knit@nite

Don't Wait Too Long

2008-09-03T09:12:33Z

Baby you and I, got a lot to learn

Don't want to waste another day

Sometimes you gotta lose it all

Before you find your way

Take a chance

Play your part

Make romance

It may break your heart

But if you think that time

Will change your ways?

Pre-season 49er-Chargers game last Friday. If you make a bet about putting a gas BBQ together, make sure it involves drinking beer, and you not doing the work. That way, the other team will think they won (17 minutes to put the entire BBQ together when the directions estimated typical assembly at 30 minutes. Pure genius.) Another hint. Don't buy the very nice and portable grill. It is VERY portable for ANYBODY walking by during the game. Thankfully it was only $25. And whoever took it? Well, they had to clean the chicken wing scrapings off of it. Good luck with that one.

Ah football. All weekend. A morning hike (in order to avoid HS football, hey, it's still football) out at Arastradero; Arlo's usual Social Buttfly expedition outside Starbucks in Los Altos (where he was good a crawling under our chairs, not quite sure how he fit), and then an entire afternoon and evening of college football, beer & pizza. I know, so fancy. There has even been some Rockband. How could life POSSIBLY get better than that?!?

The fabric is new and absolutely amazing and from the Mendocino collection by FreeSpiritFabrics. Probably pillow cases? My friend got the 3 long yards of Aqua Mermaids. Gorgeous. And there was a discussion on the difference between Men & Women's rendering of mermaids. ( No surprise there.)

Madeleine Peyroux again. Going to try something new. We'll see.

Not On Beijing Time

2008-08-25T05:34:19Z

But still finished today. California time. They are a little silly, no? Not entirely sure when to wear them, or with what. But I still think they're pretty. And the tassels are awesome Elliott Toys. Maybe when it gets colder it will be easier to find a use for them. Today was awefully hot to model them for the pictures. Phewey.

Should have maybe learned not to knit two socks (belonging to the same pair) over a year apart. They most definitely have different gauge, but maybe with some washing and blocking they'll be better. Louet Gems, 100 % merino, fingering weight. A bit over 4 skeins, the extra in the teal, used for heel and cuff.

Figured out (eventually) how to carry the yarn of the finished square along the line of picking up stitches for the new color, so when you got all the way around the sock, your yarn was in the right place. It was abit tricky, but worked like a charm. (I am sure the pattern said something about it, I'm just a real crappy reader.)

Still love entrelac, knitting and purling backwards is a must for this sock. It's really not very difficult. You don't need a class, or have anyone show you how. Just knit away, turn your work, knit or purl the stitch, turn it back, and check out how you inserted the needle and how you wrapped the yarn. Piece of cake. After you've done it a few times, you'll get the feel for it.

Here's maybe a small reason why things weren't completed on Beijing time. A tiny tiny tiny reason. Say Hello to Penelope Piglet Bottom Dudziak. She's a munchkin. Her Mommy's feet look like big foot foots, but they're not. She's really a very tiny dog. Check her out next to this size 9 foot.

Work trivia on Friday included something crafty (it usually does), with a promise of a prize with team color(s)/pattern for the best answers. This time there were only two questions: Which were the coolest game pants, and why? The answers were:

1) The bunny slippers, by far!

2) I laughed out loud.

If you can make someone laugh at work, on a Friday afternoon around 4 pm their time, well, that's pretty good in my book. Somehow I ended up promising three projects including the Cowboys, 49ers and Chargers. (Received an SMS today asking if I'd bought any 49er fabric yet. Sheesh.) Time to get back to sewing.

Some people absolutely loved the bunny slippers. Had to reiterate they were a birthday present, so there will be research involved in finding out where to buy them.

Game Pants

2008-08-22T07:28:17Z

Favorites for sure. And done. Except maybe if attention had been paid, I would remember to turn the football guys the right way. At least one leg is right.

The flannels are for colder football Sunday mornings, (incl. coffee & knitting on the couch). It's kind of nice here on the west coast to start football at 9 am. Oh yea.

And some giraffes that have been stuffed in the closet for months. Maybe even a year. Or two. Just because they were so cute.

Is it a bit of a nod to the ancestry? Or is that kind of like saying the Swedish Chef in the Muppet Show is really Swedish? He really isn't, you know. But they were a Must Have anyway. Decided to do the draw string with button holes to pass the draw string through. Both in the front and in the back. Ok, really because I never remember (or mark) which is the front and which is the back, so doing both sides is just plain laziness. All draw strings also have knots in them. It's a total bitch to pull them through the waist band, so I don't want them to weasel their way out while in the dryer or something.

