for apples

i described it to them on the phone, using a series of artful euphemisms

2008-07-18T01:09:16Z

Life has been very crazy around these parts. Last Saturday I went up to Wyandotte, MI, to see my dad at the Wyandotte Street Art Fair. There was a local spinner tent and a yarn store a block away. Needless to say, I made a few stash enhancement acquisitions.

I immediately cast on something with the Skacel Divine, which you'll see very very soon.

Then I packed a ton.

Then I went up to Ann Arbor yesterday to see my dad again at The Guild's Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. The Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild was there, so naturally I picked up something. This time around I got some 10/3 mercerized cotton to weave with (my next adventure ... learning to weave).

Bloody gorgeous stuff, I say. Good god, those colorways are amazing.

The homespun yarns at the booth were incredible as well, though way out of my price range. So I just took pictures instead.

While getting my oil changed today I finished the alluded-to project, Sunray by Ulli S. Shibuya (Ravelry link).

sunray neck warmer

It really needs to be blocked, but practically all of my knitting stuff is packed already. It'll have to wait. The brooche is something I got recently on my last visit home. My Great-Grand Aunties had all sorts of jewelry and stuff, and every time my mom comes back from a visit to see my grandad she brings back a few boxes of jewelry and knick-knacks. The brooche also has matching clip-on earrings (hah! I can barely well regular ones thanks to my 0s, oh well) but they're genuine crystal so they seemed worth keeping together.

I also finished up a project for the BBC. I'm honestly not sure if I can talk about it here, so I won't. But once the project is all said-and-done and pictures are made public I'll share the details.

OH! And while out and about in BG today I saw a window display full of those Uglys things that M-----l is a big fan of. So I took pictures. Or tried to at least. I was getting major glare.

Oh, and for those of you that may for some reason be interested in seeing what my dad does, here you go:

That's it from me for now. It might be a few weeks until I update again, seeing as I am supposed to be moving soon. Like, this weekend. Who knows how long I'll be without the internet. It might actually be nice to get away from it for a while.

ciao,
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oh my yes

2008-07-12T15:59:36Z

teamtardis-text

(I made these for the Ravelympics.)

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management refused our demand to switch casual friday to monday.

2008-07-11T17:35:31Z

I think it's time for a Friday Fill-In.

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a class schedule for the Fall semester.

2. Tostidos Chunky Salsa is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without something to knit.

4. If I were a condiment, I would be salsa because I could moonlight as a dip and a condiment.

5. Calling stupid or annoying things "gay" is really high up on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was possibly too naughty to talk about here.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to more packing (?), tomorrow my plans include seeing my dad (!!!) and Sunday, I want to start packing my kitchen stuff!

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so who should I root for? america or one of those other countries I learned about in the food court?

2008-07-10T23:23:17Z

Today I found out about a wonderfully wonderful knitting event, the Ravelympics! Basically, it's a free-for-all where knitters/crocheters/spinners/etc. pick crafty events to participate in. You can't start the project(s) until the opening ceremony, and you have to finish before the closing ceremony.

I signed up for three events: Cowl Jump, Amigurumi Toss, and Mitten Medley. The whole idea is the challenge yourself, and I think three projects in 17 days is a good challenge! Most people choose one complicated pattern to undertake, but I thought a few different kinds would be fun. So here's the plan:

For the Cowl Jump, I have three different patterns in mind:

Smoke Ring by Cosette Cornelius-Bates

Grassy by Larissa Brown

... and Cashmere Cowl No. 2 by The Purl Bee

I have a feeling I'll be doing the last one, because I have a skein of absolutely stunning Malabrigo Lace in violet that I am dying to use. Seriously.

For the next event, the Amigurumi Toss, I am going to make the set of four Fighters by NeedleNoodles:

I may need to limit myself to one of them, maybe two. It depends on how quick they are to crochet (which it looks like they are very quick projects, minus the felt parts, etc.).

And for the Mitten Medley I'll be making a pair of Rose's Wrist Warmers.

Here's a terrible picture of them from the show:

DW20052x13Doomsday-02295

You can kind of see them I guess. I couldn't find a better shot.

I'm pretty sure of what yarns to use so far. Malabrigo Lace for Cashmere Cowl No. 2 (if that ends up being the cowl I choose), I'll probably make the Fighters out of scraps of Knit Picks Swish Superwash or Caron Simply Soft (while packing today I discovered that I have, like, ten skeins of the stuff in lots of different colors), and Rowan Pure Wool DK for the wrist warmers.

Phew. That's a lot of stuff. I can't wait!
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Music QotW: Summer Songs

2008-07-08T00:35:09Z

What ten songs would you put on a summertime mix?

OOooooo! I like this one!
I dare not justify, because that would be far too hard. Instead, I shall list them and let you ponder! ~~Maybe I'll put up some mp3s when I get home.~~ Each file is linked to a last.fm mp3 page or a YouTube music video. Enjoi!

