Geez, how many times is Law and Order on in one day?

I had a gloriously uneventful weekend, no plans, so hubby and I got lots of house and yard work done, and I got to knit a lot. Especially on Saturday. There were a couple of times when Mr. Goodkarma came upstairs and noticed that I was watching Law and Order and knitting. After a few hours, he huffed, "geez, how many times is this show on in one day???" Come on! You know it's a great show to knit to! All that snappy dialogue is great for those times when I have to look down and just listen. And besides, I *finally* finished the back of Lucky. Here it is in its unblocked and side-curly glory:

Binding off Lucky's back felt like hitting a major milestone. Lucky is not a quick knit in any stretch of the imagination. The fabric that elann's Baby Cashmere is creating is soooo yummy. I can't wait to wear this. And the rich teal peacock color is so beautiful... hard to photograph, though.






In sad knitty news, one of my coworkers' mothers passed away recently, and I found this little bundle on my desk the other day with a note asking if I could use some of her knitting needles:

Of course I accepted, and then later remembered how much more I love using circs than straights. So if anyone out there is fascinated by vintage pink packaging and aluminum 14" straights the remaining pair of #5 vintage aluminum 14" straights, sans packaging, let me know. Our dear friend, Grumperina, who really isn't grumpy at all, in my opinion, was the first to respond to my offer. There's also an interesting wooden pair of #35s that I will probably hold on to for now, just because I don't have anything nearly this size and I might want to knit a scarf for Shaq someday. haha!


Finally, I submitted to the Cotton Ease craze a few days ago. Here's what happened:
1. I saw this Scoop Du Jour pattern by Bonne Marie.
2. I saw a picture of the pattern, knitted up modeled by Heidi in Vanilla Cotton Ease (she's started her own in Manos and is hosting a KAL, too!) and thought, wow, that looks so cute and comfy on her.
3. I started hearing about Cotton Ease being discontinued, and folks were going out of their way to buy up whatever they could get their hands on.
4. Even though I usually go for natural fibers -- even way before I became a knitter -- I suddenly HAD to have 6 skeins of Cotton Ease.

Isn't it funny how we suddenly want something we never wanted before, just because others want it and it's not going to be easy to get anymore?

I picked up Blue Popsical (sic), mostly because it was one of the only colors the local Joann had that wasn't a (as Jodi says) sucky baby color. It's really intensely turquoisy summery blue:



I figure, the Rowan All Seasons Cotton I got for my Rebecca Aprikot Jacke is a cotton acrylic blend, this is similar but cheaper, no? So we'll see how I like it after all!

Finally, I got my color card in the mail from Zipperstop. I need to order zippers for my Ribby Cardi and my Mariah; I figured I might as well pay for a color card to have on hand for all the future cardis I'm going to knit, right?

Book Reviews

I've checked out three books from the library recently; here are my impressions:

Vogue Knitting On the Go: Socks Two:

Vogue Knitting books always have well illustrated tips/how-to sections, and this one includes tips on short-row turns, kitchener stitch, etc. The patterns are good, nothing really caught my eye enough to buy the book, but it's a good book for someone who wants some cute basic patterns, maybe good for beginners, too.

The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook; Dyeing, Painting, Spinning, Designing, Knitting: It's obvious that the women who created this book are a) very skilled artisans and b) are from Eugene, Oregon.

a) very skilled artisans: The book is divided into three sections:
1. color and dying
2. from fiber to yarn
3. knitting socks
So you're getting a lot of bang for your buck if you buy this book, if these are things you're interested in reading... There's good info here about dying and fibers that was interesting to read, even though I'm not going to do it. The resulting socks are:

b) obviously from Eugene, Oregon. Okay, so the author lives in Virginia. The socks in this book are very hippy-dippy, wear with your Birks to a Dead (Phish?) concert after the Farmers Market sort of look. The Twisted Sisters are a bunch of women who come together in Eugene to spin, dye, knit and wear colorful, gorgeous socks with their Birkenstocks. The patterns are great, there are discussions about knit as you go heels vs. afterthought heels, etc. There's even a pattern for toe socks! You know, like foot gloves! :) My mom had a stripey pair in the late 70s or early 80s that I remember fondly.

Knitting On the Road by Nancy Bush, is last, but sooo not least.

Let's just say I fell in love with this book and I don't really want to return it to the library, except that some previous borrower let their 3 year old scribble on a page or two and so, of course, I NEED to buy my own, pristine copy.

This book has a hard cover with a spiral binding. So it's going to stay open, nice and flat, to the page you're working with, without any creases or bending. The shape is long and narrow, so if you really were Knitting on the Road, it would easily fit into your backpack or carry-on luggage. (Nancy Bush even includes a photo of her knitterly backpack.)

