February 2005 Archives
Pattern: Fluffy Sweater from Sarah Dallas' Vintage Knits
Yarn: Rowan Kid Soft in Blithe, per pattern
Needles: US 6 and 8
I made a few mistakes modifications: I knit 2x2 ribbing instead of mini-cables, this major error coming to light only as I finished the 2nd sleeve. I got over it easily. I also knit an extra 1.5" of sleeve but it turns out that the pattern was spot on. See, in the book the picture is kind of blurry toward the bottom, but the model's hands are engulfed by sweater. That should've given me the clue. Anyway, I'll do some creative cutting around the wrist area and make it wearable before I post any more pictures. The sweater falls at the hip, which is fine with me, but the body is wide, despite my having knit the smallest size. Hm. Either my gauge got looser as I knit or I lost weight (yeah, right). Lastly, I seamed the sweater with the same yarn. Emily seamed hers with a matching yarn, and I had thought I'd do it with embroidery floss, but then what if I washed the thing and the floss shrank or got loose? So yes, I seamed with mohair and boy was it fun. All in all, a good learning experience for a first sweater!
Reading: A friend lent me his copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke; it took him 2 months and I expect I'll do the same. I finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, which I thought was a *great* book (but they killed Oyster, Lauren!). BF forgot my reading list when he went to the library so for this week I'll be reading teen lit: How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
I had an intense work week; the rain and brownout during the weekend didn't help much either. So this post is a little long, but I got you some Stitches West eye candy...
BF received this card from me for Valentine's Day. We exchanged little gifts (chocolate for me, climbing chalk for him) and then went out for dinner. We hadn't seen each other in 6 days; he had a project in Montecito and I headed for San Francisco for the weekend. That has been the longest amount of time we have ever been apart so this holiday was, for the both of us, a very sweet one.
My drive to San Francisco on Friday took 7 hours, due to traffic and the rain. It rained. All. The. Way. But a good friend, good food, and good wine awaited me at journey's end. We talked waaayyyyy into the night. I was tired and passed out dead with dreams of yarn dancing in my head. My drive back to L.A. on Sunday took 5.5 hours, mainly because I was doing 85-90 mph and drafting off other fast cars. No cops!
Where to begin? Saturday we skipped the long line; I had purchased tickets beforehand so we got in before the crowds.
You read that right.
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in #206 Peony
Pattern: None
Hook: US0 / 2.5mm
I used to keep the iPod in a sock and get snarky comments from everybody, so now I expect to get some oohs and aahs instead. I crocheted this in a couple of days this week using the only hook that was around; gauge somehow didn't occur to me because I just fitted the case whenever I needed to. The top flap/pouch holds the earbuds and folds down. I need to get some pink grosgrain ribbon to tie the cozy closed. (Oh, and 1824 Cotton was discontinued just last month until a reliable supply can be found. Go to the link above to read more.)
I don't know a lot of crocheters, probably just my mom and BF's mom (she of the delicately crocheted handkerchiefs). My mom crocheted a lot when we were young, so I learned from her. It wasn't that hard since I'm a visual learner; being left-handed, though, everything I did was a mirror image of what she did. I ought to show some of the beautiful things she's crocheted. She used to crochet shawls back in the early 80s, with delicate mesh and popcorns and pineapples and fringe. She's crocheted a few lacy scarves from me but what I really want is the shawl.
My mom has been using any kind of yarn she can get her hands on... you know where I'm getting at! I've taken her a couple of times to the LYS to take a look at the goods, and while she's fingered them she always says to me, "Why are they so expensive?" I used to say that quite a bit when I first started going, and while I still think they are, I recognize the quality and value of a soft, spongy, springy yarn made of natural fiber. I just made up my mind to get her some Classic Elite Lush (one of the yarns she loved); maybe that will break the acrylic cycle!
Reading: Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Finished Donna Tartt's The Secret History last night. One of the reviews called it "an accomplished psychological thriller", which is far from the truth. What do these reviewers do, read a 20-page section? It was, in fact, more like John Knowles' A Separate Peace, not quite, but definitely not a thriller. I gotta go back to the library soon for more books.
The Gigapxl Project Check out the climbers on Half Dome from 2.5 miles away; the boy on Bixby Bridge at Big Sur; the Tyvek panels going up on a building in San Diego. All photos were taken from 2.5 miles away with a really powerful camera. That. Detail. Is. Incredible.
Organic HTML This flash site grows a flower for every url you type in. It's pretty cool. A co-worker says the flash script takes the html for the particular page and analyzes its code. It builds the flower from the code. How? Probably by assigning flower parts to pieces of code, so a .gif file may be leaves; a .jpg file may be petals, etc. So mine is mostly greys and greens. Amazon.com's was quite colorful. Try yours and see.
Well, almost. The sleeves were knit last week. I knit my first sleeve 2 inches (5 cm) too long, so I had to frog those 8 rows before the shoulder shaping. Frog. Mohair. *sigh* You can imagine my pain. I've knitted the neckband into place and seamed the shoulders with the yarn. All that's left is to attach the sleeves and sew up the sleeve and side seams. That will have to wait until Monday when I have an opportunity to drop by a craft store for color-matched embroidery floss, which Emily recommends. No kidding. When I had to unravel one of my seams I almost tossed the pile in frustration. I had to take a break from the green fluffmonster tonight; Stitches West or no, I have to have some time to do other things!
Like, catching up on blogreading! Via Kottke: Getting a cell phone for your dog. Yes, your dog. Via Flickr: Turn any iPod into an iPod Shuffle. And via Fussy: The Bible illustrated in Legos. Enjoy!
Reading: The Secret History by Donna Tartt, recommended by Shobhana. It's been compared to A Separate Peace by John Knowles, so it should be interesting. I'm at the point where Richard finds out that Bunny likes to take people out to eat on their tab. I finished A Deepness In The Sky by Vernor Vinge. I have to say that the sequel was not as ...interesting... as the original. I also finished Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. It was slated to be a later read, but it was due at the library. Interesting story, lots of intertwining storylines. Thanks everyone for your recommendations!
