Knit the Hell Out

2008-09-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Moving day

This blog is moving to: http://knitthehellout.wordpress.com/
Please update your links.

2008-09-16T09:18:00.001-07:00

Ha, bloody, ha

Lady February post blocking, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Grrr. This picture is a little blurry, but I'm lazy and angry at the moment. Of course I didn't block a swatch of the lace or anything. That would have been the responsible thing to do. This ended up a bit longer than I wanted. I wanted it about 2 inches shorter on the body and the arms. I'm happy with the width. I'm going to sew on the buttons and think about it. I will either rip back or convince myself that I like it. I'm not sure which.

I wanted the sleeves a bit shorter so that I could potentially wear long sleeves under it occasionally, but at the length they are it looks a bit silly. I normally love long sweaters, but I was thinking this one should hit more at the top of the pants as the original does. I don't love the creases at the armpit, but I don't think that can be avoided as they seem to be present even in the original pattern. I don't think that will bug me so much later. I wanted this to be done. Oh well. At least it won't be that hard to fix.

2008-09-11T17:40:00.001-07:00

Endpaper Mitts, revised

Endpaper Mitts, revised, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I really wanted to get an updated pic of these on the blog, so I went out in a sprinkling rain and threw these on the bush outside my apartment door. After the input from the last entry and some pondering, I decided that the yellow must go, so I swapped it with the light brown, slightly coppery color. If I make a second pair with the yellow it will be paired with dark grey.

I'm working the garter stitch at the bottom of the February Lady. I hope I can finish it up this weekend and block it to wear next week. The air conditioning at both workplaces is always jacked up and I've been wishing for some wool. i can't wait to start another sweater, but I'm making myself wrap this one up first.

If you feel like some entertainment, and like Ricky Gervais, you should check this out. My two favorite clips from this stand up are here and here, but I recommend watching the whole thing if you can stand clicking on 8 different video links. I think it's definitely worth it. I love him in the British version of The Office. Steve Carrell is great, but Ricky Gervais is just so nasty and wrong it's unbelievable. I love it.

2008-09-07T18:53:00.001-07:00

My Cheatin' Heart

My Cheatin' Heart, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Ah! I'm frustrated. I started these mitts loving the colors side by side, but I'm not sure if I love them in the pattern. I need opinions. Does the yellow get too lost in the pattern, or is it ok? I might switch it out for the gray shown a few entries ago. I could just rip back all the patterned section and replace the yellow with the gray. I hate to do that though. I guess this is what I get for cheating on my February lady.

I'm just about to finish the body of the February Lady. I'm trying to decide how long I want it. I usually like long sweaters, but it seems like so many of the swing jackets and sweaters are really cute when cropped.

Seymour was helping me to adjust the mitts. You can see his paw and the tip of his nose in the picture. Cats are really helpful with yarn and knitting projects most of the time.

2008-09-03T19:00:00.001-07:00

Lady February Doth Grow

Lady February doth grow, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Yep. Too lazy to clean the mirror. This is closer to the actual color. It's not as yellow as it looks in the first picture. It's going pretty well at the smaller gauge. I think it will block the way I want it. I bought a blocking board from WEBS and I can't wait to use it.

I am being fairly monogamous with this project. I started those socks last week but haven't knitted a stitch on them since the picture below. I thought the socks would be good for the portability factor, but I've been knitting solely at home watching trashy ol' episodes of America's Next Top Model online. I love the drama and the bitchiness. Drew and I have been watching Sopranos off and on a bit too. I get why everyone loves it now. I hated the very first episode, but it definitely grew on me after that one.

In other news...I've been buying all kinds of cute clothes for my counseling internship, including two very professional lady j.crew suits. I love love love them. I had to shorten the pants about an inch and a half. I'm hopeless with sewing, so I sent them away to someone who knows better. Today I'm extremely excited because I found out next week I get to start doing intake sessions with REAL clients. I've been observing others' sessions for the past couple of weeks and all last semester. Now I will be unleashed. I'm not as nervous as I was a few weeks ago when thinking about it. Everybody's got to start somewhere... I'll let you know how it goes.

2008-08-27T19:33:00.001-07:00

Lady February, How I Love Thee

Oh, Lady February, how I love thee, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Here is my February Lady. I just want to call her Lady February because it sounds so regal. I thought about a semi-solid yarn, but then found this Berroco Ultra Alpaca, liked the feel and the price and off I go. It's been breezy so far, with one minor irk about evenly placing the eyelet increases around the body. I don't like it when things don't divide evenly and I'm easily frustrated. I eventually started reading the Ravelry February Lady KAL discussion about this pattern and someone provided a link to this wonderful site that does the math exactly for you. I'm doing this on a size six needle instead of the eight. I'm a fairly loose knitter, and I also wanted this to be a bit smaller than the 35" bustline. We'll see if it bites me in the ass or not.

Striped Shibui socks, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Unfortunately, I'm not capable of knitting monogamy right now. I started a pair of socks with Shibui solid and variegated yarns. I'm just going to alternate them every five or six rows or so. I hope they turn out like i want. I'm going to roll with the plain stockinette because I want something mindless for work breaks and reading.

I broke down today and bought some Hunter Wellington boots. I've been oogling them forever and just decided to go for it. I got them in chocolate brown. I think that or navy would be most versatile with my closet, but brown appeals to me more. I ordered them from Zappos this morning and within an hour and a half they had shipped, and upgraded my shipping for free. I'm so excited!

2008-08-26T12:51:00.001-07:00

Knitting therapy

Knitting therapy, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

This is Bosco. Doggie extraordinaire that belongs to Drew's parents. He is very intelligent and darn cute too.

I am getting my master's in counseling and lately I have been thinking about how I will combine this will my passion for knitting. I feel that it is crucial for a person to have hobbies to stay mentally healthy and well rounded. I've been thinking that group therapy that involves knitting or crochet would be a good way to combine these things. I'm having a hard time finding examples of this, but then again, someone has to get the train rolling.

2008-08-24T15:05:00.001-07:00

Give me the gold!

Give me the gold!, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

These are my finished Endpaper Mitts, my Ravelympics project. I finished them early this morning. I really liked this project, so much so that I will probably do two more pairs, but maybe tweak the design slightly. I love the way they look in photographs.

I didn't modify this pattern. I was a bit scared about the Italian tubular cast on and the kitchener cast off, but they ended up being kind of fun and I love the way they look.

These were not blocked for the photo, but are currently blocking. I'm still counting that as done. I would have finished them days ago, but I was using my size 0s on the Jaywalker socks, which are now also done as seen below.

