Ms. Marigold is finished!

Pensive pose.
Leslie also said I looked emo. Har.

I love love love it! It fits perfectly, the yarn I used (Shine Sport) is comfy, and it’s cute for work (see above) or going out (see below).


Probably the karaoke bar is NOT the best place for a photo shoot.

I wore it to karaoke last night and we tried to create a photo shoot where our friend Heath was like TOTALLY overwhelmed by the coolness of my sweater, but instead we just looked insane. However, the karaoke bar in town is a stinky old dive (and I mean that in the BEST way possible), so we weren’t even the most insane-looking people there.
I did make some poor karaoke choices: Groove is in the Heart (the crowd liked it, but it’s HARD TO SING. and there’s a rap in the middle.) and Vibeology, by Paula Abdul. Some of you may be familiar with Paula Abdul’s album Spellbound, which included such hits as “Blowing Kisses in the Wind” and “Rush, Rush”. My sister and I LOVED THAT CD – it was one of our first CDs. Vibeology was NOT A HIT. But I was so excited to see it in the catalog that I sang it anyways, and it was towards the end of the night when everyone was all drunky so everybody danced around. Leslie also videoed the ridiculousness on my camera, but I think that will remain on my camera and never be shown to anyone else. Except maybe my sister.
Anyways. Sorry I don’t have a better picture of Ms. Marigold, but she is fabulous and I love her. I think I will make another very soon.
Yay.

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EDITED TO ADD: More nerding out about comments in the extended entry. Scroll down and click if you want to read…

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Hola.
I am home from Mexico, peeling slightly, and exhausted from too much fun. I’m sure you *really* feel sorry for me. I had a wonderful time – Cabo is beautiful, the weather was perfect, the resort was insanely nice, and I got a spectacularly ridiculous sunburn (just the front of my shoulders, my cleavage, and my knees, thank you very much. I don’t recommend the Coppertone Spray Sunscreen…). Highlights included a fabulous massage at the resort spa, snorkeling, singing karaoke at What’s Up! in downtown Cabo, eating lots of good food, and hanging out with the 20 or so members of Jacob’s family that were with us. (The waitress in me felt a little sorry for our servers every time we all went to a restaurant.)
I learned some Spanish, the most useful being “No more!” and “How much?” Jacob was actually really good at communicating when we went shopping, and also good at negotiating prices. I am NOT good at negotiating prices.
Here are three representative trip pictures:


The main pool at Pueblo Bonito, our resort.


YAY PATIO PARTY.


Jacob’s fans at What’s Up! karaoke.

The rest of the pictures are over here: [ Cabo Pics ] . Fun times.
I actually did very little knitting, mostly because I did more walking around and dancing around than sitting. I do have a Ms. Marigold progress pic for you:


Yes, I”m wearing Picovoli underneath. ‘Cause that’s what I wore to work today.

It’s fitting great. It needs a good blocking because it flew with me to Cabo, and obviously I have some ends to weave in, but so far, so good. Tonight will be crocheting armholes and making the cute flutter sleeves. Yep. Me likey. I like this whole “knit stuff I’ll wear” thing. It makes me happy.
Also making me happy? I washed and dried my Picovoli in the machine, and she’s super soft and not pilly. SHINE. I love it!
Did I miss anything exciting in the blogosphere while I was gone?

Continue reading →

I finished Picovoli. I look totally dorky in this picture.

Yay.
Of course I decided about 10 minutes later that I wanted it just a little bit longer. In this picture, I smoothed out the bind-off edge, but in real life it rolls, so I want it to be a little longer when the rolling action is happening. I know I could try to block out the rolling, but I actually think it looks kind of cute.


This seems to be my typical knitting technique lately: finish project. try on. take picture. undo bind off edge and knit more. JStrizzy was just talking about this the other day – I need to take my measurements and remember how long I like my tops to be so I won’t keep doing this. Although, I’ve finally reached a point where I’m not afraid of the waste yarn. I kinda like putting my projects on waste yarn and trying them on. I’m all about the wearable knits, and tops that are too short are a big factor in not wearing my knitting items.
Ya’ll, I can’t say enough about the Picovoli pattern. The shaping is simple, and flattering, and the pattern is *so* well-written. I see many of these in my future, seriously. And I love the yarn. Shineshineshine.
Um, it’s 4:49 am, but I’m so excited about all my trips that I can’t sleep. yayayayayayayay. I feel like a kid waiting for Santa Claus. yayayayayaay. I have news, anyways! Guess who I got a letter from on Wednesday?


I. Got. In.

That’s right, I’m going to grad school! I got accepted into the program I wanted – it’s a Masters in Internet Technology. I’m going to learn all about programming and databases and all that fun stuff. And the best part? I get to keep working my job that I love, and go to school at the same time. And they foot the bill. YAYAYAYAYAY! And, my twin sister Cathy is starting a grad program in the fall too! We are twinsies.
I’m really glad I got this letter before I left, so I wouldn’t be obsessing about it while on vacation. Now I can relax, enjoy the weather, and prepare for next semester when I’ll be working, going to school, and planning a wedding. Ha! and also, YAY.