Simplicity #9871 in Medium. All of them. They're alittle big, but they're just for doodling around the house. And watching sports. A lot of sports right now. Adore the Olympic Games. Lovely.

Elliott's Favorite Game

2008-08-17T09:49:37Z

A very close second is the "I-will-be-as-annoying-as-possible-by-being-in-the-way". Good thing he's damn cute.

Guess what that bump is? Someone skilled at combining two of his favorite games.

Can't decide on whether to add a border to the quilt or not. Solid color and crazy binding, or simply a solid color binding? Getting flashbacks while watching the Women's Marathon, to sewing like crazy four years ago during the same event in Athens. Yes, on the Monkey Wrench Quilt that was just finished. Whoops. This one has to be completed & delivered in a month and two days.

It's a tough life he leads.

Oh, right. Knitting Olympics. There's been progress. And even some Rockband.

Put Your Game Face On

2008-08-12T19:32:05Z

WIP Wrestling is progressing after countless hours on the couch watching the Olympics. Ah Sports. Slowly remembering knitting and purling backwards. My theory is, knitters who "throw" the yarn (non-contintentals) knit tighter, throwing it makes you automatically pull it tighter around your needle. Experienced this while knitting backwards resulting in VERY uneven gauge between the rows. But, practise, practise, practise. And now entrelac is fun again.

Admit it, whimped out a little bit on the Knitting Olympics this time around, compared to the first one, no entire cable sampler blanket to knit this time. Don't have time, but also have a new overly ambitious secret birthday project going on with a pile of Amy Butler fabrics from Bobbin's Nest. Crazy, but it wouldn't be quite as much fun if it wasn't a challenge.

On Finishing Things

2008-08-04T09:08:47Z

I am a process knitter. A finished project is always very satisfying, but my initial motivation and drive is to just knit. Probably explains the large (and only getting larger) pile of WIPs in this shoe box of an apartment. Like I have room. However, this weekend has been all about satisfaction. Finishing projects that have been hanging around for years, but also starting new projects that have mentally bounced around for months, sometimes even years.

Almost forgot the one-track-mindedness of quilting and sewing. It's difficult to stop; two, three o'clock in the morning, and you have to forcibly lift your foot from the gas pedal and make yourself to go bed. It's been loads of fun. The pattern for the Monkey wrench quilt is from some quilting book, the color choices inspired by an affinity for amish quilts, the bright colors and also the stern blackness. Used regular 100% cotton black fabric (and let me just say, buy enough for an entire project because finding a black that matches the one you have is impossible); the colors are all batiks.

May have also spent an ungodly amount of money at JoAnns today. Even showed restraint. Also, on a related note, found BOTH Leinie's Sunset Wheat, AND Sam Adams Cherry Wheat at BevMo (well, Jill fond both for me, because I am clearly blind) ! Even took a picture of the most awesome 21A assortment on pallets as well. Is it bad when you have six different kinds of beer in your fridge? (Hrm.)

Oven mitts, revision III, were also started with the cutest chick 100 % medium weight cotton fabric (hello, even pre-washed it!!). Made a slight modification to the pattern, a little wider along the base. t's kind of fun winging the hand quilting. Went a little crazy on the french knottiness maybe. (Apologizing for the crappy tungsten light colors, it's difficult to see the stitch detail..) Lately alot of inspiration has come from Posie Gets Cozy. Excited about sewing again, check out those cute cute pillows, ( and boy is that puppy dog of hers cute).

Rockband has beeen seriously suffering.

Rene Descartes was a drunken fart

2008-08-01T06:53:39Z

"Good Sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess.""

At my work, and with ex-coworkers who are now friends, we have a constant war going. Mac vs. PC. We bait each other all the time, the e-mail threads grow into the double digits, with fervent opinions and sarcastic remarks. But really, people are just jealous of my iPhone. Tonight, while eating dinner at the bar ( at Chili's, across from my hotel in San Diego ), by the way, when you go out to eat alone, where do you sit? I personally like sitting at the bar, people are friendly and there are always sports on TV, I discovered BOOKS on the iPhone. I mean, you pay 99 cents for the ENTIRE Pride & Prejudice!! (It is full of classic lines, gotta have it.). They also have Shakespeare, Thomas Payne's "Common Sense"...

I am a word junkie. Love reading, love poetry, love the structure of words & sentences. Entire books. In the palm of your hand. At your fingertips. Whenever you want them. Woah.