The patterns are superior, or at least they are presented beautifully. There are patterns inspired by everywhere from Whidby Island (not far from where I live!) to Scandinavia and all sorts of places inbetween. These are finally socks that I could imagine myself and Mr. Goodkarma wearing.

The book also includes a good list of sock yarns, including info about fiber, gauge, yardage, manufacturer, etc., so that yarn subs can easily be made. Without having knit any of these patterns, I can say I've definitely found a sock book that I want to own!

goodkarma... go?

No one has asked me about my blog's title, but I thought I'd tell about it anyway. The "go" part points to my love of travel. When I started this blog, I imagined it to be a place where I would document my travel experiences, but it soon turned into a knit blog instead.

Here's a snap I took in Kolkata ("Calcutta"), India. This is the only city in India where foot powered rickshaws are still allowed. (In other regions, bicycle rickshaws or "auto" rickshaws (motorized) are very common.) This man just seemed like a relic of an older time, still plugging along, trying to make ends meet, living life harder and faster than any of us can imagine.

goodkarma

Mariah Update

I feel bad; Mariah has been sitting in my knitting bag because I'm worried about how the yoke will fit. Lots of people are having issues with the stitch/row counts and the neckline shaping, etc... I guess I just didn't want to deal with any of that.

I just pinned Mariah's side & sleeve seams together and tried her on. Even though I still had my circular needle through the top live rows, I was able to visualize how things were going and SHE LOOKS HOT! OOow baby! Paris would say, "that's hawt." Anyway, it's quite the fitted number and looks a lot like Jodi's does in the picture on Knitty. I've finished the prescribed number of rows (as per the pattern) but it's not quite high enough on my shoulder/chest. Probably my row gauge is different from Jodi's was, too. So I'm going to just keep knitting the yoke and decreasing at the front/sleeve/backs for another 4 inches or so.

I'm still debating on hood vs. collar. Arg. Can't decide. Will have to keep thinking about it.

The Elann Peruvian Highland wool is quite dense and very warm. Nice to be finishing it up right in time for spring, eh? haha :)

Sunday Evening Blues

Here I am, Sunday night, with barely any knitting progress to show for my week (or other random productivity, for that matter), and facing Monday morning with a pout. I was barely home all week! Didn't get enough sleep! Didn't knit much at all! Waaah! I did get a few more inches done on Lucky's back, but that's about it.

I have to share a couple of things that I did do this extra busy busy week. On Wednesday night I went to Teatro ZinZanni with a dozen ladies I work with. If you live in (or visit) Seattle or San Francisco, this is a real treat. It's basically dinner theater or cabaret in a big "tent" and while you are served fantastic courses, a whole staff of acrobats, singers, comedians, jugglers, tumblers, etc. pose as the wait staff and entertain you all night. It was a hoot to be there with girlies from work. Martha Davis of The Motels is currently a guest... that voice is instantly recognizable!


Thursday night I hung out with sisters and niecey, she's so stinking entertaining at 14 months, you just wouldn't believe it.


Friday we had an event in the evening at school... let's say it was 70 degrees and gorgeous in Seattle and it was *really* hard to be there! So afterward, about 5 of us went to a neighborhood pub and made up for the sorrows and stresses of the week. I found out, for the second time this month, that I am a serious Lightweight Cheap Date who can't handle her booze. I had two pints of hard cider over 3-4 hours and was totally goofy. And had a headache the next day. Bah!

Here's hoping that the week to come will have more time for knitting and other homey pursuits.

goodkarma

p.s. I would love to learn how to write pop-up windows for my bloggity blog. I'd also love to learn how to write pop-up slide-shows, a la fluffa!. Does anyone know of decent tutorials for learning these skills? I have a feeling that they're really simple and I just don't know how. Spanks!

Kickboxing and Socks

Busy, busy day. I have a student teacher who is very eager and wanting to do well, which is fantastic, but it takes a little more energy on TOP of the energy it takes to actually do my job. Whew.

So it was really nice when the library notified me that some knitting books that I'd requested had come in!



I've been trying to take advantage of my library tax dollars lately (can you say stacked iPod?) and thought I'd preview some knitting books before buying them. Lately, I'm interested in socks.

I also got a Kathy Smith Kickboxing DVD. Gotta sweat regularly to counteract the couch/knitting time, eh? I like Kathy Smith. I have this one on VHS but our VCR isn't connected right now... Mr. Goodkarma has set up some elaborate media connections that are so complex, he doesn't even know (want to deal with?) how to connect the VCR. Riiiiiiight.

And then I checked my email and received this message from Daily Knitter, a site that I stumbled upon just days ago:

Hi Good Karma -

 One of our readers recommended your blog. Great site!

 Have you visited the Daily Knitter?  http://www.DailyKnitter.com

 And if you are interested in adding a link to our site from yours, we are offering a giveaway right now. On May 20, 2005, we will randomly select a linked site to win three skeins of yarn. To enter, email us with a link to the appropriate webpage.

