Darling snowfall

Car's still broken. It's in King Midas's hands now, hope he's not snowed in.

The Go! Team? Rocks. Ludog just called me a nerd. Well, W/E they're awesome. I like Lesly and the LY's, too, freaking string up the rope.

Camera? Camera? Camera? Camera? Camera?

Gimme a month, I might post some pictures. By Gods, I certainly have enough to share if I wasn't so damn lazy with it. It's so big and heavy...and and.....and....okay I'll quit whining. I do enough of it. For real though, if I don't quit bitching so much, I'm going overboard. Like walk to plank type shit.

Yoga? Yoga? Yoga? Yoga? Yoga?

Inneya* folks get ::ahem:: depressed? I'm breaking boulders right now, though I'm not through much rubble yet. Finals pretty much cancel out all other needs.

Speaking of finals, right now I'm:

1. screen printing cloth for a hooded...thing? I need to figure out a name for this. If I had my sketchbook with me like a good girl I could scan the picture.
2. Another thesis piece, this one about self image. I'll just say copper and onion skins.
3. writing a 10 page paper on knitting for craft history. and when I say writing, I mean procrastinating.
4. Woven sample for curtain collection.
   
5. 2 sample books: one shibori and other resist techniques, the other fabric manipulations and embroidery.

These don't sound bad, do they? Interesting and a lot better than chemistry, right? I'll keep telling myself that for the remainder of this week.

Doing my part for the enviroment

My car broke down. In front of a parking meter. A faulty parking meter. IS okay? Sure, I'm not contributing to the build-up of green house gases or the deterioration of the atmosphere. Until I fix it that is. Cause I have to.

That is such a sucky thing, to HAVE to use a car. Suck. Yeah, there are buses, but what good are they when you have one class after another and have to trust the bus to be on time? Lordy, what I wouldn't give for some acceptable public transport. Like in Boston. SIGH.

School isn't driving me entirely mad, at least. Seems that things are falling into place again. (might be in part due to the Sam-E.)Oh, yes, don't remind me that I made this blog to talk about knitting. I don't knit anymore. Where's the time? To be honest, since all I do is make things all day, when I have a chance to sit still, that is exactly what I want to do. Sit completely still, not thinking.

Played wonderful surrealist games last night.

Squeeeee!!

Anthropologie, dude. Anthropology. They get me every time. I'll just point out a few "must make self peel eyeballs off screen"s.
HAT:
BOOTS:BLOUSE:
SWEATER:
HEELS:

Happy birthday merry christmas!

at least I'm consistent.ly inconsistent?

Ahh dear god I have been rolling in a molten river of lava for two weeks. Or just struggling with my life. (life lava)

How can a girl who has been an artist since she can remember feel like she can never be an artist? Cause I don't know. Ugh. I just want to be done with school. It just shoves frustration after frustration in my face. I have this wonderful opportunity to just make art, no job, no real responsibilities (ahem, sorta), surrounded by supportive peers and faculty all interested in helping me be the best I can. But I am just frozen. I can't make, and when I do (since I have to) I don't do the things I want to do. I am making myself miserable with this internal tug-a-war.

I keep thinking over and freaking over that I should have saved my money and just gone to beauty school to work with my mom. But that would have been too easy, right? I might have had a chance at simple happiness. I guess I just like to struggle....

Why yes, I'd love some chardonnay.

Thanks for asking. Oh dear the dead weight of a deadline. sigh. There is so little time for knitting now that school has arrived. And how do I battle this atrocity? I simple incorporate knitting into as many projects as I can. I AM a textile major, and we DO have about three knitting machines at our studio.

Shit fire, I said the damned word--machine. Well, don't give me too much shit. I have to eat and sleep. If I hand knit all my projects I would be even grumpier.

So, what's next on the list? I'm working on screen printing some fulled coffee mug holder thing-a-ma-jig. YEAH! Screen printing knit fabric! Hope it goes well....

News Flash

Just in case yall are wondering, when your highly anticipated blueberry tea is too hot to drink, putting some cream in it to "cool it down" is not a good idea. It's a real bad idea, because it will "curdle it up" and fuck if I have to boil some more water.

Don't belittle me, Margot.

It's my budgie! Came in my box of Red Rose tea! Awesome! my new pal.....




Hey Hubbie, stop playing worms and help me take this picture!!

