Happy Day Before Chavez Day!

Also known as "the day I told some kids visiting from Inglewood that the Bay Area was 'tight' and didn't get laughed back to the suburbs"

First off, I raise a glass of a very nice Cab to all of you out there kind enough to send me cards and gifties on the big day this year. Seriously, it TOTALLY made my day - this is the first b-day I didn't spend with my family so it was a bit of an adjustment but coming home to a mailbox stuffed full of goodies rocked my world. I haven't taken photos of or compiled the list of all you wonderful people yet, but I will do that in my next post!

So how did I celebrate the big day? With a lot of WINE, of course! Back to Napa I go!The whole trip was awesome [I highly recommend staying here if you are ever in the area], but perhaps my favorite stop was champagne tasting at Domaine Carneros.

My god it was amazing out on that terrace. Definitely one of those 'this is why I live in the Bay Area' moments. Hell, it was even 'this is why I'm alive'-worthy. A couple more from the day:

And of course, it wouldn't be Delia if there wasn't some PDoD's involved (public display of drinking):

It's a happy day at SJSU because we all get tomorrow off! YAY! If everything goes well, I can unchain myself from the pile of Frosh applications and enjoy a day of Bay Area sunshine and knit to my hearts content.

Yes it's true, my knitting has stalled significantly the last couple days because I have been in such a tired/pissy/stressed out mood when I get home. A couple nights ago I came home, poured a glass of wine, and got into bed @ 6:30pm. About 20 minutes later, when I was forced to get up because my glass was empty, I grabbed the Lucky Clover which I started in Napa and started stitching away.


At this point, I would like to pose a rhetorical question that has been pondered many times, but not yet here on Wine and Needles: What the f*ck is it about a tiny piece of wool that makes my otherwise mellow cat turn into a tasmanian devil???

A photo essay:


I seriously got a large gash in my pointer finger and a pair of bite marks on my palm trying to retrieve my implements. I was particularly fearful when she started hunting me on my own turf. You know, that stance where a cat hides behind something, then you feel a slight rumble as the feline prepares of the pounce then WHAM! Half my yarn is ripped from my lap and clutched within the claws of this domestic house cat vicious predator. What exactly was she hiding behind on my bed? A little birthday prezzie to myself:

This bad boy holds every single one of my WIP's! Ok you got me, I bought some yarn for this tank as well. [BTW, did you know Beverly's now carries Cascade and Crystal Place yarn!?!] Also, if you squint, you can see the Clap laid out on the pillow in the background. She's coming along quite nicely, we are hoping for a finish date of April 15th.

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Finally, I will close with an open letter to myself:

Dear WIPs,
I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for all the abuse I have put you through the last few weekends during the wine-drenched nights I've spent with you. Fooled into believing that I have super-knitting powers after a bottle of wine, I start to knit away on you; only to drop stitches, twist the wrong ones, inadvertently create short rows, and create other general messiness in your otherwise pristine appearance. I promise to either bring back Kyoto or start another project with bigger needles and large portions of st st for these nights. Yes, Spiderweb lace and Lucky, this is for you. And we won't even talk about Dotty.

Anyhow, the management realizes this has become too out of control not to say anything, so hopefully this new policy will eliminate any bad relationships that may have formed.

Thanks for understanding!

Sincerely,
the girl who mans the needles.

The Countdown to B-Day

Tomorrow is the big day. Delia turns the big 2-5. This is the first birthday in a few years that I actually feel is a significant passing; I mean, allowance to rent a car and cheaper insurance is a sign of becoming an official 'adult', right? There is nothing in this world that I can't do now, baby.

Knitty Knit Knit
Perhaps the most exciting news is that on Sunday afternoon I taught Jason's sister how to knit after a trip to Imagiknit for 10 1/2's and some Lambs Pride Bulky. Jason sat slumped in the corner of her hotel room in SF as I taught her the long-tail cast on and simple knit stitch. I am passing on my 'Teach Yourself to Knit' book to her much to his dismay.

I've been slowly plugging away at the plethora of projects I've got going right now and of course, started a couple more.