Sincerely,

Corinne
The Daily Knitter
http://www.DailyKnitter.com

How sweet is that? Someone recommended my young little blog. Wow. Now I feel like I'd better get some knitting done so I'll have something quality to write about. I ripped a few pattern repeats back on Lucky the other night. I'm back up to where I was and then some. I found out the hard way that Lucky isn't the best portable project after all. Once I got flowing, I got cocky about how easy the lace pattern was, and brought Lucky to work with me. Unfortunately, I have a very short lunch break and only got in a couple of rows at a time. Lucky is better to work on when you have a good hour (or more!) to *really* flow! Like right now!!

Lovely Little Earthworms!

The sun finally shone here in Seattle, it's been a lovely afternoon, so Mr. Goodkarma and I spent a few hours or so pulling weeds and digging in the dirt. I've kind of been dreading it, because we have loads of weeds, but it was actually nice and meditative. I met several nice, fat earthworms and got some exercise.

But here comes the good part:

Oh lovely Avobath. Ahhhh... my husband destroyed my gardening gloves, so my hands are disgusting. I bought two new pair today in women's size SMALL, so he wouldn't be able to use them even if he wanted to. So Avobath, here I come. I'm going to go soak in the tub for a looooong time and scrub my hands back into shape at the same time. I think I'll do a Mask of Magnaminty as well. Can't wait!

A couple of people have asked how much Koigu I used for the Berry Baby Booties. I used about half a skein per pair. I'm confident that I would be able to two pair from a skein, using that pattern.

I Heart Kitchener Stitch!

Yeah! I actually finished something! I've been admitting to myself that I have a teensy problem with starting projects and not totally finishing them. Unless it's a small giftie that has a deadline, then I'm your girl. We're having a double baby shower this week for two of my coworkers. I made these booties for them, inspired by Fig and Plum's Sheik Yerbouti post. Clearly, I used a different pattern, but the idea came from her. Mine have a garter stitch sole. The pattern I used also calls for a garter stitch cuff at the top, but I opted for stockinette stitch so they would roll. Thanks for the inspiration, Jessica!

Sydney's Blackberry Booties and Gracen's Blueberry Booties
Pattern: Free Circular Seamless Baby Bootees
Yarn: Koigu P#408 (Blackberry), P#124 (Blueberry); 100% merino
Needles: #2 Brittany Birch DPN
What did I learn? This was my first use of kitchener stitch, the miracle stitch! Yay! I also learned that Koigu PPPM is dangerously gorgeous and fun to knit with. This will certainly not be my last dance with Koigu.


Another view of the Koigu for these projects.

Postman Delivers Summer 2005 IK

How did the next IK come out so soon? Didn't we just get the spring one? Can you tell I'm a little manic about all the projects I've started and all the projects I'm dreaming about? haha!

Fortunately, sadly, howeverly, there really aren't any patterns I *must* knit. There are some cute cami tops but they're not bra friendly, so they're also not goodkarma friendly. And what's with ALL THE SHRUGS lately? Go see Girl From Auntie for a good explanation of why shrugs are not flattering for many women.

I promise to have some good product to show you v. soon. I finished Sydney's booties and am halfway done with Gracen's.

So I take it back. There were a few things I like in IW Summer 2005: all the cute baby gifties, since you know I'm in the Baby Vortex right now, and the Go With the Flow Socks. I have big feet, though, so size 7-8 prolly wouldn't fit and I don't know if I want to deal with re-engineering socks. Will keep them in mind, though, for smaller footed friends.

Ciao, dahlings.

Red Sweater Project

Please check out the Red Sweater Project.

Even if your political views don't match the organizer's, the story about how she started the project is interesting; she was inspired by WWI and WWII sock knitters who wanted to do something for the troops.

This is the first time I've wanted to buy Red Heart yarn since I was 8-10 years old and my mom was making enormous crocheted afghans (c. 1980).

Seattle Lullaby

It's late and I'm sleepy, but enjoying the rhythmic sound of the rain hitting my roof and my window. I could listen to that sound every night for the rest of my life.

No matter how many people move to Seattle for tech jobs and end up opening new Pho restaurants, I love my hometown and love that I know its nuances and streets and rain as if it were a member of my family.

'night.

Happy Knitterversary to Me!

