Transference of Addiction

Slippery Slope?

2011-11-29T09:59:00.001-05:00

Heaven help me, I'm quilting.

Those of you who said that me getting a job at Hancock was a bad idea may have been right. See, people just keep buying all this cute fabric to make quilts, and put the idea of quilting in my head... But I wasn't sure about the idea of piecing a top. It sounds tricky, and I'm not sure I have the patience for lining up all those seams perfectly. I'm more of a "a man running for his life would never notice that mistake" kind of seamstress. But then I saw whole cloth quilting...

Fast forward to the day after Thanksgiving. I was working at Hancock (obviously), and there was a bunch of flannel on sale for $1.69/yard. I also have a nice little employee discount. I was simply unable to resist the cheap flannel. I bought a little over a yard of several prints with monkeys on them (baby quilts?), two and a half yards of a few solids... and two yards of one that I could see me making a quilt for myself from. (It's a bit lighter in real life than in the picture.)

There was also a sale on packaged batting... 50% off, plus my employee discount. So I picked up a twin size low loft batting... thingie. (Piece? Package?) Which happens to be the perfect size to use doubled in a quilt made from two yards of 45"-wide flannel. All told, the materials for this quilt totaled about $9.00. So, last night, I laid out my starry flannel on the spare bed, plopped down my batting, and topped it with two yards of matching yellow flannel. I used binder clips to keep it all lined up properly (hey, who needs special equipment?), and followed Mom's advice for keeping it square in the long run: I used dark thread and an extremely long running stitch to baste around the edges and in a grid over the whole thing. I happened to have some mustardy-yellowy-goldish thread that matches what's showing up as orange in the photo, so I grabbed that and started quilting. I'm currently outlining the stars by hand. We'll see how long I keep up the hand quilting--I may have to switch to machine quilting. I got about three stars done last night in the time I devoted to it, and I've got to say, it's pretty satisfying to see those little pillowy stars take shape. I love seeing them on the backside--my thread contrasts nicely with my backing fabric. They're far from perfect, but that's okay. That's what first quilts are for, right? Perfecting your technique?

Hmmm. "First quilt" kind of implies there will be more of them, doesn't it?

Change of Pace

2011-04-27T10:58:00.000-04:00

I know, it's been far too long since I posted anything. But I want to give this blogging business another shot, so I'm going to try expanding it beyond yarncraft. For one thing, I recently created two recipes that I want to share.

Dear Wife and I received an ice cream maker at one of our wedding showers, and it was the birthday of one of the gifters on Sunday. He had given up sugar for lent, so he threw a dessert buffet party and requested that we bring ice cream. Specifically, he had a dream about pineapple upside-down cake ice cream, and he requested that. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a recipe, so I had to make one up! It turned out great.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Ice Cream
(Makes slightly more than 1 quart)
Start with your favorite sweet cream base. (Mine comes from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book.) Add 3/4 cup dry yellow cake mix. Pour into ice cream maker and allow to freeze until almost done. (You can stop here for a pretty amazing cake batter ice cream!) Add approx. 10 oz. of crushed pineapple, with juices, and about 3/4 cup halved maraschino cherries. (It's a good idea to refrigerate your fruits beforehand, otherwise they will melt your freshly-frozen ice cream when you add them.) Let your ice cream maker do its thing! This is delicious and got tons of compliments.

The other recipe I came up with is for Spaghetti Burgers. I don't remember what started us thinking about it, but DW and I dreamed it up one day and I had to give it a shot! This one also turned out really well.

Spaghetti Burgers
For the patties:
6 oz. uncooked spaghetti
2 T. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

For the fixin's:
1 lb. Italian sausage
small amount of spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
buns of your choice
butter
garlic powder

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and pour into large mixing bowl. Cut the noodles into small pieces (approximately 1 inch long). Add butter and stir thoroughly. Add beaten eggs and Parmesan cheese, then stir until thoroughly mixed. Spoon noodles into fried egg rings in a non-stick skillet, pressing down with the back of your spoon to make sure the ring is well filled. Cook over medium heat until the egg sets around the edges (you can tell this is happening because the noodles will look dry instead of shiny). Flip the patty and cook for several minutes more, until golden brown.

Brown Italian sausage over medium-high heat.

Separate buns and place onto a cookie sheet. Butter each half and sprinkle liberally with garlic powder. Broil until toasted.

Place one patty on the bottom half of a bun. Top with sausage, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella, then cap it off with the top of the bun. Enjoy!

So, that's what I've been up to recently! Ok, I've also been doing some embroidery and crochet and canning, but I'll save those for another post.

Food!

2010-08-12T20:48:00.003-04:00

Anne and I have been busy the last few weeks, making and canning jams and salsa. We've got peach lime jam, Kentucky tri-berry jam, honey blueberry jam, ambrosia conserve, two kinds of salsa, and lemon marmalade.

YUM! I'm so excited about our jams and stuff. The lemon hasn't set up, though. On my mother's advice we're going to let it sit for a while longer and see if it sets up on its own. If not, I'll probably reprocess it.

I also went out and harvested some carrots from the garden tonight.

Look! I created food from tiny pebbly things! You can also see that the carrots were not strong enough to grow straight down. But I kind of love how twisty and stubby they are. There'll be some carrots with dinner tomorrow.

Long Overdue

2010-07-17T15:44:00.003-04:00

Oh, my goodness, is Ann actually posting something? Shocking!

I have given in to peer pressure (read: Mom pressure) to post some pictures of my latest crafty venture: dressmaking.

Please ignore the poor quality of the pictures (and the fact that I'm hot and sweaty) and admire the pretty.This is the first dress I made. It's a slightly lighter grey than it appears here. It's also very lightweight, and it's incredibly comfortable. After I was finished, I went back and added pockets. Seam ripper to the rescue! Now it has everything I could want in a dress.

I'm pretty sure this one came next. Love love love this fabric! I also had to go back and add pockets to this one. Unfortunately I had used the leftover fabric from this dress to make a "knocking around the house" super basic skirt, so I had to use a different fabric for the pockets--but it's hardly noticeable.

Then I went to black and white paisley. (This is the fabric I used for the pockets on the red and black one.) This one and the next one have pockets that the pattern included, so I didn't have to go back later! I've learned my lesson, though. I have another mock-wrap top dress cut out, and I went ahead and cut out the pockets so I can just stick them in the first time! For those who read my Facebook posts, this is my "not a one-hour dress."

Most recently I made this light blue number. Same pattern as the last one. Also took more than an hour.

So there you have it! I also recently made some curtains for my living room out of an old bed sheet, and then used the rest of that fabric to make a "knocking around the house" skirt. I felt very thrifty.

I just took a trip to JoAnn to use the birthday gift my parents gave me. I bought a lovely pair of Gingher dressmaker shears, and a decent pair of pinking shears. I also picked up a yard of fabric. And thanks to the cashier's secret 50% off one item coupon, I only paid $8 for the whole shebang! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Craft Explosion

2010-03-30T12:12:00.009-04:00

I think I was conditioned when I was young that rainy, dreary days equal Craft Time. Either that, or nasty weather just naturally awakens my urge to create. We've had some dreary days recently. Add to that the fact that I recently discovered the fun that is Craftzine, and you get a Craft Explosion!

For one thing, I've been obsessively crocheting these:

They are Tunisian Short Row Dishcloths. I've made at least 6, and I've got another one going--I can't stop!

Pippin disapproves of my dishcloth obsession.

