Everyone Else Is Doing It

I had a dentist appointment on Monday, so I decided to take the day off, take the babe to daycare, and treat myself to my First Ever Day Off Without The Baby. Without Being At Work. It felt so decadent! I adore my little Peanut but it was really good for me to take a breather. I actually did some knitting, yay! I finished reknitting the second sleeve cap for Jemima and started the tubular cast-on ribbing for the front. That's the last piece I have to knit.



Today I broke out my Shawl Collar Pullover and wore it for the first time. My new classroom is C to the HILLY and I'm kicking myself for not having finished more handknit sweaters before becoming a mom. Anyway, I love the way this sweater fits, which is a huge relief because I finished it when I was pregnant and wasn't sure if I'd ever get my bod back to close to its original state. I wore my Rib and Cable socks today, too! I did "show and tell" with my students and told them about my knitting hobby. They were quite impressed (come on, they're eight years old) and thought it was hilarious that I could knit while I read, watch TV, or walk. :) All I know is that I'm quite cozy today and I'm even more excited about someday finishing Jemima, since I'm actually using the shaping from the Shawl Collar Pullover pattern and I just know it's going to fit fabulously.

Oh, and my daughter found her feet last weekend. :) It's the little things that excite me now.

48 things you could care less about...

1. first name? Karma

2. were you named after anyone? No. My parents really were hippies.

3. when did you last cry? Oh, it happens about once a week these days. Being a new mom is truly roller coasterish.

4. do you like your handwriting? Yes, I'm a primary school teacher, so I have pretty neat printing and script.

5. what is your favorite lunchmeat? I've never been much of a meat person but I do love deli sandwiches. Usually go for ham or turkey but I like 'em all.

6. if you were another person would you be friends with you? I believe I would.

7. do you have a journal? Very sporadically.

8. do you still have your tonsils? Yes.

9. would you bungee jump? No.

10. what is your favorite cereal? Any of the Kashis.

11. do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I usually wear clogs, so no.

12. do you think you are strong? I was about to say that I'm emotionally strong but physically weak, until I read Heidi's answer to this question in which she declared that she gave birth without medication this year... YES I am strong!

13. what is your favorite ice cream flavor? That's like asking a mother which is her favorite child. Lately it's Reese's (chocolate ice cream with Reese's chunks) from the local Husky Deli, but I love 'em all.

14. shoe size? 40 or 9.5US

5. red or pink? purple

16. what is the least favorite thing about yourself? Insecurities about my body. It's all mental.

17. who do you miss the most? My kitty, Julian, who died in June.

18. do you want everyone to send this back to you? I think everyone else has already done this one.

19. what color pants, shirt and shoes are you wearing? blue plaid pajama bottoms and blue pj top, no shoes.

20. last thing you ate? Red dragon roll and chicken donburi.

21. what are you listening to right now? Calm Baby CD playing very quietly in Peanut's bedroom as she slumbers.

22. if you were a crayon, what color would you be? I always liked Red Violet.

23. favorite smell? bread baking, my mom's house.

24. who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My brother. I told him we were invited to a cider pressing party today and he said, "So basically you're going to an apple squeezing party." Yeah.

25. the first thing you notice about people you are attracted to? The teeth (worked for a dentist for 9 years before becoming a teacher), the eyes.

26. do you like the person you stole this from? I love you all!

27. favorite drink? Fresh squeezed lemon drop, up, in a martini glass.

28. favorite sport? I like watching basketball.

29. eye color? brown/green

30. hat size? I love the idea of hats but I almost never wear them, so I don't know.

31. do you wear contacts? yes.

32. favorite food? Oh I love food so much... Indian is a big favorite (Saag Paneer, Tikka Masala, etc.) and I could eat good sushi pretty regularly.

33. scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings

35. summer or winter? I love the cheery blue skies of summer but not the heat, I love the coziness of winter but dread the grey Seattle sky for months on end.

36. hugs or kisses? hugs.