Yay me! One year ago today, I bought my first skeins of Lamb's Pride to make my first (very tightly knit) garter stitch scarf. The year has gone by so quickly! And in that time, of course I've become completely obsessed. And I usually knit to gauge. I remember how stinking tight I knit at the beginning... that first scarf is stiff! haha

I spent the day in a knitterly way so far. I let myself be hypnotized by my loverly Mac as I surfed knitting blogs and the Knittyboard. Then, my SNB met today at a local coffee shop. I'd love to say that I got a lot done on Lucky, but mostly I chatted with my knitty friends about projects and travel. Which was nice and relaxing. Besides, I have all week (didn't I tell you? I'm on Spring Break!) to wrap up some of my nearly done projects. After SNB, I went to Seattle Yarn Gallery (the scene of the crime one year ago!) (they still don't have the new Rebecca! WTF? Other peeps out there are already finished with projects from Rebecca #29! Grrr...) and bought a couple of skeins of Koigu KPPPM to make baby booties for the shower coming up. I'm trying to decide if I want to get another set of addi turbos and do the socks on two circs thing.

Blueberry for little Mr. Gracen, Blackberry for little Miss Sydney

Last night, Mr. Goodkarma and I watched Vera Drake. Vera's daughter knits in one scene (or at least holds a ball of yarn and some needles...). If you haven't seen it yet, you really should. I just read that none of the actors, except the woman playing Vera, knew that the film was about abortion until their characters did. That's such an interesting (and successful, in my opinion) strategy for the actors and director. It became so engrossing toward the end that I just let Mariah fall into my lap and I was 100% into the storyline. Speaking of which, I only have about 6-8 rows left to do on Mariah's yoke and then I'll try it on, see how it looks, and decide what to do from there. Lots of Mariah knitalongers are having issues with the yoke/neckline/hood and I need to decide if I want a hood or a ribbed collar.

Welp, I think I'll wrap up my Knitterversary by winding my Koigu into balls (heh heh, she said, "balls") and picking up where I left off on Mariah.

Have a good week, everyone!

What Kind of Yarn Are You?

You are Merino Wool.
You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to
keep you close because you are so softhearted.
You love to be comfortable and warm from your
head to your toes.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

New Spring Knitty

Now this is what I call a great magazine. Oftentimes, I'll buy a magazine and end up only truly liking and wanting to knit one design. Here's a free magazine with more than a few things I really, really want to make, plus tons of fab articles (especially Jenna Wilson's article about choosing the correct size, which has been my biggest concern when knitting for myself) that will really help improve my knitting skills. And what's up with Kristi Porter's sculpted back? Holy cow! What a hottie!

I like the issue so much that I came home tonight and knit a few more rows of Mariah's yoke. It's grey and rainy here in Seattle, so the 100% wool shouldn't be a problem, but my brain is soooo on Spring Break, and I really want to move on to more springy knits.

Did someone say Spring Break? Oh yeah, baby, Spring Break starts tomorrow at 3:10 when I send the munchkins home to their families for the next week! Woohoo! Knitting galore! Oh. I guess I have to do some housework and weeding and stuff, too. But I'll get to knit!

I just placed a hold at the library on 50 Baby Bootees to Knit because I keep going back to Jessica's Sheik Yerbouti post. Since I've fallen into The Baby Vortex over the past few years (nearly EVERY one of my girlfriends has a baby somewhere in the 0-4 year old zone), I'm always on the lookout for knitted cuteness. I think I'll make up a couple pairs of booties for a double baby shower later this month for colleagues. Whew.

Vogue Knitting Spring 05

I picked up a copy of the new Vogue Knitting this week. Here's a site that has preview pictures of each of the projects. There are some interesting ones, but this short sleeved slipped/wrapped waisted top is the only one I could see myself wearing. In a really rich deep turquoise or sapphire color. Ooh la la.

Progress Report

It's been a long week since I last posted. I got over a disgusting cold/flu thing, worked on my students' report cards, went to the annual Sock Hop at school, went to a 1st birthday party, visited a friend and her 2 week old baby girl on Vashon Island, saw Meet the Fockers at The Admiral, etc. etc! Loads of work and socializing, not a lot of time for knitting. However, I do have something to share, including a dirty little secret.

First up, progress on my Ribby Cardi. This poor little guy was put on hold as I started Mariah and then Lucky. I had it all seamed up except for setting in the sleeves and knitting up the collar, and just kind of put it aside. Why? My husband keeps asking me why I start new projects when I have some that aren't finished yet. I've definitely become a *process* knitter, too excited by all the projects I want to make to finish up the ones I've started. I know, I know, my mother would give me that look. So last Sunday, while feeling quite flu-y, I camped out on the couch, watched Steel Magnolias, and got 'er done. Ribby still needs a zipper and some ends to be woven in. This picture makes her Aubergine sleeves look quite dark. Also, I realized after all my seaming that I stretched the ribbing too much when I blocked it originally, so it turned out a bit boxy. I'll be reblocking Ribby this week before getting a zipper. Soon, I hope to post a finished-and-modeled pic!