P.S. Have any other Movable Type users noticed a huge increase in comment spam lately? I was getting barraged, so I installed MT-Keystrokes, and since installation, I haven’t gotten ANY spam. We shall see how it works in the long term…

I’ve been busy at work this week, getting myself ready for two upcoming trips…Trip #1 is to St. Simon’s this weekend. My band is playing a show this Saturday night at Rafter’s in St. Simon’s. I think I’ve been to St. Simon’s one other time for a Girl Scout trip, so I’m really looking forward to this. And also we haven’t had a Bling show in a while, so I’m excited to get back on stage, especially after watching the Tonys this week…made me miss doing theater!
Then, on Monday, I’m leaving to go to Los Cabos, Mexico. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee. I’ve never been to Mexico, and Cabo looks beautiful and desertous and beachy and perfect and YAY. I’m getting a week of loveliness there, and I feel super lucky, and also excited about the relaxation. And the knitting time. And the drinking by the pool while knitting something summery. And the seeing of people who I haven’t seen in a long time, including Jacob’s fabulous cousins and other assorted Pants family. It’s going to be crazy.
I wanted to have Picovoli done in time to wear it down there, which may still happen, but I kinda sorta started something else this weekend…
Here’s a peek at Ms. Marigold:

Oops. I accidentally cast on for Ms. Marigold and knit on it. A lot.

And now that I’ve seen Carrie’s finished one, I REALLY want to finish this sucker. Knitknitknit.
But then I tried on Picovoli again, and I really want to finish THAT too.


It fits! I love the waist shaping.

I got gauge for Ms. Marigold using Shine, so I’m alternating between my pink Shine and my gray Shine. Shineshineshine. Me likey.
Can I finish them both in time for Cabo? Perhaps. I’m gonna try, anyways.
In other exciting news, go tell Chelsea that she RAWKS – she completed her first triathlon on Sunday! Congratulations Chelsea, you are so inspiring!!
Also inspiring is my nephew. He is a Wonder Boy:


He’s hungry. Like, all the time.

So. Cute. He’s already grown an inch and a half – he’s going be TALL. Cool.
Ahh. So many good things.

1. You know those things on blog comments now where you have to type in a code to make sure you’re not a spammer? The code is something like: G1ko6p and it always says, “This is a final step to protect my blog from malicious robots” or whatever. I NEVER get it right the first time. And I always think, Am I a malicious robot?
2. Guess what I found? Fuzzy Foot #2, aka The Lost Fuzzy Foot. It was hiding in my office at home, behind the bulletin board that was waiting to be hung up. Grrrrrr. And hahahaha. You were all right – it was bound to show up eventually. I guess I need to make #4 now. Numbers 1 and 3 are felted and dry and ready to give to their recipient.

Fuzzy Wuzzy.
Click to see on my feet.

I really love the way these turned out. Easy and super quick.
3. I emailed one of my senators, Saxby Chambliss, to tell him to vote NO on the federal marriage amendment, and I requested a response. The email response I got back was a form email referring to a completely different issue. NICE. So I wrote him another email telling him how lame that made me feel. Like, I know that he’s not reading EVERY email, and I knew it wouldn’t be a personal response, but thanks for REALLY making me feel like my opinions don’t mean shit.
But, hahahaha to you, Ol’ Saxby, because the stupid amendment didn’t get enough votes anyways. Meaniehead.
4. I love Picovoli. I love Shine. I also love the armholes in the Picovoli pattern. One of the things I ALWAYS make too small when I do top down raglans is the armholes, and small armholes,while bad in almost any circumstance, are especially bad for me because I’m an excessive sweat-er. (At first, I typed excessive sweater and that looked funny.) Anyways, what I mean is: I SWEAT A LOT. The armholes in this top down are a little different, and they are comfy and a little stretchy. Me. Likey.


Picovoli. On Me.

YAY.
I can’t wait to finish this! And cast on for Ms. Marigold! Woooooooooooo!
Ahem.

Well, looky what I’m wearing to work today!

Finished at last!

I finished blocking Green Gable last night. I tried my hand at steam blocking with a fabric steamer – although the one I got doesn’t give me very much control of how much steam comes out or when. It just starts a-steaming. I think I’m going to take it back and stick with wet blocking in the future, but for now it’s blocked enough.



This photo shoot brought to you from the bathroom at work. I’m classy like that.



I’m wearing a little tank top underneath because I went crazy with the lace at the top, and it’s a little too much skin for work. But for going out…it’s just enough skin! woo-hoo.



The finishing on this top was a long process for me. I really wanted to make it wearable, which is my new goal with my knits, and it proved to be a challenge. Minor changes: I did some extra shaping at the waist. I added a bit of length. I left off the ribbing at the bottom and just did a normal old bind off. And, to compensate for my extra tight binding off, I did the sleeve ribbing using size 4 needles and then switched back to the 6s for the bind off. This REALLY helped my cap sleeves to be comfortable.
I’m so happy with the finished product. I really like it layered with a tank, but it looks really sassy without a shirt too.
Yay Green Gable! I actually just bought the newest Zephyr pattern yesterday – Ms. Marigold – and I’m already well into another summer knit – Picovoli, using KnitPicks Shine. I love the Shine. LOVE IT. I’m all about the summer knitting right now – it’s HOT up in this piece.