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Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Measured the swatch and - OOPS - it is SO far off gauge. Their 28 stitches is supposed to give 10cm (4in) but I have almost 12cm. So I did the math and I'm going to make their size 34 which should come out big enough to fit me. Kind of scary, though. But trying to knit really tight for the entire project won't work. Doesn't continental knitting have the rep to be looser than english anyway? I think so. Am I continental? Yes. Totally.
Size 34 - cast on 114 (finished size: 92cm/36")
Size 36 - cast on 122 (finished size: 97cm/38")
If: 28 st = 12 cm
Then: 114 st = 48.85 cm48.84cm x 2 = 97.7cm (38.5")
The truly baffling part is that my body fluctuates from 35" to 37"! WTF! (a la Miss Bonne...) But I did follow the prime directive and bravely measured!
The Stitch&Flip Quilts book came from Amazon! I had pondered Miss Megan's sewing machine dilemma when it comes to yarn/fabric/book buying. I did check (3) local quilt stores but it was not in stock. That's capitalism for you. Supply and demand.
Now I get to go through my fabric stash. Speaking of stash... I prefer to grow my stash naturally - from leftovers. I never buy yarn "just because" or without having a pattern. I just pretend the yarn store is my stash. I just think yarn & fabric goes out of style - and why would I want to make last year's fashion? And I'd feel too guilty having yarn waiting for me to make something, having spent the money and then not knitting it. And then, you never have enough for what you want to make, can't find the same dye lot anymore, etc. That has happend a few times for me with fabric for clothes, so I just buy it for the next project at hand. There is always more to be had at the store.
posted by Stella 3:43 PM
Monday, July 14, 2003
The Gordian Knot
I worked my swatch last night and figured out the most challenging part of this pattern. I felt slightly stressed when I realized that I did not know how to read & understand cabling instructions (C6F, C5B, T4F, etc. WTF?!) Until of course, I decided to read the pattern from the beginning, and it's all right there, spelled out. I haven't measured my gauge yet, I'm just sitting back and admiring my work!
It's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, and pattern is in her book number four.
I indulged in another secret pleasure yesterday (no, not cigarettes, not mj, not even Ben & Jerry's ice cream) I layed out in the sun. In Golden Gate Park in the panhandle, wearing my bikini. Oh, it felt soo good to have the sun shine on my belly! And I had some B&J chocolate fudge brownie frozen yoghurt. Yum! All this is supposed to be so BAD for you, but how can it be? It feels good and it probably balanced my brain chemistry.
posted by Stella 1:26 PM
Saturday, July 12, 2003
I learned something yesterday. It has to do with this cocktail party, and I'm feeling very relieved. Miss Alesia set me straight, she is our receptionist and she knows whats going on. See, whenever there is an office event happening, I feel like I'm back at the highschool prom, and I need a date to prove my self-worth. All of my office mates are married or have girlfriends (except one) and I don't want them to think I'm weird or there is something wrong with me when I don't bring a date. I actually feel like I have impress these people. When I told Alesia this, she was really surprised! She said, these people don't add one red cent to your paycheck! And they can't take one away! So no need to care what they think. Suddenly I remembered what I learned from one of the xmas parties - I brought a guy who totally sucked (was late, got drunk, came on to me in a disgusting way even though I was dating his supposedly best friend) - I am a much cooler and stronger woman if I can go to these events alone, and not care. And even better - leave everybody wondering about my personal life, which isn't their business anyway. So there.
Today, I'm going to the fabric store! The Black Cat. I am really curious about these stitch&flip quilts.
I know I don't like paper piecing (I hate removing the paper afterward) but I feel some creativity coming one. And I want to play with my antique Singer. (Pics of my rigs to come.) And I really fancy the purple and green combination, oh my fingers are just itching to work on this!
And, then... oh I am SO looking forward to this - I'm going to buy the yarn for the Debbie Bliss cardi!
Yay!
I found $125 worth of medical receipts which I turned into HR for a flex check - how is that for creative financing? A tax free sweater! :) Ha! Feeling just as smug as that model's smile...
posted by Stella 11:30 AM
Thursday, July 10, 2003
My new, interim boss is throwing a cocktail party. That is pretty remarkable considering that I work for engineers but it sounds like we found him a sweet pad with views of both bridges. This is a great improvement over the last boss whose wife we never even saw once in five years. So the invitations says to bring your significant other, and that opens the question, are S or K significant? I invited one of them but haven't heard an rsvp yet. (If worst comes to worst, I guess I can advertise for a fake boyfriend on CL, like this poor girl in NYC.) Also, do I get to buy a cocktail dress for a cocktail party? Then the company picnic is one week later. I haven't attended one of those ever, but each year I had the good excuse of being on vacation.
So I spun last last night! Here is the first skein of Shades of Sky:
click meI've decided I'm going to ply it, as well as the other yarn I've spun so far. Some of it plied itself and convinced me that it wanted to look more, uh... jumbled up.
Oh, and here we go - so close! 99% done!!!
