my new (virtual) kitty

you may remember in a previous post i had a picture of my brother's boxer puppy named tyson, and mentioned how my other brother has a boxer named frasier. well, meet my virtual kitty named ali. yup. i'm keeping with the boxer theme, only ali is a kitty instead of a puppy. if i ever get around to adoping a real kitty, i'll name him ali too.

yeah, i gotta be a lil' different.

adopt your own virtual pet!

perfect christmas in central ohio

my family has a tradition of opening gifts at midnight, which is great cuz it allows us all to sleep in on christmas day. we always have a fun time. every year the designated "santa" (this year it was momma) is the one that hands out the gifts one-by-one and we all wait to see what everyone got.

my grandmother loved the scarf i made for her out of disco yarn (THANKS MARY!!). when my brother took a picture of her wearing it, the flash on the camera really made the scarf sparkle. i made 6 dishcloths for my mom and she said they were so pretty she didn't want to use them. dad and brothers loved the fudge and chocolate chip cookies ... i guess the way to a man's heart really is through his stomach! my dad had read my blog though, so he knew what they were getting. never occurred to me that he'd actually read it!

tomorrow i'm going to brave the after-christmas madness to satisfy my need for a food processor, a new hand mixer (the one i have is older than me and really ready for the trash) and a set of cooling racks. funny how i never really realize how handy those things are until i'm in the middle of a baking frenzy. i'm planning to make chocolate chip cookies for my honey who will be here on friday (YAY!!), and i am also itching to use the cookie press that i bought last year and only used once. found an easy recipe in martha stewart's "everyday food" magazine for butter cookies that will be perfect for it. uh, yeah, like i really needed another magazine. but it's martha STEWART and well, i can't very well practice to be the Black Martha Stewart unless i read the magazines, right?

other than that today has been all about knitting and watching those law & order: SVU episodes from the marathon last sunday (or was it the sunday before last?). i recorded them and decided to watch them during this lovely week-long vacation. it's cool and rainy outside and a quiet sunday at home is just what santa ordered...it's my christmas gift to myself (well that and those 2 lovely knitting books i just HAD to buy!).

enjoy what's left of this christmas day!

my solution to christmas knitting

okay so i was stressing out about how i was gonna get stuff knitted for everyone on my list and i came up with a solution. yesterday when i finished my SIL's scarf, i decided to STOP knitting gifts. turns out that i already knitted for the women (mom, grandmother, SIL), and i was baking cookies/fudge for the men (dad, brothers). so next year, i'll switch and knit for the guys, bake for the gals. i'm baking cookies now (well, sorta), and can knit for me in 7-minute blocks of time while cookies are in the oven. i am working on my clapotis scarf with noro...lovely stuff. also want to swatch (hell's frozen over, i tell ya!) for a sweater i'm going to start for myself next week. it's the zippered jacket from last winter's vogue knitting mag. it will be my first sweater and i can't wait!

well back to baking... it's a labor of love for sure, but i'm having a great time.

merry christmas eve!!

hell's frozen over -- i made a decision

okay, so it became crystal clear to me this morning what "santa" will bring to my dad and teenage brothers ... FOOD!!! first of all, dad loves chocolate so i may make him his very own batch of fudge, or if i'm feeling particularly "martha stewart-ish" i'll bake him a pumpkin pie (his favorite). my brothers, i think their #1 favorite activity (aside from sleeping) is eating. so i'll whip up a batch of cookies for each of them. easy, peasy! i've always heard that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. i already know that these 3 blokes love me. but cooking for people who love eating your food, well that's like giving myself a christmas gift, too. so everyone's happy!

the knitting plan for tonight is to finish the scarf for my SIL. but during my lunch hour (which is right now), i will start the matching hat. yeah, that sounds like a plan, stan.

ciao!

in a knitting frenzy

um, yeah. so, there are like 13 days until christmas and who's not finished with her knitting? me. as usual. i'd have finished the "ribbed for her pleasure" scarf for my SIL except she was at my house this evening and i couldn't very well knit it in front of her, right? i was planning to finish that and start a matching hat. nor could i start the finger puppets for my nephew cuz he was here too. so instead i knitted several inches on the chained hearts scarf that wants to belong to my grandmother. remind me again why i shouldn't knit lace when i'm watching my favorite tv shows!! it occurred to me that i still need gifts for my 2 teenage brothers, my dad and my other brother. i did figure out what to get for the significant other though. what is it, you ask? Why, it's Warm Spirit, of course!! i love love love this stuff, and i know he will too. next time he visits, i'll have to steal one of his shirts so i can sleep with it until we see each other again. i know, right? mz has gone and gotten all lovey dovey. i swear that is so not my style but i can't HELP it!!

anyway, back to the knitting stuff. here's a list of what's left for my slave knitting monkeys, i mean, ME to knit/finish knitting before christmas:

ribbed for her pleasure scarf

ribbed for her pleasure hat

chained hearts scarf

finger puppets

something for DB24 (dear brother, age 24)

something for DB17

something for DB15

something for Dad

i wanna sleep now, but why sleep when there's knittin to be done?!!

