Lazy Sunday

I finished the Honeymoon Cami last night ... it is drying at the moment. So far it looks like the blocking will even out the stitches somewhat, but I'm still not sure if it's a keeper. The v-neck is too plunging for me, which is certainly saying something; if you can see my entire chest tattoo and then some space underneath, the v is too deep! I'll stitch it up by a few rows if I keep it. I didn't weave in the ends yet, since that would make it hard to frog; there are a million ends, because every skein seemed to have half a dozen knots in it.

Today I've been working on my fourth Mason-Dixon warshrag. Of the three I've made, one went to my PRGE pal and one is at my office (so I can dry my tea infuser and coffee thermos). That means I only have one at home, which is definitely not sufficient for my knitted-dishrag needs. This one is a weird white-pink-purple variegated yarn, and I'm using the hexagonal pattern. I need to knock off the cotton for a while, my index fingers are starting to peel. Ew.

Next up will be some more stash-busting ... maybe my long-delayed Broadripple socks, maybe the cell phone cozy I promised my friend (but that's a teeny project). I'm taking two trips in late May/early June, so I will need a good project for airplane knitting. Various items from Fitted Knits are calling to me.

I'm also scouting out some good baby projects for my various knocked-up friends. Both of them are due late fall, so cool-weather items will be good. I will be asking all you mamas out there for suggestions. ;-)

Finally Some Progress

I finally got some work done on the Honeymoon Cami last night ... it really shouldn't be taking this long, but I guess I haven't been working very diligently on it. I'm almost through the first of the "quarters." Honestly, I'm not totally crazy about this project. I don't like the increase and decrease methods given, and the twisted eyelet rib is sort of dull. I'm tempted to make another one using my preferred inc/dec and a different lace. We'll see how it turns out. Hell, there's always a chance I'll frog the entire thing! :-)

Last night I made the second and third appointments for my chestpiece. Very exciting ... the next one is this Wednesday, then the third one is two weeks later. Now that the worst part (sternum) is over, I'm ready to finish it.

Now I'm going to have some iced coffee and watch a bad horror movie while knitting, before I tackle the other stuff I need to do today ...

Totally Not Knitting-Related

My always-fabulous coworker Honey Sweet brought her camera just so she could take tattoo pictures for me. Hooray, Honey Sweet!

It's still raw, so of course it will look better in a few days (gotta love those little red blood spots on it!). My original plan was to do a session each month, but now I'm hoping to get the remaining two sections done in May. If my artist has the time, then there's no problem.

Also, because I don't think I ever explained why I'm getting this tattoo: it's an adaptation of this urban legend.

Today I found out that another friend of mine is pregnant ... that means more tiny tiny knitting!! It's actually my friend who wrote the kanji for my tattoo. :-)

Inked

I haven't made much progress on the Honeymoon Cami at all. It just doesn't hold my interest very well ... which is unusual, because I can normally dig a straight section of stockinette.

I had my chest tattoo session today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, although I'm glad I don't ever have to get my sternum done again. :-) Most of the remaining two panels will be on my pectorals, so they will be much easier than the needle-on-bone I did today. It's really gross and oozing right now. Hopefully tomorrow it will be decent enough for me to have a picture taken.

Catching Up

I had a very nice visit with Mr. Fury on Wednesday. I hadn't seen the newest incarnation of his MC act with the Jager tour, so it was especially fun.

Last night was the only night that the Knitty girls were doing a free event at my LYS, and I missed it. :-( But I was doing a big favor for a close friend, so I know I made the right choice.

In random news ... apparently there is a book called Keep Austin Weird that features a big ol' picture of me (for the Satan's Cheerleaders blurb). Not quite as exciting as my modeling for Naughty Needles, but entertaining nonetheless.

Today I celebrated my newfound recovery by pulling a double at the gym -- weights class and then yoga. This afternoon there will be errands and then hopefully I can finish the bust shaping on the Honeymoon Cami. I'm finally going to see Grindhouse tonight. Quentin Tarantino put a special thanks to us in the closing credits (did I tell that story? I think I did).

