The Rogue Knitter

Blogging Revisited

2007-07-30T17:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I've been away from the blogging world for a while now. There are a couple of reasons for that, but I'm not going to bore any potential readers with minutiae. Suffice it to say, I'm back!

What's going on in my life right now? Well, I'm unemployed, again. They really should tell you before you go to law school that you're not guaranteed to get a job when you graduate. I'm giving it until the unemployment money runs out, and then I'll have to find something non-law related to pay the bills. On a more positive note, I'm engaged! So, I've got lots to do in the wedding planning department. The most stressful thing right now is trying to find a venue. I've got a fairly low budget for this area, and it's been a bit of a pain because I'm expecting less than 100 people, and most of the reception venues don't even want to deal with you at that amount. Plus, I'm rather picky in that I'd like it to have a Colonial New York or English countryside feel. Basically, I don't want mirrors all over the walls and disco balls.

I've been doing a lot of knitting, since I have all of this time on my hands. I'm participating in the Mystery Stole 3 knit along, and so far I'm loving the design. I'm planning on using this stole as a wedding accessory, even though the designer says it may not be an appropriate theme for a bride. I think it's beautiful, especially with the beads, although those don't show up all that well in the photos. I've just completed Clue 4 (out of a total of 7), and I decided to shorten it as per the designer's instructions. I wouldn't normally shorten, since I'm not petite at all, but I ran into a bit of a yarn dilemma. When I ordered from Elann
(Peruvian Baby Lace Merino), I stupidly only ordered one ball. I don't know why, because I knew the stole called for 800 yards and each ball has 600 yards. There's really no excuse, but I didn't notice until my package arrived and there was only one ball of yarn in it. I immediately fired up the Internet to order a second ball only to find that the "Parchment" color was sold out! Must be all those MS3ers. As of today, they still hadn't gotten any new supply in, so I went ahead with the shortening. I think it will work out okay, because I just let stoles hang from my arms rather than draping them completely around my shoulders.

I am very curious about what is happening with Clue 5. Melanie (the designer) had us put a lifeline in a very specific row, but hasn't said why. There was a cryptic message encouraging us to "trust her" and just follow the instructions when we get to Clue 5. So, it seems like there will be something a little different going on. In the last picture here, you can just barely make out my lifeline. It's followed by a few very interesting rows that seem to be a deviation from the previous patterning. Honestly, I have no clue what is going to happen, but I'm sure it will look lovely. If nothing else, this project has made me want to put beads on all of my knitting!

I've got a few other projects on the needles at the moment, since the MS3 can't keep me busy for an entire week between clues. I'm working on a felted tote (which may not be quite tote size because I may run out of yarn). This is only my second foray into felting, but I picked up the special Interweave issue on felting, and it has a lot of great info on how to work up swatches and such, so I decided to give it another go. The only problem is that it's a bit too humid to work on knitting bulky wool at this time of year. I'm also making a pair of socks for my fiance, mostly to shut him up about the stash that has overtaken my closet. And, my most ambitious project to date is my first foray into designing. But I'll go into that in detail in a later post.

Featured Etsy Items Now in Sidebar!

2006-06-26T12:49:00.000-04:00

I haven't decided yet which I prefer. I'm still playing around with getting the java to work within posts, but I do like the way it's in a nice table over in the sidebar. I'm using Wists to choose and organize my picks, because it's a lot easier than manually cutting and pasting every item into a post. If I can get the java to work, I'll probably move it back into the posts because it's making my sidebar wonky. But until then, check back every so often for new picks.

Featured Etsy Items for June 23, 2006

2006-06-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

Today's featured items are themed--handspun yarn! And none of it is mine!

A new focus

2006-06-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

So, I've been busy. With knitting, yes, but also with trying to get my hobby business off the ground. I've opened up a shop on Etsy to sell my handspun yarn, beaded stitch markers, and other things that I make. It's called, naturally, RogueKnits. So far, I haven't sold much, but I'm concentrating on building up my inventory. Since I have a day job, it's taking a while.

Etsy is a great place for craftspeople. I have found so many wonderful things there that I'd love to buy. The Etsy administration chooses some featured items for the front page every day, but there's always talk in the forums of how those choices could be improved. I've decided, personally, to make my own featured picks every so often and post them here. It might be themed, it might just be things I stumbled across on a given day. But please, if you're interested in great handmade stuff, check out the sellers that I feature (and the other fabulous sellers on Etsy)!

Sporty Stuff--join me and win something...

2006-03-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

So, it's almost spring! And that means, March Madness and baseball season! I've got my brackets all picked for the office pool, and I actually did research this year (which is a minor miracle because I hate basketball). My hopes for winning any money are not high, but at least I have some vested interest when The Boyfriend insists on watching the games.

I also decided to start up a fantasy baseball league especially for us knitters who happen to love baseball. Anyone is welcome to join. The league homepage is here. Just in case that doesn't work for you, the name of the league is Knitters in the Outfield. The password (which you'll need to join) is additurbo. It's limited to 20 teams, so hurry and sign up! The knitter who's team comes out on top will win an as yet undetermined prize of some kind of fibery goodness provided by myself.