HELP!! I NEED NORO!!!!

okay so i cast on for a scarf for a dear friend (see below), knowing i didn't have enough noro kureyon to finish, but who knew that these color numbers aren't easily found?

specifically, i'm looking for Noro Kureyon in color #70 and/or color #3. one of each will be fine, or two of either. i checked in one LYS with no luck, and will check the others this week. i also checked ebay and turned up NOTHING! please don't tell me there's no hope!

thanks in advance. betcha this is the last time i start something
knowing i don't have enough yarn on-hand to finish.... if you can help, please send email to mzundercover@gmail.com. my comments function on this blog doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

Clapotis #3 and other holiday knitting

i better face it; i'm gonna be a knitting fool for the next month. i just finished my momma's set of 6 dishcloths. i got a "ribbed for her pleasure" scarf on the needles for my SIL (from the first Stitch 'n Bitch book). and this beautiful clapotis is for a friend of mine. it's made from noro kureyon, which is so much fun to knit with. my only complaint is that stitches don't drop very well. but it's pretty so that makes up for it! the next problem is finding more of this yarn in similar colors to what i'm using now. i knew i'd run out of yarn but i couldn't resist casting on!

my 2 youngest brothers are getting iPods for christmas, so i am thinking about knitting up some iPod sleeves for them. or maybe just get them each a gift card for starbucks or even for iTunes so they can download some music. i dunno. the goal for me is to be as crafty as possible and to spend as little money as possible. this year, money's not just funny, it's telling JOKES.

other brother and nephew...not sure what their gifts will be. maybe i can whip up those fuzzy dice for my bro's cadillac, and a knitted toy for the nephew? we'll see how my hands hold up. now...what gifts for my bro, SIL and nieces in texas? decisions, decisions.

another FO

This 5-sided cloth was easy to crochet! i did it as if i was doing a granny square but instead of 4 sides, i made 5. i think it looks great! it's made with sugar n cream cotton in a lovely cream color, and i used a size H crochet hook. g'head and make one. you know you wanna.

fall colors

i started another clapotis today, while riding home from DC with susan. this is that hand-dyed cotton yarn that i bought from a fellow blogger, who bought it at a yarn shop in new orleans some time ago. it's hard to get an accurate representation of the colors but they are stunning ... purples and browns and oranges and greens. clapotis is fun to knit, even if the yarn itself can be somewhat annoying at times. it gets a little "splitty" but the pretty colors and fun pattern more than make up for it! i hope to finish the increase section today, and maybe even get to the straight section :-)

i think it's true what they say about idle hands...

so i was sure to keep mine busy last week while on vacation! after a very fun, whirlwind trip to NYC, i came home and sat my butt in front of the computer for pretty much the rest of the week. i decided a while ago that i was itching to learn to do fair isle knitting, so that's precisely what i did. i pulled up a nifty video, got out some needles and yarn and off i went! it is not nearly as hard as i imagined it would be, once i learned what to do. i still don't quite have the hang of knitting with my right hand (i knit continental mostly), but that will just take a little bit of practice. all that's left to do is make an i-cord strap for it, and decide on a closure...i'm thinking a nice toggle button will do nicely.

next up...finishing my cabled hat!


see? i learned something on my vacation!

guess who we met?

okay so one of these days i will get around to posting about the NYC knit out, but right now all i feel like doing is showing y'all a pic of me (on the left) and my friend posing with lily chin!

irish walking hat...gifted!

here's the thing about me: when i have a gift for someone, i am always so anxious to give it to them! i made this irish walking hat for a friend of mine and my plan was to wait until the weather turned cold before giving it to him. when i stepped out of the house this morning it was like 50 degrees and as far as i was concerned, it was cold enough! i got to work a little early this morning and put it on his desk so he'd see it when he got in. the verdict is in...he likes it! i made it with plymouth encore which is easy to care for ... it's machine washable. it's navy blue which is very much a "boy" color, and every time i see fdh he's wearing some shade of blue so i thought it was a safe guess that he likes blue. notice i snapped a pic of the hat in the car on the way to work this morning. don't worry ... i was stuck at a red light!

london bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...

i found this quiz on the net and had to take it. london is absotively, posilutely my FAVORITE city in the whole wide world! can't wait to go back there -sigh-

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

clapotis: gifted

i was so happy to gift clapotis yesterday. my dear friend and her newest munchkin came to visit and we had a great time eating ice cream and watching one of our favorite shows (L&O:SVU). she absolutely loves clapotis and i'm thrilled!


"im ready for my closeup, mz!"

i would like to start another clapotis for me, but i'm thinking about doing it in such a way that each of the dropped stitches have a bead. i know it would be hella tedious to string yarn with beads, but i think it would be -so- worth it in the end. if anyone has done this and has any pics to show me...please do! i need some incentive and inspiration!

rip it, baby!

recently someone on one of the many lists i'm on, realized she made a mistake in a sweater she was knitting and was debating whether she should rip out several inches and reknit. i sent my patented 5-step program to the list, but thought i would share it here as well:

1 - put your knitting down and go get drink of your choice. my personal favorites: beer with squeeze of lime, white wine or a hot toddy (with plenty of liquor!).

2 - take a deep breath and sip or gulp as you see fit. feel free to get another drink as you deem necessary and appropriate.

3 - take more deep breaths. deep, cleasing breaths. for a while just focus on your breathing. don't even -think- about knitting. you'll feel better i promise.

4 - pick up your knitting again when you're calmer and more
clear-headed,

then...

