Faithfully Geeky

A Klean Knitting Korner

2012-02-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

Now that I am no longer in school I'm finding myself actually doing all the things I always claimed I never had time for. Like cleaning out my closet to donate all the clothing I have ~~hoarded~~ accumulated or organizing the pantry. On Sundays the museum opens late (for another week and then I lose my sleep-in day) and usually I try to get up in time to fit in a run before work. Today I just decided not to. Because clearly I am lazy. And a bird woke me at six a.m. and I could not get back to sleep. So instead I decided to organize what I affectionately call my Knitting Korner.

This is the view from my bed. I love having my knitting stuff at the foot of my bed because it makes me smile every morning when I wake up. I use baskets a lot to store things. My mom sold Longaberger baskets when I was a baby so I've inherited a few and a love of storing things to show them off. The top basket holds a few small UFOs that are hibernating and some FOs that need ends woven in. Underneath I have a picnic basket that holds most of my leftovers.

I need to do some projects out of leftovers. Maybe a super stripey Daybreak?

The highlight of my Knitting Korner (really of my room) is my yarn cabinet. I inherited this from my grandmother, it was her tv stand in her bedroom, and it is in contention for my favorite piece of furniture ever. It has shelves inside and I try to keep it all organized with socks and lace on the top and sweater quantities on the bottom.

Looking at it from this angle I really don't think I need any more yarn. How awesome would it be if I had so much yarn it did not fit in the cabinet? So awesome, that's how awesome.

And at the end of the day, if it's functional on the inside, then on the outside it really should be all about the pretty. Hey look, another basket!

The Post Has Landed

2012-02-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

I can't decide which is more fun -- Opening my own swap package or reading the posts as the one I compiled is finally opened. Thursday the box I had so much fun packing finally reached its destination in the UK. I know! The UK! I can't tell you how hard it was to sit on that little bit of information.

So I will keep the rest of my excitement to myself and let the lovely Heather tell you all about it. There may or may not have been a bit of on the spot poetry tucked away. But I swear, I'll never tell. I will say this -- I took it as my chance to buy things from individuals, not companies. Well . . . mostly . . .

The Return of Knit Night

2012-02-24T20:53:00.003-05:00

This post comes to you way later than I would like courtesy of a chinchilla who loves to chew modem power cords and way too many episodes of Downton Abbey. Seriously man, how am I so addicted to the equivalent of a PBS soap opera? I don't even watch romance anything! Well, unless a former Doctor is on it.

So I have lived here without any real knitting friends for many many months. One of Andrea's friends, who really is my friend too (we share custody of the friendship most days), is a knitter and we often say we should get together and knit sometime. But we never did. Last week we finally decided to make a plan, grab Andrea, and schedule our very first knit night.

Because she was coming to knit night Andrea decided that she needed to have a knitting project. Next thing I knew she had found an LYS five minutes from our apartment and we were meeting there after work to pick out some yarn and needles. Evidently being best friends with a knitter has rubbed off more than I thought because she ended up with some gorgeous purple alpaca and silk and a set of Knitter's Pride straights (I swear I didn't point them out to her).

And then we held our first knit night at the local frozen yogurt shop. So. Much. Fun! It is definitely turning into a weekly or bi-weekly affair. Even the staff found us entertaining.

I was forbidden to take photos of Andrea knitting, but I couldn't resist a shot of Nicole showing her how to purl!

I did not realize how much I missed having a knitting community -- both the welcoming atmosphere of a true LYS and the entertainment of knit night. It was such a great break from the stress of work and planning the wedding. And don't worry, I'll return with reports of Andrea's knitting progress. She bought her first knitting bag on Etsy today. Only good things can follow.

Lost in Cowl Land

2012-02-22T16:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know how everyone else is doing with the Great Cowl KAL, mostly because I'm hiding from the Ravelry group in shame, but the latest pattern has become a slog for me. I spend hours and hours on it and I'm still struggling.

If you're knitting the pattern you can probably tell from the photo that I have started the short-rows early. This is a great pattern to use up all of a ball of yarn because she has you cast on a giant number of stitches and then knit in the round until you are a certain percentage through your yardage. And since I am knitting this out of the only skein of Kitchen Sink Dyeworks I will ever own I would really like to use it all. But I just can't. I know it will result in a beautiful item, but I can not stand to knit a single round more of stockinette on this cowl. If I did not have a deadline I could work on something else at the same time to break up the monotony, but I will let nothing stop me from finishing this cowl.

