Sucker!

Last night I broke one my cardinal knitting rules. Upon learning that I knit, near-strangers will ask me to knit them something (presumably for free). I've gotten to the point where I always respond that I'm not currently taking commission work (not that they ever suggest paying). But when the sad drunk dwarf told me last night he just wished he had a beanie that fit, my heart melted. It will be a good exercise in pattern alterations, though, so I will learn from it.

I went stash-diving today. My mom works in a school, so I asked if the kids could use partial skeins of yarn for art projects. I'm unloading a bunch of nearly-used-up stuff that I'd never use in a million years. Like the leftover bright turquoise, purple, and green Bernat Boa that I bought to make a scarf on commission. ;-)

My goal is to get my stash cataloged entirely in One Note; Mr. Fury installed it right before he left, and I've found it extremely useful to keep track of my projects and some planned designs. Once I know what I have, my next goal is to figure out the yardage/weight on the partial skeins I have kicking around. At some point I want to make a note of all the books I have, too. Ah, ambition.

I give you this joke that Mr. Fury found in an old book (apologies for the non-PC-ness of it!):

Three pregnant ladies were drinking tea and knitting together. The first pregnant lady says, "I hope my baby is a boy, because the hat I'm knitting is blue." The second pregnant lady says, "I hope my baby is a girl, because the blanket I'm knitting is pink."

The third pregnant lady says, "I hope my baby has a hunchback, because I really messed up this sweater."

Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle

Last night was a blast. I strongly recommend the Independents to all music-lovers (Lana, I'm looking at you!) -- it's joyous, hard 'n' fast punk-metal-ska. They were managed/produced by Joey Ramone back in the day. It was an amazing show with really fantastic energy.

As evidence that I lead an occasionally interesting life: I got to swing dance with a dwarf.

My Knit Happens order arrived today. Two balls of Alpaca Silk and one ball of Cashmerino -- man, did I ever restrain myself. :-) I have them sitting next to my PRGE pink alpaca and fondle it all every now and then. So much yummy yarn goodness.

Perhaps knitting tonight. Perhaps hanging out with the band before they move on. Who knows?

PRGE!

My PRGE package arrived today, and it's simply glorious. 350 yards of pink fingering-weight alpaca, black and pink M'n'Ms, size 2 bamboo DPNs, and the cutest bandana ever. I'm feeling all joyous and spoiled.

Here is a close-up of the bandana print so you can see that the cherries on the cupcakes are tiny evil skulls:

Whew!

One of my routes home from work takes me past the tastiest pizza joint in town as well as my LYS, which are a block apart. Kismet, I say! I got two hanks of Cascade 220 (deep navy blue and sort of a deep sky blue), and then got two slices of pizza for dinner (cheese and margherita). Joy. Then I got home and found my PRGE package. Double joy. And I'm about to get ready to head downtown for the Independents show. Triple joy? Is such a thing possible?

I will definitely not be feeling the joy when I wake up for work tomorrow, though. ;-)

Fitted Knits

My copy of Fitted Knits arrived today! Thanks, older sister! I haven't pored over it in crazy detail yet, but it looks like there are several things I'd like to knit. I think I may stop at the LYS on my way home tomorrow to pick up some Cascade 220 for the two-tone ribbed shrug ... although I don't think I will be knitting tomorrow night, because the Independents are coming to town! (Last time they were here, they let me work their lights and bubble machine, woohoo!)

Whoa!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes, y'all! I haven't been knit-blogging for long, but this community continues to amaze me.

I am so royally spoiled, it's insane. :-) I'm expecting a slew of knitting books from my wishlist this week. My mom and step-Dan ordered me EZ's Knitters' Almanac, EZ's Knitter's Workshop, and Scarf Style. My older sister ordered me Fitted Knits. And my friend Cherry gave me the Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques on Saturday. Woohoo! I will be awash in knitterly goodness.

It is pouring rain here. My plans to go to the grocery store were consequently scrapped, so I "had" to eat leftover birthday cake for dinner. Gee, darn. ;-)

Birthday Squee!

Today is my 28th birthday. I've still got a couple more years until the ol' Lifeclock turns black, so I might as well enjoy myself in the meantime. ;-)

In years past, my friend Lucky and I have thrown ourselves rather elaborate parties (including one that involved all our crazy tattooed friends in formal attire at Chuck E. Cheese). This year due to a variety of circumstances, we elected to just celebrate our birthdays at our show last night. One of my all-time favorite bands, the Von Ehrics, opened for us, and there was no shortage of well-wishes from friends and loved ones.