5 - "rip it baby, rip it right ... (let it rip) ... rip it baby, rip it all night ..." make sure you dance and sing while ripping!! :-)

of course ripping may not be the best solution in every case, but if you ever -do- need to rip, don't agonize over it, and don't cry about it. follow my program and re-knit as soon as possible. you'll catch up quicker'n you think and you'll be well on your way to an FO!

flying fingers

here's a pic of the lovely irish walking hat i'm making for a friend of mine. i started this on tuesday morning and this is the progress i've made between then and late last night. i estimate i'm about 40% finished. i hope to finish it and gift it very soon!

isn't he sweet?

look at this little bundle of cuteness:



my brother got a boxer puppy over the weekend. this little guy's name is tyson. another brother has a boxer named frasier. i think i will get a boxer and name him ali. or maybe i'll get a kitty and name him ali (you know i gotta be a little different!).

look at the paws on that pup. he's gonna be a big 'un!

whippin' out the FOs!!!!

y'all will notice that i have had quite a few FOs in the past few days. i've been knitting like a madwoman. that's what happens when you spend the whole weekend watching football and knitting...things get DONE!

check out the baby fern stitch cloth:



this is the first of a bunch i'm making for my momma for her christmas present. i got another one about half finished while watching my STEELERS whip up on the titans.

well now i guess i better go fold some laundry and get myself ready for bed. i'll do a little crocheting before i go off to dreamland...ciao!

whew!

after 7 months of off-and-on knitting, i finished clapotis just a few moments ago.

all it took was several mostly-uninterrupted hours of knitting while watching football and drinking beer.

life is good.

she will be gifted tomorrow and i will certainly take pictures and post them here, so stay tuned. meantime, i'm going to go to sleep and think about tomorrow, which will be another day of knitting and watching football with my brother. maybe i'll start another clapotis. life's goodness will continue.

i know i shouldn't have

....but i started another project. a sweater. my first. please be gentle. i'm a sweater virgin...



and here, my friends, is 2 inches of ribbing that will eventually become the back of my sweater ("give the people what they want" cardi from "the yarn girl's guide to simple knits"). i'm so excited i can hardly stand it. looks too narrow to be part of any sweater that i'm gonna wear, but i have to remember that this is just ribbing and i'm told that ribbing makes everything look too small!

and another one's done....

yay! as promised i finished this one on the drive from stone lab. what a great day we had for driving! sunny and warm, although a bit hazy on the lake. most of the day was spent driving about 125 miles from columbus to catawba point, where we caught a ferry to put-in-bay, which is on south bass island...you didn't know ohio had islands, did ya? i have heard them referred to as "the buckeye riviera". from there we drove (yeah we took the car on the ferry!) to the other side of the island to get to the bayview office for the lab, where we got a ride (via boat of course) to gibraltar island, where the lab building is located (sorry i don't have a pic of that!).

the whole reason for the trip up there was to close the stone lab library for the winter. the library is essentially a 16'x20' room filled with bookshelves. our main job in the 1.5 hours we were actually there was to gather the books loaned to the library from other OSU libraries, and reshelve the books that actually belong to stone lab but didn't get reshelved. i won't bore you with details, but since there were two of us, we got everything done in record time and actually made an earlier ferry back to the mainland, and therefore was able to beat rush hour traffic. i got home and promptly readied myself for a nap, which i thought would last no more than a couple of hours. however i was not inclined to get up so i stayed in bed until it was time to get up for work. i wasn't feeling well (girl-stuff and all the malaise that comes with it) but this morning i took 800mg of ibuprofen and i'm feeling fiiiiiiine!

i'm a knitting fool

check this baby out! this is a pattern called "torsades" and it's fun to knit. i like cables and i'm using the cables without a cable needle method (wendy ROCKS!). i hope to finish this tomorrow on my way up to Stone Laboratory.

lily's all done

i really like this cloth. it was a quick knit and turned out beautifully. i already have another one on the needles!

i have to admit...

...i've never been much of an OSU fan. but today i attended my first OSU football game with my brother and we had so much fun! the game was good but boy that band was great. today was alumni band day, so in addition to the current band, there were a few hundred former band members, ranging in age from 21 to like, 90. there were even former drum majors there too. i think my favorite part was the Script Ohio formation. i think with the regular band there is just one formation on the field, but with the alumni members they make four of them. too bad i couldn't capture the entire field with my cell phone camera:


It's not called TBDBITL for nothing!

in knitting news, look at this cloth i started the other day. it's called "muguets" (lily):


pretty, huh?

i think i will go watch "the closer" from last week while i finish knitting this.

ciao, darlings!

first crisis of the month

it's never good to start the month with a "crisis," for heaven's sake. but i did. on my way out the door this morning i reached for my purse, my work bag, and my knitting bag, as i usually do. except this morning my knitting bag wasn't there. i thought maybe i left it in the car, except it wasn't there, either. then i tried to think back to the last time i specifically remember having it, which was tuesday night at wild oats. i ate dinner there, and after i ate, i worked on momma's dishcloth. ohmigod, did i leave it there??! luckily it's only a 2 minute drive to wild oats from work (with gas at $3.09/gallon i'm not going out of my way to get anywhere!). i went to work first, though, just to see whether i left it there on wednesday. lo and behold, my beloved knitting bag was there in my office in my spare chair. crisis over! i can't wait to get home tonight and knit my heart out. i'm in the decrease rows on clapotis but i think i mis-read the instructions for one of the rows several rows down so now i have to figure out how to make the rest of the pattern work without frogging because i don't exactly -know- where my mistake was and i'm SO close to being finished that i just can't bear starting over inches and inches below where i am now. boy was that a mouthful.

in other news, after a hellacious (is that a word?) time trying to get my car registration renewed yesterday, i decided to "treat" myself by stopping at one of my favorite yarn shops, which is in the same plaza as the license bureau. i ended up spending about $40, BUT all the stuff i bought was in the clearance bin (yay!). i got some nice plymouth yarn (colorspun and i forget what else) and a summer 2005 issue of IK, which is one of my new favorite knitting mags...i think i shall subscribe! anyway, i should be all set for a cozy winter of knitting, crocheting, spinning, sewing and ...?

