Love/Hate

Since I've started reading knitting blogs I've heard a lot about the glory of Addi Turbo needles. So many people swear by them (blunt tips and all) that I've been itching to try some. I finally caved and bought a 16" size 10 circular last night, came home knit up a storm and glowed at how slippery and bendy and quick they were. Then my hands started to hurt, then my right wrist got really pissed. I can't use the Addi's, bummer.
As best I can figure it's a case of my apparently giant man hands versus the short little Addi points. I can't get a good grip on them. They're definitley shorter than the points on my Boye needlemaster ones.


I've been working with the Patons Soy Wool Stripes, getting an early start on a christmas present. And I freakin love this colorway. It's black and grey and tan and mauve and blue and every shade in between. It's soft, a little fuzzy, and altogether gorgeous, but I'm worried about yarn flaws. It was nice and even for most of the skein and then I came accross this giant hairy monster. I hope there's not too many more of these.

Those are my knitting woes for the evening. ACL fest was AWEsome! If you were at Gomez on Friday I was the crazy lady dancing in front. I saw Ben Kweller covered in real blood and Wayne Coyne covered in fake blood. I sweat my ass off and had a blast.

The only time of year you'll see me in a cowboy hat

ACL Fest starts tomorrow and I'm all atwitter. I saw Gnarls Barkley last night to get things rolling, short but a good show, I think I got a a contact buzz. I'll catch Ben Kweller in an hour or so and I'll have to resist the urge to put him in my pocket and take him home. He is just so perfectly pocket sized.

Here's the short list of who I intend to see this weekend:

Friday:
Wolf Parade
Nickel Creek
Gomez Gomez Gomez! - I may have to go to their signing at the Waterloo Records booth too.
Thievery Corporation
Sparklehorse

Saturday:
Phoenix
More Ben Kweller
a little Secret Machines...a little TV on the Radio
The Shins Shins Shins!
Calexico
The Raconteurs
Hopelessly torn between Kings of Leon and Iron and Wine, we'll see what kind of a mood I'm in.

Sunday:
Jose Gonzalez
Matisyahu...maybe
The New Pornographers! -I also want to see Los Amigos Invisibles but I'm going to do my best to see at work instead.
The Flaming Lips!
And here's a realy Sunday night dilema, Sufjan Stevens and The Raconteurs are doing an ACL taping. I could probably get space available tickets for it but I'd have to leave the festival before New Pornographers and I don't see that happening. Crap.

I am taking the sock to work on, so there's some knitting content.
See you all out there.

Got my sweater mojo workin!

The sweater is happening folks! I finished the left front. It went so much faster than the back I can't even believe it. Granted it's a smaller piece, but I think the biggest difference was finally correcting my knitting technique and becoming an honest to god continental knitter. I still use my wonky left handed throw method on some of the purl rows but the knit rows zip faster than I can believe. At this pace I'll have a new sweater for the first cold snap (assuming we have one.) The finishing intimidates me a little, so I imagine I'll be consulting some experts.

So ACL fest is this weekend. Every year I go it's hot and miserable and I swear never to go again but by the time September rolls around I'm all jazzed up again. This year is no different. I'll be front and center at Gomez, The Shins, The New Pornographers and a few more. I'm debating whether to take the sock in progress with me.

And I am in an damn fine mood today and it's not because I've had way too much diet coke (although that helps.) It's because I spent my morning listening to the new Scissor Sisters album. Disco-tastic! It is the campy and ridiculous and I've been shaking my ass ever since. If you have a high falsetto tolerance I highly recommend it.

Color Block Bathmat

Well, I finished the bathmat. It's a little wonky but it matches the shower curtain and that's kinda nifty. It's basically the absorba pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting with 3 strands of Sugar n' Cream on size 11 needles. Up close and in action.