I never thought Interweave Knits was exactly speedy, but then I received the Fall 2005 issue today! The incomparable Kate Gilbert designed the cover sweater, which, on first pass, seems to be the best design of the issue. Brava, Kate! My other favorite pattern is a felted laptop case, from the upcoming book Alterknits, which seems promising... Other than that, I found this issue underwhelming, with some real stinkers (ponchos? again? and is this really necessary?)
So, you may have noticed I am at an impasse with La Clap:
I'm the first repeat into section three, and I am worried that I won't have sufficient yarn. The width is 18". I took the advice of a poster here and did 5 section 2 increases, and intend to do 10 section 3 repeats.
First, have i mentioned there are only 7 oz. of yarn advertised as 1/2 lb.? That's only 1 oz., but when you're working with a pattern like this it makes a difference. Anyway, approximately 5 oz. remain. The part I've already knitted weighs a hair over 2 oz. So at this point I can either (a) frog to eliminate one of the increases, giving me a width of 15", (b) frog entirely and start over with smaller needles (I'm currently using 8s and could probably go down to a 7), (c) order another skein of yarn or (d) allow Clapotis to sit there untouched, staring at me, doing that Jewish grandmother guilt thing.
Considerations:
1. Another skein costs $40, and would be way more than I'd need for a whole Clapotis. I'd actually be exchanging it for another skein I already bought, though.
2. There are no more skeins in my dye lot, so she'd have to do another one which may not totally match.
3. My experience with this yarn source so far has not been entirely smooth, customer service wise.
So anyhoo, La Clap is going nowhere fast until I make up my mind what to do about the yarn situation. What do you all think?
As you can see, yesterday was jam-packed with group-activity fun. Rachel, Sarah, Anna, Sue and I hit the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday, and I'm pleased to say we all came away with quite the haul of ironic tees, baubles, and other sundry fun items. As my Grandma used to say when she occasionally went riverboat gambling, we left a little money there.
I'm sorry to say that it was so damned hot that it was all I could do to lift my camera from my bag these few times.
Anna examines a hipstery bag.
Anna and Sue
Sarah, admiring one of the fair's many bird-themed tees.
Me, characteristically ruining the photo by fidgeting, sporting my new felted flower brooch from Des of Creme.
Des and Me (making a totally insane face, go fig). So wonderful to meet a Dear Reader! And Des' brooches are fab (as you can see there's another in my haul below).
Tee purchase #1, by Maryink. Their tees were among the best I saw - it was a struggle to choose one.
Tee purchase #2. I am ashamed to tell you that there was no tag in this tee, and I made the seller give me one so I could post the name on my site, which I promptly lost. Tres sad, because I'm in love with this shirt, and she had several others with fairies, butterflies, and my favorite, a flying mouse (she was sold out of my size or I would have bought that one too!). The name was Gothic something-or-other. Sigh. Anyway, you can see me sporting the tee here in honor of Canada Day.
A closer look at Des' brooches.
Voila the photos from last night's New Pornographers / Stars / The Sadies show at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park. New Pornogs were fun, my celebrity-lady-crush on Neko Case was only stoked by this performance. But they are one of those bands that really sound exactly the same on stage as they do recorded, which can be good or bad, depending. Stars were way too averagely emo for me (though others may disagree. I thought The Sadies were mighty cool, and especially liked their quasi-surf stuff.
Fun times, all...
A sea of wannabe Canadians
Our crew, for clarity's sake: (starting clockwise from Chris, top left) Chris, Jill (poor blind Jill, sporting shades the day after laser eye surgery!), Sarah (who was displeased to be caught smoking on camera), Jason (who probably would have been pleased to be caught smoking on camera), the Hoff and Rachel (doing the Sunday Times acrostic), Kafui (the contemplative one).
Sun setting sur la crowd.
Progress being made on the acrostic. Rachel is the only person I know who is smart enough to complete the puzzle below the crossword in the Sunday Times. (The Hoff is her eager apprentice).
Chris nestled happily in his crate chair.
An extremely blurry photo of me & C., since the light was getting low. See my new shirt from the Renegade Craft Fair?
The best I could do in the way of a stage shot. The show was insanely poppy, as with everything the New Pornographers do. At 10:45, Celebrate Brooklyn had to practically drag them off the stage with a cane.
Don't know who will read this before then, but thought I'd post just for good measure. Is anyone interested in meeting up at the Renegade Craft Fair tomorrow? If so, e-mail me and we'll swap cell #s. I'm going around 2:30 on Saturday (today / tomorrow), and will keep my eyes peeled for the bloggers I'd recognize. Hope to see some of you there!
The first dropped stitches of La Clap have been dropped, and I am thinking there will not be enough yarn to finish her, even using the modifications Liz suggested here. Not only that, but I weighed the yarn I bought and both skeins of DK-weight weigh in at 7 oz., not 8. That's a problem when working with a yarn-hungry pattern like La Clap. I will admit to being a little annoyed. Less at La Clap than at the yarn. Errrgh.