Saturday: Dottie and 12 hours of Indy Racing(dear god he's infected me). I finished the back of Dottie and cast on both sleeves on the same needles. I am trying to get used to manuvering 2 balls of yarn in such a way that they don't end up braided in my lap. 21 days to complete this project! (I think there is a decent chance I will be weaving in the ends en route to the actual baby shower). I also picked up my new best friend and little tool that should be in every knitters bag:

What this heck is this little implement you ask? The Cyclops! This great little wonder of the modern world will now enable me to knit right into the night as JSwag and I drive all over the Bay Area and beyond. Here's how it works (in complete light, of course):

Attach to belt loop, aim at knitting, turn on and stitch away! (Just a sidenote: Buy it in-store, it's only $9.99!)

Sunday: The Clap takes on San Fran. While at Imagiknit getting the sister her first supplies, I picked up one more ball of Karabella to extend the legnth of the clap. [Jason was thoroughly amazed I walked out with only 1 ball of yarn]. I am about mid-way through the 4th ball (of 7), and I hit a bit of a snag when I realized that something was off after I dropped the stitch and the whole bottom hem unraveled. Of course this happened right when we were pulling into the Buena Vista, so my first Irish Coffee went down pretty fast. (Only had 2! I was good!!!)

Monday: Spiderweb Caplet Redux. Made adjustments to turn into a wrap - Check. Conqured the yo issue - Check. Took photos to post on blog - Check.

F*cked it up and had to frog entire piece after 2 glasses on wine on Wednesday night - Check. Damn spiderweb lace - you win! I don't even want this thing anymore but I have to make it out of spite for this damn pattern. Merino Frappe: 3, Delia: 0.

Wednesday: Stargazer sock gets 3 more inches at the top and was bound off for good. I have this idea to add a couple mini-pom poms to it, so I am saving the photo shoot for the complete version. Next, in the absence of the stupid POS project that will haunt me till my dying day Spiderweb Caplet, I swatched and then cast on for my Lucky Clover Wrap. Jason rolled his eyes and once again cited my inability to complete a project. What the hell - I mean, who needs 2 socks? Sometimes only one foot gets cold?!?

It's not like I could actually work on them anyway - Viva decided that she was claiming the Sock Garden Merino as her own and was prepared to defend the yarn at all costs:

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Are you getting sick of all my photos yet? Good because I have one more. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have found the ultimate knitting bag for under $10 and decided to model it's stylish and practical nature for you:

They are wood-handle purses from Old Navy. I bought one, resisted for about a week, then went back and bought a second. Seriously, then are small enough to carry around easily, fit a ridulous amount of yarn and other goodies, and totally are stylish (I am a retro-groovy knitter, you hear what I'm sayin?) for knitting in public. I am still missing the pink... must....... have........ the pink....

By the way, I am wearing the greatest tee-shirt of all time - "Kiss Me I'm A Spartan". Spartans as in SJSU, not Michigan, sillys. I raise an Irish Car Bomb to the fine folks at the Spartan Bookstore for stocking some cool inventory for once. Do you think I get get away with wearing this to my next college faire?

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Well fellow bloggers, then next time we will chat (well, I type and you read), I will be 25 years old. It was 8:43am on March 24th, 1980 in Fresno when my wonderful mother brought me into this world. Happy Birthday to me, and THANKS MOM + POP for well, you know, 'making babies' when you did.

Ciao Bellas!

And the Winner Is...

Best Quote That Made Me Go "Where the Hell is She Going To Go With This One...": Jacqueline
"What you might not realize about me is that have very – I mean VERY big connections in Vegas due to the fact that I am the love child of Wayne Newton and Liza Minelli."

Best Creative Idea That I Am Taking into Consideration for Actual Use: Jen
"You know those signs in restaurant bathrooms that explain in several languages that employees have to wash their hands after wiping themselves whether they want to or not because it's the LAW? Well Viva has this habit of not cleaning up after digging around in the cat box, so I finally pasted this sign to the inside to help her get the hint. I just hate trying to enjoy a glass of wine and cruise the blogs wondering the whole time if the cat sitting mere inches from me is turning my desk into something resembling the floor of a public restroom. Ya know??"