At the same time I think the item in my mind has become a little different from the original pattern. It snowed two days ago and now it is back in the 70s reminding me that yes I do live in the south and it would be really nice to knit something I could wear more than a few days out of the year. So I'm starting to envision something thinner and drapier. The yarn is a merino bamboo blend so I think it will work as a more spring-y item.

Then again it could be that I just really want to play with my new toys. It was Chris' and my anniversary yesterday so he bought me the one gift I'd been hinting at for months -- Knit Picks Interchangeables. I'll do a more comprehensive review once I get to play with them more. I'm so excited!

But first, cowl.

Hey look! It's Wednesday!

Not Quite Snowy

2012-02-20T19:38:00.001-05:00

Man, I step away from the blogging world for a weekend and I feel like I have missed everything! Several more people have gotten their swap packages for the Blog Hub swap. My partner still has not received hers, but I'm sure it will be there soon. I also wanted to thank all of the people who commented on my sweater FO. I forgot how welcoming the Tami's Amis group is. I need to take the time to go check out more of the posts before Wednesday's Mr. Linky gets going.

I took a few days off from the majority of the internet because it was a holiday weekend here in the US. This does not mean that I got to go on a vacation or enjoy some time off. My work schedule works out so that if there is a holiday I know I will be super busy. I barely got any knitting done. And then last night something crazy happened -- snow!

This is not a common occurrence for me. I may have yelled at Andrea to get back inside to grab a camera and take the above photo of me. I count myself lucky if I get to see a tiny bit of snow at all during a season. Because there was so much last season and due to the very mild winter we have been having I had given up hope of snow, just enjoying the fact it occasionally dropped below 40 during the day. But last night saw me dashing outside to enjoy the tiny bit of snow we got.

I was so into it all this morning that though I left myself enough time to unearth my car I actually forgot my knitting. That did wonders for my progress on the latest installment of the cowl KAL, let me tell you (oh my gosh, I am so bored! I know it'll be lovely but so much stockinette!).

The cemetery I blogged about has finally been cleaned up from last year's tornado and it looked quite lovely with a light glitter of melting snow. Every time I pass it I think it would be the perfect setting for some FO shots. If only I had my Roisin completed I may have been late for work.

FO: Gramps Cardigan

2012-02-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've done an FO Friday. Actually, according to Ravelry I have not looked at the FO Friday thread in six months. But participating in the Blog Hub Swap has made me more determined to revamp the blog and participate more.

But enough dithering -- you just came here to see the FO, right?

This is the Gramps Cardigan by Kate Oates (the grown up version). I knit it up in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Opal Heather and it took about ten of the twelve skeins I bought. I can not say enough good things about this pattern. It is brilliant. Kate has given a wealth of sizes as well as explained what kind of ease would lead to what fit. I knit mine as the size medium, which gave me just the tiniest bit of ease around a tshirt.

The only modification I made was to knit the sleeves two at a time before I started the body of the sweater. This was partly because I wanted to see if it would speed the process along (it did) and partly because I wanted to have something portable and distracting while I waited for my thesis defense. I managed to miscross one of the cables, but decided to leave it rather than picking out all of that work. It's not an obvious error and reminds me fondly of one of the most stressful days of my life.

I had never used Wool of the Andes before and was surprised how soft it was. It really is a lovely yarn, and at $2 a ball made this sweater much more affordable. I'm hoping to try out one of the sport weights later this year for another sweater, but I have too many other things on the needles right now.

You can tell we took these pictures at home because I'm laughing at my mom the entire time. It was really cold and she kept making faces at me.

For more FO posts go to Tami's Amis!

#BHS2012: Day Seven

2012-02-15T08:22:00.001-05:00

Today's parcel, the final parcel in my box, was well worth the wait.

