Abbenormal Knitting

OH HAI

2008-07-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just found LOLVogue on Jezebel. Can't stop with the gigglin.

Mostly Dead

2008-01-17T09:09:00.001-08:00

So this blog is mostly dead, which is not the same as completely dead. I'm still a very busy knitter, just a very lousy blogger. Trouble is I don't care that much. But since I'm bored out of my gourd today I though I'd share a little FO madness. Most of this is Christmas knitting and all of it can be found on Ravelry.

Here's the socks I made for Mom. Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. And yes, Charlene Schurch is a genius. NEXT!

A hat for Dad in a nice longhorn burnt orange color. It's a little small for him. People in my family have huge heads. NEXT!

A hat for my brother in good ol' workhorse Cascade 220. Okay this one came out too small too (see giant melon reference.) But this time I took it back from him and started ripping out the decreases. That freaked him out pretty good. I added a few more inches and delivered it to him the day after christmas. NEXT!

A quick little Calorimetry for my brother's girlfriend. Super fast, cute, and stash burning, what else could you ask for. NEXT!

And here's my favorite. The Arctic Diamonds Stole for Grandma. That one was hard to part with. My next lace project will have to be something similar for me.

I also made some felted clogs for Grandpa, but as they were still drying in my car on Christmas Eve I never got around to getting a picture of them.

2008 has been busy too. I've got a pair of socks just off the needles, almost done with an everlasting bagstopper, half way through Oblique, and just started a Noro scarf.

So who has time to blog with all this knitting. See y'all in six months-ish? Okay!

Babies Taste of Chicken

2007-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I know shockingly little about babies. I have a general idea about where they come from and am aware that they are typically smaller than adults, but that's about. So I was a little flummoxed by the recent crop of coworker babies, but I knit for them anyway.

Baby #1 should be arriving any minute now and it will be receiving a little Mason Dixon Knitting sampler. That would be one baby genius burp towel and on bib o' love. I used leftover Sugar and Creme cotton from the bathmat stash that will never die. They turned out nicely, bright and baby friendly, washable, good stuff.

Baby #2 isn't due until Halloween but the shower was this past weekend so I had to get busy and finish the garter baby bonanza earlier than intended. That would be one Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter Workshop and a matching set of Saartje's Booties. The jacket was one of the coolest patterns I've knit. It's more of a recipe than a precise pattern but it all worked out, even when it said "Hope you're still with me." I knit it while on family vacation, it was a nice and easy knit that turns into a weird little blob, but presto foldo... baby jacket. The booties are beyond cute, super adorable and all but I was a little frustrated with the fact that they took as long in finishing as they did to knit. How could something so small have so many ends to weave in. If I make these again I'll do a few modifications to reduce those.

Baby #3 is due sometime around the end of the year, but honestly that one may just get a pat on the head.

Blue Leaves

2007-06-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here's my first lace piece. Finished a while ago and was waiting to be gifted to my friend Lana who'd getting married next week. A big congratulations to her.

Here are the details.

Pattern: Fiber Trends Lace Leaf Shawl

Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer in Turquoise Splender (I bought 3 skeins and decided it was plenty big after 1) It's lovely soft stuff that blocked out nicely. It gets a thumbs up from me.

Needles: US 5 Inox circular needle, worked fine but I'm anxious to try the Addi lace next time.

Time Frame: December to April roughly. It lived as the blue blob in my WIP basket for longer than necessary but I learned the hard way that the bigger it got the more dedicated the time and concentration for it had to be.

This project was all about the challenge for me. I don't really wear lace I just wanted to see if I could make it and Hot Dog I can!

Next up: The Lara sweater is knitted and waiting to be blocked and Monkey Socks are on the move.

Sock Evolution

2007-06-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

Sock Evolution
Originally uploaded by Abbenormal

On the far left is the first sock I ever made, just to see if I could. It has a peculiar elfin pointy toe quality, and a inexplicable twist on the instep. Lord only knows how I managed that. Let's just say it didn't deserve a partner.

Next one to the right is the second sock I ever made. It's grossly too big giving it a sort of 80's slouch sock over your stirup leggings quality. And the self patterning sock yarn is...um...ick. Also destined for sock solitude.

And then Ladies and Gentleman, a successful completed PAIR of socks. Huzzah! They are Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet Sock Yarn on US 2 needles and hoo boy are they lovely.