Here's my progress on Mariah. I've got about 4" of the yoke finished. At this point, I'm finally starting to feel like the rows are getting shorter. Whew! And what's that safety pin doing there, right near the raglan decrease line? Well.... after doing many, many rounds of the yoke, I noticed that I'd dropped a stitch right near the decreases. ACK! There was no way I was going to frog back thousands of stitches. I'm going to carry it back up as far as I can with my crochet hook and then tack it into place on the backside, carefully. I suppose a more dedicated or perfectionistic knitter would have ripped back the two or three inches (we're talking over 300 stitches per row), but not me. I am determined to make it work.

Next, I've been plugging away at Lucky now and then. It's the best project I have right now for portability, so it comes to work with me for lunchtime stitching. It's good to have different projects going at once, especially if they're at different gauges so your hands don't get bored! I've got 6" of the back piece done. That's all. But for a busy week, I'm satisfied with what I was able to accomplish.

Finally, here's my dirty little secret. I've had this Surplice Cardi on my "Current Projects" sidebar for months. I started it in October on a train ride to Portland, and of course it's been *this* close to wearable for months and months. The original pattern called for 3/4 sleeves, and I lengthened them to full length sleeves... in fact, I went overboard and need to rip back some length! I need to reblock it, too, though, and that's just not as exciting as the cables of Mariah or the clover lace pattern of Lucky, so it's been sitting in my knitting basket for all this time. Poor thing. Also, I hate the thin crocheted ties prescribed by the pattern, so I want to take the sweater out on the town with me and find a nice ribbon replacement. By the way, the color here is really flashified (washed out). Lichen Cascade Lana d'Oro is a really rich olivey foresty color. It's heavenly to work with, too!!

Finally, I leave you with a little something cheerful and springy from my back deck. It's impossible to be gloomy when these happy daffs are smiling at you! Have a great week, everyone!




.

Show and Tell!

I've spotted a couple of goodkarma pieces around town and I thought I'd share...

First up, we have a lovely picture of my sis, bro in law and niecie Alyssa at bro in law's swearing-in ceremony for the police department. We are all so proud of him! And then we notice that niecie is wearing her Christmas pressie! Look at the yummy Karabella Aurora 8 yarn and how it matches her cheeks. Holy cow, I want to pinch them as I type. Lucky for her, she's walking all over the place now, so even if she were here she would be able to run away from auntie.

Then, while I was looking through photos from our school's Lunar New Year Multicultural Parade, I noticed that Luna was wearing her Haiku! Here she is with her gorgeous mama.

So, okay, neither sweaters fit their intended lovlies just yet, but they're growing so stinking fast that the next time I try to get a picture, the sweaters will be too small.

More sharing to come this weekend, I promise. I have a yucky cold and all I want to do is stay in and knit. I'm a bit stalled on Mariah (want to re-check my math before I get too deep into the yoke), so have got a bit of progress going on Lucky.

You Must Be Yoking!

This has been a really sucky week. I'm a teacher in the public school system and we've been having yucky, horrible budget talks all week, which have been stressful, emotional, and frustrating.

Although much of my stress was relieved with great workouts, I can almost scientifically attest to the wonders of therapeutic knitting. Exhibit A: Mariah. In the past week, I've finished up all of the pieces, connected them, and knit a couple of inches of the yoke. Much of this was done during American Idol (Why did Mario have to drop out?!), I must admit, and various and sundry DVDs, thanks to Netflix.

So far, this has been a really interesting project. I've become very comfortable with the cabling pattern and doing it without a cable needle. It's the first project I've done like this, knitting the pieces from the bottom up and then connecting and knitting the yoke as one. At first, each of those rounds felt like it was 8 miles long (and the thing weighs 50 pounds!), but the raglan decreases are helping to speed things up, I promise. I hope to finish the yoke this week and then I'll have to make a decision about the hood. Do I want a hood? Do I want a collar? I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I Am!

I also cast on Lucky and have knit the ribbing for the back. That's all. I really want to finish up some of my other projects before starting something new, but all of them are so ginormous that they're not practical for bringing places, like awful budget meetings.

So I bring you my lovely friends, Julian and Lennon. They make me happy when skies are grey. Truly. They follow me around the house -- well, Julian does -- and we have kitty conversations. Meow? Meow!

Julian says, "Hey, mom, put that camera away
and play ribbon tag with me some more!"

Lennon says, "Hey, why ya gotta wake me up?"

I'm sure this week will be better!

The Manolo No-Poncho Pledge

Oh yes. I do swear. I will nevah nevah be seduced by the poncho.

Baby Cashmere

I just noticed that elann has more Baby Cashmere.

The peacock color I'm using is more of a blue teal; on this page it looks more greeny.

I feel Lucky tonight.

I think I'm suffering from Start-itis.

Ever since the Lucky Along started and everyone began talking about the pattern, showing their pictures, etc., I've been eyeballing those 18 balls of Peacock Baby Cashmere set aside for my own Lucky.