I need to get some of these...

2006-02-23T10:38:00.000-05:00

As a frequent mass transit rider (i.e., every single freakin' day), I am almost never without a book to read. Unless, of course, I'm listening to a book on my iPod and knitting. But I digress. Finally, a way to unnerve fellow passengers while engaging in my favorite train pasttime: Flapart. It's a series of book covers with amusing titles to put over the book you're actually reading. I'm thinking I should buy the "How to Impersonate an Engineer" cover for my nuclear (or, for Dubya fans nu-cu-ler) engineer boyfriend. For myself, I'm considering "How to Overcome Nymphomania". It's too bad they only come in hardcover size.

I'm a bad blogger...

2006-02-03T17:39:00.000-05:00

Why can't I manage to update my blog on a semi-regular basis? It's not for lack of knitting content to discuss. Mostly, I'm just kind of lazy. Hrm. Anyway, I am now safely ensconced back in my cubicle with full-time access to the computer. So, I have less of an excuse than I did a month ago.

At the moment, the only project on the needles is a pair of Embossed Leaves socks from the Winter Interweave Knits. I love the pattern, but it's a bit limited in the sizing. Luckily, my feet are within the size parameters, but I'd have been upset if I had bigger or smaller feet and had to try and figure out the toe decreases from a different point in the pattern. I'm using KnitPicks merino sock yarn, which is sadly handwash only, but I think I can manage to keep these out of the washing machine. Here's a snapshot of the leg for the first sock:

And a close-up:

It's a little on the loose side in the foot, but I can live with it. The yarn is so soft, but I can see where it might wear through quickly. Such is the life of handknit socks, I suppose.

I've also been busily spinning. I finished another skein of Kool-Aid dyed handspun, which I'm calling "Green Fairy." It's up for sale in my Etsy shop. At the moment, I'm drying a skein that I'm actually planning to keep for myself. It's Corriedale that I bought at Rhinebeck, in colors ranging from orange to burgundy to purple. I'll try to get some pictures of it this weekend if the weather cooperates.

On the horizon, I've ordered the yarn and beads for Grumperina's Odessa hat in the latest Magknits. I went with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in wine, and I ordered two different colors of beads so that I can use whichever looks best with the yarn. This will be my first attempt at knitting with beads, so I'm pretty excited!

SP6 is now underway on the Knittyboard. My downstream SP and I have a lot in common, which makes buying things for her super easy. And I have a suspicion that my upstream SP may be a Brit!

I can explain everything...

2006-01-09T18:45:00.000-05:00

Whew! It's been a while, huh? Yeah...um...about that...I can explain. You see, my blogging had, until recently, happened at work. I'd have long stretches of nothing much to do, which was perfect for uploading pictures and fiddling with HTML. But then the powers that be decided that our team should be working from a conference room instead of from our cubicles. That was back in November. And we're STILL in the blasted conference room. So, I really only get about 1.5 hours of internet time a day, and that time is consumed with emailing, checking a very select list of blogs, and online shopping. This is why I have been absent for so very long.

However, my absence does not mean I haven't been going crazy with fiber! I've been busy with the drop spindle. Lookie here:

And...without flash (slightly blurrier, but truer color):

I kool-aid dyed the roving myself before spinning and plying it. It's not really a color I'd use for anything, so it's going up for sale at my etsy.com shop. I also made a skein of a blue and green colorway, but I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of that one yet.

All of the holiday knitting got done on time. The Boyfriend's parents liked their cigar gloves, which I annoyingly forgot to take a picture of before I packaged them up. My mom oohed and aahed over her socks. And, at the last minute, I decided to make a Noro Kureyon tea cozy for my grandmother to match the new teapot I got for her. I started that one three days before Christmas and finished it up at about 3 a.m. Christmas morning. And now, of course, I have to make one for my mother. Sigh...

Oh well, at least my family members appreciate the time and energy that goes into knitted gifts. Not that I'd dare knit anything for my brother. He's the most difficult to please person on earth, and he always gets gift certificates.

And no, I did not make any New Year's Resolutions. I don't do that, because it's an exercise in futility. Let's just say I'll try to be a more diligent blogger, but I'm not resolving to do anything!

Westward ho!

2005-11-22T16:07:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to update the blog before I head off to The Land of No Internets, a.k.a. the in-laws' house. Although, since The Boyfriend and I aren't married, the "law" part of that phrase isn't quite accurate. In any case, there will be no internet access for me for four whole days. Eeep!

Last night, I received my final package from my Knitty Secret Pal. It was really the 2nd and 3rd packages combined. My pal was the wonderful UrbanPagan! She sent me four balls of KnitPicks sock yarn in two beautiful colorways, a lovely hank of handspun and hand-dyed yarn from a local fair, and some lovely beaded stitch markers. I didn't get a chance to take pictures last night, and I'll probably forget until much later, but everything was gorgeous! I definitely needed more stitch markers, since I'm always making beaded markers for other people instead of myself! And I can't wait to put that yarn to good use. Thanks so much!