I also made a tiny terrarium in a pint mason jar, using some pebbles, some dirt, some moss, two tiny plants, and a plastic dinosaur.
I couldn't get a good side-view without ridiculous glare, so you get a top-view.

Eve would dearly love to play with the dinosaur.

Just last night I finished a basket woven from strips of an old street map. I am not very good at this.

I blame Illinois, whose map I used.

George pretends not to notice the lopsided basket to save me embarrassment.

Finally, I learned how to recycle greeting cards into tiny gift baskets.

They're an excellent size for the stitch markers I can't stop making. (Not pictured.)

These two backyard-dwelling snakes wish I had pictures of stitch markers. Or of their 4 friends.

In other news, our garden is planted with carrots, onions, and 3 kinds of beans. The onions are sprouting beautifully (we planted sets), and the carrots are just poking their noses up. No bean action yet, but those just got planted on Saturday. Yay garden!

Bandwagon

2010-02-22T12:31:00.002-05:00

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm seriously fascinated by all of the recent mummy-related news. Most of what I know about Egyptology I learned from Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody series, so don't expect anything profound from me! If you want to learn more, I suggest google. If you're lazy, try Shoveling Ferret, an actual archaeologist whose blog I got to from Samurai Knitter's.

So, no revelations here; I just felt moved to spend part of my lunch hour looking up (probably/definitely) historically-inaccurate Egypt/DNA-related patterns. Unfortunately, they're not all free, but they are all fun!

Egyptian Mummy (Ravelry link) toy. So cute! I have no idea why I like crafting impractical things so much.
Egyptian collar (Ravelry link). Again, ridiculously impractial (unless you're the type of person who goes around wearing big, archaic articles of clothing on a daily basis), but I love it.
Baby's First DNA Model. Aw, it's a toy double helix!
Chromosome Cap. Lets everyone know that you don't care if it's been more than 3000 years, you will find out who the babydaddy is. (Don't judge me. You like Maury, too.)
Wings of Horus shawl. Wow--seriously pretty. I especially like the pictures of the one that was blocked so the top edge is curved.
Cleopatra Socks. Nothing says "tribute to a powerful woman" like wrapping some snakes around your feet in applied i-cord!
Eye of Horus chart. If you pretend she didn't make the chart because of Stargate, you might feel slightly less geeky using it.

No knitting pictures (or cat pictures) today. I've done some work on David's kilt hose, and bus socks are proceeding nicely. Over the weekend I put a pretty sage green lace edging on a white handkerchief, and I've been working on finishing up my Hexaghan. I'm nearly done with color 4 (out of 5), so it looks like I might eventually actually finish it!

Ann Blogs.

2010-01-26T12:20:00.003-05:00

So, um, I'm just going to pretend I'm not the world's worst blogger, and jump right in!

I started a February Lady sweater a few weeks ago, and here's what I have so far.

I love the pretty cranberry color I'm using, and I'm looking forward to having a nice handknit cardigan. But the top-down thing is getting to me--the rows keep getting longer and longer! Plus, I need to work on David's kilt hose before I do much on a big project for myself.

I am working on David's kilt hose, but they really don't photograph well. Picture me halfway through a cuff in navy blue yarn.

And since my car... well, let's not speak of my car. Suffice to say I am riding the bus. Socks are excellent bus knitting.

Now I just need to find the second ball of this yarn...

Pippin wanted to help me show off my Swine Flu Scarf (so named because I knit it during my quarantine). I kind of love it.

Here's Eve, looking kind of stoned. Maybe she got into the catnip stash.

And here is George on my suitcase. She freaking loves that thing. It's her new favorite spot!

I Rule at Groceries

2009-11-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

This is not a knitting post, sorry to say.

I just have to crow a bit. The other day, Anne and I sat down and made dinner menus. We did two and a half weeks' worth of (reasonably) nutritious, interesting meal-planning. Then we made a shopping list. Last night we went on the Major Food-Buying Excursion, and even with a few impulse buys and a six-dollar drain snake, our total was under $100.00.

A hundred bucks for two and a half weeks of meals for two adults. To be fair, we had previously gotten quite a bit of meat at Aldi, so there wasn't much meat on our list last night--but still! I feel pretty awesome about our shopping trip, and I'm really excited not to have to think about what to cook for a while.

And Mom, thanks for the menu idea!

I'm Not Dead Yet

2009-10-29T09:14:00.002-04:00

We're just going to ignore the fact that I haven't posted in 3 months, m'kay?

I have no pictures to share today, but here's an Ann Update.

I am working on getting over the swine flu. So far, I've gotten rid of the fever and the body aches, but the cough, sniffles, and fatigue are still hanging around. I'm taking this opportunity to eat ice cream with impunity--I'm sick! I need ice cream!
During my convalescence, I knit an entire skein of yarn into most of a scarf. Of course, the scarf didn't end up as long as wanted it to be, and I was knitting from stash. I had purchased that particular skein of Patons Classic Wool literally months before I started knitting, and I had only gotten one. I went to the Michael's where I had gotten the yarn, and of all the yarn bins in the store, only one was empty--obviously, it was where the yarn I needed should have been. So after work yesterday I puttered over to the other Michael's in town to look for my yarn, but I wasn't very hopeful. As luck would have it, they had exactly two skeins of my yarn! One had a ballband and the other didn't, so just for kicks, I checked the dyelot on the one with a band. It was the same as my months-old, other-store yarn. Score!
Quarantine is boring.
I had a plumbing emergency before I got sick that resulted in lots of Drano-infused water overflowing onto my kitchen floor. I currently have two rooms in my house blocked off so the cats don't get in there and get sick (which will end when I rent a carpet cleaner and get the nasty chemicals out of the carpet). The cats aren't thrilled to have their running-around space basically cut in half. Must rent a Rug Doctor.
I had something compelling to say when I started this entry, and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.

Update: Part Two

2009-07-22T10:01:00.002-04:00

Anne made me a birthday cake! It was her first cake, and she made a layer cake. I think she did a fabulous job. Very festive, and extremely tasty. Thanks, Anne! (Also, that's a lot of candles. I'm old.)

Next up we have the Tiny Sweater of Enormous Cuteness, otherwise known as a Baby Surprise Jacket. Extremely interesting construction, and fairly cryptic instructions. I wrote the pattern out row by row, because I need to have things to cross out in order to really keep my place. (I don't trust row counters.) It needs to be washed and blocked, and then it can be sent off to its future wearer's soon-to-be mom. It's cotton, so it should be a good weight for a late-summer baby--not too sweltering. Anne guessed that it's probably about a two-month size.

Of course, you don't get a good idea of its real size in that picture. So what's a knitter to do, when she has neither a baby nor an appropriately sized stuffed animal to model the Tiny Sweater of Enormous Cuteness?

Torture a cat, of course! The sweater is officially Pippin-sized. It fit him very comfortably.

He didn't seem upset by the sweater, just a little perplexed--but I still didn't leave it on him for too long. (This is what comes of me being really tired when I finish a baby sweater and happening to have a shaved cat nearby. It was irresistible.) I can't stop laughing at these pictures, but Bakers, I promise not to start clothing your cat on a regular basis.

Only when I need a small model for knitwear.

Update: Part One

2009-07-22T07:48:00.004-04:00

Ta-da! All three cats in one place. Yes, Pippin is running away, but he's still mostly there.

I made a pretty red dress. It's ridiculously simple--basically just a big tube with sleeves and a neckline. So I added a belt. Ooh, look at me, I'm a fashion designer!

And my garden is going so well that I harvested and ate 9 beans in one day!