I am also annoyed because after a late (and somewhat rowdy) firm dinner last night at Megu, and a long (and somewhat rewarding) day doing pro bono work at Brooklyn Family Court, I was exhausted and had a million things on my plate and could not meet Lauren of Almost Felted while she was in town. Double errrgh.
And a higher-level errggh to top it off: My relationship to New York is cyclical. At times, you can't help but love being in the middle of everything, and the way the city forces you to be packed shoulder-to-shoulder with nearly every sort of person. At other times, it's so difficult to understand why some (richer, whiter, more privileged?) people here barrel through life, perform the most unexciting work as competitively as a cockfight, swathe themselves in money and consumerism to the point of gross offense and engage in debauchery on a late-Roman scale, and among other things drink just about constantly. Right now, I'm heading for the latter cycle. I'm at a saturation point and, possibly, should get out of town for a while. There are so many different kinds of stimulation in New York that sometimes people (including me) forget that stimulation isn't worth much without the ability to process it; to just live and feel what it's like to exist in your skin.
Maybe we should move to Austin. Did I ever, two or three years ago, think I'd contemplate going back to Texas? You can guess the answer to that one.
But enough reflection. I'm going to lay on our rug for a while and play with the cats.
L'été est arrivé, Dear Readers! We staked out a spot at the kickoff of this year's Bryant Park Film Festival lineup, the Babs classic, The Way We Were. Chris, shut your eyes / ears: good god, Robert Redford (then / now) was hot stuff. HOT STUFF. Anyway, he and Babs had great chemistry, but I can't say the film had me in tears. Some people say it has that effect on them. It's no Terms of Endearment. But I read on IMDB that some scenes were deleted that might have built up the decline of their relationship a little more - I must admit I found their downfall a bit sudden. And Hubble: what a putz!
Oh, and Natalie Portman, sans hair, caught the filllum as well. She was sitting across the emergency aisle from us. She seemed to be enjoying herself.
I've just about finished the Section II increases in the Clap, and tomorrow I plan to way the little darling. We'll see how teeny she will ultimately be.
I started her last night, after coming home to an empty apartment (Chris is away) from a too-late Friday at the office. The yarn is uber soft. There's only 500 yards of it, though, so I'll have to figure out how many increases to axe.
To quickly update you on the knitting front, I received my order from Mystical Creation Yarns. That's some lovely stuff! Only one more component before beginning Clapotis... the yarn ball winder I just bought with my 50% off coupon from JoAnn! No way am I winding 600+ yards of yarn by hand, and it's so lovely that I'm afraid to get it tangled up in my hand mixer.
I've finished one waving lace sock above the heel. There are mistakes aplenty, but the pattern is quite forgiving. And although I know I'm not supposed to use multi-colored yarn for lace, I'm loving the Koigu, as usual!
Thank you to everyone who has offered a trade! I'm going through the responses, but any way you slice it I'll have a nice new addition to the old knitting library.
Who wants a copy of Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts? I have a gently used copy for trade... this is the printing with some mistakes in a few patterns, but all pattern corrections are posted on Purl Soho's website. I'm not sure what I'm seeking - preferably another book, though. Shoot me an e-mail at jessATfigandplumDOTcom and make me an offer.
And speaking of books, Tere and Skylar have both graciously tagged me with the book meme that's going around. I'll be posting it later this week when I have some time to do a good job. Thanks gals!
Here's a big shout-out to Anna of My Fashionable Life for her new design, Sgt. Pepper. Have you ever seen epaulettes looking so stylish? And can you believe it's her own pattern? Fantastique!
Tidbit #1: I'm hot. (Oh, the whining!)
Tidbit #2: Saw the Friedlander and High Line exhibits at the MOMA today. High Line was mmeh, I'd much rather sneak into the place myself. Friedlander was worth a look.
Tidbit #3: The J.Crew catalog I got today has two tank tops that cost $495 and $295, respectively. wtf? That's almost, but not, as good as that 10 million dollar bra from Victoria's Secret. I don't know why this bothers me, quite. But I think it has something to do with the evolution of class in American society over the last decade.
Tidbit #4: Yesterday, I noticed how annoying I find it when people wear their sunglasses on the subway. Why do people do that? Pure haughtiness? Sensitivity to flourescent illumination? Ocular injuries?
Tidbit #5: I started a new project with more stash yarn since the Mystical Creation order for Clapotis is practically on my doorstep. I'm making the Waving Lace Socks from the Spring '04 Interweave with the Koigu that my wonderful SP Melissa sent me! They're gonna be the raddest socks to rock the world of socks, like, ever. Or at least they'll be pretty nice.
Tidbit #6: And speaking of Melissa, I owe her a big big thanks. She sent me the cutest purse kit for her final installment! I'll post a photo soon. Melissa really went beyond the call of duty as my SP. Thank you so much!
Tidbit #7: There is an ENORMOUS picture of my Dear Friend Dena in the NY Post Meet Market section this week! She's lucky she's so photogenic. ps - I bet I know how the date turns out.
Tidbit #8: As for my own getting-in-the-Post project, absolutely no progress has been made. Perhaps I should be getting advice from the big Meet Marketeer.
