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April 29, 2005
Blackmail
Last weekend when we were visting the parentals, Ethan inexplicably came running out of the house bare bean buck naked. I figure this photo will be used either by his parents to keep him in line during his teens, or by Ethan himself when he runs for office as a sort of "I was born a poor black butt white child" human interest story.
Anyway, I'm the auntie and I get to post this on the Internets.
April 28, 2005
I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can
I got my order of yarn from Webs today. Yum yum yum. I got a couple of balls of the ever-popular (around here, anyway) Lana Grossa 127 Print, one in a lovely watermelon-pink and the other in a juicy tangeriney color. I also got some Blue Sky Organic Cotton and some Artyarns Supermerino. Since I'm so in love with their Ultramerino, I thought I'd try this, since it's superwash. I got color 104, and the picture on Webs' site doesn't even come close to doing it justice.
I've been making plain 'ol socks from a super easy pattern in Weekend Knitting, which I like because it calls for worsted-weight yarn on US6 and US7 needles. I got the Blue Sky cotton in the hopes of making Rob a pair of socks (He apparently hates wool. He claims that Artyarns Ultramerino is "scratchy". Clearly is a "lunatic"), but I'm not sure it'll work for this. It's on the chubby side of worsted. But I'll give it a try. Of course, I must use the Supermerino first. It's laying on the table shrieking "Knit me! Knit me! Hurry up and finish that sock you're working on! Knit me ! Now!" Really, it's deafening.
Backyard Leaves has seven pattern repeats completed, if anybody cares.
Posted by Kate at 8:08 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBackApril 26, 2005
dilemmae
Okay, so I'm getting ready to go to see the Mouse. I've got some unsolved problems.
1. what to wear. I tend to suffer from chubby girl thigh chafe. I can't wear skirts without serious thigh coverage underneath. Lycra bike shorts are best, tights suck. I could just go ahead and wear jeans, but I get kinda hot in them. Also, all of my jeans look much better with heels.
1.5 blister prevention. I ALWAYS get blisters at Disneyland. One trick is to change shoes halfway through the day. I'll have to see how far away my hotel is. The leading shoe contenders are my new brown Clarks Mary Janes, my crappy paint-covered Doc Marten Mary Janes, and my saddle shoes. Also in consideration are my old Aerosoles heels.
2. travel route. I could take 101 to Hollister and then across to Los Banos and onto I-5. I could also go out to Stockton and then down that way. Google maps, Disneyland.com and Yahoo! maps all suggest the first option. Mapquest likes the second, which is ten miles longer. Interestingly, there's a fairly significant disparity in estimated trip time. The route suggested by Mapquest is just under 6 hours. For the other route (and the directions are identical) Yahoo! maps says 6 hours, Google maps says 5 1/2, and Disney says 6 1/2! I guess Disney figures you have a lot of kids and are going to stop a lot and Google figures you're a hipster in a fast car.
3. most important - what am I taking with me to knit at the park? It needs to be small and simple. I was thinking socks might be nice, but I really do have to concentrate when it comes to heels and toes, and all those DPNs are just asking to get lost. I can make a hat in my sleep, but again with the DPNs. I'll probably wind up with a scarf of some kind. Maybe another Misty Garden? That was a super easy pattern to memorize. I was planning on making another, but I was going to use my Alchemy Promise mohair. There's no way in hell I'm using that. It fuses like crazy and I don't want something that will be hard to tink if I have to. I have 200 meters of Noro Lily Multi that I've been dying to use. What could I make with that?
Whatever it is, it has to be happy, since it's for the Down With Mr. X KAL. Any suggestions, gentle readers?
Posted by Kate at 2:56 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBackApril 24, 2005
bring outcher dead
We're having spring cleaning at Chez Christ today. I'm taking a coffee break.
As I'm posting this, I'm wearing my old red cableknit Gap sweater. I thought I'd put it on one last time before I tossed it. I used to wear it all the time. One day I was coming downstairs (this is when I lived in The House of Comfortable Shoes) with a bowl of nice hot oatmeal and I tripped on the stairs and went tumbling down, oatmeal and all. I learned two things about nice hot oatmeal that day. The first is that it causes serious pain when it makes contact with your skin. The second is that it is very, very difficult to get out of thick cableknit sweaters.
