Every word's a purl

Happy Day Mobile (aka Maternity Leave mobile)

2011-07-13T19:03:00.008-04:00

It's amazing how much crafting you can do when you don't have to go to work. I'd be such an amazing, unemployed craft maven. Since I became pregnant, I've had all these grand plans for cute baby knits, but I haven't had the time/energy or inclination.

Well, in just two work days home and waiting for little one to show up, I'm more than making up for lost time.

Here's the Happy Day Mobile from Crochet Today. I first saw it while visiting the magazine's office maybe a year and a half ago -- I was totally smitten and knew some day that mobile would be *mine*. The designer, Amy Gaines, just has a way with darling little faces.

I'm a snappy sunshine with chubby cheeks and puffy clouds!

I'm a cheerful rainbow! So 80s!

And we're raindrops! One of us is deadpan, the other bashful. Because why would a raindrop smile?

I bought yellow, blue and orange Sugar n Cream cotton yarn because it was on sale at Michael's (yes, we made a special trip to Michael's in Woodside). And I just used what oddments I had sitting around for the rest. Gotta love projects like that.

I definitely knew that I had to make this a few weeks ago, when we were unable to remove the weird planter hook from our little nursery. (And I mean little. My craft room became the nursery with the help of a temporary wall). This hook has been here since we moved in, and it's probably been stuck there much, much longer. The screws are stripped, suggesting we aren't the first folks who have tried to remove it.

Here it is in action!

All that's left to make is a little stuffed animal for the little one. I think I'll have time to make one right?

La Grenouillère

2011-07-11T21:15:00.004-04:00

The French really do have a way with baby knits, as Jess pointed out when she bought me "Tricots Intemporels Pour Bebes." Really, the designs are all classic but still fresh and all around charming. Like clothes little kids really *should* wear.

And this one just stood out for its overall snuggliness.

This is La Grenouillère, a little sleeping suit for our guy. I used my favorite Spud & Chloe sweater yarn in splash -- for some reason, I really love this yarn, especially for baby knits. The colors are delightful and I find it soft and springy and just pleasant.

I will be honest. I struggled with this one. First of all, I lost my knitting mojo for a few months, due in part to a cough that I was only able to shake a week or so again. Plus, since I don't generally knit socks, turning the heel seemed downright bizarre. And I also struggled with the French pattern -- I just didn't have the patience. So my mom, a French teacher and knitter, translated it for me, which helped tremendously.

I'm basically dying to get the little one in this because it just looks so soft and cozy, but I realize it might be a while. Maybe not too long, though. He's due in six days. SIX DAYS PEOPLE. And I still have two more little projects that I need to finish....

For Marie's little gals

2011-07-08T19:29:00.004-04:00

So I'm in the pregnancy home stretch and finally feel like knitting again. Have a few things on the needles for my little guy and hope to cast off before my due date -- July 17.

Luckily, I have a few projects from my pre-knitting slump to show, namely these gifts for Marie's precious twins, Caroline and Lilly. I could go on and on about the wonders of Marie, from her generosity and huge heart to her endless enthusiasm and creativity. (And how down to earth she is. And how she has a way of bringing you down to earth without your even realizing it.) But Jess summed Marie up pretty well (and beautifully) on her blog, and I don't think I can do any better.

So I'll get right to the dresses and sweaters!

While she was in France, Jess bought me this fabulous French baby knits book, and I fell for the chauffe-couer pattern (which translates to heart warmer). I knit them up in Knit Picks telemark. Surprisingly, my lackluster French was enough to get me through the patterns without much difficulty. (The next thing I tried to knit -- well, let's just say it's a good thing my mom was a French teacher.)

But I also wanted to sew a little something, so I tried out this pillowcase dress pattern in coordinating fabric from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush Line. This is a quick project that turns out super cute. Making two at once was delightful!

I hope some day soon I can introduce my little guy to Marie's little girls! It's getting close...

A blanket for baby

2011-06-05T08:48:00.005-04:00

Like most knitters, I've spent years making baby items for my friends -- particularly in the past few years. And I never had much trouble choosing patterns for them. I wanted something kinda throwback for Christa's baby, something with lots of earth tones for Kate. For my one friend Jen something jovial. For my other friend Jen, something pure and angelic.

But when it was my turn to knit for my own baby, I was crippled with indecision. First off, knit or crochet? Bright, primary colors or something more muted and classy? For weeks, I pinned designs on Pinterest, queued pics on Ravelry. I was about to go on vacation and knew I had to decide -- and the Sunshine Day baby afghan was the winner.

I wanted something with a vintage feel, and I search for a palette of colors that were playful but not too cloying. I settled on Cascade's Eco Alpaca for the background and, because of the wide range of colors, Superwash for the flowers. I know, I know, Alpaca and Superwash. I'm an idiot.

Here's what I'm a little ashamed to admit: I didn't enjoy making this. The motifs are so small that I felt like I was constantly cutting yarn and adding new yarn and weaving in ends. I could never just zone out while making it, even for a few minutes. I think that's why it took me so darn long. This made me so sad -- this blanket is for my first child! What kind of mother will I be if I can't even sacrifice enough to CROCHET A BLANKET?

I'm blaming my impatience on random pregnancy side effects, like the cough I've had for 10 weeks and my inability to focus enough to read an entire magazine article. In the end, I decided to keep it on the smaller side so it will fit car seats and strollers. Now, I can focus on little rompers and soakers and other such things.

Having said this, I do love how it turned out. My joins aren't great, but it reminds me of something my grandmother would have crocheted for a new baby. She excelled at motifs (and probably never complained about them). Something about it feels heirloom-y to me. This blankie will be too warm to bring to the hospital come July, when our little guy is expected to arrive. But maybe some fall afternoon, when it's a little brisk out, it will be my turn to wrap one of my blankets around a baby, our baby.

A goodbye shawl

2011-03-07T09:48:00.003-05:00

There's a reason that I've been absent since November, which I'm so sad about. But we're having a baby boy in July! I couldn't be more excited -- we feel so blessed and lucky and just wonder who he'll be. I've therefore been distracted and unmotivated and full of excuses when it comes to crafting, apparently. But I hate that so I'll just jump in.

A few weeks back, a longtime boss of mine got a new job. Yay for her, sad for me. She was a mentor to me and responsible in large part for any opportunities I've received. That seems worthy of a shawl, right?

It's the boneyard shawl, knit up in Noro Silk Garden, which was given to me by Maya at the Spiders holiday swap. I had never used Noro before (gasp!) and enjoyed seeing how the colors would work up.

And now, since I'm at 21 weeks pregnant, it's time to focus on baby knits. For my baby -- isn't that crazy? After years of making things for others, I feel tremendous pressure to find the perfect baby blanket or sweater or booties or cap. I've literally spent evenings starting at Ravelry, trying to decide patterns and colors. Boy appropriate but not too BOY, you know? Don't want it too loud and too primary color heavy, but don't want it too pastel and baby-like. This is tough work. Hope to have something to show off soon.

It is finished

2010-11-18T11:08:00.004-05:00

And it's only, um, five months late.

My brother got married in June and moved into a lovely new home. I just couldn't buy him dishes, you know? It's my brother! But with so many babies coming into my life, I was really behind on gift knitting, so I didn't even start this until after the wedding.

Since my brother's tastes are pretty conservative, I knew I'd have to table any crazy crochet patterns or zig-zags. I settled on the Moderne Log Cabin in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, basing the colors on the sofas and pillows in their home. But garter stitch? Wow, that s*** takes forever!

So I'm dropping it in the mail today - a little later than I wanted, but well within a year! I imagine then wrapping themselves in it while watching the Steelers, or spreading it on the floor as they sit in front of their fireplace.

Just a cozy cap

2010-11-07T16:15:00.003-05:00

So I've had the Super Cupcake pattern for some time now. I even finished the cowl, wear it all the dang time and, somehow, managed not to ever photograph it. But after Rhinebeck, where I spotted a few delightful Super Cupcakes in person, I decided to make the hat myself.

This is quick and easy and fun. I must admit that I just wanted to make it right away, and I wanted it to be fire engine red, so I bought some Patons during our Joann Fabrics run after Rhinebeck. (Look, there's only one Joann's in New York City, and it's out in Staten Island. So if I'm in the 'burbs and near one, I go. Also picked up a few foam wreaths!)

I think this is my new go-to winter cap.

A darling dress for a darling baby

2010-10-20T20:48:00.006-04:00

I've been wrong, oh so wrong, for so long. All this time, I've been taking photos of baby knits on the floor, on hangers, on sofas. What was WRONG with me? Baby knits belong on BABIES!

This pattern is a DROPS design dress, done in trusty Spud and Chloe sweater yarn. I adore that yarn -- silky and warm and great colors. I finished it months ago but forgot to photograph it before packaging it up and mailing it off.

I knit this dress for Molly, my dear college roommate Jen's daughter. (You may, or may not, remember that I crocheted her a yo-yo-blanket before darling Molly was born.) And, luckily for me, Jen is also a fabulous photographer.

I've only seen Molly twice, and I simply adore her. She is playful and cuddly and has the chubbiest cheeks, like they're filled with creamy polenta, as her mom says. Molly is so cute that Jen's priest said to her, "People say every baby is the cutest baby. But your baby really is the cutest baby!"

I'll see her again Sunday and can't wait to give her a big snug.

Why, yes, I did knit a sweater for Rhinebeck.

2010-10-18T19:15:00.004-04:00

I wasn't just looking forward to Rhinebeck this year. I NEEDED IT. Like, bad. Partly because it's gourd season, partly because I just wanted some time with my friends (and without blackberry reception).

So, cheesy as it may be, I needed a Rhinebeck sweater. This would not be easy to finish. I've been a little absent from here because I've been working on a rather epic project for my brother's wedding, and I don't exactly have time for personal knitting. Still, I was determined. Someone was lobbying for this sweater, which is lovely, but I chose the darling Cropped Jacket from Vogue Knitting.

photos by fig and plum Jess

Now, a little about this pattern. I waltzed over to La Casita, my fave yarn store (and only partly because of the wine) and picked up the magazine from last fall. Warning bells should have gone off in my head when I saw that it called for 22 skeins of Lopi, But this is Vogue! How could they be so wrong? When I realized it would cost me about, oh, $400 to make this, I checked the errata. Um, it only requires seven skeins. (And I actually only used five. Anyone need some Lopi?)

I really enjoyed making this, and it was a super quick knit. But the placket! Why is it so, so wonky? It fits perfectly, but the snaps are totally visible. I blocked it twice, took the snaps off and reattached them, and STILL WONKY. Could be because it's faux double breasted -- perhaps I'll use those extra skeins to make it actually double breasted?

Either way, it kept me warm as we ate fried artichokes, met old and new friends at the Ravelry meet-up, ogled alpacas and fondled yarns. AND as we ate fabulous food and drank cider at our barbecue back at the Spiders house. Doesn't get much more seasonal, now does it?

A little dress

2010-07-05T19:28:00.003-04:00

This is for a little girl named Alexandra.

If all babies were as good as Alexandra was during my visit, people would have 13 kids. What a little doll! She is my college friend Shannon's little girl. Shannon and I worked at the college paper together and had an internship together. Oh, we had fun. Run DMC at the Art Attack concert on campus. Trips to get cheesesteaks in the middle of the day. We even got maced once -- in her apartment. (Long story).

We were so thrilled when she and her husband moved to New York maybe a year or two after I did. She's one of those friends who didn't see for a few years, but it's like no time had passed. And now they're a family.

Since Shannon's a knitter, too, the pressure was on. I chose the Little Sister's dress, and what a home run. Some fussiness on top, then miles of stockinette. Just added some buttons, and we were off. I used Dream in Color Classy , which is delightful to work with.

I just texted Shannon about the mace incident. I think I had suppressed that one.

And the baby knits keep on comin'

2010-06-07T09:29:00.002-04:00

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been suffering from baby knit fatigue. I totally was. It's been really non-stop for, oh, a year. But after finishing this number -- and getting a fabulous response -- I'm rejuvenated.

Lindsay and Mike are one of our fave couple friends. There's never a lull in conversation, always something to talk about, and we laugh and laugh. She was a reporter who was smart enough to leave the industry, and we ended up adoring her husband as much as we adore her. We were so sad when they moved to New Jersey, but they had a good reason -- a new baby!

I had a lot of trouble deciding what to make for their little girl and fell in love with the Seed Stitch Baby Jacket.

I loved working this pattern up, but of course it was not without drama. I somehow miscalculated and ran out of Spud & Chloe sweater yarn in popsicle. So I called a yarn store, which promised to hold the skein two days (since I, you know, have a job and can't just drop everything to pick up yarn by 6 p.m.) Well, they gave it away. Thankfully, I found a lovely gal on Ravelry with a skein in my dyelot, and she traded it with me. Knitters are a kind folk.

Now, I so rarely get to present knit gifts in person, so it was a treat for me to drive to New Jersey, meet the little one and actually hand over the sweater. And let me tell you, Lindsay's reaction did not disappoint. She really gushed, and I gotta say I loved it.

Thank you for bein' a friend!

2010-05-04T23:47:00.006-04:00

Have you longed to sit around a kitchen table, binging on cheesecake with your elderly best friends?
Do you wish someone would tell you stories from her days in St. Olaf?
Wonder what it would be like to relax on a lanai?
Then maybe you need a crochet Betty White!

Now, we all know Betty White has gotten really popular lately, thanks to the Facebook campaign to have her host "Saturday Night Live." But to me, she'll always be the charmingly naive Rose Nylund from "The Golden Girls." And that's how I've designed her here -- with her fuzzy blond hair, chinos and sensible aqua cardigan, suitable for a day volunteering or a date with Miles!

Check it out on Ravelry or download the pattern here for free!

potholder. that's all. a potholder.

2010-03-21T18:34:00.004-04:00

This morning, while enjoying my Sunday morning ritual of watching "Law & Order," I wanted to crochet this potholder.

So I did.

Hand lovin' swap

2010-03-14T20:48:00.004-04:00

Just popping in quickly to post pictures of the mitts I had for Maya for the Spider's hand lovin' swap. It's hard to believe this is the *fifth* annual trek we've made to Marie's home in Bay Ridge -- I barely knew these gals back then!

So, straight to the knits. After much hemming and hawing, I decided to make Maya Seeta's Fingerless Gloves in my new favorite yarn, Spud & Chloe fine yarn. I really liked the pattern's zigs and zags, and the yarn is rich and spongy and springy and fun to knit with.

On avoiding pink

2010-02-21T11:49:00.006-05:00

Christa isn't like everyone else, and she never has been. I knew that even the day I met her, a hot summer day in 1999 when she rolled into the bureau at my old newspaper in Connecticut. With a pixie haircut and string of earrings up her lobe, she came in and announced that her car had no AC, so she was sorry if she was sweaty. I liked her instantly, and by that night, she was sleeping over at my apartment while she looked for a place of her own.

When I think of our time as friends in New Haven, I think of Hemingway's description of his early days in Paris -- "we were very poor and very happy." Our salaries were so measly that we lived quite literally paycheck to paycheck, surviving on what seemed like a diet of tofu and baby carrots but somehow managing to have so many adventures. We stayed up all night baking inappropriate Valentine cookies, like angels wearing bikinis, while listening to the "Magnolia" soundtrack. We put "Anyway You Want It" on repeat on the jukebox at the bar down the street. We headed to the independent theater to watch "The Blair Witch Project" then got scared while driving home through the woods.

Christa and I dreamed big, trying to cook brie en croute and vegetable ragout for a holiday party, when all anyone wanted was pretzels. Or hosting a baby shower where we were so distracted by creating a butterfly out of cupcakes that we accidentally added meat to the vegetarian baked ziti and found ourselves trying to pick it all out.

We were goofballs, imitating ogres whenever we were stressed or tired, losing our minds with excitement when a "Forever 21" opened up nearby, and doing the "knee-straddle-knee" routine from step aerobics in the middle of the office. Nothing ever simply worked out -- hilarity always seemed to ensue.

And I guess we were probably totally co-dependent -- she once told me that she had me programmed as "911" on her cell.

I might never really grasp Christa's impact on my life. She was my museum-going, interpretive-dance loving friend. Having lived in New York City, she made the city seem manageable to me -- she even once brought me to a party in the neighborhood that I now call home. She was the friend who saw qualities in me that I never saw -- being brave or strong or talented. But she was also a straight-shooter, seeing through my nonsense and calling me out when I needed calling out. Even now that she's seemingly a million miles away in Denver, I still phone her for a reality check.

So when Christa told me that she was pregnant with a little girl, I didn't even need her to tell me that she was avoiding tons of pink, pink, pink. I knew she'd wanted something different and, indeed, the nursery is orange, purple and green.

This is a new stitch for me -- larksfoot -- in rather loud shades of Knit Picks Telemark. But, see, I knew Christa wouldn't mind something a little wild and kooky and different.

