Last night I took the shawl I'm making off the needles (held together instead by my red yarn lifeline) and spread it out on the futon to see what the shape will really look like. I think Jimmy's right - it might take more repeats to make this thing long enough. When I held it up against myself, the bottom point was at my waist, and I couldn't really hold on to the wide points. I'd like it so that my friend can wrap it around herself a little, you know? She's much slimmer than me, so I know it will fit her a bit different, but I'd still like it to be bigger and cozy.
Last Friday I stumbled on to Priscilla Ahn's video featured on Please Be Still.
This song Dream has been stuck in my head ever since. I had to find it on Amazon and download the album. Lilting, haunting, makes me want to curl up in a chair with a long-sleeved sweater andd gaze dreamily out the window at falling leaves snow. Sort of like the first time I heard All Mixed Up by Red House Painters.
Is it wrong that I miss fall? I want it to be fall so badly. The change in weather, new beginnings, the change to change my life's direction.
Here's another video by Priscilla Ahn - the boob song. I like this song too but it must be one of her newer ones as I can't find it anywhere but in clips from concerts on YouTube.
In the past 24 hours I've gone from thinking "one day I'll get to try making cables - when I have more time, not a big project going on, some really nice yarn, and already know how to do cables!!!" to "when I get home tonight I have to pull all my knitting books and thumb through to find the perfect beginner cable pattern. Or maybe a quick how-to piece in my instructional book. I'm intimidated" I want to start right now! Last weekend I went galavanting around the cape with friends and we ended up at the Ladybug Knitting Shop to get one of them reenergized about yarn and knitting. To make a long story short, everyone but me bought the same cabled wristlet pattern and they've been knitting like crazy on it, so excited about the yarn and the pattern.
Today I checked my email and found out the yarn shop near my house is having a SALE, and now I plan to go and buy my first Debbie Bliss cashmerino yarn. Since I started knitting last fall I've wanted that yarn. Yay! Now I need to figure out what to make. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start with the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern. My friend Jimmy has been working on this one, and to me it looks super complex, but people in my group keep telling me it's a lot easier than it looks. There is even a whole blog about knitting this scarf pattern. Crazy!
I think I might end up using this weekend to:
- finish the knitted cell phone case (90% done) - try to finish the shawl I'm making (30% done) - practice cabling using good old red heart - finish the socks I started way back in March (90% done)
Look at this funky postcard! Is it a cat doing yoga, or the hustle. Who can tell?
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Last week at the library I found a copy of Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on the new reads shelf and snapped it up. Yesterday I started reading the stories about knitting, stashing yarn around the house, and working on old unfinished projects. I know I've talked about UFOs before, but the story about Stephanie's pile of works in progress that threatened to take over her bedrooom when assembled caused me to wonder - how many porojects do I have in my apartment?
Two apartments ago I invited my sister Gretchen for a visit and we launched an attack on stuff. One of the things she had a hard time with was my amount of art/crafting/hobby stuff. Gretchen does not really have hobbies that accumulate stuff, as expecially craft activities require. I can imagine what she would say if she saw the sheer volume I now have in my space, just from adding knitting to my list of likes.
At least with my knitting/crochet projects, Ravelry allows me to keep the 'in progress' stuff in check. All the project shown in the top row are unfinished. I can enter all the stats of a project - needle size, yarn, progress, problems, and pics.
I wish I had a similar system for tracking my cross stitch projects, as though take much longer to complete. I try and post about them here on the blog, but as you can see I've had a hard time posting frequently.
In the past week I've been working on: Love My Cat by Lizzie Kate (cross stitch) Historic Countries Mystery Sampler in The Gift of Stitching Magazine (cross stitch) Babette Blanket from Interweave Knits Magazine (crochet) Basketweave Scarf from Lion Brand website (knitting)
Last night I started a new cross stitch project, Love My Cat, on 32 count natural linen. I don't seem to have the right size hoop for this project so I'm just holding it in my hand. I haven't done a project this way in a long time.
I've also been thinking a lot about plastic lately. How nearly everything has some component made of plastic. It's funny, when I first went vegetarian I was staying away from all things leather, but now I would rather wear leather shoes so that least the origin of the materials is natural, not oil or synthesized in a lab. I guess what I'm trying to do really is to reduce waste, not necesarily plastic, though plastic contributes greatly to the waste problem. Maybe I've been reading too many Eco blogs. Lately one of my faves is Fake Plastic Fish where Beth blogs about her crusade against all plastic and keeps a chart of her own plastic consumption. There's also Living Plastic Free that has tips about how to reduce your own plastic use.
I guess I feel like I've really slipped on living my environmental ideals in the past few years. Maybe so much of it has been part of mainstream thinking, or part of my everyday life, that I forget I'm doing it.
Here's a list of tips for being more eco-friendly that I've absorbed from various tv shows, magazines, blogs, etc: Things I do- -RECYCLE -stop using plastic bags/bring your own bag -use a water filter instead of buying bottled water -take short showers/time your showers -use public transportation
Things I don't do yet- -compost your waste -turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth -only buy products in recyclable/reusable packaging -unplug electronics when not in use
Kristin, I thought you would get a kick out of this-
I went grocery shopping for the first time in a month(!) and discovered that there are new hand baskets. These have two kinds of handles, the standard middle basket handle, but they have this new long handle, and wheels at one end of the basket, so you can drag the basket behind you at the store. Too cute! I think kids would have fun with these, and I'm sure it helps the elderly while they are shopping.
My friend Andrea (featured in the horrible photo above taken wtih my cell phone) commented that these new baskets are double the size of the old, so her old gauge of when to stop buying won't work anymore.
This time of year always sends me into a shopping rage, wanting to buy new clothes to endure the hot summer, fun cheap shoes because hey, it's summer, and my financies surely know that I need to spend some extra cash. Last weke I bought 3 pairs of shoes at Payless. Yesterday I tried on cropped pants, capris, and was desperately searching for a fun but okay for work skirt. Do I need more clothes? I probably have enough cropped pants and things from last year left over that I don't need any more. But I don't think I even own a skirt, so I'd like to purchase and actually wear one this summer.
Why stop at clothes and shoes? I ordered a messenger bag from ebags.com that should arrive next week, and I have a whole list of books and music that I want to get. Most of those can wait though. Books never go out of style. :)
I did buy a book yesterday for a book club I joined through Meetup.com that discusses classic books. The book for this Sunday is Narcissus and Goldmund by Herman Hesse. I've never read his work but he has this reputation of being a deep thinker. I am only on chapter 4 so I doubt I'll finish the book by Sunday, but I have to try. This will be my first book club meeting ever, and I'm not sure how things work. Are there set topics? Do people talk in turn about the book? I'm hoping that it's not like some of the grad courses I took as an undergrad, where I felt like I was the only person in the room who wasn't up to speed. Ah, the pressure! I need to relax about it, go expecting only to meet new people, maybe get a good cup of coffee. And who knows, maybe I'll like the book! I haven't joined up with a group in the past becuase I had absolutely no interetest in what they were reading. This time, I figured I had to take the plunge.
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