...but first, a public service announcement

dear readers:

it's tuesday. on tuesday nights i dance. so, there is a slim-to-none chance that i will hear my cell phone ring when i'm in a dance hall with a live (i.e. LOUD) band. i do check my phone from time to time to see whether i've missed any calls, honest i do. but don't get offended when i -don't- answer ... it AIN'T personal. i promise.

anyway, i've been waiting all day to show you what is on my needles:





this is a dishcloth for my momma. she requested a half dozen dishcloths for christmas. this is the first of the bunch. the others will most likely be made from patterns found here. oh, check out that pretty stitch marker ... i made it myself!

and with that my friends, mz is off to bed...gotta get that beauty sleep!

i'm too SEX*y

last thursday i participated in a "survivor trivia" game with some of my library colleagues. there were 4 teams with 3 people each. the first half of the game 2 teams went head-to-head for 2 10-minute rounds. then the other two teams did the same (one of which was the team i was on). the winners of those rounds then went against each other for 2 15-minute rounds. the grand champion was MY TEAM!!! as part of our prize loot, the 3 of us received $15 gift cards for barnes & noble, along with bragging rights for the next year! i just got home from spending mine on knitting magazines (yeah like i -really- need to add to my pattern stash!). i got: cast on, family circle easy crochet, vogue knitting and creative knitting. YAY! now off i go for a quick shower (i had yoga class right before my shopping trip), then i'll peruse the magazines for a moment before i go to sleep.

g'night!

*SEX = Stash Enhancement eXpedition

no time for knitting!

wow. mz has been one busy woman lately. between work, working out, and dancing, there hasn't been much time for knitting. i'm almost to the point that i'm almost done with my friend's clapotis, which i can't wait to finish so i can finally start mine. and i better get going on some christmas gifts too. a knitter's "work" is never done...!

just call me "firestarter"

wow. mz had such a great time this weekend. only me, my momma and my dad went camping. the "baby brothers" (ages 17 and 15) decided they didn't want to go, and my grandmother (who turns 85 next month) wasn't really feeling up to going. it was cool though cuz the 3 of us had a fine time out in the pseudo-wilderness. my parents bought a camper a few weeks ago. it sleeps 6 i think, and has a kitchen area, and a bathroom so it was what i call "hi-tech camping", which is just fine with me. i ain't fixin' to sleep in a tent. not yet, anyway.

we got to the campsite late friday afternoon. dad got the camper all leveled while mom and i put the food in the fridge and got ready to fix dinner. dad showed me how to make a campfire and i kinda put myself in charge of keeping it going all weekend. mom fixed dinner (italian sausages and i don't remember what else!) and we just chilled out after eating. sat out by the fire for a bit since it was such a nice night. i actually got sleepy so i went to bed around 11 maybe. it's hard to tell what time it is when you dont have anywhere to go or anything in particular to do!

saturday i woke up early to watch the sunrise, a birthday tradition since my 27th birthday when i was in the bahamas. it's really a beautiful way to greet the day. a little mindful meditation and reflection on the past year and setting an agenda for the coming one. i sat there for a couple hours and read a book (knit one, kill two). had to get the fire going again but that was a piece of cake. after going to the bath house to shower and dress, we literally sat around all day, chillin' out. we got NPR on the radio and listened to my favorite saturday shows (weekend edition, car talk, whaddya know, wait wait don't tell me etc) while i knitted, momma made jewelry and dad napped. perfect way to spend the day! we nibbled on birthday cookies to feed our creative juices too. for dinner we had chilean sea bass, steamed asparagus and corn on the cob. yum. then more knitting and reeeeeelaxing! i almost got NAM's clapotis finished, which is good cuz i want to make one for me next. anyway we ended up changing radio stations at some point and they were playing all 70's music. me and my folks were laughing and talking, they were reminiscing about the songs, and the dj was asking trivia questions. she asked what happened on august 16, 1977, and i knew the answer so i called in (yes i took my cell phone only cuz my best friend went into the hospital on thursday. tell ya about that later). couldn't hardly believe it when i got through but i was like, "that was the day elvis died!" i didn't win a prize or anything but i told the dj it was my birthday so she sent me a shout out. can't remember her name for the life of me cuz i hardly ever listen to that station but that was around 11pm...a great way to wind up the evening. shortly after midnight i decided to go to bed and i slept like a 30 year old baby :-)

and this morning, i woke up again at the crack of dawn (funny how it's hard for me to get up that early for WORK!), and did a bit more knitting before breakfast. i resurrected the fire one last time (y'all ain't voting ME off the island!). after that we all got dressed and packed up to go home. it was a very low-key, low-stress, low-maintenance weekend, exactly what i wanted. thanks momma and dad!

