Last night was knitting night, and I finished all the knitty and crochet-y parts of the Brown Beauty. Can I get a YAY up in here?
Seeing how impatient I was to actually wear the thing, our lovely hostess, High-Energy-Jenny-from-the-Block, schooled me in her blocking process. It involves a sink, a colander, and lots of towels. Here’s the sink part of the process:

I’m a little excited.
After several gentle squeezes through the (clean) colander, we moved to the towel portion of the blocking. We laid out the Beauty on a towel, rolled it up tightly to get out excess water, and repeated. After the second towel, it was on to the final stage:


She blocks! She blocks!
(I’m dancing around like Ricky Martin RIGHT NOW.)

I’m so excited. I’m hoping for a few chilly evenings so I can throw this sweater on over a tank top. Almost finished!
Knitting night was a good time as usual, although someone needs to tell this girl that she shouldn’t drink wine and knit a multidirectional scarf at the same time. Although, maybe we all should take that whole don’t-knit-while-you’re-drinking thing a bit more seriously – there was a near disaster last night with a laptop, a glass of wine, and a sweater. But no worries – nothing was ruined. Permanently, anyways.
It’s a rainy, yucky day here, and I’m having kind of a crappy day at work. But luckily my schmoo just called and said he wants to have lunch, so I’m going to take him up on that and hopefully get cheered up. Here’s hoping all of you have lots of sunshine today.
***Happy Birthday to my Teamy JoAnna up in NY! We miss you!***

See extended entry for my TV meme answers…

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So, the weather on Saturday was … blissful. Beautiful. Don’t hate me, friends in the North, but it was 80 degrees and perfectly sunny. And breezy. Clearly, when the weather is THIS nice, you gotta take the knitting outside. Even if that means finishing a wool blend sweater while you’re wearing shorts and a bikini top.

All the knitting essentials.

As you can see in the picture, we have all the necessary items for an outdoor finishing party.
1. Sunscreen (SPF 30, thank you very much)
2.my tackle box full of supplies like yarn needles and pins and markers
3.a pitcher of ice water – which you may not be able to see as it is slightly hidden by…
4. My ice cold Warsteiner. Mmm, beer.
And, there’s 5. the Brown Beauty herself, all pinned out and ready for seaming. In this particular shot, her sides seams are done and I’m moving towards the sleeves. (Currently, I’ve got the whole thing seamed up and I’m just finishing the crochet touches. Treble crochet = fun times. SO CLOSE TO FINISHED, I CAN TASTE IT.)
You can also add in a great friend or two … (although Anne Marie might look nekkid in that picture, I promise she is decently clothed. And also , she’s really happy about the weather too.) Me and AM and Alison sat out there for like 3 hours while Jacob built a rock garden in the front yard, complete with platforms for our bonsais and other potted plants. He’s a schmoo, that one. A handy schmoo.
Ooh! and I felted the buttonhole bag at AM’s on Friday night, and it’s super cute! Someone left a comment about white Lamb’s Pride not felting and you were right about that…but it actually worked out okay.


Felted goodness, indeed.
(That’s Alison behind the bag.)
The purple felted nicely, so the not-as-feltedness of the top part look intentional, and pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Yay for the buttonhole bag! I was going to give it away….but I couldn’t. That’s happening to me a lot lately. *blush*
So, what a lovely weekend! Sure, there were tornado watches and torrential downpours on Easter Sunday, but we won’t talk about that. Let’s just focus on Saturday and the sunny and the good times. Oh yeah.
I hope everyone who celebrates Easter had a wonderful day and got to see family — I did, and it was lovely! Mwah!

I’m getting so close to finishing the last piece of the Brown Phildar sweater, which of course means that I will procrastinate and find other things to knit instead. I’m not sure why I do this, but here’s the evidence:

Procrastination Bag.

In a fit of procrastination inspiration, I decided that a skein of Lamb’s Pride Bulky needed to become a Buttonhole Bag (fabulous pattern available at Mason Dixon Knitting). I started and finished this little guy on Monday, through several episodes of Law and Order and, then Mean Girls. I used a skein of the Bulky (that’s the purple part) and the top part is one strand of cream Bulky and one strand of Lion Brand Landscapes. The top part may turn out ugly — we shall see after I felt it. But this pattern is cute and fun and super fast.
But I realized last night that I must focus on the Phildar, because I really want to wear the Brown Sweater! So, Tuesday night being my favorite TV night EVER (American Idol, and House, and Law and Order SVU, hel-LO?!?!?), I got comfortable on the couch to knit knit knit knit. I also used my laundry hamper as a yarn holder while I wound a center pull skein:


This hamper is multitasking.
But dammit, SVU was a rerun! What is the world coming to? Luckily my Netflix had just come so I put in Alias. I’m watching the first season for the first time and I love this show so much. And I discovered last night that it’s the BEST KNITTING TV EVER, because I get really into it and nervous for Sydney, and I’m on the edge of my seat, and then I look down and I’ve knitted like 35 rows of stockinette stitch. I think I knit faster when I’m nervous.
So, I’m predicting at least a completed front by the weekend. Maybe I’ll sew the thing up too. Or perhaps I’ll knit four more buttonhole bags and totally put off finishing the sweater. So many choices.