(click it)
We need a little ribbon to go around and through the eyelets just next to the purple lace. I think it's part of the clever design - the ribbon will make it fit better and keep the straps from stretching while I wear it. I hope. I need to go to Britex, (the place where the most stuck-up people in the universe get to work) you can't beat the selection.
posted by Stella 11:56 AM
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
I really earned my money yesterday and I'm actually busy today, too. I came home and needed a martini. I got to use my favorite line "sorry, too late, the drawings are already at the printer" (insert evil CAD Mgr laugh here), though.
So here's progress on my pretty cami - the complete picture and a close-up on it's little lacy border.
(click this one)
I think I'd like it to be more fitted, but whatever. It wasn't that way in the pattern but one day, I'm sure, I'll be good enough to actually modify one. :)
OK. So I just checked my bank balance, and after all my bills are paid for this month, I have $440 left for food & laundry. Can I buy yarn?
posted by Stella 3:52 PM
Sunday, July 6, 2003
Sunday, and it's still quiet and foggy but I'm feeling less tense and less anxiety today. I had a good time with S yesterday and drank a little too much wine, which probably has something to do with me loosening up. I also got to drive at 100 mhp on the way up there (hehehe) and did not get caught, which is a very good thing. I really loose my judgement quickly when I drink alcohol (the speeding was however, a sober decision, not a DUI, I'm not THAT crazy) and in retrospective, I'm worried I said some things that would be well, not so good to say while sober. See, S and I decided to have a platonic relationship, but I like to tease him. Which I really really should not do (it's not nice for him and kind of tacky on my part, isn't it?). Damn alcohol. Ah, but you can't change the past. And if you always tried to live your life so that you would not regret the past, that would be a whole lot less fun. Right? Right. So don't worry.
On the knitting front, I'm very exited because I'm finally getting to the really fun part of the cami - knitting the little V-neck and the lace and the straps. You can see it under my "reading". That's the part I'm working on today, and if it gets too hairy, I'll do it in the company of other knitters at Helen's store.
posted by Stella 11:13 AM
Saturday, July 5, 2003
Survived the Holiday. It's Saturday and I get to go up to Sebastopol and visit with S which will be fun. This will be a good contrast to the last two days which dragged. Big time.
Thursday I took the day off from work because it's been so slow and boring but because it was that time of the month, I felt extremely tired and exhausted. I feel a lot of anxiety around holidays. Usually I feel like a loser because I'm not doing what every other American is doing - having a BBQ on the Fourth and jetskiing with all their cool friends, for example. It helps when I do the things I like (knit, quilt, sew, bead, cook, exercise) but Thursday, I was just too tired to plan anything.
I did move furniture in my sewing room and that's kind of cool. It feels all open and ready for something new now. I put away all my sewing stuff because I haven't been sewing at all lately. Including the table I had my machine on. It went to the garage. I am hoping that this will wake up my creative spirit to be inspired to make one of these stitch & flip quilts.
Yesterday, I spun the first bobbin of the shades of sky fiber. Oh, how beautiful it is! It's long, smooth and silky fibers, and the blue variegates. I got my singles to be very nice and even. I'm still stuck on plying - don't know if I should or not, and if I do, how to make my skeins into centerpull balls without a swift and without big tangles? <sigh>
Then I made a lemon tart and a chicken salad. Cooking is usually therapeutic for me, but yesterday, that didn't really work either.
And then I OD'd on knitting. I finished the left front of the Saffron cardie, and I knitted 8" on the front of the cami. Knitting is calming but it also does not occupy the mind and I am still left to deal with my thoughts while I do it. The sky is overcast and foggy gray. I'm getting out of here.
posted by Stella 8:54 AM
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
My blog broke... I don't know how to fix this other than trying to re-upload it again and again. It looks fine on my local compi, honest. It's making me sad.
Here is what I've been drooling over lately, and I think this will be my next project, once I get the Saffron sweater or the cami finished:
I love the shawls everyone is making, especially these, which Caroline links on her blog. Once in a while I get very tempted to make one in Suri lace yarn, but then I pass. Would I ever wear a shawl?
Finished the back of the cami yesterday, and started the left front for the Saffron sweater.
posted by Stella 1:10 PM
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Went to the mall at lunchtime - and that's enough consumerism for me for a long time. San Francisco Center is complete with an Abercrombie store, mall music, mall marble, etc. (ugh), but I *needed* a new lipstick. Boys like lipstick. After reading Miss Anna's blog entry yesterday, I'd been dyeing to try out that Black Honey Clinique lipstick she mentions. She's not a knitter, but she has a ferret, which is even better than a cat. Alas! Black Honey did not look good on me. It looked like I wasn't wearing anything. I tried a few Clinique lipsticks but felt they all looked unnatural on me, so I went back to MAC. Love MAC! I got Plum lipliner, Cosmo lipstick and Pink Radar nail polish, bought it from a guy who wore more make-up than I ever do, left happy, and went to VS' sale to stock up on cute knickers *grin* - (that's a hint!).
Bought cute shoes as well yesterday, almost worthy of mentioning on Miss Velma's blog, but she is dealing with some other c**p right now, so go send her some good vibes. Shoe pix will come after I do the pedicure.
Knitting Content!
Saffron back - click it for larger view
posted by Stella 4:32 PM
Taseti
Sunshine
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