100 Things, the second half

49. I learned to knit from a Martha Stewart: Baby magazine when I was pregnant with my second child.

48. It was 18 months before I realized that I purled “backwards”.

47. A year ago I discovered the wide world of knitblogs and my knitting technique has been much improved.

46. I love to knit socks, especially little ones for my kids. (They go faster and it’s easy to try out new patterns/techniques on a smaller scale.

45. I have just discovered the magic of felting.

44. I have never completed a sweater, but I have a goal to finish at least one in the next year. I have 2 on the needles: one for Miz Izzy and one for me.

43. I have an irrational fear of intarsia and entrelac.

42. I am really drawn to lace, cables, and Fair Isle.

41. I have a classic/retro sense of style.

40. I have a secret fun fur/novelty yarn stash that I’m trying to forget about. If I let it sit in the stash long enough, will it turn into cashmere?

39. I started teaching myself to spin this summer. I succeed in fits and starts.

38. I love to make things with my hands, but I rarely get time to do anything but knit (it’s portable and quiet and I can follow my kids around the house instead of be chained to the craft table or sewing machine or kitchen.

37. I have made my first foray into dyeing my own yarn. It’s been really fun (and messy).

36. I have knit 6 pairs of socks, not one pair has been for me.

35. Actually, out of all of the finished knit projects, only one has been for me: a cherry-red bouclé scarf - the third item I knit.

34. I am not so selfless with my other crafts.

33. I have an obsession with those black and white hard cover composition notebooks. It stems from my college days when I lived in the science lab.

32. I use them for everything but science projects now. My favorite thing to do with them craft-wise is decoupage the covers. The other ones I use to write my stories and journal design ideas.

31. They have to be the black and white covers. The ones that are different colors are just not right. Those books go to the kids for their writing and drawing practice.

30. When I’m designing or thinking about a project, I have a difficult time thinking in color. I tend to think in black and white.

29. I dream in color, though.

28. I’m inspired by various things: knitbloggers, American popular culture during and after the WWII era, Victorian England, the United Kingdom in general.

27. I rarely follow the directions on any project or recipe.

26. I’m beginning to understand the reasoning behind the general obsession with Japanese craft books.

25. I decorate my house with a Pottery Barn sensibility, on a Wal-Mart budget.

24. I love to go to estate auctions. Especially ones with good junk… rusty, unloved, chipped, peeling junky junk. For example: my favorite candlesticks are really just rusty old bedsprings that kind of support the candles from falling over.

23. When I’m being especially creative, I tend to wear silly hats (like Jo March in Little Women), and make huge messes.

22. My idea of a perfect afternoon would be a tea party with my Mom: complete with dressy dress, the good china, tea party hat, crustless sandwiches, tiny cakes, jam tarts, clotted cream and lemon curd, and plenty of silly giggling.

21. I plan to fully do this for my 30^th birthday next year. Hats and all.

20. I would love to have a cat, but I’m terribly allergic to them. I love dogs too, but they’re too rambunctious.

19. My favorite pets are little birds. I love the little finches and budgies and canaries. They always sound so happy.

18. My favorite animals in general are birds. I love robins, cardinals, chickadees. I dream of having a Peregrine or Merlin falcon someday. If I could be any animal, I’d be an owl or a raven.

17. I’m fascinated by butterflies as well.

16. I enjoy many types of music, thanks to a well-rounded musical childhood, courtesy my parents. I have little tolerance for country-western, rap, and acid jazz. I don’t discount them completely; they’re just not the first things I seek out when I want to listen to something.

15. I’m particular to baroque music (Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli, Handel), acoustic (The Beatles, James Taylor, Ron Sexmith, Jack Johnson), jazz standards (Billie Holliday, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Harry Connick, Jr.), musicals (Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein), 80’s alternative (The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Blondie, INXS, Duran Duran), and a smattering of Ska, Punk, Reggae, Techno, Classic Rock, American Pop and Alternative, and British Pop.

14. I love to watch Romantic Comedies and Science-Fiction movies.

13. I read practically everything, but I love literary thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, literature classics, latin-american literature, british literature, and historical fiction.

12. I love chocolate (isn’t that a requirement to be a “real” knitter?) Dove promises are my poison of choice, but mostly because better/different chocolate isn’t widely available around here.

11. I also love coffee, but coffee doesn’t love me. It makes me crazy, well, crazier than usual.

10. I am getting an impressive candle collection… I like food/spice smells, but not so much with the flower-y smells. My current favorite is the White Pepper from White Barn Candle Company. I loved it in the store in the Mall of America, and thought I’d be able to get here at my local Bath and Body Works, but no dice. I wish I’d bought it when I was there. I also like pink grapefruit and cucumber (no melon) and vanilla.

9. I love office supplies. Just the smell of paper and wood pencils instantly decrease my blood pressure.

8. Besides chocolate, I love black licorice and “interesting” mustards. When I was a kid, and my dad would go on a business trip, he would bring home a locally made mustard from wherever he went and we’d have a tasting party. The best one that I remember was from the Two Virgins in San Francisco.