itchin' for vacation

friends, in just a few short days, mz will be reaching a milestone ... TURNING 30! after much debate about how to celebrate, and changing plans about 250 times, i decided to go on a camping trip with mi familia. i am looking forward to a long weekend of reading, knitting and just generally de-stressing. the parental units have laid down the law and declared that cell phones are verboten. we will all unplug and relax. i don't know HOW i'm gonna get through a whole weekend without it ... guess i'll have to stay busy. 4 different knitting projects are going along with me:

NAM's clapotis

red socks

red scarf

red summer tank top (new project...it's not too late to knit summer stuff, is it?)

i will stuff a book or two in the knitting bag as well. i think i'll take "knit one, kill two" and "knitting: a novel". i may even take some supplies so i can make some stitch markers while my mom makes earrings.

dancing queen

"she is the dancing queen, young and sweet, only..." alright we won't talk about age today.

but what we WILL talk about is dancing. that's right, kids, mz went dancing tonight! there is this band called yumbambe that plays live salsa jazz at this little place downtown. i've been wanting to go forEVER but just now got around to it. anyway, after an hour-long lesson, the party got started. i danced with a few guys, including the guy who gave the lesson, and another guy who showed up early. who knew you could have so dang-on much fun dancing! my thighs are going to hate me in the morning, but i had a great time and i'm already looking forward to going back next tuesday night.

and with that, my lovelies, mz must go massage those thigh muscles in a hot shower. it's waaaaaay past bedtime, but so worth it!

weekend splurge

behold my new couch. i bought it yesterday, it was delivered today and boy am i excited! now i can sit in comfort and knit while watching tv. the floor gets mighty hard on a an almost-30-year-old backside LOL i need something artsy to hang above the couch ... see how bare and boring that wall looks? and i was thinking of whipping up some throw pillows but since they came with the couch i'll knit some seat cushions for my dining chairs instead!

now, off i go to work on a baby sweater....

what kind of knitting needles are YOU?

You are pink aluminum.
Retro, straightforward and fun, you love classic
things. If they're 99 cents at Goodwill all the
better! You are moved by striking colors and
tasty morsels, and you like a stitch-n-bitch
session in the sun. Just remember, while
you're being kitschy cool, don't get too cold.
Ice cubes are best kept in your cocktails,
baby!


What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

baby sock #1 ... done!

how cute is this! it's in the same yarn as the baby hat i finished earlier this week (on a side note: it's HELL trying to kitchener with nubbly yarn. i betcha this is the last time i do THAT!!). later tonight i will cast on for the mate so as to avoid a case of second sock syndrome :-) once this pair is done i better go on ahead and finish clapotis, then get going on that other baby sweater and booties. my friend's baby girl is due to arrive in a month!

markers, markers, la la la

see what i've been up to?

my mom showed me some beading tips and tricks last night and these are what i made! they look so pretty on my needle. the one thing i need (besides a laptop computer) is a digital camera. well, i got a birthday coming up, hint hint! i was thinking about gifting this set of markers but i'm not sure to whom yet so for now i'll keep 'em and admire my handiwork :-)

it's damn near 90 degrees...

...and i'm drooling to knit a pair of thrummed mittens. duh.

but instead i drove to michaels after work to pick up some stuff to make...you guessed it...stitch markers! it's too hot to go anywhere, unless i decide to go to the pool, which i doubt i will. so i'll cozy up to the computer, chat with some knitting friends and make some stitch markers with those millefiori beads i told y'all about a long time ago. wheeee!

...and here's the first one!




posing on a knitting needle:




and with a group of new friends:




oh, have a look at the baby hat i just finished!

red scarf #1 -- done!

not too bad, eh? i blocked the scarf this morning (when i -should- have been ironing my clothes for work!). i think it turned out well. sorry i don't have a pic of me wearing it, but i wanted to show you a close up of the hearts. the pic is bad, i apologize. my cell phone camera is just not terribly good.

speaking of cell phones, i'm in the market for a new one. the one i have is serviceable, but i'm ready for a new one. this is what i want!

anyway i digress. i didn't get any knitting time yet today, but i should have plenty of time tomorrow evening. i'd love to work on the sock, but i think i'll get some more of my friend's clapotis done. i am kinda in the mood to get some stuff finished!

finally finished

i was pleased to have lots of knitting time, but sadly it's due to a death in my family. my mom's uncle died on friday, so saturday we drove to louisville to support our cousins and help any way we could with making arrangements, etc. it's about a 3 hour drive for us, during which time i was able to finish my scarf for the red scarf project. i will get that off in the mail this week. i started another red scarf using the same pattern, but this one will be for me! anyhoo, the funeral is on wednesday so that means i will have at least 6 more hours of knitting time. maybe during that trip i will work on the red socks that i have been knitting off and on since march...

happy sunday!

july already?!

wow. i have SO much knitting to do! i haven't touched my friend's clapotis in weeks. nor have i started on the sweater or booties for her baby girl, who is due to arrive around august 20. but i -did- start a hat to match the mostly-finished baby sweater that was in a box of yarn gifted to my by one of my knitting friends. my godsister just had a baby girl over the weekend so i would like to make something for her as well. not to mention the red scarf (which is a little more than halfway done!). my momma requested 6 dishcloths for her christmas present, those shouldn't take terribly long. i often wish that i was independently wealthy so that i could sit around and knit all day instead of working :-) i think tonight after work i'll get cozy and watch a couple episodes of the 4400 marathon that was on over the weekend. thank goodness for my DVR! either i'll watch that, or one of my other favorite shows, Law & Order: SVU, which is on from 7pm-12midnight.

in other news, my balcony garden is coming along nicely. i've got a couple of peppers that i want to hurry and ripen. the lavender has some new growth coming. i think i should maybe divide it but i'll have to read up and see what's the best time to do that. might have to wait until spring. over the weekend i used some of the flowers and buds to make lavender cookies. they were SO good ... if you have lavender, give these a try!

finally back from chicago ...

