Ravelympics 2008

Well, I'm all signed up for the Ravelympics. I signed up for too much, though.

My main event is the Sweater Sprint. I aim to knit this ENTIRE SWEATER in 17 DAYS! I know that's normal for some people, but I'm the procrastinating queen. I have never finished a sweater that fast. In fact, I've only finished what, 3 sweaters ever? That's pretty sad, in the number of years I've been knitting.

Well, I may have knitted a ton of other stuff meanwhile. But still!

It's all in stockinette, on what will probably be size 9 needles. So not exactly a slow slog that way either. I've been knitting my rose cardigan on 5s, if that helps with perspective. And that should totally be done already, but whatevs! Who's counting.

I also have this ridiculous idea that I can finish some UFOs while making this ENTIRE sweater. Like this.


And this (1/3 done)


And a few more.

Crazy? Yes. But darn if I'm not ready to try. If nothing else, I have to knit the sweater. It's my last no kidding for frikkin real I promise commissioned knit. And I said I'd have it to her by September. Funny thing about September. That's next month!

You know what that means? I'm going to be 28. I sure ought to have finished at least 4 sweaters by then. If I can finish the rose cardigan, it will be five!

So what did I do meanwhile, while pondering finishing up UFOs and knitting this I swear it last commissioned knit? I might have bought the yarn for this. Or you can see the pattern here. Or you know, I might go crazy and chart my own. Yummy.

Time on my hands

I've been doing a great deal of crafting while watching truly awful TV on the DVR. First, I worked on some sleeves.


And then I cut the background fabric for my pinwheel quilt. And went to town on it, having nothing better to do. The storms this evening didn't help- I was planning on going for a long walk, but not in a torrential downpour. So I finished seven squares


And all the rest are ready to be sewn.


I think that these two may be my favorite prints.


In other news, I have been given a beautiful old Australian spinning wheel. I don't know the genus, in fact I still don't know how to spin. But it was a kind and considerate gift, all the same. It came with a bunch of knitting needles and what seems to be a shuttle, too- all items no longer wanted where they were. I hope I can put them to good use.

Toodling around the House

I finally did a massive housecleaning this past week- cleared out all the junk accumulated in the "front hallway" and tidied up the kitchen, did tons of dishes, and vacuumed the "whole place." The quotation marks are requisite, since my apartment is not exactly large. And the front hallway is... a couple feet of space between the front door and the living room bookcases, but no matter! It's growing on me. I loved my home in Bloomington best of all, because it was big and had great light and I had a sewing room slash study. This Arlington home isn't bad though- I still miss having a real bedroom, but I do love having it set up with distinct "rooms" and seeing the TV from bed those rare times I do that.

What did I do the second I got it all pretty in here? I decided to tear through all my sewing supplies, fabric, and patterns to try and organize things. I didn't finish a lot of organization, but I did find some entertaining things. I have two copies of two different costume patterns- but at least I know why I have duplicates. And I have an amazing vintage dress, in the right size approximately, but I'm still too scared to try making it.

I made my first eBay order in years - to get 30s reproduction quilting fabric. Or rather, little pre-cut squares. They came in beautifully laundered, ironed, and cut to 4 inches, and I need to get some subtle white patterned quilting fabric to make my pinwheel quilt. This should be a really quick project, once I find the background fabric. In fact, I think I started this whole sewing supply expedition to determine if I already had any! I also wanted to try playing with fabric while watching Project Runway- which is infinitely better this week than last.



Et voila, a bunch of sorted stuff:


I found a bunch of patterns I already have the fabric for and should be ready to work with ASAP: a spiffy long denim skirt in a swishy bias cut (dark denim inherited from my Mom needs to be washed); tons of a burgundy cotton blend I bought at Walmart months ago for a new RenFest skirt; and a quilted handbag (all the fabric is already cut out- beautiful pink and yellow Asian prints).

It's never all sewing around here. An updated sweater back:


And from just after I started the sleeves:

Moving right along

With good friends you can't lose... oh wait, this isn't the Muppets.

It's 1:30 in the morning, and I have no desire to locate my camera. In the backpack? In a random purse? Right here on the table in the living room, which is current covered in random things because I haven't tidied up in a while? Who knows.

