OMG we WON last night! Our first win of the season! Sarah called me right after the win and I might've been a little hysterical/screechy, but we really do suck and it was a GREAT game.
I hit onto base twice! Of course I was running my butt off and not watching the ball, but they must've *sucked* at fielding my hits because I am a slow runner and I didn't hit it out of the infield of anything. I also got a walk, and made it home that time, running!
Each team had to take an automatic out at the end of our lineup because we only had 4 girls, and needed to have 5. Our automatic out was after Dan, so if he came up with 2 outs I was supposed to run home because the inning was going to be over anyways. The first time I hit onto base, I stopped at 3rd instead of running home because I didn't know about the automatic out. I don't think I could've made it anyway, the pitcher had the ball and would've thrown me out. But the second time, after my walk, the 3b coach was telling me to stop running and the ball was on the other side of the field! So I ran home, and the runner after me got home, but the dude after him got tagged at 3rd. It was a crucial two runs though :)
We lost our second game, but it was still a good, evenly-matched game. I struck out (I think twice), but I also got a really solid (for me) hit to shortstop. With bases loaded. Sucks that he caught it, to end the inning.
The league is co-ed, and you need to have evenly divided infields and outfields. So it's always a guy pitching and girl catching, then shortstop and a base are dudes and the other 2 are chics, and we play 2 and 2 in the outfield. The guys like to "cover" our positions a little too much, but I am finding that if I talk the the guys nearby before the inning starts, and explain that I know what to do in the case of this or that play, they are slightly less likely to cover me unnecesarily. Slightly.
Jess and I are going to practice and make sure that if they aren't over-covering us we can actually step up and field well on our own terms.
Oh PS, minimal leg pain today! I am so loving Softball :)
5.28.2009
Socks!
of one of the socks. Can you guess which?
5.20.2009
5.18.2009
why a $20 discretionary fund is a necesity
or
T is evil
T goes to the Smiley's sale Saturday. It's okay that she didn't invite me because it was a Saturday. She could have asked if I wanted something, but that's still not the evil part.
Oh no.
She did the absolutely most evil thing ever.
She IMed me at work this morning to tell me that my favorite DPNs were being sold for $1 a set. It was kinda a slow morning at work, so I headed over there during my lunch break.
40 sets of needles later... we won't discuss how much yarn I got.
5.10.2009
5.08.2009
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5.05.2009
house cup #2
I signed up for the 2nd round of the House Cup. The first one was fun, I just couldn't stay into it for March due to other things... but it was still tons of fun.
Olive and I had our monthly strategy meeting. I love these chats with Olive b/c otherwise I would be completely lost. Anyways, for May I am making:
A.R. - a Self Fringing Shawl (Invisibility Cloak)
A - a soap sweater with stripes in the Fibonnaci sequence.
C - a green and silver purse... or slippers... or something
DADA - Fetching
H - skipping for now
M.S. - Penny-inspired Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Wristers
I still need to figure out which OWL I am doing, but I want to make socks. I figure that's the best way to make sure I finish a pair sometime this century.
Olive and I had our monthly strategy meeting. I love these chats with Olive b/c otherwise I would be completely lost. Anyways, for May I am making:
A.R. - a Self Fringing Shawl (Invisibility Cloak)
A - a soap sweater with stripes in the Fibonnaci sequence.
C - a green and silver purse... or slippers... or something
DADA - Fetching
H - skipping for now
M.S. - Penny-inspired Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Wristers
I still need to figure out which OWL I am doing, but I want to make socks. I figure that's the best way to make sure I finish a pair sometime this century.
4.13.2009
scarf travels
An update on my Scarf Travels:
Ronnica asked me to help moderate the Scarf Travels group, along with herself, MissLucy and Netta. I'm keeping an eye on the International Group - the only group I'm in. So far my group is the best! Of course :) For the first mailing, we had everyone mail by the Monday after the Friday deadline and all but 2 scarves have been acknowledged as received. I gotta check on those two others today.
I decided what to do with my scarf! I am using the Drop Stitch Scarf Pattern, and some beautiful Colinette yarn called Cadenza, in the Jay colorway because it's gorgeous and it reminds me of mermaids and the ocean. My scarf went out 4/5 and Nancy already let me know that it was received. Phew!
Ronnica's scarf came Friday, but since I'm having them mailed to work and I was out last Friday, I just saw it today. She did a pretty Entrelac pattern with Patons Soy Wool Stripes. I have no idea what I'm going to do next on her scarf, but I'm sure it'll turn out okay.
Ronnica asked me to help moderate the Scarf Travels group, along with herself, MissLucy and Netta. I'm keeping an eye on the International Group - the only group I'm in. So far my group is the best! Of course :) For the first mailing, we had everyone mail by the Monday after the Friday deadline and all but 2 scarves have been acknowledged as received. I gotta check on those two others today.
I decided what to do with my scarf! I am using the Drop Stitch Scarf Pattern, and some beautiful Colinette yarn called Cadenza, in the Jay colorway because it's gorgeous and it reminds me of mermaids and the ocean. My scarf went out 4/5 and Nancy already let me know that it was received. Phew!
Ronnica's scarf came Friday, but since I'm having them mailed to work and I was out last Friday, I just saw it today. She did a pretty Entrelac pattern with Patons Soy Wool Stripes. I have no idea what I'm going to do next on her scarf, but I'm sure it'll turn out okay.
3.24.2009
Traveling Scarf project
Last Thursday Ronnica invited me to join a Round Robin she's organizing on Ravelry, Scarf Travels. The basic premise: you get assigned to a group of 10 knitters, cast on and knit 5 inches of your own scarf, and then each scarf gets mailed around the group and everyone knits 5" on each scarf. We can be as vague (="crafter's choice") or control freak (= X pattern in Y yarn that the scarf's owner sends you) as we like.
I don't sign up for everything I read about on Ravelry, but this sounded like fun. Ronnica assigned me to her group, the International group, which is cool 'cuz I'm mailing to Illinois. Ronnica's mailing to me. I wonder if we can do an in-person handoff when we do the meetup at the end of April?