My cauliflower and cabbage are starting to show signs of life. The broccoli is still mostly just hanging out, but I'm hopeful that I might get just a little broccoli.

In the next post: Birthday cake, baby sweater, and more cats! Stay tuned!

Naked Pippin

2009-07-02T08:51:00.001-04:00

Isn't this the most adorable thing you've ever seen?

Surprises

2009-07-01T08:08:00.002-04:00

I just dropped Pippin off to get a physical, a rabies shot, a bath, and a shave, and holy crap--all that stuff is expensive! It will cost me between $200 and $250 to ransom the cat. Aaron, Samara, how would you feel about me leaving him there to wash dishes until it's paid off?

The other surprise came when I took a look at my garden last night. I have some baby green beans! And one baby snow pea! It's very exciting.

In other news, last night I cast on a Baby Surprise Jacket for Kelly's forthcoming baby. I'd take a picture, but right now it's about 4 rows, which isn't very exciting.

Exhaustion

2009-06-29T11:04:00.003-04:00

This is just a quick update to tell everyone that I survived the Pride Festival!

It went so well--I'm ridiculously proud of everyone who was involved with putting it on. Committee members and volunteers were already at the venue getting things ready when I arrived at 7 am; the vendors and exhibitors all got set up with no problems; the entertainment was well-received; the crowd was high-energy but not rowdy; the weather was gorgeous. It was an all-around wonderful day.

I only got sunburned on my upper arms, and I made it to bed around 11 pm. I slept until noon. I don't think I moved at all during the night. The reckoning with the alcohol vendors went smoothly. I was in bed again by 10pm yesterday, and I could probably have slept until noon again today!

I am extremely tired and extremely happy.

Picture-heavy post!

2009-06-25T09:11:00.004-04:00

I keep hoping that some Saturday, I'll get up, have some coffee, and enjoy a leisurely morning of blogging and petting kitties and maybe watching cartoons. Then I remember that I'm chairing the committee that's planning a huge party for this coming Saturday. Maybe after that...

Anyway, here's what I've been up to. I've been doing some gardening. Below, we have a watermelon that I planted next to the back porch, just for the hell of it. So far I haven't managed to kill it--yay!

Next is a shot of the whole garden, early in the morning.

In the garden there are tomatoes. Some of them are red! Anne says they're very tasty. (You can also see the cherry tomato plant behind this one--it's starting to make fruit, too.)

And here's one that's about the size of a small plum. It will grow up to be a big tomato!

My snow pea seeds sprouted, and now they're in a huge tangle. So far, they've made exactly one flower. I gave them a stick to climb, so maybe they'll make more flowers, and Anne and I won't have to split one single snow pea!

Anne's sarrano peppers are growing like gangbusters...

...but they're not doing quite as well as the cayennes. These are two of the nine plants. (Leeks are in the background.)

The purple beans are making purple flowers! (The green beans are also making green flowers, but the purple ones are more photogenic.)

And some corn has sprouted!

The cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower don't look too different from when I planted them. I'm thinking about going in and burying them deeper (or just piling some dirt up around the stems) to encourage them to make new roots and expand. You can see that the caterpillars thought the plant in front was very tasty. Behind the cauliflower on the left, you can see our teeny tiny spinach. It's trying!

The herbs are doing well, too.

And the blackberry bushes are growing. The one on the left is pretty bushy, but the one on the right is growing outward with one long branch, for the most part--you can see it actually exiting the frame.

I haven't been knitting as much as I did before Pride planning really heated up, but I did finally manage to finish my Sock Roulette sock!

There on the left is all of the yarn I had left. It's only a few yards. I was sweating toward the end! This sock needs to be blocked, so it looks a little odd. Even so, I think it'll still be slightly smaller than its mate--but given the amount of yarn I finished with, it's probably good I wasn't too hung up on having an exact match. Both socks fit, and they look pretty, and that's what matters.

I have a minor obsession with crocheting potholders, though. I've made 4, and I'm working on #5. The pattern I'm using is very cool, and produces a nice two-layer potholder. (Bonus: it came from the website of a fiber arts studio in Rudolph, WI!)

Finally, at long last, here are cats.

Pippin is getting shaved on Wednesday. I felt like I was keeping him pretty well brushed, but then all of a sudden he got all matted. Poor guy!

George is adorable, as always.

And Eve has decided that my bed is actually HER bed. I have the scratches on my hand to prove it--she doesn't like it when I get too close to her, even if I'm sleeping. This might call for some reassertion of dominance...

Update: Artist's Rendering

2009-06-23T11:46:00.002-04:00

Bloggity

2009-05-17T17:26:00.003-04:00

Things I like:
1.) Kitties. Anne and I had fun yesterday putting glow-stick necklaces on them.

Pippin was perplexed by his.

Eve tried to scrape hers off.

And by the time we got the camera out, George was hiding under the bed, so this is as close as I got to a glowing George picture.

2.) Gardens. Anne and I got all ambitious and constructed three raised garden beds, hauled 1200 pounds of topsoil and manure, filled the beds, and planted like crazy! Here's the long view from the back.

In the center and ever toward the right side we planted cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower. In the empty spaces around that back corner are two kinds of green beans and late season sweet corn. The empty spot on the back left will hopefully be snow peas one day.

On the other side, we have three tomato plants and a whole mess of hot peppers. The only variety of pepper I remember is cayenne; there are two others there, too. The grassy stuff in the middle is leeks. We planted onion seeds next to them, and at the front of the bed we planted spinach.

In the small beds, we planted blackberry bushes and herbs.

In our herb garden (back to front) are 3 basil plants, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, and sage. I planted some spearmint in the front planter, and I'll be planting a watermelon plant along the back porch, just for the hell of it.

Yay for gardens!

Things I don't like:
1.) The neighbors' trees dropping big limbs into my backyard.
2.) The fact that my lawnmower has been stolen. Last weekend I used my weed whacker on the whole lawn. This week I shall use a borrowed old-fashioned reel lawnmower. I might buy it if the owner is amenable, or I might order one from Amazon. I definitely want a reel mower rather than a gas mower.
3.) My dentist's office. They neglected to mention to me (over the course of more than one appointment) that I was carrying a balance, and they called this week wanting a whole lot of money.
4.) Clogged pipes, crawlspaces, pipe snakes, and inky black sludge. Aaron, you were right about there not being lots of bugs--but you were wrong about there not being spiderwebs. I want to know who's been dumping used motor oil down my pipes; I emerged from under the house half-covered by nasty, slimy, inky black sludge. The sludge didn't really seem to be the problem with the plumbing--there were several big gobs of hair that I pulled out--but it can't really be helping things, either.

That's all for now, folks. I'll try to post some knitting content soon!

Yarny

2009-04-05T21:15:00.002-04:00

(Caturday post one back.)

First, I'm sad to report that one of the Chicken Dishes bit the dust.

Good thing I've still got eleventy-billion saucers left!

Next, I've been having motivation issues lately. I just haven't wanted to knit. This situation was not helped when I finally held up my second Sock Roulette sock next to the first one, and finally admitted that the gauge issues weren't going to block out. In the picture below, I am four rounds from starting the heel flap. Ha!

Frogged. I'm constantly amazed by the difference in products from two knitters when they're using the same needles, the same yarn, and the same pattern. That doesn't mean I'm any happier about reknitting half of a sock, but it is pretty interesting.

So, faced with the fact that I currently find knitting slow and frustrating, I turned my attentions over to my neglected Hexaghan. Crochet is nice and fast, and I like being able to finish several motifs in a short period of time. It makes me feel accomplished.