In other news, I finished up the socks for my mother. I even managed to get the striping pretty accurate on the second one. I won't bother with a picture of the completed pair--just scroll down for the pic of the first sock and cross your eyes so that the image doubles. ;)

At long last, I finished the straight rows for Clapotis. I thought they'd never end! So, I'm finally on the decreases, and the final ball of yarn arrived last week, so I'm ready to finish. I'm already thinking of another one that will match better when I'm wearing brownish colors. And, since I didn't want to order just one skein of yarn from handpaintedyarn.com, I went ahead and ordered some of their Boutone Pure Wool in the Picnic colorway. I'm planning on making Ella with it. I think I may be wrap/shawl crazy at the moment. Hrm.

The big question of the day is...what knitting should I bring with me to The Land of No Internets? Mom's socks are finished, Clapotis isn't all that portable, and I can't work on the cigar gloves in front of the intended recipients. I'm thinking of trying to make a lace scarf for my mom, so that's one option. Or, I could always make some more socks. Must consult the stash tonight whilst packing. Maybe I'll just fiddle with some leftover sock yarn and try to make up some patterns for the Blythe girls. They need some more winter clothes, methinks.

Finally, because I know you've all been fretting about this, I still have not been able to play City of Villains. Sniffle. It looks like I need to replace the graphics card on the computer, as it must have fried when the power supply went haywire. That will be first on the list of things to do when I return from The Land of No Internets. Or maybe second, behind setting up the tree. I love setting up the tree...

Quick update.

2005-11-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

Since I have approximately 10 minutes before I have to leave work, I decided to dedicate that time to my sadly neglected blog. Life's been crazy, with the work and the home PC dying. Yes, my home computer's power supply went kaput, and we only just got the new one installed last night. Of course, I was hoping to log some time playing City of Villains, which arrived during the computer-free weeks. Much to my horror, the game decided that it didn't like something about my graphics card. Downloaded latest drivers...still no good. So tonight I shall try fighting with it again. Maybe I can coax a few minutes of playing time out of the thing. Maybe I'll just start pounding on the desk again. I dunno.

In knitting news, it was nice and sunny last weekend, so I took some knitting pictures in the natural light.

Here, we have one of the socks intended for my mom:

I used a chevron toe-up pattern in KnitPicks Simple Stripes, Vineyard colorway. I'm up to the cuff on the second one, so hopefully I'll finish that up this weekend.

And here is a half-finished Clapotis:

And a close-up of the dropped stitches:

The yarn is from handpaintedyarn.com. It's their Colonia 140 in the Laguna colorway. It's going to be thick and warm, and won't be as drapey as some of the Clapotis I've seen, but that's okay. I'm planning to make another one in a lighter yarn anyhow.

Blog game time!

2005-10-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

There will be knitting content tomorrow, but today I'm being lazy and posting a blog game that I swiped from DomesticOverlord.

If you google "Heather needs," this is what you'll get:

Heather Needs Men...Now! Okay, but don't tell The Boyfriend.
Heather needs a rest. Yep...most likely
Heather Needs a Childhood by Bill O'Reilly. No thanks. My childhood was just fine.
Little Heather needs you. Well, I'm not all that little...
Heather needs a female parent who can help show her appropriate ways to attract
the attention of guys and learn how to choose appropriate partners. Sorry, but I've already got the Sephora Lady. She did a good job.
Heather needs an acidic soil. wtf?
Little Heather needs to be congratulated for defending herself from unkindness
and overly high expectations when she was a child. Why thank you!
Heather needs sun and open air circulation. This is true.
Miss Heather needs to stick to her career as an country artist. I'll take that under advisement.
Heather needs to be reminded of tasks. Hey! I'm a busy woman!
Heather needs more Senate and Assembly committee information. No...really...I don't.
Heather needs at least two mommies. Again with the mom thing? Okay, fine, as long as this one doesn't spend all her time shopping online.
Heather needs to complete organizational
related tasks. Pffft.
Heather needs help. I think we've established this already.
Heather needs to raise $3500 to cover her expenses during the 10 days in Toronto. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Please donate to the Toronto fund!
Heather needs gentle introductions to new people, places and animals. Yes, this is very important. Please don't scare me.
Heather - Needs to lose 150 lbs. Good gourd no! I'd look like an Olsen!

Okay, enough of that.

The Prodigal Sun Returns...