According to Manni the Magnificent's note it is a Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Sign. This particular one is meant to bring good luck to a married couple -- like, say, myself in six months? I'm pretty excited to hang this up somewhere to be admired. I feel like I recognize the actual artwork from somewhere. I don't know if maybe my mom had some remnants of her time spent in PA sitting out when I was a child or maybe someone we went to visit had it in their home. I seem to have a family connection to every part of this package, which has made it that much more interesting to open and explore.

I'm sure that it will come as no surprise that I am a little bummed to be done with my part of this swap. It was so much fun and well worth the wait. I'm already casting about looking for something similar to do. Many thanks to Vivianne for organizing this international effort and to Manni the Magnificent, for giving me a tour of her part of the world -- a place it just so happens has a lot of sentimental value to my family, and thus to me. It has been a blast!

#BHS2012: Day Six

2012-02-14T19:07:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my part of the Blog Hub Swap is almost over. It has been so much fun! Fortunately I get to relive it all once my package reaches its destination (it's going in the mail tomorrow provided the shipping is affordable). I have been having a ton of fun and am definitely looking for more swaps and such in which to participate in the near future.

So for today's parcel Manni the Magnificent displays too much confidence in my abilities.

Or maybe not enough? It's a pie mix in a box! I have to tell you, when the box of goodies arrived last week I picked up and shook each parcel trying to figure out what it was. This one had me stumped! I've never had Shoofly pie, but I'm sure it will be delicious (plus it gives me an excuse to sing "Shoo Fly" all day). Also, I'm ashamed to admit that I've actually never made a pie. I've helped my mom make pies, but I've never done it myself. Depending on how it goes, I may be eating the entire pie on my own out of fear that no one else will like it. Either way, I see kitchen adventures in my future!

#BHS2012: Day Five

2012-02-13T08:37:00.002-05:00

For Day five Manni the Magnificent has truly outdone herself and spoken directly to my heart in a way the flowers and trappings of impending Valentine's Day cannot.

Coffee! I know many of my readers are farther from their student days than I am and several are from countries that are not as obsessed with coffee as mine, so let me explain my enthusiasm a little. Actually, it's quite simple. Along with knitting and a functional bathroom, I cannot live without coffee. The past five years have seen my caffeine intake rise from the occasional soda to multiple pots of coffee a day. I have started to scale back a bit and switch to lower caffeine content teas later in the day. But my true love is still a good cup of strong black coffee.

The great thing about this coffee that Manni has sent is that it is local to her. With the trend in consumer products moving towards free-trade and locally sourced goods, it has become just as fun to shop for coffee as it is for yarn (well maybe not quite, there is no Etsy dyed coffee -- yet). I'm looking forward to getting home tonight and grinding up some of this for use in my coffee press. Just close your eyes and think of the smell. Mmmm...

#BHS2012: Day Four

2012-02-12T20:39:00.001-05:00

I'm cutting it really close with this post. It's after 8 o'clock here in North Carolina and Covergirl just aired their Taylor Swift commercial. "Rock on, Covergirl." But the question on everyone's mind is . . . what did Manni the Magnificent send for package number 4?

Seriously, how can I editorialize beyond the title? You don't have to be an historian to appreciate period satire. And more of Benjamin Franklin's often odd writings? This will sit proudly next to my book of General Chamberlain quotations.

#BHS2012: Day Three

2012-02-11T12:40:00.000-05:00

It's day three and I'm now halfway through my box.

For today's stop on our tour of Southeastern PA, Manni the Magnificent has taken us to . . .

Amish country! I'm pretty sure I am going to have a hard time getting this little goodie home with me. As soon as I opened the package my mom squealed because she recognized the brand from when she taught in Lancaster county. Evidently this stuff is the bomb. I've had apple butter before, but just on toast and things. Manni recommends using it in tea, which sounds really good. Can't wait to try it!

In the meantime I've been hanging out with the family. My brother made his debut as Doctor Ted E Bear, our hospital "mascot" for children's events, at a community fundraiser for the devastation wreaked by a recent tornado. Just so happens that this fundraiser was a zumba-a-thon. In which he participated. In the suit.

I've never seen a bear move his hips so well.

#BHS2012: Day Two

2012-02-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Day two of the Blog Hub swap. I apologize for the quality of the pictures today, but I got no sleep last night because of course I had to go see Star Wars: Episode 1 in 3D at midnight. Had too. There was no choice for this fangirl. And now I am exhausted and running way late. But back to the point . . .

