweater, blanket squares, etc. in that are out of sight and mind at the moment).

I’m incubating an idea for an art project with the silk and stainless steel yarn for the fall Art Amiss show. I’ve been mentally reworking some knitted wall art for quite some time now, and I suppose I should just get to it. After Ishbel and the two pairs of socks I have on the needles. Argh. I will be posting in-progress pics of those projects soon.

I will probably post more NY pics at a later date. I didn’t want to overwhelm with images.

Monkeys of Happiness! June 1, 2009

Enter the Monkeys of Happiness…

I thought it was about time I jumped on the Monkey socks bandwagon. I had to do it in my own fashion of course, the standard two-at-at-time-toe-up-magic-loop-with-a-heel-flap madness that I can’t seem to rid myself of when it comes to socks. I just like having the option of using all of the yarn, even though I set about 21 grams aside for a square in my future Barn Raising Quilt.

So far I’m raising the barn all by myself… I’m have about four squares and I’m making them bigger than called for. A ball of sock yarn for me is yielding about two squares rather than three for that project. I started it last summer when I bought the Knitalong book, which I love. Such pie in the sky hopes can only fizzle when I try to make myself knit square after square with no reprieve. I even took the little baby squares to an amusement park which-I-shall-not-name for it’s associated country-bumpkinness and I was approached by several children and adults curious about knitting as I waited in line for the roller coasters. Knitting in public is usually a great way to start conversations. Most people said things like, “Whoa, you’ve got a long way to go for a blanket.” Maybe that’s what wore me down in the end. Or the distraction of a new project… Speaking of distraction! That was quite a tangent… now, for my Monkeys…

The yarn I used for this pair was titled “Bluebird of Happiness” from Gaslight Dyeworks on Etsy. I fell in love with her yarn and bought three skeins for socks in a moment of excess a few months ago. I’m now working with another colorway from her called “Bikini” with the Copper Penny sock pattern, but I’ll probably call those something like “Great-grandma’s baby blanket socks.” Oh, you’ll see… I’ve already been asked if I’m with child while knitting these socks, I think because of the lace/color combo. Hopefully I can post some in-progress pics of those before I head to NY.

I’m pretty satisfied with the way my Monkeys turned out.

The pattern is interesting enough to keep you engaged while intuitive enough that you don’t have to look at the chart for long. I feel I could have done more ribbing at the top, but I wanted to set aside enough yarn for the blanket square. I think I took out one of the pattern repeats. It’s nice and snug around the foot, but I suppose it could be looser around the leg. I don’t mind it, but it seems a bit stretched in the photos.

As with the last post, the lovely photos were taken my my friend M Taylor Long. I adore his photos so much better than my own that I can’t go back now! I’ll have to make him a knitted reward one of these days.

I like the squish of these socks and they seem like they’ll stay up well. I’m two pairs shy of having a week’s worth of socks for myself for wintertime, but one of the pairs was made with Lion Brand Sock Ease, which I still can’t wash all the itch out of, so onward march. It feels good to be back in a sock frame of mind.

In other news: I leave for NY on Sunday. I’ll be there for 10 days, so probably no blogging. Although I’m not necessarily good at that while I’m here and doing nothing pressing… I will see PJ Harvey and John Parish on the 9th! I’m very excited. I don’t have much of an agenda while there aside from general fun, probably a trip to Purl, the Bronx zoo, Magnolia Bakery, and whatever else strikes our collective fancy. I’m meeting a new person there that I’ve only known in the realm of the internet, so it will be an adventure of all sorts.

Oh! And if you don’t know about TED talks, you should check this out. There are tons of amazing speakers on a wide range of topics. All the talks are roughly around 20 minutes. My two favorites so far are by Helen Fisher on love and cheating and the brain in love. What can I say? I’m a sucker for love. And I like to know all about the sociological/biological/psychological elements involved. These talks are just the tip of the iceberg lettuce. I started watching the other day and watched about 8 talks that day. Good fodder for knitting background, and as a bonus, you can download them to iTunes and listen to them at your convenience. Enjoy.