Here are 7 more hexagons, all crocheted and edged, with their ends woven in. This puts me at about the halfway point. Hooray!

While I was sitting and crocheting on these, I started thinking about the masses of yarn in my stash. And after I laid out my hexagons on the floor, I got an idea--a person could make a shawl out of these. And I just happen to have a full bag of DK wool/silk blend yarn that isn't enough for a sweater for me, but that would make a lovely shawl.

Ta-da! 9 hexagons, crocheted at a looser gauge, eager to become a warm, pretty shawl. (Sorry, I got all artsy when arranging the picture, so it's hard to make out individual hexagons. They're there, trust me.)

And then today, I got to thinking about my sock yarn stash. There's quite a bit in there that I don't imagine I'll ever make socks out of, and quite a few partial balls, too. (In my defense, I planned to make it into socks when I bought it, but it has since been eclipsed by other yarn.) So what's an avid crocheter with a shiny new hexagon obsession to do?

Start a sock yarn hexagon afghan, of course! I'm looking forward to having a light weight afghan with wild and crazy colors. I think I'll even use the leftover little bits that aren't enough to make hexagons to sew it together.

Ah. I feel better already!

Caturday!

2009-04-05T20:56:00.003-04:00

Pippin says, "Rub my belly!"

George monitors my internet usage.

And Eve sits in her favorite spot. I added Tim the Dinosaur, just to prove that this is a different photo than last week.

Belated (Again) Caturday, Dress

2009-03-30T09:12:00.002-04:00

First, the cats!

Here's a Pippin closeup.

George on the sofa, looking sleepy.

And Eve in her new favorite chair.

This is the finished dress. The belt is hanging around the neck rather than wrapped around the waist, because I couldn't be bothered with styling this morning. All of the pieces are put together, the buttonholes are done, and the buttons are in place.

Why am I not over the moon? Because I am an idiot. When I was choosing the size to make I was looking at the finished garment dimensions rather than the sizing guide, so despite the button band I added, it is a bit too tight. It buttons but it isn't quite the glorious thing I was envisioning. I'm slowly working on cutting out the next dress, and I think that one will fit better. But the green dress falls a little more under "learning experience" than "garment," and that makes me somewhat grumpy.

Sleeves!

2009-03-23T08:03:00.002-04:00

Look, I made sleeves!

They even have a pleat and gathers. Of course, having bought a new seam ripper, I got them in perfectly on the first try. Set-in sleeves! That I made! And they fit! Oddly, I think I'm more proud of the sleeves than I am of the whole rest of the bodice, even though they were dead simple in comparison.

Next up, the skirt and the belt. Then, a button band of my own design, because even though I measured myself accurately and chose the corresponding pattern size, the bodice is too tight to button comfortably. And after that--DRESS! (Notice how I just skipped right over Buttonholes. Those will involve some serious practice beforehand, but I am confident that I can conquer them.)

Oh, Caturday!

2009-03-22T11:46:00.005-04:00

I have a feeling that for the next few months there will be a lot of Caturday posts on Sundays; it looks like my Saturdays will be mostly devoted to Pride planning. Sorry about that!

In today's post, my lovely assistants will help me show off my current projects.

Here, George shows off my two-at-a-time Magic Loop socks. There's not much to see, detail-wise; they're just plain stockinette with a 2x2 ribbing cuff. But they look strangely like a little pair of kitty shorts in this picture.

Here we see Pippin getting ready to run away from my Sock Roulette Hedera. My progress has been hampered by my recent inability to work on anything for more than an hour or so.

And here is Eve, below the bodice of my dress. There will be sleeves later. And the collar is far less uneven than it looks in this picture; it's hanging funny here. (Notice I said "less uneven." It is, in fact, somewhat uneven. It's a learning experience.) Also, I plan to buy a new seam ripper today. It is a vital tool, especially for someone like me, who's been out of the sewing game for so long! But I'm pretty happy with my dress so far.

Have a happy Sunday, all!

Sewing

2009-03-21T17:49:00.001-04:00

Where the hell is my seam ripper?

Behold the Bounty!

2009-03-17T08:55:00.003-04:00

Here's what came in the mail yesterday:

I opened the bag, and look what I found!

The sock is covered with little hand-written tags pointing out things to watch for--they're marvelous. Here's the non-tagged side of the sock, so you can see it better. I'm itching to cast on its mate--perhaps at lunch today!

I showed my new sock to Anne, and she said it was beautiful. Then she asked, "When does the next one go out?"

What do you say, Julie? Are you up for organizing another round?

It's Here!

2009-03-16T15:17:00.002-04:00

My Sock Roulette sock arrived today! It's a beautiful goldenrod Hedera from Ailsa. Thank you so much, Ailsa!

She also sent me a tea flower and two skeins of Cleckheaton Kaleidoscope in a lovely brown/rust-ish/cream colorway, and the whole shebang arrived in a grey drawstring bag. It was a wonderful thing to find when I left a department meeting today. I'm so excited to cast on. I'll take some pictures this evening, but I doubt they'll rival the lovely photos Ailsa posted on her blog. Hooray for Sock Roulette!

Non-Crafty

2009-03-16T09:30:00.002-04:00

I want to share a story from this weekend that made me feel good about people in general. If you know me, you know that I don't have a lot of faith in People, so I always like stories that warm the cockles of my cynical little heart.

Anne came over on Saturday after work. When she was leaving, she couldn't find her phone, so I called it. We couldn't hear it ringing, so we figured it was in her car. Two minutes later, my phone rang, and the caller ID said it was Anne. I answered, and a man said, "Hi, I found this phone on [My] Street, and I've been trying to figure out who it belongs to so I can return it." "Oh, wonderful!" I said. "Are you on [My] Street now?" "No, I'm over in [inaudible], but I'll be back there tomorrow around noon, if you want to give me a call." I arranged with Anne to take her phone to her at work on Sunday, she left, and I went to bed.

Yesterday I called the nice gentleman back. I had already dug $5 out of my wallet as a token reward--I'm pretty poor so it wasn't much (obviously), but he didn't have to return Anne's phone, and he deserved something nice. When he answered my call, he told me that he was going to grab something to eat and then he'd be right over. This nice man, who was returning Anne's phone instead of selling it or just leaving it on the ground where he found it, was in the neighborhood because he was going to the soup kitchen down the street. When he knocked on my door he had a big smile for me, accepted my thanks graciously, and was just genuinely nice. He was surprised when I gave him the money, and I wish it could have been more. The whole thing made me feel all warm and fuzzy whenever I thought about it, and continues to do so today.

Hooray for the nice man on the street!

Caturday!

2009-03-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

Pippin was shy today; he didn't want to pose.

I caught George looking very dorky. The good news is that the fabric in front of her is a pretty good color match to life. That's what color my dress will be.

And here's Eve's butt. The really funny thing about this is that her head is just barely peeking out on the other side--I think she thinks she's hiding.

Serious Catch-Up

2009-03-11T21:02:00.005-04:00

I'm sorry for the long silence--late last week, life threw a serious curve ball that interrupted normal activities. So here are some overdue cat pictures.

I like this picture of Pippin--he looks very somber.

I interrupted George's bath.

And Eve has claimed yet another plastic bag.

In knitting news, I made a hat for Anne.

I really like the way it turned out.

And finally, in sewing news, I am a dumbass.

Remember that dress I'm making, the one where I womanfully admitted publicly to having tried to squeeze a dress out of too little fabric? It turns out I was wrong. I had plenty of fabric. What was my problem? I forgot that I was making the shorter of the two skirt options. D'oh! All better now.