We won't speak of the absence. Of course I have gotten things done. Of course. Like starting some Christmas knitting. Print o' the wave wrap for zee mommie. This is my, ahem, hand dyed knitpicks. I was so f'n concerned that it just looked like some crayola markers bled on the yarn, but I guess I am happy with it. She'll love it I'm sure.

I don't know how many other knitters out there get "the guilt". Since I'm a senior in art school, my knitting makes me feel guilty because if I have time, it should be spent on school, on art.Yaknaa meea? But dammit if it doesn't feel so lovely to be rebellious.

Sooo, gangstas, my caffeine addicts swap pal from ravelry was an angel. An ANGEL! Of course, the coffee and biscotti are long gone, but I managed to snap a shot of the yarn and one of the little gifts. There's more, somewhere....
I LOVE all of it. The cup expecially. It is all I have used. See the little coffee spots?

Doin' it and doin' it and well, doin' it.

Birdy wants a nest? Let's hope cause I'm making one. Well its made. But I took this pic yesterday, and who's too lazy to take another? Yeah, it's me.
Mmmmm...molasses cookies! F'n rock. sooooo good. They didn't crack though. ?
And heeere is my crochet steek. Figured out the neck thing. I guess. I'm not saying I've figured anything out until this bad boy is blocked and on my body. I've cut, and now I'm onto the button band. Wish me luck!

Stuck Stuck Stuck

This neckline is givin' me a spot-o-trouble.Note: only one saddle has been knit.

Am I thinking on it too much? I'm okay with the shoulders, even my ghetto "neckline" being so squarish and basically unstyled is okay. I can do it. But what about the low neck-back?

Would it have been worth the risk of having too little stitches for the saddle to follow the directions for the steeked neckline? Will the garter-stitch band make the too low neck-back work itself out? And if so, won't the front then be too high? Well, I'm gonna have to try something or I'll never know. I might try knitting an extra saddle (EZ calls it a shirt yoke) across the back like shown in the seamless hybrid in KWOT. Whatever I do, I am not sure I can still call it a pure saddle shoulder, but shit hopefully I can calling it "a sweater that fits".

Look at that numnum!

My first Rant ;) Aaawwww!

Universities! Ugh! So married in June, right? Well, fuck if I could do it over again. I asked financial aid how to go about having my aid considered by my husbands income instead of my mother's and they said NOTHING CAN BE DONE UNTIL YOU ARE MARRIED. They did NOT say, since you already filed your FAFSA, because there is a deadline and you HAVE TO, that NO MATTER FREAKIN' WHAT, my mother's income will be used. MY MOTHER IS NOT SUPPORTING ME. I I I will be paying for everything for the next school year, not my mother. I am an independent!
So the assholes let me go through the motions of filing a letter to be considered for my independent status, and lemme tell ya, they took a month to let me know that shit don't matter. Now, my tuition has to be paid in 5 days or I will have to pay a late fee and risk losing my classes.
Just thought I'd bitch about that for a moment. Not real happy about borrowing more money than I have to because my mother makes more my spouse and I do.

Happiness? HAPPINESS! Her name is Fawkes. My darling peach-faced lovebird.

Also: I am prettty sure I have picked out the yarn I want to buy for my secret swap pal for the ravelry caffeine addicts group(But I can't tell. Cause it's a secret). On to the coffee and mug!

Shouldn't you be blogging?

WARNING! Gigantic post...

Soooo... finally finished those pesky socks. I had the stitches picked up for-EVER to re-knit the top of the second twisted flower (aka crap on my foot). Couldn't stomach knitting the lace pattern the other direction. Call it a cop-out, but I just knit a new cuff and ghetto grafted it back on. I didn't even TRY to match up the stitches or make it pretty. And you know what? I am glad I did. I didn't let my perfectionist nature get the best of me. The socks are finished and I am enjoying them!
Next on the list would be....


Ahh, yes. The saddle shoulder aran cardie. goodness. Had a little period of brain fartiness. I was intent on following the shaping instructions to the T, but you know what? That is exactly the opposite of EZ. Knit to fit, right? My shaping just happened to work out a little differently because of my shape, gauge, and the snug fit of MY sweater. I was decreasing too many stitches in the body to do the saddle shoulders. However, the fog has lifted. The second attempt at the yoke appears to be working, we'll see. I'm not past ripping back again to get it right. I'm all about creating functioning knits (especially when I spend $$ on the yarn) and I'm psyched to wear this. OH! OH! Totally almost forgot. I'm making the buttons with the help of my darling Ludog! FUN. Pictures will come later.