7. I could eat Italian food every day and not complain.

6. The same with peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

5. I still have my blankie and my first doll.

4. When I’m sick, I sleep with my blankie. It’s magic, you know.

3. My first doll looks just like my Dad did when I was a kid, right down to the bell bottom pants and longish brown hair and moustache.

2. Yes, I’m a Daddy’s Girl.

1. Family is the most important thing in the world to me. Knitting for that family is a close second.

100 Things: the first half

In anticipation of SP9, and the fact that I want to be as cool as the others (I'm really not much of a follower), I think I'll join the 100 Things Meme love-in... here you go.

100. I am the oldest (and only girl) of 4 kids (age range: not quite 30 to not quite 16).
99. As a direct result of the above, as friendships go, I'm generally more comfortable with the males of the species. As I get older and (hopefully) more mature, I'm getting better at being friends with women too.
98. My mom and I are really close. I realize how lucky I am for that at least once every day.
97. I met my husband on a blind date set up by his sister and my brother, around Christmas 1999.
96. We became engaged on President's day, 2000 (It was a Valentine's day pre-emptive strike).
95. We were married on Good Friday, 2000.
94. I always said it would be cool to be a "millennium bride", if only for the fact that my (future) husband would always remember how many years we've been married.
93. The brother and sister-in-law that set us up on that fateful blind date got married to each other last summer.
92. Yup, that means double cousins.
91. I am a notorious procrastinator
90. I tend to do my best work under a swift-approaching deadline, thereby reinforcing #91.
89. I learned to read when I was 18 months old.
88. I read my first "real" book when I was just a bit shy of 2.
87. It was The Hobbit
86. I haven't stopped reading since.
85. As a kid, I used to compulsively count things. My brain is too full now to do much of that anymore.
84. I have a semi-photographic memory
83. Because of #84, I am a really good speller
82. My almost-finished Bachelor's degree is in Biological Sciences
81. My true love is English Literature
80. I have an unhealthy obsession with semicolons and parenthesis.

79. The majority of my jobs have been medical related.
78. I wanted desperately to go to Medical School, but Organic Chemistry and getting too involved with patients pretty much deterred any further progress.
77. I started writing children's stories when I was in the 2nd grade.
76. I am having two stories published this year, and a series in development with my artsy fartsy graphic designer brother. (He's the coolest!)
75. I am an idea person. Not a detail person.
74. I had a very creative childhood.
73. My parents were and are extremely supportive of everything I do. They never told me that I couldn't do anything I set my mind to. Again, I realize how lucky I am to have had this growing up.
72. I hope I can instill the same mindset in my kids.
71. I can sew, quilt, knit, paint, collage, bead, sing, play the cello, put up drywall, tile a shower, lay hardwood/tile/laminate/vinyl flooring, shingle, cook, bake (not the same thing), frame, and "fix" things.
70. I despise cleaning with every fiber of my being.
69. I love to travel. I don't get to do this very often, but I love it.
68. I hope to go to the UK someday.
67. I spent most of my formative years learning how to do household-y things (except clean... yrch), like make great food, decorate, sew, etc. to "impress" my future husband and he really doesn't give a rat's behind if I can do those things, except make chocolate chip cookies.
66. If there was something in my repertoire I wish I could do better, it would be make better chocolate chip cookies. I have a curse. I can bake anything else to perfection. Just not those. Not for lack of trying, mind you.
65. I think I look my best while pregnant.
64. I'm pregnant right now. Baby's due the middle of September. This is #3 (and most likely the last one) for us.
63. I would seriously consider being a surrogate for any of my family members.
62. I am truly amazed at the capability of my own body to grow and nurture another person. This humbles me in more ways that I can imagine.
61. My religious faith has a definite grounding aspect for me and gives me a great deal of comfort in my life.
60. My political faith does not.
59. I spent most of my adolescence being labeled a "liberal", when in actuality; I was just about as conservative as they come.
58. I am a pragmatic idealist
57. I believe in responsible conservation, but not to the point of impeding human progress
56. If they took volunteers for the Mars colony today, I'd be one of the first to sign up... family in tow.
55. I have a very strange sense of humor. Must have been all of those BBC shows I used to watch on Public Television as a kid.
54. I write a mean (often dirty) limerick... just try me!
53. My favorite color is red, though I've been going through a brown phase for the last couple years.
52. 60% of the clothes in my closet are black
51. I have very dark brown (almost black) hair, but 2 of my soon to be 3 kids have blonde hair. I'll report back if baby #3 is different.
50. In case you were wondering, my husband has blonde hair. I was counting on the dark to be dominant... no such luck.

Fall is in the air...

As I walked out the door this morning on my way to work, I could smell it. That smoky, leafy, almost cold, go home and bake apple pie smell. Fall is around the corner. I can't wait. My mind is being drawn to the cabled sweaters, hats, socks and mittens that I have planned for this season's knitting.

Of course, as I am getting ready to go outside again, to go home to pet all of the abovementioned projects and whisper sweet promises to them ("Someday soon, I'll get you out again and we'll get you finished off and show off the woolly goodness that you really are..."), only to be practically knocked over by the wave of humidity-sodden heat that instantly melts off your face and sucks all the crafty will-power right out of a person.

