Happy new year!

this is how i ran it the new year.

easter is late this year

April 24th.
yep, that is the day these eggs are supposed to be consumed.  that is 15 weeks from now.  I will have completed an entire quarter teaching (which does not even start until next Monday, mind you), gone on break, and come back to a new quarter before this candy is meant to be eaten.

and yet they are in my local CVS right this second having an identity crisis.

what you can't see in this picture is that I am standing in front of a rack of valentine's day candy and behind the shelf of eggs and peeps there is a display of christmas stuff CVS is still trying to clearance out.

people long to be young.  not me.  if i were a kid today i would be baffled.

several things

okay okay.
enough prodding. i've had things to do, folks. they are many. let's review.

1. go see Roundheads and Peakheads. running through March 15th at the Atlas Center, it was produced by Catalyst Theatre Company. buy tickets here.

2. Constellation Theatre Company, a theatre i am proud to be an Associate Artist of is being awarded the James Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the 2009 Helen Hayes Awards. okay. so i didn't actually do anything when this announcement came out. jump and down and stuff... but i had to share.

3. deer are awesome and have natural camouflage.

Looking Out My Back Door

4. i have decided i really need to sew through some of my fabric stash--especially the things i have already cut out to make for myself. see my sewing here.

5. i read The Friday Night Knitting Club. not as good as i had hoped. only it sort of was because my expectation was to not really like it as much as "i should". still i read it because customers are always coming into the shop and telling me "oh! you would LOVE it!". yeah. because i knit i will automatically like chick lit about a knitter? um. actually, you don't know very much about what i like beyond knitting, so it is hard to say i will like a certain book. yeah. so it didn't change my life. and the totally unrealistic portrayal of opening and running a yarn shop was a bit trying.

6. i have become a selfish garment knitter. my needles have focused primarily on vests and sweaters for me, and so far i am loving what i have made. all. for. me. muwahahaha.

7. okay. so i may have knit rW another hat and scarf.

8. owls are neat.

9. my mother sent me an awesome red hat for valentine's day.

10. on the homefront, rW and i went out the friday of valentine's and had a yummy dinner. then we saw my show on saturday. i gave him a neat-o tie and he gave me an excellent back massage to combat the serious neck and shoulder tension that my work and hobbies create.

11. rW's record collection (see right) has helped return my love of taking pictures. the geometric shelves make a great backdrop for my fabric creations.

12. i have been trying some new recipes and adapting a few old favourites to be vegetarian. pumpkin bread. i couldn't find my version of my mom's recipe so i may have tried Betty's.

not bad.

13. best text message i have ever received: "Whenever i take Collin's socks off he has lots of fuzz between his toes. I always tell him we re going to send it to Aunt Yvette so you can make a sweater."


14. and a great knitting-related email.... "OMG, another tempting cablelicious project to tempt me! I sometimes wish I were an Indian god with multiple arms."

and that is life for now. i have a lot of knitting i should post. i realize that 2009 has been a very lax year for me actually updating the knitting content. i am still producing, it just isn' t making it to a blog near you.

i will try to be better.

greenie

this is the wild aran set i knit for Collin for christmas. see, i told you the little cutie was making me a crazy knitting lady. still, this set is really hard to resist.

Irish Leprechaun
design by Dany Ribailler
published in Chic Knits for Stylish Babies

knit in Bollcine Dolly (5 skeins #602 kale green and 5 skeins #603 olive green, 100% superwash merino wool) purchased at K+S=B on size US 3 and 5 needles.

started: june 15, 2008.
finished: december 25, 2008.

this was such a cute little gift, but by did it take a lot of knitting. lets review all the pieces so one can fully appreciate how much knitting was done. i made: a pair of mittens, scarf, hat, sweater, and pants.

yes, i have knit cabled pants.
i have already admitted that i crossed over into a new area of knitting lunacy. what more do you want from me?

i will say that the pants are what really took it out of me. thy were a ton of knitting for their size, and you had to pay plenty of attention to it because while the stitches were not hard, getting the increases and cable turns worked out was tricky if distracted.