... and i'm damn glad to be home! unfortunately i was unable to make it to the knitter's meetup at ALA last friday. i was in a meeting that ended shortly before that and i was pooped so i went back to my hotel, took a shower and was asleep before it was even dark outside! i did manage to get about 8 more inches knitted on the red scarf, though, so it's nearly halfway finished. yay!

yesterday i started another baby project from the stash yarn that one of my online knitting friends gifted me with. in the box, she also included a mostly finished 5-hour baby sweater (which i will give to a friend of mine). turns out that i have the exact yarn that the sweater was knitted with, so i cast on yesterday for a matching hat. i have NO idea about what size babies' heads are, so this will just be my "best guess." we'll just see how it turns out!

i have this dilemma about what to do with a BUNCH of afghan squares that i have. they were all made 2 years ago when i was in a square swap. i've never done anything with 'em, and i haven't yet had the time or the desire to join them into an afghan. they're rainbow colors (that was the theme of the swap), and i joined it because i was going through a bad emotional time. i figured knitting and crocheting all that bright cheery yarn would help me get happy again ... and it did. i guess the squares themselves could serve as reminders of the drama i was going through and that those clouds really do have silver lining, right?

Knitting Librarians at ALA

If any of you knitters are also librarians ... you may be interested in joining other knitting librarians at a knitter's meetup in the lobby of the Sheraton Towers hotel at 7pm on Friday June 24.

I'm definitely planning to be there!

countdown to the big 3-0

YIKES!!! i turn 30 in just less than 2 months. this is a big deal for me, and i've been thinking about this milestone for over a year already. so i thought i'd ask my knitting friends to tell me about when you turned 30. what were you doing at that time in your life? work, school, marriage, kids? how did you feel about turning 30? how did you celebrate? any advice you want to share? got good recipes or knitting patterns to pass on to a martha stewart wanna-be? (hey i figure rather than be all depressed and angst-ridden, i'll ward off the bad vibes with good food and good knittin'!) tell me, tell me! i'm thinking of making a scrapbook or something to commemmorate the "real" beginning of my adulthood :-)

red scarf redux

you may remember that i was having trouble with the red scarf i'm knitting. welllllll, i decided to make a long skinny scarf, to make it easier to keep track of stitches -and- easier to find any mistakes. it's turning out well! sorry for the crappy picture. i think the hearts will really stand out better once the scarf is properly blocked. i love the seed stitch border! my next challenge is to find an alternative for the "k4tog" that forms the humps of the heart. i'm thinking that if i knit 2 together twice, then pass one stitch over the other, that should do the trick, be a lot less of a PITA and be a little faster.

all done!

before...

and after...





a friend of mine whose daughter works for locks of love in texas, says that african american children are often given straight-hair wigs because of the lack of hair to make appropriate wigs for them ... please consider donating your hair to fill a very special need.

the final countdown

last night i was so geeked about getting my hair cut today that i could hardly sleep. yeah, i know, i need a life :-) this morning after my shower i took a very unofficial measurement of my ponytail and i think it exceeds the minimum 10" length by close to an inch. i washed it and ponytailed it, so if my stylist simply cuts the ponytail off first, i should be all set to put my "locks of love" in the mail this weekend. i plan to take pics at the salon, as SOON as i'm shorn. when i get home i'll put 'em up on the blog.

in knitting news, i worked on clapotis last night but made a mistake and had to tink back about 2 rows. i think i still had an error but i fudged a fix and am moving right along. this project is #1 priority, the red scarf is #2 (i haven't yet restarted that), and the baby stuff is #3. i need to, in the words of the inimitable james brown, get on the goodfoot!

i'm a hair machine

at least that's what my best friend calls me. here's why...my hair is well below shoulder length, after having been only a couple inches long 2-1/2 years ago. well on sunday, i decided that in my effort to minimize as much of the drama and stress from my life as possible, the long, high-maintenance hair has to GO! i'm tired of spending a bunch of time every morning combing and styling my hair, and pulling hair out of my shower drain, etc. plus, a large part of the reason i grew it out was because my ex loved it so much. i am so excited i can hardly stand it. wish i could get it done now LOL but i must wait until tomorrow at 3pm.

i love my hair long, but i love it even more when it's short (we're talking less than an inch of hair left!). it's cute, it's incredibly sexy (to me, at least) and best of all it's low-maintenance! this time, though, i've decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization
which donates hair pieces to children who are suffering from medical hair loss.

i've already taken a "before" picture; tomorrow i will post that and the "after" pic.

now for the obligatory bit of knitting content, yay! i was planning to work on clapotis last night but realized i left my knitting bag here at work. DOH! that's a damn good place for it, huh? i hope to have some knitting time this weekend. i would like to:

• knit more of clapotis
  
• re-start that red scarf
  
• start the baby sweater or booties
  
• maybe work on red sock #1. i'd like to practice doing short-row heels on this pair rather than heel flaps.

and now, back to your regularly scheduled work day.

challenges with red scarf

i like knitting simple lace, i really do. but i don't like when i make a mistake and can't find it in order to fix it. that's what happened with the red scarf. so i ripped it all out and will start over. :-( i think i will make it skinnier (2 hearts across instead of 3), which may help. plus then i can make it longer. and the red scarf can't be a project to work on while i'm chatting with friends on the computer! i brought clapotis to work today, maybe i will sit outside and knit for a while today. i want to get her finished so i can gift her, then start #2!

red scarf

a while ago i signed up for the red scarf project. honestly i kinda forgot about it until recently, so i decided to cast on. i borrowed a book from the library called "adventures in knitting: more than 100 patterns, from easy to intricate" by barbara aytes. a pattern jumped out at me, so i dug through my stash to find just the right yarn (plymouth galway in color 44, which for all practical purposes, i will call red).


this is after about one and a half pattern repeats. the pattern doesn't really show up too well. i'm sure it will open up more once it's off the needles and blocked.


against a white background, it looks pretty cool, huh?

bonnet's done

i finished the bonnet this morning! it is now blocking on a measuring cup, for lack of something better (and more appropriate). all that's left to do is add the ribbon ties, which i'll do when i find -just- the right ribbon. i love it ... and so does baby's mommy!

damn glad it's friday

what a week! i woke up on tuesday with a sore throat. it felt all red and hot and scratchy. by wednesday i was starting to get a little congested. on top of all that i was getting all crampy and cranky due to, well, "girl stuff." yesterday i felt like i got hit by a mack truck, i was all achy and hot and my head throbbed something awful. i was in bed by 8pm (which is a little extremely early for me). of course i was wide awake by midnight and was up most of the rest of the morning. surely my body doesn't really believe that 4 hours of sleep is enough?! anyway, i dosed myself with sudafed around 4:30am so i could breathe. i thought about taking a sick day but the sudafed is still working so i should be good for most of the day, i hope. after work i'm going to NAM's house for dinner and ice cream (YAY!) and maybe i'll knit some more of the baby bonnet. then i'll go home and get my sick ass in the bed.

baby bonnet lace

i FINALLY got it right. if you look closely you can see one little boo-boo ... on the row above the eyelet row i knitted instead of purled so i have a lovely little garter ridge there but by the time i realized it i was near the end of the row and didn't want to bother with frogging back and dealing with all those yarn overs. so i'll call it a design feature. if i feel so inclined (which i doubt i will), i'll repeat the mistake in the sweater and booties too so it will all match.

whispering from the stash...

i bought this yarn in march from another blogger who bought it in new orleans (where, incidentally, i will be going later this year). anyway, during my recent move, i really forgot all about the yarn until recently i came across a box, and i'm like, "hmmm what's in here?" so i opened it up and found the pretty hand-dyed yarn. and believe it or not, it told me it wanted to be clapotis #2. so let it be said, so let it be done ... but not until i'm finished with some other stuff!

gettin' clappy with it

what an enjoyable long weekend of knitting! i had to rip out that baby bonnet like 3 times but i'll give it another go tonight. i wondered why the lace pattern didn't look like it does in the magazine pic; DUH! that's because i kept repeating the set-up row rather than following the lace pattern that is printed before the actual pattern begins. that's what i get for not paying attention.

anyway....



i made good progress on my clapotis this weekend. i found it difficult to see how much progress i was really making because of the way it's knit on the bias, and how it curls up on itself as you drop stitches. so i spread her out on the floor and my friend and i used our toes to keep her lying flat. pretty, huh?







yesterday, i got together with a couple of friends yesterday to make tarts. yes, dear reader, i'm practicing to be the black martha stewart! the crust has chopped walnuts kneaded into it. the custard was easy to make and quite tasty too! i had the most fun decorating them with fresh fruit -- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. i haven't eaten one yet (it was late by the time we were finished and i was too tired to eat one. hard to believe, i know. but it's true.)

baby knitting

this is the sweater, bonnet and booties set i'm making for my dear friend, whose baby girl is due 31 august.



i dug through my stash and found this pretty yellow yarn, which is sport weight rather than dk weight but it looks like my gauge will be close. baby already has PLENTY of pink stuff so i won't inundate her parents with more :-)

my first dropped stitch!

YAY! i've been knitting clapotis off and on for like 2 months and i FINALLY got to drop a stitch. WHAT FUN! this is going to look really cool.

but now...i'm missing the 24 season finale so i'm gone back to watch and knit knit knit!

sunday sunday

i was informed yesterday that i am no longer an "addicted knitter"!!! no WAY! i went on a long drive on friday night...took one of my best friends and her children to cleveland so they could take a train to baltimore, where her husband works. cleveland is a 2.5 hour drive, and i waited with them for their train to arrive. by the time i got home it was 430am. one of my online knitting friends said, "well at least you had yarn with you, right?" wrongo. no yarn. no needles. not even a pattern to look at. so that's how i got taken off the list :-) however i think i may have redeemed myself, since i took my knitting to a baseball game last night. ended up not knitting, and for that matter, we didn't even watch the game. BUT! i got to show off those beautiful bamboo needles with the elephants that a friend of mine had made just for me, and one of my friends asked me to teach her to knit!

