Information overload: the ailment of our generation. Anyway, I've been feeling it a bit lately, so I'm taking a blog-reading and blog-writing vacation. Oh, and I'm not going to shop for yarn online, either!
Fig and Plum will return next Monday, February 7. I will probably still respond to comments, though, over e-mail - you know how comments feed my ego, so if you've got something to say, don't hold back ;-) !
Or better yet, read a funnier, more entertaining blog - Matt Goldich, my stand-up comic friend, tends to test his jokes at Circle Gets the Square.
Flickr may have found its highest and best use... I've uploaded detailed photos of my stash and identified each yarn and its accompanying project with hover notes.
Click here to visit my entire stash! I'd love to get your thoughts on some of the layabout yarn. For specific sections:
- Lowest box
- Middle box
- Top box
- Needle bucket
For months, I have been sitting on the perfect yarn substitute for Clapotis, without even realizing it! The scarf in the pattern is made with Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb, which is 50% silk and 50% wool, and $30/skein. For 300 600 yards, that's $90.
I, however, have this hand-dyed beauty from School Products, which is 60% silk and 40% cashmere, and for which I paid $27 for 270 yards. It's also worsted weight. Truthfully, I didn't know I wanted to knit a Clapotis until now, but still, it's remarkable. You see, I bought this yarn about eight months ago, in deviation from my usual habit of having a pattern for each yarn purchase, because I loved it so (despite me being torn at the nauseating patriotism of the whole affair, red / blue, you see...). These were the last two skeins in this colourway. I had no idea what I'd do with two skeins. Clapotis to the rescue!
Now that I look at the yarn, I'm not sure the colors will even be flattering on me, so this could be a gift. But NYC knitters looking for an affordable substitute, School Products has it, as usual.
Does anyone know how wide a scarf 270 yards will get me? Should I alter the pattern to narrow it? If so, how much? How many yards does the full scarf actually take?
NOTE: Thank you, Lauren, for helping me out here. I need a lot of help. It looks like once again, I can't read or do math. The SP 60/40 hand dyed is still cheaper than the LL, at $54 for 540 yards (a bit less than the full-size Clapotis) versus $90+s/h for the LL. But sigh, I don't have enough of it to make a full, or even really a 1/2 sized Clapotis... do I?
I cannot explain it, but for some reason whole spelt flour, the zenith of crazy-co-op-health-nuttiness, makes the most perfect crepes! It's quite amazing. I assumed they would taste like cardboard, but they're much closer to the real thing than anything ever produced in our kitchen!
Of course, all the health benefits of spelt are, one must think, cancelled out by the Nutella contained therein.
Pattern: made up
Yarn: Colinette Skye, 2 skeins, "Windfall"
Needles: US 8, Lantern Moon straight needles
Recipient: moi
Notes: This simple ribbed pattern really lets the beautiful hand-dyed Colinette do the work for you. You know the drill:
Row 1: (k2, p2) 11 times, then k2, p1.
Row 2: k1, p2. (k2, p2) 11 times
Repeat!
I cut 16" lengths of yarn, and used a crochet needle to pull them through the stitches on the bottom to make slip knots.
Yay! The elann order came today, and everything is beautiful! I can't believe how soft the alpaca is, and the highland wool ain't bad either. I'd really like to do a larger project with the alpaca. As you can see, Moses got to the ball of Jo Sharp in the upper left corner before I had a chance to take a photo.
A few days ago, ljc blog posted about a man who, for almost 30 years starting with his marriage to his wife, has taken a photo of each family member once a year, to track the small changes as each grows and ages. I'm pretty sure this is the man ljc is talking about. Ljc has started a similar page for her family. It's such a great idea - in my family, there were tons of pictures of my sister and me as young kids, but almost none after age 10 - a combination of pre-teen camera shyness and our diminishing cuteness, I'm sure. Anyway, someday when I think it's time to start the clock, I think I'd like to do this, too.
I feel so famous: one of my photos -the new banner image, in fact - is being used (with permission) on the website of the UCLA chapter of the Society of American
Archivists! It's one among about six wonderful images - if you don't see it, just reload until you do.
