pink is the new green

it is pretty unlike me to be posting a finished object that isn't quite finished, but i couldn't wait! although the pic isn't perfect, you still get an idea of how stinkin' cute it is.



**the colors are a pale pink, and a medium pink, the photo isn't quite doing the color justice. i'll have an action shot once i get around to lining the thing.

i also jumped the gun a bit. in anticipation of a pattern from eunny for argyle socks, i bought the following yarn.



the colors are a tad lighter than shown. my camera has real issues with the brown color family.

and stitch markers are still in the works. my latest is a series of our beloved ipods. i have to make some tweaks but i am getting closer. i have the ipod, the nano and the shuffle in the works.



this weekend was spent focusing on the design of my condo. i purchased two new chairs in a fudge color and a coffee table and end table. i found a ton of design sites that i love (jonathan adler for one, and velocity art and design here in seattle). i also made a trip to ikea to finish off the furniture for my office. i purchased some bookcases from the billy line in the light birch color. i don't like them now. i should have gone with their brown/black color but i thought it was overkill since everything in this place is the espresso stained color. i was wrong. and now i don't know what to do. i am not sure i can live with it, but i am trying. as they are all assembled, i don't think returning them is a valid option. we'll see.

and i am still hating hold everything. the idiots pushed my backorder date AGAIN even though the site shows them as available and on sale! YOU LOSERS! yeah, they got another lovely phone call from me. i mean seriously? seriously.

grey's was a bit disappointing last night. i know it will pick up again. but they didn't say seriously once. what is with that? i look forward to my weekly "seriously" from meredith. ;) gotta go read the blogs etc over at abc.com now. have a good rest of your monday.

one + none = one

i wouldn't medal. if i was doing the knitting olympics that is. i cast on for my elfine's socks during the opening ceremonies. with a few days left and no plan to cast on for the 2nd sock, this is what my olympic failure would look like had i joined.



the second sock doesn't have a fighting chance as long as i am knitting one of these.

i find it *slightly* pathetic that i could get so excited over a knitting pattern. thankfully, i know i am not alone! and of course the pattern would be for a handbag. and be over-the-top cute. and easy! and felted! and monochromatic!

it all started saturday morning when i came across the blog bestitched. as i was reading through this post from a week or so ago she casually mentions a noni bag. and i clicked. seriously? seriously. look at those bags people! the shapes scream kate and the colors scream amy!! ohh i was in love! and as fate would have it i just so happened to be going to one of the shops that carried the patterns that very day!

i bought the pattern for the 2 carpet bags and baguette bag along with a flower pattern. i am so close to being done with my first one (the small baguette).



tra la la! i am in love! the green/brown bag with pale pink flowers (third down in the second column) is gorgeous too even if it is not monochromatic. i think i'll be attempting that one soon.

i spent some time on new stitch markers (you can kinda see the cute yellow chicks on my shop link to the right (which isn't working yet)). i am also trying out some new recipes this year. it was one of my resolutions this year to master some classic dishes. i had never made potato salad so that was on the list. although it looks pretty, i decided i am not a huge classic potato salad fan.



i am off to make dinner and dessert for my friend aimee who is coming over to knit and watch figure skating with me. have a great night!

*anyone else out there find the word "seriously" to be creeping into their everyday vocabulary? i *LOVE* it. you know what i am talkin' bout!

inspiration overload

wow! i am glad to see that you guys love the hot chocolate too! here is a little more hot chocolate information. stephanie at half baked was kind enough to send me the link. it explains the distinction between hot cocoa and drinking chocolate. i of course love both! pay particular attention to the paste making instructions if you are using any form of the powdered cocoa (even the boxed stuff like swiss miss!). i have always made a paste first and it makes the drink smoother.

we all know hot chocolate is best accompanied by some marshmallows or whip cream. megan's comment the other day reminded me that i would like to make the homemade marshmallows from martha. so i did.



having no idea if they would turn out, i opted to cut the recipe in half. why waste all those ingredients if it wasn't going to turn out? i mean, i am not the queen of candy, and taking a syrup up to hard ball stage is not my forte. but guess what? easy peasy! the recipe is written so well i have no extra tips!

