wandering eyes...

so, i was on a mission today. black peep toe heels, and some short sleeve dress shirts for the man. despairing at buying anything new, i hit the thrift stores, and, be still my beating heart, scored yarn.

total price tag? $7.92 and not a single acrylic in the bunch.

the three vintage spools are thread-weight wool, the two seafoam skeins on the right are mission falls cotton, the red in the middle is some sort of variegated wool (single-ply... there's no ball band, but the texture suggests wool), to the left is blue-black-purple fingering weight wool (okay, 75% wool) and the turquoise on the left is 100% wool. the white stuff in the bag is a mystery, but it's the most buttery damn yarn i've ever felt. can't possibly be acrylic.

then in between laundry loads, and some slight packing for the move, i got this sweater out.

it's an express sweater, also wool, but i just don'g really dig it. the yarn is gorgeous though. so i started unraveling it for the yarn. not too hard, but time consuming. i started with the right button band, which is why you can't see any buttons in this picture (cuz i took them off already).

but here's the thing. this stuff in the sweater is fine. it isn't felted, or nubby... then you pull it out and it's like this:

i expected the yarn to be curly. it's been in that shape for goodness knows how long... but is there anyway to recondition the yarn? should i wash it? soak it? knit/crochet it first then wash soak it? i'm at a loss here. help please.

i dunno. i just feel weird. tired of riding the roller-coaster but would still like to be in the park. feeling something is better than feeling nothing at all.

by all accounts it should have been a good day. how many bridal showers do you get, after all?

yet i can't shake this feeling. this uneasy, disquieting, can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it feeling.

worst part is, i don't want to work on anything. not even practicing my new knitting skills. i don't want to work on any of my projects, i don't even want to read. truth be told i don't even want to write.

progress

38/120.... possibly 143 squares?

almost 3 full skeins out of 12 are done... sigh.

hmm... what to do about this?

so, i saw this story on the front page of MSN today and i had to remind myself to channel my inner harlot: just because something isn't my taste, it doesn't mean it's bad, or wrong. weird, possibly... i mean, we knit and hook with other animal fibers, right?

i realize that this might be something totally commonplace, er, um, at least not weird for somet people, but, overall, to non-fiber arts people though, this can only equal bad press. poor kara. poor penny.

something something something dark side...

double points if you get the reference.

today, i officially crossed over into the dark side.
look at me, i'm knitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am so beyond thrilled at this point, but i'm also exhausted. i learned the long tail cast on, which was so much easier than i thought it would be, and to do stockinette stitch and garter stitch! it helps i had a good teacher, who also happens to be left handed :)

we also made dinner tonight! she grilled steak and i made salad: dried apricots cut small, walnuts, feta and dark greens with an Asian vinaigrette. yum.

next time we hang out i should teach her crochet. she want to make little amigurumis. not really my forte, but i know how to crochet in the round, so we're good!

doom update: after doing some quick math, i discovered that the afghan i'm making 80 squares for will only end up about four feet wide. yeah... i'll have to up the total to 120. which means i'm 1/12 of the way done. if i do three squares every day, i'll be done by mid july. this does not include soaking the damn red yarn until it doesn't bleed anymore, blocking, sewing, weaving in what will be something like 260-some ends, and adding a border. we're going to be cutting it close to the wire. i made 5 squares today.

picturific!

today i went to the yarn store. i didn't buy anything (there) and i made this:

this is one of the squares for one of the wedding afghans i'm doing. it's the good cause afghan from one of the crochet today mags, but i don't want to get up right now and dig out which one. please note that this particular picture is pre-blocking, and yes, it is acrylic, and yes, it still blocks.

and i also worked on this:

the dreaded tension curse!!! i don't know how to fix it, and i really don't want to rip out umpteen rows. i plan on adding a large ruffle border. do you think that will hide it? how do i get through the rest of the blanket???

then i went shopping at ben franklin, but i didn't spend any money, because my honey got me a gift card for my birthday. i picked out these:

a cool tips cookbook and birch knitting needles. i'm slowly being drawn in by the dark side. though have you ever noticed that some crochet patterns tout "knit-look!" stitchery, but you never see knitting patterns bragging that they've achieved a "crochet-look!" ??

then i went home.

i baked.

yes, that's supposed to be orange frosting on brownies. it's the fifth graders last band practice tomorrow. if you're really observant you'll notice the little swatch i made to test my eucalan on the towel in the background.