There's a bunch of stuff that's going in the garbage pile, namely my entire wardrobe from 1990-1998. There is no good reason to keep hanging onto this stuff, but it hurts to throw it out. Like the little size six (size six! I can't believe I was ever that small) cream-colored eyelet dress that I wore to my bridal shower (the one with my family at the Four Seasons, not the one with my girlfriends at the Queen Mary Teahouse where Britta and I got into a scone fight). And the black taffeta skirt I bought to wear on my very first blindish internet date (on which I wound up having good fantastic sex for the first time). And my denim Minnie Mouse jumper which I used to wear constantly until I was mistaken for a pregnant woman in it - twice.
Okay, coffee's done, back to disposing of my 20's.
Posted by Kate at 12:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBackApril 22, 2005
Tomorrow (well, Today) Will Be Another Day
Okay, I don't want to woof myself, but I think my mysterious stitch count problem has been solved. On row five, there's a yarnover right before a purl stitch. That doesn't create a hole if you yarnover in the front then purl. So I decided to purl with the yarn in back. It was a backwards yarnover. Was that the right thing to do? It made my stitch count work out, so I guess so. Also, who knew that putting in a stitch marker in a seemingly random place would make it easier to work the pattern? Also, huge thanks to Kathy for the "p1, k1 in same st" advice. That was way helpful.
Now I'm on row 14 and I can see the leaves (of the backyard variety) taking shape. Of course, I just noticed that about five rows back I did a row of purling where I should have knitted (or the other way around). Part of me thinks "this is going to be the part of the scarf where it will rest against the back of your neck and nobody will ever, ever see it. Just keep working." The obsessive-compulsive part of me is shrieking "Are you kidding? If you ever finish this thing, that mistake is going to leap out at you every time you look at the scarf and you'll be really crabby. You're only 14 rows in and you figured out the problem."
I will have some more coffee and think about this for a minute.
Posted by Kate at 11:29 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBackApril 21, 2005
still life with incorrect stitch count
Not that I can really see that far
but ten feet away from me on the floor are some items
a beautiful ball of pale pink merino
attatched to a US7 needle
with some mistake-riddled knitting on it
the other needle is there too
along with a wadded-up photocopy of a pattern
and the book it came from
am now having drinkie
Posted by Kate at 8:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackGhost of Hangovers Past
Yeah, these photos were taken in October 2001. I just got around to scanning them today. So sue me. I'm still recovering from the hangover.
Oddly enough, the morning after this event, we went to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", and I got on and almost got to the grand prize round even though I was still feeling really drunk and surly. I was probably the snarkiest contestant they'd ever had. The host didn't know what to do with me.
That was a really good trip to Disneyland. It's nuts that we all haven't been since then.
Posted by Kate at 3:02 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBackApril 20, 2005
Jonesin' For Pixie Dust
One of the (myriad) problems of being me is that sometimes when I get an idea into my head it gets stuck real bad and if it doesn't get resolved to my satisfaction I just go apeshit.
Well, two days ago I decided that I NEED to be at Disneyland on the 5th of May. Every time I see the commercial (not that I watch commercials) where the little doggies are going through the castle gates and they're playing "So This Is Love", I burst into tears. This is a really bad sign. I gotta be there.
I don't care that it's a five hour drive or that I'll have to stay at one of the cheeseball off-campus hotels. It's going to be packed with die-hards - an absolute zoo, but I don't care. I'm going, and that's all there is to it.
Posted by Kate at 1:06 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBackApril 19, 2005
unraveling
I felt like I had too many knitting projects going at once, so I decided to do something about it.
1. Branching Out was finished in the car yesterday and given to my mom as a birthday present.
2. I finished the doggie thing for Troy. I wove in the ends but didn't trim them in case it doesn't fit the doggie and I need to fix it.