yesterday my mom took my dad and i out to lunch. unfortunately the place she wanted to take us was closed, so we poked around the upcoming shopping village that it was located in. they happen to have a yarn shop, and that yarn shop happened to have a pattern i was DYING for. something i had discovered online that very morning. but alas, i'll share that in the next post. i also picked up the latest ik mag which is great!

afterwards, we went back to their place where i made them each a cup of hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows. delicious!

i came home and spent the rest of my day knitting on my socks (with a quick trip to a couple lys for the yarn that goes with the afore mentioned pattern, again, saving that for the next post).

and ohh the delight of receiving a large pink box on your doorstep when you get home (and on the same day the latest issue of martha arrives!). stacey had sent me a package! it didn't take me long to rip the thing open in anticipation.

the box


the card (pink and green!)


the contents


i have to be honest, the contents picture does not do the package justice. the yarn is patagonia cotton yarn in an amazing variegated green colorway. i love it. inside there was also the cutest tin of mints EVER! a box of limited edition chocolate covered sugar babies (man, i love those special editions!) and an oven glove in the perfect retro blue, brown and green as a belated housewarming gift (sans pic because i could not for the life of me get the colors right). thanks so much stacey, that was the cherry on top of the sundae as far as my day went!

i am off to try and get another pattern repeat done on my sock. i have my fingers crossed that i might be able to finish the first one today.

when crap yarn finds it's calling

i will admit that i am a yarn snob when it comes to really inexpensive yarn like red heart and tlc. i have never been a fan of acrylic (my mom's fault, growing up we were not allowed to buy clothes made out of it! seriously i think she has an acrylic phobia). now that i buy my own clothes, i will admit that i do have some acrylic in my closet. however, nothing that feels rough like the red heart and tlc. that stuff is crappy.

now with that said, it won't keep me from buying it, because it has it's place (my hallowig is red heart). especially when they go and make it in a colorway that i can't resist. so the crap yarn that i had stuffed away in some tupperware (ohh it is sad, i don't allow it in my "good" yarn dresser!) finally found it's calling.



the counterpane bag from handknit holidays. i had been in great debate over what to use for that bag (it was a on my "must knit now" list). however, i did not want to purchase yarn for it. although i love the bag, 9 times outta 10 i will probably reach for one of my kate's over this thing, so why make it with yarn that costs as much as a kate? it is looking great, although the yarn is yuck to work with. but it won't be touching my skin so i think it is the perfect project for this yarn!

going to re-tackle the wrapped stitches on my socks today. with denise's helpful comment yesterday and this link i should be all set.

and in regards to yesterdays post, following the recipe on the side of your quality cocoa powder box (i use droste) should yield you some great hot chocolate! you should also know that this is sure to go on sale at some point for a price i can't refuse.

hobby-->habit-->obsession

aha! you thought i was talking about knitting didn't you? well sadly, that isn't my only obsession. my latest obsession? chocolate. hot chocolate that is. it actually started awhile back, the movie chocolat and an episode of martha with rick bayless were my downfall. not to mention that fact that coffee and tea make me ill (in essence caffeine - although oddly, the caffeine in chocolate does not have the same effect). so of course i have hot chocolate for my warm beverage of choice. and i have tried all kinds of hot chocolate. the funny thing is, nothing makes a good pot of hot chocolate like the traditional powdered cocoa (good quality, dutch process), milk and sugar. oh, there are decent runner-ups like my williams-sonoma can made from guittards chocolate (the same chocolate i use in my choco chip cookies). and the mariebelle aztec hot chocolate. but be careful, some of that hot chocolate that costs over $20 a tin can be nasty. i actually threw away some french hot chocolate that was terribly expensive. another expensive aspect of hot chocolate is the pots. while i was content with just one, my traditional french white porcelain, i couldn't resist another williams-sonoma sale item. the le creuset hot chocolate pot. oh dear me. here it is tucked in amongst my hot chocolate paraphernalia.



i so did not need to spend the money on that thing. when you can't walk away? that is when i call it an obsession.

speaking of obsession, just an fyi, they are re-airing last sunday's grey's. watch it if you didn't manage to catch it the first go around.