The worst part is picking the parameters for my scarf. First, I thought it would be cool to pick a pattern and let people chose the yarn they wanted to work with. Then I started searching for a pattern... There's too many options, and at the same time nothing is screaming to me that I should pick it for my scarf.
At this point I'm tempted to go crafter's choice just so I don't have to deal, but last night I had an idea. I think I am going with an Theme for my scarf - Water. I think that most people live near a coast or a lake or an island continent like Australia ;). Well, except for MissLucy out in Vegas, but there's always the Bellagio Fountain right? I like the Morning Surf and Drop Stitch scarf patterns (and I dare you to find me the difference between them). So, Drop Stitch scarf, blues/greens for yarn color, worsted weight... right?
Then I was thinking, what if I include a "get out of jail free" card, with a list of 5 ways that a knitter could break the rules: different color (x2), different pattern, different yarn weight, different stitch count/width. If you sign your Rav userid on the card you get to break that one rule for your section, as long as you keep it ocean themed. For example, instead of blue yarn maybe use bright red and white for "fish", or a deep purple for "seaweed". Or a fingering weight yarn on huge needles to make the width stay the same. Or switch to a different ocean-y stitch pattern for your 5".
I'm basically trying to think of ways to allow free reign, but keep some uniformity throughout the scarf so it doesn't look completely patchworky and weird. My other idea was tossing in 2 skeins of whatever I cast on with, and asking people to try and include an inch in my colors at some point in their section, to acheive color uniformity.
Now that I think about it, it's going to be HARD to be the 9th and 10th knitter on a scarf, and try to make my sections match/go with all that have gone before... Hehe, this is gonna be fun!
I don't sign up for everything I read about on Ravelry, but this sounded like fun. Ronnica assigned me to her group, the International group, which is cool 'cuz I'm mailing to Illinois. Ronnica's mailing to me. I wonder if we can do an in-person handoff when we do the meetup at the end of April?
The worst part is picking the parameters for my scarf. First, I thought it would be cool to pick a pattern and let people chose the yarn they wanted to work with. Then I started searching for a pattern... There's too many options, and at the same time nothing is screaming to me that I should pick it for my scarf.
At this point I'm tempted to go crafter's choice just so I don't have to deal, but last night I had an idea. I think I am going with an Theme for my scarf - Water. I think that most people live near a coast or a lake or an island continent like Australia ;). Well, except for MissLucy out in Vegas, but there's always the Bellagio Fountain right? I like the Morning Surf and Drop Stitch scarf patterns (and I dare you to find me the difference between them). So, Drop Stitch scarf, blues/greens for yarn color, worsted weight... right?
Then I was thinking, what if I include a "get out of jail free" card, with a list of 5 ways that a knitter could break the rules: different color (x2), different pattern, different yarn weight, different stitch count/width. If you sign your Rav userid on the card you get to break that one rule for your section, as long as you keep it ocean themed. For example, instead of blue yarn maybe use bright red and white for "fish", or a deep purple for "seaweed". Or a fingering weight yarn on huge needles to make the width stay the same. Or switch to a different ocean-y stitch pattern for your 5".
I'm basically trying to think of ways to allow free reign, but keep some uniformity throughout the scarf so it doesn't look completely patchworky and weird. My other idea was tossing in 2 skeins of whatever I cast on with, and asking people to try and include an inch in my colors at some point in their section, to acheive color uniformity.
Now that I think about it, it's going to be HARD to be the 9th and 10th knitter on a scarf, and try to make my sections match/go with all that have gone before... Hehe, this is gonna be fun!
1.14.2009
felting
I wrote this post on 1/14 and then my aunt called to tell me about a friend of our family's that was in an accident.... Here it is, 2 weeks later.
******************************************************
Who knew?
Over the last 2 weeks I knitted 3 large projects that were to be felted:
The Pink Lady Bag (my project in Ravelry)
A Noni Purse with felted flowers - Spring 2006 "Evening" (my project in Ravelry)
Kitty Pi (my project in Ravelry)
Ok so first of all, the project backstories. Over New Year's week I went to Lake Placid with 3 friends, We went downhill skiing one day at Whiteface. We went to the Olympic X-Country facility and the Olympic outdoor speed skating track. New Year's Day we went to Montreal, where the only things that were open were the kosher restaurants and the Casino. I won $123 at Blackjack! I learned to cross country ski, and I was pretty good to.
That is literally when I learned to stop. I was going down a ginormous hill and there was a turn. We all didn't quite learn how to turn yet, either. We couldn't see him from the top of the hill, but my friend was standing at the bottom taking a photo - in the exact place I was heading for.
Me: "French fries! French fries! Wtf? Howard, MOVE!"
But I learned to stop :D
We all really liked cross country, so we went again, this time to the Olympic facility. WAY harder, but also lots of fun because there were more inclines, and we were better at it :)
Anyways, back to the knitting. My friends were really nice and dropped me at the LYS for 30 minutes on Friday - called Adirondack Yarns. I didn't see any yarns I *had* to buy, and I wasn't loving any of the kits, but then the shopkeeper showed me to the pattern section. It was really hard not to walk out with all of them, but I bought 2 bag patterns I've had my eye on for months - the Lucy Bag, and the Noni pattern I linked to above. I also got 2 others, a messener bag pattern called Mercury and The Pink Lady Bag. I had my set of Knitpicks Options needles with me of course, so I picked up 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted and a cute Fimo button to start the Pink Lady Bag.
It. Knit. Up. HUGE. I was imagining a medium or small purse - this thing was like 12x16 at LEAST, and the handle was looong. Then I made the bag part of the Noni bag - also ginormous. The pattern says small evening bag - HA!.
A friend of mine emailed me to ask if I would cat sit for her while she went to the inauguration. It's a really inconvient location for me, and my parents aren't so happy that her apartment is in Harlem, but whatever. She can't find anyone else. Anyways, I decided to knit a Kitty Pi, in an attempt to elicit good behavior from the cat despite the fact that I am a dog person. Yeah... anyways :) It's a big project - I used 4 skeins of Lion Wool - but I finished in some ridiculously quick time like 5 days or something.