2005-10-18T18:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I think this weekend proves that the Goddess loves knitters. After 8 straight days of drenching, unending rain in the New York City metro area, the Sun finally made an appearance just in time for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, in Rhinebeck. I rented a car for the occasion, and set out at around 9:30. It was still drizzling a little, but I had faith that it would let up by the time I got up to Rhinebeck. It's about a 70 mile drive from where I live, and I estimated about an hour and a half. Unfortunately, the rains had done a number on the Taconic Parkway. While I didn't experience the closed roads and detours that some ran into earlier in the morning, there were some pretty heavy traffic snarls due to (1) an accident, (2) a lane being flooded, and (3) a car running off the road and into about 3 feet of water and mud. Then, I took a wrong turn (confusing Route 9-G for Route 9), and I finally ended up at the fairgrounds around 12:15.

I'm not sure what I expected, but I think it's an understatement to say that I was overwhelmed. This place is a knitter's paradise. A virtual Bacchanal for fiber enthusiasts. I wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, getting my bearings and trying to cope with the sensory overload. Then I met up with a few people from Knitty, including those enablers Karen and Valerie. Finally, with a tight grip on my wallet, I commenced shopping.

I had a definite idea of what I wanted to get, and I managed to stick to that pretty well. I ended up with a drop spindle, a 1lb. bag of "beginners" roving, a beautiful bunch of space-dyed Corriedale roving (which will not be touched until I am much better at spinning), a skein of handspun yarn for my Secret Pal, some Crystal Palace circs, and the Summer 2005 issue of Spin-Off. Yes, that's right...I didn't buy any yarn for myself! Truthfully, I'm a little disappointed about that, but I have enough in my stash to keep me busy for quite a while. I also picked up two bottles of wine and some vanilla fudge from the food vendor hall. It's a good thing I didn't find that area until later in the day, or I'd have bought a lot more!

On the non-purchasing side, I wandered around a bit and ogled the animals. Naturally, I wanted to take all of them home with me, but I contented myself with picking up information about alpacas to try to convince The Boyfriend's mother to invest in a small herd. There were some adorable sheep, especially the lambs.

And I always enjoy the sheepdog competitions.

I wish I had taken some pictures of the yarn, but I'm an idiot that way. Animals make me pull out the camera, yarn makes me pull out the credit card.

Socks for Sephora Lady

2005-10-07T15:16:00.000-04:00

I started on my mom's Christmas socks last night. I was going to do Broadripple, since I like to try out different patterns. So, I cast on, knit the garter stitch cuff, and thought it looked a little weird. Now, it looked exactly like it was supposed to, but it just wasn't working out with the self-striping yarn I was using. Why not? Because of the garter stitch. We all know what garter stitch looks like at a color change, don't we? To tell the truth, I wasn't that thrilled with a garter stitch cuff myself. I'm more of a ribbing girl--I was worried that, since I wasn't using Cascade Fixation but a wool yarn instead, the sock would get droopy. Believe me, Sephora Lady is NOT into droopy socks.

So I frogged it. Well, actually I knit a bit more hoping that when I was through with the garter stitch it would look a little better. But then I screwed up on the ripple pattern and took it as a sign that I really should frog it. I decided to go back to my trusty friend the toe-up lace sock pattern from Elann.

Still no clue what to do with the one skein of Shimmer. Do I buy more? Look for a pattern that will suit it? It's so pretty and soft, I want to use it...

FOtography

2005-10-06T18:23:00.000-04:00

Ha! I have finally managed to bring both the camera and the USB cord to work, so you can all admire my latest creations.

I give you...ChildHood (sans hood)

Made with Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria. Man is that stuff yummy to work with. Hopefully when I see my goddaughter in November I can get a pic of her actually wearing the thing.

And, what I finished while watching the Yankees lose last night...Voodoo wristwarmers.

A different angle...

I made them with a wonderful merino/silk blend that my current Knitty SP sent me. I just wish it was cool enough to wear them. But, I hear it's going to be chilly this weekend, so I'll have to plan an outing just so that I can wear my new wristwarmers.

In other news, the KnitPicks yarn came last night! Tonight I'm going to cast on for either the cigar gloves or the socks that I'm going to make for my mom. I think I'm going to do Broadripple, but I may meddle with the pattern a bit and do a short-row heel instead of the gusset. Then again, they are a gift, so maybe I should just do it as written rather than screw it up and have to redo it. Or maybe I'll just start on the gloves. If I have the right needles, that is.

I really need to do a needle inventory. Right now, I have a vague idea of which sizes I have, but when it comes to circulars I don't have a clue about which lengths they are. That leads to a bit of frustration when I've got the yarn all ready to go but I have to wait to get the right needles.

For some reason I ordered one skein of Shimmer in Stained Glass and I have no idea what I was planning to make with it. I think it was intended for Clapotis, but it's the wrong weight. Huh...guess it'll go into the stash until it decides what it wants to be.

Sigh...

2005-10-05T17:10:00.000-04:00

I'm a terrible blogger. I really am. I should have posted some picks long ago, but I can't manage to remember to upload them from the camera. Truthfully, when I get home at night I'd rather knit than mess with the computer.

