Tea anyone?

Check out this gift from my secret santa! It is the most beautiful piece of thrift store crap I have ever seen in my life. In fact, I like to think I'd look a little something like this if I were a piece of thrift store crap. The best part? It's filled with fancy tea!! And that is coming in handy because my family is strictly coffee, no tea. So I brought my own. And see those needles behind the tea? I'm wishing I had brought more of those. I thought I picked out a good selection, but I (very stupidly) didn't bring any circular needles! And some things do not fit on DPN's. Like the poncho I wanted to knit for my cousin Megan. It's only about 6 inches long, but there is no way I can continue without a circular needle, and there is no way I can buy another one since I have two at home in California.

I took the Needlepoint Joint gift certificate from my Aunt Myra and bought some pretty virgin wool to make Ella (which by the way is totally the new clapotis). It's coming along nicely, although it is getting HUGE--another reason I should have brought circular needles. Also I made some mittens! My sister has a new digital camera so hopefully she'll show me how to use it and I can post some pictures of what I've been working on. I hope everyone's holidays have been like mine--relaxing and fun with plenty of time for knitting. And tea.

Knitter's Block

I'm at home in Utah, with nothing to do but wrap a few presents, drink tea, and watch television. So why haven't I been knitting? I brought yarn with me for a few small projects but I have been too lazy to start any of them. That's weird because usually I LOVE starting new projects. I think the problem is that I am in the mood for a big project--maybe Ella? After Christmas I'll go to the LYS and see what I can find.

My mom told me a funny story yesterday. She said that when she was a little girl her mom saw crocheted jumpsuits on the cover of a magazine and thought they were "cool." Problem is, the y were on the cover of a CROCHET magazine--almost never cool. She paid her friend to crochet them for my mom and aunt, and they were forced to wear full-body croched jumpsuits! My mom says they were hella ugly and weighed about 100 pounds (I wish there were photos). Just another example of the oh-so-important rule: Just because it can be made with yarn doesn't mean it should!

Warm Wrists!

Here are the presents from the last post, unwrapped now because I gave them to my friends last week. From left to right: diagonal rib for Phia, eyelet lace for Ayla, cables for Nuria, super-professional ribbing for our almost-lawyer Erika, embossed hearts for Gaelen, and a slip-stitch ribbing pattern for Lauren. Oh yeah, and the bit of pink there is the beginning of my seed stitch wristwarmers, which are finished and on my wrists as I type. They are all made with Brown Sheep Co.'s Cotton Fleece which is a BEAUTIFUL yarn--trust me I've been working with it for months. I made them using the two circular needles technique, which is definitely worth learning. Everyone really likes them--Lauren said they make her feel like a superhero and Nuria said she wants to nibble on hers, whatever that means.

I've been staying in San Francisco for a few days before I head home to Utah. Today I stopped by ImagiKnit and (for the first time ever!) I didn't buy anything. It was a strange sensation to walk out of there empty-handed, but sometimes it's a little overwhelming in there y'know? Anyway, I'm living out of a suitcase (no room for stash!) and soon I'll be at The Needlepoint Joint.

Holiday Knit-o-Rama

This is most of my holiday knitting, all finished and wrapped up just in time for the grown-up holiday party my friends are having Thursday night. The thing about this holiday knitting is that it's overwhelming and addictive. The other day at Article Pract a few ladies were chatting about the Holiday Knitting All-Nighter, of which I can now say I am guilty. The last week of school I had 3 finals and a thesis to hand in but I never did work past 4 p.m. and I was in bed by 11 every night. See, around 4 p.m. my brind starts to wander and Ellen is on and then it's time for dinner and after that it's dark. I finshed the finals (yay!) and handed in my thesis (YAY!!) and never had to stay up late. But the holiday knitting? I was up waaaay past midnight lastnight and that hardly ever happens. But it's all done and I can't wait to warm the wrists of all of my friends.

I'm going to be doing some long-distance blogging for about a month. I'm going home to Utah for winter break and I don't want to bring my laptop. Don't worry, I'll keep some stock photos on flickr and whip them out occasionally so I don't bore my faithful readers.

By the way, if you find yourself knitting all night, might I suggest staying hydrated and taking breaks?? I had a bit of an eye strain headache this morning.

Come back in a week.

I don't have much time this week to write or knit anything that is not my thesis. I have two finals on Thursday and my thesis is due Friday, so after that I can go knit and blog crazy! The super secret friend project needs to be finished on the 15th...and I'm a little more than halfway done. And then all of the other holiday knitting! Wish me luck. And come back in a week.