O, Secret Pal 4, who are you? Can't wait to find out who I'm palling around with. In the meantime...
1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
This is a tough one to answer. I recently trashed fun fur to no end on this blog. And I do dislike fun fur, and generally other "novelty" yarns. I generally buy natural fibers, but I do think basic Red Heart and its ilk, acrylic and wool / acrylic blends do have their places. For instance, this coffee cup holder or certain dolls. Acrylic can also graduate to other patterns if it's really soft.
2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Spin, nope. Crochet, want to learn, started to learn, but never learned.
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Smoke. Some dogs, particularly their drool. Um, also trees. I am allergic to trees.
4. How long have you been knitting?
About two years.
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yup... here is my list o' greed.
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Things that are fresh and/or smell like food. I love citrus - lime, lemon, etc.. I have a Demeter perfume in Ginger Ale, which I adore though it fades too fast.
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Not really. Cheese is my chocolate.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
A little bit of everything. I'm willing to try just about any craft.
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Again, a little bit of everything, but in particular... BritPop (I mean British, not Britney. "Toxic" is a great song tho.), Alt. Country but not country, some punk, some new wave, jazz, some rap, some punk if I'm feeling angry. I like a bit of emo (Broken Social Scene, Postal Service, Shins, Iron & Wine) but not the particularly whiney variety. Some insanely poppy bands like New Pornographers.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
I like anything unusual or very deep. Lately I've been on an orange kick. I love handpaints, but I love solids as well. Being that I live in New York and spend all day reading, I tend to run a bit tired and like colors that make me feel a bit perkier.
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm partnered and live with my gentleman companion. We have two alien cats. I have a mom, a sis, a grandma, and a 5-year old niece I adore.
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
They are beginning to skew more toward artisanal bread making or organic farming of some kind than they used to. But for now the only think I can say about this for sure is that I just want to constantly expose myself to new things. I'd also like to be a hot grandma when I get old.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love Lamb's Pride, both worsted and bulky. I'm making something with Cash Iroha now and I adore that too. Koigu also rox. And of course, cashmere is the bestest.
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Wool that still smells like lanolin. Chenille (bad tangling experience).
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Accessories and non-clothing objects.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Booties, sadly. This says nothing about my childbearing preferences, I just think they're fun and quick. I also enjoy gloves and mittens.
17. What are you knitting right now?
A scarf with Colinette Skye and an Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
18. What do you think about ponchos?
They make me look fat. And short. And they kinda make Jessica Simpson look that way too.
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circular!
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo or alum!
21. Are you a sock knitter?
Yup.
22. How did you learn to knit?
From swearing a lot and doing a lot of things multiple times. Oh, and from a kids knitting book. And I've learned a few things from my friend Sarah, who has this amazing ability to look at my knitting and say, oh, did you see you are doing this weird thing?
23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Is that unfinished object? Hmmm. Probably two months. I finished one sock for my mom but haven't begun the other.
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I like Shmoo. He's my favorite cartoon character. Do the Muppets count? I like them too. Do you know what kind of animal Gonzo is supposed to be?
25. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween.
26. Is there anything that you collect?
Vintage portrait paintings. Interesting people.
You are in a group formed with the purpose of solving a complex problem. The group is about 1/2 women and about 1/2 men, led by an accomplished man who, while "enlightened" and "progressive," subtly allows the men to dominate the discussion. While men and women speak up with equal frequency, men speak at greater length. A woman is almost always asked to take notes for the group. In fact, the past few times that woman is you. The gendered implications of this are beginning to make you uncomfortable. You have heard that the leader of the group is sensitive to challenges to his authority.
Fig and Plum readers of any gender: what do you do?
ps - I just love the Urban Dictionary word of the day. Please no one dooce me over this post!
On Thursday, Jenny Narcoleptikov and I, and maybe C., are going to be taped as part of a new cooking show on the Food Network! The show is called The Real Deal, and it's hosted by Dave Lieberman, a cook whose PR tags seem to be "young" and "fresh," (of course the NY Times had to go with "insouciant yet earnest"). Every segment ends with a "party scene" and we're going to be "party guests." Even if our big scenes get cut, it seems like it might be fun.