All I do know is that the fronts and back of my Cotton Bam Boo Sweater are DONE. And I already cast on for the sleeves.

I also finished the main sewing-up of my muslin for the dress I am attempting to sew. I paused it after last weekend because I couldn't figure out how to sew in the pocket, or the pooch pouch. Once I decided to ignore the pocket completely, it only took a few more hours to seam the whole thing up. Detailed inspection shows that it, unfortunately, does not quite fit. It's pretty close... but I have to do some thinking about how to fix it. I was so excited to finally fit a pattern size without alterations (even a pattern that already has done the Full Bust Adjustment for me). But I'm just a fraction too petite for the regular, and way too narrow in the back and shoulders compared to what the pattern company imagines for someone of my bust and waist. It's loose in the hips, too, but I actually quite like that!

I originally planned to make the muslin with 3/4 length sleeves, to get more practice with fitting them. If I get the main sheath part of the dress to fit, I'm going to just make it sleeveless. The cotton blend is so soft and cool, that even my cheap fakey muslin would be the perfect little summer dress. Again, if I can get it to stop gaping strangely in the bust and back... I have these hopes that installing a zipper will help, but I have definitely sewn enough to know that it isn't the panacea I could dream of.

This should be a very crafty weekend and week ahead. All I have on my calendar during the week are the Kabbalah class (more on that to come), and of course running. This weekend I'm checking out my neighborhood Saturday farmer's market for the first time, having dinner with a neighbor, and seeing BATMAN. Lots of time in between for working on sweater sleeves. The quicker I can finish them, the quicker I can do some steam blocking, sew it up, and do a whole bunch of ribbing for the neck and button bands! This sweater has to be done before the Olympics, so I am quickly running out of time.

Runnin' and Runnin

In my case, I suppose it is more jogging than anything, but I have a really proud moment. First, I haven't missed a run in a bit. The log goes like this:
6/29, 7/2, 7/4, 7/7, 7/10. That's... the way it's supposed to be. I've finished Week 4 of the Couch to 5k, which means I have two more interval run/walks and then the third run coming up is ... 20 minutes of jogging. Straight. I'm so excited!

The second really proud thing is that although I still hate the idea of running, and frankly don't really want to do it, and don't really enjoy it, I've gotten to the point where I don't keep track of how much time is left in the jogging sections as much. I still am pleased and relieved when I can go back to walking, but I just don't hate this as much as I did. And the feeling afterwards is fantastic. I've exercised to reduce stress before, but nothing has worked so well and so quickly as going for these little runs. By the time I'm done with my cool-down walk and ten minutes of ab work, I have completely let go of any anxiety I felt before I walked over to the gym. It's like the calm of yoga, only more invigorating. And a lot sweatier. I wonder if I shouldn't be burning off the pounds faster for all the sweating and bouncing and whatnot that occurs while I'm on that treadmill!

I haven't been running outside these last few weeks- I like to on Sunday morning, when not many people are out on the streets around here. It's a very church-y community. But it's just been too hot for me to be willing to run outside. To make up for this relative laziness, since this part of town is hilly and I'm thus missing the benefit of running on inclines, I do try and set the incline on the treadmill. Not too high, since I really can't handle it, but at least I make the effort.

Besides running, I can't say that I've been knitting much. In part this is because my hands hurt pretty badly from knitting with the Cotton Bam Boo.

I have to finish this sweater up soon though, and this weekend I'm going to work on it very seriously. I should be able to finish the back (again), and hopefully get pretty far into the 3/4 sleeves. This is because the Knitting Olympics are coming up, and I have to knit an entire sweater during the games! If you're a Ravelry user, you can find us in the Ravelympics forum. For the rest of you, I can only say this:
cast on during the opening ceremonies. For me, that's at 8:08:08pm on the East Coast, while I will hopefully be sitting in the National Sculpture Garden listening to jazz. Knit like the wind. And bind off (and weave in ends?) during the closing ceremonies. Pick a project you think is viable, but is a challenge.