I had the root canal on Saturday. It was...not painless, but definitely not as bad as I'd anticipated. Really, if you have to have one, you're better off not knowing what they're doing. Knowing the procedure is worse than actually sitting there having it done. It made me worry for the entire week. My dentist plays Mr. Bean DVDs while he works on you. I find that pretty neat.

In Knitting News, I'm going to Rhinebeck! I've decided that I deserve it, given the dental work and the efforts I'm making to clean my apartment. I may rent a car and drive up, but Gayle from Knitty Coffeeshop has kindly offered me a ride with her and her husband. I haven't accepted yet, but I'm seriously considering it (saves me the hassle of dealing with Hertz). I think I'll finally take the plunge into spinning. Just what I need--another crazy hobby.

Furthermore, where is my KnitPicks order? I'm getting the itch to start a new project, and I refuse to start on something for myself when the christmas gift yarn is in transit. Maybe it'll be there when I get home tonight...

Now where was I...

2005-09-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

Ah yes! Before life interrupted I was talking about the Knitty cruise. Once again, it was great fun. As soon as I remember to upload my photos, I'll post a few. Basically I just took pictures of the scenery. I'm weird like that.

Knitting news: I finished ChildHood (or NoHood, as it turned out). It turned out really well, and The Boyfriend's sister was pleased with it. Hopefully I'll get to see the kid wearing it over Thanksgiving weekend. We'll see. I did take some pictures before I sent it off, but once again haven't gotten around to uploading. So you'll just have to wait. Muhaha!

Over Labor Day, I started Branching Out in the KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud (as seen below) that the lovely Jane sent me. It's such a yummy yarn, even if laceweight is a bit fiddly to knit with. I just want to pet it constantly. The pattern itself is a good intro to lace knitting. It's a bit exhausting, truthfully. I knit 2-3 repeats, but then I have to put it down and pick up something I can do without paying too much attention. And it's out of the question for knitting in my awful CLE classes (two nights a week for five weeks, plus homework).

For CLE, I'm working on Voodoo wristwarmers. I have one finished, and I'm about 10 rows into the second one. I'm using a beautiful merino/silk blend in dark purple...maybe eggplant? My current SP sent it in my first package, and hopefully it'll be just enough for the wristwarmers. It's started getting chilly here now, so I'll have to wear them soon.

I have to get to work on some Christmas gifties. Here's my current lineup:

cigar gloves for The Boyfriend's parents, which shall be packaged up with some pricey cigars

socks for Sephora Lady, more commonly known as Mom; haven't decided on a pattern yet, but the elann toe-ups worked out pretty well

something soft and lacey also for Sephora Lady, since she saw me working on Branching Out and declared "I'll have that if you don't want it." Yeah Mom, that's why I'm making it, because I don't want it.

Not too bad a list, I think. I'm sure I'll find more things that I want to make for people before the holiday. I know my grandmother would love this, but I am soooo not into knitting giant intarsia designs. Maybe I'll just buy her the pattern and she can knit it herself. No...nevermind...she'd probably knit it and then give it to me. :gasp:

Crazy daze...

2005-09-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

Things have been nuts for the past few days. Saturday, I went to the dentist for the first time in years. I knew I'd have to have some work done, because one tooth had been bothering me. I have to get a freaking root canal! Yikes! I should mention that I hate dentists, and have ever since I was young and had one that wouldn't put the numbing gel on your gums before injecting the novocaine. And they always found something that needed drilling and filling. Well, now I've got the mother of all cavities that is lurking below the gumline, so they've got to do the root canal and cap it this coming Saturday. Oh boy, two Saturdays in a row spent in the dentist chair. My new dentist is actually very nice, and he promised it won't hurt. I wonder if I can demand my $3,000 back if it does hurt? And can you believe I have to pay them $3,000 to drill at my teeth? Isn't that sort of thing fun for dentists? Shouldn't they pay me for it instead?

Luckily, going on the Knitty cruise on Sunday made up for the traumatic dental visit. I got to meet Amy, who was pleased that I brought my Blythe, Sedona, dressed in her Knitty t-shirt. And I got to hang out with Karen, Tamara, Jen, Maryann (marymac), Valerie (alerievay), and Jane (who was my fabulous SP from Round 4).

More on my crazy life later. I have to go to the most ridonkulous continuing education class ever. >:[

The Copyright Morass

2005-09-16T18:07:00.000-04:00

So, recently I've noticed a lot of posts on message boards about copyright as it relates to crafting. It's being talked about on Knitty and in the forums on Etsy, my latest place for obsessive shopping. As an attorney who decided to specialize in copyright and trademark law while in law school (not that anyone will hire me to practice in those areas, but that's another issue entirely), I'm sort of appalled at the confusion that exists. There are many people in the crafting community who think they know about copyright, and there are many who admit to ignorance in the area. But, I am suddenly curious about the actual "rules" (if the Copyright Act can be said to truly have hard and fast rules). It occurred to me that there really needs to be a good resource for crafters to head to when these questions come up, and that resource should be created by an attorney who knows how to locate and interpret legislation. And since I'm not really doing anything requiring a surplus of brain cells at the moment, I might just be able to put together such a resource.