i am working on my lace socks, and although i am doing ok - i ran into some trouble on the heel, working toe up, you do this wrap stitch technique. i got that. but then when you have to knit (and purl) the wrap with it's stitch through the back loop all hell breaks loose and the seam looks very holey. i know my technique is off, so i gotta try it a couple more times. it may require a trip to the lys for a quick tutorial.

p.s. lorna's is a beyotch to rib back.

tomorrow, i promise the "crap yarn finds it's calling" post.

clear and cold

forecast for the next several days is clear and cold. highs not getting out of the 30's. that's pretty cold for us here in seattle. there is even mention of snow this weekend, although i doubt it (if it does, i will be sure to get it, after all i live in the covergence zone, yeah! - oh and megan will too since she is almost a neighbor). knitting content you say? well all this means that flora will be ever so useful this week.



i recommend this quick and easy project! i stayed up way too late sunday night knitting the flower and watching zoolander. man i love that movie!

i never posted about the knitting i did for the super bowl. i made my dad a seahawks stocking cap and whipped little chasey up an old school wristwarmer. i remember when my brother had the real thing!



yeah, it didn't last long. he got really good at ripping it off with his teeth :)

socks are progressing (i had to rip back a couple of rows twice last night because i kept "losing" a stitch). I am still in love with the pattern and ta-dah! they do fit.

i cast on for another project last night. i'll post about that later, it will be appropriately titled "when crap yarn finds it's calling." intrigued? stay tuned!

for my blogging friends

*a trip to williams-sonoma the day before heart day equals good deals! gonna have myself a cuppa hot cocoa and some heart marshmallows tonight. it is supposed to be chilly!

catching up...

although i am not an official participant of the knitting olympics, the timing worked out in a way that i was able to cast on for a couple projects during the opening ceremonies. it felt really good to get some fresh projects on the needles.

first up is a pair of elfine's socks in lorna's laces somerset. i have never knit lace and i am in love with the way the colors and pattern are working together. the perfect spring socks.



these are my first toe up socks. i already know that i prefer the top down instead. increasing on the toes instead of decreasing doesn't create as neat of an edge for me (this is solely because i am a careless knitter). but i am still very happy with the way they are turning out. i should be able to try them on shortly and fingers crossed they fit!

next up is flora from knitty. i meant to make this ages ago, but i didn't have any wool cotton in my stash. i picked up a couple balls at my lys last week (on sale, although they forgot to ring it up at the sale price! boo!). this should be a quick knit.



and yes, the sun is shining in seattle, hallelujah!

and if you are wondering, the reason i got to cast on for new stuff is because i finally finished the month long pair of socks.



i gifted these to my mom. she always comments when i am knitting socks. she says "why waste your time on socks, they are so boring, why don't you knit something neater." so i am hoping that wearing handknit socks might change her mind (my mom is not a knitter). plus, she did like these socks and the colorway was a bit drab for me. i should mention they are cotton socks. that was the saddest part of giving them away, i love cotton socks!

and a quick thanks to all who bought the stitch markers. i couldn't believe the response. it really encouraged me to get to work on my little shop. but a shop needs inventory, so i spent several days last week creating a bunch of markers. the newest design was inspired by a trip to dairy queen! :)



my neopolitan soft-serve cones. cute huh? i'll have to share with you (next time, this post is getting long) my inspiration and fascination with all things miniature. it has a lot to do with a family vacation when i was very young in which i got very sick. i hadn't thought about it such a long time, but it reminded me why making stitch markers is actually kinda sentimental to me. anyhoo, that is a story for another time. i am headed out into the sunshine now, happy sunday!

remember when...

last year you might remember that i made some snowman stitch markers for my blogiversary. today, while unpacking one of my last boxes, i came across a batch of almost finished ones. i decided to give them a coat of gloss and wire them up. now i have a load of stitch markers sitting here. if you want some, let me know, they are $10.95 for a set of four. they come in their own cute little aluminum and glass tin/box thingy. the price includes regular old parcel post. just email me at goodtobegirlATgmailDOTcom. i take paypal to make it easy.



i've asked a friend to set up a little shop thingy so i don't have to keep posting my wares here. this is supposed to be a knitting blog, not an e-commerce site so i don't want to start annoying people :) i sold most of the markers i posted the other day to my surprise, so i figured i might as well keep selling them. after all, i need some cash for yarn!



fyi - these markers are made for up to size 13 or so needles. all my other markers (peapods, white snowmen etc.) are made for up to size 10.

yarn.

