a knitter navigates through life

Thursday, May 28, 2009

be vewy, vewy quiet . . .

We is hunting squiwwels.

Monday, May 25, 2009

do you ever . . .

Do you ever find a new extremely funny website that has extensive archives and you feel compelled to read EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM and your whole life gets sucked into it and you finally emerge in a daze weeks later to find out everyone thought you died? Um, yeah. www.textsfromlastnight.com

Thursday, May 21, 2009

painting may be . . . done?

I have finally finished painting my room! I saved this painting project for last, and you can see why.

Never one to do something small, am I? I used ten different colors in graduated shades of yellow, orange, pink, purple and blue.

The "bedroom" wall, where all the sleeping happens, is blues and soft purples. (You can also see the freakin' awesome closet system my incomparable father built for me.)

Shades of pinks, orange, and bright yellows liven up the "working" area by the desk. It was a lot of work, but I am so happy with the results, I could squeak.

Jaymie was a very helpful kitty throughout the process. Here you can see him lending vital emotional support on top of the drop cloths.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

bad knit-blogger! no cookie!

I went back through my archives and realized my last post was the first I'd shown of my recent WIPs. Bad blogger. No cookie.
The socks are Veil of Leaves by Cat Bordhi. Whereas Cat thinks the pattern looks like leaves, I think it looks a lot like the feathers of a peacock's tail all fanned out. And since I happen to have some extra-special yarn that looks just like the colors of a peacock . . .

Dream in Color Smooshy, a gift from Treats for Breathing. I absolutely love this picture. It shows the color and the pattern really well, and I love how the lamplight turned everything all golden. I can't believe I didn't post it before. Hm. Bad knit-blogger, no cookie.
This pattern, I have to tell you, blew my ever-loving mind. Cat Bordhi will do that. Someone way more articulate that I (probably the Yarn Harlot) once said that when doing a Cat Bordhi pattern, you can't try to think, you just have to do exactly what the directions say and it will all turn out OK. Boy! Howdy! Is that ever true. Every time I tried to visualize or otherwise think about what I was doing/supposed to do next, I'd lose days to confusion and head-scratching. Fingers crossed that the second one will go more smoothly, now that I know not to think.


Here's a progress pic with Helpful Kitty Paw (tm). I modified the pattern a little to include a little lace panel going down the top of the foot. I couldn't make it fit with the lace pattern from the cuff because of the increases, so there's a little stockinette border between the cuff and instep. I think it turned out all right, and it proves that I am biologically incapable of knitting a plain sock.

This is something just wonderful I fell in love with at Needlenook (the second-greatest yarn store on earth. Sorry, guys, but there's no way you're beating out Knitch.)


Katia Bombay, a nice sport-weight mercerized cotton. I realized this would be just perfect for something else I had fallen in love with, from Twist Collective

Primrose Path, by Angela Hahn.

It's been a really quick knit, with just enough lace to keep it interesting. (Although I wouldn't recommend it for those who hate ribbing.) I'm using the yarn doubled, which is breaking up the striping somewhat, although it's still pretty stripy. I think it'll come out fine, though. If not, you'll be hearing me say, "Primrose Path? No, I never knit that sweater. What are you talking about?" :-)


The second picture is a more accurate depiction of the colors. The pinks remind me of all the lovely spring flowers we have in Atlanta, from the softer dogwoods to the riotous, kick-to-the-eyeball-neon azaleas. I'm modifying the pattern from set-in sleeves (which are my archnemesis) to a bottom-up raglan. I cast on for the first sleeve last night while watching Mythbusters. Hopefully, more progress to report soon!
Thanks to all of you with your patience for my incredibly sporadic posting of late. Pics to come soon of what was keeping me so busy, as soon as I finish with the touch-ups!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

I ordered two t-shirts from Ravelry . . .

They arrived the other day. I lay them out on my bed to get some blog pics, and, well, the inevitable happened.



Now is not time for photographing shirts! It's time for rubbing kitten ears!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

isn't this supposed to be a knit blog?

Why, yes! Yes, it is. I have in fact been knitting, just not blogging. I finished my first Peacock Feathers sock on Monday

Actually, I finished it almost two weeks ago, only to discover that it was way too short. I had to rip out the toe and add another repeat to the foot. Stupid star toe. More attractive than a standard toe, but a lot shorter.

Very pretty, though. I love how this lace pattern looks like feathers.

I've also finished the body for Primrose Path.

I like my shirts a little long, so I may be adding some more length.

I've also decided to do it as a bottom-up raglan instead of doing set-in sleeves, because set-in sleeves like to kick my ass and then taunt me. There's only one lace chart for the yoke, so that shouldn't be too difficult to adapt, right? Right?
Here's a little teaser of what's kept me from blogging for so long.

Pics to follow soon!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

I'm not certain . . .

. . . it's hard to tell, really. But, I think there's a chance I may be experiencing a slight bit of PMS.


I also don't think BRE is going to let me go to the grocery store unsupervised ever again. Now, if you'll excuse me, my blood sugar levels are woefully normal.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

say hello to my leetle friend!



My caulk gun has been my very best friend for a few weeks while I've been caulking and painting all the (millions of miles of) trim in my bedroom. I am finally, finally finished, after having to buy more caulk twice, and running out of paint once. So now, can we please stop snickering when I say things like, "I need to go to the store to get more caulk" or "I can't believe I'm using so much caulk!" I mean, really.