For me, I'm knitting my absolute final commissioned knitted item. A simple stockinette sweater, for a former coworker. I hate hate HATE working on commission, but this is exactly the challenge to force me to knit the sweater and give it to her. Especially since I promised I'd get it to her by September- what fortuitous timing!

On a completely unrelated side note, I'm fanatique for So You Think You Can Dance. And how awesome is it that they did Bollywood- and my favorite couple got to do that style! Beautiful, athletic, and just lovely. Thank goodness for DVR.

Cotton Bam Boo Tastic, and how the girls are a signal of weight loss to come

I called Woolcott and Company, my friendly yarn shop. I'd say my neighborhood yarn shop, but since the yarn for my pink cardigan was a vacation purchase in Cambridge, Mass... it's not my 'hood so much.

Not only did they still have more balls of yarn in the right color- it's even the right dye lot. Never one to turn down the quirky wonderfulness of fate, I've ordered two skeins which MUST BE more than enough. I probably only need half a skein, but these are not things you take lightly when you have to add this much fabric for the bust-line and still want to have 3/4 length sleeves. If I end up having way too much, I'm sure I could come up with some interesting uses for it. Cute little baby sweater tops the list (as an accent color, if not enough for a full little sweater or hat).

While the new yarn is wending its way to me, I've been re-working the dagnabbit sweater fronts. And this time they really are zooming. There's something to be said for re-work- at least it's easier!



It's funny what it takes to get a person to realize their real size. I'm making size C of this sweater, 39 and 3/8 inches around. And it looks to be fine, width-wise. And yet I needed to add significant space to accommodate my significant frontage. I know this- I know my bra size, and I know I'm not a tiny person. But it's still an awfully visceral way to be reminded of what I'm really like. It doesn't quite match up with my self-perception.

My general size is like that. I'm a great deal bigger overall than I can really comprehend. I'm getting it, though, and this has lead to some pretty big changes. I don't just have a gym membership, I go to the gym on a regular basis. And I'm working up to going on a more frequent regular basis. I started the Couch to 5k running plan, and just finished week 3 this evening. I walk home from work on occasion (it takes an hour and a half or so, with a big ole hill in the last half hour). I wear a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day. I started doing crunches again, and other ab exercises, because my waist size has increased commensurate with my bust size. I have started cooking more, and especially cooking things that I can pack and take to work for lunch. Every lunch I bring with me saves me 8-10 dollars and ensures I have some notion of the nutritional content of what I'm eating. I also miss doing yoga, but haven't been brave enough to try any of the classes at my new gym. I do it at home sometimes, and hope to get more into it again soon.

I wish I could say all these changes were making a big impact- and I suppose they are helping. I gained 15 pounds after starting my new job, and when I began a new medication, and I've lost that excess weight already. But I have a long way to go, and it's incredibly important that I not get complacent. I may be the bounciest and flubbiest chick working out at my gym, but at least I'm there- and eventually, surely, more of the weight will come off. Maybe someday I won't need to alter my sweaters anymore, and I won't need as many skeins of yarn or as much time knitting to have beautiful hand-made tops that fit.

I'll keep you posted.

Sofawarming and some knitting fun

I threw a little par-tay this weekend. A sofa-warming, if you will, since I've been living out in Virginia for a bit too long to call it a housewarming. The sofa was duly broken in. But more importantly, there was some good food, good times, and thanks to my pal Dan- good bread and beer. He knows his yeast for sure.

The pictures from the party came out pretty abysmally, but I did catch a snapshot of the kahlua cake and a not terrible one of the boy. The cake went over really well- apparently it's a family favorite up North, but around here people hadn't had it. The recipe is ridiculously easy, it just involves making a few parts ahead of time and having adequate light cool whip on hand. Easy-peasy, but so tasty. I think I'm going to finish it up right now, in fact!


Someone special on my new sofa. Note the wide sofa arms- specifically chosen for pattern and laptop holding and being low enough to not impede knitting elbows. I really did pick a knitting couch.


This was a banner weekend. Saturday was the party, Sunday night I went to see Pearl Jam, but Friday night was Stitch 'n Pitch at the Nationals. I forgot my camera, but I did get some progress done. Between then and tonight, I got well on my way on my sweater fronts!


I also worked on the cashmere lace stole, because it's like knitting butter.