Tonight I cut out my interfacing (after a quick trip to Hancock, because I really didn't have enough interfacing), transferred all the necessary marks to the fabric, and read the directions. Tomorrow I may actually sew--after I do a little research and learn what instructions like "easestitch" and "catchstitch" mean.

Oh, and I nearly forgot! My Sock Roulette sock (the one I knitted) has been received. Go here to see it! I'm really looking forward to getting my package (with the sock I didn't knit). I know it's on its way, and I'm really excited.

Caturday and Continents

2009-02-28T15:16:00.003-05:00

Here's Eve, rocking a faux-hawk. She's hardcore.

I think Pippin has a crush on one of the neighborhood strays. He spends a lot of time looking out the window and meowing. The other day he carried one of his toys over to the front door, dropped it, and looked out and meowed for a while--I think he was giving the outside kitty a present! Or trying to, anyway.

George still likes to be up high, and she's discovered that the top of my wardrobe makes an excellent perch.

In other news, I got the name and address of my Sock Roulette victim! It's very exciting. My sock is going to a whole different continent. At first, I thought I hadn't been to that continent, but then I had a thought, worked a little Google-Fu, and discovered that I have! That brings my list of visited continents up to 4, counting North America. (Hint: Mom and David, you probably have to add a new one to your lists, too, unless you research family vacations more thoroughly than I do.) I plan to pick up a few small, fun things to include in my package, and then my sock will go winging its way across the ocean! I also need to send some yarn to Mom, and a whole mess of things to Alaska. But first I must stop and pick up some packing materials. And I can't wait to see the sock that I get!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Cautionary Tale

2009-02-26T15:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I got my shiny new lace blocking wires, so I decided to, you know, work on some lace, so I'll eventually have something to block. I tried to work on my Creatures of the Reef shawl, but I just wasn't feeling it, so I decided to switch to the Seascape thing-a-ma-bob I started ages ago.

I went over to the storage ottoman I could have sworn I put it in... but it wasn't there. Okay, I thought, I'll try the closet. I'm sure it's in there. Nope, no Seascape thingy. I went back to the ottoman and this time fully emptied it--still no Seascape. I rifled through half a dozen Rubbermaid totes that contain at least some yarn or knitting--but it wasn't there, either. I looked back through the closet to make sure I hadn't missed it, but it still wasn't there.

I was getting seriously frustrated. So I went into my bedroom and pawed through a scary little area I like to call "where random crap goes to die." It wasn't there, either--but right next to Scary Area, there was my granny stand-up project bag thing, and inside that--was Seascape! Hooray!

And then I remembered that it got shoved in there and hidden in the bedroom during the mad cleaning spree before my Chinese New Year dinner.

The moral of the story is: Don't clean. It's bad for your blood pressure.

Caturday, and a Request

2009-02-21T20:51:00.002-05:00

Pippin really loves the Super Scratcher.

George has discovered that she can walk on the top of a window frame with the help of a curtain rod.

And if you look really closely, you can see that Eve is cuddling a frog finger-puppet that makes up one half of a set of dpn holders.

Now, for my request. I'm planning to submit several designs to The AntiCraft, and if they should be accepted I would prefer it if potential employers didn't find them when googling me pre-interview. So I need a pen name. I'm drawing a complete blank. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Anything at all?

Quickly

2009-02-17T09:22:00.001-05:00

I have finally added my Knitting Scouts badges to my blog.----->

Look how accomplished I am!

The People Have Spoken

2009-02-17T08:46:00.004-05:00

And they have requested photos of fabric. It wasn't that I was disinclined to post photos yesterday, I just didn't have any on hand--but I thought I had better take advantage of the urge to post despite the lack of photos.

Here is the fabric I'm using.

The colors are a little off; the green is more lime, and the blue is more teal. I really like it.

And here is the pattern I'm making.

I'm making View A, the short-sleeved version shown here in a yellow and white striped fabric. (Question for the ages: Is it yellow fabric with white stripes, or white fabric with yellow stripes? The world may never know.) I considered making the long-sleeved version, but then I decided that my fabric didn't work for that. It's a short-sleeved fabric. I'm glad I made that decision, because when I was cutting out the last piece, here's what I saw.

There was no way to fix this without making one of my skirt panels upside down. I'm not entirely sure it would have mattered, but with my luck, if I had cut it out upside down it would have been glaringly obvious. So what's a girl to do about this? Well, probably make the skirt about two inches shorter. In the end I just cut out the piece and decided to figure it out later. Last night I was very sleepy and had a nasty headache, and I just didn't want to deal with it, especially after the other mistake I made.

What other mistake? Well, when I was cutting out the bodice back, I lined it up according to what I thought was the grain line on the pattern piece. It was not. I failed to notice that I should have lined the pattern up with the fold in the fabric, thereby cutting just one piece that folded in the middle. I now have two pieces, oriented sideways to the rest of the pieces. I'm not too worried about the sideways part; I figure that the back of the bodice can be sideways and it won't matter, not like one skirt panel out of four being upside down. I'm slightly concerned about the fact that I'll have to sew a seam up the middle, which will eat up some width. My plan for dealing with this is to make a very narrow seam, like 1/4 inch, if I can manage it. I think I can probably make that up in the side seams, and not have too much of a problem. Ta-da!

After I laid out that final piece, the one in the second photo, I remembered where I probably went wrong. I was in love with the fabric, but it was a little short on yardage--I decided that it would be okay because the fabric was a little wider than 45". (Also, laying the back bodice piece out wrong probably contributed. Sometimes Ann=not very smart. This is what comes of cutting out your fabric in two sessions, and doing the second when when your head hurts.)

Anyway, I did go to Hancock last night and buy my thread, and I also picked up some buttons. And I took a look at the batiks they had on hand. They were few, and ugly. I didn't buy any. My local Hancock Fabrics feels more like a quilting/crafting/home decor store than a fabric store--they don't have a great variety of fabrics that aren't fleece or wacky cotton prints. Next time I want fabric I think I'll try JoAnns. I didn't actually do any sewing yesterday. I'll work on that tomorrow, and hopefully Thursday I'll have more fun photos!

Is This a Craft Blog, or What?

2009-02-16T09:22:00.002-05:00

I keep meaning to post between Caturdays, and somehow I don't get to it. It's probably because I'm spending all my free time knitting and watching movies from Netflix--but despite that, I have no pictures today.

What have I been knitting? Well, I signed up for Samurai Knitter's Sock Roulette, so I spent 10 days frantically knitting a sock for fear I wouldn't be able to make the deadline. I finished my sock on Friday--whew!

Now that I've finished that commitment, I need to work on some Secret Design Projects for the AntiCraft. I've got a 2/28 deadline for that. Luckily, I've got a good start, so I should be able to handle it.

I've also been working on a hat for Anne. She requested a hat like one that appears briefly on the TV show Bones--it's an earflap hat with a mohawk. She requested the color "green like baby dinosaur," and I found the perfect yarn--but it's acrylic, so it tires my hands out like nobody's business. It's amazing how different it is to knit with yarn that stretches more! Anyway, I'm at the point where I'm ready to start the crown decreases. Hooray! I also need to make her a new fingerless glove. She was devastated to lose one of the pair I gave her for Christmas, but luckily I have enough yarn to replace it. I haven't started that yet--I need to get on it before it gets warm! Anne was afraid I'd be upset, but I'd rather she wore them and lost one than kept them in her house like a museum piece.