Jaywalker socks, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

2008-08-22T17:13:00.001-07:00

Unnamed 800 yards of cardigan, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Soliciting opinions for this batch of yarn, please. It's a merino alpaca blend. Fifty fifty. I have 800 yards. I want to make a simple cardigan, no pockets necessary. I'm already going to make the February Lady soon. It doesn't have to have pockets, or even close.

2008-08-22T17:10:00.001-07:00

Future Endpaper Mitts and a Fisherman's Rib Hat, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Please help! I need opinions about my color combinations. The Manos is going to be a fisherman's rib hat. No help needed there, unless you have a beautiful slouchy free pattern alternative. The color is a bit more pale green in real life. It's a beautiful thing.

Of the smaller skeins, I don't know which colors to combine for Endpaper Mitts. I'm going to make two more pairs, or maybe slightly tweak the design pattern, but I can't decide on the color combos. I like them in every possibility. Right now I'm leaning towards the pale mustard with the tan and the blue with the charcoal. Please provide feedback.

This yarn is going to be the Deep V Argyle Vest by Eunny Jang. I love the feel and shine of this yarn. I'm not a great photographer, but trust me, it's gorgeous. I've been on a yellow kick lately. Can't get enough of it.

This Araucania sock yarn nearly made me go out of my mind winding it. Somehow I ended up with FOUR ends. I nearly threw a fit. I love my new swift and winder, but when I was working on the rust color and trying to keep it untangled I yelled at Drew when he tried to talk to me.

This will most likely be the February Lady sweater, unless I decide to go with the other color above for Feb Lady.

This will be two pairs of striped socks. All Shibui yarn. I'm going with a variegated and pale blue for one pair. I hope it turns out just crazy enough. I'm not sure about that teal and green on the other pair. I'm kind of regretting not just sticking with the green color at this point, but then again, it could be really fun in the end. I think narrower stripes for the green/teal combo and thicker ones for the blue/variegated combo to show off the variegation.

Project pics still to come, probably tomorrow. This is a very post heavy day, but I've been away and I don't usually purchase this much yarn at once.

2008-08-22T05:52:00.001-07:00

Muir Woods

Muir woods, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

This is a shot from Muir woods. I would love to go back and spend more time there. It's a very peaceful and beautiful place. I wish it had less tourists!

I didn't want to overload the blog with vacation pics, so if you want to see more you can check them out at my flickr page. I just thought this one was pretty. I've been remiss about labeling them, so I apologize about that if you look at them.

2008-08-22T05:47:00.001-07:00

IMG_2847, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Here is a mid progress shot of my Jaywalkers. I'm much further now, at least five or six inches up the ankle. The beach was kind of chilly, but I was able to knit and take a nice nap there. I will put up some shots of the Endpaper Mitts soon. Maybe just a finished shot. All I have is the ribbing at the top to go! I've been holding off because I'm using my size 0s for the Jaywalkers, but more are coming in the mail.

You might have noticed that this is the yarn from the top of my blog. I've been stashing it for awhile.

2008-08-22T05:43:00.001-07:00

IMG_2825, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I'm back from San Francisco! I went to Imagiknit and Artfibers in San Francisco and Stash in Berkeley, and I'm in love with all of the stores...although a little bit more in love with Imagiknit. You were right Cristina. Hands down the best yarn store I've ever been in.

The staff was very friendly. They seemed like family to each other. I was very impressed with the amount and kinds of yarn. They had everything I wanted at the time. I went in looking for Shibui sock yarn, Noro Silk Garden Lite, and Koigu. I ended up not buying the Noro or Koigu, but a bunch of other stuff. I was wishing there were more colors of Shibui, but they said it had been selling quickly.

I will put up some pics or all my yarn soon. I've just been lazy and in pain since I got back. I will explain that in a second. Ok, Artfibers. I loved the shop too. They had little samples of everything so you could swatch, which I think is very awesome. I was looking for more colors for Endpaper Mitts and found an awesome aquamarine color, but no other color of the same type to go with it. I found some in a much fuzzier yarn, but thought I wouldn't be able to stand the texture difference. I wished for more color variety in the different types of yarn.

Stash was really cool too. The woman working there was friendly, but let me have my space, which I like. I bought a bunch of sock yarn for Endpaper Mitts and more Shibui for socks. They had much more Shibui than Imagiknit. They also had a ton of Manos in solid colors. I bought some for a hat.

All in all I was very pleased with my yarn purchases. I got yarn for two sweaters, the Deep V Argyle Vest, four pairs of socks, and two pairs of Endpaper Mitts or some interpretation of that. I also broke down and ordered a ball winder and swift. The nostepinne is quaint and lovely, but I need to get this stuff moving faster. I'm impatient and taking three hours to wind a 291 yard ball of sock yarn (granted, I'm probably extra slow) is more than I can stand.

Oh yeah, the pain. I had to get a root canal the day after I got back. Yuck. They could only do half because they think I have this hidden freak tiny canal, so they put some meds up there and closed it up. It's throbbing like crazy and I can only sleep five hours at night because the hydrocodone and ibuprofen wear off after that and I wake up in hella pain. Grrr. I will get it finished on Sept. 2nd. I pray that it mellows out soon.

2008-08-12T20:46:00.001-07:00

DSC03954, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Leaving on a jet plane.....

I leave for San Francisco in the morning for a week. I'm very excited. I'm planning on visiting ImagiKnit, ArtFibers, and Greenwich Yarn, and maybe Noe Knit. Even if I only make it to ImagiKnit I will be satisfied because their stocklist has all of the brands I want. I'm buying for one, or maybe two sweaters, sock yarn of course, maybe some of it for more Endpaper Mitts.

The mitts are coming along swimmingly. I'm up to the thumb increases on the palm. I only had to rip back once about a half inch more towards the beginning. I love doing them both at once. Then neither has to be lonely while I suffer from second mitt syndrome.

Hopefully I'll have some fun vacay pics up soon, as well as more progress on the mitts. I got all paranoid about getting through my projects too fast so I brought some extra sock yarn and a couple of possible patterns. I must be getting cocky. I'm sure I'll buy yarn there that I would rather play with first, and I can't keep the Jaywalkers hanging forever.

By the way, that nostepinne makes really nice yarn cakes, but I'm pretty darn slow with it so far. I'm hoping to get faster. The cakes I made for the mitts are keeping me sane because I didn't have to separate everything into four little balls.

2008-08-09T20:41:00.001-07:00

Either brilliant or ridiculous, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Knitting Olympics! Here is my project. The Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang. Not loving my colors as much as when I picked them. I realized they match little in my wardrobe. I'm probably going to make another pair in a mustard and gray color. Or dark gray and pale pale turquoise. I went to my LYS and was in a hurry to pick out two Koigu PPMs that would go together.