*first, just a quick note for those who were interested in buying some stitch markers, send me an email at goodtobegirlATgmailDOTcom and let me know what you were interested in (how many, what style) and i'll get back to you. i think at some point i'll have to do a little store with my notecards and stitch markers, but for now, i'll just take emails from anyone interested.

i am trying very hard to be concious of my budget. it is a struggle some days. last year was a very strange year for me and i didn't pay too much attention to my $$ for awhile there. now with a mortgage i do. which means very little yarn splurges. thank goodness for my nice stash. it makes me feel a lot better when i get the urge to buy. however, last week, my continuing sock mania got the better of me.

first, i saw leslie's trekking socks over at her blog, whimsy. within 30 minutes i was down at my lys (ahh the danger of having a yarn shop a block away) buying this



and then, oh so conveniently, the shop had just received another order of fleece artist.



tell me that something is a fairly "rare" yarn and i can't resist. the colorway is not very me (but i do love it), with all the socks i have planned i need a variety of colorways. i really intend to be knitting socks almost exclusively (or until i get burnt out) for awhile.

now last week i complained about missing out on the vesper sock yarn. aha! yesterday i managed to snag a skein of the strange little mama inspired colorway. now these colors are definately me!

fyi - the yarn can be foundhere. that is if you are quick enough to snag some. add it to your bloglines, this is the best way to keep updated.

and i should admit that i also purchased some lorna's laces last week.

with the slow pace of my current socks, i should be able to use up all this yarn in a couple years. :) but seriously, last night when starting the heel, i took off the second sock, so now i am back to one at a time and liking it much better. i could pay close attention to grey's last night (omg, best episode yet. i love it!) while knitting away.

and blogger is being a bit strange. i lost a post about the seahawks. darn their loss. my throat hurts today from screaming so much at the officials!

stitch markers for the stitchless

i am about to start the heels on the socks i have going. this is big news, i am almost 1/2 way done. whew! i am resisting the lure of casting on for another project because this one is so boring. of course that means very boring blogging for you when i don't have any good pics to share.

however, i have been making some progress on the stitch marker front.



and a not so clear shot of my peas in a pod. these are my most popular stitch markers.



i have another batch of kitty markers in the works as well.

i think the counterpane bag from handknit holidays is next on the needles. i am hoping to make some good progress on the socks this weekend. and of course i'll be watching the superbowl on sunday. it could very well be a history makin' day for seattle! GO SEAHAWKS! i may be nursing a hangover on monday, but i'll be back. happy weekend all!

A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-- W.H. Auden


from grace’s poppies, followed the trail from here.

eat cake.

don't buy anything from here. ok, well more specifically don't buy this. you'll never get it. never, ever. i ordered mine back in early november. the backorder date has changed 8 times. it is currently at march 19th (yesterday it was march 5th). their customer service has my account flagged to designate me as a foul language customer. but seriously, there is more to it, it is a long story and believe you me if things weren't so darn complicated i would LOVE to just cancel the order. just don't buy it ok? they always say in retail that an unhappy customer is bound to spread the word more than a satisfied one. case in point.

another unhappy incident. while having my dear friend over for lunch today a certain etsy shop was updated with loads of sock yarn goodness. by the time i checked? almost all sold out. crap.

so what is a girl to do with all this disappointment in her life? eat chocolate.
***update 2/16 - a lot of people are stopping by here from not martha looking for the cake below. i didn't mean to leave you all in the dark over it's origins, so you can get the recipe here. i got mine from the mag (real simple) but can't remember the issue it was from.



hot chocolate cakes. ever had those choco cakes with pudding in the center? that is what this is, but you bake them in teacups and add some marshmallows for drama. frickin yummy and just enough sugar to help me muster past the bad vibes going on around here.

painting and office stuff still demands my time. knitting progress is slow (but if i had caught the etsy shop on time, i bet i would have been more motivated to get knitting!!).