bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

WIP Wednesday

so today, with the threat of ice-ing, and not the good kind, i stayed at home and decided to do some work here.  i'm not the work from home type by the way.  i need people.  but on the other hand, i got a lot done.  so it wasn't a wasted day.  and look at this?  i actually will manage to post before dinner!

other than the daily grind, not much going on.  i finished a sock though and am working on the heel of the second.  i had hoped to be able to finish a pair within a week ... you know start 2009 with a bang.  but work got in the way (i finished the first sock in 2 days while on vacation).

oh i know, they're pooling but i kind of like them.  and i'm a little in love with the 2x2 rib.

i'm also bringing out some old knits from BR (before ravelry) including the cowl below.  i "designed" and knit this in early 2006.  you can probably find a blog post about it.  it was knit from a weird discontinued noro yarn called kujaku.  anyway, i wear it a lot, usually folded over like a turtleneck.

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day 264 -- i'm really glad i didn't go to work today.  a neighbor is having trouble getting up our street!

It's Official, I Hate December

ever have times in your lives when you feel anxious and exhausted and time has been flying by and yet you have nothing to show for this anxiety, exhaustion and time warping?  yeah that's where am i right now.  (feelings that aren't being helped by this stupid, insanely slow work computer.  hello!  who do i have to sleep with to get a new computer? )

for example, it's taken me 3 weeks to make one sock.

one sock!

and the only person i want to buy stuff for is me.  i know,  it sounds selfish but at least i know what i want and i appreciate everything i get for myself. 

oh and this ...

right now i'm not feeling the love. i'm a little further along then is indicated in this photo but i'm kind of hating it. the main reason is the yarn. ever frugal, i'm trying to use the extra knitpicks palette that i had after finishing babette. and i don't think this is the right yarn for this pattern. (the 'right yarn" is kid silk haze -- hahahahaha -- um .. no.)

*screams!*

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day 236 -- 10 more days!

WIP Wednesday

no real progress has been made since last wednesday.  still working on the mystery socks.  and i'm already behind.  i think we're supposed to start the foot, and i haven't even turned the heel.  oh well.  although i brought the socks to rhinebeck with me, i ended up not knitting one stitch on them.   

i did start a cowl, then i frogged it, then i started it again.

i'm further along on the cowl.

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day 187 -- i'm not done with rhinebeck, just taking a little break.  jesus, it's cold in here.  and how cool are these birds?

Its All About Socks These Days

so it's 6 o'clock and i should be thinking about packing it all up (literally, since tomorrow i'm going to my other office across town) and going home.  but instead i'm just sitting here.  lots of just sitting here.  i'm kind of in a funk today (well since monday actually).  this is what happens when i've got too much time to be in my head.  and when i see photos of myself.  i was surrounded by a lot of people with cameras this weekend and caught glimpses of myself here and there that were like a punch to the gut.  i've never considered myself to be particularly attractive but seeing how old and fat i really look was quite the shock.  i know i could do something about it so i'm not going to discuss it -- because that's boring and it's bad enough that i look like shit.  if i were boring then i'd be really depressed. 

anyway, sorry about that.  but it's my blog, and my tagline does describe this blog as a place to put "my stuff." 

in other news, i'm knitting socks. mystery socks to be exact.

i've got two pair on the needles. 

the lavender pair here are the simpler of the two.  so far, it's just a twisted rib type pattern. you can follow my progress here.

this apricot pair is a little more complex, with a large traveling cable up each side.  again, the details are here.

also, just my opinion, but this knitting two socks at a time is bullshit.  seriously.   (so you might be asking yourself, why am i knitting them two at a time.  because i want to knit both pairs this month and i don't have enough needles to do them separately).

anyway, that's all i've got for today. 

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day 180 -- since i've taken those photos, i've gotten a little further along.  i'm almost done with the leg of the lavender pair.  and i ended up frogging one of the apricot socks because of a mistake i couldn't fix.  i've since finished the leg of one of the apricot socks and i'm ready to knit the heels.   (the second apricot sock will get knit later).