How could it possibly get any better than the delicious candy bar from yesterday?

Purple sock yarn, that's how! One of the package requirements for each swapee was a skein of yarn. I mentioned in my questionnaire that I don't have a really big stash like a lot of those involved in our online community and also that I would really like to receive local items. The knitting world is a very big place and it is impossible to visit every location. In response, Manni the Magnificent sent me a skein of Saucon Sock by Kraemer Yarns. According to the enclosed note, Kraemer Yarns is located in Nazareth, PA, and is a very well known yarn shop. I'm really excited to give this yarn a go. I've never used a cotton acrylic blend for socks before, but from what I read this makes a very good summer sock. And I happen to have used a gift card to order Socktopus earlier this week. A perfect new pair of socks for work? I think so!

I'm leaving this afternoon for my parent's house to deal with some wedding stuff, run a 5K, and pick up the last local items for the swap package I am sending. I'll take packages 3-5 with me so I'll stay on track. Hopefully if there are any more edible goodies I can hide them from the family so that I can keep them all to myself. I'm such a greedy thing.

#BHS2012: Day One

2012-02-09T08:32:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog, but I am participating in the Blog Hub's second annual international swap. I have been working very hard on my swap partner's package and due to my enthusiasm have had to put myself on lockdown to keep from spoiling anything (when your boss asks if you have sent your "knitting secret santa box" yet, you know you are just too enthusiastic).

But yesterday I received my package sent from the far distant land of Southeastern Pennsylvania by one Manni, who I will now refer to as Manni the Magnificent. According to the nice postcard on the top of the box, Manni has organized the package as a tour of her region, which is a totally cool idea. As an aside, I was really excited to see that Manni is from PA because I have so much family history tied up in the state but I don't know the area much aside from using Harrisburg as a halfway point when driving to Syracuse, New York.

So what lovely item did Manni the Magnificent deem worthy of my first introduction to PA?

Chocolate!

How did she know? But wait... this isn't just any chocolate bar. This is a Hershey bar from the great town of Hershey, PA! What's better, it is one of the few Hershey bars that still come wrapped in the traditional foil and paper, a part of the Hershey bar experience that I mourned as a kid when they changed to standard plastic. Hey, I was an odd child. I had weird passions. Opening a Hershey bar without ripping the foil and being able to put it back in the paper missing a piece with no visible signs was one of my many talents.

Along with the chocolate bar, Manni the Magnificent included a small explanation of the gift.

So cool. I can't wait to see where tomorrow will take us. In the meantime I'm going to be the one running around with a sugar high from eating this entire chocolate bar.

Now With Added Guinea Pig

2012-02-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I grafted the underarms of my Gramps Cardigan and gave it a nice bath.

Almost 24 hours later it is still not dry. I blame the weather. But then, I blame the weather for a lot of things lately. After I finished this I shifted gears back over to my Rocky Coast Cardi and have been flying down the body. I have to keep reminding myself that on this sweater I have yet to knit the sleeves, so it's not going to be the instant progress boost I had on the last sweater.

The pattern is surprisingly basic for such a stunning result. I should come to expect this from a Hannah Fettig pattern, but I'm still in shock every time. I'd say I may have this done by the end of the month, but the next pattern in the Cowl KAL is due out later today and I am going to take that as my travel project when I go to visit my family this weekend.

In the meantime I am loving knitting cables and playing "spot the guinea pig" with Cogsworth.

Evidently my knitting is perfect for burrowing.

Community Yarn

2012-02-06T16:22:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things of all time is getting mail. I am a child of the internet and love my email, texting, etc, but there is something so fun about opening the mail box to see what's inside. The added challenge of living in an apartment complex is getting to the mail before the office closes so that if you get a package you can pick it up and not have to wait an entire weekend to get whatever goodies were in your box. This is the problem I had on Saturday which is why it took until today for me to get a sizable lightweight box sent to me by my good friend Erica.

Yarn! Erica and I are both participating in designer Liz Abinante's Great Cowl KAL and I had whined to her that I was going to have to buy yarn for one of the patterns because I did not have any bulky in my stash. Turns out that she had a stash of Rowan Biggy Print an a truly obnoxious shade of pink that she had bought on a destash and was more than willing to share. So it looks like we may be knitting matching cowls in a few weeks.