Head full of rainbows May 11, 2009

Hello ladies and gentlemen of blogland. I have returned. I promised pictures of Ishbel in the last couple of posts, but I’ve come to an unfortunate snag in the pattern, I’m sure of my own misunderstanding and miscounting and I need to unravel her a bit. Instead, here is the cap I started way back in February in Portland. Yes, it’s a bit warm for wool caps these days, but it’s good to finish the project nevertheless. Everyone needs slouchy hats. They’re soothing to the soul.

N-cap imitation

My good friend Taylor was kind enough to have a fun little photo shoot with me. Now he will be forced to take all of my blog photos because none that I take will ever look this good. Poor poor fella.

This is an imitation of N-cap, (Ravelry link), which I saw on Ravelry and fell in love with. This is my third incarnation of that hat style. The first hat I loved and lost within two weeks. I still miss it, but I hope it’s keeping someone else’s head warm. The second is a pale blue hat that I wear from time to time. This one has more droop, but I’m a fan of the colors. I used Paint Box and started one ball at the center and one at the outside, alternating every two rows.

I just did altered the purling and knitting for four rows apiece and then decreased when I felt like it. Scientific, no?

This one is just for fun:

We had happy hour photo time and it was happy. I can be a ham in front of the camera sometimes, but I usually take the best pics of myself because no one else has the patience. I’ve never liked photos of myself so much. Dude has a good eye.

I’m working on socks. They’re Monkey Socks made with hand-dyed yarn from etsy in the Bluebird of Happiness colorway. So, they could be dubbed the Monkeys of Happiness perhaps. I will be posting at least one related pic of them soon. The color is bright blue with flecks of bright orange and yellow. It truly is happy. I had a dream the other night that a little bird was trapped in a cupboard. When I let it out it was colored like the yarn. I didn’t catch the significance of the coloring until later that morning when I was thinking about my dream. Letting the bluebird of happiness out…

I graduated last Saturday with my master’s in counseling. I skipped graduation in lieu of taking my parents and sister to the local farmer’s market. I heard the graduation ceremony ended up being about four hours of boring, so I’m assured that I made the right decision. Now I have a two-ish month break before I begin the summer class that launches me into the PhD program in counselor education. Hurrah! School never ends. I don’t now if this is a good thing… Avoidance of reality? Meh.

I will be taking a trip to NYC in mid-June if anyone has any suggestions for brilliant fun.

“I’m feeling raw in the prime of my life.” March 30, 2009

Hello. I discovered some knitting therapy in the form of Ishbel. We’re in love, even though I had to tear back most of the project just as I got to the lace because my numbers were off. Why oh why don’t I count sooner? Blind knitting confidence. She is red, a color I don’t usually choose for much knitting or clothing, but I’m loving it so far. I need to post pics, I know. I’m sure these posts seem lifeless with no color. I have only my banter to rely on. Notice I didn’t claim it was witty…

The socks and hat are on hold. I just can’t seem to get back into them. I think I do that with socks. I make three or four pairs and then I’m burnt out on them for a good long while. I need to start thinking of summer projects. Any suggestions? I’m thinking the Razor Cami will have to be toward the top of the list, perhaps with some silk or bamboo sock yarn.

In other news…I got accepted to the PhD program at the University of Arkansas for counselor education. I’m very excited! Four more years…I could also be crazy. Very glad to have the inteview process over. Now I just have to look into those fellowships. They didn’t keep me in suspense very long. I got an email within an hour of my interview saying I had been accepted. Great for instant gratification lovers like me.

incommunicado March 19, 2009

Hello all. I’ve lapsed from my once religious fervor of blog reading. And I haven’t been writing either. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. I decided to apply for the PhD program in my area and I have an interview next week! I’m excited, but also apprehensive.

In other news, my boyfriend and I broke up. I haven’t been able to bring myself to just sit and knit lately. All I want to do is be around lots of people, most of whom happen not to knit. I get really extroverted when I get down, unless it’s the pit-of-despair kind of down. I don’t really have much to say at this point. I’ve been working out at least every other day to keep my endorphins flowing, and that seems to help. I’ll keep you posted, and hopefully will bring myself to post some knitting progress soon.

