and knitting

New Project / Finished Project #40: Easy Peasy II

Happy New Year!

I'll spare you the excuses for why I've been so absent from this blog and from commenting on others.

At least I can start 2007 off right by posting a finished project.

They don't come much simpler than this. It's just a simple, garter stitch on the bias scarf, with a row or two or three of eyelets thrown in here and there. I had tried using this yarn for the Lost in Translation scarf from Mother of Purl. The yarn had a bit too much going on for that pattern and I decided to rip it out. The sparkle factor of the yarn was calling to me this Christmas season so I decided to go with a simple on the bias pattern I had used before. It's not the sort of knitting project that you can find much to post about, but I like how it turned out.

To make the project more interesting here are a few self propagated rumors about why I used the Self-Conscious Mysterious Face Finished Project Photo (shown above).

1. I am practicing to become a 14-year-old YouTube girl.
2. I have a lazy eye like Paris Hilton.
3. I am the Phantom of the Opera.
4. I am curious (yellow).
5. Blog absence was necessary due to Extreme Makeover gone awry.

The Project: Easy Peasy II
The Yarn: Karabella Gossamer in Olive with Copper purchased from KPixie
The Needles: US7 Brittany
Started: December ? 2006
Finished: January 2 2007

I finished the scarf this morning while watching the amazing documentary, Why We Fight. It was a somewhat disheartening way to start off the year, but I highly recommend watching this film. If you are so inclined, you can even view it right now via Google Video.

No various and sundry links today. I've been marking all of my bloglines subs as read for the past few weeks. I'm so behind that I might post a link to something shamefully 2006 and I can't have that!

Formerly known as the mystery project - project #30: big bad baby blanket is finished

The Project: Big Bad Baby Blanket - pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook
The Yarn: Blue Sky Organic Cotton in Sage purchased from Depth of Field
The Needles: 5mm
Started: December 16 2005
Finished: January 15 2006

The mystery project was never much of a secret, but for those of you who didn't guess, it can now be revealed as the Big Bad Baby Blanket. This pattern is quite simple, but it was an enjoyable knit and the end result is gorgeous. I can see why it's been such a popular pattern. I'll soon be giving it to the cute little guy I knit it for (I'll update this post with an "action" shot).

Various and Sundry Links - January 31 2006

- An exceptional post On Yarn Snobbery

- Good Night and Good Luck, one of my favorite films from last year, was nominated for a whole passel of awards. George Clooney has certainly come a long way since his days in Peekskill. Syriana was good too. I really don't understand the complaints that it was confusing.

- The gown that Project Runway's Nick designed for Brenda Strong was gorgeous [via]. Perhaps an Oscar gown is in his future.

- Bill Gates Bento (scroll down)

- Reality TV gets even weirder with Extreme Breastfeeding and The Perfect P****. I'm not at all disappointed that these aren't showing in the US.

- Two great posts on Vox Verax - Bush on the Constitution: "It's just a goddamned piece of paper" and "I am the State" [via]

Bush on Tuesday night is going to pretend to tell the nation how his government is working in the beginning of his sixth year in office. The history of Bush's state of the union speeches tells us his version is going to be an Olympic class con job delivered with relentless sincerity.

- Vintage Beauty and Hygiene Advertisements [via]

- The new graphics for CNN International are very "webish" [via]

- I wish I knew how to quit you - Broke Mac Mountain [via]

for your eyes only

Thanks to some quality knitting time during Memoirs of a Geisha* yesterday, and For Your Eyes Only** today, I'm happy to say I've cast off of the mystery knitting project. No guessing what it is (though many of you likely already have it figured out). I'm really looking forward to weaving in the ends, blocking it and finally giving it to the wee little man.

[Sorry about the poor lighting in the photo.]

*Memoirs of a Geisha was, as I expected, pretty cheesy and bad. The visuals were nice, though I wish they would have tried to be more accurate with the makeup and costumes. Here's an excellent review of the film and surrounding controversy.

**I am quite a Bond fan, so although For Your Eyes Only is also ridiculously cheesy, I do like it (except for that figure skating chick).

To keep things somewhat interesting, here are some random links for today (not knit-related)...
• The Ambassador's Last Stand [via] - The famous Ambassador Hotel, home of the Cocoanut Grove and the site of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination is no more.
• Dr Bronner's Soap label-quote generator [via]
• This is very, very wrong.
• Project Runway's Emmett is opening a boutique and Daniel is on Friendster.
• shhhh

Think pink if you want that quelque chose! project #25: finished mittens

The Project: Mittens - pattern by class instructor
The Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Rose - purchased at Needlework Unlimited
The Needles: 4.5mm bamboo DPNs - Crystal Palace
Started: October 1 2005
Restarted: November 11 2005
Finished: November 24 2005

Thankfully, I am almost over whatever it was that was ailing me for the past two weeks and am here to post my finished mittens. It took three mittens to do it, but I ended up with a pair that are well matched in size and form. I finished up the last thumb this morning while watching the beautiful Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. It made me think of a lovely Thanksgiving day I spent in Paris seven long years ago. Sigh... such happy memories.

I'm off now to assemble the green bean casserole. Happy Thanksgiving!

fall back

I don't know about you, but I wish we could just stay on daylight saving time forever. It's so depressing to leave the office and see a pitch black sky. It also makes it difficult to photograph my knits in progress.

Here's an in progress shot of my tubular camisole. My sister/knitting advisor strongly urged me to take it off the needles and try it on so that I wouldn't be disappointed about the size. She was right -- my first cami was a bit too large. So, I restarted it on Sunday and am now one pattern repeat away from the ribbing. Woo hoo!