The Flower Basket Shawl is no more. I finished about 55 rows and realized that I couldn’t just keep adding stitches here and k2tog there to make up for my mistakes, and I ripped out the whole thing. *Sigh*. I do still plan on making this shawl, but next time I will use more markers and perhaps a yarn that isn’t quite so furry and delicious. A yarn for this project should be delicate and delicious, I think.
So, in place of the Shawl (which I was making for a friend) I decided to whip up a Multi Directional Scarf (pattern here) in some beautiful Silk Kureyon that a sweet friend gave me. Dude. Have you made this pattern? It’s a really nice way to showcase a beautiful variegated yarn, and it’s also quick and fun. So fun, in fact, that it inspired a rather slap happy photo session at High Energy Jenny’s this afternoon. Proof:

The Finished Scarf.


So that’s enough pictures, right? Um, NO. (But you try resisting an outside photo shoot when it’s 70 degrees and you just dyed your hair a new color!!)
The one where Anne Marie shows how the scarf can be a brooch.
The one where Jenny takes my picture for a magazine spread.
The one where Jenny told me to look snooty.
The one for my finished gallery.
And of course we could have kept going, but but my memory card was filling up. I did manage to get a shot of the back and sleeves of the Brown Phildar Sweater:


Three out of four pieces ain’t bad.

So I’m trucking away on the front…I cannot WAIT to wear this sweater. So, so excited.
Okay. Gotta go see what’s for dinner and find some good TV for knitting.

I am a bad schmoo. I am still up at midnight, even though I need to get my sorry ass to work on time tomorrow. D’oh. But I just returned from a super fun knitting night, which means I’m wired and I have knitting on my mind, so I’m a-blogging. Hi there!
Here are some things that I learned at tonight’s exciting knitfest:
1. Thirty cent burritos from Kroger taste DELICIOUS after working out.
2. Marcel (Anne Marie’s visiting doggy) can fart louder than I can. (and that’s an accomplishment. )
3. I suck at knitting lace. High Energy Jenny does not suck at fixing lace.
4. Anne Marie and Jenny will always have an old fashioned piano party with me (this consists of me playing rock classics on the piano while we all sing at the top of our lungs. We so did this tonight, SO FUN.)
I learned so much tonight! I also ate a lot of cookies and drank many glasses of red wine, which also might explain why I’m blogging right now. Hee.
So, I forgot my camera at knitting night, but I have it right now, and I’m currently snapping some pics.

hi there.
That’s me, right now. Now here’s my most recent completed project:


A neckwarmer for a cold-necked friend.
And here’s my most recently cast on project:


Yummy softness.

That’s actually a super close up of the yarn — I wanted you to see how dang soft it is (and when it’s an angora-silk-wool blend, it’s soft. Oh yeah.) I tried to get a non-blurry shot of the whole thing but this (click!) was the best I could do. It’s the Flower Basket Shawl from IK Fall 2004…I cast on last night in a fit of excitement after getting the idea from FreckleGirl, and now I want to knit it all. the. time.
I’m still working on the Brown Phildar – two sleeves and a back down, just a front to go! I cannot WAIT to finish this sweater, especially since our 80 degree weather has disappeared and turned into rainy cold. YUCK. I think I left the sleeves at Anne Marie’s tonight but I will retrieve them this weekend.
So. I guess I should scurry off to bed, and get the boy and the schmoos tucked in as well. Just wanted to squeeze in a posty post.

Hello! Last week was busy busy busy, and I have a feeling this week is going to be nice and relaxed because it’s Spring Break at the university! YAY. Of course, I’m not a student so no Spring Break for me…but I’m hopefully planning a trip in a few weeks to make up for that (Panama City 2K5!! Woo-hoo!)
So. I knitted my hands off this weekend, again, because I want to finish this Phildar sweater so badly. It’s starting to warm up here, and while I’m VERY excited about that, I need a few more chilly days so I can wear this sweater. I have no progress picture, because big pieces of stockinette stitch in brown (no matter how lovely that brown may be) are a little boring. But I am up to the decreases on the sleeves! I worked on them last night in front of the Stepford Wives (okay, is there something wrong with me? I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Is this a sign of my horribly bad taste?)
We also had knitting night this week and there was wine, donuts and fun to be had. Here’s MJ, Stephanie and Jenny looking relaxed and happy!

Are they happy? Or drunk on sugar?
And here’s Anne Marie, focusing intently on her second sock:


My heel turn will be perfect, dammit!