*Sigh*
Forget Endless Summer... give me Endless Autumn any day.

Farmers called to report ugly sheep�|�Oddly Enough�|�Reuters.com

Hee!
Farmers called to report ugly sheep�|�Oddly Enough�|�Reuters.com

By the way... another F.O.

Miz Izzy's sockies are done! Hooray!

57 things left on the project list... *sigh*

Wendy is evil. Kpixie is evil. KnitBloggers are evil.

And I mean that in the most respectful, loving way possible.
Why are they evil? Read on!
Ok, so I caved. I bought a Noni Bag pattern from Kpixie today (*cough cough and some size 11 dpn's cough cough*). It's the green vase shaped one with the pretty blue flowers. Needless to say, the SIL's are getting felted purses this year for Christmas. If I can just contain myself to keep the secret until then, I'm golden. Now, in what colors to knit them? C1 is definitely purple, C2 maybe hot pink, not sure, K? no idea. SisterSarah's is pretty much done, I just need to decide if it needs a flower or not.

I'm proud of myself this year for starting Christmas Knits early, but I have good reason. #3 will be here in about 5 weeks and it's pretty dang hard to knit, nurse and sleep at the same time.

Knit on!

Felting is Fun!

Ok, so the felting thing was totally rad! I managed to finish and felt the bag this weekend. I dip-dyed the bottom half of it (pre-felting) in dark brown rit dye, and it did this most amazing streaking thing... it looks like a ceramic mug that my brother made in HS. It's going to SisterSarah in a box this week, I think.

Now that I know that yarn felts well, I went ahead and dyed the rest of the blue NZ yarn (1/2 baby blue, the other 1/2 dark dark brown) and am starting another bag. This one, I'm constructing similar to the first one, but adjusted more to the color repeats so I get some interesting flashing/pooling. I don't think I'll make it as deep as the first one, so it'll be a more of a baguette shape, but I love the twisted I-cord handles.

My poor Husband walked in on me while I was dyeing/felting the bag on Saturday. He just looked at me and the mess, smiled and shook his head and went on down to his office. He changed his tune when he saw the finished bag, though. He's getting more and more interested in what I'm doing the more I'm doing it and showing him that I can attempt to keep up with the house/job/kids and spend time with him AND knit too. He even admitted that the felting thing is like magic. I'll have him brainwashed soon enough. :)

Avoiding work is fun!

I'd really rather be at home than at work, surrounded by my knitting instead of boxes of stuff to be put away.

Update: MacZilla's sockies are done.
I started new ones for Miz Izzy (sockotta wool/cotton blend, some strange pink/orange/yellow/purple colorway - straight stockinette... boring but effective), because she was getting jealous and was stealing her brother's socks. I finished the Latvian Lace socks for Mom. She really likes them - I hope she'll get some use out of them when the weather cools off.

So much for the FO's, now for the UFO's.

Icarus is still sitting there. I got a couple rows in, but I just can't sit down and make myself work on it. Maybe when #3 gets here.

The alpaca scarf/stole/thing got frogged last night in a fit of pique. I don't like my addition of the stockinette "sashing" between the lace repeats, and it was making the scarf all wavy, and not in a good way. I'm thinking of repurposing the yarn for a feather and fan cardigan or something for Miz Izzy or #3. I swatched it and the F&F looks really pretty. We'll see.

That's the UFO's, now on to the new stuff (cause I have project ADD/monogamy issues)

I started a cabled sweater from Inspired Cable Knits in a yummy chocolate brown worsted from knitpicks. It's going to be beautiful, if a bit warm.

The above mentioned stripy sockotta sockies for Miz I.

The also above-mentioned alpaca maybe cardigan for Miz I or #3. We'll see if I can figure out how to adjust the lace pattern to accomodate the sleeve increases.

I'm starting my Christmas projects: some Broad Street Mittens (with a twist) for ClayTron, in a really beautiful navy blue fingering weight (thank you KnitPicks). If they go quickly, I may make a pair for my BIL, Robert, who I tried to teach to knit while in Colorado.

I've gotten bitten by the felted/fulled knit bag thing, thank you very much "Wendy Knits".
I'm trying a bag from a pattern I found on Magknits and I impulsively (very impulsively) purchased Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers last night for the embellishment on Amazon.
I have this really beautiful sky blue New Zealand wool (enough for a sweater) I bought from Ebay oh, about a year ago. Beautiful online, scratchy as hell in real life. I'm going to try and felt it and see what happens. It's 100% wool, and I'm pretty sure it's not superwash, so we'll see how it goes. So far I have the bottom and about an inch and a half done up the sides... I really should do a swatch and see if it actually felts like I'm hoping it will. I'll probably do that tonight. If the bag works out it's going to SisterSarah after I dip dye it when it's done. I'm thinking brown... to get that vareigated, ombred brown to blue thing. Might be pretty cool. Here's hoping. I went on to knitpicks last night also and bought some black, grey and red for a purse thing for me. I know their stuff will felt, and it's for me, so no real hurry.