This is all thanks to my friend Dena, who seems to know producers on every cable TV show in town. It's possible that they all went to summer camp with her. Not only that, but her photograph is on page 157 of this month's Glamour , chatting up the girl with hat hair (you'll see what I mean)! Dena, you're movin' on up... to theee sky, I mean the East Side.
This weekend was a big one for buying yarn and other knitting thangs, it seems. Here's what's in the haul:
Greenpeace is sponsoring a national mercury testing project to raise awareness about the hazards of dirty energy and stuff. They're offering Mercury Testing Kits for $25, a fraction of the normal price, at their website and soon, 1,000 Aveda Salons will be partnering with GP to offer the tests for free (it's a hair test, I should add!). The interim results of the project show that 21% of women nationwide have mercury levels that exceed the EPA limit, and that the single biggest determinant of mercury level is one's frequency of fish consumption.
EDIT: Of course, other studies have returned much more modest results. This recent CDC study found that only 6% of women had mercury levels above that which is assumed to be harmless. There are other studies that contradict one another even more dramatically, described here.
For those who haven't heard, mercury is a neurotoxin that causes serious birth defects. Unborn children are vulnerable to high mercury levels in the bodies of their moms, and nursing mothers can pass mercury and other heavy metals on to their babies in breast milk. It takes several years to rid your body of mercury.
I ordered a kit today. I'm sure when my results come back it will be readily apparent how much I love sushi. But it's better to know than not to know, and maybe a scary result will be motivation enough to cut back on the maki.
Whatever the dangers of mercury, in my view it's better to be safe than sorry. I don't particularly like the idea of consuming it if I don't have to, even if that proves irrational. Good stewardship is, partly, premised on the idea that we don't really know what effects environmental pollutants will have on humans in the future. If there are viable, less unpredictable alternatives (clean v. dirty energy? flax v. fish for omega-3s?), I'm for them.
Well, the storm has ended. All told, probably 15" fell in our neighborhood, enough for a grand pedestrian-motorist anarchy to develop in the streets. Chris and I went sledding for the first time in years with our friend Zeke Vermillion (yes, that's his real name) in Prospect Park today. We had a superbly fun time, and in the meantime, got to feel superior to the glamorous rich of Park Slope, who felt, in turn, superior to us. Class warfare on the slopes - mmmarvelous! I couldn't help but share it with you.
Our only obstacle to the slopes was our lack of an actual sled. So we gathered two test materials from our apartment - a large, broken-down cardboard box and the lid of one of our metal trash cans - and headed off to the park.
On the way there, a little kid who was shoveling the walk with his mother saw Chris carrying a trash can lid and screamed "that's a nice one!" erupting into peals of laughter as we continued down the block. Likewise, his mother cracked up.
Anyhoo, when we met Zeke we found he had some heavy-duty trash bags, which we slipped over the cardboard. We climbed up to the one decent hill we could find in the park's Long Meadow. A crowd milled around at the top. Once there, we waited in line with the little people and a few adults, then I sat down, Zeke gave me a swift kick in the back, and I whizzed down the hill just as quickly as my fellow sledders. Faster than some, actually. Let me tell you, honey, we had one bitchin' little sled.
Back at the hill's crest, parents and children decked out in the most expensive mountain gear, some wearing ski goggles and yes, riding snowboards down our small park hill, stood at the top of the slope ignoring their children and comparing gear. These were folks who were clearly impressed by John Kerry's windsurfing last year. These are the same people who will obliviously drive you off the sidewalk with their spendy wide-tired strollers. These were the the materialistic yet gentle liberals of Brownstone Brooklyn. Periodically one of them would eye us. "What are you guys riding?" we were asked, and when we showed our ride, met either with ridicule, puzzlement, or nostaligia. Some native Brooklyners recalled their childhoods when sleds like ours were close to the gold standard. One guy felt so sorry for us that he insisted I take his sled down the hill a couple of times, despite our being perfectly happy with ours. On Chris' last ride down, a child no older than three mounted a contraption that looked 1/2 tricycle and 1/2 toboggan while a group of adults gathered around to admire. "Here comes the BMW of sleds!" one shouted, and the others buzzed in agreement.