Yarn Shoes

Here are my feet, pre-Thanksgiving. If I took a picture now they might look a little swolen, because I feel like I ate at least 18 Thanksgiving dinners. Phew! Thank goodness for the salad bar here at school.... I think it's time to do a little detox. But Thanksgiving was really fun. I went home to Ogden, Utah and saw lots of family and old friends. I also stopped by The Needlepoint Joint, the first yarn store I ever went to. It's bigger now, and more knitting focused. I bought lots of beautiful stuff which will magically be transformed into presents in the next few weeks.

Anyway, the point is that the shoes look like yarn. They don't even match up right, like two skeins of hand-dyed wool. Cool huh?

Oh, also my mom has a blog!! I made it for her birthday. She is a great writer with an exciting life, so go read it!

I love knitting! And you!

Like my new hat? I don't usually knit hats because I don't usually wear hats. But I decided to knit this one, and I wore it to see the new Harry Potter movie a couple nights ago. Great sweaters, those Weasleys. But I don't think Ron, Jennie, and the twins really appreciate their mother's handiwork. Ever since I started knitting, I've been afraid of turning into the relative who everybody fears will knit them something AGAIN this year. But the truth is, knitting for people you love is really fun. So if you're reading this and I love you, too bad. I'm probably knitting you something. Again.

And speaking of people I love, my aunts finally had their baby!! I guess I'd better get my act together and sew the snaps onto that baby sweater so I can mail a super-special package to Ian Robert, Jackson, and their mommies.

Knitting is Everywhere

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Clay Aiken concert with Marc's mom. It was so much more than a concert--it was a whole Christmasy production with a plot line involving a cranky old lady who has lost the spirit of Christmas because she's all alone. In this scene, Clay (as the geeky guardian angel) watches her as she pathetically knits away (she's really knitting--I checked with binoculars). By the end of the show (thanks to Clay's crooning and an annoying kid named Tommy) she realizes that it's important to love Jesus even if you are all alone. And she never knits again.

But for lots of us, knitting and the holidays go hand-in-hand. I have been working on a mass project for my friends, and trying to decide what to make for family members. The problem with holiday knitting is that you can't post pictures of presents because what if the recipients read your blog? I promise I have been knitting, but only super-secret projects. I'll try to keep some other things going on the side so I have something to post about.

The Fat Duck and The Skinny Marc

Well, London was GREAT. I had lots of fun talking and riding the bus and napping with Marc. Look how handsome he is!! This picture was taken in the woods on our walk from the train station in Maidenhead to the B&B in Bray. It was nice to remember how cool it is to be together in person. It was also nice to see what his life is like there and hang out and cook with some of his friends. Marc bikes 25 miles a day but luckily I didn't have to do it at all--I get confused with all the cars coming from the wrong direction, etc.

The highlight of the trip was our sixteen course four hour dinner at The Fat Duck. I never thought I'd eat dinner at the best restaurant in the world, but there I was!! The craziest things I ate were probably smoked bacon and egg ice cream, snail porridge (Marc said they were mushrooms but I knew better) and pigeon. Can you believe fancy people eat pigeon?? Weird. Everything was delicious. Here are some pictures of what we ate. (Click here to see some more!)

This is the "forest course." An oak strip (like the listerine things, but tastes like oak--Marc made it!!!), a piece of toast with tons of truffles, and in the little bowl was pea puree, jelly of quail, langoustine cream, foie gras. Whoa.



One of many desserts: Mango and douglas fir puree with bavarois of lychee and mango and blackcurrant sorbet!!

Thanks to Marc for a wonderful visit, and also for being so awesome and working hard in the crazy chemistry lab that makes all this stuff. Also for being the best.

Handmade vs. Homemade

A wise knitter/blogger once said something about the difference between Handmade and Homemade. Handmade means that it looks expertly crafted, whereas Homemade looks like it may be the product of a preschool craft class. As knitters, we are always striving for Handmade--we only want to be asked "Did you make that?" by our friends who know that we knit, not by strangers who know they've never seen anything that ugly in a store. Anyway, I think the Grown-Up sweater looks pretty good and I'm proud of it, even if the sleeves are a little too big and the ribbing around the neck looks a little "homemade."

Have you ever tried to take a picture of your own back? This was the best shot of like 40. Trust me, the cable looks good.

I will bring the sweater to London when I go there to visit Marc tomorrow (YAY!!) so maybe he can help me take a better picture. With the queen or something.

Self-Reliance

My cat is the cutest, smartest cat in the world. I know that every knitter/blogger thinks that, but in my case it is actually true. Look:

Ali, can you help me get the treats out of this cabinet?


Oh forget it, I can reach.


Ha!


I know they're in here somewhere....


I ate them all??! Oh yeah.

