synestheticknits

doodles

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 17:10:00 +0000

sometimes i draw little things.. but i've been spending a lot of time with my old favorite, the sims 2. otherwise, just working.

little by little

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 17:01:00 +0000

hello there! so uh... 2020, huh? ugh.

so i've actually been drawing again after like a really long time. except this time i'm working on getting better at using a tablet. i learned drawing and painting and whatnot on traditional media, and my brain always seemed to rebel against doin it digital. lately, finally, it's starting to click. yay!

i also got myself on redbubble and put some stuff up there just for the heck of it. still feeling things out. i used to be like, yeah i should totally get into silkscreening and stuff. yeah, never happened. so i'm happy that there's this kind of stuff out there now, and that it's easier for people who don't have access to the equipment and all to jump in and get started. right now there are some simple patterns and weird little drawings. also a couple of my old doll photos. unfortunately can't locate the higher-res versions of most of them. although, i never get rid of anything so they'll probably turn up at some point, ha.

just kind of having fun with it at the moment, throwing things around to see what sticks. i am, as ever, a work-in-progress.

changes and non-changes

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 05:22:00 +0000

transitions are hard. i'm still around, just not doing as much fun stuff (because work, school, etc). things are just moving more slowly than i'd like. sloooow.

i did go and freshen things up a little bit around here, fix a few broken things, and whatnot. and i was reminded of the long-running afghan project in my last post... since then, it has been put away again and then taken back out AGAIN. sometime last summer i started working away at it while listening to podcasts (mostly unexplained and binge-catching-up on you must remember this). i can say that all squares are now done and blocked! now the edging. this may take another ten years. sigh.

so, there is still work to be done around here. in the meantime, some old favorite posts: a look through some vintage crafting magazines. early-90s vogue knitting (every hipster in my city looks straight out of 1992 lately anyway, so...?) and granny squares of the 70s! i definitely have more of these magazines around...

always keep a backup

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 02:55:00 +0000

hi people. it's been a while. life is weird.

just here trying to fix things up since photobucket decided to suddenly kill off its image hosting. if you see anything around here that looks like it should be a photo but is instead a grey box asking you to pay $$$, that's why. i'm on it.

recently i dragged out a super old and decrepit knitting project, for some reason, and have been slowly working at it. (way too many project bags just hanging out.) it's an afghan made up of intarsia panels, picturing knit-related items.

knit in whatever assortment of semi-color-coordinated crappy acrylic yarn i had available at the time. which was, incidentally, 2004. because sometimes, i knit like frozen molasses. also, i remembered i kind of don't like knitting from charts.

aaaand, i went back to school. so there's that. it's a little crazy. just a little, though.

i hang out on twitter, even though i don't talk much. forever a lurker. say hi, though.

and it's spring.

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sat, 07 May 2016 21:37:00 +0000

so it seems that my long-running (LONG-running) car issues have come to an end. what does this mean? i will no longer have to restrict my post office trips to only fridays. woo hoo! it means other things too, but, well, we'll talk about that later.

some other 80s toys and stuff in the shop right now, strawberry shortcake and my little pony! more on the way. still a little hard letting go of ponies, dude...

part of my collection. these ones aren't going anywhere. (: especially my fave, bowtie. one day i'll have space for a whole bookshelf of awesomeness. (goals...)

the knit is back

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 04:48:00 +0000

so.. i don't really watch much tv. (no superiority here - oh, you'll see) we don't have cable, though we do have netflix and a stack of series on dvd and recommendations from friends, etc. i just really have trouble sitting down and just watching something without thinking "oh god i should be washing the dishes or finishing this or that project". but this winter, i did get into... celebrity big brother.

look. if you're going to get into reality tv, there's no point unless it's trashy and over-the-top. no pretense of a higher purpose here. yes, vh1 celebreality was my shit at the time. i have been lamenting new york's absence from the airwaves for some time now. so when i found out she would be on this season...