While Chris glided down the hill, trying to control his long limbs, in a very loud voice I told Zeke the (true) story of how, growing up back in pancake-flat Indiana, we went sledding at the garbage dump. It was the biggest hill in miles, and we called it: Mount Trashmore. Then I climbed on our trusty magic carpet to take my final ride, raced to the bottom, and, when I stopped, caused a pile-up of 10-year olds on snowboards who'd come down a little too closely behind. Sweet, sweet justice.
I can't tell you exactly what this experience has prompted me to ask you to remind me of if I have children. But whatever it is, please, please make sure I don't do it.
Well, I suppose eyelash yarn isn't pure evil, if it's helping Chinese orphans:
See? Winter from the fire escape isn't so bad!
Um, it's possible that Bjork has been spending too much time with her cat. Exhibit A: her new vid, starring her anthropomorphic cat b-friend. Bjork is now Moses' favorite solo artist, meow. [via Stereogum]
Here's the progress I've made on my LMKG hourglass sweater - the lower body is complete. It's my first sweater, so it's exciting to see it take shape.
It's going to snow here in NYC this weekend. I adore snow, even here, where everyone says it turns grey and slushy instantly. Actually I think, for the most part, that's an exaggeration New Yorkers tell outsiders and each other to reinforce their grittiness. New York actually looks quite pretty in the snow, even the parts without trees. It piles up on windowsills and architectural details and stoops. Snow absorbs a lot of sound, so it really quiets the city. My neighborhood and Prospect Park are particularly beautiful. I can't wait.
Wow! Check out these photo shrinky-dink stitch markers Illana made! She even graciously provided a tutorial so you can replicate these little wonders all by your lonesome.
Grab yer iPod, press shuffle, and what d'ya get? The meme of the moment! Inspired by Pinktalk and Clap Clap Blog, originated somewhere or other in the blogosphere.
The rules:
1. Open up the music player on your computer.
2. Set it to play your entire music collection.
3. Hit the "shuffle" command.
4. Tell us the title of the next ten songs that show up (with their musicians), no matter how embarrassing. That's right, no skipping that Carpenters tune that will totally destroy your hip credibility. It's time for total musical honesty. Write it up in your blog or journal and link back to at least a couple of the other sites where you saw this.
5. If you get the same artist twice, you may skip the second (or third, or etc.) occurances. You don't have to, but since randomness could mean you end up with a list of ten song with five artists, you can if you'd like.
1. Travelin' Prayer - Dolly Parton
2. Monkey Gone to Heaven - Frank Black & the Catholics
3. Flyrod - Tortoise
4. These Are the Ghosts - The Bees
5. Spongebob & Patric Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy - Flaming Lips
6. Up on the Roof - Laura Nyro
7. I Wanna Dance With Somebody - David Byrne (covering Whitney)
8. We're Comin' to America - Neal Diamond
9. Execution Day - The New Pornographers
10. An Open Letter to NYC - The Beastie Boys
Wow, my random list is so white! Would it help to say my next song was "99 Luft Problems" by Jay-Zena? Prolly not. And you, iPod owner? What's on your list?
Since you have been so helpful re: my bathroom, here's another Fig and Plum pop quiz:
I'm thinking of getting a pair of wintry boots, and have narrowed it down to these two:
Which do you prefer?
E. is so smart! S-M-R-T. Okay, so she's not my cousin or C.'s, but she's a friend of ours and she was quoted in today's Post ("A Few of Their Flavor-It Things," 1/19/50)! Erin works in marketing for a flavoring company, and she's dispensing her wisdom about the flavor trends of the coming year. She says we'll see chocolate (well, cocoa) everywhere in the coming year (wishful thinking? just kidding, E.), in addition to floral vodkas and rosemary ice cream, and more, which you can read about in the article.
Won't SOMEONE manufacture a chili-coated lollipop without the lead?