I was at Wal-Mart on Saturday and I thought I'd stop by the craft section to see if they had any fun purple yarn that might work for the mohawk on Anne's hat. I didn't see any, but as I was leaving, I walked past the clearance fabric shelves. $2 a yard! I had just been looking at the four dress patterns I bought on sale when I was in Green Bay at Christmas. I have the fabric for one, and I actually started cutting it out this weekend, but I couldn't resist perusing the offerings. I didn't find anything at first, but then I went over to the other side of the display and discovered the $1.50/yard fabrics. I found several there that I liked. One is black with white pinstripes, one is dark grey, one is plum-colored, and the last is light grey with red and yellow pinstripes. They're lovely. I'm really looking forward to making pretty dresses. I'm planning to make a good start tonight on the one I started cutting out over the weekend. I'll need to make a fabric store run to get matching thread, though, and I might have to take a look at the batiks--Hancock sent me an e-mail about their President's Day sale, and batiks are 40% off. They would be perfect for one of my patterns--and I haven't found any fabric for that one yet. (I'm going to avoid the pattern section like the plague, because they are once again on sale, and I don't need any more inspiration.) I blame David for my current sewing obsession. He's making himself a kilt--everyone should stop by and be amazed at my brother's skill and talent.

That about covers it--I've got a couple of other things going, but they've been back-burnered for the month of February. Happy knitting!

Happy Valentine's Caturday!

2009-02-14T17:44:00.003-05:00

On this Valentine's Day, I gave the cats a special gift.

A large box.

Eve was the first to claim the box.

The George kicked Eve out, and had a little box time herself.

Pippin wasn't terribly interested in the box itself, but loved the paper that came inside the box.

I hope everyone's Valentine's Day is full of wonderful things. Like boxes.

Super Caturday

2009-02-07T15:06:00.004-05:00

I have a special treat for everyone today: movies of kitties! There's no sound, and they're kind of dark--the Eve video, especially--but they're still very cute. Enjoy!

Caturday

2009-01-31T08:20:00.002-05:00

Aw, the kitties are so cute when they get along! This is in sharp contrast to last night, when they were running around beating the crap out of each other. The fur was literally flying. All three of them were getting into it.

Today I am going to a wedding. I am "Plus One," so I'll know approximately 3 of the attendees and none of the wedding party. Oh, well. A party's a party, right?

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-29T10:58:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it wasn't quite the "mini" ice storm I thought it was--there were plenty of downed trees and limbs, and it took me 30 minutes to chisel my car out of the 3/4" shell it had this morning. The roads are decent, though, which is why I had to chisel my car out and come to work. Everything looks beautiful all covered in silvery ice.

And I would like to take a moment to say, "Hooray for wool gloves!" As we all know, wool can absorb 30% of its weight in water and still not feel wet and cold, which I was very grateful for this morning. It's hard to chisel effectively with frozen hands, and my hands stayed toasty warm in my handknit gloves, even as they got wet and snowy. I'm so glad I didn't have to go anywhere yesterday. My walkway and sidewalk even got cleared, with no effort on my part! The guy across the street knocked on my door and offered to clear them for $5, and I counter-offered: would he do it for beer? Gladly! So I hauled the almost-full case of cans and the 5-out-of-six-pack of bottles out to the porch, and ta-da! Clear sidewalk, and no more beer that I won't drink taking up room in my house. Hooray!

I hope everyone has a lovely, safe, warm Thursday.

Snow Day!

2009-01-28T11:46:00.002-05:00

This is something I haven't experienced since high school: a snow day! I've had weather delays, in college and in my working life, but never a whole day off. We had a partial snow day yesterday, because we had a mini ice storm. (I say "mini" because it didn't reach the epic proportions of the one six years ago in Lexington, where most of the city's power was out for a week, and because I didn't see a single downed tree.) It continued to rain/snow overnight, and the temperature is hovering right around freezing, and it's snowing--it's the perfect recipe for ice over snow over ice, so the university's president (in all his wisdom) closed the whole shebang for the day. Yeehaw!

It's currently ten minutes to noon and I'm still in my pjs.

I think I'll spend the day watching bad movies and knitting. I might get wild and crazy and make myself a hot toddy--just to ward off the chill, you understand.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-26T08:33:00.003-05:00

Sorry about the lack of Caturday, folks--I had to celebrate the Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is actually today, but I decided to have my dinner party on Saturday. So I spent all day preparing for that. I made wontons, then cleaned the house, then got started on the main dishes: vegetable fried rice, roast chicken Chinese style, firecracker beef, and beef with hoisin sauce. I had about a dozen guests. I think the party went really well. I handed out lucky money and we did a little craft--I got little dragon cutouts, which were covered in black scratch-off stuff, and the paper underneath was multicolored, so you scratch off the black stuff in pretty patterns and it looks really cool. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I was seriously exhausted by the end of the day, though, and unfortunately, I had not fully recovered by the time my Sunday guests arrived.

It's Natalie, Aaron's sister! This is about as close as Eve would let her get. I think she was still traumatized from all the people the night before.

George had no such qualms. She loves Natalie, and came right to her.

George was also very interested in Mary, Aaron and Natalie's mother.

Pippin didn't really join us; I think that, like Eve, he was ready to go back to normal! I did drag him out for some pettings, but he ran away again before I could snag a picture.

Mary and Natalie brought me some very tasty cookies. After we sat and chatted and pet cats for a while, we went to the mall for lunch and some shopping. Natalie got her favorite steak and cheese sandwich, Mary got something extremely tasty-looking from the Great Steak Company (or whatever it's called), and I got gyros. Yum!

After we ate, we did a little shopping. I got Natalie a Christmas present from Limited Too, and we also went to Hot Topic, where I found a cute top on clearance and Natalie got a skull-covered bandana. We did a little browsing at New York & Co., since I'm going to a wedding on Saturday, but I didn't find anything. After that we headed back to the house, chatted some more and pet the cats some more, and then Natalie and Mary set off back to West Virginia. It was very nice to see them--I'm really glad they came for a visit.

This weekend I'll be sure to post Caturday on time, wedding notwithstanding!

Cerebral

2009-01-23T08:29:00.001-05:00

I've been very in-my-head this week, so really I have nothing to show The Blog. I do have one or two things to say, though.

For one thing, we have a new president. Watching Obama's inauguration address, I was struck by what a compelling speaker he is. Putting aside the question of what he said and whether or not you agree with him, the man is amazing. He has incredible presence and delivery. A man who can speak like that is a man who can lead. Whether he'll lead us somewhere good remains to be seen. Fingers crossed. (Slate magazine has a new feature that I enjoy; they report on what the president has done that day, and give him points or take them away, and track it with a silly little graphic. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.)

Thinking about Obama's speech brought me to two other lines of thought: One, it reminded me of how disillusioned I was when I learned that presidents have speechwriters. Who's to say if the man speaking really means everything he's saying, when they're someone else's words? How can we ever really know what the president's true feelings on a matter are, when he's giving a speech that someone else wrote? It makes those off-the-cuff moments seem really important.

The other thing I started thinking about is how media has affected presidential elections. There are articles and probably books about how television changed the election process, claiming that many of our finest leaders would never have been elected if they had had to appear on television. It seems plausible to me. It just makes me wonder where things will go from here. And I wonder how the last five or ten elections would have turned out if they hadn't been televised. I'm not really trying to make a statement here, just pondering.