Last night I felted them in the washer. I put it on the hot/cool rinse cycle for the longest time possible. I have never had anything felt so well in the past. They came out perfectly felted, very sturdy, and overall awesome.
******************************************************
Who knew?
Over the last 2 weeks I knitted 3 large projects that were to be felted:
The Pink Lady Bag (my project in Ravelry)
A Noni Purse with felted flowers - Spring 2006 "Evening" (my project in Ravelry)
Kitty Pi (my project in Ravelry)
Ok so first of all, the project backstories. Over New Year's week I went to Lake Placid with 3 friends, We went downhill skiing one day at Whiteface. We went to the Olympic X-Country facility and the Olympic outdoor speed skating track. New Year's Day we went to Montreal, where the only things that were open were the kosher restaurants and the Casino. I won $123 at Blackjack! I learned to cross country ski, and I was pretty good to.
Me: "French fries! French fries! Wtf? Howard, MOVE!"
But I learned to stop :D
We all really liked cross country, so we went again, this time to the Olympic facility. WAY harder, but also lots of fun because there were more inclines, and we were better at it :)
Anyways, back to the knitting. My friends were really nice and dropped me at the LYS for 30 minutes on Friday - called Adirondack Yarns. I didn't see any yarns I *had* to buy, and I wasn't loving any of the kits, but then the shopkeeper showed me to the pattern section. It was really hard not to walk out with all of them, but I bought 2 bag patterns I've had my eye on for months - the Lucy Bag, and the Noni pattern I linked to above. I also got 2 others, a messener bag pattern called Mercury and The Pink Lady Bag. I had my set of Knitpicks Options needles with me of course, so I picked up 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted and a cute Fimo button to start the Pink Lady Bag.
It. Knit. Up. HUGE. I was imagining a medium or small purse - this thing was like 12x16 at LEAST, and the handle was looong. Then I made the bag part of the Noni bag - also ginormous. The pattern says small evening bag - HA!.
A friend of mine emailed me to ask if I would cat sit for her while she went to the inauguration. It's a really inconvient location for me, and my parents aren't so happy that her apartment is in Harlem, but whatever. She can't find anyone else. Anyways, I decided to knit a Kitty Pi, in an attempt to elicit good behavior from the cat despite the fact that I am a dog person. Yeah... anyways :) It's a big project - I used 4 skeins of Lion Wool - but I finished in some ridiculously quick time like 5 days or something.
Last night I felted them in the washer. I put it on the hot/cool rinse cycle for the longest time possible. I have never had anything felt so well in the past. They came out perfectly felted, very sturdy, and overall awesome.
12.22.2008
happy chanukah
To follow up with my last post - we ended up going to Deli King. I gave another coworker a lift after the bowling because she didn't have a car, and she was also nervous about what to order. I guess kosher restaurants are intimidating/nerve wracking? Who knew. Which leads me to this PSA:
In a Kosher restaurant, like any other restaurant whose cuisine you are unfamiliar with, you are always safe ordering off the menu.
Just don't be difficult and start asking for things not on the menu (like swiss on your Pastrami sandwich) or you will look like an idiot. Same as any other restaurant, right? Anyways, I was prepared to save anyone from potential mortification but they did fine. And everyone enjoyed their meal.
****
Happy Chanukah everyone!
I'm kinda screwed on the Chanukah knitting front. I realized last night I need to finish
- 2 hats (Mia and Uncle D)
- 6 scarves (CH, Uncle R, Dan, Gabe, Jason and possibly Lizzie)
- 2 dreidel dishcloths (Grandma and Aunt L)
- 2 more Divine hats for Patricia and Noemi
- a Settlers case for Eytan
The deadlines:
Thursday - 1 scarf, 2 hats, 1 Settlers case, 2 dreidel dishcloths
Friday - 5 scarves
Monday - 2 divine hats
I knocked out a scarf and half a dishcloth last night. Would you believe the dishcloth pattern is wrong? The Nun is backwards. Sigh. I'm not ripping though, I'm going to re-chart the pattern and drop the stitches and pick them back up to fix the Nun. Ok yeah, that's going to go well!
If I do 1 hat and 1 dishcloth today, 1 hat and 1 dishcloth tomorrow, and the Settlers case Wednesday I will just make it in time... Wish me luck!
In a Kosher restaurant, like any other restaurant whose cuisine you are unfamiliar with, you are always safe ordering off the menu.
Just don't be difficult and start asking for things not on the menu (like swiss on your Pastrami sandwich) or you will look like an idiot. Same as any other restaurant, right? Anyways, I was prepared to save anyone from potential mortification but they did fine. And everyone enjoyed their meal.
****
Happy Chanukah everyone!
I'm kinda screwed on the Chanukah knitting front. I realized last night I need to finish
- 2 hats (Mia and Uncle D)
- 6 scarves (CH, Uncle R, Dan, Gabe, Jason and possibly Lizzie)
- 2 dreidel dishcloths (Grandma and Aunt L)
- 2 more Divine hats for Patricia and Noemi
- a Settlers case for Eytan
The deadlines:
Thursday - 1 scarf, 2 hats, 1 Settlers case, 2 dreidel dishcloths
Friday - 5 scarves
Monday - 2 divine hats
I knocked out a scarf and half a dishcloth last night. Would you believe the dishcloth pattern is wrong? The Nun is backwards. Sigh. I'm not ripping though, I'm going to re-chart the pattern and drop the stitches and pick them back up to fix the Nun. Ok yeah, that's going to go well!
If I do 1 hat and 1 dishcloth today, 1 hat and 1 dishcloth tomorrow, and the Settlers case Wednesday I will just make it in time... Wish me luck!
12.18.2008
am i too sensitive?
So we're going bowling tonight after work as our departmental Holiday Party. I'm the Local, so when one of my coworkers thought to organize dinner afterwards nearby so they don't all drive home drunk, she asked me for a recommendation. My brother's brest friend's grandma owns 2 kosher restaurants (one meat and one dairy) in the shopping center next door to the bowling alley, so I sent her a link.