**Update**
I brought this project with me when I took the train to the dreaded Sprawl of America on Saturday afternoon. I am now on the ribbing section. Perhaps I'll finish it today and be able to wear it to work tomorrow!

**Update part two**
Still 1.5 inches of ribbing to go and my hands are aching, so I don't think I'll make my goal of finishing it tonight. I am making a solemn vow to never again use metal knitting needles. At least there is the distraction of a fun Joan Crawford film (No More Ladies), which has some excellent lines and a character who crochets.

project #27: in from the cold striped scarf

I woke up on Sunday feeling quite out of sorts and lazed about for most of the day, catching up on my Netflix queue. First on the list, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965); which had been languishing on top of my television for many weeks (months?). It took me awhile to become taken in by Richard Burton's character, but was a good way to wrap up my homegrown cold war film festival.

Next up was Grand Hotel (1932).

Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.

This film is brilliant -- one I could watch over and over (and have). Highlights for me: a fresh young Joan Crawford as Flaemmchen and of course, Garbo. The two Barrymores aren't exactly slouches either.

At some point I came to a realization that I had to have some knitting to show for all that time spent on the couch so started this new scarf. I chose a scarf because it's the perfect bus knitting project for me, and inspired by this free pattern from Crystal Palace, chose to make a striped chevron scarf.

The chevron pattern is very simple to remember, but I wanted to have something to refer back to should I get distracted. So, I wrote up my own instructions and transferred it to a text file that I could load it onto my ipod.

I'm using the Merino Style yarn I had purchased but rejected for an earlier project. There's nothing really wrong with this yarn (though one skein did have some splitting issues). It's just very utilitarian and I can't say I really enjoy knitting with it. The resulting fabric is rather stiff. This might be due to the pattern, or perhaps the gauge I'm using. It's ok though, because I would rather have a somewhat dense fabric to keep those cold winter winds away.

The Project: in from the cold striped scarf (inspired by Shimmer Chevron Striped Scarf)
The Yarn: Knit Picks' Merino Style in Coal and Vanilla
The Needles: Crystal Palace 4mm
Started: October 9 2005

T-24 hours

I'm having a very enjoyable day away from the office. I haven't even changed out of my nightgown! So decadent.

The hubba bubba bobble scarf is finished (proper finished project post soon) so I gave it a bubble bath. While it dries, John Glenn is orbiting the earth in a favorite film of mine, The Right Stuff. I just love lazing about with a good DVD, and as the 1 year anniversary of his death just passed, it seems fitting that the film ends with Gordon Cooper's first flight.

A good portion of the hubba bubba bobble scarf was finished while I watched another favorite, Pride and Prejudice. My only bicker with that DVD is that they do not provide a direct link on the DVD menu to Mr. Darcy's famous look. You know what I'm talking about...

Ahem.

cold war

I did some cami shopping yesterday, which can mean only one thing -- I'm nearing completion of Orangina, or, as I've dubbed mine, Shirley Temple! I didn't find a camisole that would work with it, but I did find a nice little DKNY number that will be useful with other things. I also tried on the new jeans at the Gap. The "curvy" cut made me look like a slapper. Yech. So, no, I did not buy them.

I finally got to the ribbing section of Orangina while I was watching the third film in my Cold War Film Festival, Fail Safe. That is a very tense motion picture. I really loved Henry Fonda as the president. It was interesting to compare it with the previous film in the "festival", Dr. Strangelove, which covers virtually the same topic, but in a parodic manner. Both films feature great title sequences. If you are curious, the next film on the list is The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.

Back to Orangina/Shirley Temple. Can any of you give me any pointers about blocking? I plan to block each side separately before I sew up the side seams. The question is, do I dunk the whole thing in water and then pin it? Or, spray it and pin it? Or? Thanks for your help!

tears in my beer

It was 100 degrees yesterday so I hunkered down in my air conditioned bedroom last night with a couple of Bass Ales and The Manchurian Candidate and knitted away on the silly little scarf for my sister. I'm nearly finished, but the problem is that so is my yarn. So irritating!

That will soon be remedied because I ordered another skein from Knit Picks, along with the makings of a secret project or two.

While I wait for my order I guess I'll have to pass the time by playing a little solitaire.

purl harder

This unassuming little bit of knitting is the completed front (or back) of Orangina. I do love this project a lot, but haven't devoted myself to it like I should. I better get a move on if I'm to finish it any time in the near future. It's inspiring to see others finish it up. Check out pinku, sissy says and Carrieoke's knitting blog. I can't wait to finish mine!

For some reason I've been on a real WWII kick lately. I've been reading Ambrose's D-Day book and a good chunk of this knitting was completed while I watched various films, and television shows about the war.

I very nearly caused a big mess with my Orangina when I stayed up late trying to watch Sands of Iwo Jima and my fatigued fingers dropped a few stitches. Thankfully I sorted out that problem!

Orangina's front piece was finished while I watched a couple episodes of Foyle's War, an excellent detective series set on Britain's home front.

The home front is a topic of particular interest to me. How these women and men back home worked so hard and still found energy to knit is beyond me.

Here are a couple of WWII-era knitting resources.
• The Victory Home: Doing Our Part--Knitting - an excellent resource with patterns, stories and links to photos.
• Essentials for the Forces - This site is from the V&A and features loads of things, vintage and otherwise, of interest to any knitter. I highly recommend a visit. You can even download a free pattern from Rowan.