The Cowl KAL, by the way, has been going great. I finished the first pattern in just a few days, but have not taken any FO pictures because the buttons I ordered have not yet arrived. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to go through my "normal" buttons and find some for the finishing so that I qualify for the next pattern. Then I'll just take those off and attach the nice ones when they arrive. In the meantime it has been great fun to see everyone's finished cowls up on the group thread. It was amazing how fast it took off when people started catching wind of what was going on. And it has been like being a part of a knitting community more than anything I have done lately. I'm pretty alone in my crafting here. I have yet to make friends outside of work and even though I live only a few minutes from an LYS they are truly never open and so I have yet to find any sort of knit night that fits my erratic schedule. The great thing about the Cowl KAL is that it has been filling that need for me. In addition to the group enthusiasm, Erica and I had a skype date when the first pattern came out and I'm hoping we will try this again for the next. Even Liz has been getting into the fun of it. She has been lovely on the boards helping people out and was so sweet as to tweet responses when I had questions or wanted to share my excitement. Maybe I'll look into getting more people involved in a group chat about the patterns, there is a chat feature on Ravelry. In the meantime, I'll be tweeting away my progress with the hashtag #cowlkal and there's still plenty of time if you'd like to join in on the fun!

Shopping the Canned Stash

2012-02-05T21:29:00.002-05:00

If you live in America and you are not watching Downton Abbey, you are probably watching the Superbowl tonight. Usually I am all over the Superbowl, owing to the fact that I am usually a fanatical football fan. This year, however, I chose to boycott watching the regular season due to stupid decisions ~~firing John Kasay~~ that I'm not going to discus. Because of this it really feels fitting that the Superbowl would be New England and New York. Again. Does anyone care anymore (outside of that awesome Madonna halftime show, of course)? So instead I am choosing to make my night productive.

Here you see my canned food collection -- which is the crockpot user's version of a knitter's stash. It's an assortment built up over times when finances were not as much of a concern and I had access to the discount grocery store. But it has gotten a little out of hand, making it almost impossible to know what is there and what isn't. I just spent the past hour making it look like this. Not too long ago it looked like the rest of the pantry.

We'll get to that another day.

For tonight I'll be turning to my favorite cook book, Stephanie O'Dea's More Make It Fast Cook It Slow. The goal of finding out what I have is to stretch my "can stash" as far as possible so as to cut down on grocery bills. Maybe some Coconut Red Beans and rice for dinner tomorrow?

A New Kind of Love

2012-02-03T10:01:00.000-05:00

You guys, I have a confession to make. I'm in love. Again. I bill myself as not a romantic, but I tend to fall in love often. Don't worry, Chris is aware and open to adding some outside cuddling to our relationship. The gentleman who has stolen my affection is a little on the chubby side, a little young, and has some serious whiskers.

Meet Cogsworth, the newest member of the Chic Geek household. Last night Andrea and I went out to dinner and got to talking about pets and how empty the apartment has felt without Martin. Next thing I know, I find myself standing in the pet store talking about rats and parakeets and holding a sweet little guinea pig. It was love at first sweater snag.

I seriously did not intend to buy a pet. It's only been a month since Martin died and I was not sure I wanted a new animal this soon. But as soon as Cogsworth gave the pet shop guy attitude, I knew he was destined to live with us. He pooped in my hand while I was holding him in the shop, which is evidently very unusual for guinea pigs. I like to think that it was his way of saying that he wanted to live with me.

So today we're hanging out and bonding. I brought his cage into my room and am holding him every once in a while so that he will grow accustomed to my voice and scent. He has already climbed into the hood of my Star Wars hoodie to hide out while I was knitting, so I think we're off to a good start.

Muses on Washing

2012-02-02T09:24:00.002-05:00

So I did something yesterday that I realized says a lot about me as a knitter. Yesterday was one of my rare days off, and I spent it in the manner I frequently do -- cleaning, going for a run, and trying to decide how to clear out more clutter left over from my pack-rat student days. Or at least that was the plan before I got sucked into the first season of Downton Abbey with the rest of you hipster kids. Anyway, I was doing laundry between episodes and when I pulled my clothes out of the washer to hang up to dry I discovered something. Somehow the swatch for my Rocky Coast Cardi had ended up in a pile of sweaters that had been washed.