Then this morning they email me, "Oh look there's an Italian restuarant in the same place". I told her she can come check out my Zagats (yes I have one at my desk and yes I use it), and I don't think I was being pushy, but I mentioned that we should try Deli King because it's good, "it's like Ben's Deli" I told her - Ben's we've been to before, and I've actually been there whereas the other one we'd just be trusting Zagat's, and they got Good not Spectacular reviews.
So she says to me (and she's really a nice person), "Well I've never been to a kosher restaurant".
"What about Ben's."
"Well yeah. But I mean, what if someone wants to order a hamburger and get cheese on their hamburger. You can't get that at a kosher restaurant."
I was kinda flabergasted, that the possibility of wanting cheese on a burger would nulify the possibility of going to a kosher restuarant.
"Well they have other things, like Pastrami," then I blanked on stereotypical examples to give, "and other kosher food. If we went to a Thai place you couldn't order a cheeseburger either."
I really don't think cheeseburgers are a good reason not to go for kosher food, but hey I've never had one before so I could be wrong....
Then this morning they email me, "Oh look there's an Italian restuarant in the same place". I told her she can come check out my Zagats (yes I have one at my desk and yes I use it), and I don't think I was being pushy, but I mentioned that we should try Deli King because it's good, "it's like Ben's Deli" I told her - Ben's we've been to before, and I've actually been there whereas the other one we'd just be trusting Zagat's, and they got Good not Spectacular reviews.
So she says to me (and she's really a nice person), "Well I've never been to a kosher restaurant".
"What about Ben's."
"Well yeah. But I mean, what if someone wants to order a hamburger and get cheese on their hamburger. You can't get that at a kosher restaurant."
I was kinda flabergasted, that the possibility of wanting cheese on a burger would nulify the possibility of going to a kosher restuarant.
"Well they have other things, like Pastrami," then I blanked on stereotypical examples to give, "and other kosher food. If we went to a Thai place you couldn't order a cheeseburger either."
I really don't think cheeseburgers are a good reason not to go for kosher food, but hey I've never had one before so I could be wrong....
12.15.2008
A knitting conundrum
Okay knitters, I need some help please.
My cousin Eytan taught me how to play Settlers recently, and it's my new favorite game. He has also (recently) become one of my favorite cousins, because we've been hanging out a lot and I've come to realize that we make good friends (in addition to being cousins), but that's another story.
Eytan likes to bring his games when he visits friends, or when we go on Shabbatons, or to Thanksgiving, or basically anywhere. He devised a series of ziplock bags to neatly pack away his Settlers so that he doesn't have to schlep the box everywhere, yet all the pieces are sorted precisely. And you thought I was OCD, lol. Anyways, I told him I'd knit him a nice bag for his game for Chanukah, and unlike most of my family, he was properly thrilled at the offer of a handknit.
So I both need to and want to do a spectacular job of it- because I like him, and want to thank him for teaching me the game, but also because he'll be properly appreciative even if it sucks.
The idea first came up in August, and I still haven't picked or designed a pattern and gotten down to it. The family Chanukah party is the 25th, so I have 10 days to sit down and do this thing... which is okay, but I need to get going!
First up: the Fiona bag. Probably in Lion Brand's Cotton Ease.
Pros:
I really want to make one - it's been in my queue for Ages, ever since I saw the one Spinningmaid made for HSKS54
I like the style, and I think he will also
Con:
Not a pattern I am familiar with already - might take a long time to knit up.
Not Felted - the game has small pieces that might slip through the stitches. Lining is beyond my abilities at this point, so he'd have to have smaller bags to hold the little pieces inside.
Option 2: Quinn Cabled Bag
Pros:
I've knitted it before
It is GORGEOUS and he will love it
It's a simple silhouette so I will have no trouble lining it.
Cons:
It took me 4-6 weeks to make the other one, and I have 10 days. But it'll go faster now that I've practiced, right? lol
Option 3: Ripple Me This
Never made one before but it looks simple enough...
Pros:
Felted!
Interesting architecture (ripples)
Cons:
Not sure if I want to make him a felted bag anymore, because will it be "less impressive" to a non-knitter?
What if it takes forever to knit?
Options 4&5: Satchel and Maple, Knitty's felted messenger bags
Pros:
Also felted
I've done 2 maples, they are quick and easy and have gotten good reviews
Cons:
See Ripple Me's "less-impressive" concern
My cousin Eytan taught me how to play Settlers recently, and it's my new favorite game. He has also (recently) become one of my favorite cousins, because we've been hanging out a lot and I've come to realize that we make good friends (in addition to being cousins), but that's another story.
Eytan likes to bring his games when he visits friends, or when we go on Shabbatons, or to Thanksgiving, or basically anywhere. He devised a series of ziplock bags to neatly pack away his Settlers so that he doesn't have to schlep the box everywhere, yet all the pieces are sorted precisely. And you thought I was OCD, lol. Anyways, I told him I'd knit him a nice bag for his game for Chanukah, and unlike most of my family, he was properly thrilled at the offer of a handknit.
So I both need to and want to do a spectacular job of it- because I like him, and want to thank him for teaching me the game, but also because he'll be properly appreciative even if it sucks.
The idea first came up in August, and I still haven't picked or designed a pattern and gotten down to it. The family Chanukah party is the 25th, so I have 10 days to sit down and do this thing... which is okay, but I need to get going!
First up: the Fiona bag. Probably in Lion Brand's Cotton Ease.
Pros:
I really want to make one - it's been in my queue for Ages, ever since I saw the one Spinningmaid made for HSKS54
I like the style, and I think he will also
Con:
Not a pattern I am familiar with already - might take a long time to knit up.
Not Felted - the game has small pieces that might slip through the stitches. Lining is beyond my abilities at this point, so he'd have to have smaller bags to hold the little pieces inside.
Option 2: Quinn Cabled Bag
Pros:
I've knitted it before
It is GORGEOUS and he will love it
It's a simple silhouette so I will have no trouble lining it.
Cons:
It took me 4-6 weeks to make the other one, and I have 10 days. But it'll go faster now that I've practiced, right? lol
Option 3: Ripple Me This
Never made one before but it looks simple enough...
Pros:
Felted!