Mostly, however, I've been enjoying my local library the past few weeks. Here's the books to be returned tomorrow. Hopefully I'll finish The Good Earth by then, too. I'm really on a kick reading pre-Revolutionary Chinese lit. I have read more than my fair share of Victorian literature through my own research interests in graduate school, and a smattering of Indian lit... and tons of sci-fi. Branching out into the rest of Asia is really enlightening, and I feel like I'm really learning a lot. Every visit to a public library is like a free vacation to the far reaches of the world, and even beyond into space. Everyone says that, but I'm finding it more true than ever, now that everything I read is entirely because I feel like it and not because I ought to, or need to, or have any other obligation. In addition to the Chinese themes and the sci-fi, I've been catching up on a great deal of Jewish literature as well. The Shawl (shown here, too) is possibly the most gripping thing I've read all year. And that few hours of pure agony and complete submission to a novel? Free. Ah, do I love my local library. Too bad about all the books on my own bookshelves, but I like the smell of library books better.

A show and some knitting content

Last night the boy and I trekked up to Baltimore to see Rilo Kiley, one of my favorite bands. They generally attract quite the hipster crowd. At least, they did when I saw them last in DC and felt I was underdressed. But ah, good homey Baltimore is quite different. I went to school right outside the city, and last night's concert attendees were so familiar to me. Mostly in khaki shorts and polos and sundresses, with just a few hipsters spread throughout who are long-standing fans. Besides observing the dress code, I was entertained that during the show Jenny (the female singer/guitarist/bassist/wonder woman) starting playing a riff from... Everclear I believe. And the crowd was genuinely upset they wouldn't play the whole song! Rilo Kiley, for what it's worth, sounds nothing like Everclear. And they certainly have plenty of their own material. We left before the encores, since somehow the two opening acts became three and it was obscenely late at that point, with a long long drive back to Arlington ahead of us. But we did get to hear "Never" before we left- a song I have always somehow associated with my boy, and one of my favorite songs more generally. He doesn't care for it, though. Repeating the word "never" over and over again could get old, if you don't get into the mood of the song. Maybe.

I know you didn't read this for the concert update- you came for the knitting! I'm trucking along on the cashmere stole; I am just about to start the fourth pattern repeat. As soon as I retrieve it from the car, since I brought it on our little road trip last night. I did finish something else, though.


This sweater has a few issues for me.
First: this is going to be a belly sweater. I realized it pretty quickly, but was WAY too lazy to go back and add another few inches of ribbing. It has a beautiful swing and sway to it, however, with the cotton bamboo yarn, so I think I will just wear this over a tank top or a camisole anyways and be just fine if it swings up and exposes what would otherwise be naked belly and back.
Second: I adore this yarn. I think it's sheen is unmatched, and it has amazing heft while not being too warm. But there is no good way to say it- the yarn hurts like crazy. Knitting with this stuff is killing my wrist, my palm (where I grasp it with my little finger). I can't really change the way I hold the yarn now, since it would destroy my perfect tension. That means I can only knit a few centimeters at a time without wanting to cry. I hope that now I'm doing the fronts it won't be so bad- at least there are fewer stitches to a row. Sheesh.

I have been trying hard not to waste money, but I fell into the allure of using my stimulus money for what it was intended. A third of it went straight towards prescriptions and other useful and necessary stuff, but I also bought a wee bit of yarn and an OttLite. I am so excited to try cross stitching with this amazingly bright light! Here's a review of these latest fun purchases, lickety split.
The OttLite in its new habitat:


And my yarn purchases. This one I bought from someone on Ravelry- it's Vesper, a heavenly sock yarn:


The others are from Sonny and Shear, a great online yarn vendor. First up, Shibui Sock in a luscious deep purple:


Zen Yarn Garden in the color of clouds:


And two neat skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy:



Ah, my love of sock yarn is strong.

The new addition

I have been waiting three months for a very special delivery. My sofa finally arrived on Friday, and it is even better than I hoped for!

Here is my living room, revised and finally furnished:


There's still plenty of room for a few lamps and my bookcases, and the thing is LONG. The cushions alone measure about six feet- long enough for the boyfriend to lie flat. Perfect! I, of course, don't take up that much room.