3. Kate Gilbert's Shining Star hat is finito. I think she thinks I have a really long head. I only did four of the final pattern repeats (before the cuff), and it's still really long. Maybe it'll be better when it's blocked. But dang, I'm pretty proud of it.
Then I was like "crap, I don't have anything to knit."
4. I had this moment of "Well, if Kathy can have such a resounding success with her VPC, the LEAST I can try is at least the Shapely Tank." Yeah, well, it isn't going very well. (I don't know what I was thinking, she's a much better knitter than I am.) One side of the short-rowed front is a freaking vision to behold that makes me swoon, and the other is, um, a little holey. If I wasn't such a control freak, I'd frog it, but GOD, I hate casting on 103 stitches.
4.5. I finally frogged that stupid tunic sweater I started in January (and abandoned shortly after) because I wanted to use the Silky Wool to make the Shapely Tank.
5. I worked on the Stupid Goddamned Black Cashmere Lace Scarf for a little while even though my HE was H'ing. And behold, I made a mistake somewhere and I can't find it. If I have to frog this thing, I'll do it while jumping off the roof.
6. I was going to make another pair of socks with that yummy Artyarns Supermerino (in another color) for my mommy. Rob is in Las Vegas overnight, so there's nobody to help me wind yarn. I decided to do it myself (which I've done before obviously, with varying results), and of course I made a GIGANTIC mess of it and spent the better part of an episode of Law&Order untangling it. Then I was, naturally, unwilling to knit with it, just out of spite.
7. Worst of all, I do NOT understand the "p1, k1 in same st" instruction in the Backyard Leaves pattern. Since it appears in the second row of the pattern, I'm sure not getting very far.
So...
8. I'm making a really boring hat out of Filatura 127 Print.
maybe i should just go to bed.
Posted by Kate at 12:18 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBackApril 17, 2005
Need nap
This weekend was a flurry of activity. Friday I actually left the house. I went to the yarn store "just to get some needles". Ha ha. They didn't have any size US1 or US2 dpns, so I decided to get the yarn for Backyard Leaves. I was about to get some Lana Grossa Merino (not the 2000, but the next size up), but then I was seduced by Adrienne Vittadini's Trina, in terracotta. I swatched it a little that night, and it's just delicious.
Then Rob called and roped me into going to La Fiesta with Robin and Paul (which turned out to be Robin, Paul, Aaron and Brian, but who's counting?). Since I was Vicodin-free, I had me some delicious margaritas. When we got home, Troy stopped by with CHOCOLATE and we worked on some theatre stuff.
Yesterday we got up at the butt crack and went up to see the parentals for early mom's birthday, which was lovely. Mom and dad are selling the house to Betsy and Joe and are moving out into their new gigantic trailer. Dang, it was nice. I've lived in smaller apartments.
Today we had our first read-through of 'Miracle Worker'. The theatre was in use, so we all crammed into my living room. It was pretty great. It's gonna be a kickass show.
Of course, all of this activity has tuckered me out. Now I need a nice long snooze.
Posted by Kate at 10:39 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBackApril 14, 2005
cabin fever
Since I went to all the trouble to wash my hair yesterday, I really feel that I ought to leave the house. I went outside to get the mail yesterday (got my license plates finally, hooray), but that was it. There's nothing in the house for dinner, so I really think I'm going to have to go. The HE doesn't feel too bad today (I am Vicodin-free so far), so maybe I'll be able to drive without being so scared I nearly pass out.
Of course, if I leave the house this means I WILL go to the yarn store. I've come to a point in my knitting life where I've decided I can't live without a certain something. Stitch markers. I'm making the very cool Shining Star hat, and my piece-of-contrasting-yarn-tied-in-a-loop-as-stitch-marker just ain't cutting it. I need it to mark the beginning of the round. Ususally when I'm making a hat, I just rely on the cast-on tail to guide me, but this is knitted from the top down and I don't have a tail in the appropriate place. The loop of yarn I'm using keeps falling off, which is really not very helpful. I need something that won't fall off the needle every thirty seconds.
