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December 28, 2006
adding to the list
Before I really get going here, I need to mention something important: I'm real sorry I have lost my camera cord, as there are tons of pictures I want to share with you all regarding The Knitting that has already been completed. Until I find the cord (or borrow my mom's since she has the same camera), too bad for you.
Okay, moving on from that very important update. Last night while running a load of laundry (!) I cooked up two excellent ideas. One, I solved the problem of what emblem I should place in the upper center of my newest Top Secret Knitting Project (details to follow after the thing has been gifted). And two, for Boxing Day my darling Mammacita bestowed on me a couple skeins of sexy hot pink mohair. While she intended it (quite perfectly) for the Mrs. Beeton's I've been talking about making, I think I might use it for something entirely different.
Here is the thing. My bedroom? Is very blah. My bedding is all white. The walls are white. The curtains covering the closet are white. The icky rental-apartment shades are off-white. The lampshades on my bedside lamps are white (with a tiny pale pink trim). The only bit of color comes from the INCREDIBLY AWESOME quilt my mother made for me which hangs on the wall. While it is colorful and busy, it isn't enough to balance out all that white. At the same time, it is busy enough that adding any other pattern is too much. What to add? How to do it in a colorful, but complimentary way? Well, how about some lacy, let-the-light-in-but-block-the-view, hot pink, mohair curtains? I don't see why not!
I haven't done much lace knitting, so I am asking for some input. I want the lace to have LOTS of holes. Should I do this with pretty large needles, or should I stick to the yarn recommendation of US size 6-8? I do not want the fabric to be at all dense--I'm thinking light and airy. If I ever need to totally block the view, I can pull the ugly blinds behind the lace. Obviously I will be consulting Barbara Walker for a pattern (I spotted a couple I liked last night, especially paired with one of those beautiful edges). If anyone has taken on a similar project, what words of wisdom do you have to share? I am talking mohair here, so I hope to not have to repeatedly rip it out and lose the halo!
(Can you tell I am also fishing to find out if anyone outside my immediate circle reads this here weblog? Hee.)
Posted by amy at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Tags: comment whoring, curtains, knitting, krafty, yarn
December 25, 2006
NO MORE LAUNDRYMAT!
My parents are the most awesomest gift givers of all time (even though I won't be opening another present from them for a VERY long time). This morning after following a treasure map, complete with embedded watermarked clues, I ended up in Pop's shop where I found ... a mini washing machine! I really really really hate going to the laundrymat, and now I never have to again (though I hope I learn to love line-dried cotton unnerwears). The first load (rags and cleaning cloths) is running while I type.
The best part about this Christmas? It was the gifts I gave OTHER people that made me the happiest. Yeah, laundry is the gift that keeps on giving, but making my family smile makes me feel better about just about anything. I hope all you out there on the internets had as Merry a Christmas as us!
Posted by amy at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Tags: 'rents, awesome, christmas, laundry
December 22, 2006
my name is amy, and i'm a yarnaholic.
Seriously people, I think I have a problem. I currently have three (or is it four?) knitting projects going right now. I have a gift certificate to use at Drop a Stitch, which I will probably use to purchase wool for Bobbles & Brambles and maybe a new set of Addis or a couple of skeins for Mrs. Beeton! Plenty to work on, plenty of new fibers to finger and dream about. Yet I am noticing that Webs has the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed on sale. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but Knit and Tonic has a sweater pattern I am very interested in making written for this yarn. Three days before Christmas do I really need to spend the cash? No. But who knows how long the sale will last! And what about the yarn for poor Maggie?
My name is Amy, and I'm a yarnaholic. I must be stopped!
Posted by amy at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)
Tags: felting, knitting, not so shrunken cardigan, yarn
December 21, 2006
neighborly
I moved into my current apartment in June. Since then I have had two sets of upstairs neighbors. There was the newlywed Mormon couple who noisily enjoyed each other all summer (I was not sad to see them go), and then the nice park rangers who are inadvertant loud-walkers but otherwise generally unoffensive.
This general inoffensiveness has had one primary drawback. They get up each morning about 1 1/2 hours before me and inadvertantly walk very loudly right on top of my head while I am sleeping. I think jumping jacks may play into their morning dressing routine. This has been on the verge of driving me crazy for a couple of months now, but isn't really enough to cause a stink with the neighbors. Then a couple weeks ago I spotted a For Rent sign in the front yard, and the Loud Walking Rangers have been walking their stuff out the door in batches ever since. I'm already feeling a little nostalgic about their departure, especially since they've been gone I've been having a much harder time separating myself from the sheets. I think that 4:30 a.m. wall-shaking wake-up stomp that I mostly slept through even though it made me nuts was actually perking up my 6 a.m. roll-out-of-bed-have-time-to-make-coffee morning routine. The Loud Walking Rangers will be missed, especially if someone akin to the newlywed Mormons moves in next. One group I saw viewing the place included a toddler. Wish me peace and quiet for the New Year!
Posted by amy at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: neighbors
December 20, 2006
may i just mention
May I just mention one more thing about yarn? To fill in some gift-gaps, I whipped up a bunch of those ball-band washrags that have taken over the universe. In this process I learned there is a huge difference in kitchen cotton quality! I had some from each of the following: creame 'n' sugar, peaches 'n' creame, lion brand, and rowan. The lion brand? Skip it. It is very rough and scratchy. I guess if you were making dishclothes for someone who tends to burn, this would be a good choice, but overall? Ick. The creame 'n' sugar was fine, but not nearly as soft as the peaches 'n' creame. If only p'n'c was easily available locally--for someone who shops as much as I do on the internet, I really hate paying shipping. And then there is the Rowan. I almost feel guilty for making it into something that will be used as much and as roughly as these washclothes. Man alive, that stuff is ni-ice, and not even just because I know I spent at least 2x as much for each ball. With one touch it is obvious it isn't really meant for the kitchen.
Posted by amy at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: christmas, gifts, kitchen cotton, knitting, mason-dixon, yarn
oops.
Has it really been a month (or more!) since I posted anything here? Apparently so. This type of not realizing just how long it has been since I did something has been happening a lot. So here are my excuses:
1. My job has been busy with end-of-the-year stuff that must get done by, well, the end of the year so the datestamps on stuff in my databases don't mess up my statistics. This precludes me from engaging in a great deal of at-work internetting.
2. Outside of work, my brain is about 98% taken over by knitting projects--remembering knitting projects, planning new knitting projects, thinking about details regarding current knitting projects--I am obsessed with fiber. While I want nothing more than to post about all of the wonderful knitting I've been up to, most of it is holiday related and you'll just have to wait until after Christmas. Hopefully by then I find the cord to my camera so I can share pictures along with my thoughts. For now, the camera won't give up it's pixels!
Finally, the Christmas knitting is now completed. I wove in the last sneaky little ends last night. What did I do to celebrate? Give myself a manicure to soothe those wool-chapped hands? Never. I started on a Flowers on the Grave cloche (I made it to the top decreases--hopefully I'll get to the fulling part tonight!) and daydreamed about skeins and skeins of Kid Silk Haze for the Maggie I'd like to make myself. Of course, I can't think about spending nearly $100 in yarn for a wee sweater until I am a) rich, and b) done with a special birthday sweater and my red scarf.