At Long Last

2007-04-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have found knitting inspiration. Not that I haven't been knitting, I've been knitting up a storm. Perfectly lovely stuff too. Like this...

Three Mason Dixon Knitting Moss Grid Handtowels in Cotlin. These were gifted to my friends T&M for their 10th anniversary. Congratulations to them.

I'm also taking another crack at sock knitting. So far so good. I've knit two socks before, one worsted weight, pointy-toed, green elf sock and one saggy ugly print yarn sock. I have much higher hopes for this guy.

The blue lace carries on. It pretty much looks like the same blue blob I posted before, but it's about 3 rows from being done. I should have it all pinned out pretty soon.

But enough of that stuff, here's what I'm psyched about. Turning this...

into this...

I saw the one that Cosmic Pluto just finished and now I must have it. I actually took a picture of something crazy similar a few months ago at Urban Outfitters thinking I could find a way to make my own. So the book with the pattern is own it's way and I can't wait to get started.

Cursed Hat!!

2007-03-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

It had bad mojo all over it.

I started a Shedir hat with Caro's destashed Cotton-Ease to pass the time while I waited for my knit picks order to come in with yarn for the Badly Drawn Boy hat. I wanted something complicated yet brief and it seemed perfect. But alas, my gauge was seriously flawed and I was really far into it by the time I figured that out. So now you see it now you don't.

Well the whole fiasco delayed my rock star knitting plans so the New York trip and the Badly Drawn Boy concert came and went with no hat. We had a blast in New York! Shopped, saw concerts, wandered the city, almost froze to death, ate like kings, and my Brooks Farm Duet Clapotis had a grand Manhattan debut.

Super Speedy Festival of FO

2007-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

As if from nowhere, I have two FOs to share.

Here's my first felted project EVER. How awesome are these.

Yep, those are Fiber Trends Felted Clogs in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Iron Ore, Pumpkin and Daffodil. I did about 90 percent of the knitting for those a few weeks ago over a very boring weekend and then took forever to do the last little pieces. Well they finally got the dunk last night and they're looking sharp. Still drying though, I think that's going to take a while.

And here's the latest and greatest. The low temperature tonight in Austin, TX is 27 degrees Fahrenheit and my poor little head was cold. I cast on for this tonight during Beauty and the Geek (shut up, it's not as bad as it looks) and wove in the ends during Conan. How awesome is that! I live for the stash busting one night FO.

Damon's Head

2007-02-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

I've bought the tickets, so I'm pretty certain now that I'm going to see Badly Drawn Boy next month. He is one of my all time favorite artists. My love runs deep. Since the first time I heard Another Pearl off of Hour of the Bewilderbeast, I have been a fan. Last time I saw him I got a kiss on the cheek and an album signed. I was in heaven!

So, anyone familiar with BDB (aka Damon Gough) probably knows he has a certain affinity for hats, generally of the knitted touque variety. And now that I've developed a knack for this whole knitting thing, I'm going to embrace my inner geek and stroll proudly into the arena of crazy fan and knit him a hat.

This is going to be a pattern-free-seat-of-my-pants kind of thing and March 7th is my deadline. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

So let the rockstar knitting begin!!!

And the lace goes on

2007-01-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a little ugly unblocked lumpy bumpy lace. But I have faith. I love the Turquoise Splendor, great colors and it's super soft. Unfortunately, I was a little late in realizing this is a project that cannot be worked on in the company of others. Can't seem to count while people talk, so it's got a few mistakes, but it's gonna stay that way. I put in a life line so if I screw up again I can rip back without completely panicking. Big thanks to the meetup crew for suggesting that.

At the moment though I've got lots of time to work on it all by myself since Austin has shut down. It's the annual ice storm, the weathermen freak out, the schools shut down and I watch daytime TV and take pictures of icicles. Yee haw!

Christmas Post Mortem

2006-12-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope everybody had a great holiday but it sure is nice to get back to a touch of normal. I'm still eating leftovers but the constant flow of sweets seems to have slowed. I managed to knit a few gifts this year and they were mostly well received.

Here's my brother sporting his Center Square hat. This was an impressively quick knit. I added a stitch to each repeat to accommodate his big noggin but it was still pretty snug. He says it works though. The blue was some estate sale Cleckheaton and the green was leftover Wool of the Andes from the sweater.

