swoon!

so i thought the little skull ring i posted about a few days ago was cool....

(and it still is!)

and then the same jeweler posted The Big Skull Ring. you need to click the picture of the person wearing it to really "get" the scale. they say they make it any size.... i think they don't mean for 5.5, however.

but i can dream.

i can also dream of one day being as awesome as wendy. not only does she have an adorable cat, knits like a genius, and is a good knitwear designer to boot.... now she is freaking making challah! and that makes me want to cry a little.

i have an extreme weakness for challah.
and it makes no sense! i didn't grow up with it. no one in my family makes it (that i can recall) and i honestly cannot say when i first had it, but boy hoo! i was hooked.

i can eat an entire loaf.

by myself.

in one sitting.

and if it has been around for a day or so and gets turned into french toast, hold on to your hat. i will eat the french toast until i am full. and then i will have one more piece. and if it is a small "one more" piece, i might have to go back again. then i feel sick, but i don't mind because it is that freaking good.

chet baker and me

i love skull-a-day.

i hate skull-a-day.

it is a website devoted to one person's year long quest to make a skull image every day. you know, in the name of art. every week they do something called "Braincase" which is a round up of skully things readers have spotted.

braincase always has something i want. like deliriously expensive skull chocolates. or the fantastic ring you see above.

see, i thought i was safe because i won't buy expensive chocolates for myself and the ring only comes in a size 7. (i wear the much smaller 5 1/2) but nooooo.

the metal artists who make that ring have another very cool ring that comes custom sized. and earrings that are no size at all. it is a good thing i don't wear enough earrings to justify it. but the ring. oh the temptation! i cannot be tempted. not the same day i had a serious discussion of my finances. sigh! maybe Santa will bring me some skulls.

i fall in love too easily.

not really, but sometimes.

every so often i sit and wish i was a man. never for any good reason, and i certainly am happy to be a gal (even with everything that comes along with that).

this week i found 3 reasons why it is great to be a guy.... or at least a woman who is bigger than me (i'm around 5'5" and almost a buck 25).

1. wingtips with skull design in the toe. i love! sadly, with this one i would need to be both a man and a rich one at that if i wanted to wear these babies.

2. Jodi Greene's sweater design Durrow.... entirely drool worthy and an impossible (well, more like just improbable) dream since the smallest size is almost 8 inches bigger than me. i may need to work on converting my father to sweater wearing. but look at those cabled sleeves! ah, me!

3. Rowan's newest beautiful offering... Knitting for Him: 27 Classic Projects to Keep Him Warm. there is argyle in this book that breaks my heart and cardigans that makes me want to cry with jealously. when BossLady asked me if the book is really that good, i told her it is good enough to make me reconsider my anti-marriage position. (or again with the retraining of my father to be a sweater wearer.)

these things plus the ability to open jars and not get cat-called on the street... ahh, perchance to dream!

Cotton Conclusion: Pretty Pictures

to conclude my feature on the yumminess of cotton yarn, i give you another project torn from the pages of the happy hooker.

skullholders
by Kacy Fallon
stitched in one ball each black and purple Lion Brand Lion Cotton on a size "I" hook. i think i completed them in late september (06) while i was at a designer run for a show. this was the project that sealed the deal for me on the happy hooker, and i had to have the book. i marched right out and bought the yarn the same day i bought the book.

this was my first intarsia or "tapestry" crochet project. i'm hooked (pun intended). making pictures is a lot of fun, and it is way easier when crocheting than knitting. one day i will be ballsy enough to do it in knit work, but right now i am loving me some ease.
because crochet stitches are little independent units stacked on top of each other, you can sandwich your yarn between the rows rather than carrying it behind the way you must when doing pictures in knitting. i think this is just swell--no float threads! it also serves to make this nifty pair of potholders extra thick in the middle, which is a good thing. when i use these puppies, i barely feel the warmth of the pan i am touching.
the only drawback to this technique is that you will see tiny bits of the yarn color you are carrying behind the one you are working. if your yarns contrast greatly in color, this can be unsightly, but in the instance of purple and black it is no big thing. if you don't want this shadow color, you can carry the unworked strand loosely behind your work the way you would with intarsia knitting. you will have float threads, but if you are lining your project, they will never be seen.

charts are a little easier in crochet than knitting as well. because single crochet stitches are the same height and width, you can create your own graphs very easily on standard graph paper. knitting is taller than it is wide, so you need fancy math to make it work out.


i liked this particular chart so much that i started a small handbag i intend to felt. it was inspired by a project i saw on hello yarn. i need to pick it up again, but i want to determine the side panels and type of handle i want before i cross over to the second chart. the yarn i am using is blue sky 100% alpaca. i have never felted alpaca before, but the gal at the LYS i bought this from says it felts beautifully and stays softer than sheep fibers. we shall see. i just want a cutie mini bag that doesn't need a lining. i'll post a picture of the final product.