Polishing your silver is maybe a little Yoga like. Check out those ninja knives. They're sparkly. Tired, tired, tired. So much work. Uncertainty somehow brings out nesting tendencies. The "new" kitchen table now holds a teeny sewing corner. It's nice.

Quote: by the man in the title. Title: From Monty Python's lovely song about him.

Wednesday

2008-07-31T07:59:16Z

Miss Wednesday, Miss Marshmallow Cheeks, Princess, we miss you terribly.

Love,

Mom & Dad

P.S. Who is going to keep the Orange Boys in line now ? Keep an eye on them, ok?

But I'm Allright

2008-07-28T07:27:26Z

It's been a crafty weekend. Maybe some wine, and good food, and a tiny bit of Rockband, but mostly very crafty. And it's been nice and fun.

Used the pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing" for the oven mitt. Prototype #1, with some Urban Outfitters funky fabric. Machine quilted the oven mitt, simply following the pattern. It's really too thin to be used with heat. Introducing Prototype #2.

Found some medium-weight cotton (which the book recommends to begin with, following directions has never been my strong point), also did two layers of batting, one wool, one cotton.

Hand quilted both sides, following pattern, basically improvising. It worked out well when the power went out for a couple of hours too, even without TV. After re-joining the 21st century and getting cable after four months of no TV, what did I miss the most? Sports. Not sure I could live without ESPN again.

It fits my hand perfectly, and the batting is the right thickness now. It's a great and quick project to finish. Have some slight modifications planned for Prototype #3, alittle wider in the base for easy slip-on or off, as well as a loop to hang it from. The hand quilting was probably the most fun part of the entire project.

In preparation for football season, it was time to pick up This Year's advent calendar (it looks an aweful lot like the one from last year, huh?) . It should be finished in time. This time.

"Sticks and stones will break my bones, but tears don't leave any scars. " Madeleine Peyroux.

A New Playlist

2008-07-25T10:00:14Z

It doesn't necessarily signify new beginnings, but certainly changes. And sometimes there is so much going on you have very little to say.

Picking colors is the fun part. Winging it. Guessing. Impulse buying.

What colors are missing?

Arisaig beginnings. KnitPicks lace weight Gloss yarn. 2's for ribbing, 3's for lace (and I am a very very loose knitter). The couple next to me on the plane between SAN and SFO commented on how I got the knitting needles past the TSA. Even made them feel how pointy the needles were. And we all know Knitpicks options are seriously pointy. They were impressed. Commuting down there again next week. It's great for knitting project progress if anything.

Not much Rockband lately, other things on my mind, did however download the entire the Who album. And did you hear Rockband2 is coming out? OMG. The songs. Lookie what else came out this week. We made good on the deal.

I can resist anything

2008-07-03T10:35:25Z

but

the temptation from you

But I'd rather walk alone

than chase you around

I'd rather follow myself

than let you

drag me on down

Basic Pasta (from Jilly's fab pasta book):

Wine (in the cooks, hello, it's the Primary Ingredient in every recipe! Whites today, semillion, chardonnay, white riesling, ehm...)

1.5 cups of flour

2 large FRESH eggs

Three batches. (Don't do one big batch, it is too unwieldy).

Filling:

One tub of Ricotta (pint sized)

Wilted chopped spinach

1 large FRESH egg

1/2-2/3 cups of shredded parmesan

S&P to your hearts content

Crew:

Patient friends to make a gazillion tortellinis. While giving you the bird (wrapped in a tortellini. The're inventive my friends.)

Leftovers:

Freeze those suckers. Just 3-4 minutes in boiling water straight from the freezer. Absolutely amazing. Was it unclear how incredibly fresh and fabulous the tortellinis were?

Day 2:

Eat them again with organic snap peas from Veggie Box.

There's gold in those mason jars. They traveled far. Yum. I sorta did too. Moved 6000 miles for love; 250 miles for work. Hrm. Get to stay another 10 years. And play more Rockband. Am I allowed to be alittle smug that TWO sets of friends now have invested in the best game in the world? I think so.

Of course Ben.

Rubberband Relationships

2008-06-16T05:14:43Z

Lovefool fits Elliott to a T, and if he was human, he would be singing it when he feels neglected. LOVE ME LOVE ME SAY THAT YOU LOVE ME. Because like any man, that is when he wants loving, when he has to chase you around because you are busy doing other things. He bats at your feet as you walk by him, he yowls, he throws himself on the ground in front of you, Twinkie bellies up in the air with body language that screams "PET ME" .