(order based on what popped into my head, not any sort of preference)
1. The Bravery - Swollen Summer
2. Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down
3. New Young Pony Club - Jerk Me
4. The Lawrence Arms - Great Lakes / Great Escapes
5. Kasabian - Sun Rise Light Flies
6. Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti - La festa è Buenos Aires
7. Weezer - El Scorcho
8. Franz Ferdinand - Jacqueline
9. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Grizzly Bear
10. The Killers - Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll

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for external use only

2008-07-04T22:08:05Z

Here is a quick picture parade of my latest FO, Ysolda Teague's Rose Red.

rose (not so) red

rose (not so) read close-up

rose (not so) red

Oh, and I did some more holiday yarn shopping at Wool & Co. in Geneva, IL.

BUT! I was good and only got yarn for patterns in my Ravelry queue.

Totally unrelated:
I am seriously flipping out over tomorrow's Doctor Who episode. Although I have to admit, I am more concerned about Jack, Gwen & Ianto, and Sarah Jane than I am about Ten's pseudo-regeneration or whatever may happen. Please don't let Sarah Jane die! ah! ;_;
s

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it's all so complicated, with the flowers, and the romance, and the lies upon lies

2008-07-01T21:25:52Z

I'm at my parents' place for the week, and it's been really awesome so far. The most obvious reason is because I'm not in Ohio. Also, because my mom keeps giving me money for stuff. And Cory (my brother) and I went to the White Sox game last night. And today I went to my favorite yarn store ever, Knitche. And I went to World Market for the first time ever and it's pretty much my favorite store now, besides IKEA and H&M. Hooray, stuff!

So first was my visit to Knitche. I wanted to get a skein of Malabrigo to make another One Skein Wonder, and two skeins of Rowan Pure Wool DK. I got the Malabrigo, but they don't carry Pure Wook DK yet. So I got Norah Gaughan vol. 3, two skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Organic Cotton, and two skeins of Katia Colibri.

holiday yarn, hooray!

close-up of the katia colibri

blue sky alpacas skinny dyed, 308 mallard

Then I went to World Market ... that place is awesome.

jelly babies!

world market swag

world market bag

THEY CARRY JELLY BABIES! I bought two bags. I'll probably go back and buy a few more before I leave on Saturday. They're the Doctor's favorite treat! And I have to say they are pretty tasty. I also found a fantastic woven scarf, a really neat over-sized coffee mug (perfect for ramen noodles), and awesome pub coasters. Hooray stuff!

Then when I was at home I found my mom's collection of old juke box 45s.

45s

I'm totally bummed that the Simon & Garfunkle disc is chipped. "Only Living Boy in New York" is one of my favorite songs. There are a few Beatles and Rolling Stones LPs, and really just a ton of other good stuff. Like Led Zeppelin and Sly and the Family Stone. And lots of others. Most of them are pretty scratched up, and they all have her name written on them. Whatevs. I'm going to see if she'll let me keep them. I have an idea of what to do with them (besides listen to them all at least once). I think my project for tomorrow is to go through and catalog what's in there.

mmmm, vinyl
s

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a head in the polls

2008-06-28T01:21:25Z

I'm on a knitting role lately. I think I mentioned earlier that I got an informal commission to make some hats. Well, I made some hats.

I made the first one, Stella's Hat, today while at work. Very quick project, and I really like how it turned out. The yarn doesn't give much stitch definition (Knit Picks Swish Superwash) but it's light and you can wash it in a washing machine. Gotta like that. The second is a Twirly Top Toque from One-Skein Wonders. It's a great pattern, but not the best yarn for it. I still like it, though. I'm hoping the woman I knit it for likes it too. She probably will; she seemed pretty jolly. These bring me up to 34 projects this year. Hooray!

Now I'll leave you with the TILT I made yesterday and forgot about. Oops.

Things I Like Thursday, a day late (oops)

1. raspberries, 2. tea, 3. doctor who, 4. robots, 5. pinhole cameras, 6. cupcakes, 7. jellyfish, 8. corn on the cob, 9. reading

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ETA: I finally have a decent picture of my Aspen Neck Cowl. So here it is.

apsen neck cowl

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it's powered by love. also, you have to wind it.

2008-06-27T03:17:04Z

I wanted something quick to knit, and it turns out this was incredibly quick to knit.

calorimetry 2

I made it while sitting at work watching The Sarah Jane Adventures. The last time I made a Calorimetry it took two nights and turned out gigantic. So, this time, I cast on 96 stitches instead of 120, and I worked on US7s instead of US8s. And the size is perfect. I didn't bring buttons or my darning kit with me, so I can't put it in properly (hence me holding it on). But I lurve it.

This is also my 33rd (!) project of the year. I hit my goal. Go me! Now I'm off to see if I can hit 50 projects before the end of the year. I think I can do it.
s

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Music QotW: Favorite Soundtrack

2008-06-25T16:57:06Z

What's your favorite soundtrack?

Based on my last.fm accounts (yes, I have two, so that I could listen to my own radio stations) I have two soundtrack albums that are nearly identical in play totals.

Amelie: Original Soundtrack Recording

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Expanded)

To be honest, though, the second is mostly because of my thesis. That's not to say I don't like it; I wouldn't have written about it if I didn't. But I doubt I'd have as many plays as Amelie if it weren't for my research.

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