His hat spurned me on to a freestyle stranded hat for my 8 year old cousin Mackenzie. Super cute pink and wine Wool of the Andes Bulky in a checker pattern and of course I didn't get a picture of it. But here she is playing guitar, at 8! How awesome is she!

I also managed to churn out another Topi (my third) for my cousin Kelly. Ah the skeevy 14 year old mustache. The joys of adolescence.

The fighting fetchings, modeled here my Memi, went to Grandma. It was a very Knitty Christmas.

Mom liked her scarf and hat which I posted a while back, and I put together 6 ballband washcloths with some fancy central market soaps for some coworkers. Next year I think I'll be more ambitious but I'll also start earlier. In the meantime it's back to knitting for myself. Lace pictures coming soon.

Have a happy and safe New Year's and I'll see ya in 2007!

Lifted and Separated

2006-12-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Lift & Separate from Big Girl Knits
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in the color fern. 18 skeins with seaming and everything.
This stuff was great. Nice color, consistent quality, very affordable and it blocked beautifully.
Needles: Size 6 aluminum estate sale circular needles, probably Boye from the 1970s.
Modifications: I went for 3/4 sleeves over full length. I knit the cuff as directed and then skipped 4 inches before the arm increases. They came out a little longer than I wanted because the whole thing is big in the shoulders. The rest of the pattern was as directed; I didn't feel too brave making a lot of changes on my first sweater.
Started: July 2006
Finished: I did the final Final finishing on December 9, 2006

I am very proud of this sweater. It's far and away the biggest project I've taken on and it's inspired me onto bigger and better things. I learned a lot and there are things I would do differently, like knit it 2 sizes smaller. It's big, like really big. Especially through the shoulders and arms. The armpit hangs a lot lower than I would like. I love the plunging neckline in the book photograph but it overlaps so much to fit that it becomes rather demure.

Thanks to all knit buddies for all the moral support and great advice.

Happy Holidays!

Relax into the pose

2006-11-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

An hour and a half of Balasana (child's pose) on my bedroom floor and here's the result.

It's the Lift and Separate sweater from Big Girl Knits all blocked out. I used every straight pin in the house and tried like hell to keep it smooth without stretching it out. It's plenty big, if I had it to do over again I probably would have made the next size smaller, but we'll see how it seams up.
I washed it in Soak before I blocked it. The aquae scent seemed nice enough as I set the pieces in it; clean but not too overpowering. I got it all squeezed out and on the floor before the smell really hit me. It smells like a cheesy beauty parlor circa 1986. It smells like perm! I don't really know why but it my whole bedroom smells like somebody got a permanent about 3 days ago. In a weird way it's kind of comforting, because my mom had a frightening perm through most of my childhood. So it reminds me hugs from mom after she got her hair done.
Hopefully it will dry fast and I won't have to live in the beauty barn for too long. I'm ready to wear the thing already. And I've got a cue a mile long of other projects I want to start. Several including all the goodies from Kid n Ewe. That event was pretty thoroughly covered in knit blog land, but I had a great time, met some great people, got some great yarn, and listened to some great Canadian music (thanks Caro!). What more could you want.

Kid n Ewe

2006-11-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

Kid n Ewe Collage
Originally uploaded by Abbenormal.

Kid n' Ewe in Boerne was great. Here's a few shots and I'll post pictures of my loot soon.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-30T22:34:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Halloween I've finished my second Hallowig. I bought the yarn Sunday morning and bound off Monday night. Booya! I'm pretty thrilled with that considering when I knit the pattern last year I swore at it for weeks and almost decided knitting in the round was a bad idea all together. The green one is Caron's soft something or other and the pink one is Red Heart Super Saver in Shocking pink (hands down the crappiest yarn I've ever knit.)

Here's a friend modeling last years model.

And here's me sporting the one fresh off the needles.

Knitting Progress Report

2006-10-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been incommunicato for a while, but I'm back and I've been a knitting fool. I finished a little christmas knitting. Here's a Multi-directional scarf in Paton's Soy Wool Stripes. I luurve this scarf; it is warm and snuggly and has a fantastic drape. This one is definitley for mom but I may make myself one in a different colorway before too long. (Totally stole the dog model idea from Monika at Smoking Hot Needles)

I've also been working on a stack of ball band dishclothes with leftover cotton from the bathmat. I'll be wrapping these up with some kind of fancy soap and a home depot gift card for a friend's post wedding party this weekend. They got married last month in Hawaii, but didn't want to deny their friends who couldn't make it there the opportunity to give them presents. Can't say I blame them.

The sweater goes on and on. I'm halfway thru the second front. So I've got two sleeve's and the finishing left. I think my new totally meaningless self imposed deadline is Christmas.

I also got a message from Gerry last week that it was getting mighty chilly in Missouri. He needs to hurry up and get to Texas where that won't be an issue, but in the mean time the boy needs a decent hat. I made him a pitiful one last year that didn't cover his ears, so when I finished his new hat a few days ago and it was grossly too small I frogged the whole damn thing and started over. So I just finished Gerry's hat version 3.0 and it should be in mail this week. (Mellen was kind enough to model this one.)

And for a little dose of cuteness, I had a houseguest last week. Although Bella refused to be upstaged.

Love/Hate

2006-09-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-09-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

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.

How a sock saved my mind

2006-08-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the weekend with the kinfolk. And again I come to the conclusion they're all nuts. At least I had my sock. Everytime my family did or said something mildly horrifying I had the sock to distract me.

Family: My cousin coaching her 3 year old daughter to tell me "You like that face yo mamma gave you? Cause I's is fixin to mess it up!"
Me: You know, I really like the short row toe, it makes it much easier to join in the round.

Family: So Abbe, when are you going to get married?
Me: Oh bother, I've dropped a stitch, where is my crochet needle?

Family: You see the trick is to get your job to pay you under the table so you don't have to pay taxes on it and you can still collect disability.
Me: What a lovely colorway! I just love the green, orange and purple!

Family: So Abbe, when are you going to have babies?
Me: Is it time to turn the heel yet?

Family: My Great Aunt cooks vegetables; that's one part bacon grease, one part butter, and one part veggie. Eat up y'all!
Me: I don't think I'm wrapping these stitches the right way, should I start doing it right or just be consistent?

Family: Really, why Ain't you married with babies yet?
Me: Ack, I'm going to have a weird stripe, but it's not worth breaking the yarn.

You get the gist of it. I'm just glad to be home. Here's what the sock looked like by the end of the weekend.

Deep East Piney Woods

2006-08-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well looks like I'll be off in East Texas this weekend visiting my kinfolk. I haven't seen my grandma in way too long, I've missed her brand of crazy. And here's a total shot in the dark...does anyone know if there's a yarn shop in Nacogdoches or maybe Lufkin? Probably not, but I figure it's worth asking.
48 hours of quality family time should mean lots of knitting. I'll have to find something a little more portable to work on than the big sweater and the bathmat. Maybe I'll take a crack at that knit picks sock yarn, but that means I need teeny dpns. Any suggestions for what brand of size 1 or 2 dpns I should start with?
Oh, and the sweater back is done, I'll post the progress picture when I get it blocked, it's just too darn curly right now. And if anybody has a preferred blocking method for 100% wool, that'd be handy too.

Well I'm just all questions today. Thanks y'all.

Knitting stall out

2006-08-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well I kept thinking I would post here when I finally F-ed an F-ing O, but who knows when that's going to happen. The all consuming sweater is coming along, I'm almost done with the back, and that'll be the biggest piece. It's getting kind of heavy and it's slowing me down but I've got to push on thru the next few inches, then I can take a breather before I start on the fronts.

There are tons of other things I want to start, I bought a bunch of cotton for a log cabin bathmat. Should be nice, and my bathroom needs all the help it can get since the soapdish fell off the wall. It about gave me a heart attach when I put my foot on it to shave (does anyone actually keep soap in theirs?) and it came crashing down. As far a the builder is concerned it fell spontaneously and it should be under warranty.

Also on the list are pillows for the couch. I saw someone making mitered square pillows on the Mason Dixon KAL, and I'm totally stealing their idea. I love the mitered squares, but I can't handle a whole blanket right now.

There is also a stash organization project underway. The sad truth is it has to get worse before it can get better, right?

Anyway, here's a few things making me happy this week:
1. I got a raise at work. Hot damn!
2. Jannelle got HOH again. I'm a dork!
3. My friends in Missouri are moving back to Austin. Yee haw and welcome home y'all!

Harlot in my hood

2006-07-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll admit, I didn't know who the yarn harlot was until I heard all the chatter about her upcoming trip to Austin at Knitflix. But in the last week I have spent more time at my job reading her blog than doing anything resembling work, and of course I am smitten. So I'll be there this Saturday. And I figure I'll see all 3 of my blog readers there.

Sweater Naivete

2006-07-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

The yarn finally showed up, yee haw.

And the sweater has begun. It's going to be a warm one, but that's okay because got the gauge right and it might actually fit which at the moment is just too exciting.

So here's to drastically premature sweater anticipation. Cheers!

Yarn jones

2006-07-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Where oh where is my yarn. I ordered from Knit Picks 10 days ago and it's not here yet. The package trackers says it's languishing in Dallas. Stupid Dallas. Whenever it actually gets here I'll start my first sweater. It's a momentus thing to me. I'm planning the Lift and Separate wrap sweater from Big Girl Knits. I have high hopes for this and I figure if I start now, I might just finish it in time for our 3 days of winter. So here's hoping my motivation holds out for yarn delivery time.

I Hate Ants!

2006-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a new joy of home ownership. I have ants in the house, and not harmless little sugar ants in the kitchen, we're talking sonofabitch that hurts biting ants in my bedroom. I had seen a few and gotten a couple bites on my feet and was going to get some amdro as soon as I got around to it.
I came home Sunday night with the intention of putting on PJs curling up on the couch and watching mind numbing late night TV. I pulled on my pajama pants and immediately discovered they were moving. Ants, literally, in my pants. I leapt out of them and brushed all the ants off my leg, but not before they got about 15 good stings on my left thigh. The inside of the pants looked like a horror movie. I washed them on the hottest setting muttering "Die, die, DIE!!" Still can't figure out what could have gotten on those pants to attract that many ants, I'd say it qualifies as a swarm.
So I sprayed every base board in the house with Country Fresh Scent Raid Ant & Roach spray that night, and I'll put out Amdro tonight. And if that doesn't work I'm calling the creepy "Kill Your Bugs" guy from the TV.
The bites are on fire today, and I gotta say nothing quite so classy as rubbing ointment on your thighs in a public bathroom. Let's hope my coworkers don't wonder too much what I'm up to in there.

Bound off

2006-07-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Check it out, I've actually finished stuff lately. My favorite by far is the Mason Dixon Warshrag (or cup towel in my mother's house.)

Ain't it purty and it almost matches my Ikea cup towels. I intend to make many more of these and just about everything else from the MDK book. Love it!

Here's the brown hat (don't know why it looks purple) that I thought was a disaster. It didn't turn out so bad, nobody but me is ever going to notice the errors on the top and the bunching on the sides of the brim looked much better once I put the plastic mesh in. Looks like Jake is getting his hat after all.

And here's what will spend the rest of its days in a bag in my closet with all the other swatches and knitting disasters. It's my retarded elf sock. It has a weird pointy toe, it's way too narrow for my foot and it has some strange twist that makes it quite uncomfortable. It's not getting a partner, but I did learn what not to do next time. My next sock attempt will involve actual sock yarn, 5 (not 4) DPNs, and a real pattern. Knit and learn.

As for Exchequered, on it goes. It's sort of my back burner project, but every now and then I pick it up and checker, checker, checker, checker, checker, checker. But fear not, it will get done, if for no other reason than my favorite guilty pleasure TV show premiered tonight. Big Brother, my secret love, I'll have lots of quality knitting time parked in front of the boob tube for that show.

O C D S O C K

2006-06-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sweet lord, I have started my first sock. I have just turned the heel, my fingers hurt, my eyes are twitchy and I have a whole new appreciation for tube socks 10 pair for 3 bucks at Wal-mart. I've been told there are a great many people who actually enjoy knitting socks, this has got to get easier. I think the skill I'm lacking here is picking up stitches. I've never been especially good at seeing exactly where I'm supposed to pick up and I never seem to have as many stitches there to be picked up as the pattern seems to think. The heel decreases may also have problems but I imagine that has more to do with my TV boyfriend John Krasinski distracting me. Well, onward sock, while I've still got the obsessive compulsive drive going on.

I loaned out my camera so no progress pictures, instead I'll share my TV boyfriend.