i made some modifications to speed up the product because i was up against a deadline of december 28 when i would see my cousin and her family. a few mods...

i joined the pants to knit in the round once i finished the leg increases and crotch shaping. the top was worked this way with a purl stitch to mark the seam at front and back.

i also knit the sweater in the round up to the armholes and then divided to make the fronts and back.

additionally, i knit the backside of the sweater only in double moss stitch rather than in the cable pattern as it was written. i did this for a few reasons... 1. it was faster. 2. babies spend a lot of time laying on their backs hiding their sweaters in car seats and swingy chairs. 3. if i spent a lot of my time reclining, i certainly would not want a lumpy cable pressing into my back.

were i to knit this again (and let's face it, i probably won't) i would make a few other changes to the pieces i knit early on in the process. mittens and hat would have both been knit in the round instead of seamed. i would probably have grafted the top of the hat closed as well, although i think the seam gives it some stability to make the tassels pop out at the sides.

overall, i am really happy with this one. obviously i started it before i got word that Collin was a boy, so i picked green, and i am hoping my cousin will out it on her other kiddos as they come along. who wouldn't love to see the sweater worn with pink or purple corduroy pants by a girl? or how abut those pants with a hot pink hoodie?

my cousin is not a very girlie girl, but her sister-in-law is, so i think my visions of this ensemble being pinked out will eventually come true if a girl comes along.

and now, the gratuitous picture fest... i have not figured out at this point if blogger will let you do a cut in a post, so bear with me.

no one uses dial-up now anyway.

pants! pants! pants!

rustic buttons

sweater. of delight!

i know, these are silly.

tassels!

my new blackberry

not that kind. the real kind.

this is homemade blackberry jam made by my FBIL who picked the berries with his BFF. i put it on my oatmeal yesterday for breakfast, and it was amazing!

this was the extra special part of my christmas present from my cousin and her culinary-gifted husband*. i wish i had a picture of the whole gift basket of homemade treats, but the basket had to stay in ohio. i squirreled away the treats in my checked baggage individually, and it has been well worth it!

in addition to the jam, there was a box of chocolate chip cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels, bags of homemade pasta, a jar of sauce, and one of my favourite parts--homemade cheese crackers!!

they were amazing. i could have eaten the whole box in one sitting. now you can make your own cheese crackers and eat them in one sitting too. go see the recipe on FBIL's blog here. i am actually scared to make these because i have visions of none of my handknits fitting after i eat a whole pan of crackers. AND this comes form the gal who hates Nips or Goldfish crackers. that says something for his little cheesy delights.

yuuummmmm.


*it is worth noting once again that the culinary-gifted man my cousin married cans his own blackberry jam. in case you didn't notice the canning part. you know, the thing that prohibits the rest of us lazy you-know-whats from making jam.

moving forward

meet Tangerine the Owl. he came to live with me at christmas. cute, huh?

i think the whole month of december is a wash. the holidays are so time consuming and there are such a large number of other activities crammed into that time that the whole month gets swept away. with thanksgiving so close to december 1st tis year, it felt like a steamroller of holiday absurdity.

let's start the new year with my favourite bloggable thing... a list.

Holiday Highlights 2008!

1. successful knitting. i knit a cabled shell for my mother and a pullover for my father. they both fit very well, and each of my parents is very pleased with the result. you can see photos of them in their hand knits in...

2. Christmas photos.

Christmas 2008

3. i have also... practiced my hand at holiday floral arranging and being a good aunt (via hand knits). both of those items can be seen in the album as well. no pictures of Collin from me. i was too busy admiring him. i forgot to use the camera.

4. travel. i have been to ohio twice in the span of a month and to my hometown three times in a month. i hope this keeps me on Santa's "nice" at least through april or may. i get tense when i travel. going back to serious work is sort of a welcome change.

5. organized! in the midst of preparing for the holidays, i have been trying to get organized, clean out my needless stuff (who else owns 12 copies of the International Male catalogue? yes, it is for my job.), and map out my stash so i can knit it down this year. i have a lot of yarn, and some of it is intended for really big projects, so it looks even more ridiculous. must. knit. faster.