We laughed, we knitted, we even watched a little bit of the Contender on TV. (Have you SEEN the Contender? Usually I’m not all about boxing, but this show sucks you in. Jacob and I were yelling at the TV last night, rooting for this dude to win the fight. AWESOME.)
Inspired by HEJ and her ongoing efforts to make her blog even more fabulous, I decided to update my finished gallery and actually put in some finished stuff from 2005. You can look here to see what’s in there. I’m still working on the format, but at least I updated the stuff in there. Woot.
Other weekend highlights included yummy Cuban food (edited to add: Apparently it’s not Cuban, but it was yummy) with friends, talking to my teamy JoAnna and going to Sam’s Club with Jacob. And oh, the weather! 80 degrees, baby! Is it Friday yet?

So, so much knitting. I have 12 projects going on at once. (Someone I know might think I’m knitting so much to keep my mind off other things, but I prefer to think that I am a GREAT multi-tasker.) I’m still working diligently on my Brown Bell Phildar sweater. Here’s what it looks like in the Phildar mag:

Pretty sweater!

And here’s what mine looks like so far:


Boring Brown Back.
(Click to see Boring Sleeves,which I’m knitting at the same time.)
Mine’s going to be all brown, in case you were wondering. I really like the shape of this sweater, but I’m not so into the stripeyness, so I’m making a solid version. Methinks it will still be cute, argh!
In the why-did-I-volunteer-that category, we have a hat and scarf set that I hand-knitted for a work function last week. Since I work for a university, it’s in school colors, and I used some chunky Wool Ease and big old needles for a fast and easy finish. Here’s proof:


Don’t I look excited about mandated fun at work? Woot!
The work event, which I assisted in planning, also included delicious food and karaoke. Yes, it was my karaoke machine. And yes, they made me sing. Twice. (Gloria, and Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt.) Why is it scary to get up in front of your co-workers and sing in the middle of the day? (I’m thinking lack of alcohol may have played a part. Call me crazy.)
[NON KNITTING CONTENT]
In other crazy non-knitting news, here’s what me and Alison were doing this morning at 7:30 am :

It’s a peaceful demonstration.
(P.S. My sis Cathy made the sign on the left, and I made the one on the right. GO TEAM!)

There’s a student at a sort of nearby high school who wants to start a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at her school (a group to promote tolerance and understanding for gay teens). The high school and the surrounding community, for the most part, aren’t really okay with that. And, it turns out, a really hateful group (I won’t link because the website name is so offensive, but it’s Fred Phelps) came all the way from Kansas(!) to protest the GSA this morning. So, some of us from Athens and Gainesville went up to the school to peacefully provide an alternate view of the whole situation, and to show our support for the students.
It was really crazy – we didn’t chant or yell, we just sang and stood there with our signs and ignored the crazy hateful protesters with their really, really hateful signs. There were actually more police officers and news cameras than protesters. It was fun and sad and nerve-wracking all at the same time. But I’m glad we went – the kids who are going through this need all the encouragement they can get!
So that’s the end of my message of love and tolerance for today. Hope you don’t mind the brief knitting interruption…
[END NON KNITTING CONTENT]
ooh! ooh! I also worked on a neckwarmer for a certain someone who lives up North (you know who you are) and I’m almost done! YAY!

So. This weekend was busy with activity and busy with knitting. On Saturday, Jacob and I went to his friend’s wedding to be partially wedding guests but mostly to be the wedding photographers. (Jacob actually introduced me to some friend as his “photography assistant” and I was like, “And also I’m his girlfriend…”) This is what Jacob looks like when he is in photographer mode:

Excuse me, ma’am, can I take your picture?
Can you stand it? He’s so cute. Anyways, I got to run around with a camera bag and assist Jacob when his batteries ran dead or he needed another lens (Bring me the wide angle! STAT!), but I also got to drink and eat steak and hang out with a bunch of people I’d never met. It was actually really fun! The wedding was very small and intimate – about 50 people – and they got married in the main room of an art gallery in front of an arch window. It was really unusual! And of course Jacob got harassed about our marital status (someone said “What are you afraid of???” Hee hee.) but what else is new?
Here we are at dinner, being classy:


What? There’s free food up in this joint?
A good time was had by all.
Oh, and the knitting content! I’m still working on the back of my Phildar sweater, almost done. Yep. I’m hoping to get started on the front this week.
I also knitted up a quick gift for JoAnna since she will be battling the COLD in New York very soon – a neck warmer from Vogue Knitting’s k.1 !!
Here’s Joanna modeling her new collar:


So fashionable. SO New York.**
It looked perfect with her camel colored coat. This neck warmer is so fast and easy to knit, and has a pretty crochet edge. Here’s another view of it: clicky click! I’m definitely making a few more of these because I like them, but also because I have oodles of Lion Brand Kool Wool in bizarre colors that I can use… (purchased for a dollar a skein from the clearance bin at Hancock Fabrics)
Okay, I promise pics of sweater-in-progress AND pics of what sweater I’m knitting soon. This week. Yep.
**If Jay from Project Runway needs me to knit some of these for his models, I’m available. For a small fee, of course.