Wine and Needles: April 2007

4.30.2007

Reason #495 Not to Compulsively Buy Yarn

I had a great giggle after reading the comments from the last post about having "knitting reservists" to come in and complete WIP's when I'm too tired. I pictured a personal gnome whisking a pesky sleeve from the basket and finishing it in the night while I slept, and I awoke to a perfectly bound-off, neatly folded piece.

Clearly I need to get some more sleep.

Anyhow, in the spirit of flashing WIPs, here's another one:

Sideways Spencer, from a 2004 IK.
I've gone back and forth about ripping this out because I am terrified it will make my chest look ginormous. However, something is telling me to keep going so we shall see. I have a lot of waistbands and buttonbands in my future.

Quickly on its way to FO status is Buck-Fifty:

This is the last piece... the left front... and it's already been partically knit, ripped, and re-knit in the last 24 hours. So so so close. I've made about a million modifications to this sweater; I'll post about them when I finish.

Finally, was I out of my mind to order a box of bulky wool when it is freaking HOT outside (it was 97 on Saturday!!)? I may or may not have also been suffering from heat stroke at the time, because I bought what might quite possibly the uglist skein of yarn ever.

Seriously, what am I going to make with this?

4.24.2007

Wool Out the Ears

Thanks for the feedback on the Cabled Hoodie - I'm going with the lighter color. Now it's sitting there in my shopping cart along with a skein of recycled silk to finish off a bag from last summer and 1 more skien of Euroflax Linen for the tank mentioned in the previous post. Now that nice tax return just needs to hurry up and get here!

I haven't shown you knitting in a week. So here you go:

I have way too many WIPs. More wool arrived today. Please send reinforcements.

4.20.2007

Subconciously Stashing

The new Interweave preview is up. I like the issue, but there are only two things I would personally knit from it:

I am CRAZY in love with that one on the left (Sleeveless Tuxedo Shirt). I even have the yarn, Louet Euroflax Sport Weight in black, from a booched attempt at a nightgown. Definitely an ideal project for the days when it is 110 in the shade and just picking up wool makes me sweat. I think that Origami Sweater would be flattering with some waist shaping, but I'm not in any hurray to make it. I'll buy the magazine solely for the Tuxedo Shirt. Anything else made from it is just a bonus.

Last night I took a quick run into Joann's because I had a 40% coupon. Their yarn selection absolutely sucks (at least Michaels carries Cotton Ease!), but I found a lone Patrons Street Smart booklet that came out to something like 3$. I've seen a number of finished Cabled Hoodies that I covet (That or i'm subconciously stashing projects because I know that come September, I'm going to be a strict budget a la new homeowner.) So now I'm looking at Plymouth Galaway Highland in these two colors:

What do you think?

4.18.2007

A Series of Events; Brought to You by Chardonnay

1)

2)

3)

!!!

PS - I'm wearing the same sweater today. It was a score at the Norstrom Rack for $4.97 on clearance. I love bargain shopping.

PS2 - Shayla, the Cotton Ease is Forecast from Knitty.

4.17.2007

A Moment of Silence

I wasn't going to talk about this but yesterday's events at Virgina Tech hit a little too close to home. Not only was it sobering to arrive at work this morning to a "campus crisis" plan from the President, but it took me back 6 years ago to my junior year of college. Four students were killed by a "legally insane" student with his car. He ran them down in the middle of a busy pedestrian intersection adjacent to campus at 11pm on a Friday night for no good rhyme or reason. Every single student had walked that intersection, many, MANY times, and the anxiety that many students felt as a result of this senseless crime was pungent for a very long time. I'm getting chills thinking about it right now.

My heart goes out to all the kids on that campus. Not only did the shooter take 33 lives, he took a sense of security from that entire campus that is not easy to recover from.

On another note... thank you so much for your thoughts on the house! We are so, so SO excitied - it still doesn't seem real! (Oh the joy of being house-poor for the next year... I better start yarn stashing now!)

4.16.2007

All Grown Up

There has been an unusally-long silence at this blog lately. Despite it being my busiest time of year (common kids! 2 weeks left to decide on college!), Matt and I decided to make a major leap into adulthood.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!
After looking at tons of condos & townhouses, mulling over how much we could afford, and learning more than I though possible about the morgage/loan process, we thought we were going to have to settle on a ~~glorified apartment~~ condo. Not that these aren't great options for some people, but deep down we both really wanted a house but thought we couldn't afford it without giving up the neccesities like sushi and coffee and wine and catfood (which is just mind-boggling given our combined incomes... CA real estate.... geesh...)

Anyway...

Through a random series of events we found ourselves at this new development in a different part of town, fell in love with one of the plans, and thanks to a hefty incentive, omg.. we could afford it! We got pre-approved, signed the papers on Saturday, and construction is due to start at the end of this month. HOME OWNERS!

So needless to say, things have been just a wee bit busy around here. I've been squeezing knitting in when I can, and have planned the demise WIPs that just aren't meant to be (i.e. Sideways Spencer - WHEN will I learn that certain styles just don't work on an ample chest?!?) All a part of the process of cleaning out and planning for a new home together :)

All my time in the last couple weeks has been on Dollar and a Half. This cardigan really is flying by:

The back, 1 front, and 1 sleeve. (also see various loan scribblings)

I knit the entire sleeve in one day while volunteering at a wine competition. Here's the cast on:

Is it normal to drink wine at 10am?

And the sleeve shaping that evening. Don't ask how I did it - all I know is I didn't follow the authors directions because a) I didn't like the way they looked, b) it seems to have worked, and c) I'm hoping that I will even be able to replicate it on sleeve #2.

To ease the boredom of my single-project syndome, I'm taking a 24 hour break from $1.50 to play with the new Cotton-Ease I picked up @ Micheals last week. The color is "Charcoal", but whoever named it that might be colorblind because this is definitely Navy.