You may have noticed on my sidebar that Simply Marilyn, elle est finis! It's too danged hot for a photo shoot just yet, but one will be happening pronto as soon as it cools off a bit here.
Now I'm looking for something new to start. I'm not so jazzed about the Asana tank since my broken toe put the kabosh on yoga for a while. Plus I read on the knit-along that the pattern is not very short-person friendly. I'm chomping at the bit to begin Clapotis, but due to Danielle at Mystical Creation Yarns having an appendicitis scare the yarn hasn't arrived yet (but I'm glad she's back on her feet and can't wait for my yarn!). But I just got to be starting something.
I'm thinking it may be the Viennese Shrug from the latest Interweave Knits. I'm having a heck of a time deciding on the color / yarn, though. I'll either go for the called for Morehouse Merino 2-ply in Charcoal, Olive, Sand, Smoky Pearl, or Sienna OR possibly Knitpicks Andean Treasure in Lagoon or Sunset. There's only about a $10 price difference, so that's not really an issue. Any of those strike *your* fancy?
Ah, perhaps I'll go a different route entirely and do the SW Trading Co. ballerina top.
It's advice time again. I need to find a good >SPF 15 face moisturizer.
A little background: I used a Purpose moisturizer for the longest time that was gentle enough, seemed effective, and didn't break me out. The bastards discontinued it! My skin is very sensitive to moisturizers with sunscreen, and the wrong ones cause burning and breakouts. Even Cetaphil SPF moisturizer burned! I've tried and abandoned Aveeno Positively Radiant SPF 15 (caused breakout) and Neutrogena Visibly Even (pretty effective, but stinks to high heaven!).
Anyway, now I'm looking for a light, not smelly, very gentle but effective, moisturizer with sunscreen (preferably not avobenzene. Which ones do you like?
(in the running so far are Neutrogena Visibly Firm Face Lotion w/ Active Copper & SPF 20, Alba Botanica Sea Moss Moisturizer w/ SPF 15, Eucerin Q10 Sensitive Skin Lotion SPF 15, Olay Complete Defense SPF 30.)
It has recently come to my attention that our apartment has become something of a jungle. People with too many houseplants always struck me as a little kooky; lo and behold, who is throwing stones while living in a glass (green)house now? I justify it to myself by growing, in large part, extremely utilitarian plants, mostly herbs. No ferns or spider plants here. Anyhoo I thought I might introduce you to my wee indoor garden:
Kitchen Window
L to R: Basil seedlings, rosemary, sage, parsley
Drying Herbs on the Stovetop
L to R: Lemon verbena, rosemary, oregano. These three are growing like crazy, so I'm harvesting them to make the plants fuller and (in the case of the oregano) stave off flowering.
Desk Window
Top to bottom: Oregano, Moses (cat), lemon verbena, chamomile. This is the window in front of my desk. The lemon verbena may take over my USB ports soon, hence, the trim.
Scented Geranium
This guy is the oldest plant of the bunch. I think he's been around for about two years now. Obviously his growth gets a bit OOC ... see my previous post on uses for scented geranium leaves.
Bedroom Window
These three geraniums that grace the windowsill outside our bedroom window are the only decorative plants we have. Admittedly, we enjoy them very much. They add a cottage quality to the bedroom, I think. You can only see two of them in the photo. They pulled through the winter inside nicely and have been flourishing out there for a couple of weeks now.
Bedroom Window Seedlings
L to R: Thyme, rosemary seedlings. These two babes have been slow going, and are probably not getting enough sun. But frankly we're running out of room for them elsewhere.
The Mint I Almost Killed
It sat so unobtrusively on the fire escape below the geraniums that I, whoops, forgot to water it for about two weeks. Holding out some hope, I watered it generously yesterday and it sprung (somewhat) back to life. There's a lesson in there somewhere. Perhaps I'll have a mojito this afternoon to celebrate its resurrection.
In the Shadow of the A/C
Catnip will, I suspect, grow anywhere. I didn't have room for it anyplace else, so stuck it on the windowsill next to our air-conditioner. It seems to be doing just fine.
Chivey
Our chive plant, fondly known as "Chivey" (in the spirit of obvious names for pets and plants, see "Catty" the cat and "Sandy" the sand-colored childhood dog), was another near-casualty. I'm glad she lived: I'd hate to kill a plant that had a name.
I'll confess that there are a few more, but they're experimental so exempted from the tour. Farmer Chris is attempting a few tomato plants and one sweet pepper on the roof, but the future is frought with potential rooftop-vegetable challenges. If there are "fruits" to this endeavor, you'll certainly hear about them by the end of the summer, though.
And there you have it - photos of the greening earth society. Oh wait, no, they're of my apartment! The Greening Earth Society are those anti-greenhouse-effect coal industry yahoos.
Black freshwater pearl, silver pearl, and citrine with silver t-clasp
Bracelet: garnet, quartz, and aventurine (?) with silver t-clasp
Earrings: garnet, silver square nuggets
Glass bead and wire teardrop earrings