Bad Knitting

2006-06-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have knit a bad hat, and I'm feeling appropriately shamed. My first topi hat came out fabulously so I was pretty confident starting the second one. I got it going in the round just fine, the increases were coming along. I moved it onto a circular needle and stopped to count my stitches for good measure and realized I was off one and consequently had misplaced my increase several times. But after sitting in nasty Hobby airport for 5 hours working on it I did not have the heart to rip it and start over. So I rationalized that mistakes are how you know it's handmade and kept going. Now I'm working on the brim and have screwed that up, ripped it out, and screwed it up again. My "errors are quaint" attitude is waning and I really want to be done with the stupid had. I think I'll finish it tonight but I don't know if I have the heart to give it to its intended recipient. He may have to wait for brown hat, take 2.

How We Operate

2006-06-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

My love of Gomez grows and grows. I can't stop listening to this album. This is the kind of stuff that won them the Mercury Prize. It's way beyond Split the Difference or Out West. Can't wait to see them at ACL fest.

Vacation Hairdo Knitting Terrorism

2006-05-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am taking a vacation and it's about bloody time. I'm going to miss 6 days of work(I wouldn't say I've been missing it Bob.) I'm going to lay on a beach, I'm going to drink something with an umbrella in it, I'm going to play some slots, I'm gonna eat some cajun food, and I'm going to overload on girl talk with a friend I haven't seen in way too long. In fact I'm so excited I just cut all my hair off. Well not all, just about 10 inches worth. I was way overdue for some hair drama and a nice summer do.

As for vacation knitting, I think I'm going to make another military hat. This one will be brown for Jake. I suppose eventually I'll make one for myself. Now I've read that knitting needles are allowed on airplanes, but I'm still afraid they're going to take them away. I don't know what you could do with a size 7 dpn that you couldn't do better with a ball point pen. If they take them away I guess I'll just find the LYS on my trip, could be worse.

Glitter Eyelash Vomit Yarn

2006-05-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

I hate novelty yarns. I hate them with an ever growing passion. I would never wear an article of clothing with glitter hair all over it. I wouldn't wear a hat with Christmas tree tinsel woven into it. And I just can't imagine anyone who would. Then why, WHY??!!, are they everywhere. I live for luscious natural fibers in vibrant life affirming colors, but I can't afford that so I go to Michael's. Where they stock about 45% $1/pound nasty acrylic yarn, 5% reasonable cotton or wool yarns, and 50% ugly boucle, glitter, tinsel, fur and eyelash.

I've been knitting over a year now, and I'm really ready to knit something of substance, a garmet I want to wear. I've found patterns I think I can handle, but to buy enough of a yarn I love to make a sweater that will fit me it's going to cost somewhere around $150. For me to buy a $150 sweater in the store angels would have to sing in the dressing room, so I'm really struggling with the thought of spending that much money plus countless hours knitting on a sweater I may hate.

I have commitment issues. Do you have any advice?

On the needles

2006-05-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the projects I have in the works:

1. Exchequered Scarf - another fabulous knitty pattern and this time it's for ME! The size 3's are the smallest I've used but I'm getting the feel of it now. I picked up size 8's for something else and they felt like tree trunks. I dig the colors and am still totally amazed at double knitting. I love those projects where you're constantly amazed by what comes off the needles. Hopefully it will get cold enough to wear it eventually.

2. Sharfik Scarf - A nice manly pattern from Grumperina. I'm thinking it'll be for my dad for father's day. Great, a wool scarf when it's a hundred and holy fuck degrees in June, but he travels so he can wear it somewhere else. Trouble is I'm using more estate sale wool that is so old and stinky I have to leave in the garage for fear of the old lady stench contaminating the rest of my stash. I have to wash every ball of it before I can even bring it in the house. That's going to be a pain in the ass. Even washed it's scratchy wool so I may scrap this and use another material, we'll see.

And many more projects to come. There are several things I want to knit out of the Big Girl Knits book I just bought, but good lord that's going to be a lot of money in yarn.

Tipper Gore ruined my childhood

2006-05-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

When I was in junior high I wanted more than anything (except maybe Peter Whipple to ask me out) was a copy of Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik. But nooooo, my mother wouldn't let me get because it had the parental advisory warning on it. I never did get that album but I always thought I was missing out on something cool and today I'm listening to their new album and it sucks. There's some catchy songs but it's all formulaic and unendingly dull. They started the downward slide years ago but today I officially declare the Chili Peppers lame. Hang up the tube socks guys and try something new.