So, what I'm planning to do is get started on assembling clear-cut answers to those questions that seem to keep popping up on the web. It's going to take a while (since I do actually have a job to go to and also some knitting to get done), but I'm hoping to eventually be able to create a website or at least a downloadable document with the information. And I might find enough debate out there to warrant writing a law journal article, which would be great because I'd love to publish something. Maybe there's even a book in there somewhere.

If you're interested, stay tuned to this space. I'll post some of my findings as I go along.

Oh, and ChildHood is almost finished. Just have to sew on the snaps, which I could have done last night if The Boyfriend hadn't distracted me. Pictures this weekend!

Oh no! I'm it!

2005-09-07T23:05:00.000-04:00

The fabulous Urbanpagan has tagged me for a meme, so here go the answers!

ten years ago: I was 16, just entering my junior year of high school and itching to learn how to drive. I grew up in NJ, so I couldn't get my learner's permit until I was 16 and a half and couldn't get my license until I was 17. But, I was young for my year, so some of my friends were already driving. That was my first real year of adulthood, I suppose, since I was more independent than ever before.

five years ago: I was 21, and was entering my senior year at Penn State. That year, I moved into an apartment with 5 other people, 2 girls and 3 guys. I only knew two of the guys, and not all that well, but I had a huge crush on one of them. He's now my boyfriend of four years and we live together.

one year ago: I had graduated from law school and had taken the bar exam but was still waiting for the results. I was unemployed (and I still don't have a "real job") and pretty bitter about that fact.

five snacks:

chocolate

Cheez-Its

jalapeno poppers

banana and peanut butter

black and white cookie

five songs I know all the words to: (there's a lot more than five, but here are the first ones that pop into my head)

"Only the Good Die Young," Billy Joel

"Desperado," the Eagles

"I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor

"Let it Be," the Beatles

"Freya, Shakti," Gaia Consort

five things I would do with $100 million:

pay off my loans

buy a house

buy a horse

invest a few million so that I can stop working

give the rest away to charity

five places to run away to:

the beach

the mall

Central Park

the zoo

my parents' house

five things I would never wear:

hotpants (unless I lost about 40 pounds)

a micromini (unless I lost about 40 pounds)

wool underwear

anything with the Boston Red Sox logo

five favorite tv shows:

Seinfeld

The O.C. (guilty pleasure #1)

Laguna Beach (guilty pleasure #2)

Will and Grace

five biggest joys:

snuggling into the covers on a snowy day when I don't have to be anywhere

kitties, puppies, birdies, and anything else you can think of that isn't an insect

horseback riding

Disney World

the first day of vacation

favorite toys:

my two Blythe dolls, Lirienne and Sedona

the computer (complete with high speed internet and City of Heroes)

my iPod

my sewing machine (even though it doesn't work half the time)

my digital camera

five people to pass this on to:

yarnyogi, because she was my downstream SP for SP4

sparkli, because she's my age and she seems really cool

cBear, mostly because I like the name of her blog

A Knitter in Queens, because New Yorkers are the best

Linz, because she's a Penn Stater!

And, on to knitting content. No pics today because I'm lazy. Oh, okay. I'm making Branching Out in this:

It's so soft and pink and snuggly! If only I had more patience with lace. Actually, it's my first lace project. It's going fairly quickly, but I know I've made some mistakes. It really is impossible to undo mistakes in lace without a lifeline, but for something this small I can't be bothered to do the lifeline thing. Luckily, I'm not one of those perfectionists who can't stand to have a little mistake here and there in her knitting. If I was, I'd never finish anything.

ChildHood is almost finished. I just have to seam it up and sew on the buttons and snaps. I'm hoping the snaps I got are an appropriate size. Never take a boyfriend to the fabric store, for you will be rushed into decisions that should not be rushed. Sigh...

Toe-up socks are finished, except for weaving-in-of-ends. I finished them at my parents' house this weekend, and only narrowly managed to wrestle them away from my sock-loving mother. She admitted they were a tad too small for her, and I managed to add that they were mostly wool, so they might itch her delicate tootsies. Heh. Mine, they're all mine! I will make my mother some socks for Christmas that she can wear without itch and that she can toss in the washing machine.

Okay, this whole meme thing has taken way too much time, so I'm off to bed.

Hurricane Katrina disaster relief

2005-09-01T15:29:00.000-04:00

I'm so shocked and saddened by the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that an entire major US city is essentially under water. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your home, your possessions, and to have to basically start over again.

Instead of trying to figure out something that is probably beyond the comprehension of most humans, I've decided I want to do something. There are loads of charities that are helping the victims of Katrina, and I urge you all to donate what you can. Even if you only have a few extra dollars, every little bit helps.

As a confirmed animal lover, I will be donating to the Humane Society Disaster Relief Fund. The HSUS has dispatched teams to the disaster area to rescue any stranded companion animals and to help reunite them with their owners.