Now, don't freak out like I did. After having a moment of sheer horror that I had put knitting in the washer I remembered something. I'm knitting this out of some Miss Babs Yowza I was given for Christmas. Yowza is superwash. Superwash means that not only can I put it in the washer, I can also put it in the dryer. And really, the only damage was the fraying on the ends because it's a swatch so I never wove them in.

Something you might find surprising about me -- I hardly use the dryer (just for sheets, towels, and underwear) and I never, ever, ever wash my knitting in the washer. Ever. I am very particular about how I wash things. I have a mop bucket in my bathroom that I use specifically to hand wash all things I deem too delicate to go through the washer agitation. I have two laundry hampers, one for regular washing and one for handwash. Maybe it's because I can't really afford to replace things, but I cannot bear the thought of putting my knitting through the washer. It is a system that has taught me patience and really preserved a lot of my clothing to the point I still wear stuff I had in middle school (yes, I'm aware this makes me very hit or miss with fashion). I like my system, but it is getting to the point I am beginning to wonder. I have quite a few pairs of handknit socks and don't plan to stop knitting more. Maybe it's time I give in and start using the washing machine the way God and Mr. Washing Machine Inventor intended?

Impressive Sleevage

2012-01-30T09:42:00.001-05:00

One of the coolest things about sweater knitting is when you hit the point that it actually looks like a sweater, not just a giant piece of fabric. The Gramps Cardigan is a bottom-up raglan, which is a construction that I really should use more. Most of the stuff I knit is top-down, seamless, and if it has buttons they are worked in as you go. This one is bottom-up AND has a picked up button band and shawl collar. I know this construction is also technically seamless, but it has a lot more structure than a lot of top-down stuff.

Even though I already have most of my sweaters for the year picked out based on my stash, I think this is something I need to try more often -- knitting a construction that makes me uneasy. Who knows, maybe it will lead to even more brave attempts. Like, say, colorwork?

I am glad that I decided to knit the sleeves before the rest of the sweater. Made the giant swaths of pattern repeat a lot more interesting because I knew when I reached a certain point I could jump ahead in the pattern. It was like this little secret in the back of my mind. Even though I did do all the work of knitting the sleeves, it was like I got to cheat. At this point everyone else has to go dig up more needles and knit the sleeves, but not me! No, I got to just pull them out of the bottom of the bucket I keep my sweater knitting in and slide them right on. The increase in wow factor in going from sweater body to sweater with sleeves is pretty significant. Andrea was out of town for a few days when I attached the sleeves, so when I pulled it out last night to work on during Once Upon a Time she was aptly impressed.

Now to make as much progress as possible before the Great Cowl KAL begins today.

Week of Fun

2012-01-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy week of fun. I just dropped my dear friend Taryn (she of the My Little Pony cocktail recipes) off at the airport for her flight home and am just beginning to process the amount of fun we had this week.

Here are some of the highlights:

Knitting at the North Carolina Museum of History

And spinning!

Evidently hanks of yarn in the 1800s were much larger than modern skeins. Unless maybe you are buying Miss Babs' Yowza.

Brownies!

And crafting. I did a lot of cabling . . .

. . . and Taryn cross-stitched a masterpiece. I have to say, I'm a little jealous.

It was a ton of fun. Taryn and I haven't hung out this much since school, and I wish she could have stayed longer. Hopefully I'll be able to hike down to Atlanta some time. I miss having friends outside of my apartment.

Knitting ADD

2012-01-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

The other day I described myself to a coworker as having knitting ADD. She was asking what had happened with some socks she had seen me work on on a previous day and when I told her they were at home waiting to be knit on again she just shook her head and laughed. It seems that having multiple works in progress is something that is frowned upon by your average non-knitter. Just like having extra yarn is seen as obsession rather than preparation.