Also, I need some teensy weensy sock needles. I got that Folk Socks book the other day, and practically everything in is knit on US#2 needles or smaller. Sigh. Rob liked a pair in there, so I thought I'd try to make them. Of course, I don't even begin to understand what's happening in the pattern.
Also, I'd better get cracking on the doggie thingy for Troy, since I'll be seeing him on Sunday. Of course, I don't need to leave the house to do that.
On second thought, I really can't see out of the HE. Screw it, I'm staying in. Is this just an excuse to not have to put on pants and have Indian food for dinner?
April 13, 2005
worth a thousand words?
I said I'd stop talking about the HE.
I didn't say I wouldn't post photos. Astute viewers will notice that I am modeling the Branching Out (still on needle), and that I have clearly not washed my hair since (oh, my god, it's true) Friday.
Posted by Kate at 3:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBackApril 12, 2005
Dear Kate Gilbert,
I love your Shining Star hat. It's absolutely gorgeous, and terrribly clever. I bought the pattern and some nice purpley Cascade 220 and and extra set of US#7 DPNs.
I can't cast it on! I tried casting on the five stitches onto the five DPNs. Ha, ha ha. Very funny. I then tried casting them all onto one DPN and then distributing them. That was also a disaster. I tried casting five onto one needle, then knitting the next couple of rounds onto the same needle and then distributing them. This was slightly less disastrous, but still left a tragic gap where I joined the first and last needle.
I'm going to keep at it because it's such a delicious pattern. But if you could send me some of your cleverness, I'd sure appreciate it.
Vive la France!
your fellow Kate,
Kate
(I really need to know how to make this work, because the similarly designed Nautilus Hat is also calling to me. I actually have the yarn it calls for and I've been dying to use it.)
Posted by Kate at 10:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBackridiculous
Okay, I'm going to stop blogging about my hurty eyeball. Really, I am. I went to the doctor today and had the contact lens taken out. He claims it's healing very nicely. I got some new drops to put in the eyeball and, holyfuckingshit, they sting. Just now I went to wipe a tear from my eye, and I noticed that my eyelashes are all stuck together.
Maybe I should just gouge the goddamned eyeball out with a knitting needle.
No more eyeball talk.
The Branching Out is coming along swimmingly. It'd be progressing faster if I could memorize the pattern. Rob pointed out that I can easily memorize page after page of lines, so I should be able to commit a simple-ish knitting pattern to memory. Seems like a good theory, but it's not happening.
Posted by Kate at 10:18 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBackApril 11, 2005
Hey, did you hear?
My eyeball hurts! Wow! Who knew?
So I finished that Airy Scarf out of Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's lovely and pink and fluffy, but it was a pain in the ass to make. I had to frog a few rows here and there, and every time I did it took three years off of my life. NO MORE MOHAIR.
I just started making Branching Out, from the new Knitty. I wasn't going to make it, just out of spite, but I happened to have the exact yarn it called for. And I was looking for a lace pattern that wasn't too hard but harder than the last lace I worked on. This fit the bill exactly. But oh, this issue of Knitty is really disappointing. Instead of being interesting and innovative, they've apparently focused this time on being "hip and edgy". Case in point: the cover photo. Yuck. Who do they think we are, fashion models?
On the other hand, I finally got the Yarn Harlot's wonderful new book from Amazon. It's just delightful!
Posted by Kate at 1:23 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBackApril 10, 2005
yawn
Are you tired of hearing about my hurty eyeball? Well, join the crowd. I'm sick of it, too. This morning I woke up and it hurt so bad I was momentarily convinced I'd fallen asleep with a sock needle in my eye. It's always enjoyable to get up and go straight to painkillers, even before toothpaste.
The show closes today. I met some really cool people and learned some interesting things (and got a lot of knitting done), but I'm ready for it to go. And I have a whole week off before Miracle Worker starts! Woohoo!
Okay, I'm getting up and getting dressed. Really, I am. I'm so glad Rob is out of his cast and that his car is out of the shop and that he's willing to drive me around. What a nice honey.