37. favorite dessert? warm berry pie or crisp or cobbler with vanilla ice cream

40. what books are you reading? I recently started The Golden Compass; I'm reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle to my class; I read Pajama Time! to my baby last night. Notice the absence of adult materials here...

41. what's on your mouse pad? the earth

42. what did you watch last night on tv? Project Runway (WTF?)

43. favorite sounds? baby babbles

44. the rolling stones or beatles? Beatles

45. the furthest you've been from home? India

46. what's your special talent? People are always telling me how patient I am. That and I can make milk.

47. where were you born? Seattle, Washington, USA

48. who sent this to you? everyone on my Blogroll!

Tidbits

I brought the Shawl Collar Pullover to my mom's house for a visit a few days ago. Guess who it fit perfectly? Grr. Jealous? Me? Hmph. She said she wants "hers" to have longer sleeves, though. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Guess who I'm planning to meet tomorrow for the first time? I'll give you a hint. You might know her by her purly whites. And she dyes really beautiful yarn! We've been chatting for ages about meeting up sometime to knit and we finally made plans for tomorrow, after my yoga class. Can't wait!






I'm still in love with Jemima + Rowan Cashsoft DK + Addi Turbos. I finally found a good solution for Jemima, too. I've been mentally tinkering with how to add length and waist shaping, possibly keeping the lovely tubular cast-on and subsequent ribbing, without having the puckering at the hip problem. Wanna know what I'm doing? I'm using the directions for Shawl Collar Pullover for the bottom half of Jemima! I'm also thinking of ixnaying the placket and buttons. I don't think I'll ever find buttons that will match my colors, and I hate that poorly matched buttons might make the whole sweater look cheesy. So now, is this still Jemima? Maybe her name will change to Jemi-not. Or something equally dorky. 'Cause that's how I roll. har har.

I had to buy a new bra today. In a new (read: bigger) size. And dangit, the lovely associate at Nordstrom wasn't convinced that I'm done growing in bra sizes. She thinks I should come back again a couple of weeks before my due date and get fitted AGAIN. Like expensive supportive bras for girls like me grow on trees. Aiya. Whatareyagonnado.

Have you heard of mail2web.com? Maybe I'm the last girl on earth to find out about it. I thought I'd never be able to access my home email on the web (what a pain when you're traveling, out and about, at work expecting an important message to come to your home email addy, etc.) and the Mr. just found out about this one. Cool.

Adrienne Vittadini Shawl Collar Pullover

We haven't had many shiny happy days in Seattle lately, so I forgot all about photographing this finished sweater. In fact, since it doesn't fit me right now, I put it in my knitting basket and forgot all about it!

Adrienne Vittadini Shawl Collar Pullover
Vogue Knitting Winter 2004/05
Cascade Lana d'Oro, Heathered Purple, just over 10 skeins

I love the shape of this top. The pattern is exceptionally well written with clear instructions on which increases and decreases to use when. Gentle waist shaping means it's going to fit me well this fall. It's really a simple design, and the collar is all the detail it needs. I didn't have to make any alterations to the pattern to make it fit (my normal body) just right, except for adding some length to the sleeves. I tried it on today, just for kicks, and I can tell that later I'm going to love wearing this sweater!

Now I just have to translate this fit to Jemima and I'll be flying high!

Cascade Lana d'Oro was discontinued a year or two ago, so I'm lucky to have bought a couple of bags of it when I did. This purple bag has been sitting around waiting for just the right project. It's a great yarn to knit with and I can't wait to wear it. Lovely soft heathery goodness, great stitch definition with the ribbing.

I'm on spring break this week, which means getting lots of things done around the house, but it also means a little much needed R&R time. It was spring break two years ago when I bought my first needles and Lamb's Pride Bulky to make my first scarf. Two years already! Wow, this hobby has really taken hold.

P.S. Just have to share this sweetness sent to me by dear Karen. A Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran baby hat, so sweet, and a great book of fairy tales, poetry, etc. that will, I know, be a bedtime staple in Casa de Karma. I'm such a lucky gal! I can't wait to show a modeled shot of the little hat. Thanks again, Karen!!! Mwah!