Woo! Check this cool recycled wool scarf over at Thimble. I've never attempted to recycle before, but she's got me thinkin' it over...
If you've been reading long enough to remember my inexplicable hatred of the furry iPod case, you'll appreciate today's post. It was after the fuzzy flop I realized how much I DESPISE fun fur yarns. No matter what I did, the case remained scraggly and shapeless.
I'll admit, I kept the case around because I'm too lazy to knit another when this one works just fine. Funny thing is, I get more compliments on the damned thing than about anything else I've knitted. Fun fur pleases the masses; it is the opiate of the people!
But now I've discovered: I am not alone. Apparently loads of people hate fun fur, as evidenced by the disgruntled throngs Big Geek. We are a united front now. We are...
For what it's worth, this blog finally (after what, three years?) has an "About" page. People have been bugging me to put one up. You can access it from here or the sidebar. Lower your expectations, because it's bare bones!
No matter how you feel about Maureen Dowd, the following excerpt from her column last week is disturbing:
A second study, which was by researchers at four British universities and reported last week, suggested that smart men with demanding jobs would rather have old-fashioned wives, like their mums, than equals. The study found that a high I.Q. hampers a woman's chance to get married, while it is a plus for men. The prospect for marriage increased by 35 percent for guys for each 16-point increase in I.Q.; for women, there is a 40 percent drop for each 16-point rise.
"Men Just Want Mommy," 1/13/05. [via Jenny Narcoleptikov]
Mo's thesis is that because men feel that smart women in successful jobs are more likely to cheat on them, their evolutionary instincts steer them away for fear that they may, some day, be raising another man's children. Instead, they want "caretaking" women, like their personal assistants and PR people.
Couple this column with David Brooks' last doozy (Here comes David Brooks! Good ol' David Brooks...yes sir! Good ol' David Brooks...how I hate him*), which says women would be smarter to start their careers after their "most fertile" years, so that they wouldn't be stuck ruing their childlessness in their forties. ("Empty Nests, and Hearts," 1/15/2005). Of course, this would mean women would have to work longer before they could retire, and enter the job market with 10 fewer years of experience than their male peers. What a boon to professional women, this idea! He has saved us from having "empty hearts." Jump in your Escalade, drive on out to the exurb where David Brooks lives, and give him a foot massage to show your gratitude, ladies!
* Who gets it? Come on, C., you know this one.
This is our bathroom. Recently, our dear landlord FINALLY hired someone to come in and reconstruct (sort of) the walls, which were crumbling and oozing some kind of foamy wall-filler substance. It has been painted a moisture-resistant but harsh, harsh white.
I'd like to paint the white over with something more stylish and friendly, but the problem is, we have this salmon-colored tile, pictured above, and no windows. That's where you come in. Oh tasteful, color-savvy readers of Fig and Plum, what color should we paint our bathroom? Please weigh in. Thank you.
Reading The New York Times can, at times, be embarassing. This morning in the infamous "Sunday Styles" section, the Times ran a piece about Party Buddies, a service where you can pay $350-$1200 to have a "Party Buddy" whisk you past the velvet rope into a cool Manhattan (not Brooklyn, I'm thinking) club, one you probably would have been too frumpy, old, or unhip to get into on your own ("An In With the In Crowd, for a Fee", 1/16/05)
This article is part of a pattern: articles about how old, rich, conservative, and unhip people can pay money to party like rock stars and appear (sort of) cool to the outside world. First, there was the article about sexually healthy men who take Viagra to psychologically immunize themselves from the pressures of dating in New York (one guy in the article equated taking the drugs in New York to "having snow tires on your car in a blizzard-prone region") ("In an Oversexed Age, More Guys Take a Pill," 12/14/03"). Then, the article about female "wingwomen," who, for a price, will go with you to a club and pretend they're your friends just to strike up conversations with other women and lure them over to you ("Are You With Him? Why Yes, Want to Date Him?", 10/10/04). And today... the "Party Buddy," who will get you in, get you booze, get you a table. You can even pay extra to be accompanied by a "body guard" or to have fake paparazzi photograph you as you step onto the red carpet.