Now I finally have something comfortable to sit on and knit. I've been enjoying it all day, today, while working on my pretty rosey cotton sweater and watching DVRed episodes of The Daily Show.


I should be receiving an OttLite in the mail on Monday. I haven't cross stitched in years, due to my fairly abysmal eyesight. I'm hoping the bright clarity of the OttLite will allow me to try samplers again. And today has been a very good craft day in general- I pulled out the ironing board and ironed up some muslin in between ironing work shirts. This allowed me to cut out the fabric for a neo-Victorian vest. Rather, the muslin prototype of one for my boyfriend. I found the little slip of paper with his measurements, and laughed again at my analysis... "Jamie is itty bitty." At least he doesn't require much fabric.

Not a bad Sunday. Laundry done, groceries purchased, apartment... half cleaned. And I saw Sex and the City yesterday, drank a few martinis, and got to spend time with my new sofa and my hilarious boyfriend. What an overall win! I'm ready to go back to work, though. After this much success, I can only imagine I'll rock up the writing tomorrow.

Stash of Doom

I knew my stash was getting out of hand. I could feel it creeping out of its cubby holes and baskets and into the fabric of my life. And not just in the form of UFO's, oh no! So I went on a photo tour today. It was terrifying. I'm starting to put stuff up on Ravelry, but in the meantime, here's a taste of the "before photos" and why I need to seriously finish some things!

First up is the Wall of Stash:

Sure, this may not look so bad. There are books in there! There are cubes of fabric, and even a cube of toiletries chilling out there because there isn't room in the bathroom. But consider the layers of yarn in each cubicle. Consider the massive amounts of it hidden in nooks and crannies. Imagine turning around and seeing a lot more of it.

(it looks innocuous from the bed, until you sneak a peek beneath the quilts and pillows and reveal another huge stash pile!)

For shame, it's taking up random floor space at the foot of my bed (disregard the fact that obviously yarn clutter isn't my only issue right now):


Oops, other side, too (quilting crap AND lots of yarn and random projects, oh boy!):


It's amazing I ever find what I need.

Now imagine taking a tour of the living room, and finding yet another big basket (all fair isle!) and 3 small ones. Oh jeez. I didn't tackle it completely, but I did pull out most of the UFOs that are not currently in my project bag:


Funny thing- that pile of white yarny things is 32 out of 61 hexagons for an afghan I was going to make for charity. I think I used some of the yarn for other things (teaching, most likely), but I should probably finish the thing and give it away. I was working on it in Rockville, and would love to get it out of my life before I move again. Whenever that is. For that matter, I would like to get rid of a good percentage of this yarn before I move again- I may need to destash. More likely, I need to finish projects. Yay.

And I reorganized the baskets. Slightly less gorgeous sock yarn is in a plastic bag in the cubicles, but the pretty stuff and all the lace got basket space:


That's definitely enough for tonight. My goals??
- finish MS3 Clue 4 (probably could do it Wednesday night, in preparation for the clue Friday)
- work on the cardigan (because I know darn well I'm going to whether it's on the list or not- that alpaca silk is like crack!)
- do at least 2 baby blanket squares... and another 2 on Saturday!! Zoom zoom!
- give the crocheted baby blanket away, to get it out of the house. Also because the baby is due soon. Hurray!
- finish the first Pink Broadripple sock- I have visions of wearing them this fall with my clogs and want them DONE.
- clean my room (well, obviously- you've seen the evidence)

Hopefully I'll get to Clue 5 this weekend, but I'm ok if I can't because I'm finishing the back of the sweater. Can I really get that far this weekend?? Anything is possible, I don't have much in the way of plans...

EDIT:: Roommate wants me to note that in fact, there are 3 baskets in the living room. They're inside the coffee table. So mostly hidden in plain sight... I'm all over it, Martha! In fact, Roommate pointed out that I could have had a perfectly lovely Ethan Allen coffee table, with two matching couchside tables, but I turned them down. Because I would have to give up my storage cubbies in the cheap Ikea table. Dumdeedum!