Since scraping the hubby glovies, I had been working pretty exclusively on the cardie. Bout a week ago I knit a swatch from the Misti Alpaca picked out by my love and cast on for the ribbing. Lightning bolt of idea! Buahhaha! LD had a prob with the fingertips being....lumpy (from running yarn through remaining stitches to close). Grafting? Would that work? Probably, but I found a different solution. He wants them pretty long so they'll go under his sleeve and keep his wrists warm. What better way of making sure they are long enough than knittin' em finger up? Gonna try The Turkish cast-on method, inspired by Purly Whites. Thanks DUDE!
We bought the Lord of the Rings trilogy at Target pretty cheap this weekend. I needed mindless knitting. Scarf? Check. Is gwon be a scarf for hubbie. Pink? Yeah, well I am planning on dying it after the fact. And yes, I am knitting straight from the unwound skein. Buzz off.
'K I ordered some knitpicks bare to dye ... so I had to practice a 'lil, right? There's a peek of what I started out with. Check the ravelry stash for more pics (LadyBills). Shit, not to be presumptuous, they're on flickr, too. RainbowsRneato.

Takin' Breaks

I suppose tinking back to fix a cable that is not broken is a sign to take a break. Progress on the cardie has been rewarding! Almost to the armpits. And holy crap, ask me how many skeins I have used! Don't be frightened by my enthusiasm, ask! I'm not eve through the second. Dayum, huh? Me likey. However, this just has me contemplating what to knit with the leftovers. I am thinking some sock-boots. I'm also thinking I need to buy new yarn. Like I could just start a new project with yarn from the last! Ha! (Particularly good pizza)

Hey good looking, whatcha got cookin'?

Howdy! Soooo...trifles pics? Yeah, um, they were good. We'll leave it at that. How bout some wine 'n berries? But this week-end (end of week and the weekend? What/ev) was homemaker-licious. Me and the Ludog made some pizza with our gifted pizza stone. Delish. Actually, surprisingly so. We're proud. So proud we made another last night.
Who knew I'd ever be inspired by Martha Stewart? It was definitely her guest more so, not that it makes it any better that I spent the better part of a day making candy. Like what we need is mountains of candy, but that's what we got. And it's good. Really good. Don't worry, some will be mailed off to deserving recipients, not all that sugar's going in the bellies. On a Sunday, however, this freezer-full of choc has me asking, "Is it time to go to the laundromat? (?) (!!!)
Socks are moving along. God I love this color way. I do.

fourth-i-ness

Bought a new cookbook last night and the ingredients for raspberry and blackberry trifles. NUM. Well, the knitting is on a bit of a standstill. Since the gloves have been nixed until a better yarn is purchased, what is there to work on? I don't dare start the cardie, cuz soon as the new-improved hubbie-glovie-yarn is purchased, I'll have to devote all my time to then or there will be hell to pay. So yesterday I attempted to pick up the stitches on the twisted flower socks. That shit was confusing. So I'm taking the easy road and casting on for the second sock. That is what I WAS doing until hubbie put on HP and the goblet of fire. Ya know, when I was wasn't living with a person of interest, if I had free time, I'd knit some damn socks. But now my free time is being vied for....well ya know. Anyway, with luck I'll have some pretty trifle picks later...

Is it just fine?

It's just fine. After shortening a couple fingers, weaving in all the ends, and chopping off the much-too-tight ribbing, I took at couple shots and realized.... (Ignore the strange color please)

the f'ing yarn is already pilling. Yeah, these are gonna look real good after a couple of wears. So basically I made myself a template for gloves to come. Back to the yarn store....which in truth, I'm not so unhappy about. He he!

Today was a little funky. I don't feel right. I felt great this morning om'ing with W.L. on the giant t.v. and great when I met Ludog for lunch (not so great when I 'skint' my ankle on the stone steps on the way to see him, but at least it was because I looked great in a white sundress and sassy brown heels) but the feeling faded once I got home by myself again. Doesn't usually happen....maybe I'm feeling the lonesomeness again. Miss my friends.