And those are just the examples I remember offhand. Reading these articles week after week can make you feel part of a strange readership. I guess no one who reads the times is actually cool, but worse, they must be the kind of person who wants social acceptance so badly, and who has so much money, that he is willing to pay lots of money to buy his way into hippitude. I guess all there is to take from this is to be forewarned - those people reading a NY Times, folded up a million times, on the subway, may not actually be the languid, super-cool hipsters they appear. But, then, you knew that already, didn't you?
Yes, yes, rather late in the game I have discovered Bloglines. But hey, it's not, er, too late to subscribe to Fig and Plum - just click the button above or on the sidebar!
Flaxseed. It's not just for Barry Bonds (oops!) anymore. I'm on a flaxseed kick. Studies say omega-3 and lignan-rich flaxseeds can help reduce risk of prostate and breast cancer, decrease insulin resistance, and help with PMS, promote regular ovulation and heart health among other benefits? They're also high in fiber and low-carb.
I wonder if there's a way I could get some flaxseeds into those Red Lobster Biscuits.... hmmmmm....
Anyway, to get the benefits of flax, you should eat 1T of flaxseed oil per 100 lbs. of body weight OR 1/8 - 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed every day. Each of these muffins provides just under 1/8 of a cup of ground flaxseed when made in standard muffin tins. Also, because flaxseeds are so darned packed with oil, these littly muffys are incredibly moist. You probably shouldn't eat more than 2 per day, though, because they're very high in fiber and I wouldn't want, well, you know.
This recipe draws on elements from the following, in addition to a couple of touches of my own:
Super Flax Muffins
Pear and Granola Muffins
For muffins:
2 D'Anjou pears, 1/4 inch diced (2 cups)
3/4 cup plain granola
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients; mix until combined. Fold in granola and pears.
Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full, then top with granola topping, if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
For topping:
1/2 cup granola
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 T butter, chilled and cut into pieces
Toss first three ingredients. Add butter, mush around with hands until clumps form.
It's that time again, school has begun, and I can feel the craftiness being sucked right out through my eyeballs the longer I stare at some law review article. Anyhoo, at least this semester looks interesting. For the curious, here's what's on my plate:
Community Economic Development Clinic
Professor Jerry López, founder and head honcho of The Center for Community Problem Solving
Capital Punishment Law & Litigation
Professor Bryan Stevenson, founder and head honcho of The Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama
Constitutional Law
Professor Derrick Bell, brilliant scholar and the first black tenured professor at Harvard Law School
I haven't said much about these professors because, frankly, they are the superstars of the law school in my (and plenty of other) eyes, and once I got started it would be difficult to stop.
I've been digging on Craftster lately, but here's something STRAIGHT out of Weekend Knitting, 'cept hipper. This Craftster poster mounted an old Coca-Cola crate on her wall and stuck balls of leftover yarn in each of the cubbies, and it looks amazing!
Um, I also wanted to tell everyone that I bought a super-soft shirt today that is made of bamboo. Bamboo! What will they think of next?
Look at this amazing bounty of de-stressification that arrived under our mailbox today!! I am absolutely floored, and thankful! Thank you so much, Gnome G, aka Giao :)!!
Here's what's contained therein:
A relaxing CD (not pictured, b/c in my stereo)
Gnome G's Instamocha Mix
Gel eye mask
Japanese (Korean? Chinese?) yogurt sweeties
Incense
A stripey journal
Stripey, fragrant soaps
A box of homemade kolacky (which you can see, above, I've already taken a bite of... fabulous!)
Fizzing Bath Crystals, in FIG, bien sur
PLUS all this classy stuff from Giao's business, The Walrus and The Carpenter:
flannel lavender eye pillow
Bath Butter Cups, in Sugar PLUM Fairy
Solid Soy Scent in Christmas Tree
Can I tell you that I was so exhausted when I got home today after a marathon school week and hauling like 20 lbs. of books everywhere that I told C. that I must lay on the floor immediately. Then he pointed out the lovely gifty box in the corner... funny how opening a thoughtful surprise can pick you up again! Of course I'm still planning to lay on the floor for a while, just with a lavender eye pillow on my peepers and some soothing tunes on the jukebox. Giao, you are genius. Thank you! Excellent work, Leslie, putting Gifty together. I'm lookin' forward to the next round!