So that's what's been occupying my thoughts this week. Well, that and planning for my Epic Dinner Party on Saturday. Chinese New Year is on Monday, so in keeping with family tradition, I will be cooking a lovely meal for my friends. Of course, I still need to clean like the wind... and do some day-before food prep, like making rice for the fried rice... and check my recipes and see if I can cook any of the meat ahead, to save time... oh, and I need to go to the bank for the lucky money. Good thing I have the morning free to get ready before the party!

Caturday, and Minor Content

2009-01-17T15:38:00.003-05:00

I wonder which cat has been messing with the vase of flowers on my counter?

Eve is hiding under my pillow--very suspicious behavior.

George refuses to talk, despite the bright light necessary for a proper interrogation.

Um, Pippin... what's that on your head? Is it... pollen? Sigh. It's always the quiet ones.

Sadly, Mary and Natalie (Aaron's mom and sister) won't be making it for the visit we planned for tomorrow--they're predicting snow and ice, which don't make for good driving conditions. Maybe next weekend.

In knitting news, I have been knitting--just not photographing or blogging. I cast on my Creatures of the Reef shawl, and I'm about 16 rows into it--and at more than 500 stitches per row, that's a lot! I'm glad they'll only get shorter from here! If you follow the link and look at the picture, it starts from the bottom; I just knit the first row of the bubble edging--that's the line between the scallops on the very outside and the crabs and seahorses.

I'm working on a Charade sock, in some yarn I bought in Green Bay. I love the way it's turning out--very squishy and nice. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy, in the colorway Gothic Rose. I'm so glad I spent a ridiculous amount of money for it!

And I cast on another pair of socks, doing 2 at once using magic loop. I'm not very far on these, but I'm excited to be trying this; I've never completed 2 at once before.

That's about it, on the knitting front. I woke up this morning to frozen pipes, thanks to the sub-zero temperatures we've been having, but that magically resolved itself about 10 minutes after I finally got to speak to a water company representative after spending half an hour on hold. Because I am a good person, I then called back and spent some more time on hold before I canceled the service call. No sense in wasting their time when they're so busy with other people having frozen pipe issues. My faucets are now dripping merrily, and they will stay that way until it warms up.

Caturday

2009-01-10T17:36:00.002-05:00

Pippin's in the laundry basket because he feels kind of dirty. Why does Pippin feel dirty?

Because he ate Eve's feet! Oh, no!

Run for your life, George! Pippin is a feet-eating fool!

Success!

2009-01-04T16:20:00.002-05:00

I would like to present my first sweater!

Yes, there are lines on the front because I had it folded. Ignore those, please, and focus on the pretty! The sleeves fit me! The length is reasonable! It goes around my torso exactly once! All of the pieces are attached to the other pieces! It's warm and fuzzy and cute and I made it!

I might have to wear this every day for the next year or so, just so you know.

Now, on to other matters.

I resist making New Year's Resolutions because it just seems like making them would be setting myself up for failure. However, I have been thinking about making some goals for myself, and this seems like a good opportunity to record them for posterity. (Goals are nice because, if you're not doing so well, you can redouble your efforts without feeling too guilty. Not like a resolution--those are much firmer and more serious, and breaking them leads to serious guilt and self-recrimination, which are no fun unless you're Catholic. [Just kidding, Mom!])

Knit more from my stash rather than buying new yarn. A large subset of this goal is to whittle down the sock yarn stash. I can do this by knitting more socks, and by making things like scarves and wraps from the sock yarn I already have. Added benefit: more handknits to wear!
Eat out for dinner no more than once a week. This will be good for my pocketbook as well as my waistline, with the added benefit of making me feel more settled. I will have leftovers to take to work for lunch this way, too, which will be nice.
Try to keep my house tidier.
Be more social. Go to SnB at least once a week, and hang out with the non-profit crowd more. Host a dinner party.
Try to be more active. Deliberately exercise, even if it's only for a few minutes every day. Work up to longer time periods and a habitual workout.
Increase savings so I have a comfortable cushion, just in case.

That about covers it, I think. Nothing too onerous, but a several of them involve breaking habits or forming new ones, which is always a challenge. But hey, if I can make a whole sweater, I can do anything!

Scheduled Caturday #3

2009-01-03T05:07:00.002-05:00

By the time you're reading this, I'm back in Lexington, but I thought I'd set it up just in case I got forgetful!

Pippin sometimes sits on top of the scratcher I bought the cats. He's not scratching--just sitting.

George is... not doing anything remarkable here.

And here's a super close shot of Eve to round things out. Happy 2009!

Scheduled Caturday #2

2008-12-27T08:04:00.001-05:00

Just like last Caturday, I'm writing this in Lexington, but it will be posted the Saturday after Christmas. I hope everyone's holiday was magical!

Eve has been sleeping next to me some nights. It's very sweet.

George is very interested in cribbage.

And Pippin likes getting the love, even if he has to sit on a lap to get it!

Vacation Knitting Roundup: Day 10

2008-12-26T17:00:00.005-05:00

First, I have to show you how tough Wisconsin sparrows are. It's very, very cold in the picture below, and you'll notice that the sparrows are nonetheless eagerly bathing in the only-thawed-because-it's-slightly-heated birdbath. Also, I understand that I have witnessed history in the making. With the snow we got last night, Green Bay has broken its all-time December snow record--our 39.7 inches beat 1887's 36.4 inches. And there are still 5 days of December left! Whee!

Now, the knitting. On the first day of my vacation, last Wednesday, I didn't knit; I drove, and drove, and drove. Since then, here's what I have accomplished.

I knit a hat. (See previous entry.)

I finished my last sweater piece. (Ditto.)

I finished the first half of my lilac silk scarf
If this looks way off, color-wise, I apologize--my parents' monitor is darker than I'm used to, so it looks funny to me, too, but I didn't want to mess with it too much.

I finished the first skein of the yarn I'm using to knit my latest pair of socks. One and a half socks from one skein!

I knit as far as I could on the second half of Anne's Christmas present.

Notice the trailing yarn on the last three photos. I have more to do on each of these, but no yarn handy to do it. What's a girl to do?

Start a new sock!

And maybe two more, for good measure.

I had no idea I could knit this much this quickly. I haven't even spent all my time knitting--I've managed to be sociable, bake, have family dinners, make 5 billion tiny meatballs for the Italian wedding soup, visit with friends, have family Christmas, read, sleep, and bathe, too!

Bloggity-blog

2008-12-22T11:17:00.004-05:00

I have lost all ability to be creative with entry titles. Sorry about that.

But look! Knitting!

Because I am home with the folks and far from responsibilities, I have been knitting up a storm. Last night I finished the last piece of the sweater I cast on in February!

Check it out--two sleeves! They're even the same size! I would love to say that I would be spending today blocking the pieces and assembling the sweater, but as it happens, I left the front and the back in Lexington. Not a lot of foresight, here.

I also made a hat the other day.

It's all nice and warm. Which is good, because it is freaking cold here. When I got up this morning, the actual temperature was -3, with a wind chill of something ridiculous like -22. Gah! Good thing I packed every pair of wool socks I own!

I've also been working on my silk scarf.

Mmm, shiny and soft. I'm nearing the end of the first skein. Where is the second skein? Why, it's in Lexington!

I've also worked a bit on a sock that's been riding around in my purse for a while. I haven't worked a ton on it, because it's a second sock, and there's not enough yarn left from the first skein to finish it. Where's that second skein? Lexington! Are you seeing a pattern here?