On a newsstand near you

2010-02-17T22:50:00.004-05:00

So I've been lucky to write book reviews and articles for Crochet Today! over the past year or so. In the fab March/April issue, I have my first pattern! It's for these vase cozies -- here's a sneak peek on the magazine's website.

There's also tons of adorable patterns in the issues, as well as a little article about my world record moment.

2010-01-18T09:24:00.002-05:00

Knitting and crocheting for my many pregnant friends has been a real joy for me. I've scrolled through dozens of patterns before picking just the right one, then slowed myself down while stitching them up, consciously reflecting on my friendships and hopes for the future as the project grows larger and larger.

I've happily finished each off, adding a "handknit with love by carrie" label and bouncing over to the UPS Store to mail them off. I imagined the parents opening the packages and the little one cuddling up in the garment. All the blankets and cardigans have filled me with optimism and joy.

All but one.

I met my friend Jen G. on the first day of seventh grade. She sat in front of me in Mrs. Pripstein's earth science class, a stick of a girl in a matching denim shirt and skirt with crazy blond curls. She'd just transferred from parochial school, and I recognized her from church. She asked me what I thought of Jason, the guy she suddenly found herself "going with." I informed her that his oversized sweater, covered in a garrish brown and white pattern, was horrible beyond words. We've been friends ever since.

Jen never cared what people thought of her, and I was jealous of that. She loved George Michael when that wasn't really OK and wore frog clips designed for toddlers on her shoelaces. If someone stared at her, she'd pretend to pick her nose or make a kooky sneer. Throughout school, we had typical teen-age adventures. Stifling giggles when Carlo Ross's dad fell asleep during Mass. Saving up our dollars then walking downtown to Derby's for lunch, singing Wilson Philips songs. We went camping and canoeing and were both really mediocre at field hockey but played passionately anyways.

She's also just a really kind person. She befriended a black family at church because she was afraid they felt left out in our overly white, prejudice-filled town. She went into drug and alcohol counseling and chose about the hardest job I can imagine -- helping inmates in prison break their addictions.

We haven't lived in the same town for 15 years now, but Jen's mom jokes that when I come home, we seem to pick up the same conversation from months earlier. Just start right in like we'd seen each other for coffee the day before.

Even when Jen told me she was pregnant, she picked a peculiar way. "What are you doing for New Year's?" she asked me in June. "I have no idea. I might work, but I guess I might be off. Are you having a party?" I replied.

"Yes," she said. "At the hospital. Having my baby."

So by October, I hadn't even started a blanket for her son. I had bought the yarn, knowing for some reason that I wanted to make something white and angelic. When I got the shocking text message that she'd given birth in October, months early, I immediately started making the Little Star Afghan.

Cooper weighed only one pound, six ounces when he was born and endured many surgeries and close calls. I tried to crochet as fast as I could, desperately wanting to get the blanket to Jen. But at the same time, was hurrying a sign that I was losing faith? That I thought there might not be a miracle? Was crocheting a blanket for a baby that might die, for a baby who might never get the blanket, just morbid? Or was it a symbol of hope?

Some days, after getting a heartbreaking call from Jen, I couldn't look at it. Other days, when there was good news, I'd spend an hour working furiously.

I had just finished the blanket 18 days later when little Cooper lost his fight to live. It was a Friday morning, and I literally had just packaged it up. Jon and I would drop it off on our way to the gym, we'd decided. But after lacing up my sneakers, I heard the horrible news from Jen. As we cried, I angrily picked up the package with the blanket in it, hiding it under some magazines and a lower shelf of a coffee table. I couldn't look at it.

Later, I brought up the blanket with Jen. I told her that this probably sounded so silly and trivial, but that I felt horrible that I didn't finish it in time. I didn't want to believe there was a deadline, that I needed to hurry. She understood why I was sad and told me that it was OK, that he had been given a blanket from Project Linus. That's what he was buried with. I asked her if I could send the blanket anyway, that maybe she could just keep it somewhere, knowing it was made with love for Cooper. She said she'd like that.

I've found that people don't like to talk about infants dying. Who would? It's horrible, basically the worst thing that I can imagine. But little Cooper touched so many lives in his 18 days. I know that I'll never forget him.

OMG HOLLY JOLLY

2009-12-19T19:39:00.002-05:00

Somehow, amid all of the baby and Christmas knitting, I crocheted a gingerbread house!

Oh, and I broke a crochet world record. That's all.

Pickle phobia

2009-11-15T21:16:00.006-05:00

So, I have a thing about pickles. And the thing is, I hate them. It's something about the way they are crunchy and mushy and wart-y and dill-y and pickley. I won't eat anything they come into contact with (seeing as they contaminate all that they touch.) I make Jon remove them from my plates at diners, and I won't even get near a chicken salad unless I'm sure it's 100 % pickle free. Even as a child, I removed them from my Chick-fil-a sandwiches and cheeseburgers. I kinda shudder when they come near me.

(Don't believe me? Jess Fig and Plum recently captured my animosity toward all things pickled. I am NOT as phobic as this woman, who was exploited on Maury Povich's show.)

I was shocked, therefore, when I came home from work some weeks back and found a box filled with pickle-themed products from my friends at Knit Picks! There was a pickle Christmas tree ornament, a bottle of cornichons (with a vile PICKLE scooper), a pickle-colored skein of Knit Picks Palette and sad pickle stitch marker. First, I figured I might vomit. Then, I thought, is this a practical joke? I threw out the cornichons because I couldn't sleep with them in the house, and I hid the other items until I could properly confront them.

I learned that, in fact, the Knit Picks people were actually being nice. The Christmas pickle is apparently a tradition among some people, and other folks were delighted about making them.

But not me.

Instead, I made lemonade out of lemon. (NOT pickle juice out of pickles. Blech, ugh, pickle juice.) I chose the slouchy Porom pattern from Brooklyn Tweed. Delightful!

thanks jess fig and plum for more pictures

And a deadpan shot, because I love deadpan shots and because that's how I feel about pickles.

Two months, huh?

2009-10-23T17:12:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I've disappeared for so long. I'll blame it on work and multiple weddings and weekends away. I'm also working on many, many baby gifts, not all of which are ready for their close-ups. But here's one that is!

It's the Mini-Wrap Sweater from my fave, Crochet Today! This little number is for my friends Lisa and Eric, who let me crash at their place several nights a week when I first started grad school at Columbia but hadn't moved to New York quite yet. Really, it's hard to say if I ever would have ended up here without their kindness. I'll never forget how wonderful it was to finish my intro to American Studies class at night, grab dinner with Lisa in Morningside Heights then sleep in their darling guest room (which had the nicest quilt and rose-colored walls).

I don't see them as much now that they've moved to Connecticut. But they are having their third child, a little girl, so I thought she deserved a little wrap sweater.

It's worked up in South West Trading Co.'s Therapi, which I bought the last time we went to the Point Knitting Cafe before it closed. (Sniff).

Yo yo baby blanket

2009-08-22T09:34:00.004-04:00

I have a lot of babies coming in the next six months or so -- three of my bridemaids are pregnant! Of course, I feel like this is a knitter or crocheter's time to shine.

When my college roommate and dear friend Jen told me she was pregnant, we were just so thrilled to meet the child. Really, we want to meet this child! We obviously adore Jen, but we also really adore Jen's husband -- in fact, he and Jon are independently buddies, which is really cute. They make us wish Baltimore was closer.

As I flipped through patterns, I thought about Jen, who is such a bubbly, fun person. Even in our tiny dorm room, she kept lollipops and bought outfits for our teddy bears and encouraged us to buy matching comforters and curtains to class the place up. We sang the Maryland fight song for no reason and watched lousy TV when we were stressed. ("Party of Five," anyone?) Also, she introduced me to Starbucks back in like 1995, which I always think is funny.

So I wanted something playful and colorful and maybe retro for their little one, whose gender is TBA. Jen told me their nursery colors, and I thought of the yo yo crochet blanket tutorial that I spotted on Sunshine Creation's blog.

I struggled to find the colors I needed in the same yarn, so I settled on Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby. I also have to admit that I struggled with the tutorial, but after a few tries, I managed to commit it to memory.

Now, I'm just waiting until the baby is born so I can start on some clothing.....

When you go to Prague, you need a special dress

2009-07-28T22:21:00.003-04:00

Just popping in to say we are, sadly, back from overseas. The only good thing about it is sharing my newest dress.

It's another Built by Wendy pattern, and I highly recommend it. The elastic waist is a touch fussy, but that's it.

And I thought it was a great vehicle for showing off this lovely Nani Iro fabric. Something about the flowers reminds me of summer and childhood. (This may just be because the fabric resembles a set of sheets my parents had when I was a little girl.)

This was our last night in Prague. All of our pictures and descriptions are in sets on Flickr, if you are so inclined.

I will leave you with a taste of the Aran Sweater Museum on the Aran Islands.

2009-07-07T12:18:00.003-04:00

I'm mere hours from fleeing the country, but wanted to just pop in first to let my friend, former editor and author Karen E. Olson guest blog about her new book "The Missing Ink." Faithful readers of my blog (are you still out there?) might remember Karen stopped by here a few years back to talk about her previous series of mysteries featuring a reporter in New Haven. (I devoured them of course). Now, she's tackling death and tattoo parlors. What could be better?

From the title of this blog, I can tell that Carrie enjoys a good pun. In fact, most journalists do, especially copy editors. I don’t know how many hours I pondered the best pun for a headline. Granted, I was never that great a headline writer, so my puns were sadly lacking.

Which is why I had such a hard time coming up with a title for my new tattoo shop mystery.

My publisher, NAL/Obsidian, which is a division of Penguin, enjoys a good pun as well. Their titles range from Evil in Carnations (a flower shop mystery) to Doom with a View (a psychic mystery) to Hounding the Pavement (a dog walker mystery).

I wanted something a little edgier than those, however. My book featured a tattoo artist amateur sleuth and it’s set in Vegas. Seems like it warranted something other than a pun.

The book is about a woman who makes an appointment for a devotion tattoo with the name of her fiancé, but she never shows. So I started coming up with possible titles: Deadly Devotion (sounded too religious), Disappearing Ink, Tattoo Heart, Indelible Ink, Hearts Can Lie, Tit forTat, Permanent Ink, Deadly Ink, Point of No Return, Vanishing Point, Tattered, Bad to the Bone, Skin Deep, Blood Lines.

You get the point.

I came up with 50 possibilities. My editor turned them all down. She said she wanted something “fun.” I had no idea what she was looking for.

Then my husband called me from the road. He had a great title. What did I think of The Missing Ink? I groaned, but I knew my editor would love it. And she did. So that’s the title. The second book? Pretty in Ink. And if there’s a third, it’ll be Driven to Ink.

What do you think? Do they work? What puns can you come up with for a tattoo shop mystery that have Ink in them?

Karen

Nothing says July like a heavy shawl

2009-07-05T19:06:00.006-04:00

Why, hello there!

With near constant ran and overcast skies, I saw no point knitting cute camis or tanks. If summer is on holiday, so is summer knitting, I s'pose. So I knit the delightful Springtime Bandit Shawl with City Tweed sent to me by the fine folks at KnitPicks.

I'm jaunty, even though there are garbage cans behind me.

This is a great pattern that fulfills my requirement of being complicated enough to keep me interested, but not so complicated that I can't watch "Mad Men" while knitting. (Five episodes into second season! So good but depressing!)

The yarn is also very yummy -- smooth and shiny and rich. I'm also not usually a fan of super tweedy yarn, but this is nice and subtle and not too heavy.

Hanging out to dry on ye olde fire escape

Very glad I finished this so that I can take it on our trip this week -- we're embarking on a heritage trip, visiting our ancestral homelands together. So on Tuesday we're headed to Ireland, Vienna, Slovakia and Prague. Can't get here fast enough.

The one where I designed a sweater

2009-06-06T20:44:00.006-04:00

So I've been crocheting for, what, eight years now. I've designed a few stuffed animals, and I figured it was high time I whipped up a sweater. An 80s-inspired sweater, in fact.

Thanks, mom, for taking the photos

I've been seeing so many rich, vibrant yellows lately, namely on Latika in Slumdog Millionare. (We only saw it a few weeks ago, I am ashamed to say. Since we live catty-corner from a movie theater, we can go to the movies at any time -- so we never go.) Anyway, I wanted something lemon-y and buttercup-y and daffodil-y for myself.

I was drawn to this vivid shade of Tahki cotton classic while at The Yarn Co. after a doctor's appointment a few weeks back. This is a whole lotta double crochet and ribbing, the perfect canvas for my daisy brooch. It's not as "Flashdance-y" as I imagined, but I might be too old for off-the-shoulder looks anyways.

Oh, and I found the perfect li'l buttons at Union Max, a vintage shop down the street from Brooklyn General. Seriously, the button selection there is insane.

sewing Fridays

2009-05-15T10:50:00.005-04:00

For the past few weeks, I've spent my Friday sewing. (This has cut into my "Law and Order" naptime, but that's OK). I finished this number last week and gave it a test drive at work, where I was told it was Pucci-esque, which I think is a nice way of saying "really, really loud."

must stop taking pictures on fire escape

This is now my fourth variation of this "Built by Wendy" pattern -- there are just so many ways to mix it up. I obviously combined the gathered neck with the long sleeves and longer length, improvising a belt to give it a little shape.

The fabric is from Mood, which I keep sneaking to after work.

So I think it's time to back away from this pattern and try something new. I ordered Amy Butler's lotus tunic pattern, and, thanks to the wonderful Marie, I found some Nani Iro fabric that I have been drooling over. (Hard to find a good pic of it, but it's used in this dress.) I love it so much that I kinda want to stretch it across a canvas and hang it, but doesn't fabric deserve to become a dress or shirt?

Um, did I miss something?

2009-05-06T18:22:00.002-04:00

We all know Vanna has yarn. But Deborah?

Apparently Deborah Norville, longtime broadcast journalist and "Inside Edition" host, has a line of yarns! Got a free shipping coupon for Joanns, popped over there and saw it. Did everyone know this but me?

As a reporter, I get it. Our industry is in turmoil. We're all searching for a backup plan. Just seems like a strange fit to go from reporting about how the star of "The Cougar" is setting the record straight to peddling a sock yarn called "Serenity."

Maybe there's hope for me yet?

And she has a blog!

yarn, what yarn?

2009-05-01T11:50:00.005-04:00

Not sure why, but all I can think about lately is sewing. Maybe because I discovered last week that my office is dangerously close to Mood Fabrics -- and I've already made two trips. Can you believe I've never gone before? It's a little overwhelming, with its crazy three floors of cottons and ultrasuedes and tweeds. Since I'm vertically challenged, I can really only reach about half the merchandise, but that hasn't stopped me from building a fabric stash. (Yes, me, a stash.)

Gotta say that I probably prefer bolts of fabric to long rolls, but, damn, that place is amazing.

So here's my first finish object with Mood fabric -- a Built by Wendy dress.

You might, or might not, recall that I made the shirt from this pattern a year or so back -- really, it's an awesome pattern. The only part I really struggled with was the sleeves. You can't see the little ties on the elbows because, um, I put them on the inside instead of the outside. Ah well, less likely to get caught in subway doors!

The fabric remined me of graph paper from high school geometry, which caused me a moment of anxiety. Then I remembered that I'll never have to take geometry again and the anxiety subsided, so I bought the fabric. This is perfect for work, and I'd love to make it in other fabrics. Maybe I'll just skip the ties?

Thanks heavens for "law and order" marathons

2009-04-17T10:34:00.006-04:00

That's how I was able to finish this little fella.

My coworker/friend and her husband are expecting a little one in a few more weeks, and they wanted the gender to be a surprise. (Though we all think it's a boy.) Their nursery set is a great mix of browns and greens and jungle motifs, so I figured they needed a little monkey. Perfect excuse to try out this delightful pattern.

extreme close-up

I spent a lot of time getting his expression just right -- pleasant but not too happy. I swear, that took me a half hour to achieve. We don't mess around with stuffed animals around here. And yes, I realize the eyes aren't baby friendly, but he can just be for decoration for a little while.

Like a certain stuffed hippo, we grew a little attached to this guy and may need to make a monkey of our own.

I also couldn't resist crocheting an afghan for the baby. I've seen some great finished blankies made from this pattern -- the combinations of stripes are endless.

I found a free shipping promotion code for JoAnn's, which was too good to resist in these tough economic times. I was intrigued by the new Naturally Caron Country yarn. I know some folks might turn their nose up at Caron, but it's a great acrylic/wool blend that feels a bit silky, like a bamboo. And the colors were perfect.

I was worried it was a little too '70s, but the couple seemed content with it.

There's just something about sewing....

2009-03-31T21:20:00.004-04:00

Jon and I were ambling around Woodstock a few weeks ago when I spotted Quiltstock. Yes, Quiltstock. It was a really delightful store -- bright and airy with lots of natural light for inspecting the fabric. (And not a single "Hippie Parking Only" sign -- there were a lot of those in Woodstock.)

I was going to leave with just a few fat quarters as souvenirs when I saw Amy Butler's Anna Tunic at the checkout. And, yeah, that was that.

i'm blurry and heading to work!

This took half an evening and most of an afternoon, including multiple machine mishaps. (I'm really tempted to buy a new machine that will be less temperamental.) I loved this pattern, even though I had to read a few of the sections, like, 12 times before comprehending them. And I basically just winged the sleeves.

So what is it about my ancient Singer sewing machine that makes me gleeful one minute and ready to rip my hair out the next? My needle broke, the bobbin was all screwy, the thread bunched up in the back. But when it was over? I was blue and ready to start something new...

Just in time for spring

2009-03-28T11:53:00.005-04:00

A big, warm sweater!

hi, i'm shadowy.

Since I've been working on secret knitting for baby's and a friend's wedding, it took me months to finish Harper from Popknits. Naturally, I finished it up on an unseasonably warm and sunny day and had to sweat through some pictures.

Unlike Yarnmonster's, my Harper is downright voluminous. I should not have made it quite so wide, but otherwise, I like it!

This stitch pattern is easy to memorize and very relaxing. I treated myself to some Dream in Color Classy from Brooklyn General, perhaps in the Midnight Derby colorway? Just don't remember. It's an absolutely lovely yarn.

I might need to pick larger buttons because the sleeves are closed by a series of buttons and, if they come undone, this travels into poncho territory. Unacceptable.

Sunset, Anna Maria Island

2009-03-22T20:27:00.004-04:00

Just got back from a wonderful vacation with my wonderful family and feeling very lucky.

2009-02-27T18:00:00.003-05:00

When I started my knitting blog four years ago, I figured I would simply share some projects, write something light-hearted, maybe meet a few knitters in the real world. I didn't imagine I'd grow to care about these people whose lives I followed on blogger and typepad and wordpress. I didn't consider that one day, one of them would just be gone.

Jennifer Walsh, whose knitting blog was Finding Her, died recently after a lifelong struggle with cystic fibrosis. She was waiting for a double lung transplant in Massachusetts, but she never got her miracle. Jenn was only 28.

I never met Jenn, but we corresponded for years and I always admired how brave she was about her illness. She once wrote that even on her toughest day -- which is probably so much tougher than I can even imagine -- the worst she let herself feel was "blah." In her final posts on her blog detailing her illness, 65 Roses in Bloom, she talked about starting an etsy shop to sell her handmade items, since she had been too sick for other work. She even bought a new camera and a light tent. Her final finished object was a pink crocheted afghan for a baby shower she didn't get to attend.

Her friend Talana, who also has CF, was kind enough to break the news to me on Ravelry, otherwise I might never have known. Talana will walk in Jenn's memory this May.

Jenn's fiance (they postponed their wedding because she was too sick) told me that donations can be made in Jenn's memory to:

NTAF: National Transplant Assistance Fund
150 North Radnor Chester Rd Suite F-120
Radnor, PA 19087

warm hats and steelers, etc.

2009-02-06T21:41:00.007-05:00

While I'm cruising on Harper, sometimes I just need a quick hit project. Last Tuesday was one of those days. I was home sick, sipping tea and watching "Law & Order" between naps, and I just wanted some instant gratification.

The remedy? Sideways Grande Hat from Boutique Knits.

Yes, it is my powder rooom.

This is the latest in my series of recession knitting, meaning I'm either using stash yarn, swapped yarn or frogged-finished-object yarn. You may remember this yarn from one of the biggest debacles in my young knitting life, the Trapeze Jacket. At least something good came outta that thing.

It's done in Berocco Ultra Alpaca, which isn't my favorite yarn. But it's totally warm and toasty, and it falls just at eye level, perfect for appearing mysterious and shifty.

The only thing I don't like is that it reminds me a little of Angelina Jolie in "Changeling." Click here for photographic evidence. (And I fall squarely in the Jennifer Aniston camp, so I'm no Jolie fan).

Everyone is sick of hearing about it, but I'm SO PSYCHED about my Steelers winning the Super Bowl! Fan or not, do yourself a favor and listen to this song.

Thanks for the cookies, Chris!

When a hero pilot (and hand knits) save the day

2009-01-17T21:24:00.004-05:00

I hesitate to even post this. Here am I, the day of the miracle on the Hudson. I spent about six hours outside of a hospital where passengers were transported. I have never, ever, ever been so cold, which I guess is no surprise since it was the coldest night in two years.

What saved me? My love of knits and winter outerwear in general. I had on a cowl, two scarves, a hat and two pairs of gloves (which were store bought, but whatever.) I give serious props to Jess for her Honeycomb Cowl pattern, done up in chunky Malabrigo, perhaps the vermillion colorway? It's as toasty and protective as a ski mask, minus the "crazy bank robber" factor.

not-cropped crop cardigan

2009-01-10T10:24:00.008-05:00

The thing about being nearly done with a sweater is that it seems silly to post pictures of your little projects, the finished cowls and Blackberry cozies. (Yes, I've made a few. What can I say, my co-workers like them!)

But the problem is, you can be nearly done with a sweater for a really long time and let your blog grow stale. Now, I'm actually done. Here is my first substantial FO of 2009, the Crochet Crop Cardigan, minus the crop.

This is our fireplace, which we don't use enough

I'd seen some lovely ones on Ravelry, and it reminds me a little of a crochet version of the ever-popular February Lady Sweater. I thought a longer version might be more flattering than a cropped one, so I just kept making the half double-crochet shells until I felt like stopping. Then I stopped.

I'm also patting myself on the back for being thrifty. This is yarn that I got from Virginia at a swap about two years ago -- it's Brooks Farm Acero. The only thing better than Brooks Farm yarn is FREE Brooks Farm yarn. It's rather thin but still worked up pretty quickly and is just slightly variegated, keeping things interesting.

Next up? Harper! And this time, I splurged on the yarn: Dream in Color Classy. Because, you know, I'm classy.

it's a good thing i don't like spice gum drops

2008-12-05T10:47:00.004-05:00

We're a little like kids around here, and it's only party because Jon's brother bought us a Wii for our wedding/Jon's birthday. We also just kinda love the holidays, as hopelessly uncool as that is. A few nights ago, we picked out the perfect, only-a-little-Charlie-Brown-like Christmas tree, then I added some Burl Ives to my ipod. And then, the piece de resistance -- the gumdrop wreath.

And I think it was meant to be, since I somehow found a styrofoam wreath at the bottom of a shelf in a CVS. Seriously, finding random, seasonal craft supplies in New York City is an accomplishment. Don't you love how the wreath really showcases the peephole in our front door?

Indeed, the holidays make me hyper-crafty. Maybe it's because if I'm knitting or glue-gunning or spearing soft candy with toothpicks, that means I don't have to cook a turkey again for, like, 11 1/2 months.

See, this was the first year since 2002 that I haven't worked on Thanksgiving, therefore the first year that I didn't have an excuse for not cooking a turkey. Years past, I'd come home from work and whip up a bunch of side dishes -- mushroom stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, of course green bean casserole. But this year, I had no excuse, particularly with my mom in town to help.

I won't get into the gory details, but I don't like cleaning out the turkey cavity or slicing it up or dealing with the gross, fatty mess up the turkey leaves in its wake. I did, though, like how my mom's cranberries looked in my new collander.

So now I'm freed up to start some holiday knitting. (I know -- boo, hiss, bad idea and all that.) I just feel like there are some folks in my life who simply need a handknit. And since it seems to be the year of the cowl, I thought I'd make a few nice, big, chunky cowls. And do they go quickly! I bought the yarn for this one, started and finished it while sitting with my Spiders on Friday.

Say howdy to Marian, a ravelry pattern by Jane Richmond, made out of bulky Morehouse merino. Is it possible to be too cozy?

Back to your regularly scheduled knitting

2008-11-09T18:57:00.006-05:00

Between my wedding and other notable distractions, I have let knitting -- and m'blog -- fall by the wayside. Oh, the power of inertia! I mean to post but don't, then feel bad that I don't, and yet I still don't. But over the past few days, I feel like the knitting bug is back and as insidious as ever. After a few marathon evenings, I *finally* finished my gallery jacket from Webs.

A hearty thanks to Lisa for taking finished object shots at Brooklyn General Saturday!

I started this so long ago that I don't even remember starting it. No recollection at all. I would pick it up, knitting a few rows of the twisted rib, then stuff it into a bag for months at a time. Even though it's knit in my beloved Brooks Farm Four Play, I just found it a little dull and wasn't really longing to work on it. I swear that I completed maybe an inch on my honeymoon, which you would expect to be prime knitting time! Nope.

(A quick aside. While in New Orleans, I visited The Quarter Stitch, a truly delightful yarn shop in the French Quarter, natch. I can't say enough about this spot. I wanted a yarn that was lively and vibrant and would always remind me of our time as newlyweds in beautiful New Orleans. They directed me to a skein of Mango Moon yarn, which is made from recycled sarongs and promotes the economic independence of Nepali woman. Perfect. The women there made time to listen to me gush about my new husband and our wedding and our adventures on the Gulf Coast. They then assured me, "If your husband let's you buy yarn on your honeymoon, you're going to have a long and happy marriage.")

So this past week, I picked up the gallery jacket with renewed urgency, and I knit like the wind! It was a fight to the finish, with more loose ends left to weave in than I wish to recall. I swear, I spent the entirety of a "30 Rock" dealing with 'em. ("Please welcome LIZ LE-MON!")

I'm glad, though, that I resuscitated this one. I just really adore it!

I think the fit would be a little better if I used a traditional shawl pin, but I kinda wanted to use my grandmother's cool brooch. It reminds me of the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop!

We totally got married!

2008-10-06T17:35:00.006-04:00

And pom poms rained down on us.

thanks Julia and Aunt Marian for capturing the moment!

It was just so wonderful, every thing I could have hoped for and more. So much love!

I'll leave you with a little web album of the pictures our dear friends and family took while we wait for the professional shots. (Though a few of my friends are total pros, as you'll see.) You can find the album here!

At long last -- my wedding capelet

2008-09-16T22:02:00.007-04:00

You've seen the bridesmaid shawls -- now here's mine!

Let's face it -- I get married in a week and a half, so it's probably going to be too warm for a shawl. But a knitting bride needs a knit shawl. Because my dress is lace, I didn't want to overdo it with a lacey shawl, so I wanted instead something with some texture and structure, something that mimicked a little coat or cape. But my search went nowhere.

So, I whipped this up myself, picking up a few skeins of an embarrassing yarn that matched my gown very well. (I've been carrying a swatch around in my purse for five months.) I then recalled, rather randomly, that I always loved the wrong side of my circular shrug. (ravelry) In that pattern, the right side is knit, purl, knit, and the wrong side is knit, slip with the yarn forward, knit. I'm not sure what it says about me that I like the wrong side better -- that's kind of like preferring the cookie to the white stuff in an Oreo. Here's a closeup:

I didn't get a good shot of the closure, but basically it's four little clear buttons. If there is interest, I can write up a little pattern.

Anyway, here I am, the realization that my wedding is so close dawning on me as I wear a loud dress from Target.

Looking back at my circular shawl, I realized that I have completely abandoned what was once a regular feature on this here blog: the dumbest thing I did all week. Anybody even remember that? Anyway, there's a lot of competition since work and wedding stress have slammed directly into each other. But I think this takes the cake. I went to my dentist on the upper East Side yesterday and decided to walk across Central Park to take the C train downtown to work. Well, you know how pedestrian paths in Central Park tend to kind of meander around? So I wander for a while and eventually see the street in front of me and actually think, "Huh, why is Fifth Avenue on the west side?" Um, yeah, I had walked in a circle and ended up back on the East Side.

Evidence that I've lost my mind

2008-08-31T23:25:00.006-04:00

If my blog statistics are any indications, knitters don't really care about knitting bloggers' weddings. I don't blame them -- this wedding stuff is tedious and boring to outsiders. But it's close people. It's under-a-month close. It's I-got-my-hair-highlighted-today close. It's an-average-of-one-panic-attack-a-day close. (I didn't have one today, but I had two yesterday.) I'm even wearing teeth whitening trays as I type.

Anyway. The wedding crafting is in overdrive at this point. The shawls are done. My capelet is blocking. The pom-poms are being mass produced. And the cake topper is done.

why, hello there!

The funny thing is, we're not really having cake. We're just not dessert people -- we're more second-helping people. So we're having a peanut butter pie and carrot cake that our venue serves. But I simply couldn't resist making a Carrie and Jon cake topper.

I have to admit that this was, um, heavily inspired by the cake toppers made by Patch NYC. And I feel a little bad, but if they are able to sell them for $500, then I think they're doing OK without my business. I also used the adorable toppers made by Small Object as a guide.

The biggest challenge was Jon's suit. He let me cut up an old gray shirt, and I made many a prototype before settling on this one. Then I found ribbon that resembled his tie, and we were off!

As you might gather, my dress doesn't look precisely like this -- and my legs aren't anywhere near as skinny as pipe cleaners, despite rampant gym-going -- but it's close enough that Jon is now forbidden from looking at this blog! (Spare me any commentary about how the whole "groom not seeing the bride" tradition is silly. We like our silly traditions, thank you very much!)

Anyway, I'll having actually KNITTING to show soon, once my little capelet dries. Now, off to remove the whitening trays ...

(cross-posted at How Engaging!)

second summer recap

2008-08-11T10:25:00.008-04:00

How can it possibly be August? And nearly mid-August, at that? We've been planning and working and traveling a little. We realized this weekend that we haven't gone to the beach at all this summer. I'll have to remember to pencil that in ...

By (un)popular demand, here are the finished bridesmaid shawls. Two crochet, two knit, four done! I'm looking for pretty shawl pins to close 'em up! Now it's on to my little capelet ...

I'm also about finished with the boutonnieres from Martha Stewart's Weddings magazine. I'd like to make two more for my dad and Jon's dad, but it ain't the most fun project!

And lastly (for now), I'm whipping up some pom-poms that I think I'll attach to place cards. These need a little trim, methinks.

Okay, enough craftiness. This weekend was the annual Spiders summer gala. Colleen was the hostess with the mostest -- can you believe the view from atop her building?

And I swear I'll write about something other than weddings at some point, but I was a bridesmaid in my dear friend Christa's wedding two weeks back. The ceremony was at the Denver Art Museum and really awesome -- as was this Mondrian-inspired arch that her hubby made! We love crafty grooms.

Oh, the neglect.

2008-07-13T10:42:00.007-04:00

It's been a month? Really? Ok, there's a lot of ground to cover, people. We'll start with the most important information first -- the finished objects.

You could say that I was totally inspired by Veronique's Built by Wendy dress, or you could say that I totally ripped her off. I had so much success with this pattern before and frequently wear the shirt that I made, so extending it to a dress seemed like a swell idea.

I've had this Amy Butler fabric kicking around for a while now and was happy to find a good use for it. Is it a little loud, sure. But I don't think it's retina-scarring loud.

There is some sad news to report. Last month, I decided to say goodbye to my faithful, lapis blue Neon, nicknamed Van Gogh because his color reminded me of the painting "Starry Night."

As you might imagine, I bought Van Gogh when I was a junior in college and was swayed by the ad campaign that had Neons saying "Hi!" The Neon ferried me around College Park, MD., Rochester, N.Y., New Haven, CT., and New York City, as well as numerous trips to my folks in Pennsylvania. He only broke down once, on a really steep hill in a deserted part of western Pennsylvania, but the Neon still managed to coast to the parking lot of a place called Jumpin' Jack Pizza, where I waited for a tow.

But for personal, professional, environmental and safety reason, I realized it was time to say goodbye. So I donated Van Gogh to Habitat for Humanity, hoping maybe he could help out one more person. It was not easy -- we took pictures and kissed Van Gogh goodbye, and when I heard this Don McLean song recently, I actually cried a little.

On to happier news. Jon's family threw me a delightful, wonderful shower up in Massachusetts a few weeks back. There were so many personal touches. Note that they used a chocqua -- chocolate and aqua -- color theme, to match my wedding colors. And Jon's Aunt Mary knit me these adorable strawberries! I can't imagine the time she put into them. I was so touched by all of it.

We're under three months, folks. I'm freaking out a little.

Three's a charm

2008-06-12T20:12:00.004-04:00

Yep, bridesmaid shawl number three is a done deal.

This went so fast that I could hardly believe it. Take that, you crochet haters out there.

My bridesmaids are strikingly different in a lot of ways (one's a lawyer in Colorado, another a drug and alcohol counselor in Pennsylvania, and two others are journalists, one in Connecticut and another in Maryland). But they are alike in the ways that count -- all hard workers, all compassionate, all goofy and funny enough to like me.

So that premise kind of guided my choices in their dresses and shawls, not to get too heavy on you. They picked whichever brown J. Crew dress they wanted, so I similarly picked shawls with a common shape but differences in the details. Shawl number one and shawl number two are knit, so I decided to crochet the remaining two. I scoured Ravelry and picked this Country Cotton Shawl. Practically crocheted itself.

Oh, and with Father's Day coming, I thought I'd point out that J. Crew has KNIT TIES. I actually knit my father a tie for Christmas in 2001, but I failed to line it. So it basically rolled into a tube, like something Gary Numan might have worn. But he still mentioned it in his Christmas Eve blessing!

One hip hippo

2008-06-03T21:52:00.005-04:00

So what do you usually think of when someone says "newborn baby girl"?

A hippopotamus? Hey, me too!

Um, well, that's not quite how I came up with this gift for Cassie, Kaitlyn's new little one. I actually pored over crochet patterns, searching for one that had just the right deadpan expression. (I really love stuffed animals with deadpan expressions.)

For some reason, this hippo stole my heart.

This is about as delightful a crochet stuffed animal pattern as you could find. Easy to understand, nothing too fancy. Some assembly is required, but the seaming ain't too painful.

My only regret is that his pronounced snout makes him a little top heavy.

Jonathan was at first skeptical about the hippo, who was just a pile of purple pieces until Saturday. But after he was complete, even before I tied a ribbon 'round his neck, Jon was smitten.

He picked up the creature, held it to his face and said, "This hippo has looked into my soul."

The goodbye on Sunday? It was not an easy one. But we know this fella has a good home.

Two for two!

2008-05-27T23:03:00.006-04:00

With exactly four months to go, I'm done with two of my four attendant shawls. This one is hung from the Christmas lights on our fire escape for your viewing pleasure.

Seeing as I finished the first one a month ago, that's not a bad pace. While the first was the Simple Yet Effective shawl, this is the Easy Triangle Shawl. (Simple? Easy? See where we are going here?) I must admit that this was more fun to knit than the last one -- totally memorizable but also varied enough to keep my mind engaged. I'm using Plymouth Encore because September might be too muggy for pure wool. (I also really dug this color.)

Anyone want to recommend triangular shawl number three?

Jon's mom stayed with us for Memorial Day, and her visit inspired me to gussy up our beloved fire escape. Such enthusiastic hydrangeas!

And what a charming, um, whatever this plant is!

Oh, and by the time you read this, I'll have turned 32. It's already a great birthday -- my mom sent me one of her patented, fabulous care packages, which I opened a few hours early. (With her on the phone, of course.) How many moms can pick out the perfect fitted jacket?

Me! Me! Me!

2008-05-12T20:33:00.003-04:00

That's it, I'm done knitting for other people. Done, I tell you! It's the return of the selfish knitter, at least for a day or two.

I'm making the Gallery Jacket from Webs. Cute, right? And finally I can use the Brooks Farms Four Play that's been burning a hole in my stash for months and months. And since my love for this yarn is well documented, you know that it's been difficult to leave it unused.

Must dust windowsill.

I wish I had more to show for myself, but we went away for the weekend, and I get nauseated when I knit in cars. Boo.

Anyway, while I realize this totally, completely, irreparably breaks my "narcissism free" vow, I've created a little offshoot wedding blog called How Engaging! (I know, the word play must stop.) I just figure I spend so much time mulling wedding issues, I might as well mull them online.

A dress for Hanna's baby

2008-04-30T22:35:00.009-04:00

I was barely 22, just out of college and working in a newspaper bureau in Milford, Conn. I was so excited to be done with term papers and finals, so thrilled to have a reporting job in a bad economy. I took my first apartment sight-unseen, the attic of a red-brick office building near Yale, just one floor above a psychotherapy waiting room. The attic was boiling in the summer, freezing in the winter, and I couldn't fully stand up in parts of it. I slept on a mattress on the floor of a small crawl space. But it was mine, all mine.

For the first few months, I ignored the fact that I didn't know a soul in Connecticut. I would go to the gym, watch movies by myself at the York Square Cinema, wander around festivals on the numerous town greens in the area. And I attended every last Milford planning and zoning board meeting, which resulted in maybe three interesting articles.

I spent 12 weekends completely alone, not that I was counting.

Then Hanna was hired. She was 22 like me, just out of school like me, and didn't have a prayer -- I decided straight away that she was going to be my friend. Brash and tall and blonde, it's not a stretch to say she was kind of a miracle. Hanna got me out of my little attic apartment, introduced me to other young people, invited me to Thanksgiving with her family and saved me from a blind date so abysmal and disturbing that I blocked it out of my mind for several years.

We moved to a more normal apartment a few blocks away with access to a tar roof where we could drink Corona and sun ourselves. From our kitchen, with its chandelier straight out of a saloon, we could wave at our friends in the next building over. We ate dinner together most nights and sometimes did Tae Bo. (It was 1999, after all). And we walked to Anna Liffeys or Christopher Martins, where we are no longer welcome back. We had just one fight -- she didn't like that turned the water on and off while I did dishes.

Hanna is pregnant with her first baby, a little girl due on my birthday. She asked for something extremely girly and white, practicality be damned. So I made her this baby dress in Patons cotton from a Spiders yarn swap.

I'm not sure if you can see the waist gathering here, but it's kind of cute.

And I'm lying a little, since it's really crocheted by Carrie.

Hanna and a baby. This is going to take some getting used to.

They said it couldn't be done.

2008-04-22T20:39:00.005-04:00

Actually, they said it shouldn't be done. By they, I'm referring to everyone I know. And by it, I'm talking about knitting shawls for my wedding attendants.

I know, I know. It's a lot of work, I'm going to resent it, I'll be stuck weaving in ends the night before my nuptials. But I'm still months away, and I really, really think I'd regret not giving my friends a handmade gift. It's been fun thinking about them as I knit and imagining them wearing the shawls as we take a few pictures beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe with a pretty brooch?

*(I should add that I have four attendants -- if this were a Southern wedding with 8 gals, I'd give earrings instead!)

And now for something completely different

2008-04-15T22:42:00.003-04:00

A lot of babies are coming into the world, and therefore there's a lot of secret knitting in my world. And we all know that secret knitting is not good for blogging. All I'm at liberty to say is that several things are being knit on several pairs of needles with several skeins yarn.

So we'll discuss my second favorite topic: Leeks! I'm not sure where leeks have been all of my life, but now I'm smitten. So savory and delicious (as are most things coated in butter). I adore leeks so much that my mom bought me a special leek plate for Christmas. I think it's actually designed for asparagus, but whatever.

Besides just cooking them up with a few shallots, I've stumbled upon a few other leek recipes in recent weeks. I cooked a ludicrously rich Easter dinner that included Martha Stewart's scalloped potatoes with leeks. Oh, the gruyere!

We did not weigh ourselves the next day.

So this weekend, the leek-mania continued as we visited my family in Pennsylvania for a much-needed vacation. It was terribly relaxing, apart from my father's decision to empty the dishwasher at 7 a.m. and dump all of the utensils on the kitchen table.

Mom greeted us Sunday morning with a scrumptious cheddar and leek strata. I don't know the origins of this recipe, but it has multiplied all over the internet (with each incarnation misspelling the word "garlic.") But don't let the recipe's anonymity scare you off -- this strata was a winner. My dad thought it needed sausage, but I loved the taste and texture just fine.

Anyone else out there a leek fan? Any recipes to share with me?

Loop at last

2008-03-19T21:37:00.005-04:00

This little number has been finished for weeks, and I've been consistently wearing her near and far. (And by far, I mean Queens.) But I've been distracted by trips from friends, a visit from my mom, sundry gubernatorial sex scandals and "The Wire" finale. (I may never forgive David Simon for what he did to my Dukie!)

Anyway, here is the Loop Shawl (ravelry) from "Sensual Knits", though I know it's not much of a loop or much of a shawl at this point.

thanks for the photo, jess!

I just enjoyed this stitch pattern so much that I didn't want to stop, graft the stitches and make it a circular shawl. Plus, I wanted a bright scarf that would provide a much-needed pop of color on top of my wide assortment of gray and black coats. But really, I found the pattern addictive.

I felt like the stitches really popped in this yarn, Shelridge Farm Soft Touch in cardinal. But I totally need a better way to block shawls! My blocking board seems like a postage stamp by comparison.

I know it's been well documented elsewhere, but the Spiders really brought it for Katy 's babywarming. Oh, the mimosas!

And here is Katy, along with bouncing baby Peter, admiring the progressive log cabin we made for them. Yeah, I think that's the kind of reaction we were hoping for.

28thirty(something)

2008-02-26T21:48:00.007-05:00

The official photographer is back in town, so here is 28thirty in her natural environs.

Now, you'll note that my funnel neck is less wide and funnel-y than the original. Perhaps this is because I used Cascade 220 heathers instead of the recommended Peace Fleece Worsted. I also had to re-block and shrink the neck because it was wide enough to fit around Roger Clemens' neck on the first go.

But while the neck isn't as stiff and stylish as the original, it is now flexible enough for me to subtly obscure my face, much like Secret Squirrel.

You'll also note that I lengthened the body. I just felt like a cropped jacket chops up my torso too much and is less versatile, but you do lose a little of the pattern's panache when you go full-length.

As I wrote before, I absolutely loved working on the arms of this one. They practically knit themselves and, at the risk of sounding haughty, they turned out super cute. And I certainly hope they don't resemble the Michelin Man's arm.

Here is the buttoned-down version, since this can be a terribly toasty sweater.

All in all, I really like how this one turned out. I always have good luck with Zephyr's patterns and would give this another thumb's up. I also think my life has been devoid of purple for far too long.

Photog missing

2008-02-20T21:45:00.005-05:00

Since the official photographer of Every Word's a Purl is away on business AGAIN, I can't show you my finished 28thirty. Not yet anyway.

His absence has a few other notable implications:

I'm indulging in the original Pride and Prejudice, followed by Project Runway.

I made myself a dinner involving only vegetables and tofu. And despite my plans to have it for dinner the rest of the week, I succeeded in putting most of it away m'self.

I am leaving half empty cups of coffee all over the house.

I just realized that my yoga pants have been on backwards for a few hours.

I almost forgot about the eclipse, until someone texted me. Now this power ballad is stuck in my head.

So, basically, I'm a slug. How does your behavior change when your significant other hits the road?

Nothing up my sleeve

2008-02-11T22:03:00.000-05:00

Presto!

It's a nearly finished 28Thirty. Such purply goodness. Have you ever really loved knitting something, like to the point that you kind of don't want it to end? That's how I've felt with this one. I just adore the purl rows breaking up the wide expanse of stockinette. My only fear is that it will have the same effect on my arms as horizontal stripes, making me look like I'm carrying around corrugated metal tubing. Let's hope not!

And here she is, nearly finished up and lounging in the only spot where I get any natural light.

But I finished tonight, and 28Thirty is blocking away. This despite the fact that I lost out on prime knitting time during jury duty last week. I was hoping to get several uninterrupted hours, but instead I had to perform my stinking civic duty and sit inside a court room for the bulk of the day. Not only did I question the attorneys' decision to quiz prospective jurors in front of other prospective jurors, but it was also total dullsville. (With the exception of the fact that I think Lionel Ritchie was sitting a few rows in front of me! Truly! I wanted to walk up to him and say, "Hello!") Not surprisingly, I got cut loose.

Tried and true

2008-01-26T08:25:00.001-05:00

I'm truly a creature of habit, downright predictable and boring. I must begin the day with half a cup of coffee and some kind of news, or else I'm cranky and impossible. Before I can fall asleep, I need to watch a minute or two of Letterman -- even if there is a writers' strike and the show is so old that the guest is Sinbad promoting "Houseguest."

When we go to my favorite restaurant, Fragole, I always order the rigatoni Firenze, but with the wheat fettucini instead of the rigatoni. I've essentially had the same hairstyle since the George H.W. Bush administration. I own three pairs of the same black pants from Express. And I only like one treadmill at my gym. There's just something about it.

And so it is with my knitting. I love knitting top-down raglans. The construction of them is fail-safe and fool-proof and numerous other hyphenated phrases. They always fit me and always produce a wearable finished object, which is more than i can say about any of my attempts at set-in sleeves or the like. (Emma and Trapeze Jacket, I'm looking at you!)

So I'm returning to my tried and true. I simply adore 28thirty by the gals at Zephyr Style. I've made three of their patterns already and have had nothing but good luck. Always fresh and crisp and super cute.

And here's my developing 28Thirty. (Any idea what the name means?)

I'm using my favorite workhorse wool, Cascade 220 in the rainier heather colorway. I find the colors and textures of the heather much more appealing than the standard 220. I used the pale green heather for my Forecast and find that sweater simultaneously soft and indestructible.

(And a shout out to Alpaca Direct, which had an extra skein in the same dye lot after I foolishly under purchased at Brooklyn Knit-a-Way.)

I'm also moving right along on my Loop Shawl. This is superb knitting for "The Wire."

But I won't be watching this Sunday, since the fiance is in Arizona (already!) to cover the Superbowl. We cannot bear to watch "The Wire" separately, so we caught this week's On Demand already. It's a good one -- and by good, I mean terrible things happen!

Trapeze jacket, we hardly knew ya

2008-01-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

There's something so sad about a finished object photo session without a human modeling the finished object. But I refuse to put the trapeze jacket on my body again. It just looked too dumpy and frumpy and lumpy and downright bad for my self esteem.

I couldn't even bring myself to weave in the ends. I did, though, have the common human decency to close it with a pretty brooch.

This one hurts. It really does. I've been working on it for months, and I truly had high hopes that it would become a favorite.

I accept most of the blame. I used Berocco Ultra Alpaca in a shade of gray that basically ensured maximum frumpiness. Should have picked something shinier or sleeker, but I wanted to start it right away. You know how that is.

I also suspected early on that the shoulders were too deep, starting too low on the arm, but I forged forward nonetheless. The jacket just ended up too big, despite the fact that I got gauge and knit the smallest size. Perhaps I knit looser as I went? Maybe I'll toss it in the dryer for the hell of it.

I hesitate to say this, but I also wonder if it's not just me. Even though a bunch of folks have started it on Ravelry, I can't find anyone yet who has finished it. As I've complained before, I never quite grasped the spacing of the increases in the body. The ribbing gradually grows from a 1x1 rib to a 1x2 rib to a 1x3 rib, but even after blocking, the increases look uneven and haphazard. I just feel like there had to be a better way. Anyway!

I'm currently captivated by these flowers:

I guess it's because I kinda can't stomach the prices of actual flowers. Maybe for centerpieces? Am I crazy? Here's a little practice bloom.

A post-holiday post

2008-01-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

It's a little too close to the holidays to feel nostalgic quite yet, or maybe it's just too painful that my vacation is over. This Christmas, there was fondue and merlot and coffee cake and green bean casserole. There was snow on the ground in Massachusetts and a Penguins game in Pittsburgh. There was Jon's cousin's Wii and my cousin's Wii and the scarily accurate game "Twenty Questions." It actually guessed that I was thinking of a plunger. Crazy!

Of course, there was also yarn. My future mother-in-law is an ambitious knitter and made me the most touching present. When Jon and his brother were little, their grandmother knit them the most intricate stockings with snowmen and Santas. Jon's grandmother is gone now, and the pattern she used was literally falling apart. But Jon's mom found a new copy and made me this. I was floored!

Of course, I received some knitterly gifts, too, namely Sensual Knits from my mom. Oh, I just want to eat the pages, they look so luscious. (Does anyone else smell knitting books? I feel like they smell better than other books.) I'm obnoxious and started name dropping to my mom as soon as I cracked the spine. "Yahaira? Veronique? Connie? Saun? Of course I know them! What, you don't?"

My first project will be the Loop Shawl by the ever-inspiring Leah. And so far I'm loving it. The lace pattern is intoxicating -- just enough cable needle action to keep things exciting but not burdensome. And those k3togs through the back loop ain't so bad!!

I'm using the Shelridge Farms 4-ply DK that I bought at Rhinebeck. It's ever-so-delightfully squishy and bouncy. Knitting with it is a dream!

If it seems like I'm knitting less, it's probably because I am. I never thought I'd be this gal, but I'm a little pre-occupied with wedding planning. Not obsessed, just pre-occupied. I don't care about cakes or flowers or even dresses (that much.) It's all of the pretty little touches that make a wedding special. Even if you are a commitment-phobe, you'll probably love Style Me Pretty. Now, I shall sit here and resist the urge to make my own fortune cookie-inspired menus....

Sparkle season

2007-12-17T14:08:00.001-05:00

Our days have been merry and bright around these parts.

We had four holiday parties in five days, including a particularly crazy one, marathon Christmas shopping and, of course, back-to-back viewings of season four of "The Wire." (We're actually getting HBO for season five because we can't possibly wait for it to come out on Netflix. And I've always had a moral opposition to paying for premium channels, so you know I must truly love this show.)

My family is coming into town tomorrow, then the fiance and I are splitting our Christmas break between Boston and Pittsburgh. (Thank you, Jetblue!) Even though it's our fifth Christmas together, we've never spent the day together, so that's kinda sorta special.

So onto the making! When sweaters get you down, it's time to turn to the sewing machine. Enter Built by Wendy.

I absolutely adore this pattern - it was fun to sew, not terribly complicated and fit perfectly. And since I'm sort of a dimwitted seamstress, this was a real shocker. I'll have it easier next time around thanks to the darling Marie, who was my Spiders Secret Santa and bought me a fabulous Olfa rotary cutter and cutting board! (And a pom pom maker to boot.)

Here I am, coy and fuzzy! I like that the fabric calls to mind ornate drapery or fussy wallpaper.

All the season's best to you and yours, dear blog readers.

Finally, a sweater I can finish

2007-12-03T16:56:00.001-05:00

This is my kinda sweater. About three inches tall and completed over the course of two episodes of "Sex and the City." (Poor Jon. He hears the theme music and literally groans in disgust.)

I'm going to my first-ever tree trimming next week, and the hostess specifically requested something handknit. Enter Ravelry: sooo many adorable patterns for tree ornaments. But this one really captured my eye, mostly because it includes the teeniest, tiniest raglan shaping.

It's the tiny sweater pattern from Everwhelming Liz. I struggled a little with the pattern -- didn't realize it was knit in the round for about 14 rows, dimwit that I am -- but the results are very cute. And she has a cute little sock pattern that's probably next on m'list.

Obviously, I'm knitting little ornaments to avoid the trapeze jacket. Cannotfacethesecondsleeve. Hopefully these will get me out of my rut.

Or these will. Inspired by Veronique, I ordered a "Built by Wendy" pattern for the Simplicity site. And shipping is free! (Seriously, free shipping is the reason for the season.) I picked out some darling-if-loud Dandy Damask fabric by Michael Miller at Brooklyn General. They're open on Mondays during the holiday season. (Extended hours are also the reason for the season!)

And this is a good thing, since our old friend Fabric Sav-a-thon is closing! I stopped by today, thinking maybe I could pick up some cute Christmas-y fabric, and the place looked like a bomb had gone off -- and all that survived were elderly women (and me). Patterns were just 99 cents, but I had to elbow fabric-crrrrrazy ladies to get even a peek. And those women were surprisingly strong. Then once I did get my grubby hands on the patterns, I realized they were mostly scarecrow Halloween costumes, quilted vests featuring woodland creatures and Jessica McClintock evening gowns. Not my speed. There might be some real bargains on notions or knick-knacks or craft supplies, but I wasn't in a scavenger place.

Now, we all know that I have a rather mixed history with FS-a-T. But it's sad to see an inexpensive option just disappear.

This is the sweater that never ends ...

2007-11-19T17:55:00.000-05:00

It just goes on and on and on.

I'm not sure if I just have less times these days, or if I've become a slower knitter, or if this pattern is just total time suckage. But I seem to be going nowhere fast on the trapeze jacket.

The shawl collar is done, and I'm past the short row sleeve caps. (I'm not so good at short rows. Maybe because I'm not a sock knitter. I'm confident that I'm doing them wrong.)

An uninspired progress shot, for you perusal:

Here is what's irritating about this pattern. It's sort of the worst of all worlds -- the ribbing of the body is boring, but it's NOT mindless. It grows gradually from 1 by 1, to 1 by 2, to 1 by 3 ribbing, at seemingly random intervals. So you have to look at the piece frequently; you can't simply zone out and become captivated by Grey's Anatomy. (Then again, the show's become too over-the-top, implausible and maudlin lately anyway.)

So while I'm typically very loyal to my projects, I had to stray. I used my Morehouse Merino from Rhinebeck to knit up Pepperknit's darling Bainbridge Scarf. I gave it to my dear friend at her bachelorette party because, well, I think it's more useful and less humiliating than typical bachelorette party presents.

And speaking of weddings, which I always seem to be these days, here's one of the engagement pictures that our good friend Julia took for us. No, he didn't toss me off the Promenade.

Good reads

2007-11-06T09:26:00.000-05:00

I'm often doling out and accepting book recommendations in real life. Today, I'm not only giving you a recommendation, I'm letting you hear from the author herself, who's also a friend of mine. It's not about crafts -- it's about crime reporting, another topic disturbingly near to my heart.

As some of you know already, before moving to New York City, I was a reporter for about four years at the New Haven Register. One of my first editors was Karen E. Olson, who stayed on the phone with me for an hour when I lost power in my attic apartment during my first week in Connecticut. Since then, she's developed into a fabulous mystery writer, writing about a dogged female crime reporter in New Haven. I devoured her first two books, and her third, "Dead of the Day," comes out today.

Karen is a blogger, too, and asked if she could stop here on her week-long blog tour. I know some of my readers are either reporters themselves, news junkies or just like hearing my crazy stories. So I thought you'd all appreciate hearing from her:

I am not a crafty person. I still have half an afghan I crocheted when I was 12 (I never finished it because I ran out of yarn. I could’ve used this blog then, but the Internet wasn’t even a twinkle in anyone’s eye yet.) But I did have a creative side, and while I wasn’t weaving sweaters, I was weaving stories.

I spent my twenties writing newspaper stories. I covered a lot of planning and zoning and school board meetings. I only covered two murders in my six years as a reporter, and neither of them was a mystery. In one case, a teenager killed his father over a pack of cigarettes, and in the other, a man killed his girlfriend’s former boyfriend. He called the police himself and waited for them to arrive.

When I started writing murder mysteries, I knew the stories had to be a lot more interesting and complicated than any I’d actually written. I also hadn’t liked any of the books I’d read with reporter protagonists, because they really didn’t seem true to the profession. I have tried to be faithful to what it’s really like working at a newspaper — because every newspaper is the same. They’re all in a crappy building with crappy carpets and crappy computer systems.

My reporter protagonist waits for sources to call her, she argues with the editor about how to cover stories, and she’s irritated by a new, eager hire who’s after her job. She uses a lot of four-letter words (I have had readers wonder why a nice reporter like her would use such language), and she drives around a lot, mostly looking for parking. I did have to cross the line a little to give readers what they expect from a mystery and put her in danger in each book.

For the record, I have never owned a gun, although at one paper, I did work with a sports editor who kept one in his car’s glove box. I shot a gun for the first time last year. Let’s just say I’m not making it a habit.

In DEAD OF THE DAY, my third book that’s just out today, Annie Seymour is trying to write a profile of the city’s new police chief. She just can’t pull it together, but when he’s gunned down she’s got the kind of story she can get her teeth into. This book has a lot more action than the previous ones, and I even tackle the illegal immigration issue, although I tried carefully to present all sides and not take one myself. It’s the journalist in me.

I doubt that I will have Annie ever take up knitting, although maybe I will pull that old afghan out of the closet and see what I can do with it while I’m trying to devise my next plot. It’s still remarkably in good shape. But I still don’t have any yarn. Any ideas?

Knits that have stood the test of time

2007-11-03T12:50:00.001-04:00

The truth is, I took a progress shot of the trapeze jacket. And there is progress -- I'm finally finished with the back. But I just can't subject all of you to a progress shot of boring old ribbing. So instead, let's take a whirl in the knitting way-back machine via a copy of Spinnerin's "Gentlemen Prefer" that I snagged for $2 at Rhinebeck.

The year is 1967, and apparently gentlemen preferred garish cardigans and women with alarmingly high-waisted pants. Those studious fellows look down-right captivated (or confused?) by her! Either that, or they're waiting for her to leave so they can dig into that tug-boat sized fruit basket.

Nothing says "expert art direction" quite like bright orange, wraparound vest. The photographer appears to be mumbling under his breath, "Put a sock in it, jackass."

It's a man. In a poncho. Is it a mancho? I'm wondering if that masterpiece was knit by his intergalactic companion there. If the sweater curse is bad news, imagine the poncho curse!

In all seriousness, that blazer is a knitting marvel. Seriously. But I fear these fellows are too over-dressed for an afternoon of, um, model airplane building.

Self-indulgent Rhinebeck post

2007-10-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

We came. We saw. We ate.

Here lie the remnants of the decadent apple crisp that Jess and I shared at Rhinebeck. This followed fried artichoke hearts, cheeseburgers and cider -- and preceded kettle corn and stomach aches on the ride home.

The Spiders decided to divide and conquer at the festival this year -- actually, I just couldn't get Saturday off work and convinced a few suckers to go with me on Sunday instead. Here are Katy, Jess, Jess and I taking a breather (note the empty cider next to me).

In terms of knitting celeb sightings, we watched as bloggers mobbed Ravelry mama Frecklegirl like a bunch teen-age girls swooning over the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. (Of course, we joined the mob.) Sadly, we didn't see our fave knitting celeb, the grandfatherly gentleman from Morehouse. And even more sadly, we learned their store is closing! They're going, like, totally virtual. This is a true knitterly atrocity, especially since their website isn't the slickest and some of the pages have pictures covering text.

(For a pic of Grandpa Morehouse, go here and click on the pic labeled "irresistible." I'm not kidding.)

Anyway, before I reveal my yarn haul, I insist that you take in the lovely, autumnal scenery. We don't see too much of this in the city and were all agog over it.

Ok, my haul. The top row is Morehouse 3-strand in a positively radiant and nearly translucent lilac. Maybe for an accessory of some kind? Underneath that, I picked up two skeins of Shelridge Farms Soft Touch in a color reminiscent of Italian ice. It's delightfully squishy and destined for a shawl or wrap. And on the bottom, perhaps predictably, I have three skeins of Brooks Farm four play in a yummy violet. See Sandra, I'm on my way to having a yarn stash!

Oh, and another thing -- Go Sox!

Now they've really done it

2007-10-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

This can't be good for us. Martha Stewart has created a no-knit scarf pattern. And it's damn cute.

She's also got a no-stitch cross-stitch votive. What's next? The no-crochet toilet paper doll cover? The no-macrame macrame wall hanging?

Anyway. If I seem cranky, it's due in large part to the Boston Red Sox, who are clearly losing in an attempt to upend my tranquil home life. The playoffs are the only time that I actually care about baseball, and it's been a rather miserable series. (If you are interested in my future brother-in-law's far more trenchant thoughts on the matter, you can read here.)

Really, I'm interested in sports mostly for the mascots. That's why I went to Maryland -- just try to find a more mirthful mascot than the Terp. He posed for Christmas cards every year, for heaven's sake. But lately I've been more about Wally, who apparently has his own blog. Here is our Wally, perched next to the television where we keep watching the Sox lose. He's always so pleasant.

OK, enough of the stream of consciousness. I'm making only glacial progress on my Trapeze jacket, even though it's the official knitting project of The Wire, which we are obsessed with. I'll have to bring it along this weekend for Rhinebeck!!

And can I ask -- does anybody else tear up at those Liberty Mutual commercial where people see someone performing a good deed, then feel inspired to do something nice for someone else? (Like a neighbor stops a couch from falling out of a moving truck onto an elderly woman or something, then someone who witnesses that prevents a pizza delivery man from walking straight into a semi?) Why are these making me so emotional?

It's all about common ground

2007-10-08T23:26:00.000-04:00

Those Mars and Venus people could take a lesson from us.

Jon and I drove up Friday night to visit his parents in Massachusetts and attend his 10 year reunion, which we were excited about. But we were driving on I-91North when the Red Sox were playing, which we were not so excited about. Let me be clear about this: in order to survive, Jon would need to hear this game. So I had to repeatedly search for AM stations carrying the match-up, then 20 miles later find another one when the signal faded out. For once, I was the long-suffering girlfriend.

But I decided to make the best of it, knitting by the light of my cell phone. And thanks to some children's Dramamine, I was finally able to make some progress on my trapeze jacket. (The Ultra Alpaca has a tendency to shed, I must say.)

Not to be outdone, Jon showed incredible restraint and patience as well, allowing me to wear this dress to his reunion. I was channeling my inner Rhoda, which I seem to do an awful lot. I just felt like we should be the kooky couple from Brooklyn.

The spirit of cooperation continued throughout the weekend, as Jon discovered a new way to incorporate his love for baseball with my love for wine. Who'd have thunk it -- in Massachusetts, baseball players have their own!

That's just "Manny Being Merlot." Yeah, it's a little bit strange.

And at long last, we were able to meld baseball and knitting beyond an annual Stitch N' Pitch. Here's my new Lowell Spinners T-shirt, perhaps designed specifically with the two of us in mind.

And theeeeeee Yankees lost a few minutes ago. So peace and tranquility reign in our home. Now, back to my knitting.

Negligent!

2007-09-30T10:48:00.000-04:00

I've been back a whole week, and I just haven't had the get-up-and-go to post about the trip. I guess it's just too overwhelming. I put a big ole album on flickr, but here are a few highlights:

Here are the Alps, with a Barbapapa doll that I purchased. I thought I'd dreamt up the Barbapapas! Does anyone else remember them?

Here we are after climbing to the top of the Duomo. It was not an easy trip, but so worth it.

I feel like I can't really sum up the trip - it was relaxing and enriching and just fantastic. We rushed around all day, popping from site to site to site. Then we napped. Then we passed our evenings enjoying fresh mozzarella and savory pastas and lots of red wine. Is it time to go back?

I've been plugging away on the summer shawlette, but I messed up on the flight home and had to rip it all back. So not exciting progress shots. And I think I'm gonna start the long sleeve trapeze jacket soon.

In the meantime, enjoy this slideshow about knit dresses. I have seen a lot on the streets lately -- many with beautiful, bulky cables -- but I'm not sure I'd have the commitment to knit a dress. And I certainly won't be knitting my wedding gown. And I most definitely, certainly won't be knitting everything in my wedding.

Not too late for tanks, apparently

2007-09-10T15:54:00.000-04:00

I had feared that it would be too chilly to wear my Ribs and Lace tank after I finished. Au contraire. It's actually too muggy to wear it. I practically needed to hose down after our little photo shoot. Oh, the humidity!

I'm gonna be honest -- this isn't my favorite finished object ever. As you can see, if one wore this without a cami underneath, one might be arrested for indecent exposure. (And I re-did the straps twice. No luck.) I was actually stunned, though, that the chest shaping turned out OK. I was just really skeptical with all of the decreasing and increasing -- seemed like I was on a path to destruction.

I used four balls of Patons Grace, which I snagged during a Spiders yarn swap. (I believe it once belonged to blogless Nancy). So for a free knit, I'd say that I'm rather pleased! Now, I'm moving on to more lace and more Interweave, this time the Summer Lace Shawlette. This will be my overseas knitting.

Yes, overseas! We are heading out to Europe Thursday to spend a few days with my folks in the French Alps, then we'll head by ourselves to Florence and Rome. I. Cannot. Wait. We need a vacation in a way that I can't easily explain. And don't tell Jonathan, but there will be trips to Italian yarn shops. Oh yes, there will be!

I'll also share with you pictures from the "bridal brunch" that my dear co-workers threw for me. I felt so fancy! Like, who am I that people would actually throw me a brunch? As one reporter said, it was fun to pretend for a few hours that we were the type of people who might be invited to a "bridal brunch." For you foodies, here were my delicious desserts:

And because I love photographing flowers, here were some from the "bridal brunch." I'm a lucky gal.

Thanks, and cold shoulders

2007-08-27T16:39:00.000-04:00

I can't thank all of you enough for your well wishes! We read each and every one with much glee. The next few days were kind of crazy and kooky -- I had to fly to Virginia for work, and I was convinced that my ring was going to wash down the drain in the hotel. We also visited my folks in Pennsylvania, and, in typical Carrie fashion, I humiliated myself. My folks had arranged for us to take a quaint cruise around Conneaut Lake on a boat with an average passenger age of 87. It was rainy all weekend, so I carefully navigated my way down a slippery stairwell leading to the watercraft. Of course, on the last step, I fell directly on my ass. Mind you, the senior citizens got down there just fine. For the rest of the trip, I was "that girl who fell on her ass."

Now we're tiptoeing into the stressful world of New York wedding planning, which seems only slightly less painful (and more expensive) than serious dental work. It's an adventure!!!

Anyway, I'm chipping away at the Ribs and Lace Tank from the spring Interweave. At this rate, I will finish just in time for fall's chill, when lacy tanks tops are about as useful as sunscreen.

I'm using the Patons Grace that I picked up at a Spiders yarn swap. The lace pattern is quick and easy to memorize -- not as much fun as the Razor Cami, but close.

Since I'm in the home stretch with this baby, I'm thinking shawls. I positively freeze to death at work most days, and I think my co-workers are getting sick of seeing me in my Ella every day. (Let's face it -- it's a touch loud.) So I'm looking for a substantial shawl, nothing too light or dainty. Any favorites??

Of course I said yes

2007-08-14T21:09:00.001-04:00

My favorite person in the world proposed to me yesterday. I was totally surprised and thrilled and speechless. We sat for a long time on our little fire escape, drinking champagne and just being happy.

We're a little overwhelmed by everyone's response, but I think Jon's grandmother perhaps had the cutest reaction of all. "The ring will sparkle while she's knitting," she said.

Icky sweet, but not icky

2007-08-06T15:44:00.000-04:00

The moment I laid eyes on the Bella Baby Dress, I knew I had to crochet one. Then, of course, my friends started giving birth to boy after boy after boy. The nerve of some people!

Thankfully, I found out that a beloved co-worker was in the family way -- and having a little girl. So here is my finished Bella:

It's so violently feminine, I felt the need to photograph it in front of a brick wall in order to tone down the saccharine. I considered photographing it in a dark alley, or perhaps with a chalk outline.

You may recognize the yarn as the A.C. Moore Luxury Aran Cashmere from Tubey. (And if you think I'm self-absorbed for suggesting that you'd remember my lowly Tubey, please know that two Spiders actually recognized the yarn. Scary, I know.) If you can get yourself to an A.C. Moore, this is a super alternative to Debbie Bliss.

I knew I had a few months to finish this, so I kinda dragged my feet. Could have finished it in maybe a week, since the popcorn stitch is totally addictive and simply flies by.

I made the largest size, which seems big enough for a toddler or maybe kindergartner. Future incarnations will be more teensy-weensy.

Now I need a new project for Stitch n Pitch on Wednesday. Who will I be seeing there?

It's curtains, I tell ya!

2007-07-31T20:40:00.000-04:00

Well hello there!

Much like my Fisher Price friend here, I've been spending more time at the sewing machine than with my knitting needles lately. It's almost too hot to knit nowadays. This weather is really only suitable for loafing, puttering and frittering. And good news! It's only supposed to get more miserable as the week goes on.

How hot is it? Well, perhaps this was the dumbest thing I did this week. I was on an assignment Saturday and sweat so badly that I got into my car, hid underneath a beach blanket and changed shirts. Then I hung my repugnant shirt on the car's air conditioning until it dried. Thing is, I was on the upper West Side. This kinda behavior could have gotten me arrested.

Anyway! I spent the week sewing festive new curtains. I picked up this loud fabric while I was at home -- it's for the bedroom and really makes the sage walls pop. They also match my grandmother's afghan.

I also bravely returned to Fabric Save-A-Thon and picked up more gingham. You can't beat the price -- just $2.99 a yard. This is for my little craft area, which is coming along slowly but surely.

I'm wondering now if curtains make for a boring post. But they're like the eyeshadow of a room!

Just one thing

2007-07-25T08:51:00.001-04:00

Ever been so tickled by one little detail of a pattern that you just had to make it? Maybe despite your better judgment? So it was with me and this crochet tunic.

I present to you this adorable pocket. This was why I had to make it. Such a cute pocket!

The pattern calls for the (back from the dead) Cotton Ease, but I was home with my folks and couldn't find it or any other decent cotton. So I picked up a whole heckuva lot of Sugar n Cream (and yes, that was the exact yardage.) Something possessed me to buy it in a shade of retina-searing green. Why warning flags weren't raised at this point, I'm not sure.

Mercifully, the pattern is nearly all triple crochet, meaning super fast and great "Little House on the Prairie" knitting. (Mom and I saw an excellent one in which Willie falls for a humble farm girl and purposefully fails a college entrance exam so that he can stay in Walnut Grove and marry the lass. You can only imagine how his mom took it!)

Ahem. So I finished the tunic in record time and, well, it shows. (Mom would like you to forgive us the leafless tree in the background. They fear it's dying and have called the resident tree doctor.)

Downright garrish, I know. But maybe I can wear it as a beach cover-up? I won't even raise an eyebrow at my beloved Coney Island!

Speaking of outrageousness, this weekend was our first annual Spiders Summer Gala. I was honestly nostalgic for it before it was even over. Virginia was a fabulous hostess, which came as no surprise since she'd taken home first place at her company's bake-off for strawberry rhubarb pie, for heaven's sake. I can't even convey how great the vegetarian buffet was, outdone only by the game of "Spiders Jeopardy."

A pic of Team Awesome Kick-Ass -- including me, Sandra, Jess, Kathy, and Steph -- swiped with permission from Tres Chic Veronique

It was a beautiful night on a lovely rooftop, made even more sparkling by our tiaras. I felt like true knitterati!

A doomed peacock resurrected!

2007-07-13T16:53:00.000-04:00

Perhaps I'm a head case. But when I read about the fate of a peacock on Staten Island, all I could think is, "Wouldn't it be great to crochet a peacock's resplendent plumage?" So, yeah, I did.

Ain't he grand? Really, crocheting this was all about the tail feathers. So take a gander:

So, in the latest in my series of my newsworthy knits, here is the doomed Staten Island Peacock. (Totally improvised and perhaps not well thought out. But I'm at my parents' house for vacation, so I'm not feeling too cerebral.)

Materials:
Body: Classic Elite Provence in bright blue, portion of skein
Plumage: Brooks Farm Four Play in Amy colorway
Feet and mouth: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in gray, small amount
Or whatever peacock-colored yarns you have in your stash
US G/6 crochet hook
Yarn needle
Small amount stuffing
2 black buttons

Gauge:
Who cares? It’s a stuffed animal.

Abbreviation:
sc = single crochet
2sc = two singles crochets
sc2tog = single crochet two together, decreasing a stitch.

Body:
Ch 15, slip stitch to form a ring
Rnd 1: Sc around.
Rnd 2: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next 7 stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next 6 stitches. (17 stitches)
Rnd 3: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next 8 stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next 7 stitches. (19 stitches)
Rnd 4: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next 9 stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next 9 stitches. (21 stitches)
Rnd 5: sc in each stitch (21 stitches)
Rnd 6: sc2tog, sc in next 9 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 8 stitches. (19 stitches)
Rnd 7: sc2tog, sc in next 8 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 7 stitches. (17 stitches)
Rnd 8: sc2tog, sc in next 7 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 6 stitches. (15 stitches)
Rnd 9: sc2tog, sc in next 6 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 5 stitches. (13 stitches)
Rnd 10: sc2tog, sc in next 5 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 4 stitches. (11 stitches)
Rnd 11: sc2tog, sc in next 4 stitches, sc2tog, sc in next 3 stitches. (9 stitches)
Rnd 12-18: sc in each stitch. (9 stitches)
Rnd 19: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next four stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next three stitches. (11 stitches)
Rnd 20: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next five stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next four stitches. (13 stitches)
Rnd 21: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next six stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next five stitches. (15 stitches)
Rnd 22: Two sc in first stitch, sc in next seven stitches, two sc in next stitch, sc in next six stitches (17 stitches)
Rnd 23: Sc in each stitch around (17 stitches)
Rnd 24: Sc2tog, sc in next seven stitches, sc2tog, sc in next six stitches. (15 stitches)
Rnd 25: Sc2tog, sc in next two stitches, sc2tog, sc in next two stitches, sc2tog, sc in next two stitches. (9 stitches)
Rnd 26: Sc2tog, sc in next stitch, sc2tog, sc in next three stitches. ( 7 stitches)
Rnd 27: Sc2tog, sc2tog, sc in next stitch, sc2tog. (4 stitches)
Pull yarn through remaining stitches. Weave in end.

Plumage:
Ch 22.
Begin ripple pattern.
Rnd 1: Dc in fourth chain from hook, dc in three ch, 3dc in next chain, dc in next four chains, skip 2 chains, dc in next four chains, 3 dc in next chain, dc in next four chains.
Rnd 2: Ch4, turn. Dc in next four sc, 3dc in next sc, dc in next four sc, skip 2 sc, dc in next four sc, 3 dc in next sc, dc in next five sc.
Continue in this manner, increasing one stitch at each end of pattern, for five more rows.

Finishing:
Stuff peacock’s body. With embroidery needle and yarn, sew the trimmer end of plumage to the bottom of the peacock.

Feathers atop head:
Connect yarn to top of head.
Ch5. Four sc in last ch. Weave in ends.

Beak:
Ch2, turn.
2 sc in each st, turn.
2sc in first st, sc in next two st, 2sc in last stitch.
With embroidery needle and yarn, sew wide part of beak to face.
Sew on eyes.

Feet, make two:
Ch 7, turn.
Sc in six ch, four sc in last ch.

Oh, and in other crochet stuffie news, my mom and I worked up a little stuffed octopus. We're calling him Ocho! And he is mighty disagreeable.

Surprise!

2007-07-03T21:34:00.001-04:00

This went so fast that I didn't even have a chance to tell you about it.

It's a slightly lengthened Cloud bolero, a pattern that I had never seen before Ravelry. I thought this would be the perfect little number to throw on at the office, seeing as the temperature is positively arctic thanks to insane air-conditioning. It's like goosebumps cold, people. We're all dressed like it's December. Maybe I need to call up Al Gore and ask him to intervene?

Anywho. I used four balls of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk, which I picked up with a generous gift certificate to Knot Another Hat from Jon's mom. (Thanks again!) This knit up FAST. The pattern is easy to memorize and superb "Law and Order" knitting. (There's a 16-hour marathon tomorrow, for those of you not working. That's a lot of Lennie!) The only thing that I struggled with was the picot bind-off -- I'd never done it before, and I'm not sure that I even did it right. But it looks about right. I decided to lengthen it mainly because I had enough yarn, and I always worry that cropped cardigans make me look truncated.

It's a little tough not to look like a simpleton when using the timer on your camera. (That's one of my grandmother's cameos. Cute, no?)

The back of the bolero really shows off the feather and fan pattern. (Sorry for the partially obstructed view -- again, I'm not that adept at using the automatic timer on the camera).

So I've been feeling a little bad about criticizing Fabric Save-a-thon in my last post. Please don't think I'm a snob or nasty to salespeople -- I worked at Joann Fabrics for a few months and endured awful, awful customers. I just don't want to be insulted when I'm making a purchase!

Oh, and if anyone is interested in deconstructing the new Transformer movie, well, here you go.

Swatch portrait makeover -- revealed!

2007-06-29T10:39:00.000-04:00

We're heading away for the weekend, thank heavens, so I have the day off until we leave for D.C. Do I sleep in? No. Do I vegetate and watch Regis and Kelly? Nope. I wake up early and continue fiddling with my craft area.

I decided to go with swatch portraits a la Purl Patchwork. And I scooped up great fabrics there recently, thanks to a gift certificate from my dear Spiders. (My natural light is limited here, so forgive the photos.)

And did you notice this? I'm telling you, Russian dolls are the next big thing.

I used mostly greens and oranges. All are from Purl minus the flowery fabric on the upper right, which is a vintage pillow case, and the orange gingham, which is from Fabric Save-a-thon.

Now let me tell you a little story about my trip to the Save-a-thon. I decided that I wanted a few patterns, so I stopped by, even though the store was about the same temperature as the earth's core. I purchased all of my embroidery hoops there for a song. Then I turned my attention to the pattern table. I selected a few, then spent 45 minutes attempting to flag down an employee. She was strangely hostile to me, sarcastically telling me that she would be thrilled to help me. Then they didn't have two of the "Made by Wendy" patterns, so I settled for a few New Looks. But they wouldn't let me carry around the patterns, I guess for shoplifting reasons, which made picking out fabric and notions onerous.

I did find the cute orange gingham above, which I intend to turn into a cute top. But I got a touch of attitude from the man at the cutting counter, who wore a menacing Wile E. Coyote t-shirt.

"Sewing something for the kids?" he asked me.

"Um, no, it's for me," I answered.

"Oh," he said. "Well, no comment then."

Now, I don't see gingham as being childlike. At least not as childlike as, say, a Wile. E. Coyote tee-shirt.

Coquette? You bet!

2007-06-24T20:29:00.000-04:00

Perhaps it should have been called the "'You have no business wearing a tube top' lace top" or the "'Who do you think you are? Chrissy from Three's Company?' lace top." But, it's the "Coquette lace top" from Fitted Knits, and though I'm not one, I decided to make one.

It fulfills my typical requirements, ones that you are probably sick of hearing about -- it's simple, but busy enough to keep me interested. Great Top Chef knitting, if you are into that kind of thing. (Is there anything I won't watch on Bravo? Nah, probably not.)

I used three hanks of Classic Elite Provence, which is a delightful mercerized cotton. I feel like it has a little more stretch and sheen than the recommended Cascade Pima Tencel. And that stuff sheds like Fred MacMurray in the original "Shaggy Dog." Not pretty.

Speaking of old-time actors that I have no business remembering, my colleagues and I were leaving an awards ceremony Thursday night when we spotted Angela Lansbury! Having had a $9 glass of wine, I was far too excited and snapped her picture. Way to work the large floral print, Ms. Fletcher!

(Oh, and if you are looking for something to read the next three days, may I humbly recommend this? It explains why I haven't seen the spiders in ages and why I became ill on Friday.)

(Oh, oh! And happy birthday to my wonderful and marvelous mom! I bought her this!)

Seaworthy

2007-06-19T22:35:00.000-04:00

I am not in the habit of doling out advice. But I do have a few words of wisdom for you today: Befriend someone with a boat.

I would offer you our friends Mike and Suzanne, but they're popular enough. You will need to find your own friend with a boat.

We went out for a few hours Saturday, traveling from his home in Babylon, Long Island, to Fire Island and all sorts of spots in between. Being from landlocked Pennsylvania (aside from Pittsburgh's three rivers), I had to keep pinching myself because it was such a foreign, wonderful experience. The mist in your face, the wind in your hair, the occasional bumps from the choppy water -- it was perfectly relaxing.

My greatest concern was on the beach, when the little umbrella from my pina colada blew away and I had to chase after it.

Sunday was also quite wonderful, seeing as it was the Renegade craft fair, but it was so toasty that Jess, Sandra, blogless Shannon and I could only hang in there for a few hours. Despite numerous suntan lotion applications, my back still got a touch burnt.

On to the loot! This adorable pail is from pixiegenne. She is a decoupage queen -- I have never coveted a suitcase so very much.

It was commented on repeatedly that matroyshkas -- Russian stacking dolls -- were this year's owls at Renegade. They were on everything! My mother briefly lived in Russia, so our house is populated with the dolls. (I was only allowed to play with them under strict adult supervision, but now my cousin's triplets basically treat them like G.I. Joes.) Anyway, I bought this cute little ring imprinted with a Russian doll face, though I can't remember from what vendor! And I'm also kicking myself for not buying a cute little blue t-shirt with a matroyshka on it. If anyone remembers either, please let me know -- I already checked the vendor list, but to know avail.

I picked up some fabric remnants and a mirror, but the MVP of the day was the jewelry from Fernworks. We were all instantly drawn to it.

My necklace has a lone bird flying over a tree -- there's something haunting and lovely about it.

In the olden days

2007-06-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

So we were strolling along 7th Avenue in Brooklyn recently when we came upon a kindly old lady selling overpriced used children's books, suitcases, and crochet magazines. I picked up the April 1989 "Crochet World," which is basically a crafty "wayback" machine. There's lots of big hair, bulky sweaters and a stuffed doll called "Little Britches Indian" that makes me more than a little uncomfortable.

Oh, and this fashion doozy. The look on the model's face seems to say, "Mom, I'm really gonna get you for this one."

Anyway, what really captured me in this magazine was a section called "Potpourri," where crocheters tried to find back issues, patterns and pen pals. It's basically an encapsulation of the needlework community back in the day, pre-Internet. And it ain't that different than how we communicate now, really. Take this little letter:

I'm a widow seeking new friends and a crochet skunk pattern where the tail holds an air freshener can. Would also like to trade patterns for potholders, fridgies and 6 " granny squares?

Don't you want to write to this woman? (And aren't you dying to see what the heck this skunk looks like?) I guess what struck me was that, then and now, knitting and crocheting aren't as satisfying if you can't share your obsession with someone else. While my spiders and I might rapid fire pattern questions to each other, this lady was probably waiting weeks to see what granny square patterns were circulating in Tuscaloosa. Crazy.

So anyway. I'm still plodding along on the baby knits, but I also selfishly started the coquette lace tube top from Fitted Knits. It's in Classic Elite Provence, which I lurrrrve.

And just because I'm having fun with my new Canon, here are some shots from our fireplace/ghetto terrace.

My new marigolds....

And the mystery hanging plant. Anyone know what this is?

baby things

2007-06-06T23:09:00.001-04:00

Two nights ago, I had a dream (nightmare?) that I gave birth to nine babies. Yep, nine. And as it is in dreams, there was no explanation for how this happened or where the nonuplets would sleep or how we'd feed them.

Maybe I ate something weird for dinner, or maybe it's all the wee baby clothes I've been knitting.

I've recently thrown myself headlong into little outfits for my very pregnant friends/beloved co-workers. I could knit February sweaters until the end of time. Busy enough to keep you interested, simple enough for the feeble-minded (like me).

Here's the sweater, lounging on our fire escape/ghetto terrace on my oil cloth from Brooklyn General. She's made from King Tut cotton, my go-to yarn for February sweaters.

In other breaking baby knits news, I started the Bella baby dress from Posie Gets Cozy. Reading this blog is like opening a Valentine every day. So crisp and fresh and delightful.

So I know the dress doesn't look like much yet, but give the gal a chance!

So did anyone else read about this and recall the song Pac-Man Fever? Yeah, my brother and I had it on vinyl.

And did anyone else read about this and worry that Sam Waterston would get less air time?

Three day weekends

2007-05-29T22:28:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure that I can remember the last time I took a three-day weekend for a patriotic holiday. I loved the summer holidays as a kid -- endless rigatoni and parades and swimming and fireworks and, well, more rigatoni. So I just couldn't resist taking off this Memorial Day, particularly since it coincided with my birthday. (31, if you must know.)

And, oh, it was joyous and decadent! I tanned (safely) on my fire escape, started redecorating my craft room and bought a beautiful hanging plant that I can't identify. I painted my toenails and bought two new dresses. We ate and ate at Pacifico (twice), Apt. 138, Gennaro's and a dumpy burger stand at Coney Island.

Of course, there was knitting. And knitting presents! Mom bought me a kit for Fiesta's Famous Shawl. It's knit on size 17 needles, so I should finish it by sundown.

And I have been chugging along on another of my beloved February sweater. What could be more delightful than an afternoon in Prospect Park, knitting away on an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern?

(And don't worry -- I got a new digicam from the long-suffering boyfriend, so better pictures to come!)

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I'm still forgoing coffee. I'm drinking green tea, which I realize still has caffeine, but I feel much calmer. I only had one cup in the past week and a half, and it made me jittery and anxious. It's crazy -- I spend so much time trying to change things about myself. Then one day, I just up and cut out my greatest addiction. Maybe we're all tougher than we think.

Split neck tee, why so baggy?

2007-05-21T21:07:00.001-04:00

Probably because I rather capriciously substituted yarns.

(I was having what I like to call a "bad face day." I looked positively drawn and morose in every shot.)

This knit, from Stefanie Japel's awesome Fitted Knits, was a departure for me. I rarely knit anything in precisely the color used by the designer. (See Ms. Petunia and Verdant Root for further evidence.) But I found this color combo really fetching. It made all of the stockinette stitch seem worthwhile.

Of course, I couldn't make things simple and get the recommended yarn -- mainly because I couldn't find it. I did see some Cascade Invito only at one store, but they didn't carry the right colorway. Some of the others seemed either too boring or too garish.

Enter Brooklyn General. (Which now has a blog!) I think the Rowan Cotton Jeans looks remarkably like the recommended yarn. And while I swear I checked my gauge, this baby just turned out way too big. I ripped back to the underarms and reknit after realizing this, but it was still too baggy. And I was too stubborn to rip back again.

I did add some waist shaping, but it didn't make much of a difference. Oh, I also made the border, done in Knit Picks wool, slimmer than in the original because, well, I was running out of yarn. (It's becoming clear to me that I did a rather half-assed job on this one.)

Still, I think it's pretty cute. Check out the little clasp that I picked up from -- take a guess! -- Brooklyn General.

Now, all of you please wish me luck as I cut back on my COFFEE intake. I just worry that it's making me too jittery and anxious, so I'm switching to green tea. This will come as a shock to anyone who knows me in real life since both my family and I are completely addicted to coffee. I apologize if I've shared this story before, but when my father went on an interview for life insurance, they asked him his hobby. He replied, "Drinking coffee."

We'll see how this goes.

On another note, thanks for all of your concern about the nasty security guard. But, to be honest, I gotta agree with him. I took Self's advice and only used the recommended three pound weights, and they're not heavy enough! I fear even Olive Oyl would have an easy time with them.

You might as well not even read this.

2007-05-09T22:50:00.000-04:00

Because I can't seem to finish a damn thing. Except maybe a margarita, as I did when I spent Cinco de Mayo with los Arañas.

I'm creeping along on the split-neck tee, making a ton of progress while watching last week's odd two-hour Grey's Anatomy. I don't appreciate their attempt to sneak a spin-off by us. It's just so 80s to have a spinoff, and so gauche. Like "Who's the Boss"'s short-lived spin-off "Living Dolls". Or "After MASH". (Of course, I give a pass to "Facts of Life" and "Frasier." )

Ahem, anyway.

Here's the tee so far, in particular its ingenious little picot edging. I think I might rip back and make it shorter, since this seems to add a little bulk to the sweater. (Oh, and I'm running out of yarn.)

At Brooklyn General, I picked up this darling vintage fabric for my ambitious re-do of my craft area. I'm thinking green and orange and swatch portraits! This shall be the tablecloth, since I couldn't bear to cut it up.

I've decided to resurrect my long-lost feature, "The dumbest thing I did this week." It was close, but I think we have a winner. Last night, I wasted far too much time at the H&M in Herald Square trying on cheap clothes. I then decided to stop by the K-Mart to look for embroidery hoops because, for some reason, I thought they carried craft items. Um, no. But I did find the three pound weights that I need for Self magazine's amazing arm workout. (My triceps are more pitiable than amazing.) The weights looked so measly though, and I was petrified someone would see me or make fun of my measly weights, especially since I wasn't buying anything else. It's like I purposefully went to K-Mart to buy measly weights. Even the woman in line behind me -- the woman buying enough cat food for an army of felines -- gave me a strange look. I thought I'd made it out of the store without ridicule when the security guard stopped me. "I used to be a personal trainer," he said, "and those weights aren't heavy enough." I'm such a loser.

Incidentally, I have an extra invite for Ravelry, if someone is interested. I have to weigh in on everyone saying that the site's exclusivity is making them feel insecure, like in junior high. You need to know that Frecklegirl is the most friendly and welcoming and darling person in the blogosphere -- she and her hubby just can't grow the site any faster. If the knitting world ever becomes like junior high, I'll start building ships in bottles instead because I had a horrific junior high experience. I was such a kooky dresser that I once walked around all day with my skirt stuck in the back of my tights -- and no one told me because they thought it was a fashion statement.

Happy little things

2007-04-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

Oh spring, when a young gal's fancy turns away from her blog.

I just can't seem to make myself sit down and conjure up a post.

At least not a coherent one. My split-neck tee is moving at a glacial place, so instead of bemoaning my lack of progress, I'll just tell you about the little things that are making me happy nowadays.

* Little Sludgies the Whales popping up all over the place! Look at how many Moonlight Stitches made -- she's a Sludgie-making machine. (R.I.P. Sludgie, by the way.)

* Prizes from M ichelle's blog! Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, chocolates from Holland, yarn needles, chestnut and brown sugar soap, and sunflower seeds for my fire escape. As she wrote in the card, "give your owl something to hide behind." Ha!

* Jon's beard. He decided to grow one, and I think it looks quite fetching, no? Here we are at our friend's fabulous Greek wedding. (I ate my weight in fried calamari.)

* This tasty Moroccan tagine. I made it tonight, and it was delectable - if I do say so myself. And I ain't usually much of a cook. In fact, Jon can usually tell that I've been cooking because the smoke detector has been taken down.

* Surprise notes from knitters. Jon's aunt, who lives in New Mexico, wrote me a letter praising mitered corners, a skill she learned after taking a class with Valentina Devine. I'm a bit intimidated by the process, but intrigued all the same. She made the loveliest baby sweater out of the squares.

* Bluelines. Has anyone else seen this? I secretly covet a job at Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine, and this blog gives me a daily dose of the magazine's panache. I adore these little clothing pin people, and I ordered a pair of these shoes in yellow. (But I won't be sewing m'self a bathing suit anytime soon, thank you very much!)

A Whale of a Pattern

2007-04-18T00:29:00.000-04:00

Maybe I just like wayward sea creatures. Maybe I'm partial to the Gowanus Canal. Or maybe I needed something to smile about. But for some reason, the tale of Sludgie the Whale -- a minke whale who ended up in Brooklyn -- really captured my imagination yesterday.

To be honest, I doubted his existence at first. Surely it's a large dog, I said to my editor, or maybe a section of sewer pipe. After all, we're always chasing down tips of adults floating in the East River that end up being pieces of cardboard. My colleague pointed out that it was likely the bloated body of a mobster, a species more frequently spotted in the Gowanus.

But he was a whale, and he was dubbed Sludgie by an editor with fond memories of Fudgie the Whale. (We didn't have Carvels in Western Pa. when I was growing up, so I've never tasted this treat. Sigh.)

So last night, I decided that the world wouldn't be complete without a crocheted Sludgie. I think the world needs more newsworthy knits! So here he is, complete with removable water spout, if anyone is similarly captivated by him:

Sludgie the Whale pattern

Materials:
Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, small portion of the skein
Or whatever gray yarn you may have in the stash
Zara Plus, baby blue
Or whatever water-colored yarn you may have in the stash
US F/5 3.75 mm
Yarn needle
Small amount stuffing
2 black buttons
Black embroidery thread
Embroidery needle

Gauge:
Who cares?

Abbreviation:
sc = single crochet
sc2tog = single crochet two together, decreasing a stitch.

Notes:
Sludgie is crocheted in two pieces then seamed.

Whale:
Rnd 1: With gray yarn, chain 30, turn
Rnd 2: Sc in each stitch across. Ch 1, turn.
Rnd 3: 2 sc in first stitch, sc in each stitch across, 2sc in last stitch. Ch1 turn.
Rnd 4 and 5: Repeat rounds 2 and 3 once more.
Rnd 6, 7, 8: Repeat round 2.
Body:
Rnd 9: sc across 20 stitches, ch 1, trn.
Rnd 10, 11, 12 and 13: sc across 20 stitches, ch 1, turn.
Rnd 14: Sc2tog, sc across until last stitch, Sc2tog.
Rnd 15: sc in each stitch across.
Repeat last two rows four times more. Fasten off.
Tail:
Reconnect yarn to row 8, opposite beginning of body.
Rnd 9: sc 8, ch1, turn.
Rnd 10 - 15: sc across, ch1, turn.
Rnd 16: 2sc in first stitch, sc across, 2sc in last stitch, ch 1, turn.
Repeat last round five times more
Rnd 22: 2sc in first stitch, sc across next 8 stitches, slip stitch in next 3 stitches, sc across next 8 stitches, 2sc in last stitch. Fasten off.

Repeat Rnds 1 to 22 for other side of Sludgie.

Embroider face:
Sew one button on each side of whale for eyes. Embroider a cute smile on each side with thread and needle.

Seam:
With gray yarn and yarn needle and starting at left top of whale‘s head, seam the two sides of Sludgie using whatever method you are comfy with. Stuff the whale as you go, making sure that all yarn ends are secured inside. Give him a snug for good measure.

Removable water spout:
I kinda improvised this. I tied the baby blue yarn in a knot at the bottom of a match, then wrapped the yarn tightly around the match, up and down three times. I tied it in a knot at the top then, using a yarn needle, drew the yarn through the top six times, leaving large loops. I bet there’s a better method out there.

Everything old is new

2007-04-10T20:23:00.000-04:00

Here we are again, on my windowsill. I'm gonna need to find a more interesting way to show off my simple knits. This is the ever-growing split neck tee, which is mostly a sea of stockinette stitch from here on out. (Maybe I need to write a book called "Mindless Knits: Designs for people who like to zone out completely when they knit.") Anyway, the yarn is nice and smooth and flies off the needles. I'm thinking that I'll have to add a little waist shaping so that I don't look like I'm wearing a potato sack.

And I meant to show all of you these recent additions. Before my grandfather died last year, he was always giving me little things that belonged to my grandmother. Brooches. Spools of thread. Crochet hooks and candlesticks. A year or two back, he gave me this groovy knitting basket, which I was so, so excited about. But I never had room for it in my luggage, so it languished in my girlhood bedroom, holding my "at home" knitting supplies. (Anybody else keep supplies in a second location, you know, just in case?)

This trip home, though, I had my car and was able to spirit it back to Brooklyn. Doesn't it look at home here?

But I was even happier to find this -- the afghan that my grandmother crocheted for me when I was little. It was tucked away for safe keeping, zipped in a garment bag up in my parents' attic.

How had I forgotten about this? It matched my pink-and-white gingham bedroom perfectly, and I suppose when I outgrew that color scheme, I also thought I'd outgrown the afghan. She made a blue one for my brother, a green one to match our sofa, even a brown-and-gold one since those were our high school colors. I wish I could ask her where she bought the yarn, how long it took, how she chose the colors and patterns? But I'm happy enough just having this.

I hesitate to change gears to completely --- but in the world of creepy knitting news, I bring you this disturbing tidbit. Perhaps you heard about this law student who isn't, um, shy in front of the camera? Well, I'm told she didn't just prance around naked -- she was knitting nude, too! Ew.

Palm trees and tax return yarns

2007-04-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

I'm on a little business trip, and this is my view. So crazy to wake up in brownstone Brooklyn and go to sleep under palm trees.

For some reason, I wasn't in the mood to knit on the plane -- crazy, I know -- but I was pleased that the in flight movie was "Dreamgirls." Though I've always found it a little strange when characters just spontaneously burst into song, I was oddly moved by the story. Or maybe not oddly, since I tend to be emotional when I have to get up at 4 in the morning.

So in a surprise move, I've decided to knit the split neckline tee from "Fitted Knits." I'm really delighted by spring this year, and I just can't bring myself to buy a heavy, bulky yarn. (Plus, I can't stinking find any reasonably priced Lana Grossa Royal Tweed for the textured tunic.) So a jaunty short-sleeved top it is!

I'm calling this my Tax Return Yarn since I did my taxes Saturday night, and I treated myself *beforehand* to some yarn. Very motivating. It's Rowan Cotton Jeans from Brooklyn General, since I couldn't find any of the recommended Cascade Invito either. Darn obscure yarns! And since you simply don't make a trip to Brooklyn General on a weekend without running into a Spider or two, I naturally bumped into Katy. She nearly scared the heck out of me, but she faithfully supported my yarn purchase.

The Swing of Things

2007-03-25T17:44:00.000-04:00

Not just any old sweater deserves a Brooklyn fire escape photo shoot. But by golly, Flair, you do!

I can't say enough about this pattern from Knit and Tonic. It was a dream to knit, relaxing and not-too-taxing but with enough seed stitch and buttonholes to keep things interesting. I used Cotton Fleece in grey dawn, which nearly matches the primer on the fire escape steps. Wore it to brunch this morning at Tournesol, and it nearly made me forget that I was in Queens. (No offense to Queens folks, I just had a few bad experiences there and hold it against the entire borough.)

Now, you may be saying to yourselves, Carrie, your Flair is lacking a little, well, flair. It's not as swingy and boxy and jacket-y as the original, but I just wasn't sure that I could pull that look off. I decided to make it longer and fit a tad closer to the body. There's still a little swing at the bottom, and if I change my mind, I can just alter the button placement. (I actually probably need to reblock the button band since it looks a tad wonky anyway.)

Jon insisted that I include this bug-eyed, sunglasses shot -- Like a lot of New Yorkers, I've been channeling my inner Naomi Campbell after her histrionics this week.

Speaking of buttons, I used these cute little numbers from Joann Fabrics. (I simply can't resist going there whenever I'm home in Pennsylvania.) I had trouble getting the design to photograph well since my camera is shameful. But they're like little doodles etched around the buttons.

Now I'm plotting something from "Fitted Knits," another treasure trove of top-down raglan goodness.

Guess who's crocheting?

2007-03-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

My mom!

But she didn't want me to know until she'd mastered it. See, I came home this week because we had a scare with my dad -- who is doing well now, thank heavens. So when mom and I got home from the hospital, she told me, "I have a secret." She could no longer resist the lure of yarn and had purchased a "How to Crochet a Hip Hat" kit at her local Michael's.

This is a big deal because mom has rheumatoid arthritis and didn't want to give crochet a try, but she's using the special cushioned hook covers and doing well. The kit basically sucked -- a huge plastic hook and only enough scratchy acrylic yarn to make a cap for a sprite or a gnome or a lawn jockey. Certainly not enough to cover a human head. And the instructions appear to have been translated from another language. But she finished it and moved onto a double crochet scarf out of the Rowan cotton I picked up at Brooklyn General with the preposterous plan to knit a thong for my friend's bridal shower. (To the horror of Jess.)

But I thought better of that plan and instead intend to make a few Mason-Dixon dishcloths to go along with some kitchen supplies for the bride-to-be.

Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I've never understood bridal shower etiquette. Should you buy off the registry because they're a young couple and need stuff? Or do you only buy off the registry for the wedding? Or should you forget the registry and get something personal? These things always stymie me.

Not so flattering

2007-03-11T18:20:00.000-04:00

I'm showing this one only because I know you folks won't judge me. Here's Emma:

Not the best look for me, I know. Despite all of the exhaustive measurements and math involved in this pattern, the fit is not so good. It's large, in charge and billowy, like something Bea Arthur might sport. (And I love Bea, but I don't aspire to dress like her.) This was done with Cascade 220 Quattro -- not sure how many skeins because it was reclaimed from my failed Prepster Jacket.

Maybe it was me and not the pattern. Maybe my math skills just aren't what they used to be, or maybe I blocked it too big. But the boxy, ill-fitting shoulders -- that can't be my fault. They're almost pointy!

The seed stitch lapel took forever ever and ever ever. That's why I couldn't bring myself to do the icord edging around the lapel - this seemed like a lost cause, so why expend any more time and energy?

But we're moving on to Knit and Tonic's Flair. I'm nearly done with the body already, and I know it's going to be a winner. As I was saying to my Spiders on Friday, I can't go wrong with the top-down raglan. They're my old reliable.

I'd also like to note that my Maryland Terrapins are in the NCAA tournament this year, thank heavens. This might sound out of character for me, but as a freshman at Maryland I actually slept overnight in Cole Fieldhouse for men's basketball tickets. It was a nasty experience. We played cards and drank cream soda and tried to do our astronomy homework. I remember wrapping myself in a pink blanket and trying to sleep on the floor underneath the stadium seats, only to find that the blanket became affixed to the sticky floor. Nasty.

And this reminds me of my favorite Maryland story, though it occurred after I'd graduated. Apparently, a truck rammed through a brick wall encircling the campus in 2003, taking a large chunk out. Overnight, some industrious students erected this little fella:

Only at a state school, my friends!

i hate this sweater

2007-03-03T21:11:00.000-05:00

So the Emma Jacket is blocking, and I can't bear to look at it a moment longer. I just don't think it's going to look nice, and I don't think I'm going to wear it. Maybe I'm wrong -- like maybe a good blocking will do wonders, and suddenly it won't look frumpy and bulky. But I ain't hopeful.

I had numerous issues with this pattern, which perhaps I should direct to Knitpicks. I mean, the pattern was only $1.95, but you still expect instructions to be complete and coherent. It was all over the place, not really written like a formal pattern. There was a lot of math so that the sweater fits the knitter perfectly. And in theory that's great. But I had to keep referring back to the initial measurements, and it seemed as though they weren't referred to consistently throughout the pattern. I felt as though I was guessing a lot of the time -- like with the underarm stitches. It says to pick up the live stitches and graft them. But the live stitches are only on the bottom of the underam, and there aren't an equal number of rows facing them. So I was just kinda winging it, and that never looks good. Maybe this yarn -- which was once the failed Prepster Jacket -- is just cursed!

I am moving on to other, simpler things. Like Flair. Ain't it just darling? I intend to make it as swingy as possible. I went to good ole Knit-a-Way and got myself some Cotton Fleece in grey dawn, and I am casting on maintenant.

Of course, while at Knit-a-Way, I bumped into Marie! How obsessed and pathetic are we? (Just kidding -- I was tickled to see her.) She was buying sock yarn, and I had green paint in my hair after spending a week working on this.

Sorry for the fuzzy shot -- and the gratuitous picture of my goose - but I wanted to show off our new wall color. I just couldn't face the masking tape-colored walls any longer, so now they are Benjamin Moore's apple blossom. It makes such a difference.

Coincidence?

2007-02-24T17:40:00.000-05:00

So here is the new issue of Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine, which just landed in my mailbox.

Cute, right? But see what's sitting there, on the bench? It's a life-size goose! Now, hmmm, where have we seen another life-size goose recently? That's right, my bedroom!

Listen up, Blueprint editors. Gladys Goose and I are on to you. And believe me, you don't want to mess with a goose. Just read this article.

Ahem. Well, anyway, after reading about Jess's success with le slouch, I couldn't resist and whipped up my own. That there is some Cascade 220 in this crazy, tweedy, bluish-pink color. I can't recommend this little FREE number enough -- warm and tres chic to boot. The perfect instant gratification for anyone who needs a break from an interminable project.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't share with you the fine couple that Jon and I met during our relaxing weekend upstate. Yes, we are geeks and visited Eleanor Roosevelt's Val Kill, which was delightful. The tour guide told me that she knit constantly because she was depressed and always had to keep herself busy. (I dunno anything about that.) So anyway, as lovers of stuffed animals, we simply couldn't pass up purchasing the former first couple. Heck, if you bought both Roosevelts, they threw in Fala for free!

Oddly, FDR looks a lot like my dad. Or the dad from Frasier. Who also looks like my dad. Ok, this post is getting kind of weird.

Eek! Steek!

2007-02-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Geek Squad at Best Buy, I'm back on my old-but-improved laptop and ready to crow about my first foray into steeking! Yes indeedy, the Emma Jacket is nearing completion.

I'm no Eunny, but I will nonetheless show you my very careful, detailed, precise, not-at-all half-assed approach to steeking. (I actually owe Eunny a huge debt of gratitude -- I completely did not grasp crochet steeking just from reading about it in my pattern. Her tutorial was a life saver.)

Here is the requisite shot of the alcohol I consumed in order to be brave enough to cut my knitting.

And here I am, cutting the knitting. Eek!

And here is the finished project. Not too shabby, huh? It was hard to imagine how the jacket would curve away from the body when it was simply a tube. Now, it has a great shape, and I think it's going to be a perfect fit. So perhaps all of that math was worth it?

See, that wasn't so painful.

On the upswing

2007-02-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

My car needs a new starter and my laptop needs a new hard drive. But it could be worse. My hair hasn't spontaneously gone up in flames, and my bathtub hasn't crashed through my floor like in The Money Pit. Things sometimes break, especially if you have been driving them for 10 years or you've repeatedly spilled coffee on them. Things are just things, and they can be replaced. And red wine will see you through it.

So the long-suffering boyfriend is letting me use his laptop, which is good since I have a new knit to show off! Borne out of anxiety and the desire for instant gratification, I present you the Spring Cap by Woolly Wormhead. (Thanks, Bronxie, for introducing me to this site.)

I had been looking for a pattern just like this, though Jess was convinced that I was describing something akin to a hair net. I simply wanted a hat that was sort of like a beret but could cover a ponytail. Check and check. I triple-stranded the black angora that I bought at the Suss going-out-of-business sale. I believe I used size 5s metal circs.

I'm also soldiering ahead on the Knitpicks Emma Jacket. Folks, this isn't the easiest of projects. First off, there's a whole lotta math. Lots and lots of calculations to make sure that it fits you. (I dropped out of honors calculus senior year to take pottery.) And second, connecting the sleeves to the body was no small feat. Third, I haven't even gotten to the steeking yet. So we'll see how this goes ...

Today was the much-anticipated Spider spinning day at Marie's fabulous Bay Ridge apartment. (I'm telling you, her fiber collection would leave you weak in the knees.) Mebeth was a pro.

As were Yarnmonster Jess and Kaitlyn.

Me, I am not so good at the spinning. It was twisting a bit too much and coiling funny, and I simply couldn't get the hang of it. So I chose instead to eat baked ziti.

one of those .... lives

2007-02-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

have you ever had one of those weeks where you have to work, like, 300 hours? including the weekend? and your laptop stops working and appears on the verge of crossing over? and someone sideswipes your beloved car and knocks off the other sideview mirror? then your beloved car has a terrible time starting, leading you to believe that either the battery is dying or it, too, is crossing over?

i'm telling you, people, i have seriously bad luck every few months. and there ain't nothing i can do about it.

(so please send me, and my laptop and my car, good vibes. maybe then i'll get to show you the progress on the emma jacket!!)

Gleeful

2007-01-28T21:35:00.000-05:00

Oh Glee, how I love thee!

(Not sure why I look so starry-eyed.)

I finished her last Monday, blocked her on Tuesday and wore her to work on Wednesday. The Joseph Galler alpaca is divine to knit with -- and it was free, since I picked it up with a gift certificate. Hip hip hurrah for free sweaters!

This is probably slightly larger than it should be, but I figure I need to wear a tank underneath it so as not to be obscene. I also made the sleeves a few inches longer than suggested so I could wear it in the winter. And I used Zephyr's instructions for lazy hook-and-eye tacking -- I only sewed on the hooks and simply attached them to the knit stitches. Hip hip hurrah for half-assed knitting!

Here's a bonus pissed off shot.

So onward and upward. I pulled the prepster jacket out of storage and found, to my surprise, that I had actually finished seaming it. But it looked like heck, like I'd offered a child a lollipop to seam the shoulders. Bumpy and lumpy and no good at all. It just wasn't meant to be. So I ripped it and started the Emma jacket. I think it's high time that I mix my love affair with jackets and my love affair with yarn, don't you think?

Oh, and Katie tagged me for this one:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

The nearest books to me right now are on our little living room book shelf, where we put our most beloved tomes. (Like Jon's copy of Bill Clinton's biography and numerous Kennedy books, or my copy of Stitch n Bitch. ) So I picked the left most book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Sadly, page 123 in this version is the cover page for chapter 11. It says only, "Who Stole the Tarts?" Kinda fun, no?

Anyone who wants to be tagged, well, is.

Revivified!

2007-01-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

I am not precisely sure why I disappeared for so long. I could blame all of the secret knitting or all of the boring stockinette stitch that isn't worth photographing. But I have vowed to revivify the blog, even if it means taking progress shots of garter stitch scarves.

Let's start with the small project that is sweeping the nation -- or sweeping my friends, at the very least. It's Yarnmonster Jess's drawsting bag tutorial. It is remarkably fast and fun and simple, and I think I'll have to stitch up a few more.

I used some lovely Amy Butler fabric that I picked up at Brooklyn General with a gift certificate from the long-suffering boyfriend. (If you have not been to Brooklyn General, I'm not quite sure what you are waiting for. Fabulous vintage fabric and wonderful, helpful employees.)

So I am not a very good seamstress. Actually, it's more the cutting that is problematic for me. My fabric always looks as though it's been chewed into uneven shapes. And do you see the drawstring? Yeah, it's from an old pair of running shorts. I'm ghetto that way.

Despite my better judgment, I'm posting a picture of Glee. Alpaca, why oh why do you look like lumpy oatmeal before you are blocked? And why does it look as though I photographed this from behind prison bars? She is currently blocking on my neewww blocking board, so with luck she'll be ready for a debut soon.

And I also need to make a painful confession. Remember the prepster jacket? I have finally faced the fact that I'm never, ever, ever going to seam it. Looks like crap. So I'm thinking of ripping it and turning it into Emma. Whaddya think? That's not a very good picture of her -- the shot in the catalog is more flattering. But this way, the Cascade 220 quattro would still get to be a blazer!

Total weirdo

2007-01-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

So I've been reading a lot of these posts lately in which people complete the Weird Things meme. Only these people are not weird! Intriguing and eccentric and one-of-a-kind, yes. Quirky, sure. But not weird! I'm totally weird. Like extra body part weird. You'll have to read through the knitting content to see why.

These are my Squirrelly mittens. Well, mitten, I guess I should say.

My problem is that colorwork knitting makes me motion sick. (See, I told you I was weird!) It's something about reading the chart and carrying the yarn in both hands. I have to take a break every few minutes. Plus, these are going to come out super large and only be appropriate for someone with man hands. So the mittens and I are going to be on a break for a little while.

In the interim, I have resurrected Glee. Loyal readers will remember that things didn't go so well the last time around. But now I'm making it long-sleeved, using the Joseph Galler alpaca, and steering clear of all hot liquids. Or any liquids really.

Without any further ado, it's 6 Weird Things About Me:

1. I have three kidneys, but only one works. That's right. Three kidneys. Apparently, it's more common than you'd think. It's kind of a long and unpleasant story, but I was sick a lot as a child and underwent a lot of surgeries because my left ureter was implanted into my bladder improperly. (I know, too much info.) Along the way, we realized that I had an extra kidney, but it's basically vestigial. Just hanging out there, taking up space. So my left kidney is severely damaged because of the ureter situation and the third one never worked, so it's just the right one keeping us going here at Every Word's a Purl.

2. I hate pickles. Like in a phobic way. Not quite as bad as this lady, but bad. I cannot stand having them on plate because they contaminate everything. If they're on my sandwich, I'll have to tear away the bread that they touch (contaminate). They're just mushy yet crunchy and have warts. Blech!

3. I have an insane memory. I can recall countless stories from my childhood in excrutiating detail - like first and last names of classmates and what books we were reading and what I was wearing -- and I remember things from when I was as young as two. (My dad had a stroke then, so I feel this has something to do with it. But he's OK now, and I swear this list will get less morbid.)

4. I have an amazing internal clock and haven't worn a watch in years. To test this, Jonathan will sometimes ask me what time and, even if I haven't seen a clock in hours, I'm usually only off by a minute or two. And unless I have to get up at, like, 5 a.m., I always wake up about a minute or two before my alarm goes off. It's probably out of anxiety.

5. I'm super aggressive for my job, like sneak-into-hospitals-and-fight-with-officials aggressive, but I'm intimidated by waitstaff and salespeople in my personal life. My dinner would have to be crawling with larvae for me to send it back, and I'm often pressured into buying things I don't need. I track this back to when I was 11, and the owner of a hippie crystal shop wrongly accused me of shoplifting incense. Seriously, who shoplifts incense?

6. I sometimes mix up my left and right, and I have to look at an envelope to remember which side the stamp goes on. This is so humiliating that I'll just leave it at that.

The perils of working New Year's Day

2007-01-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

I'd like to state for the record that I consumed only one glass of Champagne last night. I was completely sober when I watched fireworks from the roof of my wonderful friend Shannon's apartment in Prospect Heights. I was home by 12:38 a.m. and asleep not long after.

I was downright bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I rolled into the newsroom around 10 a.m. this morning, long before most folks rolled out of bed.

So explain to me why my boss took one look at me, grimaced and said, "Uh. How you doing this morning?" I was mortified!

I'm telling you, it's the undereye circles and my complete inability to apply make-up properly. Is there some kind of surgery I can have? Is there a "Make-up for Dummies" course that I can enroll in?

Enough bellyaching. We have the first finished object of 2007! (Ok, I finished it in 2006! But I think excitement is in order anyway.) This is the Bejeweled scarf by the fabulous Shobhana. Not surprisingly, Lolly pointed me in its direction, and I found it ever so jaunty, even more so because it supported a good cause. (Not sure why it conjured a devilish grin from me, though.)

This is the lovely cormo/mohair blend I picked up at Rhinebeck from Stonesthrow Farm. Thing is, the stitch pattern is so addictive and relaxing and meditative that I just kept knitting and knitting, so it became longer and longer. And it reminded me a little of a get-up that I saw a woman wearing on the street, so I knit an I-cord belt and, well, voila!

It's OK if it seems a little strange to you -- the long-suffering boyfriend described it as "interesting," which is the same adjective he uses for my lousy recipes (and my lousy voice) when he's trying not to hurt my feelings. I'm sure there will be far more appealing iterations at the informal knitalong.

The gift of yarn

2006-12-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start off with a little advice for travellers. You need not worry about bringing knitting needles on board an airplane if the passenger in front of you has packed "My First Skeleton" in his carry-on luggage. I'm not sure which is more ludicrous -- that a miniature skeleton can create such a commotion among security agents, or that I actually sort of agree with them that it's a bad idea to travel with imitation human bones.

I cannot express how relaxing my trip was. I slept 9 1/2 straight hours the first night in my girlhood bed. In contrast, last night I woke up about 63 times. And I was completely spoiled rotten by my family. Like blocking board, flower-print tool set and lots of jewelry spoiled. And brand new SWIFT spoiled! And though it's probably tacky to show off your presents, I've decided that it's acutally rude for me not to publicize them.

What's encircling the beautiful swift? It's a skein of the softest, most fabulous alpaca I've ever touched. Your hands even feel great after touching it. It's called Joseph Galler Prime Alpaca, and I don't know who Joseph Galler is, but he makes some nice yarn. Even though I'm usually dubious of Lion Brand, I am considering knitting up this with the yarn. Or would that be a waste? (I picked up the alpaca with a gift certificate from my cousin to Knit Wits, my hometown's local yarn store. If you ever find yourself in Greensburg, Pa., which I realize is unlikely, you need to stop in. The owners are downright neighborly.)

My family also showered me with other knitterly gifts. Mom bought me the "In Stitches," while my cousin found me some knitting fiction.

And since so many of you humored me about the ornaments on our crooked little tree in Brooklyn and my need to tell stories about all of them, I thought I'd share a few from my parent's tree. This is my favorite ornament. It was from Avon, of all places, but something about Santa's deadpan expression really speaks to me, every year.

And this is my mom's favorite ornament. (Well, this one and the same ornament featuring my brother.) I made it in my kindergarten class by wrapping yarn around the lid of a can. See, crafty at a young age!

Smitten with knittin' mittens

2006-12-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

I like to think that I'm cool about maybe half the time. Sometimes I'm early to the game, sometimes I'm late. Knee-high boots and shirtwaists? Early to the game. Ipods and blogs? Late to the game. Making fun of HeadOn? Very early. Netflix and Tivo? Still not there.

This brings me to mittens. They seem to be the toast of the knitting

blog world. I was resistant, as mittens are kinda like socks, inasmuch as they cover our outmost appendages. And I just can't get into knitting socks. At least not yet.

So on Saturday, my dear, dear Spiders came over for our festive holiday party. And there was nearly a throwdown over a mitten book. The next morning I thought, what am I missing out on?

And now I know! Here's the very very beginning of my Squirrelly Swedish Mittens. Cute, no? Knitting plus tiny sylvan creatures equals joy!

And speaking of joyful, here are the Spiders, squished in my living room. (You can see Lisa thumbing through the mitten book.)

I'm off to Pennsylvania on Friday -- and I hope that I'll be blogging more from there. I've been in a bit of a drought, but please stick with me.