Slow But Steady Wins the Race

Shawl Collar Pullover, such an easy, basic pattern, no? Maybe I'm becoming a perfectionist in my old age, but it's taking forever to put together.

Shoulders seamed and shawl collar installed while watching Cinderella Man a few nights ago. That took a few tries. The ribbed collar/stockinette front/row/stitch count made it all quite an adventure. And the spot where the ends cross over one another was a little tricksy.

Sleeve caps installed last night during the Oscars. I DVR'd the show, so we watched it later on in the evening and fast forwarded through all the commercials, took a break to make dinner, etc., but there is no way it should have taken that long just to attach the sleeves caps to the arm openings. I think I did one side over FIVE times. Clearly I knit either the front or the back an eensy bit longer than the other. That's okay, it finally worked out.

Sleeve and side seams should go together well (fingers crossed) tonight during the TWO HOUR special episode of 24. Can't wait!

Come On, Drink the Kool Aid

I've got two friends who are, separately, getting excited about knitting.

One is the mommy of the twins I made the raglan baby sweaters for recently. She started knitting while on bedrest and wanted to learn more. I went over this weekend and showed her a few things, namely Addi Turbos and knitting socks on two circs. She's hooked! Yay! She called tonight to let me know that she's in love with the Turbos and can't wait to get more pairs/sizes.

The other is a friend who has never knit before. The pal who taught me how to knit a couple of years ago taught her just this week. She called me last night, saying, "Help! I have a knitting question!!" Yay! She's learning the basics and sounds really interested.

I say to them, "Welcome to my obsession. Let me know how I can help you feed the monster." heh.

As for me....

1. Shawl Collar Pullover pieces are finally dry. We'll see how soon I can get 'er seamed up.

2. Jemima is knitting up rather quickly thanks to the LOVELY Cashsoft and the way that it literally flies on Addi Turbos. I think I have a crush on this combination. I'm almost to the raglan shaping of sleeve #1.

3. Excellent yarn arrived today. Love living so close to Elann. Must remember to exercise restraint, though, else I order something new every stinking week. Must order an Addi Turbo US15/10mm. Holy cow. Haven't used such big needles since I was a beginner who knit too tightly and needed fat needles so my first scarf wouldn't be stiff as a board.

Knitting Ups and Downs

Shawl Collared Pullover is happily blocking away with its own little ray of sunshine (they're hard to come by over here) and yes, it's true that wet alpaca really does smell like wet dog. Mmmm. Yummy. I hope it dries soon; I keep laughing when I think of what this sweater's going to look like on my daily-increasing belly. Fortunately, people have good imaginations and will probably be able to imagine what it will look like on me next fall, right? :)

Our trip to Vancouver was lovely and quite uneventful. Perfect. We stayed right downtown and walked all over the place. Ate good food. Saw two good movies (Firewall was intensely suspenseful; Syriana was complex, political, and kept us talking and thinking well after we left the theater). Touched no yarn. I didn't even knit in the car on the way up or down. It seemed important to be more present, enjoying the scenery and conversation with Mr. Goodkarma. It was a good time!

But you know how I am; as soon as Shawl Collar was off the needles and in the bath I was itching to cast on something new. For a minute I considered going to one of my stalled projects but no, I had to start something new. That's a lesson for me; do NOT leave a project unfinished or it may never ever ever see the light of day again.

Elann had this Schoeller Stahl Excellent yarn for a few days. I kept looking at the sample pattern and thinking about how cute it would have looked on me about 5 months ago when I still had a waist. The available colors were selling out quickly; the one I was eyeballing was a darker combination of blues, but I was only able to pick up this lighter combination instead.