Marc's parents are letting me borrow their car for a few days. Looks like I'll be making a trip to the kitty treat store. Also the yarn store.

winter!

Yes, I think it is officially winter in the Bay Area. That means that it is beautiful and sunny all the time (at least in the East Bay), but it is FREEZING cold (at least by East Bay standards). The trick is, if you get dressed inside and base your wardrobe decisions on a quick look out the window, you might freeze to death in that tank top and short shorts ensemble.

Luckily for me, the Grown-Up sweater is almost done. I just need to figure our how to pick up the stitches around the V-neck to make a nice little bit of ribbing, and then I'll post lots of pictures of me wearing it and being really warm in that KnitPicks Sierra.

So, what will I knit next? The Picovoli definitely. I have some cool green Lana Grossa merino I'd like to use, but I don't know if I have enough. I might have to bribe Phia for that ball I know she is secretly hiding in the dorm room next to mine.

What is everybody doing for Halloween? Party in the Castro? Crazy costumes? Critical Mass tomorrow? I think I will bundle up somewhere and knit...maybe with some orange yarn, but probably not.

Almost a Grown-Up

Here is a Grown-Up sweater progress shot:
(this is the back)

Yay! Now for some sleeves....I had planned to do them on double pointed needles but now I realize that's just silly. I'll go to the yarn store tomorrow and get some circular needles. This sweater is going to be so warm!! I can't wait to snuggle up in it with some tea (I used to hate tea, but now I love it) and watch Sex and the City (which is on EVERY NIGHT on KRON4, aka the best tv station ever).

Today is an important day here at Mills College. I finshed the 0th draft of my thesis. You know, it's a real draft with less pressure than a 1st draft. I think I'll spend the rest of the night recovering.

Hey you! Go look at Phia's blog!!

A sister's shrug and Sara's scarf

My sister Bethany is a beautiful dancer. I went to Utah a few days ago to watch her perform with Children's Dance Theater which is always good--if you live in Utah and are reading this, you should sign your kids up for CDT. Thing is, they have this rule that you can only wear black dancewear at rehearsals, and sometimes it's cold in the studio and theaters. So I made her this:

It's made with Brown Sheep Wool Co.'s Cotton Fleece and it is so soft!! I just knitted a rectangle in stockinnette stitch with some seed stitch trim, and sewed it up. The truth is I finished it over the summer and I just got around to seaming it up and giving it to her. I told you I hate seaming! The important thing is that she likes it and she can wear it to dance. Her friends said they liked it too, which is a serious compliment because those girls know their dancewear.

This week I also made a scarf for my friend Sara who is going on a trip to look at graduate schools--and not just any graduate schools. She's checking out Princeton and Columbia!! This scarf is gray and sophisticated-looking. Perfect for a beautiful genius who loves sociology more than Erving Goffman himself.

The Grown-Up sweater is coming along. Other than that I'm working on a whole bunch of wrist warmers (for everyone I know, basically) also made with Cotton Fleece.

The Cousin Sweater

My mom says that my aunt Bridget could have her baby any day. Good thing I finished this lastnight:

It is made of Sinfonia cotton yarn with the "Baby's First Tattoo" pattern from Stitch'n Bitch Nation. Originally I wanted to use buttons to close it but then I remembered how much babies like to pull things off and put them in their little punkin mouths...So I'll use snaps. I hope my new cousin and her/his family will like it. The family rumor mill says that if it's a boy his name will be Ian, and if it's a girl...well, girl names are easier to think of so they're not worried about that yet. The important thing is that either way, that baby will be freaking adorable, especially in a Winnie the Pooh cardigan.

That tiny sweater was pretty fun to knit, but I remember now how much I hate seaming. I never want to knit anything in pieces ever again!! Luckily my other main knitting project is circular and seamless. It's my very first real life grown up sweater! I started it lastnight and so far I like it. I decided it needs a V-neck and a pretty cable down the middle of the back. I'll post a picture once I have some noticeable progress.

This weekend I went to Article Pract here in Oakland for the first time. Whoa, it's the best yarn store ever. It has a good balance of fancy schmancy yarns and cheaper basic stuff too. The ladies working there were really nice, and I discovered my new favorite yarn. It's handspun, kettle-dyed in Uruguay (but it's not the one you're thinking of). It's called Malabrigo and I like it better than Manos del Uruguay. It's MUCH softer, the colors are more exciting, and it's only $11 for 215 yards!! My friend Phia got some too, and she is making a beautiful orange and green hat which totally doesn't look like a pumpkin. I taught Phia how to knit Continental style (which is weird since I don't do it that way) and she's been a crazy hat-producing superknitter ever since.

Soon all of my friends will be knitting and this blog will be taken over by pictures of their projects!!