West for the winter February 20, 2009

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. The last week of January we, and many areas around us, were hit with an ice storm that knocked out the power and downed many, many trees.

The University of Arkansas was actually closed Tuesday through Friday of that week. As a point of reference, up until this ice storm the university had only closed 18 times in the past 100 years. I was ecstatic at first. But then I started to get anxious because school closings also meant I couldn’t go to my internship site, so I missed a lot of potential client contact hours, and I knew I was going out of town the next week, so I was a bit worried.

We didn’t have power from Tuesday around midnight (technically Wednesday) until Thursday around 8:00. I consider us very fortunate because a couple of my friends just got their power back yesterday. We have some awesome neighbors that have camping equipment and a grill, so we actually ate better than usual. They were off for most of the week too, so Drew and I had company. I had 20+ candles going in my living room when we were hanging out in there (yes, fire hazard) and when the power came back on the thermostat registered at 70 degrees. I was really surprised they put out that much heat.

The next week we went to Portland, OR to visit. We might potentially move there in the next few years. Some of it was really fun, and some of the trip was so-so. On the way there we had a FOUR hour layover in Atlanta. We left from Tulsa, OK, so this was completely out of the way and looooong and boring. We got to Portland around 10:00 their time and were exhausted when we got to the hotel. Drew had some kind of stomach bug and spent most of the first night sleepless and hangin out with the toiles. Then things got significantly better.

The next day we looked at a really expensive and gorgeous apartment at 10th & Hoyt just for fun, ambled around downtown, and took it easy for the most part. I went to Knit Purl. I was impressed with the wall of Koigu they have, but I was expecting more overall. I bought some “gold” yarn that looks very green when not in sunlight. I was very weirded out by the color change.

All in all it was a good trip. I saw a guy from high school that I haven’t seen in 9 years. He had some really good pointers for fun stuff to do. We ate at Portland City Grill downtown and loved the food and the views. I only went to one other yarn store: Yarn Garden. I loved it. They had a great yarn selection and the staff was really friendly. I bought a bunch of sock yarn, yarn for another N.Cap lookalike, and sock blockers. Here are the goods:

I’ve been meaning to get sock blockers for ages, but I never have. I usually just put the socks on and go.

Speaking of socks…I finished a pair of sock for Drew for V-day.

It’s the Ron Weasley colorway from Opal sock yarns. I gave them to him early because I can’t seem to wait to give gifts and I wanted him to have a little more time to actually use them. I also finished the Sock Ease socks in Lemon. Ugh. They look fine, but they are so so so scratchy. I actually haven’t washed them because I’m lazy and wanted to wear them immediately, so I’m praying they soften. They are fine for sitting, but walking around in them made me very itchy. At this point, I do not recommend that yarn. I was swayed by the $10 price point.

I’ve started a new pair of socks out of Colinette sock yarn, which I love. It feels wonderful and is about $22 for a pair of socks, but I wish the ball had slightly more yardage. It has around 310 yards for the pair. These socks are heavily inspired by the Spring Forward pattern. I had to cut down the number of stitches to 54 instead of the 66 called for in the pattern. I don’t know what it is about socks. I’m on gauge with size 0 needles, but the 66 stitches would have left at least an inch to an inch and a half of slack. The Jaywalker pattern was the same for me. I don’t wear narrow shoes and I have size 9 feet. What gives? Does anyone else radicaly alter the width of sock patterns on a regular basis?

While in Portland we also checked out a couple of breweries. According to wikipedia, Portland has more breweries than any other US city. We only made it to two of them: Rogue and Deschutes. I love Rogue Chocolate Stout and Drew’s favorite was at Deschutes, X Hop Henge something. He said it was the best beer he’s ever had in his life. And he loves beer. I worked on a hat at Rogue with yarn purchased the day before.  I wanted to imitate the ubiquitous Noro striped scarf somewhat, and make another N.Cap inspired design, so I used two self-striping yarns, alternating every three rows, and started one from the outside and one from the center. I like the way it looks in this picture, but I wasn’t twisting the yarn at the color changes so I had many unsatisfactory little holes. I frogged and restarted, going with only two stripes this time. I’m not sure which I like better.