Interesting architecture (ripples)
Cons:
Not sure if I want to make him a felted bag anymore, because will it be "less impressive" to a non-knitter?
What if it takes forever to knit?
Options 4&5: Satchel and Maple, Knitty's felted messenger bags
Pros:
Also felted
I've done 2 maples, they are quick and easy and have gotten good reviews
Cons:
See Ripple Me's "less-impressive" concern
*****
Now I kinda wish I started a Quinn in August.... Anyways, which do you think I should do? Or, any other pattern suggestions?
11.13.2008
Stitches (part 2...)
Friday morning, I woke up at 5:45 because my feet were FREEZING - air matress, basement, you get the picture. I LOVE air matresses though so it was worth it! Anyways, I couldn't fall back to sleep because I was way too excited for Stitches, so I pulled out my book. Around 6 Teri came down and found me, and we went to wait for the lazy bums to wake up so we could go already!
Teri made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and at 9 we were ready to go. Corey helped drive us all to the Light Rail station - another reason why we love him! On the train we all pulled out our knitting - except Teri forgot hers - and got to work. We met a bunch of other knitters going to Stitches, and Jennifer even taught an impromptu sock/magic loop lesson to our car.
Once at Stitches we split up into 2 parties. Jen and Tess had to hit 3 Irish Girls right away, and Sarah wanted Jordana Paige right away. She dragged the rest of us along ;) On the way Sarah spotted some $3 skeins of dyeable sock yarn so we made a tiny detour, but then straight to JP! Sarah talked Jen into a bag like hers, me into buying a messenger bag (the red and khaki color, not pink!)... and later Teri even got a bag. Sarah had never met Jordana IRL before, but she'd founded the JP group on Ravelry and helped her out a lot... so Jordana gave her a bag as a gift. Which was really sweet. They were all mushy and stuff, so Jenifuh and I spent the rest of the weekend teasing Sarah... but it was really cute :)
Next we met up with Tess and Jen at 3IG - really the Yarn Love booth. It's complicated. Anyways, Tess and Jen got a crazy amount of yarn there and talked us all into buying some - like that was hard ;) I got some "Delicate Aquamarine" sock yarn and talked Tess into more yarn for a Calorimetry - the Carson colorway, in worsted weight.
Next Jenifuh and I went to the Cocoknits/Three Black Sheep booth and bought the Malabrigo Loafers pattern and Lamb's Pride Bulky to knit it up.
We breaked for lunch, and went upstairs to find Carma and crew. Meeting Carma was fun, she wasn't like I expected from her online persona - she defied my New Yorker expectations, in a very good way. Centy, on the other hand, was pretty much exactly like she is online (=awesome! ROAR Gryffindor indeed :). Centy brought a friend from S&B, Heather. I don't think I'd chatted with L to the F before, and I am very glad that changed this weekend.
Carma brought lunch for everyone from her Cafe, and O.M.G. it was amazing. There were these Sesame Noodles that were really, really yummy, and we are STILL waiting to see a recipe for ;) Then I had an Apples Alexander - Apples, Honey, some kinda cheese on a toasted roll. It's like apple strudel in a roll instead of annoyingly flaky pastry - SO GOOD. And then there were cookies too. The Pink Dalmations have a well-deserved reputation for amazingness. I tried a piece of Erika's macaroon and even though it was coconut, which I usually hate, even that was delicious.
After lunch we hit Webs (I got some Berroco Cuzco and Jasper and an Addi needle), and then a lot of other booths. At 4 Jenifuh decided she'd had enough, and went back to Teri's with me. Corey picked us up at the Light Rail (see what I mean? he's the best!), and we hung out at Teri's. I talked Jen into a corned beef sandwhich for dinner, and then Corey and Jen attempted to teach me to suck less at Pool in Teri's basement. We tried a normal game, and then "Three Ball". Progress was made, but I still suck - just less.
Teri made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and at 9 we were ready to go. Corey helped drive us all to the Light Rail station - another reason why we love him! On the train we all pulled out our knitting - except Teri forgot hers - and got to work. We met a bunch of other knitters going to Stitches, and Jennifer even taught an impromptu sock/magic loop lesson to our car.
Once at Stitches we split up into 2 parties. Jen and Tess had to hit 3 Irish Girls right away, and Sarah wanted Jordana Paige right away. She dragged the rest of us along ;) On the way Sarah spotted some $3 skeins of dyeable sock yarn so we made a tiny detour, but then straight to JP! Sarah talked Jen into a bag like hers, me into buying a messenger bag (the red and khaki color, not pink!)... and later Teri even got a bag. Sarah had never met Jordana IRL before, but she'd founded the JP group on Ravelry and helped her out a lot... so Jordana gave her a bag as a gift. Which was really sweet. They were all mushy and stuff, so Jenifuh and I spent the rest of the weekend teasing Sarah... but it was really cute :)
Next we met up with Tess and Jen at 3IG - really the Yarn Love booth. It's complicated. Anyways, Tess and Jen got a crazy amount of yarn there and talked us all into buying some - like that was hard ;) I got some "Delicate Aquamarine" sock yarn and talked Tess into more yarn for a Calorimetry - the Carson colorway, in worsted weight.
.jpg) |
| Delicate Aquamarine from Ravelry |
Next Jenifuh and I went to the Cocoknits/Three Black Sheep booth and bought the Malabrigo Loafers pattern and Lamb's Pride Bulky to knit it up.
We breaked for lunch, and went upstairs to find Carma and crew. Meeting Carma was fun, she wasn't like I expected from her online persona - she defied my New Yorker expectations, in a very good way. Centy, on the other hand, was pretty much exactly like she is online (=awesome! ROAR Gryffindor indeed :). Centy brought a friend from S&B, Heather. I don't think I'd chatted with L to the F before, and I am very glad that changed this weekend.
Carma brought lunch for everyone from her Cafe, and O.M.G. it was amazing. There were these Sesame Noodles that were really, really yummy, and we are STILL waiting to see a recipe for ;) Then I had an Apples Alexander - Apples, Honey, some kinda cheese on a toasted roll. It's like apple strudel in a roll instead of annoyingly flaky pastry - SO GOOD. And then there were cookies too. The Pink Dalmations have a well-deserved reputation for amazingness. I tried a piece of Erika's macaroon and even though it was coconut, which I usually hate, even that was delicious.