While I wait for my Excellent yarn (can't say it without thinking of Bill and Ted), I dove into my Rowan Cashsoft DK for Jemima. This pattern utilizes a tubular cast-on, and this is the first time I've ever used one. I wish I had tried it before! So clever and neat. Totally tubular. (Valley Girl.) I knit the cuff and an inch or two of sleeve before bedtime and then was suddenly struck with a wave of incompetence. Would it look ridiculous on me? Would the color combo look homemade? Wouldn't this absolutely luscious yarn look better in something more pretty and less everyday? Naturally I stayed up way too late searching for ideas for what other knitbloggers had done with Cashsoft. I don't have a lot of it (7 balls of Ballad Blue, 1 ball of Lime). Of course I saw many, many posts about Grumperina's Odessa, but I really want to wear this yarn on my body, not my head! I hit the pillow feeling defeated. Why do I always have to find a solution immediately anyway? Grrr.

I woke up this morning with an image of a sweet, finished Jemima. My imaginary version is a little more fitted than the original oversized one. Mari made a super cute one herself. I think I'll stick with the plan. If you haven't worked with Cashsoft yet, you're in for a treat!

And in the Husbands Are Funny Department: I got a great deal on last year's model of an expensive stroller. When it arrived the other day, I started taking it out of the box. Now, my husband is great, but he hasn't been super excited about anything baby related yet. As soon as parts started coming out of the box, though, he jumped up off the couch and started assembling the thing before I even had a chance to open the directions. I started reading instructions aloud but I might as well have been on another planet; he was so involved in snapping pieces together that he didn't even hear me. "Oooh, it even has shocks." "Nice wheels!" I'll be checking it out soon to make sure all the pieces were used, etc...

I heart DVR + Knitting

Last night: I'm reknitting the sleeve caps for the shawl collar pullover (adding 2" of length to the sleeves; who was I kidding?)while catching up on a bunch of shows on DVR (best invention EVER). On the edge of my seat with Grey's Anatomy (I thought they were home free with the bomb! Wasn't it sweet when George climbed up and helped Bailey through the delivery of her baby?), laughing hysterically at SNL (was that the funniest opening monologue in a while? The cashew trick? Ew. Holiday candles at Target...)

While knitting, I started thinking more about what project to bring on my little upcoming roadtrip with the hubby. We're going up to Vancouver, BC for a few days. I decided I'll bring Jemima. I bought 7 balls of Rowan (RY) Cashsoft DK in Ballad Blue several months ago with Hopeful in mind, but these days I think Jemima is a bit more for me. So I need one more ball of Cashsoft in a contrasting color. Tonight after work I dropped by Hilltop with no idea which color I would want and Lime popped right out at me. I think we have a winner!

Guess what else I spied with my little eye at Hilltop? The new Debbie Stoller book was delivered today! I'm not a crocheter, or I would have bought it on the spot. But I think I'll end up buying it anyway to have a good crochet reference book around. I flipped through it very very quickly and saw a couple of cute cardis and jackets (a la White Lies); I might be inspired to try crochet after all. We'll see. It's not like I don't have 6 billion unfinished projects and another 6 billion projects awaiting.

So anyway, speaking of Vancouver, does anyone have any recommendations, yarny or otherwise? I should be asking Felicia* this question and I don't know if she has ever read my blog. It's been a few years since my mister and I went up to Vancouver and I'm open to any food/shopping/walking/YARN suggestions any of you might have.

*In Felicia's 2/16 post, she wrote about a yarn crawl to Seattle. One of the restaurants she visited, Nana's Noodle Shop, was the place where Mr. Goodkarma proposed to me in 1999. Poor guy, he had a big plan for us to have a romantic dinner at the fancy Italian place down the block, and when we arrived we found out that it was closed for renovations. I didn't understand why he was so put out by that and I suggested we walk a few doors down to Nana's for dinner. Little did I know that there was an engagement ring in his pocket. He even got down on his knee when he proposed... it was very sweet and wonderful. It was the first proposal ever at Nana's. :)

C is For Conundrum

The Adrienne Vittadini shawl collar pullover (AVSCP) is coming along very well. I'm about halfway done with the back, too, and all the while I'm wondering if I'm going to be running out of (the original bag of) yarn. I bought two extra skeins a while back, just in case I would need them, but they're from a different dye lot and I was hoping to not use them at all, except maybe for seaming. So I knit the sleeves to spec, but I'm skeptical that their 17.5" length will be long enough. I think I'll unknit the sleeve caps, knit the sleeve a little longer, and probably dip into skein #11 as I finish the back shoulder shaping. Hooray for longish hair, right?