My aforementioned beloved coworker Honey Sweet sent me the soundtrack to Dead & Breakfast, which combines my love of zombies, my love of rockabilly, and my profession of marketing B&Bs (which I do love). :-)

Off to have dinner and cake with the fam!

Warshrag City

I stayed up late last night finishing the ball band dishcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting, then promptly cast on for another hexagonal one. (I went a little nuts buying the whatever-and-Creme yarns, so I have plenty.) My plan was to sleep in this morning so I could be peppy and vigorous for my birthday show this evening ... alas, my otherwise-very-nice neighbors have a tendency to set their alarm for early hours and then just let it go off, and go off, and go off. So I was up around 8:00. Bleh. When I finally decided to schlep downstairs to search out earplugs, they'd turned it off by the time I finally got back upstairs to bed.

I re-read that and realized just how grouchy it sounds, so I need to come back and temper it. :-) But I had a very nice time in yoga class, especially since I have a new double-thick mat courtesy of my little sister. It's going to be a good day and a good night. But I should probably make some coffee before venturing out. :-)

Today's pictures are the pink-and-white hexagonal washcloth that I made last Sunday, and the blue-and-green ball band dishcloth that I finished last night. I forget which ones are done with which 'n' Cream yarn. I'm almost done with a blue-and-white one that's very similar to the pink one. It's smaller, though, because I'm using the recommended size 8s instead of the size 9s I used for the pink one. I like that the bobbles on the first alernate between pink and white, although the pink ones look rather anatomical.

Not sure what's coming after this washcloth explosion. There may or may not be knitting books in my familial birthday bonanza tomorrow, so I figure I will kick around for the rest of the month, and then see where I am in April. I have a lot of vague ideas of where I want to go but I'm not sure exactly what's up next. It's already very, very warm here, so I suspect we're in for a hell of a summer this year. Hmmm ... I wonder if I have enough Elann Cotton Sonata for the Honeymoon Cami. Time to start stash-diving, methinks.

Snit Cardigan, For Real!

Behold Snit Cardigan in all its buttonless glory! My beloved coworker Honey Sweet just happened to bring her camera to work today, so she was able to do a photo shoot for me this afternoon.

Even though it has mistakes, I love it. I learned so, so, so much from it.

I won't hesitate to use WotA for garments in the future. It's not super-duper soft, but it's suitable for next-to-skin wear and it seems pretty durable. It drapes very nicely post-blocking.

I know everyone already knows all about it, but here are the specs:

Pattern: Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan
Source: Woolworks.com
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes worsted, 7 balls Cranberry
Stats: size close-fitting Wee

Sale yarn! Eeeeeeeee!

Most of you probably saw this on Craftster ... but in case you didn't, there is a HUGE sale at Knit Happens. Prices are crazy-low. I restrained myself and only got 2 balls of Alpaca Silk and 1 ball of Cashmerino. I added many many many other things to my basket and narrowed it down to just those. I was seriously in a fugue state inspired by the prices -- I don't even know what I'll do with the Alpaca Silk, but I fondled it that day at the yarn store and have wanted it ever since.

I decided that a lack of buttons and weather forecast in the 80s wasn't enough to stop me from wearing Snit Cardigan to work yesterday. Photos soon, I promise! Since my personal photographer (a.k.a. Mr. Fury) is on the road again, and my (lametastic and geriatric) digital doesn't allow me to take reasonable photos of myself. Boo! Perhaps I will bring my lametastic, geriatric digital camera to work one day and beg my beloved coworker Honey Sweet to take my picture.

Procrastination via Warshrag

I confess: I haven't added the buttons and button band to Snit Cardigan yet. It was still too damp all day Sunday for me to work on it. In the interim, I made a hexagonal washcloth from Mason-Dixon Knitting. What fun! It was my first experience with bobbles and I enjoyed it immensely. I cast on for the slip-stitch dishcloth last night but haven't made a lot of progress on it -- which is just as well, because it's a palate-cleanser project anyway.

There has not been much time for knitting or blogging in the last few days; Mr. Fury leaves for a six-week tour tomorrow, so I've been tagging along with him on errands. I will be doing a lot of knitting in his absence ...

So Close to Completion!

I blocked Snit Cardigan last night. There was a moment of terror when I laid it out and the only think I could think was, Jeebus, that's huge! So I took off the hoodie I was wearing and laid it out for comparison, which was reassuring. I'm extremely glad I redid the first sleeve.

I still need to go obtain buttons and do the button band; I could have done it yesterday, but I wanted to block it before I placed the buttons and holes. Once that's done, I'll take some photos. I was tempted to try it on this morning, but it's still damp.