Socktober is Here!

and i've got sock knitting fever!

after an entire summer of only managing to knit one pair of socks -- and anklets at that -- i've gone sock knitting crazy.  this past weekend i started a simple stockinette sock, knit about 5 inches, then frogged it because i decided that i wanted a denser fabric.  so i cast on again, this time with more stitches but smaller needles, and got this far...

i frogged yet again because the sock was looking too big, and cast on last night with four fewer stitches and i've already caught up.  woo-hoo!  do i ever love knitting with small needles.  (AND I MAY HAVE HAD JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH COFFEE TODAY!!)

and in addition, in honor of  Socktoberfest, i've joined Kristin's mystery sock knitalong that she's hosting in Ravelry.  you can find out all about it here.  i'll be stash diving tonight in search of a semi-solid or solid yarn to cast on with.  it'll be a mult-tasking kind of month i think.

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day 166 -- i've also got some other projects that i'm itching to start.

WIP Wednesday

for once, i have several posts in the works for the next few days.  i also have two finished projects to talk about and some updates to give, but today it's WIP Wednesday so a WIP is what you get.

i am *THIS* FRIGGIN' close to finishing babette.

see those random squares just hanging out? i still have to sew them together, then sew the final section to the rest of the blanket.  yep, other than the border, i have finished crocheting the eleventy million squares.  that's a lot of squares.  want to hear something crazy?  it's quite possible (although i'm not 100% sure) that not one of those squares is identical to any other.  anyway, i hope to be able to start on the border this weekend.  and then i'll be done!  and maybe i'll start another one!  or crochet myself a strait jacket!  because clearly i'm insane!   (not really.  although i can't recommend it enough.  SEW AS YOU GO! if i had to piece all of these squares together from the beginning, i would have never finished).

for those of new to blog, i've raveled the details as i've gone along.

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day 152  -- i am considering another one though.  i'll have plenty of yarn left.

WIP Wednesday

i'm usually a one project woman.  at most two (a small project that i can carry around and a bigger one like a blanket made up of a bazillion squares), but for my trip to new jersey, i packed three.  i had three scarves on my agenda and i couldn't pick which one(s) i wanted to take.   

so, first in my bag was the queen anne's lace scarf.  this is the crocheted scarf that has gotten non-crocheters crocheting and i wanted my own version. 

the yarn is aracania magallanes, which almost looks like my own homespun singles. the thick-thin quality of the yarn lends an irregular look to the scarf, but i'm kind of liking it.  it's certainly a lot of fun and a perfect vacation project.

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day 138 -- i started this post with the intention of  showing you projects 2 and 3, but i have to save something for tomorrow.

WIP Wednesday

this week's WIP wednesday won't be about anything i'm working on.  no, this week i'm going to tell you about the fabulous dress that stitchy mcyarnpants is working on.

it's a beer can dress or should i say "gown."

oh yes, you read that correctly.  and it's for an excellent cause. 

anyway, monday night stitchy brought the bodice to knit night so we could check out her masterpiece in person.  here's the designer herself modeling it for us.  gorgeous!  check out the bows at the shoulder.

and diana showing us where she thinks there should be tassels.

finally, check out the versatility of this awesome dress.  even our very pregnant newest member looks beautiful in it.

looks like even THE BIG GUY might approve.  (i swear i heard angels singing).

it's just a matter of time before we see Stitchy on Project Runway.  I can see it now.

Michael Kors:  "This is Classic American Sportswear."

Nina Garcia:  "I don't know what to say.  I'm speechless."

Heidi Klum:  "I love it!  Now I know what to wear to Octoberfest!"

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day 117 -- auf Wiedersehen!

WIP Wednesday

the fiber that i jar-dyed and spun is done.  about 200 yards of 2-ply yarn that looks kind of like animal entrails.  nice, huh. 

so i guess that technically this is a FO and not a WIP.  whatever.

my spinning is still uneven.  i think i'm just not patient enough to get it right.  but on the bright side, it is perfectly balanced.  there's an interesting scarf pattern in the latest Spin-off that i may try. 

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day 103 -- i swear that this yarn looks better in person.  less intestine-y.

WIP Wednesday

just so you don't think it's all about the babette this month, here's a couple of other things that i'm working on.

dyeing my own yarn and fiber made me want to knit and spin them up.  so i did.

my yarn in garter stitch (laceweight on size US 3 needles).

and some of my fiber spun up.

plans for either are still up in the air.

also, a couple of months ago, i joined summer of socks 2008.  unfortunately, this is a far as i've gotten on my first sock.

this is also my only "air" project for project spectrum.  not impressive. 

that's all i've got for now.

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day 89 --  doesn't that sock look like snoopy?  i think so anyway.