Shrimp socks February 15, 2009

I was eating some leftover shrimp cocktail today, and it occurred to me that the socks I started last night have the same color theme.

This is my third ongoing project. I started it because I need a movie theater plain stockinette project. It’s some of the first Koigu I bought and it’s been dwelling in the stash for a few years. I think Koigu is probably still my favorite sock yarn. They have amazing colors, it’s superwash, and it feels amazing. If only the price was a bit lower…

Yesterday I had started socks out of Cascade Mini Mochi yarn in a beautiful rainbow color. It is extremely soft, but is unfortunately single ply, so it won’t wear as well. I was splitting some of the stitches, and realized it would not make ideal movie theater knitting. Then, to top it off, there was a knot in the strand followed by an abrupt color change in one ball where there should have been a slow fade as in the other ball. I was disappointed and will rewind the balls to study the color changes and look for knots before I embark with that yarn again.

I did not set out to make a pair of socks each month, or at least 12 this year, but I may get there anyway. Exciting!

Happy Valentine’s Day! February 15, 2009

Shown above is my first every attempt at chocolate torte. The recipe is this one, minus the blackberry coulis because I wasn’t up for that much effort. I’ll let you know if it’s tasty. We’re going to pair it with some Rogue Chocolate Stout that I love. We’re spending v-day cooking and playing games with our neighbors. I also made stuffed mushrooms with pepperoni, cream cheese, goat cheese, gorgonzola, and parmesean. And beer cheese dip inspired by the dip at Deschutes brewery in Portland with havarti, gruyere, cream cheese, swiss, Sierra Nevada Torpedo beer, with a rim of Sierra Nevada Stone Ground Stout mustard around the edge. The neighbors made melt-in-your-mouth salmon with lime butter and a spinach salad. Yummy!

I have a looooong post in the works all about Portland and the kazillion projects I’m working on or recently finished. More to come soon.

Lazy lady January 26, 2009

I’ve been a lazy blogger of late, and guess what…I don’t even have a photo for you. Not a single one. School is back in session, and I suppose that and my counseling internship should take priority over knitting endeavors. I don’t always agree.

I’ve made some major life revisions, at least mentally, in the past couple of weeks. For the past few months Drew and I have been thinking of jetting off to Portland, OR to live when I graduate in May, but just last week we decided that wasn’t as feasible or responsible as we would like things to be right now. Damn, I think I may have one toe in the grown-up pool. Part of it is fear, I admit. The economy, though I seldom pay attention to such frivolity, is in tatters, and I hesitate to move to an area with a higher cost of living and shockingly lower rate of pay for counselors. Especially because I don’t know the job market or potential employers in the area. I can more easily network here and maybe get some good employment for the next two years while gearing up for the doctorate. Or I may skip the PhD part. See, I’m still revising.

Making the decision to stay in Fayetteville has lifted an enormous weight off of my shoulders. I was worried about being able to get a job thousands of miles away, and the interview process was especially worrisome. Now my visit to Portland (next week!) will be just a vacation. Albeit, a cold and rainy one. If you’re from the Portland area or know it well, please suggest good yarn stores, and breweries. Or just fun things to do. We have Wed-Fri full days to fill up.

In other life changing areas…the band I have been a member of: Man the Helm, is disinegrating. This is a bittersweet end. Though I hated practicing and my availability for weekday shows was quite limited, I am still sad that it is ending. We’ve had some fun memories and my band mates are my best friends. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this band on the blog or not, but here is a video from possibly our last show. Feel free not to watch it. And if you do, I suggest turning up the brightness on your screen.

Drew and I may be playing our own music soon. I just bought a synthesizer that I have to learn how to use. We still have to get an appropriate amp. Egads. I thought knitting was expensive. So a synthesizer, keyboard, and bass/guitar…we’ll see what happens.