#hbic

i'll refrain from discussion of the show for the disinterested (but if you want to chat...!) and i was actually glad when it was done.. damn, this thing's on every day? with after-shows? but i realized that this sitting down for an hour on the regular did reintroduce something that's been missing in my life - knitting time! when i am doing my typical flitting about hands-on with everything thing, i wind up never really being able to make any headway on my knitting projects. so! i was finally able to finish my honeymoon shawl i started in october.

apologies for the glare-y iphone photo. i really liked this pattern, and might actually knit it again in a different gauge. i also came thisclose to finishing up my handspun rainbow socks that have been lingering for a while. somehow my stitch count got out of whack on the cuffs, and they were kinda annoying to get on and off.. so i bit the bullet and frogged the top part of both to fix. hopefully they don't sit in wip status for too long.

toys of the 80s

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:45:00 +0000

hello hello, 2016! getting into cleaning, sorting, downsizing, and decluttering mode. i have such an 80s toy horde that i don't really need to keep. there's only so much space in one house, so why not keep just the favorites? there's only so many collections one person can have, you know?

i think the first real collection i started was strawberry shortcake. i always loved the book illustrations (see "the winter that would not end" here.. i need to get that one back from my mom's house!). at some point i started re-collecting the dolls of my youth. (cafe ole was always a fave...)

i spent a lot of time on ebay back in the day when i had some actual disposable income, seeking out cheap incorrectly-named lots of vintage dolls. i had a thing for my little pony too, but luckily still had a lot of my originals and it also seemed easier to come across ponies in secondhand shops and such. along the way, i would come across all sorts of sesame street, barbie, jem, herself the elf, etc related things. i <3 savers, have i mentioned?

at some point, i've come to appreciate the act of decluttering. a little. it hasn't come easily to me. i'll get there, little by little.

but, (like pulling teeth) i've been picking out some things that i'm cool with letting go of. this my little pony princess is up in my shop currently. take a peek!

more to come in time. and if there's any particular 80s toy line that you're interested in, let me know. there's a good chance i have something tucked away...

2015 in tweets

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 17:44:00 +0000

some of my favorite moments of 2015, on twitter and the world in general. my favorite favorites, i guess.

MusicNotes from the XPN Morning Show: Watch @jmascis & Fred Armisen cover Mazzy Starr. http://t.co/3ZfbnlOYaA pic.twitter.com/ukqUduiSIn
— wxpnfm (@wxpnfm) February 5, 2015

Wife dabbles in art. pic.twitter.com/SJlhHXlrTF
— Rabih Alameddine (@rabihalameddine) March 15, 2015

America, we need to have a talk about our laziness pic.twitter.com/GCpNCpT0yD
— Roman Mars (@romanmars) March 31, 2015

Does anyone else think "don't be a weirdo, don't be a weirdo" over and over when entering social gatherings? Cause I don't.
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) April 8, 2015

Definitely worth the read 👌 pic.twitter.com/mkuzKa5jFA
— Calvin and Hobbes (@Calvinn_Hobbes) May 11, 2015

The Low Anthem playing me a song at their recording studio inside the stunning Columbus Theatre in Providence pic.twitter.com/i2FpdXKtRG
— kristin hersh (@kristinhersh) May 15, 2015

There are so many AWESOME things to see @ today's @ProvidenceRI Int'l Arts Festival! @FirstWorksRI #pvdfest ❤️ pic.twitter.com/K1vrWOFuBC
— JWU Providence (@JWUProvidence) June 13, 2015

To help us until the days start getting longer again in only a few weeks time, here's Audrey Hepburn knitting. pic.twitter.com/RQKtUuAebn
— Muriel Gray (@ArtyBagger) December 1, 2015

everything IS terrible tho
— Rich Juzwiak (@RichJuz) December 17, 2015

2016 will be good.

seasons change

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 02:10:00 +0000

another summer gone, for real. it was a pretty good one.

as usual, we got to see tons of good live music. getting to newport for the folk festival without car trouble was a bonus.