I'm doing them both at once magic loop because I can't break myself of this habit. So far so good. I just have to be gentle and pay attention so that I don't twist the yarn. I'm not a speed demon at this anyway since it's my first fair isle. I haven't knit English style in awhile. I'm knitting Continental with my left hand for the MC and English for the CC with my right hand. Have to say, I don't miss the English.

The Jaywalkers are on hold for now because I only have on size 0 needle and I needed it for this project. I might finish before the olympics are over, but I will also be in San Francisco for 7 days, so there's no guarantee of solid knitting time like I have at home. The Jaywalkers will go with me too just in case. If anyone knows of an awesome yarn store to go to in San Francisco (or any other must see spot) please let me know. I've been there once, but it was a very touristy trip.

2008-08-09T20:31:00.001-07:00

Cave cat, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Introducing Oscar. He's a Maine Coon cat. I don't think I've put a picture of him on this blog yet. He's a bit reclusive because Seymour plays the alpha male far too often. Oscar is a sweetie. He loves to snuggle and lick your face. It's a bit dog-like.

2008-08-06T16:42:00.001-07:00

Jaywalkers , originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Here are my sweet Jaywalkers. The Koigu colors are, of course, much more vibrant and beautiful in real life. I've been saving this Koigu for a long time and I'm really happy about the way these socks are turning out. The pattern is pretty fun and easy. I had to go smaller on the needles and number of stitches. My feet are not particularly small either. I'm a nine and nine inches circumference, but I tried twice before with crazy looseness. Anyone have suggestions for other patterns that work well with variagated yarn? I have more Koigu to use and some Colinette semi-solid yarn. I think I will do something lacy for the Colinette, but I want a fairly mindless and cute pattern for the Koigu.

2008-08-06T16:31:00.001-07:00

IMG_2739, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

This came in the mail yesterday! A nostepinne is for winding center pull balls without the winder. It was about half the price of a winder and supposedly is easier on the yarn. I wanted something portable since I'm going to San Francisco in a week and probably will buy something to start there. Plus I like the idea of something kind of old fashioned and I actually have no table that I could mount a regular ball winder on anyway. I ordered it from finnsheep on etsy. I ordered it last Thursday night and received it on Tuesday, so the whole transaction was pretty fast. They have lots of pretty wood too.

2008-08-06T06:45:00.001-07:00

IMG_2740, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I actually finished these a couple of days ago, but I'm a lazy blogger. When I took these pictures outside there was an extreme heat advisory with high humidity in effect. Nasty hot. And I was handling wool. I feel like a warrior.

These socks are not blocked yet. Waiting till I finish my current Jaywalkers. I have been having some difficulty with these Jaywalkers. I guess I'm a pretty loose knitter because I had to go down to a size 0 needle and 56 sts around the foot before the pattern increases. So now they have 28 on the sole and 34 on the pattern side. They still seem a bit loose to me, but I ripped them out twice and I'm not going to do it again. Saying that is probably a recipe for disaster. I will post pictures soon.

2008-08-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

BORED!

At work in the library at the reference desk. I have only 25 minutes to go! My stomach is eating itself. Knitting progress is good. Finished another ball band dishcloth. Cream and brown colors. Kinda boring. Finished the toe-up socks with the Charade pattern stitch. This stitch pattern is simple but beautiful and a pleasure to knit. I will post some pics soon, but probably not on foot until I give them to the recipient.

I've started some new socks. I'm going toe-up again because I can't resist it. It's some lovely green Koigu that I've been hoarding for a couple of years because I thought socks were tedious back then. I was discounting their portability and fun colors, obviously. I'm doing the Jaywalker pattern in the toe-up version I found on Ravelry. Yes, everyone has done this sock, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Thanks Grumperina for making that possible.

I love Ravelry. It's so awesome to be able to find out so much information about a pattern quickly, see other people's results, and have access to tons of free patterns. Thank you Casey and Jess for building it.

Speaking of loves...I may have fallen hard for Addi Turbo Lace needles. I used them for the first time on the Charade socks, and now I will for the Jaywalkers. I have sweaty hands a good deal of the time, which can be kind of a handicap for knitting. I never use wood. That's like gluing the yarn to the needle for me. Probably grossing you out...who am I kidding...no one reads this blog.

2008-08-02T07:06:00.001-07:00

Mosaic dish made by Linda Beckham at sunrise, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I've been meaning to post this for awhile. My birthday was mid-July. Twenty-seven now. Think it will be a good year. I will graduate with my master's and hopefully move somewhere a bit more exciting. I'm aching for a bigger city. We'll see. Anyway, this was made by my boyfriend's mom for me. It was a complete and beautiful surprise. Holding it in the light does it the most justice for a photograph. I love it.

2008-08-02T07:03:00.001-07:00

Cat in couch, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Just for laughs. Seymour is pretty laid back. I swear, we don't abuse him with the couch stuffing. As soon as he got in there he started cleaning his face. He wasn't even mad.

2008-08-02T07:01:00.001-07:00

Accurate ball band dishcloth texture, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Ah yes. Many have made these. I am yet another in the band of followers. Quick and fun. Looking at it before I saw the pattern I thought they would be kind of crazy and weird to do. The pattern is actually really simple and fun. i haven't woven in the ends here. I'm just hiding them from you. These are intended as a housewarming gift for my upcoming trip to San Francisco. Going with the boy and staying at his parent's house. I wanted to give a little knitted gift and thought this might be a useful one. Is it lame and too domestic?

2008-08-02T06:57:00.001-07:00

Finished stripers for Drew, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Can't stop posting the FOs, but if I don't do it now I'll put it off forever. More Regia self-striping. Super anal about the stripes matching up. Not much more to say. I was happy with them, and so is the boy.

2008-08-02T06:54:00.001-07:00

IMG_2710, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Here is my most current project. There are about three more inches per sock now, but I was too lazy to update the picture. These are a gift for a person that I'm sure never reads this blog. I think she'll be excited. She's not a knitter, but an artist, and seems to have a high appreciation of knitted goods. I'm very excited to gift them.

They're smaller than my feet allow, so I'm not cramming my feet into them for the picture. The plant just wanted to provide a nice color background. It's the Charade sock pattern. Really just the herringbone stitch the toe up magic loop way.

Seriously, part of the reason I'm so obsessed with toe up is my irrational fear of the kitchener stitch. I'll get there someday. I hear it's a breeze once you get the hang of it, but I've only had one successful run of it and a whole lot of mess otherwise.

2008-08-02T06:48:00.001-07:00

IMG_2701, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Swear I'm not kicking the cat. Just tried to get him involved in the photo shoot.

2008-08-02T06:47:00.001-07:00

Socks in the grass, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Most recent FO. Tried to sharpen the pic since it was a little blurry, but I don't know if that just made it weird looking or not. I used some Regia Jaquard self striping yarn. I was pretty fun and rewarding so see knew color after color appearing. It was a boring ol' stockinette sock so the colors kept my spirit up. I was kinda anal about the stripes matching up. When one was behind I changed my tension to catch them up, and it seemed to work out okay. I really like the KnitPicks sock pattern for two-at-a-time, toe up magic loop with a heel flap. What more could I want in a sock pattern? I love using almost every last scrap of the yarn. I am thinking I will try to adapt all future sock patterns to use this method. A worthy challenge.

2008-07-31T08:04:00.001-07:00

Rusted Root, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

Okay okay. This is a really old FO. Like months old. I played with the color a little in picture editing to make it more like life. I really like this sweater. I've been super lazy and haven't hand washed it in awhile, so it's not getting as much wear as it should, but I love it to pieces. It was a quick and easy knit. I used the yarn recommended, and even the color used for the Rusted Root pattern. The color is not as pretty as in the pattern pic or my pic, truth be told. It's a little more dull. I just didn't want to post with no picture.

I swore I would get back to the blog with renewed fervor, but you know I just like knitting so much more than blogging, and I spend oodles of time reading other people's blogs for inspiration and envy-making. I'm in love with Bloglines. I'm going to say it. I also love going to the blogs I read, then reading all the blogs they read and adding them to my subscriptions. It's a bit of an addiction.

I have other FOs coming soon. The green and white striped socks are done. I also finished some Regia Jaquard self striping wild colored socks, and am onto some gift socks out of Colinette Jitterbug. Love the Jitterbug color and feel, but wish it had more yardage. Will post pics soon.

In a recent measure of bravery, I began knitting in my summer school classes. I had done it in class before, but heard through the grapevine that it wasn't really appropriate for a grad student to do. Not from my teachers, but from one whose classroom regime I have yet to be placed under (and thankfully will not in my entire program). I decided to screw it and just knit. It keeps me sane. And the rest of the class is doing crosswords and sudoku anyway. I think I read about a teacher teaching her class to knit to help students focus. I may be making this up...but I bet it could help with ADHD. Who knows. Maybe I'll experiment with this someday.

2008-07-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Socks in progress...

These are some socks I've been making with Regia sock yarn and the Knit Picks Two At Once, Magic Loop, Toe-Up Sock Pattern. It was everything I've been looking for in a sock pattern. This is my first magic loop sock pattern and I love it. I also like having them both done at once. My first pair of socks came out at different gauges because I wasn't being careful about it. I also love the lack of laddering on socks. This pattern includes a heel flap...another big plus for me. I did a short row heel on my last pair of socks, but I doubt that they'll hold up like a heel flap. I extended the one on these a bit for extra stability.

Here is Seymour, looking adorable and confused about the sock goodness. He's a yarn lover for sure...his favorite, to EAT is Blue Sky Organic Bulky Cotton. I think he definitely prefers the cumin color over the sky blue. I got the cotton to make these. So far they've been a disaster. I made the first pair with the baby blue color, but they stretched to enormous proportions, so I ripped them out in a fury, and reknit with smaller needles and for the smaller size. Then they were too small. Bleh. So I knit them again with size 8 needles in the smaller size as a compromise. So far so good. My seaming is a bit whack, so I have to go back and fix it before I'm willing to show them.

Here is a sock on the foot of the intended recipient, Drew. This will be his second knitted gift from me. I'm considering making him some kind of old man cardigan for the fall...but I don't want to curse the relationship. Thoughts?
Sorry for the slightly blurry photos.

2008-06-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

My photo meme, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I got this idea from KnitXCore. It's pretty fun. Here's how it works:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

2008-06-30T07:18:00.001-07:00

Socks!, originally uploaded by casystotyle.

I don't know why these socks were like pulling teeth to finish...but I just lost interest in them after the heel. I did them with Koigu, toe-up on two circulars with a short row heel. It was my first and possibly last short-row heel. I do like the look of it, but it seems everyone out there says that it's just doesn't wear as well over time.

I ended up giving these to my mother, just for the heck of it since I've never really given her something really good that I've knitted. I am kind of sad to see them go.

I'm already working on some new socks...two toe-up with a heel flap using the magic loop method. I love magic loop and won't go back to two circulars now. It's so much easier and the yarn seems to get tangled a lot less. I'm using some Regia green and white striped yarn. I'll put some pics up soon.

I haven't blogged in so long! I have pics of at least 5 other projects to put up... more soon.

I was going to make these socks into knee length socks, and bought some more of the same color, different dyelot, when I was running out of the first two skeins. It seemed to be close in color and then after I had knit about three inches with the new skein, it appeared disastrous. I'll spare you the visuals. That's what I get for being cocky. Not to worry. The remaining skein, and many of the skeins of Koigu that I've been hoarding will go to the beautiful Barn Raising Quilt from Knit-A-Long.

I'm doing the squares on size 2 US needles as prescribed, but my gauge is much looser, making each square about 9.5 inches instead of 7.5. I don't mind. I want a big ol' cuddly Koigu blanket. I think I'm going to be snobby about it and make the whole thing Koigu, even though that's going to get kind of expensive. I've heard rumors that Koigu is machine washable, even though it's not called superwash. Can anyone confirm?

2007-09-16T17:17:00.002-07:00

SOCK IT TO ME!

Okay, I apologize for that overly enthusiastic cheesiness of this blog title... but I'm in love, with some socks...

I'm building these with some lovely Koigu. The pattern is a basic toe-up with a little twist from this shell sock pattern. I had to adjust the pattern slightly and include a minor rib to make the pattern conform to the number of stitches I had already cast on. I was going to make this sock all stockinette with a ribbed leg, but that was boring the pants off of me. I think this pattern reminds me a bit of the frilly tuxedo shirts and I'm loving it. I'm going to shoot for knee length if my hands don't wear out first.

Here is a closer shot of the pattern:

This will also be my second project entirely using continental knitting. I'd been curious about it since I heard that it was faster, but it takes some patience to allow yourself the fumbling and relearning muscle memory process involved. I forced myself to do an all purl garter scarf as the first project because that seemed the trickier of the two stitches. So far so good. I can already tell it's much faster with less motion and easier on my hands for marathon knitting sessions.

2007-08-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

A FINISHED PROJECT!

After an almost eight-month hiatus from the needles...I finally got something started and finished. It's from Rebecca No. 29. I left off the fruity trim suggested and I haven't done the crochet edge or (gasp!) blocking yet, but I hate finishing. I road tested it the other day around friends. I pretty much have to sit up straight all the time or everyone gets to see my nipples.

Being the naughty lady that I am, I also altered the pattern to suit my own needs. I made the pieces that joined behind the neck shorter so I didn't end up with an opening down to my belly button. I made the ties longer so I could wrap them round my waist in an elegant fashion, and I cheated on the kitchener stitch and did a three needle bind off, because I'm a coward.

Next up is the sweater dress I'm 3 inches away from finishing that I meant to finish by last New Year's...

2007-07-20T14:24:00.001-07:00

MUD WRESTLING TO SAVE YOUR MIND!

Here is some good news if you like to get dirty: I just read in Discover magazine that a bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, found in soil may be a way to combat depression. The article noted that many researchers have linked a rise in asthma and allergies with our cleaner lifestyles. After giving lung cancer patients injections of Mycobacterium vaccae the patients reported less nausea and greater quality of life.

Immunologists and neurologists studying this found that this bacteria raises levels of serotonin. It targeted the same neurons that Prozac does. Christopher Lowry, a neuroscientist at the University of Bristol, believes that the bacteria activates immune cells. The immune cells may then release cytokines that increase activity on the sensory nerves. In an experiment with mice, the mice injected with this bacteria also swam four minutes compared to two and a half minutes in a stress response test. Maybe happier mice survive longer, or maybe there's a deeper cause. Lowry suggests that depression may be partly an inflammatory disorder. Here is a link to the original article.

Should you ditch your prescription? Who knows. I'm not a doctor. I just like to be happy. Imagine if a doctor prescribed gardening rather than Prozac. I don't know that many Americans would trust this kind of prescription. I think people like to be able to take a pill they think will solve everything. A magic panacea. American's have been told the importance of eating healthily for years alongside advertising for various fast food chains, yet which do most of us choose on a daily basis? Pharmaceutical advertising has just as strong of a hold on the American psyche. Since it's inception many more patients are prescribing themselves based on advertising. Well, there is also evidence that a healthy diet and exercise can be that magic panacea, but I don't see the majority buying that, yet.

2007-07-13T18:56:00.001-07:00

Jesus Christ...the propaganda!

Hello folks. I am blogging after some absence from this. My life has been wonderful madness lately. Don't worry, I'm getting to the Jesus... just give me a moment of exposition. I just finished summer school, I got a kick ass Grad Assistantship in the library at UA, and two of my poems are being published this month in the summer edition of Poesia. Now for some Jesus.

If you haven't seen this website on Jesus of the Week, you are missing some excellent entertainment. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure Jesus was a pretty cool dude. I just don't know how he (or anyone for that matter) would feel about being turned into a rubber duckie or some pencil toppers. However, many of us have been taught that Jesus saves, so a Jesus band-aid might be just the thing to cover your scrapes. I particularly enjoyed the image of Jesus checking out a lady in a classic mom bra.

What's next? Jesus tp? Hey I bet a lot of Christians might like to see images of Jesus while on the throne. I don't call myself a Christian, as the astute reader might have already gleaned from my cynical outlook, and I don't judge those that do (or I try not to), but I think that this branding of a central religious figure only serves to mock the message behind the man.

2007-04-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Bloggedy boo! And a myriad of random thoughts...

Okay, haven't blogged in ages. Yeah, I'm a bad girl, but who reads this shit anyway?! Well here are some exciting developments: I'm divorced! Hooray. That became official on April 18th. Note: the other party was not a bad person at all...we were just not the people for each other. He's making merry times with his own new Maid Maryanne. She seems cool and I'm very happy for him.

In other news...I'm starting a zine with my roommate Nicole. We don't have title yet, and it's going to be on a wide variety of subjects, so if you have something you would like to submit, let me know and we'll work it out. You can email me writings or suggestions to casystotyle@yahoo.com. I would love to include a variety of subjects with original and creative writings on topics like political affairs (in and out of the bedroom, heh heh heh), art, music, skating, various recreation, knitting, recipes, poetry, comedy, etc. etc. etc. Please contribute. As long as you don't suck. 'Cause I don't want to have to tell you that you do. J/k.

School is kicking my ass, but it's almost over. It's because I enjoy and employ too much use of my free time for fun activities perhaps, but that's what life is for, n'est ce pas? It's almost over, for a month anyway. And then I'm going to party. Like it's 1999. All over again.

No more car! This is a recent development. My car is kaput. That happened in MO last Sunday while visiting some fine Joplin and surrounding area folks. I'm not going to cry about it. I'm just going to ride my bike and bum rides from people when I need them. The bike storage is the biggest problem so far...I live in a shoebox with three other people, and two of us are going to be riding our bikes all the time. Yikes. We tried to put some hooks in the ceiling, but I found out the hard way that this was not the greatest thing in the world for our ceiling (or at least in that spot) when my bike came crashing down around me this morning, breaking the mounting on both the headlight and the front basket I had just purchased. Boo. I'm not really that concerned about it. We'll find a solution. In the meantime, I'm hoping for clear skies and 70ish temps. Yowza.

2007-04-11T11:53:00.001-07:00

ELECTRONIC DEVICES, FULL OF VICES

This morning as I woke up to the vibration of my phone, I got to thinking about all the electronic devices around my bed/fort/nest. There is the phone, and my Lady-Comp, which tells me when I'm allowed to have condom free sex and still not make babies (Ladies and Gents I really hate putting those mofo hormones in my body). At the foot of the nest resides the record player that I got for 35 dollars from an old fella that Drew and I happened upon while out for blood. And record players. We went to his house to pick it up, and for a minute I thought he might club us over the heads and eat us. Who knows? Right?

Continuing on…there is a lamp, nothing special, gives me light. It lives in a bucket next to the bed. There is also a lava lamp, compliments of Andrew T. Beckham, but I don't often use it. That's equivalent to putting on the red light. Grrr. I don't need that sort of fancy atmosphere for your average am/pm j/o session with the bunny (also electronic and full of good vibes). Just some decent music on the record player. Finally, I have a vacuum at the top passenger side of the bed/nest/fort. It's not so I can clean up after guests or anything. I'm not that conscientious. It's a crucial element in the structure of the bed/nest/fort. That's all.

That's a quick tour of my electronica. You may visit if you like, but don't expect me to put on the lava lamp. I have fort tours daily at 3 pm. But there is an elementary school field trip tomorrow, so keep that in mind.

2007-04-05T16:58:00.001-07:00

FORTS FOR ADULTS...Start a revolution!

So, as some of you may know, I "built" (aka put together out of stuff I had lying around) a fort in my bedroom. I don't really have a bed, just a nest really, and this nest seemed bare and uneventful. One fine Saturday night, before Rubnic lived here, when it was just Beardsly and me, I decided to surprise Beardsly with the fort. As soon as Rubnic came over to hang, because (duh!) they were always here anyway, I swept Nico away to the bedroom to make some mischief happen. We started putting this thing together, and meanwhile Rubentheredonethat and Beardsly are chilling in the living room. Beardsly is sweating things a bit, because he thinks I am angry with him. Rubnic came over just as we were about to get it on -- the first time they're on time in, well, ever, go figure. Well, I wasn't mad. I was instead coaxing a surprise for all of us out of my imagination. This particular night happened to be about four days or so before Beardsly left for California. Punk. But I wanted to make the time special, and what time could be more special than time spent in a fort? If you want to see pics of fun times in the fort check pics
or you can check Beardslypics. If you're logged into a myspace account that is... I'm going to put some other pics up here, but blogger wasn't cooperating, so you will just have to wait. Hmph.
So don't say I never showed you anything cool...
On another, less personal, but more professional note...I want to be an adult play therapist. Yes, this is a real job. A technique I want to use is building forts. I want to teach human beings how to be human beings and not robots. Yes, this may be quixotic idealism, but it's my quixotic idealism, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!

2007-04-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Holligolightly of cats...MR. SEEDS

So he drinks all day and cats it up at night...We still love him. Tearing up shit. Shitting up shit, well, just the linoleum floor, but regardless, he's a rebellious adolescent and we don't know what to do with him.

Mr. Seeds has four vices: turkey, vodka, string, and cigarettes. We catch him stealing our booze and stealing cigarettes from the gas station down the street, and there's just no stopping him.

We find him passed out most mornings, or completely "crunk" as he calls it. Most of the time when we try out interventions we get ass-in-the-face-tail-jerk combos that are so disheartening. It's a cry for help, but we don't know how to handle him.

Here are his parents...trying desperately to try to break through to his delicate adolescent feline psyche. He's got mother issues, apparently. Maybe an Oedipus complex? I don't know.

2007-04-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

"I'd like to hold those kids down and spray paint on them..." Yeah, not me, but one of Fayetteville's best and brightest in the local law enforcement made this comment today, as he was standing on his anti-graffiti soap box. Man, I'd like to give him a push.

Casually skating, actually being rather lazy gits about it, Rubnic (the roomies...one solid unit for those that don't know) and I were doing exercising some sweet skills like "jesus skating" and just general whoodooery, when along came two little po-po. Or maybe it's po-pi in the plural form. I'm not sure. Either way, they strolled up, arrogance in each step and came to talk to us about the graffiti "problem" at the skate park. Okay, I don't have pics right now, because I didn't have my camera on me at the time, but they will come soon. 1. Most of the graffiti is pretty tame - - nothing sexual or violent. Yes, some profanity, but what the hell. They're words people, not bullets. 2. It's artwork and it's part of the skating culture. I don't understand jamming out to Wayne Newton or skeet shooting, but I don't tell them they're a blight on society for it. 3. It's contained within the skatepark, and no where else in the park. 4. The people that would be concerned about those evil adolescents and their spray paint will not ever be at the skatepark. Ever.

Did I make these points to the cops at hand? No. I was dressed like the unibomber and didn't think that would work in my favor. Oh, rest assured, folks. Sleep well. They told us that they can remove the graffiti, completely. They have a chemical that they will spray all over the skate park, then "hose down with water" and this should remove it all. Every last scrap of paint. I did make the comment that I thought that didn't sound very safe for the environment or the people using the skatepark after this "hosing down" and Cop #1 assured me it was totally "environmentally safe." Would he put it on his skin though? Hmmm. That won't wash away. Noxious gases and savory chemicals dripping into our ground, our water, etc. Protect and serve. Protect and serve. Think about the actual people who use this park, that aren't offended by the graffiti, that will be exposed to these chemicals. Think about the plant life around the park that will suffer by pulling these chemicals into their roots. Is it really worth it?

2007-04-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

Fool for April Fools...
Ha ha. That time of year has come and gone when mischief and mayhem are encouraged. At least until Halloween comes around again...but here are the details of the dirty tricks I played on a few close to me.

1. Trick 1: Telling my roommates I was running away to California.

Here's how that went down...
Me: (with text) "I have to go. I need to be with drew. My heart is breaking without him. I'm leaving now. I'll pay the rent. Don't worry. I'll explain later.
About an hour went by before they responded. The response came in the form of NIcole calling and saying. "What's going on?" I launched into a tearful (crying to cover the laughter, my friends...try it) diatribe about how I just needed to go. I needed to see Drew, despite work or school or anything. She was worried, but also helpful, so at that point I knew the battle was half won. She told me she could send their half of the rent to Drew's house, and she wondered if I had an idea how to get there. When she asked me where I was, I blanked and said I had to pick some things up in Joplin first. She wished me luck, and I told her that I would call her a little while later with more details. I called about 15 minutes later and told her I was just messing with her. She was relieved. She said she would have worried until she got home and saw I was there. Everyone has their tolerance limits for dirty deeds. I didn't want to push the potential tolerance of the rubnic. I only just started living with them after all. I think I'll wait for Drew to get back and we can torture them dually.

2. Trick 2: Telling my not quite ex-husband (as of next Wed. people, so not far off) that I'm pregnant.

This also began in the form of text. He is a wonderfully nice fellow, and though he knew it couldn't possibly be his baby, he still seemed supportive. Here is the transcript:
Me: I'm pregnant
Ex: Are you sure. I know thats a dumb question
Me: Yes
Ex: How far along
Me: Month and a half I think
Ex: Is it drews
Me: Yes. There was no one else
Ex: Does he know
Me: Not yet. Should I keep it? I'm scared
Ex: At the store now. Call you later
Me: Please do. I don't know what to do.
I let this one go for about 15 more minutes as well, letting the point sink home. I don't know that it's easy to get a true response out of people through text, so the follow-up had to be with a phone call. I called and reminded Travis that it was April 1st. He was like, "Seriously? So are you messing with me now, or were you messing with me then." Man. I love it when they're so far gone into the joke they don't even see the obvious answer. I am a devilish lady for sure.

3. Trick 3: Telling my mom that I'm pregnant
Ok, let's give this one a little context. So, yeah, if you've read any other blog crap of mine you might have noticed that I left my husband on Jan. 1st for another man, who in turn was leaving his wife. Hmmm. We ran away. literally, for about a week, much to the abhorrence and rejection of our friends and my family. Soooo.... even though Drew is taking some time away to get things straight in CA, having his love child (or possibly the Viking twins Bing and Bong) in my belly adds an extra zing to the joke. My mom has no problem with Drew now, of course. That only lasted for about 2 weeks, and it was really more of an issue with me leaving "Sweet Trav." Well, here goes. I wish I had the transcript...
I called my dad's cell phone, because my mom never answers hers, and ask to talk to my mom. They're in Iowa, visiting relatives. I say, "Hi Mom. I'm pregnant." The call drops out. Whoops. I call back and ask her if she heard what I said. She hadn't. I repeat myself and get something like, "Oh, my god. Caaaaaas! Seriously?" I say yes. She asks whose it is. I say Drew's. At this point I can tell she's on the point of either panicky agitation or a little bit of excitement, but not wanting to be truly evil, because I've pulled this joke before (on mother's day 2005) and she really does want grandbabies (you can only cry wolf so many times), I gave it about 30 more seconds and told her I was kidding. She was relieved, and even laughed a bit. She was outside the house, so I told her to go inside and tell everyone else that I was pregnant and turn the joke on them. I'm still waiting for an update. I bet she got the giggles.

2007-03-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

Nipples are soooooooooooooooooo Spring 2007!

This evil bastard...yes, the one sniffing around the cone, known among friends as Mr. Seeds, aka Puppycat, Mr. Pants, Napoleon, and Bernard, has successfully tainted the kitchen floor again. He looks like such a sweet fellow, but don't be fooled. He's a shitfucktrainconductor underneath it all.

I've been procrastinating little motherfucker lately, and here I go, here I go, here I go again. Girls, what's my weakness? Sin. Okay then. Just kidding. I just wanted to put a little flow into this blog. Yeah, it hasn't really been about knitting for awhile. I kinda burned myself out over Christmas break by knitting for eight hours a day or so. I'm going to make some kind of sexy linen halter top soon. It's going to be ever so slightly see through, so we'll see how that works out bravery-wise. I really only pull that stuff off a couple of times a month, usually somewhere around day 12 in the cycle, if you know what I mean. Apparently, according to Jane magazine nipples are the it accessory for Spring 2007. It's so relieving that I don't have to rush out and buy anything. I do own some fake nipples though...more of a joke accessory.
But that was before I learned of this seasons trends. I am a natural trendsetter apparently. I sound so soho right now. Somebody slap me. I have a 15 page paper looming above my head that's due by midnight tomorrow for psychopharm. ARGH. This is so much more entertaining. And yet no one reads it. Ha. Ha.

2007-03-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the days of Camelot may be here and gone. This has been the most trying year of my life thus far and it is still yet a baby. I have been keeping a Captain's log in a small calendar. It's been most interesting. Here are a few details for those unfamiliar with my life: On January 1st I left my husband to run away from a stagnant life (not really his fault, but we were both swimming in it). I ran with my parter in crime, Drew, as pictured learning to knit below somewhere in this blogging abyss. I was going to insert a picture of this, but this blog is so damn slow to load. Nevermind. We made a pact to each other involving freedom, honesty, and tandem bikes. What could make a more solid foundation? I don't know. We waxed quixotic about our personal ideals and how we had both stifled them for years. It was a new beginning.

As we ran we really had no place to go. We were physical and emotional nomads for a solid five days (I have this documented remember). We may still be emotional nomads, but for the time being we had to comfort each other with stock cliches like, "It's going to be alright." "Tandem bike" seemed to be a bit more thereaputic, so that became a staple. We lived in motel rooms, lost most of our friends. I lost my family for awhile. It was devastating. And so freeing. We searched for an apartment and found the best one I could imagine. It seemed like things were falling in line. But there was still much karmic debt to pay.

Freedom comes at a price. Eventually you begin to resist it. Begin to question it. Begin to resent it's ever ebbing refrains. We had our freedom, but we still needed each other so much, used each other for emotional blankets. It began to take it's toll. We took turns being the strong one. It was me at first, but then I began to grow comfortable in this role, and "the ceiling fell around me, the sky was open to me, but my hands were tied, the ropes are tied around my wrists." So, skipping over the hilarious moments, like climbing and peeing on campus buildings, taking funny illicit photos, drinking and going to the park in the middle of the night, stealing street cones, feeding record addictions, freaky salt&vinegar sex, I go straight to the climax of this story...Drew went to California. To figure shit out, etc.

But I can't really let him be the climax of the story. After all, this is my story muthas. Damn skippy. And I'm going to keep on telling it. Since he's left I have refreshed myself too. It was better for the both of us to remember how to breathe as individuals. I don't blame you, Drew. It was the best thing you could have done. I remembered all the things I liked to do (besides knitting...FOR SHAME!) and I've begun again. The phoenix has risen. I have reawakened my love for poetry and reiki, reading for pleasure (and not just the dirty birdy kind either ;)). I am reinventing myself. So fuck you guys if you don't like it! I haven't been this happy in a few reinventions of myself. But this is a good one. I have kick ass roommates, even if they are attached at the hip/lip. Here they are:

Not a great view of Ruben, but Nicole is the lady (half of the Rubnic, get it?) and she is one hell of a lady. I haven't lived with a girl (outside of fam members) for about 4 years, but it is working out splendidly. The cat is another story...That cat's something I can't explain.

2007-01-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

Look, I've injured myself again...I sure do love bruises. I thought I broke it at first, but luckily it's just the bruise.

2007-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

Drew learns to knit....he's making a scarf and goes back and forth between tight and loose tension looking for just the right one.

Knit on.

2006-12-11T22:36:00.001-08:00

I BROKE A PORCH...and my leg paid the consequences. I was running up to my friend Whitney's house and I stepped down on a board (unbenownst to me it was cracked) and BOOM my leg went through the porch, crackng this 1x4 right in half. I was stuck from the knee down and I started freaking out. Whitney thought that I had just fallen. She didn't realize I was in the porch until I really started freaking out. I wasn't drunk, but I wish that I had been! I would have been less traumatic at the time. Now it's hilarious. My brother (her roommate) had to pry up another board with a hammer to free my leg. It's really hurting now. This was Saturday night and the bruise was looking its best today, so I thought I'd share. There are bruises all over my knee, but this is a picture of the best one.

2006-12-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

SPINNING...How do I describe the love I feel for these fibers as I gently coax them into becoming yarrn. This picture is of my third attempt with small amounts of yarn from a kit that I bought. I dyed the yarn myself with kool-aid before I spun it.

The color had a bit less orange tone than I intended, but I like it just the same.

Here is my husband's wrist modeling the first spinning/knitting project attempt, petting my parent's cat that is happily surrounded by warm wool fibers.

Gilly is contemplating how she can learn how to spin, despite the lack of opposable thumbs.

My first sweater! And a baby one at that...I finished it minutes before having to leave for a baby shower. It's from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. For some reason the very easy directions didn't compute with me and I called purlsoho for help. They're very nice.

2006-11-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

PHILOSPHICAL THOUGHTS...How can anyone be an on-guage knitter because each person creating the pattern has their own guage, whether it be loose or tight. You would have to be a knitting chameleon to constanly be on-guage. Exhausting.