After lunch we hit Webs (I got some Berroco Cuzco and Jasper and an Addi needle), and then a lot of other booths. At 4 Jenifuh decided she'd had enough, and went back to Teri's with me. Corey picked us up at the Light Rail (see what I mean? he's the best!), and we hung out at Teri's. I talked Jen into a corned beef sandwhich for dinner, and then Corey and Jen attempted to teach me to suck less at Pool in Teri's basement. We tried a normal game, and then "Three Ball". Progress was made, but I still suck - just less.
11.12.2008
needles
So I might be weird (okay I know I'm weird), but my favorite favorite favorite DPNs are the plastic Lion Brand DPNS.
Anyways, they aren't sold locally so on a lark I searched ebay. And found an auction the most confusing description EVER, but it looked like 7 sets were in the Lot. So I bid and ended up as the winning (read: only) bidder, and thus spent $28 for:
.jpg)
TWELVE sets of Lion Brand DPNs! The rest was cake :-)
- They are relatively cheap
- The plastic is the perfect combination of smooth for slip and non-metal for grip
- They are color co-ordinated.
Anyways, they aren't sold locally so on a lark I searched ebay. And found an auction the most confusing description EVER, but it looked like 7 sets were in the Lot. So I bid and ended up as the winning (read: only) bidder, and thus spent $28 for:
.jpg)
TWELVE sets of Lion Brand DPNs! The rest was cake :-)
11.10.2008
Stitches! (part 1...)
You know how most of the time, when you spend tons of time planning and preparing for and waiting for an event, it's usually a big disappointment in the end? Or at least it doesn't live up to expectations? Yeah, so Stitches was the exact opposite of that.
Two (of the three) owners of my LYS were driving down to Baltimore Thursday morning with a friend of theirs, and offered me a ride. Lots of knitting-related conversation :) I already knew I really liked my LYS ladies, but over 4 hrs I got to know them much better. I finished a Turn a Square hat (Brooklyn Tweed's pattern) en route.
We got in to B'more in 4 hours, and 30 minutes on the Light Rail later I was at BWI to meet Teri, Shewhoknits, and Svendel for the first time IRL. Svendel I recognized right away from some photos she showed us of her HS reunion. Teri and Jen were different than I imagined they'd be in person, but I knew exactly who they were when the car pulled up, 'cuz they were smiling really, really big like I was. Teri managed to smush my caravan of bags (only 4! lol) into her car and away we went!
Fyi, Teri's house is gorgeous. Plus, her husband built it, himself. And you thought the swift was impressive, right? (more on that in a bit). We met the oldest Prince on his way out the door, and then Teri left Corey to entertain us while she went to collect Jen and her previously-unknown friend (Tess/Ginny). We tried corrupting him, but Corey is just too awesome. He frikkin unpacked the groceries, without being asked.
For dinner we went to Texas Roadhouse. Dude, we need to get places like that to come to NY.
(L-R: Jenifir, me, Tess, Jenifuh, Sarah and Teri)
Then it was back to Teri's to knit (a LOT), watch the Office ("That's what she said, that's what she said, that's what she said!" - Pam), and 30 Rock ("That's not Oprah")
I think that was pretty much it for Thursday. Stay tuned for part 2, when we finally make it to Stitches and meet up with the rest of the Stitches Witches...
Two (of the three) owners of my LYS were driving down to Baltimore Thursday morning with a friend of theirs, and offered me a ride. Lots of knitting-related conversation :) I already knew I really liked my LYS ladies, but over 4 hrs I got to know them much better. I finished a Turn a Square hat (Brooklyn Tweed's pattern) en route.
We got in to B'more in 4 hours, and 30 minutes on the Light Rail later I was at BWI to meet Teri, Shewhoknits, and Svendel for the first time IRL. Svendel I recognized right away from some photos she showed us of her HS reunion. Teri and Jen were different than I imagined they'd be in person, but I knew exactly who they were when the car pulled up, 'cuz they were smiling really, really big like I was. Teri managed to smush my caravan of bags (only 4! lol) into her car and away we went!
Fyi, Teri's house is gorgeous. Plus, her husband built it, himself. And you thought the swift was impressive, right? (more on that in a bit). We met the oldest Prince on his way out the door, and then Teri left Corey to entertain us while she went to collect Jen and her previously-unknown friend (Tess/Ginny). We tried corrupting him, but Corey is just too awesome. He frikkin unpacked the groceries, without being asked.
For dinner we went to Texas Roadhouse. Dude, we need to get places like that to come to NY.
(L-R: Jenifir, me, Tess, Jenifuh, Sarah and Teri)
Then it was back to Teri's to knit (a LOT), watch the Office ("That's what she said, that's what she said, that's what she said!" - Pam), and 30 Rock ("That's not Oprah")
I think that was pretty much it for Thursday. Stay tuned for part 2, when we finally make it to Stitches and meet up with the rest of the Stitches Witches...
10.20.2008
RHINEBECK!!
I went to Rhinebeck yesterday, and OMG it was amazing!
First, I met Kileigh7, in person. She is exactly the same as online, and just as awesome. Yes Amy, there are photos :-D And I met Laura's mom, who is an extremely good sport for someone not as crazy into knitting, Ravelry, and the blogosphere as certain other people. The three of us walked around the festival together.
First stop was the Author's area. Laura & Laura's mom had gotten a Yarn Harlot autograph, but I just wanted to see her (and take a photo :). Anyway, the line was HUGE. We went over to the front of the line to try and take a photo (ok fine to Kinnear her), and befriended 3 fellow Ravelers. One of whom needs to join HSKS7 because she's a huge HP fan ::goes off to invite her::
Thank goodness I was with Laura, 'cuz after we got our photo of the Harlot I didn't know any of the other authors from a hole in the wall. She was our guide, pointing out who the authors were and which of my favorite patterns they wrote. Then we walked past Hannah Fettig's table. I had to take a photo of her sweatshirt for CentyB.