Luckily, I have the second half of one of Anne's presents here as well. I plan to work my little keister off on that and finish it by January 5, when I go back to work. Of course, I might run out of the main color before I leave Green Bay, because I left Skein Two... all together now!... in Lexington! I'm so freaking smart. Actually, I choose to believe that I didn't pack any more sweater pieces or second skeins because I truly didn't believe I would need them. It looks like, for once, I may have actually underestimated the amount of knitting I would be doing! Crazy.

Scheduled Caturday #1

2008-12-20T07:59:00.002-05:00

As you're reading this, I am in Green Bay getting ready for Christmas with my parents. I'm writing it before I leave town--ooh, blog magic! I hope everyone's preparations are going well!

Eve looks seriously evil in this one. Basement cat lives at my house!

Pippin is not evil.

George likes to climb on my lap while I'm at my computer.

Caturday!

2008-12-13T16:39:00.002-05:00

Here are the kitties!

And as a special bonus, here's a picture of the girl I took to the theater and her little brother, posted with their Dad's permission.

It's completely adorable how much Violet loves her little brother.

Blogginess!

2008-12-10T07:55:00.003-05:00

Check it out--knitting!

I picked up a few skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, and was compelled to immediately cast on. It's the same leaf lace pattern that I'm using for the black wrap I started a little while ago, but narrower and more scarf-like. This thing is gorgeous. The yarn is incredibly soft and has a beautiful sheen to it. I wish the color were more vibrant, but I love lilacs, and this color reminds me of them, so it still makes me very happy. Click to biggify--it's worth it!

I also snagged a holiday meme for your viewing pleasure.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both, but I definitely prefer wrapping paper. I find unwrapping much more satisfying that pulling things out of bags, and I try to let other people have that same pleasure.

2. Real tree or artificial?
We always had real trees when I was growing up, and only recently have my parents gone the artificial route--honestly, there are advantages to both. I haven't really had my own tree as an adult; still rocking the folks' place at Christmas, so it doesn't make sense for me to put up a tree and abandon it.

3. Why are you willing to answer these questions?
Fun, and blog filler.

4. When do you take the tree down?
See above, re. no tree.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I do.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My parents might be bitterly disappointed, because I'm sure there were plenty of amazing gifts that they put a lot more thought into than this one, but the one that really sticks out in my mind was a desk set. It came with stuff like a plastic inbox tray and message pads. I loved that thing.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My dad, paradoxically. He always wants the same things, which should make it easy--but I want to get him some other, extra things as well, and that's always a struggle.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Probably my mother. I always have tons of ideas for her.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
I think I technically do, in the same sense I have a set of silver--that they're earmarked for me come inheritance time, which is slightly macabre, but my family has never been deterred by the macabre.

10. Do you send your card by mail or e-mail?
I don't do cards; I think they're a waste of time and resources.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I honestly can't really remember any that made me cringe. Oh, wait! Yes I can. When I worked at the car rental place, the store manager made gift bags for all the employees. The men got work gloves, box cutters, and measuring tapes, and the women got cookie-making kits and his church's cookbook. He had no shame regarding his appalling gender bias. Also, who brings 9 box cutters into an airport? Seriously, people.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Charlie Brown Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
It depends. This year I started ridiculously early, and I still probably won't be done on time.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Not that I recall, except in White Elephant exchanges.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Spritz cookies!

16. Lights on the tree?
Yep. But I prefer all one color lights, not the multicolored strings.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I love sacred carols, despite not being religious. Musically they blow the secular ones out of the water. At the moment, the winner is probably Adeste Fideles.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel. To home. 600 miles--whee!

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
I sure can.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
When I was a kid, we always did Christmas Eve at Grandma's, then Christmas morning at home--at Grandma's we got extended family presents, and at home we got immediate family presents. Best of all, we could open our stockings--which always contained small presents--as soon as we woke up on Christmas morning, without waiting for Mom and Dad. These days, it's pretty much all Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The fact that it starts earlier and earlier every year.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I do love the silver and white themes, and I also love the underwater theme on my parents' tree.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Several kinds of soups!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Um... sleep?

Much Belated Caturday

2008-12-08T18:19:00.005-05:00

Sorry, sorry--I really meant to schedule a Caturday post before I left town for the weekend, but somehow "packing" came first.

This is what most of my pictures of Pippin look like. No matter how many times you try to coax him to look at the camera, he always seems to look away at just the wrong moment.

Not so George. George loves the camera.

And Eve has a bag. This is Eve's Bag. Woe betide anyone who tries to take it from her!

Thanksgiving and Caturday

2008-11-29T08:02:00.008-05:00

Today's Caturday is a little different than before; for one thing, it's on time! For another, I managed to grab a shot of all three cats coexisting peacefully together.

Awww!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Mine started on Wednesday, with a little baking.

I'm glad I took a half day on Wednesday, because I still had another batch of onion bread to make when these were done. I've learned that I'm not good at sharing onion bread, so it's really better for me to make more and not be grouchy on Thanksgiving when I realize there isn't enough bread left for sandwiches and toast. So, Anne gets two loaves and I get two loaves.

We really had a ridiculous amount of food for just two people.

Clockwise from the bottom, we have butter (I was going to skip that one, but I didn't want people asking what it was. It's not like we were taking spoonfuls and eating them.), a plate of onion bread, fresh broccoli, duchess potatoes, roast beast, and cranberry goo. In the center are glazed carrots, and up above the potatoes is the dish of mock hollandaise for the broccoli. Oh, and we had sparkling apple cider and sparkling grape juice, too, plus dessert--pumpkin pie and Who pudding.

The Who pudding is essentially tapioca flavored with orange zest and topped with homemade fruit topping. This was the first time I've made pudding from scratch, and it turned out wonderfully. This is some tasty pudding.

For the curious, here's a close up of the duchess potatoes.

You mash potatoes, add an egg, pipe onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with melted butter, and bake. We also added some fresh rosemary to our mashed potatoes, and these were freaking fantastic.

And the roast beast?

I violated a chicken and shoved whole cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary and sage under its skin, rubbed it with olive oil, and baked. Again, fan-freaking-tastic.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the mock hollandaise was terrifically bad. Not because of any error in the cooking; it was the combination of a tablespoon of sugar and two tablespoons of vinegar that really made it... interesting. I think in the future I'll make hollandaise from a little packet I buy in the grocery.

All things considered, it was a lovely day. We cooked (Anne prefers to do sous chef stuff, which suits me fine--I like to be in the thick of things!), feasted, played some cribbage, and generally had a very quiet day. Lovely.

Yesterday, I fired up my sewing machine, which I have named Monty. A few yards of fabric and the better part of a bag of fiberfill later, this is what I had.

Things to keep the draft from freezing my feet in the kitchen! Hooray! I'm curious about how long it will be before the cats decide these are Fun Toys that need to be liberated from under the cupboards. We'll see.

Also yesterday, the Universe decided that I needed a lesson in deprivation, following Thursday's excesses. I woke up to discover my freezer wide open--and everything inside seriously thawed. Meat, veggies, ice cream, the whole shebang--into the Herbie Curbie they went. Damn. Oh, well. That'll teach me to somehow not notice that the freezer isn't closed... though I admit, I suspect supernatural forces. How would I not notice an open freezer? I'll live, though. And now my freezer is all clean and shiny.

And today, I am going to borrow my friend Kirsten's daughter, Violet, and take her to lunch and a show. We will be seeing the world premiere of If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. I also have an in to get Miss Violet backstage to meet Mouse and Boy, and sit in the giant set furniture. It should be pretty awesome. I'm seriously loving this 4-day-weekend thing.