Recovery

I am much improved today! I ended up taking yesterday off, too ... I am very, very, very lucky to work for a company that encourages us to stay home and recuperate when we're sick (or even when we need a mental health day!). I didn't do much knitting, but did make it partway through the waist decreases for the Honeymoon Cami. I like the way it's coming together so far, but I'm not crazy about the decreases she used. If I ever make another, I'll use my own decreases. The twisted-rib eyelet border is also not super special-looking ... maybe if I do it again I'll sub a lace border. The Elann Sonata is looking very nice.

Tomorrow I am heading to San Antonio to see Mr. Fury. I usually take knitting with me when I see him on tour, because he gets called off to work throughout the day.

In other news ... one week from today, I will be starting my chest tattoo! We are doing the center first, then doing each of the side pieces in separate sessions. I'm sort of nervous, because I have a bony chest and everyone is telling me how much it's going to hurt. But my artist is fast and as light-handed as can be, and the work will totally be worth it. Besides, people told me that my shin would suck royally, and it wasn't so bad.

Sick Puppy

Thank you for all the nice comments on my FO post below! I meant to reply sooner, but I have been sick. It started creeping up on me Wednesday, and by Thursday I was practically falling asleep at my desk and my throat hurt like crazy. Friday morning, every muscle in my body ached and I had a fever. I called in sick and then slept for the entire day, most of the evening, and the entire night. Saturday I was able to wake up for most of the afternoon and evening -- small victory.

I still feel pretty lousy, so today my focus is getting lots and lots of fluids. I neglected that yesterday, because I was more concerned about getting some calories in (I lose weight fast when I'm sick, and it makes things worse).

Today I think I'm clear-headed enough to do a bit of work on the Honeymoon Cami. I cast on last night, but trying to do those twisted stitches was more than I could handle. :-)

Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug!

Not bad for a week's work ... especially considering how little knitting time there was in that week!

Pattern: Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug
Source: Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: Cascade 220, one hank navy, one hank sky blue
Size: smallest

I love this shrug! So cute, so easy, so quick.

Alpaca

Totally random ... I asked a coworker a work-related question and happened to mention that the clients in question have a llama farm. He replied that his mom owns an alpaca farm! How cool is that? When I learn to spin, I'm totally going to order some roving from her.

Yarn and Ink

I finished the knitting on the two-tone ribbed shrug and just have to finish weaving in the ends. Tomorrow is still going to be very chilly, but it should be warm enough on Tuesday for me to debut it. (I don't want to wear it over a long-sleeved shirt.)

While doing something completely random I found the missing fifth skein of Elann Endless Summer Sonata that I ordered a million years ago for Soleil. Now I'm sure I have enough to make the honeymoon cami, so I'm officially declaring that my next project. Stash-busting is a good thing, especially because ...

At our show last night I talked to my tattoo artist about a chestpiece I want done. I've been toying with an idea for my lower back for years, but last week it occurred to me that the piece would work well on my chest. This means that knitting money is being converted to tattoo money for a little while ... it's going to be hard to miss the classes that the Knitty ladies will be doing at my LYS, but I can still go to any free events they have. This is just too good of a time to get the work done -- the band is going on tour, so I have a few weeks off with no shows.

Photo shoot today ... where did my weekend go? It's not until four, so I have a few hours to get decent before then.

Cold!

Austin is in the midst of a freaky cold snap. I don't remember it ever being this cold in April, and I've lived here my entire life! Today I woke up to rainy 38 degree weather ... whoa. Nice to know I'll get a bit more mileage out of my winter knits this weekened. (It will be 80 degrees again in a week. :-)

There are errands I need to get done today but I'm having a lot of trouble with motivation. I didn't get back into town until seven this morning, so even after sleeping until 1 this afternoon, I'm still a little out of it. (Coffee is brewing as I type.) I am promising myself a giant burrito and some knitting time after I've gotten through everything I have to do.

I have 9 rows left on the body ribbing for the two-tone shrug, so I should finish it this weekend. It would've been a much faster knit, had I not had such a busy week. It's turning out very well and I can't wait to wear it.

No Longer a Sucker!

I heard from several friends that the dwarf was very rude and snotty to many people last week. Which I can believe -- I thought he was just a particularly obnoxious drunk, but it turns out he's a jerk. So no knitted hat for him! Jerks get no hats.