Not only was she great to chat with, she let me juggle the samples of the Juggling Balls pattern from her book Closely Knit. She autographed a copy for me. After my chanukah knitting, I am so knitting my own set :D
Next it was almost noon so we hit the Ravelry meetup. Since we got there exactly on time we snagged buttons and were able to talk to Jess and Casey before the masses descended in droves. Well mostly Casey. It was strange, here we are walking up to him and saying hi as if to an old friend, and yet to him we are all a bunch of strangers. Being a celebrity must suck. Also, I had no idea what to say to Casey. I knew that once I got started with a thank you I'd just babble, so I settled for thanking Casey for helping me find my first local knitting friend, Gryffinitter, through the hsks group. He told us about someone that told him she met someone in her own apartment building through Ravlery!
Jess and Casey were super nice about taking photos with all their groupies
[I'll post the photo here when I find my camera cable]
We also saw Mary Heather, and I chatted with Erica, helpdesk emailer extraordinaire and sister-in-law to Jess. She is awesome, and has a very, very cute puppy.
After the Ravelry meet, we grabbed lunch and got down to business. Shopping. I got:
- Green Lambs Pride that looks kettle dyed, for a hat for my Dad for Chanukah
- *something* for the Stitches Witches exchange
- Ceramic Buttons for the Calorimetries I made. They are really cute, just a little funky, and very perfect.
- Handles for my Firefly bag
- 2 skeins of Socks That Rock in the Dreidel colorway. Can you say Chanukah Socks??? :D
- Backup/extra yarn for my HSKS6 kit.
Laura has been trying to get her mom to sign up for Ravelry with no luck. I hope she does sign up, because she bough some pretty brown yarn to make a scarf for Laura's dad, and I want to see photos of the finished product! Laura got some STR to make socks and possibly a Sock Monkey, a starter kit for spinning, and some books.
At 3:30 we were festival-ed and shopped out so we went home. It was a long day, but awesome! And even the drive home wasn't so bad, the leaves were changing and gorgeous :)
First, I met Kileigh7, in person. She is exactly the same as online, and just as awesome. Yes Amy, there are photos :-D And I met Laura's mom, who is an extremely good sport for someone not as crazy into knitting, Ravelry, and the blogosphere as certain other people. The three of us walked around the festival together.
First stop was the Author's area. Laura & Laura's mom had gotten a Yarn Harlot autograph, but I just wanted to see her (and take a photo :). Anyway, the line was HUGE. We went over to the front of the line to try and take a photo (ok fine to Kinnear her), and befriended 3 fellow Ravelers. One of whom needs to join HSKS7 because she's a huge HP fan ::goes off to invite her::
Thank goodness I was with Laura, 'cuz after we got our photo of the Harlot I didn't know any of the other authors from a hole in the wall. She was our guide, pointing out who the authors were and which of my favorite patterns they wrote. Then we walked past Hannah Fettig's table. I had to take a photo of her sweatshirt for CentyB.
Next it was almost noon so we hit the Ravelry meetup. Since we got there exactly on time we snagged buttons and were able to talk to Jess and Casey before the masses descended in droves. Well mostly Casey. It was strange, here we are walking up to him and saying hi as if to an old friend, and yet to him we are all a bunch of strangers. Being a celebrity must suck. Also, I had no idea what to say to Casey. I knew that once I got started with a thank you I'd just babble, so I settled for thanking Casey for helping me find my first local knitting friend, Gryffinitter, through the hsks group. He told us about someone that told him she met someone in her own apartment building through Ravlery!
Jess and Casey were super nice about taking photos with all their groupies
[I'll post the photo here when I find my camera cable]
We also saw Mary Heather, and I chatted with Erica, helpdesk emailer extraordinaire and sister-in-law to Jess. She is awesome, and has a very, very cute puppy.
After the Ravelry meet, we grabbed lunch and got down to business. Shopping. I got:
- Green Lambs Pride that looks kettle dyed, for a hat for my Dad for Chanukah
- *something* for the Stitches Witches exchange
- Ceramic Buttons for the Calorimetries I made. They are really cute, just a little funky, and very perfect.
- Handles for my Firefly bag
- 2 skeins of Socks That Rock in the Dreidel colorway. Can you say Chanukah Socks??? :D
- Backup/extra yarn for my HSKS6 kit.
Laura has been trying to get her mom to sign up for Ravelry with no luck. I hope she does sign up, because she bough some pretty brown yarn to make a scarf for Laura's dad, and I want to see photos of the finished product! Laura got some STR to make socks and possibly a Sock Monkey, a starter kit for spinning, and some books.
At 3:30 we were festival-ed and shopped out so we went home. It was a long day, but awesome! And even the drive home wasn't so bad, the leaves were changing and gorgeous :)
10.05.2008
hats hats everywhere!
Wow, it's been a while since my last post!
Okay, last Sunday I took a break from working and went on a field trip. First stop was The Yarn Tree, to pick up a prize I won in their raffle. I won... a pound of coffee. Which might get regifted, since I don't drink coffee. Not to waste a trip there, I found their 25% off sale on Koigu sock yarns and picked up enough Teal and Lavender for 2 pairs of socks. The yarn is basically monochromatic with different color values (light and dark), which is my latest love in yarns. I might actually finish a pair of socks with them! LOL yeah right :)
After TYT I went to a new-to-me LYS, Brooklyn General Store. It's literally 3 blocks away from my HS best friend's house, and her mom is a knitter, yet somehow I never heard of it in all my times visiting them. It's definitely worth a return trip, their prices are better than the LYS near me and they have my new-favorite yarn - Cascade 220. Yes it's a very "basic" yarn, but its in my price range and soft and wonderful and I love it. Plus it comes in a bazillion colors, and Brooklyn General carries a lot of them. I also snagged 4 skeins of Noro Kureyon in a great colorway. 1 skein has already been turned into a hat.
Speaking of hats, I am making them for "everyone" for Chanukah this year. Everyone being immediate family, Grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, one first cousin once removed, and 3 or 5 friends. That's5+2+4+3+12+1+4 31 hats, approximately. And now that I think of it, I have a couple of second cousins who could use a handmade hat. But I'll stick to the 31 I've already committed to, I suppose.