I swatched tonight. The pattern calls for #3 (3mm) needles. My #3 (addi turbo) needles are 3.25mm. So I gave 'em a try. It felt loose and baggy, like the way your fat jeans feel on you after you've lost a bunch of weight. So I switched to my #2 (3mm) addis... so amazing what a difference .25mm made! That felt much better.

Lace pattern? Fun! Baby cashmere? Delicious! It's so soft and yummy, I want to kiss it. I think my husband would give me weird looks though. Ah, what's new?

Here's a scan of my swatchie.
The top part is knit with the better fitting #2 addi. Too bad the scanner doesn't fully appreciate the beautiful color of this yarn. It's more of a dark teal, hence the name (Peacock). That's okay, my digi camera understands my sense of color much better and I'll take photos later as I progress.

Mariah Progress Report

You know that part in the sleeve pattern when you take a break from cables for a few rows and then increase and start cabling again? Well, that part with the multiple increases always gets me. I have to be *really* paying attention or I have to rip back and try again because I goofed up and didn't increase enough times. That's the only part of the whole graph that's still challenging for me.

But sleeve #1 is almost ready to be put on a holder... then all I have left to do is sleeve #2 before I connect all the pieces and knit the yoke! Yeah!

New Magknits Is Here!

Well, I'm going to have to make one of these t-shirts, because I am a Fitted T-shirt Freak. Yes, with caps. Besides, the designer, Alison Hansel, really knows her stuff, so I'm sure it's a well written pattern.

If I weren't so boobilicious, I'd make Cold Shoulder, too, cause it's super cute and it's by another awesome designer, Stepanie Japel. Alas, me sans brassiere is skay-ree. I fully dig the shaped hemline, though. Maybe I can just make it into a Warm Shoulder? heh heh.

Back to the needles!

All Quiet on the Knitty Front

Woah. I just looked up and realized I haven't blogged for over a week. I've been busy busy. Mr. Goodkarma and I went to a Valentine's dinner and dance. Aww, mwah! We had a fun time. This was our 7th Valentine's Day together, hard to believe but true.


Last weekend we hung out with lots of different friends. It was a jam packed socializing weekend. I think I might be Lolly's sistah from anothah mothah; never met the gal but I also went bowling last weekend... which is interesting because I go about twice a decade. This time we had a lot of fun -- we went to Leilani Lanes in Greenwood where they were playing loud 80's music the whole time! -- and I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime sooner.

I went to visit this sweetie of Snuggly Anya fame. She lives in Eugene with her mom and dad and I spent a few days with them. We had a great time! Let me tell you, Eugene has great food! Yummy pastries! And I got a facial. Much needed. These are the tips I was given to follow:
1. Stop washing my face with hot water.
2. Stop using cheapo St. Yves scrub. It has SQUARE molecules. Who knew?
3. Stop moisturizing my nose. It's a big ole oil gland and adding moisturizer = black heads. Eww.

I've also been working on Mariah. I even have proof. Here's the back (bunched up on a stitch holder), left front and a sleeve:



And a close-up of the sleeve, just 'cause it looks so groovy:



I'm really enjoying the pattern. It took me a little while to get used to the sleeve's center cabling pattern but now it feels much more rhythmic and natural. And I'm doing this whole project without a cable needle. That's rad. Oops, no one says that anymore. I must've spent too much time at 80's bowling.

New Interweave Knits Hits the Mailbox

Just received the new Spring 05 IWK in the mailbox today. I liked a few patterns, especially this Vintage Pink Cardigan by Norah Gaughan. As I finish up a couple of worsted weight, wooly, casual, sporty projects, I feel like choosing more feminine projects. This is so pretty, like some of the designs that I like from Vintage Knits.

Socks... I want to make socks, and I noticed that Liz was making these Cable Rib Socks, which definitely appeal to me. I haven't made socks yet. I started making Elann's plain toe-up socks for Mr. Goodkarma for Christmas, but didn't get very far and kind of put them aside. I guess I'm a selfish knitter.

Something about this Wear Everywhere Pullover appeals to me, too, and I think it's the fittedness of it and the interesting ribbing. But is it special enough to want to spend a month of my time on? Hm. Maybe! It could be really flattering.


Finally, I'm not sure if I like this Border on the Extravagant jacket or not. Tweed is so "it" right now, and this does fit in with my femmy category. But I'm not a big fan of novelty yarns. And would it look frumpy on me? Hmm. Enquiring minds want to know.

My project list is a mile long as it is!

So Lucky Together

Lolly just started a Lucky-A-Long. I'm so excited! I bought elann's Baby Cashmere for this a month or two ago, which was smart, 'cause it's all gone now. The KAL starts officially March 1. I wonder if I'll be done with Mariah in time?

The Verdict Is In

Had jury duty yesterday. Was supposed to have it for two days (at least), but the case I was called up for was settled out of court. So, since we sat all day long waiting for something to happen, and nothing did, they said we could go home and not come back!

So I'm in a Perry Mason sort of mode. While I was there, I got a good start on Mariah and really was on a roll with the cabled ribbing. At first, I wasn't sure I'd chosen the right yarn. I'm using elann's Peruvian Highland Wool in Chocolate Truffle. Now, I love this yarn, but I thought the dark color (and it's a little bit heathery) would mask the cables too much.

After much deliberation and cross-exam-cable-ation, the verdict is in: the yarn has been deemed not guilty of cable obfuscation of the first degree. I think it's going to be luscious!!

There's one other good thing about going to jury duty. It was in Kent. Which is a suburb that you would never actually want to go to, maybe just pass through. But when I had The Longest Lunch Break Known To Man, I started walking around what they call "downtown Kent" (ha!) and quickly stumbled upon Pastimes, a gorgeous new yarn shop I had been meaning to find, but as I mentioned, no one really goes to Kent. This shop is fabulous. Lots of high end pretty luxurious stuff. Miles of Noro. Fabulously friendly staff. Lots of windows = natural light galore. Wooden cabinets filled with yarn, arranged beautifully. You should go there! At least drool on their website!

Casting-on Mariah

I just cast-on my first Mariah sleeve and Wendy's description of cabling without a needle, complete with wonderful pictures, has been indispensable.

I heart the internet!

New Kid on the Block

Guess what?



That's what!

Ribby Cardi is blocking now and boy, oh boy, am I excited to be close to the finish line. The pattern was so well written! The Peruvian Highland Wool handled and blocked so fabulously! Can't wait to see it on.

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Lasagna

Mr. Goodkarma and I had a little dinner party tonight with two other couples. We had a great time! Lots of wine, laughs, and really good eats.

You must try this recipe. Dee-lish!

Feliz Cumpleano, Querida Luna!

Yeah! Luna's Haiku is finished and delivered. Today was her 1st birthday, the sweet thing!

Pattern Source: Knitty.com Haiku by Kristi Porter
Yarn: Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece in Cherry Moon

I loved this pattern. I loved this yarn. The drape, the stitch definition, yum. I'll be making more of these for future bambinis. My only problem was the buttons. It was hard to find something that would go well with this color, even though I was really looking for something whimsical, like Fimo buttons or something cute and child-like. I ended up with Austrian silver buttons that I think look pretty.



Show and Tell

Napoleon Dynamite Rocks!

I laughed so hard. I cried during Pedro's presidential skit. Gimme some of your tots!


Deb


Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
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Adrienne Vittadini Shawl Collar

My project list is getting pretty long. Which can be a good thing, until the next new magazine comes out and I start dreaming of more and more projects... Like this sweater from the new Vogue Knitting Winter 2004, designed by Adrienne Vittadini:



As soon as I saw it, I wanted to make it. Now, what do you think, would it work well in Cascade Lana d'Oro? I have a bag of it in purple that I've been holding on to, waiting for the right project to come along. It's so soft and lux. Yum...

Finished Object Envy

So I'm cruising along on my Ribby Cardi, to the point where I have only half a sleeve to finish, when I realize that I MUST make this darling Haiku sweater for my coworker's daughter, Luna, who is about to turn one.

The sweater is fun, knits up quickly, and the instructions are refreshing: it's written for any gauge, so you have to do a little math, and it's knit from side to side. Nice diversion.

Except that at the Ribby Cardi KAL, everyone's making such good progress that I'm dying to get back to my Aubergine sleeve.

I hope to make Haiku's sleeves today and tomorrow during American Idol!! I do have vices, okay? :)

Random Shuffle

What's on your iPod? Random Shuffle ala Fig & Plum.

The rules:
1. Open up the music player on your computer.
2. Set it to play your entire music collection.
3. Hit the "shuffle" command.
4. Tell us the title of the next ten songs that show up (with their musicians), no matter how embarrassing. That's right, no skipping that Carpenters tune that will totally destroy your hip credibility. It's time for total musical honesty. Write it up in your blog or journal and link back to at least a couple of the other sites where you saw this.
5. If you get the same artist twice, you may skip the second (or third, or etc.) occurances. You don't have to, but since randomness could mean you end up with a list of ten songs with five artists, you can if you'd like.


1. Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) - Digable Planets, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
2. Political Life - Richard Robbins & Zakir Hussain, The Mystic Masseur Soundtrack
3. Heaven Help - Lenny Kravitz, Greatest Hits
4. Fuse Box - The Unknown, Monsoon Wedding Soundtrack
5. Mommy Daddy You and I - Talking Heads, Naked
6. Believe - Franka Potente, Run Lola Run Soundtrack
7. Every Ghetto Every City - Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
8. Indie Rock And Roll - The Killers, Hot Fuss
9. Beat on the Brat - U2, We're a Happy Family, a Tribute to Ramones
10. Una Notte A Napoli - Pink Martini, Hang on Little Tomato

Happy Birthday, Falfy!

This is a felted bag I made in June for my dear friend Valerie, the friend who finally taught me how to knit this past spring. It's the first thing I made that wasn't a scarf, my first felted thing, my first knitted gift. I thought it was fitting that such a gift should go to the one who made it all possible! I made it in her favorite colors.

And it was with this project with which I learned I was twisting my k stitches! Fortunately, the felting left no traces of twisting and I re-learned how to knit right afterward. Such a good learning experience.

The leather handles were interesting... I bought the leather from MacPherson's in Seattle and then hunted around for a shoerepairman who would stitch them on for a reasonable rate. It ended up costing almost as much as the yarn did, so it was an expensive beginner's project. But that's okay! It felt good to make and give something handmade.



Bon Voyage Shopping Tote by Leigh Radford
Interweave Knits, Summer 2002
Lamb's Pride, Brown Sheep Worsted
Finished June 2004

Snuggly Anya

Awww.

This fall, I made this Snuggly Baby Hat for my dear friend Andria's baby. Anya was finally born on December 5, so I just got this sweet picture in my mailbox today. This was my first lace project.



Pattern Source: Interweave Knits, Summer 2004
Yarn: Dalegarn Baby Ull 100% washable wool,
Color: Lavender #5303
Needles: #2 birch DPN (aka Toothpicks!)

Ribby Cardi Has Begun!

Hey! The Ribby Cardi Along has begun!



I'm using Summer Sky as the MC and Aubergine as the CC. I got perfect gauge right away with my Addi Turbos, thank goodness. I love love love those needles.

Alyssa's Vogue Baby Basic

Well, it's about time this place became a knitting blog! I've got some FO that I can share now, including this sweetness for my niecie:



Pattern Source: Vogue Beginner Basics, Baby Basic
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 Ply
Colors: Pink Heather and off white

This yarn is so scrumptious, I couldn't believe I was giving it away to someone else to wear. Someday, when I'm rich, I'll buy enough to make a sweater for me.

I (re)learned how to crochet; haven't done that since I was a kid. Also learned how to make buttonholes... with a crocheted trim that is very simple.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Show And Tell

What Kind of Girl Are You?

I am Progressive Girl Click on the picture below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Imagine that the Girl Next Door moved to the big city. Think of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. She's America's sweetheart with an urban sensibility. She's a post-Christian spiritualist, a pre-Monica Clintonite, and a dues-paying member of at least one social-change organization like NOW, Planned Parenthood, or the Sierra Club. You won't find her at an Earth First or PETA meeting, though. Those are the Granola Girl's stomping grounds. Progressive Girls want the world to be a better place, but they live out their politics in a moderate, left-of-center way.

If you are going to date a Progressive Girl, the one sin you can commit is to be a chameleon. Molding your opinions to fit hers will lose her respect. One very positive thing you can do is offer her new experiences -- the Progressive Girl is fearless about trying new things. Whether it's pluralism, skydiving, Asian peanut sauce, or this book, the Progressive Girl is always looking for new ideas.

She Might Be a Progressive Girl if:
She drives: a small SUV but really wishes it got better mileage; once she can get a good hybrid, she will.


She can talk for more than ten minutes about: just about anything.


She begins her sentences with: "Susan Sarandon says..."


She'd never: pass up the chance for a new experience.


She owns any of the following: a water filter, a tabletop fountain, an acre of rain forest, a mutt from the pound.

I guess I made the right career choice after all...

Take the quiz: "Which Body Part Are You?"

HeArT!
your a kind... and nuturing soul... !! Helping people is what you are best at .. thats why u are the HEART! A career in psycology or teacher is where u should head.. everyone loves to be loved.. share yourself with the world..

Adventures in Yarn

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
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God Bless America.

I am an Intellectual



Which America Hating Minority Are You?

Take More Robert & Tim Quizzes
Watch Robert & Tim Cartoons

Turbo Charged.

Silly me. I created a blog right before leaving for Europe. I have been knitting a lot since then and have fallen in love with Addi Turbos. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I was turbo charged!!


You are "turbo" charged.

What Kind of Knitting Needles Are You?

The Motherland.

During the last couple of years, my mother's cousin and I have been doing research into our family's history. Gerry found out that my great-grandpa Marson (nee Mardesich) emigrated with his mother and sister from Komiza, a town on the isle of Vis, in what is now the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, when he was a young boy. I was invited to a conference in Slovakia this summer and thought it would be the perfect time for someone in our family to return to the motherland and check it out. I had no idea what to expect. Mom decided to make her first overseas trip with me. Here's what we found:



And that's just a view from our hotel room!

We wondered -- ignoring the 90-100F heat, the humidity, the absense of resources and good soil for planting any sort of farm but vineyards, the fact that the only industry at the time was fishing and winemaking -- why would anyone leave??