bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Breaking the Rules -- A Contest

B, a muggle friend of mine, feels pretty strongly about what color socks one should wear.    basically she thinks that socks should match either your shoes or your pants .. preferably your pants.  your socks should definitely not match your shirt only as this screams 1982.

i tend to disagree and i think most of you do too.

so i'm going to have a contest.

post a picture in the  flickr group sock rules or on your blog with a comment to this post, of a shoe -- sock -- pants  or skirt combination that would make B's eyes bleed.  i want a lot of competitors, so i'm going to have this contest go until February 15th -- J's birthday.

i will select at least one combination at random and that person will win a prize.  if i get a lot of people playing, i'll select more for prizes. 

Muggle Dinner

so last  thursday night i met some old friends for dinner. old friends from my past life...you know ... in the years BK or before knitting.  let me be more specific ... you know, before OBSESSIVE  knitting.  the kind where i bring it every where and where every sentence doesn't start with "my knitting friends  ...."  anyway, i had my second green sock with me.  (by the way, second sock syndrome happens because starting a toe-up sock is so much more of a pain in the ass then starting a top down and you can't just do it on the fly like you can a top down.  just my opinion).

most of them didn't pay too much mind.  they're an eclectic group with the only thing in common is that we all at one point in time worked at Crap & Bull together many years ago.  truly a bonding experience.  but B appeared intrigued.

first of all, she wondered why one would knit in the first place.  "why not," was my response.  then she seemed surprised that there was actually such a thing as a yarn shop.  "if i need yarn i just go to a craft store.  why do you need anything else?"  clearly a philistine.  but then again, she's a rabid boston bruins fan and i personally don't give a shit about hockey.  (although i would never ask her why she bothers going to games).

but then her questions centered on the socks. 

B:  "are you going to wear those?"

M:  "sure, why wouldn't i?"

B:  "do you have pants or shoes that color?"

M: "no."  (although i actually do have summer pants that color but i would never wear the socks with those pants.)

B: "well then you can't wear those socks."

M:  *cricket sounds*

B: "you should only wear socks that either match your pants or your shoes.  because socks that don't match cause a break in the line of the leg."

M: "so i should pretty much resist my sock wearing to black, brown, or navy blue socks with an occasional gray or burgundy then."

B: "yep, that's what i do."

M: "hmmm"

B: "why don't you knit black socks"

M: "not nearly as much fun"

B:"well you shouldn't wear the green ones."

for the rest of the evening every chance i got i asked her questions about her sock wearing rules ie. argyles are allowed but the predominant color needs to match the pants/shoes.  socks should not match your shirt because that screams of 1982.  if you don't have clean socks that match your shoes/pants then you have to change your shoes/pants.

i like messing with muggles.

and i've already picked out my outfit for the next time i see her.   

 

Juxtaposition

 

 

A Story About Toes

GO PATS!!!

*****************

as a prelude to project spectrum 2.0 starting in a matter of  days , i jumped on the green sock-along bandwagon.  my goal for this project was two-fold:  learn how to knit a toe-up sock and since i was using a solid yarn, knit a lace pattern.

i started by knitting up a short-row toe.  i thought the technique was amazing -- every now and again i'm struck by certain techniques that have me scratching my head wondering who was the first one to come up with this idea (kind of like who was the first person to decide that eating pig's pancreas might be a good idea).  unfortunately, much like my feelings towards eating pig's pancreas, i wasn't struck. 

so using adrian's tutorial, i gave the figure 8 cast-on a try.  i liked the look of this toe much better. 

the sock pattern i used is from the latest magknits, the waders sock by jennifer young. the lace pattern has been fun to do but not difficult to follow.

here's my first short row heel.  i'm not sure i love it as much as the heel flap.  the jury is still out.

napoleon doesn't give a shit either way.

Frozen Eye Candy

finally.   temperatures in keeping with the season that is winter.  this past week, winter came to new england, only 2 months behind schedule.  although i've enjoyed not having to wear my giant orange parka this year, our mild temperatures have been freaking me out just a tad.  the long term implications are too frightening to contemplate -- you know the whole global warming thing.  but even in the short term .. the wearing of the giant orange parka come june.  or sweating my ass off in may with 90+ temps every single friggin' day. 

but wednesday morning, the temps were seasonal (12 degrees) and i woke up to frost inside of the house (yeah, we need to replace the windows).

Out of the Closet

for lucia ... proof that i knit socks in front of strangers and also that i have enormous nostrils.

ok, i guess it's hard to tell.  but i'm sitting on the 7:45 franklin boston train working on a toe up sock.   is that public enough?

 

BIG ASS SALE!!!!!

BIG SEMI-ANNUAL SALE AT GRACEFUL STITCHES

THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, JANUARY 19-20, 2007

ALL YARN IS 25% OR MORE. 

REMEMBER THAT ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS CANCER RESEARCH AND CARE CHARITIES.  