But here's the thing. If you're privileged enough to be in a first world country, then you probably have more of a lot of things than you can use at one time. You have extra food that you don't plan to eat all at once (and probably several things of leftovers that are arguably meals in progress). You might own movies, which you really can't watch all at one time. You even own more clothes than you can reasonably wear at one time. So why should I not have more projects than I can knit at one time. After all, this is a leisure activity, so I should do what I want if I have the resources. It's not ADD, it's getting the maximum enjoyment out of my sticks and string.

At least this is what I tell myself as I cast on another sweater.

Friday Wedding Update: Week 28

2012-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I have been so low on posts this week. It's just that after working my third holiday weekend in two months I was in danger of writing posts about bad customer behavior or how I almost got run over by a car and a Christmas tree in the same hour. My happy just was not at the forefront of my creative mojo, so I retreated into work and my knitting and lots and lots of Charmed episodes.

But it's time for this week's progress report on operation Rutabaga 2012, and I have actually done some work (most of it today). It is hard to work on the planning when I feel like I am operating in a vacuum. Chris is still in school and so has not really been available for strategic planning sessions and plus, as the bride, it really is up to me to do most of the heavy lifting. Overall I have felt very supported in this process by everyone involved, but at the end of the day the real decision making is up to me, and that's a little scary.

It's no secret that we are trying to do this as cheap as possible. The area that is making this difficult currently is the reception. What do you serve for food? Is there anyone who could help out? How many people are we having to feed and what are the expectations? Since the wedding is on a Friday night the timing has worked out that we really do need to serve some sort of dinner. I am not really into big elaborate meals, and I have no intention of hiring a caterer. I just don't have that kind of funding. So today I sat down with a notebook and did some free association and word mapping exercises that I used to do when I got stuck working on research.

I started with the main concept. No, not "cheap", but rather the feel of the wedding. It's a small country church and based on my dress and current flower ideas (more on that later), I'm aiming for "storybook". So, what food seems like it would be at a small country wedding in a fairy tale. For some reason the first word that popped into my head was "chutney", which really makes no sense. But from there I moved to cheese and once I got on the idea of cheese plates it all sort of spiraled from there. When I was a kid my parents would do family movie nights that involved picnicking on the living room floor munching on nice cheese, crackers, grapes, and apple slices. Those have always been some of my favorite meals, and in my mind they are tied to stories like Pirates of Penzance (my original pirate loves -- go watch the video, I'll be here when you come back) or The Jungle Book. It just makes sense to take that memory and build a menu around it, because in the end that's really what this is going to be -- a reflection of the past 23 years of my life, honoring that, and celebrating the beginning of a new chapter.

And, as has become my mantra when I'm stuck making decisions, it's my wedding. Even if I don't get to eat the food myself I still have to pay for it. If people don't like it they can do something different when they get married (that sounds really mean, but sometimes you just have to stop considering everyone else or nothing will get done).

Down the Rabbit Hole

2012-01-17T16:54:00.001-05:00

So... have you seen the new Whimsical Little Knits? I know, right?! It's, like, so awesome and pretty and it has that whole whimsical thing going for it... It's pretty much the cat's meow of accessory collections.

This is the conversation I imagined having with my knitting bff. The one who keeps up with Ravelry and indie designers. The one I essentially do not have in my corner of the world. One day that will change, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, back to Whimsical Little Knits 3. It dropped like an atomic bomb on the knitting community the other night. I was just sitting there on the couch, knitting on my sweater, when suddenly Ysolda tweeted a link leading to the preorder of WLK3. A link I immediately jumped on with much flailing and enthusiasm. And then I found out that not only was it a preorder, but that the digital copy was immediately available for download.

I don't remember much after that, just a blur of flailing and yelling and casting on. All I know is that I barely slept that night and somehow the rest of the yarn needed for that second Kristi sock I still need to knit is now becoming this:

Roisin was released last year in Interweave Accessories, but I somehow managed to resist and wait for WLK3 instead. I'm so glad I did. I'm trying to track down the yarn I need to knit Hendreary. A hat with a giant button motif? How can I refuse?

The Joy of a Well-Tended Arch

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

As a sock knitter, it could be implied that I like my feet. But if you actually spent time with me you would assume that I don't. I don't moisturize, paint my nails, or do any pedi-spa type stuff. And I certainly don't buy myself nice shoes. My mother raised me on the principle that our feet are important. They are what connect our bodies to the ground and carry all of our weight. This was especially important for me to learn as a kid because I inherited my father's flat feet. And when I say flat I mean it. If I go barefoot or wear shoes with little to no support my arch completely disappears. Luckily for me, my mom recognized this and made sure to send me to school or outside to play in well-made shoes. The added benefit of this is that well-made shoes last a long time.