then, while doing laundry, i worked on this:

tardis!!! which is part of this:

damn. i want to keep this one too. it still has to be washed with a load of whites. the great thing about doing bleach stencil on a black shirt?? you can touch it up with a black sharpie and no one is the wiser... heh heh. yeah, i hate spray adhesive.

i also attempted to tie-dye a green t-shirt, and that was an epic fail. i used a different kind of dye, and i was out of rubber bands, or at least i couldn't find any (not that i looked past the room i was in) so i used bits of yarn, and, yeah, it didn't work. then i couldn't get all the dye out so i said screw it and tossed it. it was a $2 goodwill shirt. however, that does mean that unless i get another one and give it another go (back to rubber bands and good ol' rit dye for me), i have to give up my brown-striped, crochet-embellished shirt. oh, and the cat got into the thread. i could only salvage half of it.

currently, the laundry is going, a&e pride and prejudice is playing, the fan is blowing (damn no air conditioning), and this is soaking:

i hope it works. it should... i don't know why it wouldn't. i would like to be able to wear it without wanting to scratch my arms off.

and, because i can, gratuitous kitty pic:

sometimes when she's being a real angel kitty she'll still curl up and sleep with me. aww.

damn. the soak timer and the laundry timer just went off. which one first??

list update

okay, here's where we stand as of now:

1 baby afghan: we have entered the black hole on this one, ladies and gentleman. i put in tons of work, at least a dozen rows, and the darn thing isn't any bigger. (due in september)

the cranberry wedding afghan: 14/80 squares done. almost enough to sew the first two rows together, which would put me at about 20% done with the body... 10% done if you count weaving in the ends, sewing, and adding a border to the thing once it's done. (due in august)

turquoise wedding afghan: still haven't started. might "cast on" at the LYS today.

ring bearer pillow & flowergirl basket: the same. don't judge me. (due in june)

three pairs of earrings for the angel swap: DONE and SENT! check this baby off the list. does this blog have a strikeout function? that'd be so cool...

half-covered cat: pitched. not worth it.

big bang theory charm bracelet that didn't even make it onto the first list? done, baby.

all the sewing projects: haven't touched 'em.

man's sweater vest? yeah, haven't even thought about that one.

and how is the patient's progress on SMS? patient is pleased to report that since the last installment of the list, the body of the glove has been finished, sewn together, and the top has been added. we are entering the final stages of recovery and hope to show a finished cuff before too long.

and SSS? cured!! finished a pair of slippers last night! though it did occur to me that i've had this bulky felting yarn for ages and haven't known what to do with it.... now i do! i want to duplicate these slippers (from the previous post) and felt them! must resist starting another project....

the other three pairs of earrings? eh, i've still got time.

and i did foget things: the t-shirts for the t-shirt swap. i think this will be my last swap for awhile. you get in a good swap and then they get addicting.

tardis bleach shirt. seen doctor who? if you haven't, you should. i highly recommend the one with david tennant. i have a black shirt that i'll be bleach stencilling a tardis onto, then overdyeing it in blue....

... at the same time i'll be tie-dyeing a green shirt with the same blue, then embroidering flowers along the collar. and i should think of an extra to send.

oh yeah, and the mug cozy needs elastic. i'll finish that one today.

would anybody say i'm in denial if i said i don't have a problem finishing things????

so much work... so little to show

so, bunch of little things, and probably two posts tonight, since i'm waiting for my darling FH to get home so he can take pictures of my new shrug (that's right, it's all finished!!)

i've entered into the "black hole" on the baby blanket (for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, check here). so no progress pictures on that one... come to think of it, i don't think i've shown any pictures on that one. i'll post one after the stitch and bitch tomorrow.

here are three pairs of earrings i made to angel for the swap i was just in... i think my favorite is the third pair.

oh, and this one was hard to send off! it's a big bang theory charm bracelet (i love that show... i love it so much i put the first season on my wedding registry).... problem is i don't think my partner shall be reciprocating. she seems to have disappeared.

and progress!!! the second mitten has been sewn and the top has been added. now we just need the cuff and the thumb!

and in an immense feat of personal growth, i finished the second slipper. i had the first one finished and sewn, and three of the small squares made for the second one (they're the kabouter slippers from ravelry). so i undid and re-sewed the first slipper because i didn't like the way i did it before, then made the fourth small square and the large square for the second one.

note to self: when leaving a project for months (like... january...) try and stick a note on it that tells you which hook you were using. still, i think they turned out ok.