Knitting content? Ah yes, this is kind of a knitting blog. I’m still working on the endless Sock Ease lemon yellow socks. I made a hat that imitated the N.cap out of Ozark Companion and LOST it a mere week and a half after finishing. I actually cried over the loss. The color was a yellow-orange with splashes of teal. The LYS might be able to get more yarn in this colorway in, but it will never be the same.

Ah the memories in that week and a half…I finished the hat (including decreasing) during The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (excellent film) and wore it probably every chilly day after that. The hat kept me company while I rode the bike trail for the first time in 45 degree weather. I am a wimp about cold weather, and hat made this transition much nicer. I never even got a picture of this hat. It is seen in the horribly dark video above. I’m on the right.Then I lost the hat, probably on my way home Wednesday night because it was warm enough out that I didn’t need it on my head. Silly me.

How do I cope with this loss? Keep on knitting. Luckily I was working on a second hat in this pattern before the loss of the first one. It’s made with Creative Focus worsted in a blue/green/purple color. I will post pictures soon.

I also found out this past weekend that apparently I prance while running on a treadmill. We went to a shoe store in Springfield, MO called the Starting Block with Drew’s brother and his girlfriend who is a badass runner. She has run several marathons and does all kinds of adventure races. She was purchasing shoes and they do some different tests to analyze your running style and one of these tests involves videotaping the runner barefoot on the treadmill. So I tried it. Just for fun. I was a little bit tipsy at the time or perhaps it was performance anxiety, because both Brady (Drew’s bro) and the shoe salesman asked if I “really run that way.” I have no idea.

Cinderella, dressed in yella… January 6, 2009

Pardon my blogging absence. I was all set to post xmas FO pics, clever xmas sock pics, etc., but then I just ran out of steam. The holidays were wonderful. Drew and I had a lot of fun with friends and family members. Remember folks…nearly any game can be turned into a drinking game. Unable to find Catchphrase one night, we made do with Uno as a drinking game. I don’t think Uno was ever quite that fun or filled with drinking revenge.

Then my band (Man the Helm) played a couple of shows with another band called Giants. They’re a great group of guys. After our Fayetteville show we ended up eating at a local 24-hour diner called Sunrise Cafe. We were the only patrons and ended up blasting heavy metal and rap over the jukebox. The cook was very into it, searing our ears with the volume and eliminating all possibility of conversation. He even surprised us by playing a little Eminem/Evanescence later on.

I also got a Facebook account. I’ve had a Myspace for years, but I resisted being a slave to yet another social networking system, but I finally broke down. And I’m addicted…to finding people I haven’t seen for years, learning what they’re doing, and looking at all they’re pictures. I could make a great stalker if I wanted to.

I have been knitting too. Quite a lot actually. I’ve been working on these yellow socks out of Lion Brand Sock Ease:

I like the yarn, but it’s not nearly so soft as Opal, and is slightly more rough than Regia. Hopefully, like Regia, it will wash up much softer than it knits. Sigh. I guess there is a benefit to 20-30 dollar sock yarn. I got some Fortissima sock yarn from my brother and some Malabrigo sock yarn (third down on right) from Drew. The Malabrigo color Alcaucil is MUCH darker in real life.  It seems very light grey-green on multiple websites but is nearly black in person. I was shocked at the difference. I’m not disappointed, per se, but I will have to rethink my usage a bit. They will still be socks, but will have to be lace to stand out. The Malabrigo yarn is deliciously soft and squisy, just as I expected.  The Fortissima feels somewhere between Regia and Opal in softness, perhaps less squishy, but miles more durable. I was hoping for the book Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn because I own so much self-striping or wacky handpainted yarns, but I’m still waiting…

I also made this hat from Boutique Knits. I’m not sure if I like it yet. It seems pouffier on top than it should be. I think some blocking can help, but I’m never really sure what to block hats on. Any suggestions? I have a bowl that might work, but it’s not totally round on top and might not be big enough. I will probably wear it anyway, or I might rip it and take some of the decreases out.

I also got a set of Addi Clicks for Christmas. Best present ever! My mom thinks it was a ridiculous purchase. Little does she know of the addictive ways of knitting and how frugal this set really is.