Last night I did agree to knit a replacement cell phone cozy for a friend, in exchange for some buttons she makes. I made her a cozy years ago and she's used it ever since. :-) This was the first one:

I still have the rest of that skein in my stash to make another one!

A friend gave me Knitting Over the Edge as a late birthday present. And I have a $50 Borders gift certificate from Mr. Fury's folks. I am a little baffled as to what to get next, since I've gotten so many knitting books recently ... maybe, just maybe, it's time to get a non-knitting-related book. Do they still write books about things other than knitting?

Seams 'n' Things

Both sleeves on the two-tone shrug are knitted and seamed. The seams are pretty freaking perfect in the stockinette section, and passable in the ribbing section. I picked up the stitches for the ribbed collar and have done about five rounds. So far it is looking nice -- I'm loving the deep sky blue I used for the body. The ribbing is a dark, dark navy; it almost looks black, which is fine with with me.

I haven't gotten much done tonight and probably won't make much progress until this time next week ... I have practice on Tuesday, a movie date on Wednesday, more practice on Thursday, an out-of-town show on Friday, an in-town show on Saturday, and a photo shoot on Sunday. Whew.

While visiting my mom yesterday, she gave me some belated birthday presents, including Knitter's Almanac. Scarf Style and Knitter's Workshop are still en route.

March Month in Review

I got so busy with flashing my stash, I forgot that I originally intended to do my March month in review post. Whoops.

I was not very productive in March, if you go by total projects completed. But it was a very successful month because I started and completed my very first sweater, the Snit Raglan. I also made three warshrags, which are enormously gratifying for something so small. In March I also started my first swap, the PRGE. What fun! I love my spoilee and my punk pank rocks.

Last night I cast on for the two-tone shrug from Fitted Knits, and made it through the body and one sleeve. It's been a long time since I have had to seam anything ... I will have a reference book open in front of me the whole time.

Stash-Flashin'

I don't participate on the Knitty boards, but I thought I'd get into the spirit and flash my stash along with everyone else. Of course, I am cheating, because I got rid of a big bag of yarn today. Mine would probably fit reasonably into one of those big plastic tubs at this point, and I'm glad. I feel better to have gotten rid of the stuff I'll never use. I prefer knitting with my yarn and using knitted items to keeping yarn in a closet. :-)

I have made a more or less accurate list of what I have kicking around. The photos don't show everything, and there may be something visible in the photo that I missed on the list. But it's a good start.

Complete skeins (some not visible in the photos):

• Knitpicks Sierra: black, 2 hanks (220 yards)
• Knitpicks Sierra: pink, 2 hanks (220 yards)
• Knitpicks Wool of the Andes: cranberry, 3+ skeins (330+ yards)
• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino: wine, 1 skein (100 yards)
• Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk: light blue, 2 skeins (144 yards)
• Lion Cotton: dark blue, 2 skeins
• Rowan Kid Classic: pale gray-blue, 1 skein
• Berroco Glace: red, 1+ skeins (75 yards)
• Elann Cotton Sonata: light blue, about 4 skeins?

• Cascade Fixation: red, 3+ balls
• Illusion Ranch Alpaca: pink, 350 yards
• Moda Dea (something glittery): black, 2 balls
• Lion Brand Fun Fur: pink, 2 skeins

Partial skeins:

• Sugar 'n' Crème: pink and white
• Sugar 'n' Crème: blue and white
• Peaches 'n' Crème: light blue
• Peaches 'n' Crème: light green
• Peaches 'n' Crème: green and white
• Rowan Felted Tweed: green
• Patons Classic Merino: pink
• Patons Classic Merino: blue and white
• Brown Sheep Bulky: deep green
• Brown Sheep Bulky: brown
• Brown Sheep Naturespun: green
• Brown Sheep Naturespun: black
• Berroco: hot pink
• Berroco: bubblegum pink
• Rowan Kidsilk Haze: teal
• Cascade 220: purple
• Cascade 220: bright green
• Cascade 220: black
• Cascade 220: red
• Something shiny and red from Berroco
• Patons SWS: Natural Denim

• Some sort of sport-weight red acrylic