6. i also organized my thanksgiving photos. now you can see the trip rW and i took right here...

Thanksgiving 2008

7. happy new year! my new year's eve felt like 1945 (or something similarly quaint). rW and i walked down the street to a house party with friends who live around the corner. i baked an apple and pear pie and took it with us. (A+ pie crust this time!) i had wine and good conversation. it was a lot of fun!

January 2009 is going to be busy. rW and i both open shows. i am shooting a documentary in conjunction with the show i open in february. the inauguration is going to make the city wacky, and there will be a blogiversary this month.

i have a few projects i need to post about, but we are facing a slow down this month in the knitting department. hang in there with me!

put a lid on it: hats, part I

while i have been primarily devoting myself to complex gift projects that are running on deadlines, i have managed to squeeze in some other projects. almost all of these have been hats because they are very fast to make, and some of these have been skill builders to boot.

hats! hats! hats!


Foliage
design by Emilee Mooney
published at knitty.com

knit in 1 skein of Malabrigo Chunky (#98 "tuareg", 100% kettle dyed merino wool) purchased at Now and Then on size US 10 DPNs.

started: october 31, 2008.
finished: october 31, 2008.

i originally bought this yarn to knit an ear flap hat with a pom pom top and ties. as i started the hat, i discovered it looked awful in this yarn because it is too springy (texture, not season). i bought all of this color at the shop, so i couldn't get more to make something bigger than a hat, so i was on a search. i don't knit a lot of lace, so i decided to try this hat and see how lace in a chunky yarn looks. i like it. this is going to be a holiday gift to match the blue mittens i posted about a few weeks ago.

the construction was really cool for Foliage. you knit the hat from the top down increasing in the leaf lace repeat. fun.

FIN beanie
designed by Mari Muinonen
published in Made by Myself

knit in 1 ball of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK tweed (#409 "night" 85% wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere) purchased at K+S=B on size US 5 DPNs.

started: october 21, 2008
finished: october 22, 2008.

i love this yarn, and i am a big fan of this hat because it has an awesome star decrease pattern on top. pretty straightforward hat that really shows off the tweed yarn.

yum!


Sweet Girl
design by kittything
available free with yarn purchase at K+S=B

knit in 1 skein of Schoeller + Stahl "Sweet Girls" (100% acrylic with silly ruffles!) on size US 10.5 needles.

started: october 4, 2008.
finished: october 21, 2008.

this is a store model to show this funny yarn we are carrying this fall. i am not into novelty yarns, so this is not my thing, but the hat design itself is cute. the top has an eyelet row and ribbon drawstring to close it up so a little girl can wear her ponytail through the top of the hat.

i know, adorable. speaking of adorable...


The Littlest Brown
designed by kittything
unpublished improvisation

crocheted in scraps of Frog Tree Merino (100% merino wool) with a size I hook.

started: november 6, 2008.
finished: november 6, 2008.

this is a hat for Collin to match the browns hat i gave his father last year for christmas. i made it from the scraps of the bigger hat. you can see father and son sporting their tasteful sports themed hats together on Collin's blog. this kid is amazing. he is cute, quiet, and already a prolific blogger!

goodbye fall, hello 300!

guess what folks? this blog has officially reached 300 posts! thanks for hanging in there with me through work, play, knitting floods, and work related droughts. onward, 300 ho!

this week it has officially become cold in the greater DC metro area. it has been hanging out in the 30s more than the 50s (surprisingly low for this month) it was fitting to take down the fall bittersweet wreath and haul out the christmas tree.

i'm glad i knit.

speaking of knitting, i have been doing more of that then blogging. the most notable accomplishment on the knitting front is the completion of Collin's christening shawl. it rocks. it is done. the knit-on edging made me near suicidal.

(not really. sort of knitterly suicidal. not the real kind.)

i still owe a post on all the hats i have been turning out, and i plan to do one of all the glamour shots of the shawl. i hope to get together a photo album of the trip rW and i took to ohio for thanksgiving.

promises, promises!

heeeehheeeehhheehe!