2006-11-28T21:38:00.000-08:00

POM POMS AWAY...Just finished this hat. The decreasing in the instructions was a bit wonky, so I improvised a bit, but I think it works. It's the right size and it's hella warm, so that's all that matters. It looks great on Travis, but I'm keeping it.

Apparently he's "wanted a hat with a pom pom for awhile." What kind of sucker does he think I am? When I suggested the One Skein asymetrical cable hat to him he claimed the pom pom was not manly enough. I guess I've go more knitting to do.

2006-11-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

WILD TURKEY WEEK...anyone that believes that Thanksgiving is only all about the family, stuffing yourself silly, and passing out in front of football has forgotten a crucial ingredient...BOOZE.

Okay. It's about the Trivial Pursuit too. I had a rockin' time this past week. I took some friends to my parent's house and we got crazy. Then on Saturday night it all came to a pinnacle with boob-grabbing, sweaty dance lip sync, alcohol induced madness. It was beautiful. I got to see lots of great friends, and I'm so very thankful that I survived without a hangover. Of course it wasn't all madness. There was some quiet time and some knitting. Here is my proof:

I even managed to finish my arm warmers (as shown in the upper pics), and make a Zen Micro mp3 player sock case and an ipod sock case while intoxicated. Ah, how my skills are evolving.

2006-11-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

SWEATSHOP KNITTING...So, I've been making arm warmers for days on end. They don't let me eat, or even have water. I haven't had a bath in days. Just knitting. And knitting. Oh, my god...they're coming with the whips again...I've got to AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH................

2006-11-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

These are the wrist warmers from Speed Knitting that I've been working on. They are so quick to knit up. I started them at knit club and goofed off for most of the night and I just finished them. I'd say they take about 2 1/2 hours to complete at the most.

I made these for a girl in my counseling class. I don't actually even know her first name, but she liked some arm warmers that I designed myself, but I wanted to knit some that would go very quickly so my procrastination wouldn't hurt me too much. I'm not good with knitting deadlines and knitting "have tos." They hug the wrist very nicely in a comfortable and warm way. I highly recommend them. They would be a very quick Xmas gift. I plan on making 3 more pairs for gifts.

2006-11-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

YOU KNOW YOUR KNIT CLUB IS TOO CLOSE WHEN...one of them has seen your vagina. Okay, I'll reduce the shock factor - - she's a nurse practicioner at my school and it was pretty routine. I just thought that might be funny. I am ill, which explains why I haven't posted in a while. No, Charlie, I'm not trying to let my blog become a dead baby blog. I have some massive stomach problems and high fevers and I might have to have an abdominal ultrasound. I hope not, because that would be pricey. I think I'm on the mend, but I've been down and out since Monday.

2006-11-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

SIAMESE DREAM...Now we're sharing the same sleeve, and our limbs they fuse as one, and there's nowhere to run. Do you like my version of Caribean Queen? I thought it was better.

2006-10-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

DON'T MONKEY WITH THE BUSINESS...
Don't monkey with my knit...I'm watching some Duran Duran and I just felt kind of Notorious...

2006-10-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I'm scandalous...I'm a little tipsy, well, let's just say it...DRUNK...I'm having an afterparty at my house. It's intimate and awesome. We're not taking our clothes off intimate or anything, but just having a rollicking good time.

2006-10-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

2006-10-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

DECLARATION TO SOCIETY

I am not an object
or baby factory.
I am neither a "slut"
nor virginal and pristine.

Compunded roles,
in tyranny of political majority
will not present me with some void
I'm supposed to fill.

Anatomy is not destingy.
but a consequence of x or y.
Ovaries or testicles
reveal a standing line
where dignity is replaced
with assigned boundary.

2006-10-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

KNITTING AT THE BIZZAR...

So, whilst discussing the proper name for my kniiting company...which shall be known as quixotic, we went to Ryleigh's to ponder and knit. No one told us we couldn't. Think about that. Think about all the things you can do that people haven't told you that you can't do. Maybe it's because they don't have the imagination to limit that particular action yet. But they will get there. I hope to be knitting in bars when I am 89. Knit revolution.

2006-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

YARN STASH MADNESS

This is my fabulous yarn stash, made more fabulous recently when LJo and I had a yarn swap. I have yards and yards of fabulous thread now starting with my Koigu and Claudia hand painted yarns on the left and working to GGH on the right with a bunch of beautiful things in between.

2006-10-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

FOUR THINGS...

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Apprentice Optician at Lenscrafters
2. Optician at America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses
3. Substitute for Joplin Public Schools
4. Server at Teller's in Lawrence, KS

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. I Heart Huckabee's
2. The Royal Tenenbaums
3. Lost in Translation
4. Better Off Dead

Four places I have lived:

1. Audubon, IA
2. Joplin, MO
3. Kirksville, MO
4. Lawrence, KS

Four television shows I love to watch:

1. Weeds
2. Dead Like Me
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Medium

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Chicago, IL
2. Ft. Walton Beach, FL
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Los Angeles, CA

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Any kind of sushi
2. Spicy feta dip
3. Smoked chicken dip from The Red Onion
4. Chili from Steak 'n Shake

Four websites I visit daily:

1. luckylikeme.blogspot.com
2. www.myspace.com
3. www.amazon.com
4. www.google.com

Four bloggers I am tagging:

I don't know four...but feel free to tag yourself.

2006-10-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is how much my husband loves knitting...

2006-10-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

REGULATORS

We are some crazy mofos...

2006-10-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

This is how we roll...

Just another evening after knit club and some delicious fried chicken...it was a good day after the seriously heinous one that I had yesterday. My miderm video tape was eaten by the VCR and I hadn't finished transcribing it. I won't bore you with the nasty details. These are a couple of projects that I'm working on. The first is a shawl with GGH Bel Air yarn and the second is a pair of socks knit simultaneously on circular needles. I am so proud of this. LJo and I worked on this last week and now I'm kicking some ass with it. It still takes forever, but at least the socks will be done at the same time.

2006-10-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures from when I went to Chicago in August with my kick ass Joplin friends Whitney, Melody, and Zack. We stayed downtown one night and in the ghetto for the next two but it was cool anyway. My feet were throbbing and practically bleeding after a day on the Michigan Mile. This was on an architectural boat tour we took.

2006-10-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I spent at least eight hours knitting today. It only whetted my appetite for more. Yesterday I knitted in both of my classes, so that's about an extra 4 hours of pleasure. I was still able to participate. I don't think it's any more distracting than eating in class...some folks choose to each crunch vegetables, I choose to knit. Today I went on a knitting outing with LJ. We spent 5 hours or so working on 2 socks on 2 circulars. It's so satisfying...