Please do your part to help the victims. Once you've donated, be sure to log your donation at The Truth Laid Bear. TTLB will be tracking your contributions, and I'll update this blog to let everyone know how much we've raised.

As an added incentive (not that you needed one, right?), if you make a donation to the Humane Society, and you forward the confirmation email you get from HSUS to me (hbrogan@gmail.com) along with your mailing address I will send you a little gift. (Hint: most likely beaded stitch markers).

flood aid
hurricane katrina

I'm back!

2005-08-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

Since my boss isn't at work today, I've finally found a moment to post a knitting update. Yay!

I'm making good progress on my toe-up socks. I'm up to the cuff on the second sock, but that always seems to take forever. I've actually gotten a bit bored with these socks, and since I won't be wearing them for at least another month I'm in no real hurry to finish.

I started on ChildHood for my goddaughter. I'm making it in Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria in lilac and violet. I love this yarn! It's so soft, I just want to pet it. If it wasn't so darn expensive I might make something for myself out of it. I'm making the no-hood version of ChildHood (ChildNoHood?). It's going fairly well--the back is finished and I've started on the left front. I still have to track down some cute buttons for it--I think it will be my first foray into some of the buttons/trimmings stores in the Garment District. I'm always a bit intimidated when I walk by those stores. They seem to be so geared towards serious designer types, and I really just want a big bucket of buttons and to be left alone to sift through them.

In other news, my wonderful SP sent me a fabulous package just in time for my birthday! I'll post some pictures later, but here's what I got:

2 skeins of KnitPicks' Alpaca Cloud in Peppermint
2 skeins of KPPPM in a beautiful purpley colorway
a pretty hardcover notebook
a cute kitty cat eraser
a set of colored pencils
some lavender incense
and a beautiful handknit outfit for my Blythe, Lirienne--it's a black evening gown and a soft brown wrap; I put it on her immediately, and it's just perfect for her.

Thank you SP!

I've also joined the Yarn Diet Diet that started on the Knittyboard. Basically, I'm trying to lose about 20 pounds, and for ever 5 pounds I lose I'll treat myself to $50 of yarn. Unless I lose weight, I won't be buying any new yarn. I told Joe about this plan, and he said if I lose the weight he'll give me the yarn money. Whee! I got a late start because I decided to put it off until after vacation, so I'm only in my second week of dieting. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought, but I'm trying not to do anything too drastic because I want to keep the weight off. I started at 165, and as of yesterday I was 163. A few more pounds and I get to shop!

Pasha and Mr. Stegs

2005-07-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are some pictures of Pasha and Mr. Stegs before they travel to their new owners this weekend.

I'm off to the airport for my Fourth of July trip to see BF's family. I doubt I'll get much knitting done, but I'm taking the toe-up socks just in case. ;)

Weekend Progress

2005-06-28T13:40:00.000-04:00

I did lots of crafty stuff over the weekend. I finished up Mr. Stegs and Pasha for my neice and nephew. I'll try to take some pictures tonight--I think they came out really cute. I made them both with stash yarn--Mr. Stegs out of dark green acrylic (I think it was Utopia in Dark Teal) and Pasha out of some of the Woolease that I won in elizabeth's Wool Ease Essay Contest. It's a pink penguin!

My boyfriend was so enamored of Mr. Stegs that he now wants his own brontosaurus and triceratops. *sigh*

I also started making some beaded stitch markers. I need to get some needlenose pliers, because I was having a heck of a time twisting the wire around using just round nose pliers and a wire cutter. But the three I made turned out really pretty. Now I just need some more beads...

I haven't decided what I should start on next. I'm almost finished one toe-up sock. I also have the supplies for a hoodie for my neice and the cocktail kitty bag. I suppose I could start both...

And the Knitter said "Let there be pictures!" And there were pictures. And it was good.

2005-06-24T17:15:00.000-04:00

My boss finally left for the evening, so I can actually post those pictures I took the other day of the Ribbed Ribbon Tank.

Sorry about the flash in that second one. Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure about this tank. It's a little shorter than I expected (considering I thought it looked too long when I was knitting it) and it seems to stretch in weird ways. I'm going to try wearing it this weekend and see how I feel in it. If I frog it, though, I have no idea what I'll do with that yarn. :/

2005-06-21T15:09:00.000-04:00

Still no pictures! I did take some yesterday of the Ribbed Ribbon Tank, which is finally finished. But, I'm lazy and didn't upload them yet. Maybe tonight, after my Solstice celebration (which is really just me sitting in the backyard drinking wine and soaking up the summer air).

I'm not too happy about the way the tank ended up. I'm thinking I should have chosen a different yarn, as the Schachenmayr Aurora wasn't really the "ribbon yarn" I envisioned. It's a little too thin, which makes the tank somewhat see-through. And it seems to be stretching, too. Hrm. Plus, I think it makes me look fat. I'll give it a few weeks and see if I can stand to wear it. If not, I'll frog it and make something else with the yarn, though what I don't know. It's quite heavy, even just being a tank. I can't imagine what something like a cardigan would feel like.