Exhibit A:

You may recognize these shoes from previous FO posts. They were the first shoes I bought for myself back in high school when our lovely uniform committee decided that navy blue shoes were no longer allowed and we could only wear black or white. I can remember going to the shoe store and trying on everything that was solid black (solid white with khakis and my crazy socks would just look stupid) and finally deciding on these, buying them with a good chunk my summer savings because I knew I would wear them every day for at least the next year.

Fast forward six years and I am still wearing them consistently. My current job requires me to wear closed toed shoes and to frequently stand most of the day, which eliminates most of my other shoe preferences. Mom came to visit a few weeks ago and realized that the shoes were probably passing their wearability point and so bought me a new pair as a graduation gift.

Five years on the market and Keen has only improved their offerings. I love these shoes (Harvest MJ). Seriously, I can't stop talking about them. They are completely different from what I had originally wanted, but they are so much more fun. The bright colors go well with the environment I work in and the arches only took one day to break in. I've worn them for several days straight with no problems. I'm not a big shoe purchaser (which is why Mom thought to buy me these as a gift, because they are not something I would splurge on myself when I have other shoes in the closet), but these are so nice I may save up for another pair to have in the rotation.

And they go well with hand knitted socks! My size US 8.5 feet fit comfortably with enough wiggle room that I can wear the socks I make, which just adds to the color fun. Everyone has been commenting on them. Though that might just be a side effect of wearing the same shoes every day for six months. In any case, I highly recommend them if anyone is looking to invest in a good wearable shoe. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including many more practical hues if you're not as colorful as I tend to be.

Friday Wedding Update: Week 29

2012-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

This post is not about the release of Whimsical Little Knits 3 that went live last night. It is not about the fact that I flailed about frantically and immediately cast on with yarn that was already half a pair of socks, meaning I'll have to buy more. It is most certainly not about the fact I stayed up till almost midnight knitting on said item, though I was mostly ripping out. No, this post is about a little even I like to call Rutabaga 2012.

In exactly 29 weeks (yes, I counted) I will be getting married. It's a scary thought that has often sparked a whirwind of panic when I think about the fact that I have done nothing about the food, the order of ceremony, purchasing rings, etc. I have this really long check list that really doesn't fully apply to me because, frankly, I'm not spending a lot of money on this. Both Chris and I are extremely broke and though my parents are helping with much of the financial expense, I am too budget conscious to let them spend much.

What most people probably find amusing about this is that I have been engaged for almost 13 months, but until a few weeks ago I had absolutely no interest in working on my wedding. I was too focused on school and trying to find a job that would cover my rent to really care about the finer points of florists, photographers, and my adamant stand against djs. But then it hit. About 12 hours after graduation I suddenly cared. A lot. Which is good because I now have less than six months to plan and execute this sucker.

But fear not. I have thrown myself into wedding planning with more than a little gusto. My mom and sister came up for two days before new years and within about 30 hours we had tried on and purchased my dress as well as both bridesmaid dresses. Having the bridesmaid dresses gave me a color scheme. Having the wedding dress has given me theme influencing ideas. I have no pictures to offer because Chris often reads the blog and the one thing I have been very particular about is that he know nothing about my dress. I took no pictures of my own and my mom took it home so that he won't stumble upon it when for some unknown reason I send him to my closet to find a pair of shoes because I'm stranded somewhere and have a gala to get to (hey, a girl can dream).

In the past week I have also confirmed a photographer (so far the most expensive part of the wedding, but I know it'll be worth it), figured out what to do about flowers (more on that later... I hope), and gone with Chris to create a registry at Target (fun, but not nearly as fun as everyone leads you to believe). Next on the list is to create a wedding website and figure out a headcount for the guest list. Are you not just dying to know more? Yeah, me neither. Who knew there was absolutely so much to do. I'm sure you'll hear more about the stuff I've decided to cut out in the days to come as the crazy truly starts to sink in.