I'll be working on Saturday from 10-1 so come and say hi.  and buy stuff.
 

I'm On Fire!

before i go on...i'd like to reassure everyone that the injuries to the residents of Christmas Village were minor and that everyone is now resting comfortably in their box... i mean home.

anyway, yes sirree bob...i present to you .... FO #3!!

i started out with two balls of yarn that i made by dyeing the roving first in koolaid and then spun up.  my spinning was a little uneven, but i understand that if  you call that a "design element" rather than a "spinning failure" it's all good.

again, the uneveness of the sides -- design element -- not knitting or spinning fuck-up.  i made the little flower pin because the scarf ended up being a little on the short side and if i'm anything it's a PROBLEM SOLVER.

anyway, i'm surprised by how happy i am with this.  if you think it sucks .... KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!

 

Christmas Village Violence

life in peaceful Christmas Village, Massachusetts, was disturbed saturday morning when a feline monster of godzilla-like proportions, attacked several residents of the sleepy hamlet.

the victims include the town cryer, james cryer.

mrs. abigail howard and her son, little timmy, witnessed the attack.  "the fiendish monster came strolling through the common, and with one swish of his great tail, just knocked mr. cryer right down."   

damage caused by the giant cat includes the knocking over of the town square clock and the downing of trees.

the village dogs appeared to be particularly targeted.  mr. bojangles, the town's one man band, however, was spared.  "maybe the cat likes music," nervously joked the musician.

the tiger didn't feel as generous towards mr. smith, the village junk collecter, or chris kringle, the toy merchant. 

several villagers wonder if this agression is the latest in the war on christmas.

this reporter tried to approach the marauding cat for comment, but was chased away by the ferocious beast. 

minutes later, the cat could be seen sleeping in his favorite spot on the couch.

 

I'm Smokin'!

i've started 2007 with a bang.  not even two weeks have gone by and i've already finished 2 projects! 

these are socks i knitted for larissa's sock 101 knitalong.  i used a little less than one skein of manos del uruguay in magenta with size 10 dpns. 

so, now that i'm done with that...on to the next project. 

inspired by yesterday's lunch of split pea and ham soup, i'm joining lolly's pre-project spectrum green sock knit-along.

i haven't picked the yarn yet --- i'm a little surprised by how little green yarn i actually have -- but i think i'm going to give the toe-up sock a try. 

 

Eye Candy Friday

like julie, i too have gotten a little obsessed with flickr.  WHERE THE HELL HAVE I BEEN???!!!!  talk about a time suck ... in the best possible way of course.   anyway, i was playing around over there and found this picture that i took this summer at Versailles.  it won't count as a "picture a day" shot but i think it passes for Eye Candy Friday. 

First FO of 2007

i have 3 sock knitting books and a multitude of sock knitting patterns around my house, not to mention an obscene amount of beautiful sock yarns.  and yet,  my first FO for 2007 is a pair of basic recipe socks (from ann budd's the knitter's handy book of patterns) made with the pedestrian bernat hot sox yarn in the "crazy hot" color#$*&!@ (merry christmas julie).

i'm glad i'm not a yarn snob, because as much as i adore the very beautiful yarns that i have in my stash, and i'm constantly tempted to buy more, i really did enjoy knitting these.  the colors make me happy.  i'm thinking though that i need to learn how to knit toe up socks because i still have enough yarn to make a third sock.  i was afraid that i'd run out so i kept the legs shorter than i need to.

that's all i've got. 

and remember to check out the awesome pictures a day in my sidebar there by the brave people who are joining me in this challenge.  i don't know about you, but i find that some days i have trouble picking just one.   at the same time, it's been especially challenging taking pictures during the week since available light at this time of year is truly lacking.  also, if you want to join, it's still not too late. 

 

The Happy Homemaker

grumperina's got the look down with her beautifully made apron, high heels and pearls.  but i've got the mad skillz (ha!).  this weekend, i made bread.  my mother would be proud (although probably skeptical--she's always amazed whenever i accomplish something domestic).

over the holidays  i decided to give the no-knead bread recipe a try.   my first two tries were mediocre at best.  my dough didn't rise sufficiently most likely because the temperature of my kitchen was less than 70 degrees (i solved this by putting the bowl of dough on top of the fridge -- you know heat rises) and also i kept removing the plastic wrap to watch.  i also may have put too much flour.  but the third time may have been a charm.

the experiment started friday night when i mixed all of the ingredients.

there's 3 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspon of instant yeast (the kind you use with bread makers) and 1 1/4 teaspoon of salt in there.  that's it.

here's what the dough looked like after adding water and doing a little stirring.  i covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit on my refridgerator for  .... 18 hours.

this is what the dough looked like saturday afternoon.

the dough was rolled into a ball, allowed to rise  between two kitchen towels for two hours again and then lightly brushed with cornmeal.

then the dough was thrown into a pre-heated dutch oven seam side up and baked for 30 minutes with the lid, and 15 minutes without the lid at 450 degrees.

ta-daa!  bread!

isn't it pretty?

this isn't wonder bread though.  it's crusty and chewy and it's quite possible that it should be lighter and i still haven't gotten it right.  but it is pretty good.  and it's easy as pie.  hell, it's even easier than pie.

