yarntherapy

gray sky thoughts

Hmmmm...

just a few random thoughts -

• Jillian's little strapless knit dress from Project Runway's finale episode is the cutest thing EVER. I predict a slew of knock-offs on Ravelry very soon. The gold buttons down the back give a great nod to its Aran-cardigan inspiration.

• Did Brett Favre die while saving kittens from a fire or something? Because really, people .....

• I am doing the Apartment Therapy cure. I am scared.

• Why do toaster ovens have such short electrical cords? Mine is literally two inches too short to reach the nearest outlet.

• I think I want a Roomba.

• I suck at fair isle. (more on that later.)

undecided

so strange - just hours before the primary and I am completely undecided. Also strange - being a Democrat in New York and having your vote actually matter for a change.

I had an interesting talk with my dad about this tonight, which just reminded me how different yet so much the same we are.

Gah. I'd better sleep on it. Maybe I'll post some knitting tomorrow.

Cherie Amour

Cherie Amour
Originally uploaded by laurelann

You know, I'm realizing that the reason I don't post as much as I should is that I love having lots of pictures in my posts and Typepad makes it really annoying to put up photos - it seems to take forever for them to upload and they don't rotate photos that need it, so I find myself just not wanting to deal with it.

(if I'm missing a Typepad trick or two, PLEASE let me know!)

At least I can use the flickr "blog this" function, although this only lets you have one picture in a post. Better than nothing, I guess!

So here is Cherie Amour so far. We had a rough start - the damn swatch took like a year for me to figure out and I had to play with needle size a bunch, and I'm still iffy on the fit. She needs a major, major blocking right now. I think I want to pick up and knit the sleeves from the top down, and I just don't feel like doing the math so we're taking a bit of a break while I tackle my first Fair Isle project. (woohoo - color work!)

I LOVE this yarn - Berocco Jasper - a super soft merino that comes in gorgeous colorways. I just could not resist this green/purple combo. The colors are really consistent and have tended to stripe instead of pool, which I mostly like but am a little afraid that horizontal stripes may not be the best look. We'll see.

The pattern is a little iffy - I think the sizing is really funky and not consistent with the swatch, and the chart problems have been well documented elsewhere. That said, I like the idea and I think when I've done the blocking I'll really like the end result.

hell has frozen...

.... and pigs are flying.

I found a sock pattern that I think I want to make.

Oh dear.

My christmas hat

  My christmas hat 
  Originally uploaded by laurelann

Hey, look - I actually made something!

This is my new hat, which coordinates beautifully with my new coat. Nearly 20 years in NYC and I finally clued in to the fact that if your legs are cold, get a LONG coat! So now I am toasty and warm. I seriously love this coat, it feels like I'm wearing a sleeping bag!

The hat - pattern is Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat, yarn is the scrumptious Sheep Two from Sheep Shop Yarn Co. I think these are my new favorite yarns! I had my buddy Michael as my Secret Santa giftee at work, so I got him a couple of skeins of this yarn in turquoises, and I just had to get this one since it matched my coat. I also have some of their Sheep Three, which is a DK weight silk/wool blend and I think it is destined to be a Clapotis. I'm not usually a big fan of variegated yarns but between these yarns and the Berocco Jasper that I'm using for Cherie Amour, I'm becoming a convert.

The hat is a super quick and fun knit - I cranked it out over the Christmas weekend. Some people are finding it a tad long depending on their yarn - I eliminated two rows in the second repeat and it fits perfectly. And it's so WARM!

happy new year.....

.......finally!

I hate to say it, but I am so so so happy that the holidays are over. They were slightly traumatic for a variety of reasons and it took a while to recover from it all, but I'm finally feeling a little more like myself again!

The best part of my Christmas - I was too lame to add the button to my sidebar, but I did take the Handmade Pledge. Most of what I bought was from Etsy, craft fairs, or uncommongoods.com, which isn't technically within the rules, but is a very cool site that does carry lots of handmade and fair trade goods, and allows you to donate to various non-profits when you order. OK, dad did get the groovy wireless weather station from Brookstone, but I knew he would love and use it, so the spirit of gifting was intact there. He's getting a scarf soon, too :-)

Shopping from these amazing artists was so great because there was such a sense of personal connection with every transaction. The emails and notes and sweet little free gifts were such a change from the craziness of a normal holiday shopping season.

Shoutouts to a few of my favorite etsy sellers - Bread and Badger (cool etched glass), Tiddlywinks (sweet handmade stuffed animals), jdryerart (retro art prints), Paloma's Nest (gorgeous unglazed pottery and ornaments), and Bijoujuju (neato graphic pendants). I also picked up some calendars from a graphic artist I've been following for a while, JHill Design. Read her blog, Places I've Never Been. So very cool.

Knitting is happening. I've been really unhappy with my photos recently so I'm going to try to upgrade my setup (not my camera, I like it just fine. I just need to find a place with better light!) I'm through the hard stuff on Cherie Amour, I think, and I'm trying to line up my next few projects. I have some specific knitting goals for 2008, so we'll see how that goes!

new knitty!

Ooooh, pretty!

Lots of good stuff this issue, and a minimum of sock patterns. (no offense to all you crazy sock knitters, but I've mentioned before how little I am interested in knitting socks, so to me an abundance of sock patterns is a waste of valuable pattern space.)

Though I'm not interested in knitting socks, I do love sock yarn - the colors are always amazing and I love the springy texture. There are two patterns here that use sock yarns in other ways: Abotanicity, a sweater by Cassie Rovitti of Tubey fame, which features Trekking XXL in a cute pullover that sadly will probably not work on my body, and Jeanie, a "hanging cable" wrap that made me stop breathing when I saw it. It has cables and dropped stitches and all kinds of fun stuff. Someone on Ravelry called it "Clapotis, all grown up." I totally agree and I cannot wait to make it!

Remember that leftover full skein of Tilli Tomas Pure & Simple I had left over from my SKB? Yeah, that one. I was going to sell it for a little cash, but them I saw the pattern for Square Cake, which calls for exactly one skein of Tilli Tomas Disco Lights. So I'll be making that one for sure - either for myself or as a Christmas gift for my friend Carol, depending on when I get it done.

Still knitting handwarmers (the sale got postponed, so I have more time, yay) and still in a fight with Cherie Amour.

Back to Before

  Molly 
  Originally uploaded by laurelann

Yay, strike's over, back to work. SO glad that's all behind us.

Let's talk about Christmas, shall we?

I'm going to do my best to adhere to the "Buy Handmade" pledge, though I think dad is getting a wireless weather station. With money now being a little tight in the wake of the strike, I'm hoping to dig into the scary depths of my craft closet and make lots of lovely things for the people in my life. I will also be shopping like a madwoman on Etsy. God how I love Etsy. The Treasury feature is the best thing ever.

So the little pink sweater is for my niece Katie, who is three and a half and the cutest thing ever. She likes pink. Of course. The pattern is Molly from Debbie Bliss Junior Knits. What I love about this book is that everything is sized from toddler to like a 7 or 8, so I can use the book as she (and all the kiddies I know) keeps growing. Yarn is Araucania Nature Wool, purchased on sale at Webs and I really love it! It's soft and squishy and I love the subtle variegation of the color. I have some more in brown for a Central Park Hoodie, and I am looking forward to working with it again (and wearing it!)

My Wednesday knitting group managed to meet once during the strike, at Briana's apartment, and it was just as nice and relaxing as it always is. Some of us are working on items for a sale to benefit BC/EFA next week - I'm cranking out Fetchings and Dashings and I made a really cute little neckwarmer from yarn I bought a million years ago, so it's been great for getting rid of stash.

I did start on Cherie Amour for myself, but we're having a difficult relationship at the moment. It took me three hours to produce a 4" swatch, and don't even ask me how long it took to cast on. Yikes.

Tommy used to work on the docks...

.......Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck - it's tough. So tough.

Yeah, you thought Billy Joel was bad.....  Wait until I start singing the score of "Pajama Game."

You guys, this strike sucks. Financially I'm going to be OK, I think, but the uncertainty is driving me crazy. I just want to go back to work! I miss my people and my dressing room and my little chair in the hallway! I miss Wednesday knitting group! I miss knowing what day it is without having to double check the calendar! I have real issues with needing structure in my life, and while I've gotten a lot done in the last couple of weeks, I find myself getting more and more scattered and disorganized without the enforced schedule of a job to go to.

Ugh. And I'm cooking turkey tomorrow, but most of my original guests aren't coming - with the shows canceled, people have the time to go spend the day with family which we wouldn't normally have. So I completely understand, and I'm happy to have less pressure on myself, but I am going to have boatload of leftovers from my 12 lb turkey for three people. And I need to figure out a dessert! Both of the people who were going to bring dessert decided not to come! I'm seriously considering just doing banana splits.

Knitting is happening, picture taking isn't. I hate posting about knitting without photos, so that will have to wait.

Until then - happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Seen the lights go out on Broadway

  knitting and striking 
  Originally uploaded by laurelann

This is what it's come to, folks - I'm quoting Billy Joel.

The last week has been incredibly surreal. I truly don't even know what day it is unless I go to the theater. Something we all hoped would never happen.....happened.

Lots of mixed emotions, I won't go into specifics. I'm really happy that the parties involved have agreed to meet on Saturday - just knowing that *something* is happening makes it less stressful.

Anyway, I've tried to be productive on my little forced vacation. Moved a lot of furniture around in my apartment, painted my bathroom, joined a gym (!), caught up with my Tivo. I'm knitting quite a bit as well (of course!) What you see in the photo is a pair of Fetching handwarmers for a fundraiser in December. Such a great pattern - I made a pair of Dashing gloves by the same designer (who kindly gave permission for us to use her pattern for the sale) and they are so quick and fun to knit. I'm using up yarn I had leftover from when Julia Roberts knit on stage during "Three Days of Rain" - so it's all Broadway related! (plus I am so happy to get some yarn the hell out of my apartment!)

Oooh, and the coolest thing I did - I taught myself how to cable without a cable needle! I'd looked at a couple of tutorials in the past, but the one that made the most sense to me and finally clicked was Grumperina's. It's like having a new toy or something! One less tool to fumble with! (I'm all about minimizing tool use as you can tell by my love of the magic loop and two circs techniques.)

Fingers crossed that we'll be back at work very soon.....