Yes, I know you're too big a food snob to eat at Red Lobster (or perhaps I underestimate the open-mindedness of your palate!) but I also know you love those amazing cheddar biscuits! Toss this in the category of mom's straight-from-the-can-tuna-casserole: things you love but you know aren't exactly "whole foods."
Well, foodie biscuit lover, you can now make Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, or a close approximation anyway, at home! Illana's got the recipe for ya right here.
I just got home from school on my first day back. I'm exhausted and so will sign off. It's going to be quite a semester.
Check out this natty cabled tube top pattern and I stumbled on at Craftster. And, you'll never believe this, it's made of affordable Lion Brand Jiffy, which is on sale at JoAnn for $2.24/ball. Nicely done, Kristin! (While yer at it, peep these sparkly pink cabled armwarmers by the very same craftster)
Knit bloggers tend to be kind, generous folks. Did you know that Yarn Harlot's giving drive for tsunami relief efforts, Knitters Without Borders, has raised almost $30K for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders? Dig it! You can participate too - just forgo that latte or that (gasp!) yarn purchase this week, set aside the funds, and donate to DWB/MSF. Then e-mail Yarn Harlot to report your donation. Click here for more info.
I noticed that the Canadian government is matching donations to MSF Canada. I wonder if this includes American donations? If so, would it be better to donate there? If I find out, I'll let y'all know.
Pattern: Roll-Top Bootees from 50 Baby Bootees to Knit
Yarn: Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino in #132Y
Needles: US 2 double-pointed needles
Recipient: Sonny
Notes: Is anything cuter than a bootie? And why are there, apparently, so many different ways to spell "bootie"? Mysteries all. These turned out way cute, I think, though I'm hoping they are the right shape to fit a baby's foot - they seem big at 3.5" long, but what do I know. As is my wont with things that are supposed to match, one is slightly larger than the other. And oh, er, note that I haven't woven in the ends in these photos because I'm a lazy slob. You don't care, do you?
I'd seen James' stay-put booties, which used Koigu for a different pattern that required a lot of purling on dpns to cripple your digits. The pattern U settled on originally called for two colors of Jaeger 4-ply, and included color changes and embellishments. I just pared the new pattern down to the basic bootie shape and it worked pretty well with the Koigu.
If you're interested in booties and baby shoes, Zoe Mellor's book, 50 Baby Bootees to Knit, includes tons of cute and often witty patterns (and a few blaaah ones too) for wee feet.
Additional views:
And a GIANT ATTACK OF THE BOOTIES view:
Related Entries:
Sheik Yerbouti
The Baby Channel
ps - this is a bit of a james-fest, but i wanted to say my newish finished project format borrows heavily from hers, which is so well-organized!
Hot off the needles... "Sheik Yerbouti," for recipient to be disclosed at a later date. Deets and a second foot forthcoming.
Pattern: Boyfriend Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: School Products Bulky Cashmere
Needles: Clover US 9 straight needles
Recipient: C.
Notes: Chris has been a reluctant scarf wearer, partially because he viewed it as metrosexual, partly because he despises anything remotely itchy. But after his first dress-coat purchase, he changed his mind and went along with my plan to knit him something nice and soft in cashmere. He thinks he'll actually wear this guy, and if he doesn't I sure as hell will. This pattern creates a plush waffle-weave type thing - simple but more exciting than a plain old rib:
If you plan to knit ANYTHING from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, make sure to check out the zillions of pattern corrections on Purl's website! The pattern for this scarf in the book is a completely different scarf, it seems, from the one pictured. I'm surprised there are so many mistakes, since the book was edited by Melanie Falick whose books are usually tip-top. It's really as if this one wasn't even proofread. Thankfully, the mistake was so obvious it didn't take long to figure out. Once I got knitting, I was quite happy with the scarf.