Another crack at this blogging thing

2006-05-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I started this up a while ago but I figure it's worth another go. Mostly because I was looking for knitting blogs from people in Austin and didn't find much (although Yarnbar.com looks very cool.) That's reason enough to do my own right. I'm not the most experienced or the fastest knitter, but I'm getting better and more ambitious. Now I just need the yarn budget to keep up with tastes.

Here's a few recently finished projects

1. Aunt Julia's Red Wrap - My Aunt Julia recently bought a convertible and my mom suggested I knit her something to keep her hair in tact with the top down (although I don't think 60 mph winds could put a dent in her hair helmet.) I had tons of red wool from an estate sale so I made a clapotis. It turned out beautifully, I was totally amazed by the drop stitch ladders. Although the old wool smelled HORRible when I got it wet to block it. It smelled like wet dog and overcooked broccoli, sweet lord. I febreezed (yes, that's a verb) the shit out of it and it no longer smells like death. The blocking also made it all soft and flowy. I hope Aunt Julia loves it.

2. Memi's Military Hat - I loved the Topi pattern from the spring Knitty and cast on for it the day the pattern was posted. I had some Paton's Classic Merino in my favorite grassy green color. This was my first project on circular needles. How cool are they, I can't believe I was scared of them. I made the pattern a little bit bigger for my huge noggin, but then halfway through my friend Memi declared her love for the hat, so it's hers now. I'm really happy with how it turned out. She wears and anti-W button on it. A wise choice and an excellent accessory I think.

3. Mother's Day Flower - I'm a lousy kid, I didn't start anything for Mother's day until the Friday before, but I made a really pretty knit flower to go on the package. It knit up fast and made a nice decoration. I didn't get a picture, but trust me it was pretty. It's too cutesy to put on anything to wear (at least for me) but my mom seemed to like it.

South By So Tired

2005-03-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

I'm volunteering for the South by Southwest film festival this year and having a blast, but since I'm not doing music I could just about cry at all the bands I'm not gonna get to see. So I'll console myself with great movies and the knowledge that Gomez is coming to Austin in April. Ah Ben, I knew you'd miss me. Ben Ottewell...will you marry me?

My kind of Elvis

2004-11-23T13:34:00.000-08:00

I have Elvis Costello's song Monkey to Man stuck in my head today. How great is it that after 25 years he is still making music that gets stuck in your head.

Rufus

2004-11-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Oh Rufus, how much do I love him. Rufus Wainwright almost makes me wish I were a gay man. His new album Want Two is beautiful, elaborate, ornate, operatic, baroque, indulgent and filthy... I love it. The album goes from Agnus Dei a hypnotic prayer for peace, to the Art Teacher my personal favorite. It is so passionate it almost makes me cry everytime I hear it. Gay messiah, is just naughty in the first few listenings, and quite thought provoking once you get past the did he just say what I thought he said. I'm also thoroughly enjoying Crumb by Crumb, it's the catchiest track. The album also comes with a dvd of his performance in San Francisco at the Fillmore. It's good, but I think his performance here in Austin was better. Although he plays Hallelujah on the dvd. He really gives Jeff Buckley a run for his money on the best version of that song. Great album. Now please please please come back to Austin.

Snow Patrol

2004-10-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

I saw Snow Patrol at La Zona Rosa last night. God bless free tickets, they make everything better. It was a great show. Don't know why I had it in my head that they were pseudo-techno, because they were straight up rock with a few melancholy slow songs. The singer had a very sexy skinny-boy-rockstar thing going on aided greatly by the Irish accent. I'm a sucker for an accent. It seems now I'll actually have to go buy their album instead of just walking around Waterloo Records with it for an hour and then changing my mind at the register (as I have done with their latest album Final Straw on several occasions.)

Now from Ireland to Scotland. According to Travisonline.com they have an album of singles coming out soon with two new songs on it. While I will gladly add this new piece to my Travis collection, why not a real new album? They've only got 4 full albums and been around for like 7 years, is there really a dire need for a compilation disc? I don't get it. What's up Fran?

And now to Great Britain. My favorite person in all of Manchester is coming to Austin October 25 and I can't hardly stand it. Badly Drawn Boy I am aflutter with anticipation. And in the very same week, Jamie Cullum, the pocket-sized jazz punk whiz kid, plays at Stubbs. It's good times for an anglophile like me.