 

I Need A New Job

based on the very this very extensive evaluation in 4 questions of my strengths and weaknesses that i found on kathy and martha's blogs, it appears that i'm currently on the wrong career path.

Your Career Personality: Independent, Flexible, and Ingenious

Your Ideal Careers: Astronaut Entrepreneur Lawyer Nightclub owner Photographer Private investigator Real estate developer Stand up comic Venture capitalist Video game developer

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

or (i had trouble chosing between whether i prefer work that challenges my mind or helps people)

Your Career Personality: Capable, Friendly, and Energetic

Your Ideal Careers: Actor Advertising Executive Artist Counselor Entrepreneur Musician Politician Psychologist Teacher Television Reporter

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

and a reminder -- there's still time to join my picture a day thingy.  i'm not a tyranical taskmaster -- as you can see that's not part of my career personality - and if you're afraid you'll miss days or weeks that's ok. 

Little Birdie ....

there's a little birdie that told me that the very lovely wheel 'ho dr. laurie etherknitter is having a birthday today.  we're trying to get her as many birthday wishes as her blog can possibly hold.

go wish her a happy birthday now.

by the way, this is my 500th post.  how cool is that?

Saturday Sky

thursday dawn ...

A Picture a Day Webring

when i listed my resolutions the other day, one of them was to post a picture a day.  a few of you thought it would be fun to play along.  so i created a webring and would like to invite you and you and you and YOU to join.  i would love to follow your year in pictures.

ok, fuck that. i'm clearly not smart enough to approve members to a webring

i'm working on an alternative.....if you'd like to play, just leave me a comment.

don't make me beg.

UPDATE:  ok i'm adding people who would like to play "a picture a day" with me to the right ... there under funny enough ... "a picture a day 2007."  just send me the link to your photos and i'll add you.   thank you for your patience while i add another skill set to my weblogging bag of tricks. 

 

All Baby All of the Time

isn't she the cutest?

 

The Baby's Here!

at 2am, baby E was born.  7lbs 9oz.  my very first, fresh, new niece.  i have to go to work unfortunately and won't get to meet her until later on today.  but i've outfitted her sisters with new t-shirts that will announce to the world that they now have a brand new status.

The Baby's Coming!!!

just got the call less than an hour ago.  my sister in law's water broke.  there will be much rejoicing!

Update:  I'ts almost 6pm and still no baby. 

Happy New Year!

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Stop being a sissy and fight the bully who keeps stealing my milk money. Get your resolution here.

it's resolution time .... last year i didn't make any formal resolutions, other than the ubiquitous "lose weight" that everyone makes and that i've made every january for most of my life.  as i start 2007, i'm 2 lbs lighter than i was at this point last year.  hardly a successful year. 

but this year, i think i need to write things down.  one thing i learned in 2006 is that if i commit to something then i will finish ... cases in point, the color on color scarf and my new niece or nephew's baby blanket.

so here i go ...

for my health

1. walk/run 100 miles to April 1 along with rachel -- commit to using my elliptical trainer and join a gym if necessary and then actually go. 
2.  lose on average 1 lb  0.5lb (per a physician's advice) a week.  i feel a little foolish making this resolution for the gazillionth time.  but like a smoker trying to quit, the odds are that one doesn't succeed the first, third or 50th time.

for my regular life

1.  a new job and/or career plan in 2007  -- i need something closer to home and something that makes me happy to go to work and inspired to do my best. 

2.  a new home for 2007 -- it's time to move -- this is something that J and I both want and have talked about for years now.  a couple of weekends ago we saw a house that we both loved but was a bit impractical for our lifestyle.  but it inspired me anyway to dream again.  see, i don't always go after what i want for fear that i somehow don't deserve it.

3.  cut down on tv watching -- be more selective in my choices.  i don't read nearly as much as i used to and watching bad television means that i spend less time in my already full schedule being active.

for my creative life

1.  inspired by the great site photojojo, i'm going to take a picture a day for a year.  i'll be posting those photos here.

2.  push myself knitting and spinning wise -- more socks, more lace.  in 2006 i tried socks, lace and i learned how to spin.  this year i need to progress past the basics.  try my hand at some dyeing too.  i have a kit that i've yet to use.

3.  get on paper or in yarn ideas that i have and not belittle those ideas. 

4.  start and finish both the lizard ridge and mitered square blankets.  in general, actually start projects instead of thinking about starting them.

5.  stop comparing what i do with what everyone else does.

6.  get past chapter 3 of the photoshop for dummies book and actually learn how to use photoshop.

ok, that's it for starters.  i'm going to print this list, and keep it in my planner and look at it whenever i feel myself faltering. 

happy new year to everyone!