The conundrum continues. A couple of days ago I decided to cast on for another, smallish project while I considered what would be best for AVSCP. I pulled out my new skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wildflowers and got started on Nancy Bush's Rib and Cable Socks from Interweave Knits Fall 2005. Not far into knitting the cuff and I noticed that Julian, my sweet angelbaby cat who rarely does anything naughty, was chewing on something. He had a mouthful of my yarn and was chowing down! Ack! That turkey. I don't know what possessed him; he never ever eats yarn normally. Does Mountain Colors use seafood flavored dye? Weird. Of course, I had to cut out the soggy bit that he chewed and splice the ends together, no biggie (and not much yarn was lost) but kind of irritating! And ew, cat spit!

(Isn't the Mountain Colors pretty? The violets and reds and fushias blend together more subtly in real life, kind of like in this picture where you can see the beginning of the cables. I'm in love with this yarn!)

Otherwise, all is well in the good karma house. I've been working far too many hours (extra parent conferences here, evening meetings there, special events in the evening, etc.) doing the fringe stuff and just barely having enough energy to do what I'm really there for, which is TEACH! Ah, well.

I've been doing tons of research and window shopping for stuff for the baby, too. Mom, grandma and I went looking at cribs and gear yesterday. It was good to make some sound decisions and feel like I've actually done a few things to get my nest ready. Now if only my husband would stop ringing the doorbell or calling to me every 30-60 minutes, I might actually get something done around the house! Good grief. I feel like running away! :)

J'adore le pourpre

Busy busy. That's me. I'm halfway done with a project I haven't even blogged about. I'm making the Adrienne Vittadini Shawl Collar Pullover from Vogue Knits Winter 04/05 (here are a couple of finished ones in blogland: Lesley's, Atouria's, and Diana's) with some lovely purple heathered Cascade Lana d'Oro.
I bought a bag of it from WEBS when it was discontinued about a year and a half ago, with a different project in mind. I was a pretty new knitter and realized later that the project I was planning wasn't really meant for me. I've wanted to make this for a year and suddenly got the urge to start a week or so ago. Quick knit... I'm almost halfway done already.

Here's the front; just after I'd divided for the low placket opening:



It feels like this sweater is just eating up the yarn, but it might simply be that it's one of the quickest sweaters I've ever knit. I wonder if it will be done in time for me to wear it while I'm still pregnant? Probably not. Even though other people say I'm not even showing (I am SO!), all of my old tops are too snug and too short to accommodate my changing figure. We'll see. Mostly I'm excited about having new stuff to wear next fall.

The title to this post is I love purple because the lovely Jade sent this pair of handmade earrings with purple crystals to me. She knew I like blue (I'm a little stuck in the cool side of the color wheel lately if you haven't noticed), and wasn't sure if I like purple. Do I like purple?! Oh boy. Yes, my new sweater is purple. But get this: my husband's truck is purple. My house is purple. Both are dark eggplant purple. What else... I have more purple yarn around here, too. So yes, Jade, I do like purple, and the earrings are so pretty!! (Especially with the bonus alpaca fiber in the picture. Ever notice that alpaca fibers and cat hairs look pretty similar?) I wore them to work today and love them. You're so kind. Thank you. :)

Tonight I went to the gym (for the first time in ages) and I listened to Cast On podcast #1 as I stationary bicycled. I downloaded several of these a while back and kind of forgot about them. This podcast was interesting (especially for the gym... I usually listen to something more upbeat like Outkast's Stankonia or Black Eyed Peas' Elephunk), and very soothing. I could imagine listening to Brenda Dayne's voice on a lazy Sunday afternoon while I knit on the couch in a quiet and peaceful house. Wow, what a fantasy life, eh? So for those of you who listen to Cast On and Knitcast, do you save each podcast or delete them as you listen to them?

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...