Skelley says Happy Halloween!!!!!

i failed to mention...

i can totally change my own flat tire. this happened on valentines day. i went around all day saying "and people wonder how his girl can possibly stay single!?!" when recounting my victory over the steep hill, lousy car jack, and general lameness of flat tires on cold days.

happy belated valentine's day.

i've been busy, but i do want to show off what my mum sent me for the holiday. that is four more skeins of Noro Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge afghan, a postal scale (very handy both for my work and for yarn purposes), a handful of dove chocolates, and a funny card.

my mum is an excellent selector of cards. this one reads....

(outside) Men come and go, but friends are forever. (inside) And they're really handy at mocking the men who go. happy valentine's day.

we share a sorta sick sense of humour.

in yarny news, i have a project to post later in the week. i crocheted a gift for my cousin's birthday gift, and it goes in the mail tomorrow. i don't want to ruin the surprise for my FBL either (hi, mark!).

i also just ripped out 6.5" of my gathered pullover. that is 1.5" before i was supposed to start my cable chart. sigh. this will be the sweater i reknit until the cows come home. and i just don't get it. i swatched. i knit. i checked the gauge in the full piece over and over again as i went. i was knitting to almost 5 stitches per inch (i need 4.75/inch) and then.... WHAM!! out of no where my gauge is 4 stitches per inch all over and the sweater body is 34" instead of 32".

i feel like an evil knitting fairy has been spreading evil fairy dust over this project. i mean, my gauge is never this wonky. i'm going to recast on tomorrow on smaller needles, and i may even take out some of the stitches.

i am also a little rankled because blogger's spell check is not working for me. jerks.

tasty holidays

on my way home to visit my parents for the holidays, i stopped off to visit my cousin and her husband. this was one of several high points in the out-of-town festivities.

yes, it really was that exciting! do not judge by how long it has taken me to write about it. there is a plan behind all that. you see, my FBIL (Fake Brother-in-Law) Mark is a total foodie and he writes a rather witty food blog called Eating Cleveland . so the food on that leg of my journey was a major focus (aside from the relaxing, visiting, and gifting) and he can cover it a heck of a lot better than i can.

i will keep it simple and say that we went to a rocking little place called Melt Bar and Grilled. they specialize in grilled cheese sandwiches served with many varieties of beer. this is the kind of food that will put you in a coma--in the good sorta way. read about our visit right here.

Adventures in Food Coma Part Deux

as if grilled cheese was not enough, the next day Mark made an amazing lunch before packing me off to my parents' house. now if you read his remarks on Melt, you will know that Jess and I are on opposite ends of the eating spectrum. no meat for me, and she is convinced that carrots can bite. so he had his work cut out for him when it came to feeding us the same dish. there is one thing she and i are in 100% agreement on... mushrooms.

meet Mark's mushroom tart... it was delicious, and happily he has posted the recipe. like many good recipes, it is flexible and a little different every time. you can throw in any sort of seasoning you like to make it special. happily, i was present for what mark and jess declared to be his "best tart ever".

it is very easy to make, but if you make the filling a day ahead, you will have an even more simple dish on the day you wish to serve it. the happy couple were talking over the many little tweaks mark made on this particular occasion, so i would say that you should have at this recipe with a flair for customization.

i can't wait to make it for myself! who wants to come over for dinner? yum!

2008

it is already here. happy new year, folks.

i have one major resolution for the new year, and it involves getting my finances under control. like most americans, i am spending a little more than i bring in over the course of a year. not too much more, but enough that i need to do something about it so it doesn't become a real problem.

plan for the new year....

1. yarn diet.
i am not buying any new yarn for 6 months. the only exception to this rule is unforeseen gift circumstances that cannot be met by my stash. (i.e. one of my friends has a baby or i need to make a birthday gift) i should have enough socks to keep me busy. and i have a sweater to get back to!

2. optional food services.
new kitty rule--no frivolous eating and drinking out. 1 drink, 1 coffee, 1 plated meal out per month. looks like friends will need to start coming over if they want to "go out" for coffee. penguingirl and i are already good at this, so i am assuming that others can catch on. i think i will get the occasional get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to tech rehearsal weeks.