Wacky Week

I have not accomplished much crafting lately. This is for a few reasons- mostly I've been working like crazy, and in the evenings I've been a busy busy bee. Here's a taste:
Saturday night to Sunday afternoon: Harry Potter, of course.
Sunday evening: Cooked dinner for Mom and Roommate.
Monday evening: Finished the crocheted baby blanket (OK, so I did a little crafting).
Tuesday evening: Bethesda Restaurant Week- I went with a group to Rock Creek, which was delicious.
Wednesday evening: Went to a signing by Jasper Fforde, who is amazing and funny and he stamped as well as signed my copy of "Thursday Next, First Among Sequels"
And coming up?
Thursday evening: Transformers with a fellow UMBC alum.
Friday evening: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, at Woolly Mammoth (I couldn't resist the cheap Goldstar tickets).
Saturday evening: Gallathea (really?? Gallathea on-stage? So excited).
If you extend it out a bit further, my Crafts Cluster is meeting Sunday afternoon in Virginia, and I'm going to see a sneak preview of The Ten on Monday night. Whew!

That's a total of two fancy dinners, one book signing, two Fringe Festival plays, and a pop culture movie. Not bad! On the craft front, however, there has been slow progress. I really have been working on the MS3- I am about a quarter of the way through Clue 4 (so halfway through the first chart). That's slow going since I can't knit it on the metro. Then I did finish the crocheted Victory V baby blanket:

The edge, which shows off the Victory V's:

I'd love to say I used a pattern, but it's crochet. Easy peasy. This is TLC Baby, so a sport weight yarn- I crocheted a chain that was something long. And then I did the V stitch. And when it was about square in size (it's actually pretty ginormous, in the end), I did one round of double crochet in blue. I tried single crochet and two rounds of double, and double then single- I liked the cleanness of this version best. I rather miss crocheting- it's so quick, satisfying, and eminently easy. I have to pay attention when I knit. Well, I tend to knit lace and cables and things that require counting. It was a real treat to just zoom through an easy stitch pattern that required no counting and no real effort. It was perfect for watching more interesting TV- Roommate and I are watching Lost, and there's no way I can knit MS3 while watching that!

Ahem. I also cast on for a new sweater. I am knitting it as pictured, right down to the Alpaca Silk DK and the colorway. Because I love it.

A key feature is that you run the empire-waist creating ribbon below the bust, through the eyelets of the lace pattern. This means that I can make an empire waisted top without having to worry about altering, modification, etc. I think it will be quite flattering, and completely appropriate for work. It will also be warm, which is key in my overly-A/Ced environment. Only one small issue- alpaca sheds like crazy. Aaah well.

As if that weren't enough, when you add in slogging on the baby afghan for mid-August, I also have been doing some socks. Here's one, now ready for me to turn the heel on the metro:

The yarn is Cascade Fixation, and I'm knitting the Broadripple Socks again. Note the fantastic Lantern Moon tiny DPNs- they make me much faster. Not as fast as Magic Loop, but sometimes you don't feel like playing with Addis.

I have no project fidelity

My Schaeffer yarn came in. OH YES. For a shawl. OH YES. Funny thing is, that I'm about to start the Mystery Stole project... will I be able to do both?

I've nearly finished the craft project, so I'm timely with that. And I finished 3 squares of my cousin's baby afghan, plus another couple rows of crochet for my coworker's baby afghan. Surely I can start the lace shawl today?? Hmm.

Too many projects. Too little fidelity. But I think it's time to head up to Rockville and pick up that gorgeous yarn right now. And cast on. What better things do I have to do??

I've been alternating projects- one repeat of lace, one row of crochet, one repeat of a baby afghan square, one repeat of Brian's sweater. It's fun, but I may never get everything done this way...

Here's a tease of what's on the needles:

The baby owl sweater (back is done, I started knitting the two fronts at the same time. Haven't worked on this in a day or two, though, since I can't knit from two balls simultaneously on the metro.


And the beginnings of something new, though a bit blurred:


I absolutely adore the KnitPicks Options set. In fact, I am currently using 3 of the 4 cords. (again, no project fidelity). Note also the awesome chart keeper- this is so amazingly useful! And I love that it can stand on its own.