My major project over the weekend was making a stuffed stegosaurus for my nephew, who I'll be seeing over July 4th weekend. He's almost three, and his tastes are a little fickle, so I'm not sure whether he'll like it, be bored, or run screaming to his mother. I think it'll be cute, though. It was super fast to knit up, and now I'm just waiting for the fiber fill so that I can finish it. I'm going to make something for my niece also, probably Pasha, but in non-traditional penguin colors. I'm thinking pink? Then again, I think everything looks better in pink.

Just let me finish this row...

2005-06-17T17:50:00.000-04:00

Since I still haven't bothered to take pictures of my WIPs (this weekend, I promise!), I bring you another knitting rant. And guess what? This one also stars my wonderful BF!

My darling boyfriend has the habit of asking me to do things while I'm in the middle of knitting a row. The more intricate the knitting, the more insistent. There's probably a mathematical equation that would explain this phenomenon, but I'm a lawyer not a mathmagician. These "things" I'm asked to do can range from the inane ("Could you get me another beer?") to the sweet ("I want a hug!") to the just plain annoying ("I'm going to bed, and you have to come to bed too or at least come into the bedroom and entertain me for 15 minutes.").

What BF seemingly fails to understand is the concept that knitting cannot be simply stopped at a moments notice. That's part of what I like about it. When you sit down to knit, you're making a commitment. Even if you only have time for one row, you know that once you start you'll keep going until the end of that row. Nothing short of a catastrophe shall dissuade you.

This insistence on interrupting me in the middle of a row is, I think, closely related to my boyfriend's inability to understand why I can't carry on deep conversations if I'm knitting. Okay, if I'm doing stockinette or ribbing or anything that's fairly basic I can have a conversation. But when you see me looking at a pattern with my brow furrowed, it's a sign that I should not be bothered until I've figured out this latest direction. And if I'm staring at my knitting intently it means I've probably made a mistake somewhere and you should retreat silently to another room until I've either fixed it or decided it's not worth fixing. For Goddess' sake don't ask me about something you read in the NY Times that morning!

I think I shall make up some hats to wear while knitting. They'll have little messages on them such as "Heel turning in progress, do not disturb," and "Leave me alone, I'm shaping a neckline."

Knitting ADD

2005-06-16T17:16:00.000-04:00

Why can't non-knitters understand the concept of WIPs? Last night, I was sitting on the couch, knitting merrily away on my toe-up socks. I was turning the heel, which I find ridiculously fun for some reason (it's like magic!). BF looks over and says "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be knitting socks for me?"

Now, here's some background. BF loves hand-knit socks and has since I made my first pair (which he insisted on trying on his big man-feet). So, I made him a pair of his own in a nice neutral beige color. Then I made a second pair for me in blue. Since I had enough beige and blue left over for another pair of socks, I told BF I'd make him some striped socks in those colors. I cast on, and got to working the foot of the first sock (these are top-down socks, not toe-up). This was about 4 months ago.

Then, I got distracted. I wanted to make my first real garment, so I started a ribbed tank-top for myself. Another distraction came along in the form of Knitty's spring issue. I had to make the ribbon x-back. Luckily, I finished up the pieces of the ribbed tank just as the ribbon yarn for the x-back was arriving. All that was left was seaming, which I hate, and which could of course be put aside until the x-back was completed.

The x-back took a while (or maybe it just seemed that way because of the damn seed stitch). Conveniently enough, just as I was getting bored with x-back, I had to go on a business trip, and a plane is the perfect place to start a new sock project (especially because DPNs impress the non-knitters sitting nearby and convince them it's a bad idea to distract you with inane conversation). I had purchased some lovely self-striping sock yarn for myself, and I was dying to try it out. So, I started the toe-up socks.

When I got home, I put aside the socks to finish up my tanks. I also managed to purchase hemp and cocktail kitties so that I could make my own version of the cocktail monkey bag. I did eventually finish both tanks (well...I still have to weave in the ends of the ribbed one, but it's all seamed up, I promise!).

Fast forward to earlier this week. I decided that I shouldn't start a new project until I had finished at least one more WIP. So, I set to work on the toe-up socks again because they have a fun eyelet pattern on the instep, and are a lot less boring than the striped socks. They're just what I want to work on now. Doesn't BF get that I can't just do one project until it's finished? I need variety in my knitting!

In any case, I guess once I finish this one sock I should at least finish the first sock of his pair. Then maybe he'll let me start the cocktail kitty bag...

ETA: Cocktail kitties, monkeys, mermaids, etc. can be purchased online at Archie McPhee.

First Post

2005-06-10T19:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally got around to making my own knitting blog. This will help clear up the clutter of my LiveJournal. There will be a lot of changes coming soon, as I'm hoping to spruce up the template a bit and add some things. Enjoy!