(l to r: the low anthem at one providence, james taylor at the newport folk festival, string builder at burnside park, deerhoof at foo fest)
this has definitely been a year of changes and transitions. to finally have a name for something that's been wrong for years and years.. is pretty damn good, to say the least. also, we had four weddings this year among our family and friends, three in september alone.. including ours!

credit for framed song lyric idea to leethal!
it all went by pretty quickly.. i did some crafty-type wedding stuff, but not as much as i would have liked (but there's never too much stuff to make, right?). here's to more good changes ahead, okay? for one thing, this blog layout is sorely in need of an overhaul. thanks for dealing with the current weirdness.

photo-a-day, week 2

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 07:05:00 +0000

a belated (partial) week 2 of leethal's photo-a-day project.

#oval

#floor

#stack

#throwback

granny squares of the 70s

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 04:39:00 +0000

recently my dad came across one of my grandmother's old crochet magazines and gave it to me. vintage knit/crochet magazines are always a favorite (70s ones especially!), so here - woman's day granny squares: the photo essay.

already drawn in by the 70s color schemes.

straight-up afghan as clothing. i don't know.

there is something appealing about this one though, in a hippie-ish sort of way i guess.

nice folk album cover art styling.

i always love the strange kid photos.. think about the fact that this was the best shot of the session.

this kid's face says it all.

i do rather like this wall hanging. except, you know, as a blanket..

gravity-defying. i have no idea what's happening here.

more photos on my tumblr, if you're up for it.

photo-a-day

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 04:44:00 +0000

and we're back.

i haven't been feeling much in the way of creativity this winter. likely because these past few months can be summed up pretty well by this image:

(though actually the place in japan where this photo was taken is pretty interesting.)

anyway, i'm doing lee meredith's photo-a-day thing for april on instagram. i figured one photo per day would be simple enough, but i've lately i'm out of the house for about 12 hours on work days, so.. not so much. oy. but i will plug along. (: week one:

day 1: #sky

day 2: #face

day 3: #twist

day 5: #sweet

some have been challenging (in a good way!).. who would have thought i would have trouble finding something for "clash"? in the past i think i would have just stopped doing it altogether if i missed one day (because if it's not going to be just right, why keep going?), but i seem to have gotten past that a bit. i'll try and catch up a bit, but here at least we have a beginning!

new treasury: 1990s

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:12:00 +0000

since i'm in vintage mode lately, i put together a monochromatic 90s treasury on etsy. i forgot these were fun, dude.

maybe next something spring-y? it would be nice to see some color around here, but it seems like it'll never stop snowing...

neon lace

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 20:46:00 +0000

so i realized i have never photographed one of my favorite FOs, my neon lace socks. these started out a thrifted white merino and cashmere sweater. i unraveled the body, and was left with the sleeves.

i'd heard of using sweater sleeves as sock blanks before, so i figured i'd give that a try. it turned out pretty awesome, i think. i used some of my hoard of easter egg dyes to make a super neon rainbow. one sleeve turned out to be enough for both socks. the dye didn't penetrate the knit fabric fully, which actually gave the yarn a cool sort of mottled look. so, something to be aware of if that's not what you're going for.

i knit the socks pretty much directly from the sleeve, without winding it into a ball first.. seemed unnecessary. okay, fine, i guess i could have, but who needs an extra step between them and knitting? i did discover that the yarn is a bit delicate for socks. like a lot of store-bought sweaters, this one was made from multiple strands of loosely-plied thin yarn. it's not exactly the sturdiest construction, and certainly not machine washable (which is something i usually avoid when sock knitting).. sigh. but so rainbowy!

i did also have to take sections of color out here and there in the second sock, so that the color repeats would more or less match up. this did lead to more end-weaving than i like to do (what am i saying? i like to do zero.) for the pattern, i wanted something fairly simple but more interesting than just plain stockinette. i went with diagonal lace socks. just right! these really deserve a better fo portrait, but for now, enjoy some color. (:

endless winter

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 15:08:00 +0000

round here it has been all snow, all the time. currently seeking location for hibernation. please stand by.

2014: twitter edition

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 02:37:00 +0000

some of my favorites of this past year. wtf, 2014?

Trigger warnings are triggering for me.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) January 31, 2014

Actually I'm glad I'm not watching the #oscars, because Ellen's bound to bring out Sophia Grace and Rosie in a minute
— Helen Zaltzman (@helenzaltzman) March 3, 2014

Possess a excellent day time, says a wonderful spammer. Thank you, I shall try to.
— Havi Brooks (@havi) March 10, 2014

CNN is continuing their arduous 3 week search for news. Pray for them.
— josh groban (@joshgroban) March 30, 2014

I'm secretly jealous of people who have their shit together. Must be relaxing.
— marc maron (@marcmaron) April 11, 2014

New Law Requires Welfare Recipients To Submit Sweat To Prove How Hard They’re Looking For Job http://t.co/K6yKkOkhmv pic.twitter.com/c2AZgKt3Aj
— The Onion (@TheOnion) August 6, 2014

"Don't go anywhere" and "Maroon 5 is up next" in the same sentence. So which is it, Sway?
— Rich Juzwiak (@RichJuz) August 25, 2014

Kind of weird living in an age where men get to age like teak credenzas, and women, like unrefrigerated dairy products.
— Julieanne Smolinski (@BoobsRadley) September 13, 2014

there are more people in the polyphonic spree than there are in ISIS
— joe mande (@JoeMande) September 22, 2014

Realizing that 100 lifetimes would not be enough for all the stuff I'd like to do. How do people get bored?
— Jill Draper (@JillMakesStuff) September 25, 2014

tinnitus the night we ring in my new ear.
— Hawksley Workman (@HawksleyWorkman) December 31, 2014

(i guess i thought there'd be more food...)

2014

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Thu, 08 Jan 2015 01:06:00 +0000

so this past year i met my friend's new baby, got engaged, worked with some awesome people, met my sister's new baby, spent time with some cats, saw some friends get married, ate some good food, saw some great concerts. etc.

there has been altogether not enough knitting, amongst other things. have been slowly adding some of this year's photos to my flickr stream. working on some changes in 2015. (:

spinzilla results

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:04:00 +0000

so i succeeded in spinning only 725.25 yards of yarn for spinzilla week. but, that is still more yarn than i have spun in months and certainly more than i've ever done in one week. so i think i can still declare spinzilla 2014 somewhat of a success.

first off was spunky eclectic's panda top in road trip. was lovely to spin, and her colorways are always tasty. (it looks a bit warmer in the photo here than in real life.) i got this braid at the massachusetts sheep & woolcraft festival in 2010, and it had been sadly languishing until now. soon to be socks!

second was another random yarn generator thing, which i always have fun with. i was not too excited about the colors it came up with (black, white, and purple), but when it was done it reminded me of a dress that's been on my modcloth wishlist...

lastly (and unfinished-ly), is some traveling rhinos merino top. so soft and squishy. only got about 177 yards of it in before the time ran out. it's a sort-of light fingering weight single that will probably be a real actual shawl. i am not a shawl-wearer typically, but i've been won over by some patterns i've seen lately. this has also been hanging out since my birthday, 2010. it's like there's a four-year waiting list for my fiber stash.

so i guess i did not realize how much purple i had. purple knitting in 2015!

spinzilla!

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 19:00:00 +0000

so, i did it.. i signed up for spinzilla this year. i've been away from the wheel for far too long, and this is a pretty good impetus. i figure i should have some spin goals to aim for.

* definitely planning on another random yarn generator-type project.

as for possible project goals...

* 11oz bulky for the body of cathode
* 7oz dk/sport weight for tappan zee
* 3.5oz sport weight for arlen

i think this, however, may be destined to be yet another pair of socks. why do i get keep getting sucked in to handspun sock yarn?

pre- and post-drafting, and a single on the bobbin

go team happy fuzzy yarn!

sweater weather

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 03:19:00 +0000

so it looks like i need to admit that it's going to be fall pretty damn soon. (i don't have to like it..) i am need of a cozy sweater. not a pullover, but something with buttons. maybe i can start doing that knitting thing again, remember that? i do have a ravelry queue a mile and a half long, after all...

i do like the levenwick (and have been wanting to make something with shelter for ages!), but it's not quite the warm & cozy thing i'm looking for.. especially with the three-quarter sleeves.

a funky grandpacardigan is definitely something i need in my life. not so sure about the big open v-neck at this point though. a coordinating scarf would be in order...

but a simultane! would have to lengthen the sleeves, probably the body too, for my purposes. getting warmer though (har).

i think the one i have finally decided on is sesame, which has been in my queue since it was published in magknits in 2005. yay for stripes! now the real question is, can i finish a dk-weight sweater before spring?

the owlish sweater

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 04:42:00 +0000

hey peeps. sorry for the radio silence. it's been a rough couple of months, shall we say? moving on.

i've started knitting again. i had some purple 2-ply handspun waiting to be a sweater for some time, so i got started on a little something inspired by the lovely owls pullover. my yarn was of a thinner gauge, so much math has been going on (ugh).

the body went as planned, but after finishing the first sleeve discovered that the fit was just.. off. slightly too-fitted cuff, slightly too-loose upper arm. frogging and math (more math!) are not amongst my favorite parts of knitting, but here we are. it'll be a while yet before this thing is done. it's okay, seems like it's going to be winter forever in new england.

nearly wordless wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 05:02:00 +0000

if you wrote me off, i'd understand it
'cause I've been on some other planet

the sock conflict

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 15:30:00 +0000

i'm starting to think i'm the only knitter out there in internet-land who doesn't love knitting socks.

i mean, i like sock-knitting.. but it's not a love. but i keep wanting more, somehow, like i just want to have knit them and be done. i think it may be partly (or mostly) to do with the fact that i don't really like doing the same thing twice. recipes, paintings, day jobs apparently... so i do tend to prefer fraternal socks.

and yet, here i am with twenty-two sock patterns on my ravelry queue. some, since 2007. i need to get a grip on reality. why must the call of self-striping sock yarns be so strong?

i've been thinking of this lately because of these. i found some lovely coffee-colored yarn on etsy to make a little something for my lovely coffee-fiend boyfriend. i had intended to start & finish them in a couple weeks before his birthday this spring. that didn't happen. fine, i thought. plenty of time for a christmas gift. right? HAHA. here we are at the end of november, with less than half of a sock. that's it.

and it's getting sort of close now, so i keep making myself work on it, even if i'd rather be knitting something else. it's not exactly fun-knitting! so much as monotonous-knitting. blehhh. did i mention he's a size 13 1/2? yeah. so i guess what i need to do is stop beating myself up. stop burning myself out on repetitive projects. knit with more handspun.

(my one exception: will never tire of knitting handspun socks. um.. if it's worsted-weight.)

knitting in november

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 15:42:00 +0000

so much to be done.

every year (every. single. year.) i say that i will start gift knitting in july. this has never happened. this year, at least, i have about half a sock going for the boyfriend (but really this is only because i was trying for his birthday earlier in the year..). though now i am feeling drawn in to all these november knit-a-longs going on. could i do it all??

there's wovember of course, where you knit with nothing but 100% wool for the entire month. this sounds excellent, but i tend to use blends and machine-washable fibers when making stuff for other people. aww.

and then there's naknitswemo, in which, much like nanowrimo, you must knit a 50,000 stitch sweater within the month of november. this i could do! i have some handspun intended for a sweater, and a pattern lined up for it. however...

there's also the indie design gift-a-long, which would be great gift knitting encouragement. but can i do that and knit a sweater at the same time, all in a month? considering we're nearly a week in, decisions must be made.

in other news, thanks to a kindly ravelry person, i have acquired the last skein of cascade 128 needed for my skoodlet (see above!). i should be able to polish that off quickly before starting november's journey, whatever it may be.

skoodlet in progress

noreply@blogger.com (synesthetick) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 18:38:00 +0000

hello october! my favorite month. (:

so at long last i have started the skoodlet. i'm a big fan of leethal's stuff - fun thinky knitting! i've only had this yarn balled up and ready to go for skoodlet since the summer. erm, of 2011. anyway. after a few false starts, it zoomed along until i realized that, tragically, i had underestimated the amount of yarn i would need. daaaaamn.

good thing i waited two years to cast on so there's no way i'll be able to find some from a matching dyelot, right?? sigh. i actually only have part of the scarf bit left to go, so a single skein should do it. i found someone destashing some on ravelry, so i sent out a message to her today.. fingers crossed!