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????