tomorrow i plan on going to yarn group, doing all the laundry, soaking my shrug in eucalan (after i test it on a swatch, of course) and bleach stenciling and tie-dyeing a few shirts for a different swap. think i'll get it all done??

still here!!

how awesome is it that i don't have to go to work on friday, and i still get paid? apparently there's some sort of ITED reward trip (and don't get me started on how dumb that is), but they're short on chaperones, so i get to go. and it gets better. i work an hour away from where i live. the field trip is to the mall, 20 minutes from where i live. so instead of driving all the way down to school, getting on a bus with a bunch of asinine teenagers (i should have made a transcription from the last bus trip i took), then passing my house on the way to the field trip, the boss says i can just meet them there. suckers.

oh, yeah, and this was in the news today. call me out of my mind, but i think this reflects really poorly on one of the finest academic institutions in the country. don't they vet their students before they let them in? hey, kids, don't spend too much time on your college apps! turns out you can just make them up, and you might just get away with it for, oh, five years.

i've been going insane on these larger projects i've been doing, so i set about some small ones lately to distract me.

i made this shrug about a year ago out of 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden (i forget the colorway). not having used a pattern, i thought i was being really clever with the shaping. for instance, i tapered the sleeves so they fit snug all the way through the arm (which worked), then thought, well, i''ll need the most mobility in my shoulders, so i increased again in the shouldes. yeah. that didn't work. so here's my fix:

you can't tell, but i have to admit... it's not really finished. the ribbon isn't sewn in yet... i'll try and get action pictures some other time. cut me a break. i left for work at 7 am yesterday and didn't get home until 10 pm. no exaggeration.
my friend who goes to the yarny shop with me gave me a leftover ball of malabrigo merino, so i made this small coffee cup cozy for her, with a cable pattern i thought up but am pretty sure i did not invent.

yeah, yeah, this one's not quite done yet either. it needs buttons. and a better picture. the flash washes out the cable.

i also got fabric for a yarn saver bag! (a yarn-saver bag is a little drawstring bag to keep your yarn in, so when you're working on something and tugging on your yarn the ball doesn't go rolling across the floor). one of the other girls at the s&b group showed me hers and it had this nifty satin lining so the yarn slips around really easily. now i just need a pattern for a small, lined drawstring bag. i think i've got one drawn up, but i haven't tried it yet. and i couldn't get a decent picture of the fabric either. it has parasols on it. and the lining is bright blue.

and the piece de resistance: my first crochet thread adventure.

p.s. aunt lydia's bamboo crochet thread is not stiff like cotton. it might even be slightly too slippery, but hey, look what i made!!!

it's supposed to be for a swap partner, but i want to keep it. so i probably will. i have other shirts i can send her. the pattern is from the sept/oct 2009 crochet today. the only alteration i did was to sew my blanket stitch at 3/16" instead of a quarter inch.
nothing else witty today. just waiting on my knitpicks order for fingering weight peruvian highland wool! enough to make the lotus cardigan from ravelry, in a lovely eggplant color.

i need more sleep.

#u(&!n' computer...

... won't connect to the internet. so here's my post from last night.

here's a few reasons why tonight is driving me batty. first of all, i have an empty bed. after a year plus of sleeping next to the same person night after night after night, it's pretty hard to get to sleep all by yourself. it's different if you're in a hotel, you know? like if i'm on a trip with some of the band kids, my daring fiance can't be there with me, so there's really no choice in the matter and you might as well sleep. but now, in my own bed... well... he could be home. i won't begrudge him his fun, he doesn't get to go out much, but, i miss him.

second my damn laptop must be on its last leg. first the wireless card went, then the screen started shorting out (i think it's the connection between the screen and the computer body, something to do with the hinge??), now all of the sudden in the last few days it's doing this thing where it refuses to shut down and just sits there "logging off" for eight plus hours, and now tonight it won't connect to the internet at all. so i can't post.

i'll have you all, whoops, the two of you know that i am slowly on the mend from SMS (second mitten syndrome, a derivative of SSS (second slipper/sock syndrome)). behold the body of the second pair of merino post and braid mittens! you know, now that i write that out it sounds kinda morbid... i got the yarn for valentine's day from aforementioned fiance and quite promptly crocheted the first mitten, then, um, sorta... actually, i have no idea why i didn't continue. but there it is - crocheted cables and all. now it just needs sewn, then it needs the cuff, top thumb, and all the ends woven in.