this dear friend of mine who i took to cleveland...she's 6 months pregnant, which means i have just a little bit of time to decide what to make for the baby! from the library i borrowed one of the barbara walker treasuries (which i LOVE -- i have to get all of 'em!), and as a book by barbara aytes called "adventures in knitting". both have lovely patterns that i can use to make a beautiful blanket or something. i want something that's easy but still interesting. this is such a difficult decision...i can't make everything at once!

now...back to the laundry, last week's "house, md" episode, and maybe a little more knitting on clapotis!

clapotis is coming right along

[ mood meter -- sleepy ]
[ what i'm listenin' to -- "she will be loved" (maroon5) ]

i knit a few rows on my clapotis, which i hadn't touched since late march. i'm -almost- up to the strait section. i can't wait to finish. i love the colors and it will be perfect for cool spring and summer mornings and evenings. i also worked on the lone red sock. i find it a bit boring to knit ribbing, but it will look good when it's done :-) i worked on it for a while while i watched '24' (who else saw it? do you just LOVE that show or what?!) so it wasn't so bad.

mz is sleepy so off to bed now. now i lay me down to sleep...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

i'm baaaaaack!

happy sunday, friends!

i am sorry to have been away for so long, but as you know life has been a wee bit hectic over the last few weeks. i am mostly settled in to my new apartment. i still need a few pieces of furniture but i'm taking my time and shopping around so i can get exactly what i want. i've got my eye on a two-tone black and brown dining set. will fit nicely in the dining room, and will go with whatever accessories i may get in the future. too bad i don't have a picture to show you.

i have not knitted a stitch in several weeks. i still have my clapotis not quite to the straight section and i've only got less than an inch knitted on the first of my red socks. i will make time for knitting this week, promise!

this must be a short post, i have to finish cleaning and laundry. not my favorite way to spend a sunday afternoon, but it's cold and snowy (can't believe this after a week of temps in the 60s and 70s!) and the cleaning must get done. it would be less likely to get done if the weather was nice, don'tcha know!

enjoy the rest of the weekend, and i promise not to stay away so long again!

happy and sad at the same time

happy easter to those who celebrate. easter is one of my favorite
times of the year because it comes in spring...one of my 3 favorite
seasons. it is a time of rebirth, renewal, rejuvenation, and this
easter/spring is even more special to me because i have decided that it
also represents MY resurrection. jay and i, who have been together
about 5 years, are breaking up. it's really a long, boring story, but
i think it will ultimately be a good thing for both of us, once we heal
from the hurt we're both feeling now. it will take time. we love each
other very much but weren't on the same page regarding our
relationship, and honestly we haven't been for a long time. he thinks
i'm making a big mistake, but mistake or not, it's mine to make, and i
will live with whatever consequences that come from it. so this
easter, i'm celebrating. i have a great new job, a cute new apartment
(moving in on friday), and a TON of family and friends who love and
support me. life is good, and will only get BETTER!

SAY HELLO TO....

The NEWEST librarian at The Ohio State University!!!!!!!!

I am so pleased and honored to let y'all know that the Diversity Resident position that I applied, interviewed, waited and prayed for was officially offered to me today. It is a wonderful opportunity that I have known about and waited 3 years to apply for. This is my proverbial "foot in the door" and I will enjoy every minute of it. I was informed that if permanent positions become available during my 2-year appointment, I am welcome to apply and interview for them. I do look forward to one day enjoying a full-time, permanent tenure-track position with the University. Right now though, I am just incredibly humbled and thankful for this opportunity. Each of your prayers, good thoughts and positive vibes has sustained me through this process, which for the last 3 weeks has been nothing but waiting. Those of you who know me know that I am not the world's most patient person, but I
know that waiting on the Lord results in abundant blessings.

I am told I may start as soon as April 11, which is 2 weeks from Monday. Seems like there is an awful lot going on all at once, but I think I thrive on being busy. I don't have time to be bored, that's for sure!

Now...I'm going home to take a celebratory NAP!

my apologies

good morning, dearest blog readers,

seems like mz has been negligent in her duties as a blogger. no posts in a week! for this, mz must apologize. it seems that she is going through some inevitable life disturbances that have kept her away from her blogging. she has taken a couple of new pictures to share with you once her life settles down a bit, and she thanks you in advance for your patience while she attends to those pressing matters. be assured that mz is still knitting whenever she has a moment or two to spare, and her clapotis is coming along nicely...it's still in the increase section but mz hopes to knit her way to the straight section sometime soon! this evening perhaps?

happy good friday, readers. mz wishes you a good weekend, and a joyous easter.

you spin me right 'round baby right 'round...

...like a record baby, right 'round 'round 'round...

i tried my hand at spinning again today. practice makes perfect, so i'm told. here's what i have. a little more even than my first but i have a lot more practicin' to do!


more yarn!

a lil late for valentine's day but...

...here's a heart-shaped sachet for my DRU exchange partner!


sachet. lavender. mmmmmm...

spin spin sugar*

i am so happy to have been properly enabled by my friend dj. she taught me how to spin....look at my very first yarn!


my first yarn!

and look. i had the nerve to buy some roving too...for when i am a better spinner:


red roving, red roving

*spin spin sugar is a song from the sneaker pimps. i love their first CD. reminds me of the semester i spent in london (september - december 1996). i LOVE that place.