And if, when you have some time, you try to scratch him behind the ears, he squirms, and blank stares at you as if he was thinking "YECH, you are crowding me woman". During the conversation with my friend to establish the man analogy, she noted "well, he also climbs all over you all night long". How fitting.

It is that hot and cold that makes me feel a bit like a rubber band right now. An old one, the kind that doesn't spring back as quickly as it used to. "Just be careful, because when he lets go of it, it could really snap back and hurt". Advise from Mom.

People say all the time, time heals all wounds. I don't believe it. It is forgetting that helps you heal, time can help that process. If you allow yourself to forget.

Yesterday was IKEA, watching Rebecca, and yeah well, Rockband. What rock stars drink a nicely chilled (with ice cubes, I'm not a snob) Semillion from Ahlgren Vineyards while playing? Ok, maybe we're not quite rock stars. But anyway. It was good.

Two weekends filled with fabulous wine tasting resulted maybe in alot of wine. 2+ cases. Or so. Western side of the Santa Cruz mountains the first weekend, McHenry (MUST HAVE), Big Basin, Ahlgren, David Bruce (because it was on the way to the other side, mmmm Petite Syrah), Silver Mountain, Burrell School (because they were still open as we drove by.) Of course, Los Altos Grill with a McHenry Pinot for dinner.

Last weekend it was Chaine d'Or. We get out of the car at 11:15 am (or so). This is THE important stop of the day. Sophie comes BOUNDING down the driveway to greet us (well, to get petted), her older "sister" takes her time, but is also a sweetheart, they are both still wet from the pool. Gary shows up, introduces himself, and invites us in to the house and all the divine wine. (I swear, every year I threaten them with moving in, Gary chuckles and says if I stay overnight they may have to charge me. As long as they don't call the cops, I figure I'm good.)

Can't even describe how amazing the wine is. The people. The vineyard. The house. Did I mention I want to just stay there all day? This year they had another vineyard pouring too, Stefania. Some People may have bought a $45 bottle of their 2005 Cab untasted, we just had a sip (or two) from the barrel of the 2006 they are bottling in a month or two. After Chaine d'Or nothing else really mattered. Went to Los Gatos, a few tasting rooms, the Hotel, drank some bubbly (Equinox), a couple of good rose wines, celebrity sighting of Peggy Fleming in her tasting room, and then drove back up into the Mountains to Nonno's Restaurant. Decided to hang out there for the rest of the day, snacking and wine tasting; Sones Cellars, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard with their Mountain Boys, and brandy (!!!), as well as some other Vineyards. (Things MAY have been getting a little fuzzy at this point.) Then back down to Los Gatos and AMAZING fish at Steamer's. God I love the Santa Cruz Mountains. Great company, great wine, great weather, great music. Life is pretty awesome on days like these. (Brie & Basil Baguette sandwiches helped too.)

It sort of makes you both forget; the boring, and right now very uncertain, bits of every day life; but also appreciate the little things in life that make you happy. Finished the stealth knitting project. Both socks. Fucking incredible. But now the pressure is off, thankfully, and it's time for an easier project. Picked up the "Print O' The Wave" stole which has been in hybernation for, oh, a year and a half or so. Also Mommy's 60th is in mid-September. What should I knit for her? Besides something super fancy schmancy.

Of course there's been a shitload of Rockband, hence crazy insane deadline knitting on Wednesday-Thursday of this week. Those damn socks should be called Rockband. Love Rockband. But not my blue drum so much. Because it is fucking broken. RMA on Monday. Good thing the second guitar showed up, so we can still play three people at least at once. Also with the heat, some easy and new cooking from Everyday Foods.

Ending with gratuitous super-cuteness.

Miss the Orange Boys and the Girl like mad when they're not around. It is what it is. For now.

c'mon, be my rhythm bitch

2008-05-30T15:38:00Z

There is nothing more fun than playing with other people. Really. How many more I-Told-Ya-Sos are there in the world? Not quite sure, but possibly very close to have heard them all.

Now, anyone playing Rockband has a wish list of songs in their minds. You just do. Admit it. AC/DC's "Rock n' Roll Singer" (with some Bon Scott goodness), "Let Me Put My Love into You", "Whipping Post" with the Allman Brothers would be so amazing, and maybe Some People can learn to play the funky drums to "Black Betty" with a little help from Rockband. One of the reasons to even pick up and play GH3 is "Black Magic Woman". And of course, SRV, but please don't say "Little Wing". Realistically, we'll never get any Beatles songs, and I'd be shocked if Jimmy Page would let anyone near "Stairway to Heaven".