and because i couldn't resist, i started these:

the verdict is still out here... i'm not sure if i like them yet or not. they'll eventually be fish-scale fingerless mitts, but i only have a few rows done as of yet. the multicolored stuff i got in a personal swap; it's really yummy one of a kind yarn. it's a blend of merino, soy silk, tussah silk, mulberry silk and falkland and other wool. this baby chnges colors every few yards! in a side note, i find it ironic that the cat hair on the brown sheets and the sparkle in the pink yarn show up the same, but well, what can you do? the pink is Louisa Harding jasmine yarn: 48% cotton, 39% bamboo, 10% silk and 3% nylon, which i'm assuming is the sparkly stuff. it's probably the nicest cotton yarn i've ever dealt with.

as i continue to lay here in bed, tapping away morosely at the keyboard, it does occur to me that while i may be on the mend from SMS, i am starting to fall under the Tension curse. the baby blanket for my coworker is progressing very nicely... until i fold it in half, longways, and realize that it is slowly getting smaller, and i'm not skipping stitches. what do i do for this? a) lossen up, b) go up a hook size, or c) work on something else for awhile. in all honesty i htink you know which one i'll pick.

i'm headed back to the LYS tomorrow to do some really focused crochet work on one of the wedding afghans, though if i get tired of making 6" squares (11/80 done) i could always "cast on" the other wedding afghan i'm supposed to be working on. wish me luck!

i'm (hopefully) back with a vengeance

i've re-found my mojo. um... my craft mojo.

i've also discovered i need to quit my job. i think this post will be a massive "lists" post. here we go:

Reasons I Should Quit My Job

1) i apparently have to explain the color white to 15 year olds. if it is cream colored with gray stripes, it is not white.

2) also, cargo pants are not dress pants, a henley is not a button down shirt, and skaters do not count as "dress" shoes.

3) if you're here at 7:32 and the call time is 7:30, you're late. don't give me that "how could you?" look.

4) if i say use complete sentences, i sort of assumed that also means use complete words. apparently this needs explanation.

5) today, when i called a certain company to figure out why my order never made it from the rep to the actual company, they suggested next time i order i call a week later and make sure they got it, then told me no, they can't rush my order. awards assembly is tomorrow.

6) my boss is a cross between jabba the hut and a schizophrenic bull with a head shaped like a clove of garlic. god i hope no one knows about this blog.

7) i'm sure i have other reasons. i'm just too emotionally strung out to remember them.

8) oh, here's a good one. i have a club of parents who tried to get me fired because i didn't give their slacker children A's. it didn't work, but still.

Reasons I Love the Yarn Harlot

1) i am not a bad hoarder. in fact, by these standards, my stash nature is still of the "i can walk away from that yarn if i want to" type. though i do have my good stuff (read: wool, silk, bamboo, cotton, and natural fiber blends) in clear plastic storage boxes.

2) i am also an equal-opportunity non-finisher. my UFO list (UnFinished Objects) is well over 20 at this point. though it's not all crochet.

3) i am, also, a harlot. problem is i'm not just a yarn harlot, i'm a paper harlot, fabric harlot, and bead harlot. i also flirt with embroidery and cross stitch, but we're careful not to talk about one in front of the other.

4) thank heavens someone else is NORMAL when it comes to the trial and tribulations of working on projects. okay, "normal" might be a stretch... someone else who is obsessive about mistakes. i just ripped back four entire rows of an afghan for one missed stitch, because i was going to give it to someone else.

5) come on, she's the harlot. how could you not love her?

back to work. projects in the queue:
1 baby afghan (1/3 done)
1 brown, chestnut, ivory, and cranberry wedding afghan (um, 11/80 squares done)
1 ivory, charcoal, and deep turquoise wedding afghan (haven't started but due at the end of the summer!)
ringbearer pillow (need stuffing and embellishment)
flower girl basket (just the flowers!)
three, count 'em, three pairs of unfinished earrings i'm angeling for a swap (well, i have all the pieces...)
a half-covered cat. to clarify, a wooden cat, covered in bits of old dictionary
four placemats that need quilting and binding
a dress that needs taking in and hemming
a baby quilt for the hope chest, still needs the top put together
2/3 curtains for the living room, and we're moving out in july
a sweater vest that needs the rest of the back, sewing and edging
and, i admit, i have SMS.... second mitten syndrome.
also, i have SSS.... second slipper syndrome.
oh, and three pairs of earrings for, um, something else.

i think i forgot something.