So far I've finished 1 Stirling Cloche, 3 Calorimetry,1 Robin's Egg Blue, 1 Divine Hat, and 1 Just Like a Peasant Hat, for 7 FOs total. The thing is, I need 13 male-friendly hats and I've completed 0. Also 2 years ago when all the cousins and aunts and grandmas got scarves - the guys got zilch, so I really can't stiff them again. But dudes hats are so boring - no fun colors, no funky patterns or interesting designs. They might all just get ribbed watchcaps, and where's the fun in that?
I need to make a list of who is getting which hat, because it's getting harder to keep them all straight in my head. Therefore:
AG, The Second, Uncle B, Uncle D, Uncle R, Grandma, Grandpa, Avi, Mia, Rocky, Big Rocky, CH, Eytan, my parents, D, Older Brother, Jay, G, Dan, and Lizzie.
Oh and I still need to seam up that afghan (yes I decided I was sewing it up) and line a bag for someone (I HATE sewing!). Better get cracking...
Okay, last Sunday I took a break from working and went on a field trip. First stop was The Yarn Tree, to pick up a prize I won in their raffle. I won... a pound of coffee. Which might get regifted, since I don't drink coffee. Not to waste a trip there, I found their 25% off sale on Koigu sock yarns and picked up enough Teal and Lavender for 2 pairs of socks. The yarn is basically monochromatic with different color values (light and dark), which is my latest love in yarns. I might actually finish a pair of socks with them! LOL yeah right :)
After TYT I went to a new-to-me LYS, Brooklyn General Store. It's literally 3 blocks away from my HS best friend's house, and her mom is a knitter, yet somehow I never heard of it in all my times visiting them. It's definitely worth a return trip, their prices are better than the LYS near me and they have my new-favorite yarn - Cascade 220. Yes it's a very "basic" yarn, but its in my price range and soft and wonderful and I love it. Plus it comes in a bazillion colors, and Brooklyn General carries a lot of them. I also snagged 4 skeins of Noro Kureyon in a great colorway. 1 skein has already been turned into a hat.
Speaking of hats, I am making them for "everyone" for Chanukah this year. Everyone being immediate family, Grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, one first cousin once removed, and 3 or 5 friends. That's
So far I've finished 1 Stirling Cloche, 3 Calorimetry,1 Robin's Egg Blue, 1 Divine Hat, and 1 Just Like a Peasant Hat, for 7 FOs total. The thing is, I need 13 male-friendly hats and I've completed 0. Also 2 years ago when all the cousins and aunts and grandmas got scarves - the guys got zilch, so I really can't stiff them again. But dudes hats are so boring - no fun colors, no funky patterns or interesting designs. They might all just get ribbed watchcaps, and where's the fun in that?
I need to make a list of who is getting which hat, because it's getting harder to keep them all straight in my head. Therefore:
- Lisa is getting a Grey Calorimetry
- Jackie asked for a Divine Hat, so she's getting a turqoise one to match her scarf.
- Rif is getting the Magenta Robin's Egg Blue
- The Third is getting the Like a Peasant's Cap - and if you know an Orthodox woman who covers her hair, this is THE CUTEST HAT ever so make her one!
- C might be getting a Stirling Cloche. Or a Green Calorimetry. Possibly both if I get through 24 more hats in time.
- AE is tough because she wears a Sheitel, but I figure a Calorimetry won't muss it too badly and will cover her ears in the winter.
- I is getting a Divine Hat in purple.
AG, The Second, Uncle B, Uncle D, Uncle R, Grandma, Grandpa, Avi, Mia, Rocky, Big Rocky, CH, Eytan, my parents, D, Older Brother, Jay, G, Dan, and Lizzie.
Oh and I still need to seam up that afghan (yes I decided I was sewing it up) and line a bag for someone (I HATE sewing!). Better get cracking...
9.12.2008
OMG I got published!! Kinda.
Ok now that they are up I can post about it.... The Leaky Cauldron has published my two snitch patterns on their website!!!!
I've tweaked patterns before but those are my first two completely original patterns, and I'm really excited that other people like them and want to knit and crochet them! Now if only they listed their projects in Ravelry so I could see how they turned out... but that's another story :)
I've tweaked patterns before but those are my first two completely original patterns, and I'm really excited that other people like them and want to knit and crochet them! Now if only they listed their projects in Ravelry so I could see how they turned out... but that's another story :)
8.28.2008
dragons beads and stinky sox
Elle and MJ talked me into this online game called Dragon Cave. I'm still learning the ropes and it's already cutting into my knitting time, so I might have to stop playing soon. But for now, meet my dragon posse:
Michaelangelo
Lucky
Spike
Sky
Ivy II
Lava Junior
Splashface
In more interesting, knitting-related news, I taught myself how to knit with beads and started a ridiculously tiny Beaded Amulet Purse. My first attempt kinda sucked because I didn't realize I was supposed to slip the beads on the WS rows also. It's not essential for aesthetic reasons, but because otherwise the spacing gets wonky. I was almost halfway done with the thing but I was good and frogged it. Now I'm nearly back to where I was before frogging.
(This was taken before the frogging, but it looks pretty much the same now)
Michaelangelo Lucky Spike Sky Ivy II Lava Junior SplashfaceIn more interesting, knitting-related news, I taught myself how to knit with beads and started a ridiculously tiny Beaded Amulet Purse. My first attempt kinda sucked because I didn't realize I was supposed to slip the beads on the WS rows also. It's not essential for aesthetic reasons, but because otherwise the spacing gets wonky. I was almost halfway done with the thing but I was good and frogged it. Now I'm nearly back to where I was before frogging.
(This was taken before the frogging, but it looks pretty much the same now)
Tuesday night I went to the Yankees Red Sox game. We were winning in the first inning, see?
Sigh. At least the sky was beautiful. It was probably my last game in Yankee Stadium, so I took a whole bunch of photos. I'm going to miss that place. I finally learned where our seats are, and now we're leaving. Oh well...
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