Posted by Kate at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 7, 2005
glargh
The doctor said that I'd probably feel pretty crappy today. Boy, he wasn't kidding. I am now completely stoned on Vicodin. Oh, how I wish I didn't have to run my show tonight.
Yesterday I knit an entire sock. Now I have my very first actual pair of handmade socks. I love them. The second sock is less holey, and they are so, so warm and toasty. Best of all, I only used one skein of my delicious Artyarns Ultramerino.
Now I must nap.
April 6, 2005
sox redux
So close to total and complete victory! I LOVE this sock. It fits nearly perfectly, and the Kitchener seam on the toe blows my mind.
HOWEVER....
There's a hole in my heel seam, dear Liza, dear Liza. Actually, there are two. The other side isn't as bad, but it's also holey. I picked up an extra stitch and everything to try to close the gap, but it obviously didn't work. Clearly I need more practice. Also, the decreases on the heel are really bulky. Maybe I should do the heel with slightly smaller needles.
But Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love this yarn. It's Artyarns Ultramerino 8. I got it last Saturday when I stopped in at the yarn store with Troy. I wasn't intending to get anything (well, except more Lana Grossa Cool Wool), but all of their super fancy handpainted yarns were on sale. I grabbed a skein of Manos in a pale pink which I've been coveting, then I saw a bin full of this Artyarns stuff. I'd never seen it before, and good thing, because it's heinously expensive. When I first picked it up, I would have sworn that there was cotton in it, but it's pure Merino. Man, it knitted up like buttah. I hope the drool doesn't felt it.
I'm so glad I can still knit with my hurty eyeball.
April 5, 2005
ow, my eyeball
So I had the PRK surgery on my left eye today. It was super freaky. When the laser part began, I started to wig out a little, but the Valium kicked in and I was able to convince myself that I was at Laser Floyd.
Now my left eye is all blurry like I've got a soft focus camera lens on it. I keep looking around for ugly brides.
They said I shouldn't feel too much pain tonight, but they said I'd probably be pretty cranky tomorrow. Fortunately, they sent me home with prescriptions for both Vicodin and Valium. Yum. Vitamin V!
Posted by Kate at 9:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackApril 4, 2005
the ugliest sock in the universe
Ha! See! It's hideous!
Look at those clunky, awkward gussets! Look at that gigantic foot! I could put both feet in there! Yuck! You should see the toe closure. My Kitchener stitch sucks! Bad sock, no biscuit!
sock it to me
I'm almost through with my first sock. There's just the toe decreases and seaming left. It's been a lot of fun and was a great confidence booster, especially since I deciphered the pattern all by myself. But it's soooooooo ugly. I used the basic starter pattern out of Knit Socks! Did I mention that it's ugly? The slipstitched heel is so bulky. It's totally graceless, even when it's got a foot in it. I'm tempted to not make the mate, but skip right to a more appealing-looking pattern (like the gorgeous one in Weekend Knitting). I might even just frog it for the yarn.
Also, my head really, really hurts.
Posted by Kate at 3:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBackApril 1, 2005
Things Fall Apart
Someone apparently told the theatre gods that today was Friday the 13th, not April 1st. None of the stacks of things that went horribly, horribly wrong tonight were even remotely funny.
In my experience, in every show there's a day where all hell breaks loose. I hope this was it.
Need drinkie.
Posted by Kate at 11:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBackhat and sock and pope
I couldn't bear to frog an entire finished object, so I threw caution to the wind and decided to felt my hat. It was too big, but not ginormous, so I tossed it into a sink full of hot water and agitating it with a spoon. To my surprise, the hat just got bigger. At this point, it didn't even fit Rob, so I hucked it into the washing machine with a pair of jeans, and voila! It totally felted! And it fits!
My first pair of socks is underway. I'm using Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000. It kicks ass. It's extremely resilient and oh, so soft. It really shows mistakes, though. The ribbed part of the sock looks a little sketchy, but the stockinette part is super nice.
Am I going to hell because I'm glad that no Pope Deathwatch news interrupted today's All My Children?
Posted by Kate at 3:39 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack