where my blog theme strays a bit...

i don't know if it is the endless rain or the endless projects that i have on my "to do" list that is getting the best of me. knitting has not been foremost on my mind as the condo needs some major decorating. although, i have to tell you that part of the lack of inspiration in the knitting department is partly due to these (and admittingly, the trashy chic lit novel is a bit of a distraction as well).



2 socks on 2 circs. a great idea, but in reality, boring as heck. i mean really. progress is slllooowww. granted, i will have a full pair of socks when i am done, but i am absolutely condsidering going back to 1 at time on 2 circs. i managed to knit a pair in a week last time. the progress you see above? cast on a week ago.

now, i have again put the condo needs first so my office debuted it's new desk today due to a load of painting on my part and wood work on my dads. not to mention an endless go around of my itunes library (thanks shuffle mode for knowing just what songs i want to hear, i mean i love superchunk, yeah!). but i digress...here are some before and during pics (i still have a long way to go, but the desk was the biggest hurdle).



this is the dreary corner i was working in. but with the help of some pottery barn inspiration and some cheap, unfinished cabinets from joanns, i set forth, paintbrush in hand, for a "whole lot cheaper" look.





my dad did an awesome job on the desktop and we were able to *kinda* *sorta* recreate the pottery barn desk i was drooling over. pottery barns? something like $1200.00, mine? $135. after weeding through this lovely pile of cables and cords,



i got the desk set up so that it would be functional for me to work at on monday morn (gotta love working from home). i am a networking pro now. cable? modem? router? 2 puters, one mac, one pc, some speakers, a couple printers and voip? yep, i can handle it.



it has a long way to go before looking like the perfect pottery barn home office, but i'll be darned if i am gonna stop before it does. although my desk will probably never be able to look that tidy. up next, shelving that lines 2 full walls. again, enlisting the help of my great, cost savings dad.

gonna snuggle up with some cocoa now and get ready for dr. mcdreamy. i have mentioned that grey's is my fav right? night!

super bowl bound seattle

in honor of our city's major accomplishment tonight i will be heading to the yarn shop tomorrow in search of the perfect blue and green yarn. a stocking cap for my dad and a scarf for me are in order! just a little something to show team spirit. GO SEAHAWKS!! Detroit Rock HAWK City it is!

p.s. heya cathi, maybe a little yarn wager is in order for the big game huh? ;)

no. 2

another cable bag. i may have been late jumping on the knock-off bandwagon but i am making up for lost time now! i used lion brand wool-ease chunky again. this one is not a heathered yarn like the first one. i also added an extra cable section for a little more length. just a plain ivory which is more like the original bags. i know a lot of you asked for a pattern the first time i posted about these. i had to wing it for the most part as people have been a little shy about posting a pattern that is so obviously a knock off. nobody wants to ruffle any feathers and who can blame them. although i don't think anybody is looking to sell these things. but if you want to find some patterns that are similar out there i suggest googling "knit cable bag."

this one was for my friend berna's birthday. because it was a gift i had to do the right thing and line it. it went ok, but definately no where near a perfect job. i will have to keep practicing, this was only my first attempt. i used an amy butler fabric to line it of course!



i got a few emails in regards to purchasing some of my personalized knitting notecards (last post). if you are interested, drop me an email. i'll get together some details if you think you might like some. goodtobegirlATgmailDOTcom.

tomorrow is my monthly knit group get together. i whipped up some fake piroshki (uses hot roll mix). no where near my grandmas but enough to conjour up the good memories of saturdays at her place. i have nothing on the needles yet so i need to get thinking.

and by the way, it really isn't a good thing to stump your doctor. you end up with strange drugs you have to snort up your nose because they want to start eliminating possibilities (in this case sinus issues being the cause of my head pains). considering i am pretty much not allergic to anything, i think it is a long shot - but i'll give it a go. as for the basketful of other issues i have, she again lacked any beneficial information. i'm sure i'll be seeing you again soon dr. m!

a ray of light

it is amazing what a little sunshine can do for the spirit. yesterday we got a small break from the rain and had a fairly sunny few hours. i snapped a picture of my finished socks in the sun but the light was too bright. so i settled for this picture instead.



the prominent sock in the picture is the 2nd sock that i was disappointed with. this sock had a more striping effect than the first sock and that irritates me! but i will live. the colors also seem more vibrant (at least the really bright color). i definately like the first sock better, but i won't be re-knitting it. so misfit $20 socks they are. i know i will at least get wear out of them on st. patty's day.

last night i had a lot of fun meeting up with tami, alyson and denise. we had dinner and knit (oh and some yummy cocktails!) at sebastian's. we always have a lot of fun and plenty to talk about when we get together. it has been almost a year since denise and i met tami and alyson at a yarn sale.

i made each of the girls a little set of personalized knitting notecards. i think i posted a pic of these back when i originally designed them. now that i have my awesome color laser printer taking cardstock it makes for some pretty professional looking stuff.



i am a sucker for personalized stationery. in my early 20's i managed a papyrus card store and became such a paper snob. just over the last year have i finally begun to dwindle my collection of stationery down to something manageable!

i have a small project on the needles, but need to find my next one. socks are still sounding appealing so i think i will pick up some size 1 addi's today to start a pair with lorna's laces. not sure what pattern yet, but it probably won't be the ever popular jaywalkers. there are so many sock patterns out there i am sure i won't have trouble finding one.

yummy yarn

i owe a huge thank you to cathi over at in the pink. she made my day on friday when i got a surprise package in the mail! i got lots of good colorado chocolate and even some hammond's candy. yum! but as an extra bonus cathi threw in 2 skeins of some AMAZINGLY perfect yarn. check it out!



it reminds me of a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting. my mind is racing trying to come up with just the right pattern for this yarn. any thoughts? thanks again cathi, it was very thoughtful and generous of you!

the mrs. beetons are finished.



the finished pair has a lot of technical problems but they are not noticeable until close inspection. i am pretty happy with them. i love the jaeger baby merino in colorway pogo. it has a bit of a camo look. i am trying to think of something larger i could make with this yarn as well.

a hand modeling shot.



ever have one of those shopping trips where you just run into deals wherever you go? man, there are some great sales out there as stores are looking to clear out their winter inventory. i got a liz claiborne wool jacket (brown, to match my mrs. b's!) for $60. originally $225. i also got a lovely brown cabled capelette by liz claiborne for $10, originally $78. it keeps going, a lovely williams-sonoma linen tablecloth for $30, originally $115. if i have time tomorrow i might take some pics. i love those deep discounts!

i just finished the heel of my second sock. sadly, the yarn is patterning (is that a word?) very differently than the 1st sock. i may end up re-knitting the first one. i might have to get your opinion when i finish.

ohhh new episode of grey's tonight, i heart that show!!

limes and luck

one down on the two circs. it wasn't hard at all. my gauge was a wee bit off so this sock is just a tad big (i will still be able to wear them, i just like my socks fitted). now that i think about it, all the socks i knit tend to be that way. hmmm. note to self, must adjust on the next pair. notice the similarity in color to this. i love my funky green variegated colorways.



this is the fluted banister pattern. it was super easy and i hope to get the second one done asap. the yarn is fleece artist and i love it. maybe it is more the colorway than the yarn (isn't green the color of luck? or wealth? hmm maybe these will be my lucky socks), but the yarn is pretty darn soft and i like that too. i don't like the scratchy wool sock yarn.

here is a better picture of the stitch pattern and color.



i can't believe it, but my little orange tree is doing really well in a northeast window. we have had 26 days of rain and it is budding. what is with that? these plants are supposed to be tropical? oh well! (i know i called them limes, but ultimately they do turn orange)

26 days days of rain you say? yes! so much rain that forecasters on the radio no longer do the weather report. they seriously just say "rain again". no 5 day outlook, no showers vs. drizzle. just rain. rain forever. RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!

noro goodness

i'm not sure whatever possessed me to purchase 2 balls of silk garden in a crazy rainbow colorway. it has been in my stash for at least a year (i believe at some point it was started as a multi-directional scarf). and then another crazy colorway was purchased shortly after in pink and purples. now you know i am a girl who loves pink, but pink and purple together is just way too 80's for me. but then, aha! the perfect project.



this scarf was inspired by the one in last minute knitted gifts, although as i mentioned before, i did a 1x1 rib. i have seen several beautiful versions in blogland. it is so much fun to see the noro knit up. although i really like this, it may be a gift. we'll see. i have visions of using kureyon on one for myself, colorway 95 of course.

however, that won't be started anytime soon, one, i don't have the yarn in my stash and i am doing my best to not purchase yarn. second, i have two things on the needles, both which are supposed to be a pair (they do not belong to each other). which of course means that i am tempting the fates of the second sock syndrome twice! oooohhh ahhhh. i plan on casting on for my 2nd mrs. beeton today so that should help. also, i am past the heel on my knit on 2 circs socks! i ran into a wee issue with picking up the side stitches so although i know a way to work around it, i am saving it to take to my knitting group tonight for a little advice. i have run into this a couple times on socks so i think i am mis-interpreting the technique.

ohh and one more shot of the noro goodness so you can see the lovely rainbow of flavors!

catchy couture

you know how i love the handbags. but these days, my handbag budget is almost nothing. with the condo and all, i can't rationalize/justify the spendy bags like i used to (damn it!). over the last several months i have run across bags, like the one below, on many knitting blogs



a designer bag that i can actually knock off? yeah! the bag above was my first attempt, i plan to do a couple more (i got this one done in a few hours). if you go over to craftster.org there is a long trail of info on these things. i used some leftover wool-ease (chunky) from a bad sweater experience. i just have to figure out how to line them so that keys etc. don't poke out.

and i finally made a decision on the swift. the wood one stays. i tried both out and the plastic/metal one seems to catch a lot more than the wood one. here it is pictured with my lovely, newly wound ball of fleece artist sock yarn in the colorway rain.



my one new year's resolution was to learn to knit socks on two circulars and two at once. i am going to pop over to the yarn shop today that is just a block away (i love that!) for some needles. it looks pretty simple. i need to learn this technique because i hate the ladders from dpns and i definately am prone to the second sock syndrome.

decorating of the condo is coming along slowly now. i still have some key pieces of furniture to buy (and i need the ones i purchased months ago to actually arrive!!). i did however, finally buy some original art for my place. i discovered this portland, oregon artist amy ruppel a few months back (from the kate spade site). her work is really cool and the colors are perfect for my condo. they are small pieces (just 5"x5" each). i hope to get a couple more to add to my collection. i feel like an adult with real artwork!



pretty soon, this lovely piece will be below my owls in the entryway. it is pretty funky, but i love it!



tonight it will be a trip to pottery barn to check out a few things. with the holiday decorations down, i need to get some more stuff to fill this place!

whatcha doin?

anyone out there knitting the mrs. beetons? wow. i really dislike knitting the first half of them. i will continue though, now that i have completed the first one. i have to suck it up and get the second one done although i am really dreading the cast on. thankfully they are cute so it is worth it. i'll post pics when i have a pair.

for some mindless knitting i am doing the kid's scarf from last minute knitted gifts. i am really just using the idea, alternating two rows of noro. i did a 1x1 rib which seems to be my favorite lately, the look of stockinette without the curling. i am also using silk garden instead of kureyon. all from my stash too!



you can see in the top right of the photo that the colors got pretty similar there. oh well, it is still really cool to see the colors play out. the pic also looks too red, it is more on the magenta side. i am thankful that after hitting my 2 year knitting anniversary i still love to knit scarves (mainly because i love to wear scarves).

i forgot to post a pic of one of my coveted christmas gifts.



the new locking clover row counter. you can hang it around your neck too. but for me, the locking aspect is the best feature, whenever i throw the old red clicker in my knitting bag or purse, it always messes up my count.

back to work!

telecommuting

i am officially working from home now, yeah! even though we have today off, i decided to double check my remote login and run a report that i do every monday. all went well! i am excited to work from home, but i will miss the social aspect of it. i am going to have to get out more now. otherwise i might start talking to myself! (ok i already do that!)

did you all have a good new years? i really dislike the whole new years thing, but did have a nice one this year. i celebrated with my dear friend jan. i debuted my lovely new noro bag (vogue, holiday 2004 i believe). was it what you were expecting?



we made piroshky and knit. we casted on for the mrs. beeton wrist thingys from the latest knitty. UGH! kidsilk haze, beads and double point needles make for a VERY stressful cast on. we watched girly movies all night and then stepped out onto her porch to toast the new year (she has an excellent view of the space needle, but sadly the fireworks were very disappointing this year!).

i didn't check my mail until getting home that night (really morning). and i was delighted to find the yarn i had ordered recently!



it is to make the hat below from interweave (it is a free pattern).



i ordered the yarn that the pattern calls for, but the picture makes it look a bit fuzzy, and it really isn't. there is also a lot more brown in the actual yarn then what you can see in the picture. i still think i will love it!

and just to follow the trend in blogland, a recent picture of my knitting space (i move the good pillows so as not to de-fluff them).



i think maybe carry tagged me for this over a month ago!

well i am going to go take down my christmas tree and then maybe do a little furniture shopping.