The other cool thing about Rockband is it enabled the New (to me) Music Obsessions; Metallica, the Grateful Dead, Jet, Paramore, did I mention Metallica? (To quote my friend "It's about fucking TIME you listened to Metallica. Shit." ) And "Green Grass and High Tides" must be one of the most fabulous songs ever written.

Stealth knitting is, well, progressing. Real fucking slow. With some relaxing vacation days coming up next week, there will be plenty of focus. On knitting. Right.

But tonight is Rockband Night. Oh yea.

No, didn't forget the shameless plug for my friend's little site where you can buy Rockband.

My friend's request while playing Rockband the other day. Cracked me up. And I will sing too dammit.

Addendum & Clarification 6/15/2008: "Some People " here is referring to a drummer in an Actual Band, not certain people who HOG the drums in Rockband. You know who you are. Besides. Black Betty can't be THAT hard. Pfft.

ROCKBAND

2008-05-12T03:47:43Z

No no no. Not the sole reason for the absence. Hardware also has a limited life span (and I like the control of my own domains). It's that time of year for the summerish knitting funk. Work being, well alot of changes, and adjustments and more fucking work.

After a conversation that was leading nowhere, with me reiterating (for once) the advise of my Mother from my early 20s (yes, that was ALONG time ago),
"Don't plan so much. You never know what life will bring you. Things change." Asking "Who really knows where we'll be in six months?" Then fast forward to today, only four months later, things are different. So very different. But I won't say I told you so. Because it will serve no purpose. Ok, I will say it in my mind. And in two weeks, who fucking knows the future? I don't. Either you roll with it, or you change. Sounds so much easier than it really is.

In the midst of all this fucking hoopla there is the Rock that is ROCKBAND. Oh yes. Let's put it in perspective. I absolutely DETEST video games. Detest. However, it seems the combination of the other obsession, what is commonly referred to as, The Appendix, except I can't live without this one, the iPod, in conjunction with Rockband. Oh my.

Will try to refrain from going on about overdrive, stars, points, difficulty levels, DLC (OMG I can't wait for TUESDAY!), energy to boost your rock meter, drumsticks up anyones nose (not mine), burping into the microphone (it echoes in your speakers, AND it can put you into overdrive, hello, awesome), what songs are easier and which are harder; and will stick to, OMG it is the best game in the world. Been smugly told I TOLD YA SO more than once. But whatever. I love Rockband.

After some serious sock knitting back in February and March, the promise to knit a pair of socks every month was all shot to hell. The pink monkeys got finished, and the BMFA Green Jeans CC's as well. They both need to still be sent overseas. Here's a picture of a finished Django (courtesy Cookie) for Stitches. Two Koolhaas hats were furiously knitted and gifted. And then the Knitting Funk set in.

Tentative stealth knitting of new socks, with super awesome Birthday Knitpicks dpns. But *gasp* TWO socks this time. Crazy.

There has also been abit of reading. Mostly in swedish, but now "Atonement", and also some Frank O'Hara, especially;

I

could tell you too much for either of us
to bear, and I suppose you might answer

in kind.

Sometimes you can't fight it, and sometimes you have to stop fighting for it.

The L-Shaped Beer Cozy

2008-02-19T19:51:36Z

Two of them even. A promise long in the making, let's just leave it at that.

It is great knitting for others. There's nothing like the thrill of seeing people enjoy what you make them. I suppose it is abit of an ego thing, something you made from almost nothing, can be worn or used by someone else. One of the best compliments I ever received was as recent as a couple a months ago. It wasn't about how complicated the knitted product was (like a non-knitter would know), it wasn't about how it felt, it wasn't about how pretty it was, or how expensive it looked. It was about the time put into it. Granted, I got a kick-ass steak dinner out of it, but the appreciation of the time and thought put into it is what made it all worth it. Even to this day.

Never really understood the fuss about how handknitted socks just FIT. Well, shit. They're CUSTOM made. That is the beauty of knitting. You make it EXACTLY the way you want it. The OSU socks were a collaboration to begin with. To be made exactly how the wearer wanted them to look and feel. Can you find more perfect socks than that?? I think not.

M loved the Fibonaccis, so after days of reading charts, decided that she may need another pair, and started some hot pink monkeys today.

Made with the Louet received for stealth knitting last year. How fitting.