3. cut out the junk.
i don't really need to buy things like shortbread cookies. i can make them, and if i want them and other things of that sort, i will have to make them at home. i guess this has the perk of being good for me health-wise too.

4. contracts.
i am way too nice as a freelance designer. i am going to be much more of a stickler on my contracts for design work. the date it says i am getting paid, i will have a check in my hand. period. same goes for reimbursement of money i front for companies.

that's the plan for now. i am sure there will be updates on how i am doing.

holiday finishing time

i used part of my holiday time to finish some projects. i brought more with me than i could ever get around to, but i am not disappointed by my progress.

first up...

Herringbone Scarf
designed by Allison Belvins
available at Tangle

knit in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick&Quick (1 skein "lemongrass" 75% acrylic, 25% wool) on size US 19 needles.

started: december 19, 2007
finished december 22, 2007

i really don't like knitting with huge needles, but sometimes i cam abandon process knitting in favour of project knitting. i wanted the scarf, and i had yarn in my stash, so i sucked it up and knit on the broomstick needles.

i like the results for the most part, but were i to do it again, i think i would try to do some sort of edge stitch to make the selvage edges look nicer.

my second finished project of the holiday was the education of my mum on sock knitting. we knit mini socks together so she could knit a complete sock before starting a full sized pair.

i did mine in some scrap koigu, and hers is some scrap trekking. i wish i had taken some pictures of hers!

i think my mum now wishes i hadn't been the one teaching her. i am a task master, man. now she can feel sorry for all the students i had when i was teaching in grad school. at any rate, i hope she learned a lot!

i am starting to have a lovely little collection of these mini socks, so i need to work on an idea for displaying them. i am considering rigging up a little clothes line for them. we'll see.

let's all say it again... together!

kitty = huge geek

speaking of socks.... i finished a pair that had been languishing on the back burner since june.

Hand Basket Socks
designed by kittything
free pattern in the sidebar

knit in Rowan Calmer (2 skeins "onyx" 75% cotton, 25% microfibre) purchased at K+S=B on size US 4 and US 5 bamboo double points.

started: june 2007
finished: december 26, 2007


i first put these aside to a knit a larger pair in the same pattern. then they were put aside to knit holiday gifts. i decided to discipline myself and make sure they were completed before we rung in 2008. under the wire, but i made it!

i have not worn them yet, but i will probably report back once i do. my friend Miss Mar has a pair of Calmer socks, and she likes hers. i hope i have similar good luck with this yarn.

ahh.
yes, that is Baby Panda. he never got to model those socks, so i let him in on the final portrait. isn't he a sweetheart?

coming soon!
my latest project!
and the gifts i knit for my mum and could not post here!

happy! happy! merry! merry!

i'm off to the buckeye state. chances are good that there will be some form of an update while i am away, but it won't be the whole yule log you are used to... complete with pictures and all that wonderful stuff.

then again, maybe there won't.

to those who are traveling--please be safe! the same goes to all of you who will be partying a little more heartily for the holiday. see you in a week!

warm fuzzies + 200!

happy 200th post! and this one is a good one, too. i have no new knitting content, just an update on some old content. today i got this email....

Well ladies, today I delivered a total of 39 scarves and hats to my friend Andie who runs Rainbow Place a shelter for homeless women in Rockville. The original request was for 30 so well done us! They will be in gift bags for the women who will be there on Christmas along with a sweatsuit, a bottle of perfume and a bottle of lotion.

Thank you all so much for helping me with this project! I received more of a response than I had expected. I will definitely do this again next year!

Happy Holidays!

C--

this made my day.
i included 6 handmade hats and 3 handmade scarves as my part of our donation. happy holidays!

quilts ahoy!

so the show i have been up to my ears designing is Quilters, and when there are quilters about, you better believe there are quilts. here is the quilt that i designed with the set designer.

it was built by the lovely and talented Miss Mar and her assistant Katherine. these women rock. each of the 16 smaller pieces are removable (the big full quilt is revealed at the end of the show) and each is stunning.

go to her blog post on the project to see the full details because i have got to get to bed, kids. oh, and do click through to the post because she included a bonus of a truly lovely picture of her Hanukkah candles.

blogger's spell checker has given me three ways to spell the holiday.... jerks. off confusing us heathens for sport.

the end

it is official. i have knit (or crocheted) all of the gifts i set out to complete this holiday season. i have even put handmade care instruction tags on all of them. and it is before december 1st!
sometimes (and this is one of those times) i get to say.... i am just that good.

details on the last official gifty.