It's not perfect. But it is pretty nice, and it's definitely wearable ... and man, did I learn a lot while making it. (Especially since I read Knitting Without Tears while working on it.) It's like a key turned in my brain somewhere and all of a sudden, I have ideas.

I'm not sure what I'm doing next, although I'm thinking of a lace cowl with the Kid Classic salvaged from the evil-one-skein-shrug-pattern-that-wasn't. Mr. Fury is leaving for tour on Wednesday, so I will need many things to fill my time for the weeks he's gone.

Try, Try Again

Last night I made it halfway through the second sleeve for Snit Raglan and hopefully will finish it tonight … alas, it’s one step forward and two steps back. The decreases on the first sleeve look so bad in comparison to the ones on the second sleeve, it will drive me insane if I don’t frog the first one and reknit it. I’d rather take two extra evenings to do it right than to have a garment that bugs me forever. At least I was able to see where I went wrong on the first one and correct it the second time around. On the first one, I tried to do the decreases every inch, but I kept losing track and they weren’t evenly spaced down the arm. So now I’m just decreasing at the beginning and end of every sixth round and it’s working out much better.

I haven’t decided if I am going to attempt a zipper or do buttons. I’d prefer a zipper, but I’d have to hand-sew it. Meh. I will contemplate that this weekend, as I doubt I will finish the sleeve-and-a-half and the neck ribbing before then.

My birfday is coming up (March 25). Mr. Fury offered me a choice: either get the usual presents, or take a long weekend in Las Vegas when he gets home from his next tour. I chose the latter, natch. The first time I went to Vegas, I got married and got to meet Penn & Teller. The second time I went to Vegas, I taught myself to crochet and got lost in Ceasar’s Palace. Let’s hope my third trip will be just as eventful as the previous two.

Wind(er) Beneath My Wings

Thank you, everyone, for having faith that I am indeed knitting a sweater. ;-) I finished the first sleeve Sunday evening. Last night I didn't knit at all; I wove in ends and added a single-crochet edging to the v-neck to unroll it a bit. Then there was the kerfuffle over the ball winder.

Yesterday my ball winder was delivered ... to another condo in our complex. I am not sure how the address was wrong, but when I called UPS they told me that it was delivered about 10 doors down from me. Nobody was home at the other condo and the package wasn't there. I wanted to sit on their patio and wait, but chose the saner solution of leaving them a note instead. When Mr. Fury and I arrived home from running errands, the package was sitting happily on our back patio. Hooray, neighbor-I-don't-know! You rule! (Actually, I might have met this neighbor over the summer when two of the ferrets escaped. I met many neighbors while conducting an extensive grounds search.) (Both ferrets were recovered, incidentally.)

Anyway, the ball winder and the swift-o-love are both fantastic and fill me with joy. Which is good, because I'm experiencing SSS -- second sleeve syndrome. I'm having trouble getting motivated to start the second sleeve, but it's gotta be done ... although I did wear it around for awhile on Sunday with just the one sleeve.

More Snit Cardigan

Not much knitting got done yesterday ... I went downtown to see an outdoor showing of two 1970s horror movies (Torso and Zombi) hosted by Robert Rodriguez, complete with grindhouse trailers in between. Mr. Fury's friends from Slightly Stoopid are in town recording, so we dropped by the studio then dragged them to Opal Divine's for some drinks after I got home from the movies.

I should finish the first sleeve of Snit Raglan tonight. Today I made good progress on it while watching the first season of The Office. The decreases under the arm are funky and weird, but I knew going into this that it was a learning experience sweater. I love it despite its many imperfections. At least it's going to be wearable. :-)

Lesson learned: um, get better at making sleeves. Yeah.

This picture is from yesterday -- the sleeve covers my elbow now. I post this so everyone knows I really am knitting a sweater, it's not some huge delusion on my part. :-) It does really reach around my torso, too; the edge is just curling under now because it's unfinished.

Snittiness Continues

I've finished the body of Snit Raglan and started the first sleeve. I will see if I can get Mr. Fury to take a WIP photo tomorrow of it in all its lumpy glory. It's a good thing I have faith in the power of blocking because it's looking fairly awful right now. :-)

Today there was an old thread bumped on Craftster about the Honeymoon Cami from Knitty, which got me thinking ... I had that on my mental to-knit list but never got around to it. I'm pretty sure I have four skeins of Elann Cotton Sonata kicking around somewhere -- I bought it ages ago for Soleil, which I abandoned after about two inches. Hm ...