I'm Baaaack (frigg 'yall)

Okay, I'm pretty sure I just write this blog for myself, but in case anyone is wondering where I disappeared to, I've been in marriage land. All is well and I still love my husband throughout the whole wedding process, which I hear is quite rare.
We have moved into our tiny, tiny, itsy, bitsy studio apartment. And guess what? I friggin love it! I friggin love the disgusting old-ass floor in the bathroom and kitchen which match the towels, shower, curtain, and table cloth already in my possession and my heart. If you only knew how much I pushed for us to register for the orange towels....not that we got them, or technically really needed them. But if we had, they would friggin match!
Only a few things went sour...like the T.V. we bought with our money dance haul; A 37" HD on clearance at walmart (tell me that isn't beautiful...) for the price of a 32". If you have investigated the prices of flatscreens....you know. Who knew 5" could cost so much? Well we couldn't wait to get this bad boy hooked up to the Xbox and DVD and, oh shit son, Wai Lana in 37" high definition!?! Drag it up two flights of stairs (the second of which is extremely narrow and steep), plug it is the wall and.......WEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! High pitch squeal. So that's at the shop...AND we're waiting for our back-ordered futon frame and coffee table. Sleeping on the floor, awesome.

So here's the knitting news:

RAVELRY! Right now I'm working on hubbie's glovies...and like everything else having minor problems. I did a brain fart with the ribbing and grabbed much to small needles, even though I made the gauge swatch with the ones I am now using for the hand. It's all good cause even though Ludog can't get his big honking hand through the ribbing right now, the rest is a breeze and I'll reknit that one's wrist part.

Also there are the damn twisted flowers socks. I posted about these forever ago, I know, but damn I had some hold-ups. After I had one sock completed, I just couldn't get over the disappointment that the pattern competed so much with the gorgeous color way. I also was a bit disappointed in the not-stretchy ribbing (which might factor into how tightly I knit on the hubbie glovies). Ripped that out...argh. I just frustrated myself into a hibernated knit. So, last night Ludog saw the picture on my ravelry projects and says, "YOU knit that? It's gorgeous!" I'm convinced. I'm definitely going to finish the gloves first.

I'm was so taken with Mr.BT's cardigan I decided to make one of my own. Been sitting on the pattern and yarn since before the wedding, and I can't wait to start. Just finishing up the cable charts and swatches (and of course the gloves. I will be massacred if I don't finish those).

so much white

Outdoor installation, you say? Why sure. Don't mind if I do. Here is a model I made in preparation for a biggie. Ideally, I will hang it from a tree in wings court in downtown New Bedford, and anyone who pleases can step inside and zip themselves right on up.

Hope it works. There's my ideas on paper (if ya are interested in the process I go through, which is usually very scatter-brained and...shitty). The interior will be lined in bubble-shaped cloth protrusions...good luck on figuring out what that means.
Here is my progress on tubey. Seems like it will be needed if the weather keeps up. I think a giant death cloud of moisture has descended upon my life.

Lalala! Happy girl! I want some of this! Any of it, really. Preferably this or this. This really describes my current situation, and showcases the colors of a fav artist. Hee hee. Off to the laundromat!

NOT knitting.okaymaybealittle.

Oh Shazaam, is that Lady Bill's kitchen? Well, it's part of it! Tiny, huh? Where I am standing to take the picture is where the stove and fridge are. I have a wooden microwave cart in there , too that I use to hold spices and as counter space for when I'm cookin'. I made brownies last night!! I really have the best recipe, fudgy on the inside and the crust has a delicious little crispy layer. And dammit if they don't taste better every day after they are baked.

Here are some little nettie-poos I made for an installation I made at the CVPA where I do my thing. I hot-glued (Sounds cheap, dude, but that shit works and it didn't show at all! I was a skeptic at first, too, until this little project.) some copper pipes under an industrial sink and hung these beauts from them. OF COURSE I don't have a picture of it installed, partly because my camera is heavy and hate lugging it around and partly because it was mysteriously taken down. Maybe the hot glue failed and I should amend my rave up there, but w/e. I can put it back up, or even somewhere else if I feel so inclined. Here they are:



Is that knitting?
Yup. It's the recycled cotton becoming tubey. I'm loving it. Really.
Here's the neat little crochet cast on.

I had drawn out some ideas for sweaters made from the yarn, and when I went searching for ideas in construction techniques, I found tubey, which is almost identical to my drawings. So, of course, I'll be making some changes.

The blue is my original drawing, black after finding pattern. I think I want to knit a square neckline instead of just literally attaching two tubes, like the pattern. I was also (obviously from the drawing) considering making a button band. Maybe I can still knit it in the round and then do that whole steeking thing. BUT I am wrong to assume I can steek cotton? I know all the examples I have seen on blogs have been wool.....I don't know. Anyway the edge and button band will just be seed stitch. I need a basic sweatery-thing that I can wear pretty often, and possibly layer. Cross your fingers for me!