Garter Stitch Loop-Through Scarf
designed by Marci Richardson
published in 101 Designer On-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant

knit in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (2 skeins #08... i call it "butterscotch" 80% alpaca 20% silk) from my stash on size US 7 bamboo needles.

started: november 23, 2007
finished: november 25, 2007

i made some pretty major adjustments to the numbers on this pattern because it is written for sportweight yarn, and when i was working with sport weight yarn, i was knitting it on a size US 4.

i am very pleased with how the heavier weight piece turned out. the stitches have much better definition than they had in the 100% alpaca yarn i was using. i'll save it for a lacy hat i want to make from the same book. my stash will not go to waste.

i also think this color will be really great on the girlfriend i knit it for. since i can't wear the color, i need to find someone who can! the yarn is too yummy! and the great thing is that i still have 3 skeins of this stuff for a little gifty i plan to make for someone else on their birthday next year.

maybe i will succeed with my upcoming yarn diet.

deck the halls

sunday night i put the tree up. i didn't do it last year, so i had to use my brain about where everything was put away two years ago. it went better than expected considering, and it was very fast because my friend madhatternalice helped me.

in fact, i think he was more excited about the tree than i was. i guess it is understandable. i grew up decorating a tree for the holiday and he didn't. and really, which is more exciting? the Maccabees? or bubble lights?

wow.
i may go to hell for that one. i'll redeem myself with a list....

Things I Learned Decorating a Tree With a Man

1. the concept of shaping an artificial tree to look more natural is entirely absurd if you think about it too much.
2. it seems like all men try to tie up the tree by stringing lights too tight.
3. if you have more than 10 Gone With the Wind ornaments, be prepared to be mocked.
4. the right cute ornament can melt anyone's heart. got penguins? how about a plastic canvas panda bear?
5. pink tinsel mini trees are not for everyone. but they are for me! (sorry i don't have a picture of it.)

anyway.
tree is up! it was educational and fun.
we were also supposed to watch Six Feet Under, but that didn't happen. only down side to the night. boo.

now that the tree is ready, i want to wrap all of my presents so that i can put them underneath and make it even prettier! i still need to finish my care tags for the knit things. but when i am done with them, the wrapping can begin!

i finished the garter loop through scarf yesterday. post about that soon!

gobblegobble

happy thanksgiving to all the other folks in the good old USA. to everyone else--hi! hear about our holiday! i had a low(ish) key holiday and a few adventures. more will come with the weekend. i think we need a bulleted list.

• my apartment is incredibly clean. i get to feel superior about this until january 1st when i realize i need to take down the holiday decor.
• i forgot to clean the blades on the kitchen fan, and i have decided that this will not dampen my sense of superiority over those who partied and visited all day. ha.
• my cousins called me. it was jess's number, so when her husband was on the other end of the line gobbling madly at me... well, needless to say it gave me a bit of a start. and a laugh.
  
• i lost my wallet. this caused me to call my mother... swearing and spitting. i was a regular pirate. without the eye patch. or rum.
  
• the nice vietnamese family that runs the beer/wine store found it and they kept it for me until my dumb ass figured out i lost it and came back. i am glad i drink and have a regular place where i buy my libations.
• i had dinner with one of my bestest friends who was also unable to make it home to the family. she and i have been pals for 17 years. that is right up there with family.
• we went to La Tasca downtown for tapas, which were bountiful. the highlight was a fried eggplant with amazing garlic cheese dip. we also had a pitcher of sangria and dessert.
  
• i work tomorrow. at the store. on black friday. boo. hisssss!
• holiday tree goes up this weekend! i'll post pictures.
  

for those of you that are traveling over the next few days, please be safe!