Well, Damn

Alas, my glorious knit-at-lunch plan didn't happen. One of the other two gals in my department lost a crown and had to leave, so I didn't want to leave the other gal on her own. I did get to duck out early, hooray. So this evening is all about the Snit Raglan ... I want to finish the body, dammit! I did get to show it off to all my coworkers, who were suitably impressed.

I found out today that a very good friend of mine is in the knocked-up way, so I'm already plotting things to knit for her. She is the only person on earth that I trust to watch our ferrets while we're out of town, so you know she's special.

My ball winder should arrive Monday and Mr. Fury is working on the swift tomorrow. Whee!

KIPing

We have our monthly all-hands meeting at work today ... we have these meetings at lunchtime (because we have lunch brought in), which means I miss my gym classes. Usually I don't bother taking a lunch hour, since I've already eaten, and I can't go to the gym. But not today! I'm taking Snit Cardigan with me and walking over to a local coffee shop to sit and knit. This is one of many advantages to working downtown -- wonderful places within a few minutes' walk. So I can look forward to an hour of midday knitting with an espresso-chocolate milkshake. Rawk!

Last night Mr. Fury and I obtained items to make my swift. It isn't going to be elegant, but for about $6.50 in materials, I don't care. :-)

Joy!

I ordered a ball winder today – in my brain I’m justifying it as an anniversary-of-my-first-day-at-beloved-Day-Job present to myself. :-) Mr. Fury agreed to build me a swift. So when I start spinning and dyeing my own yarn, I will be able to wind it up into tidy little balls. Don’t you love how I plan ahead? (Really though, I needed one anyway.) I mentioned to my LYS owner last night that I want to learn how to spin in the near future; she told me that in the spring, the girls from Knitty will be visiting and might even do a spinning lesson! The prospect of spinning makes my toes curl in glee.

I’m still making progress on Snit Cardigan; only another twelve rows or so and I will have made it to my waist. Tonight I won’t be able to work on it, because I have Cheerleader practice. It’s probably overly optimistic but I’d like to have it done by this time next week – or at least the body and sleeves, if not the finishing/ribbing/closure. I’m already thinking ahead to the next cardigan … probably pink, probably Knitpicks Shine, probably with some sort of lace or other openwork. It might seem a little weird that I’m working on sweaters when we’re moving towards the crazy hot Texas spring and summer. But everything here is overly air conditioned from April through October, so I’m usually cold when I’m inside. It’s always cardigan weather when you sit near an AC vent.

February Month in Review

It only took two months before I forgot to do a Month-in-Review post. Whoops. Better late than never, eh?

In February, I completed Branching Out, the Loop-d-Loop cowl, my very own Knucks, and a Noro Silk Garden hat. I would have also finished a shrug, except the pattern was idiotic and stupid and dumb and lame. I signed up for a swap for the first time ever!! And I'm so glad I did. My giver is obviously the coolest person in the universe ;-), and I'm excited to see what my recipient thinks of her gifts!

I made good progress on my Snit Cardigan over the weekend. I'm about an inch past the part where the sleeves are slipped to holders. It fits very well so far; I'm decreasing two stitches every inch to bring it in at the waist. I love that I can try it on over and over and over as I work. Very gratifying.

Today I left work a bit early to hit the LYS. I actually didn't get anything for myself -- just things for PRGE. (Although the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk called to me, I resisted.) The woman at the shop assured me that my recipient will like the items I chose, since my recipient's tastes are different than my own.

Snit Raglan

After a few false starts on my Snit Cardigan, I made some progress yesterday night. Unfortunately, I slashed my left thumb open on a can while making dinner, so the band-aid is slowing me down a bit. I'm using the top-down raglan formula; as I started working on it, I decided to make the it a v-neck, and I'm very happy with the decision. I'm still liking the WotA -- the stitches are very smooth and even.

Today Mr. Fury is taking me to see Reno 911 Miami at my favorite movie theater, Alamo Drafthouse (I'm looking forward to hard cider, not to mention chips and queso!). Tonight I have a show, wherein I get to show off my supercute new haircut.

Since I woke up too early today and have four hours until yoga, I think I'm going to pop in a Netflix and work on the Snit Cardigan ...

PRGE is Underway!

The PRGE is my very first swap ever ... and I love it! I got my first email from my secret punk pal, and it made my day. I was grinning from ear to ear when I read it. And of course, I'm looking forward to bestowing presents on my punk-recipient. I hope she likes them!

In knitting news, my Knitpicks order arrived yesterday. The red isn't as deep as it appeared on my monitor but I like it anyway. The WotA seems comparable to Cascade 220, so it works for me.

My friend loved the Noro cap. It looks totally adorable on her. Huzzah for gift knitting!