I substituted a slightly smaller-gauge yarn and needles, so I cast on 30 stitches rather than the 21 required with the original yarn, Classic Elite Forbidden, which at $50 a skein was a little spendy considering the scarf required 3 skeins. I kiss the feet of School Products.
In any case, C. seems quite pleased and is growing to like having a warm neck. I think he looks quite dashing with his new neckwear!
A couple of additional photos:
UPDATE: This scarf curls like a muthah! I'm probably going to rip it out and make another for C. from the same yarn. For a good alternative way to construct the scarf to counteract the curling problem, check out Sandra's revised Boyfriend Scarf (she used the same yarn, too!).
The Morning News' Non-Expert brings you: Home Surgery. Or you could just skip all the squirting blood and find out what your college's mascot says about you. Here's a list of real college mascots, just as bizarre. Go NYU Violets!
Gifty 2 is here! It's all so exciting:
Not to give too much away, but I must admit I doubt I can live up to my partner's last gifty-giver. Can't give away who that was either. But both secret parties involved are awesome. This entry will self-destruct.
Did you ever hear "Starting From Scratch," that episode of This American Life where the reporter's father tries to launch a TV channel that's all puppies, all the time? The Puppy Channel's theme song goes, well, it goes... "Puppiespuppiespuppiespuppies, puppiespuppiespuppiespuppies... Puppieeeeeeees!" [listen here] Lately I've had that song in my head, except instead of puppies, or rather interspersed with puppies, it's about babies. "Babiesbabiesbabiesbabies, babiesbabiesbabiesbabies... Babieeeees!"
Chase those suspicions about my plans for babies from your mind - talk to me after I get back to zero from my current -$100K net worth. My dear but distant friend Jill, whom I met when I was a teacher in Houston, had a baby boy, Dickson, last week! (Also, gnitter extraordinaire James has launched a hilarious and sweet blog about being knocked up, called What About Bob?). The first great-grandkid was just born into Chris' family (though we've been scolded for referring to him as "the kid"), and I suspect one or two of the recently hitched in my life will start trying sooner rather than later.
And God knows Britney will pop out a little pimp or ho' before you can say "Mrs. Federline."
I appear to be entering the phase of life when one's friends start to reproduce. There was Angela two years ago, but she's almost 35. Also, being from Indiana, two high school friends started early right after college. Now Jody and Liz, not that you're reading, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that when they had kids, everyone thought it was kinda out of the ordinary. Nothing extraordinary about this second wave, though. We're all now the age when, as a little girl, I thought, well, maybe I'll have a baby when I'm 27.
None of my New York friends number among the pregnant. None of them are even married. What makes this whole rash of parenthood striking is that when I consider our friends and family in "the middle," I can see myself in their positions and think it might be cool to be a young family. But when I compare C. and myself to our mostly-single friends here at home, I feel settled and a little old despite being unmarried and childless. At home in the city I feel older than I probably should, and elsewhere, more immature.
Clearly C. and I have chosen life paths (an academic and a lawyer) that mean, as a family, we will beat to our own drummer. That neither the lord nor the government has sanctified our satisfying seven-year relationship fits that characterization. The rest of our life together, including if and when and how we decide to have children, will probably be mildly unorthodox too. Seeing those close to us buying houses, getting hitched, and becoming parents while other friends still live with roomates into their thirties reminds me sometimes that, for good or ill, we're a little different.
But enough navel-gazing. For now we'll stick to The Puppy Channel.
All these babies do mean one thing: baby knits! I've been eager to knit for babies, since impatient knitters like moi love small projects. I can't reveal too many plans here, but do you all have any advice for nice baby gift patterns you've seen? Last-Minute Knitted Gifts has a few nice ones, but I'd like to cast a wider net. My impulse is to stay away from clothes (despite the super-cute sweater in LMKG) since they will be grown out of quickly. Also, those of you with children, what handmade things did you really love getting? What did you wish you'd received?
After a long evening of swearing and banging on the keyboard, MT-Blacklist is now installed on this weblog. Thousands of spam comments lay slain in the trenches of cyberspace. With luck, they'll stay there.