Best Improvisation On My Knitting/Fiber Skills: Christie
"This is the gown that I knitted up on the plane back from LA last week. It was a breeze and only took 30 minutes on a size 00 needle. I can't believe what a quick knit this was! It's for my best friend Julie's wedding next week. The yarn is a silk that I engineered from mutant silk worms in my underground wine cellar/bio-lab. No tailoring necessary, since the silk will expand or contract with the wearer! Julie can eat, dance and feel comfortable all night long! I should recieve my patent later this week."

Best Incorperation of both Significant Others [man and cat]: Sorka
"On another front Viva is complaining about her litter box again, guess I better get off my butt and change it before she starts plotting another world takeover. Hey secret pal! How about sending me one of those auto cleaning ones? She already took over the satellite box, and the reception is getting a little fuzzy lately, who knows what she will get into next? Did you see how she was cuddling up to Jason? I might just be out a man!!"

You got me. I couldn't pick a winner because they all were so funny. I picked up a little something for each of you, so shoot me at email at delia dot ann at gmail and I will get them off to you. Thanks again for compensating for my laziness using your creative genious to add some humor to Wine and Needles.

Now for the real stuff. 1) The card and stitch markers were a RAOK from Beth at Diamonds and Purls (Thanks again, Beth!). 2) This dress (which I still believe I could have whipped up in a weekend a-la-Christie) was a part of a cross-city dress excursion for my dear friend Kaci who is getting married in August (and this was later decided to be 'The Dress'). 3) I picked up the Jaeger Merino and Pattern Book for my step-sisters impending baby shower (booties AND a cardigan... I'm not THAT bad with my yardage estimations* ;) ). 4) My Star-Gazer sock in it's almost finished stage and 5) A little sketch to accompany a story about Viva mistaking my laundry basket, FULL of fresh laundry, as her litterbox. 4 loads of laundry, $10 in quarters, and 1 missed date with the man later, I've pushed that memory out of my mind. Therefore, I won't elaborate on the gory details.

* although I am dragging JSwag back to ImagiKnit on Sunday for 1 more ball of Karabella for the Clap.

On to the Knitting Content!

	First up, we have a finished sock! Look Secret Pal! It happened all because of you! As predicted, I love knitting socks. What you can't see in this picture is all the picked up stitches at the top, but I will probably cast on for the 2nd one tomorrow.
Next up, I got all my supplies together to start the Lucky Clover Wrap ASAP [since the temporary abandonment of Kyoto]. I liked Lolly's idea of starting on St. Paddy's Day [get it? Clover Lace --> Irish --> St. Paddy's Day?], but I was busy at work on my baby sweater and by the time I was on to my 4th draft cider, I needed to put down the tiny needles so I wouldn't hurt myself.
	Finally, here is the ever-so-popular Clap. I do really like this pattern, and the Karabella yarn makes it super soft and super warm. Unfortunately, by the time I finish it is probably going to be 90 degrees in San Jo and I am going to have to hang her in silence with all the other wraps destined for later use. You can see a little boo-boo I made in the corner. C'est La Vie! These aren't current photos because last night after I didn't trust myself with the little needles anymore, I attached the 3rd ball (what you're looking at is at the end of ball 2) and got to a point where I dropped two more rows.

I also started the Jaeger cardi for Jr. (no name yet for the nephew, just 'Jr.'), and have a goal to finish it by April 1. The photo didn't upload for some reason, but it's just the plain back of a baby cardigan so I'll let your creative minds invision it however you like. Finally, I was totally inspired by Fig and Plum's To-Do list. What great style she has! I followed the link to the Magknits Hug Modifications [link] and FELL IN LOVE! There may or may not have been some yarn purchased for this item along with the gifties for the 4 winners above.

The Weekend Ahead
Since I am now on the downward slide towards the big 2-5 (6 Days! EEK!), I feel a need to reaffirm the fact that I am not turning into a house slug and can still get out there and rally like a college girl. This stems from my desire to 'just stay in and eat Greek food' last night instead of hauling my ass to an Irish Pub like I do every year [to my credit, there were 6-er's of draft cider and McMenamins involved]. On that note, Jason and I are going to San Fran on Sunday to drop his sister at the Airport, and then onto the Buena Vista where I plan on consuming about 8 cups of Irish Coffee so I can get zero sleep, come in to work hung over, and all the while sing to myself 'yeah baby, you still got it'. It'll be GREAT!

That, or I'll sleep in and knit a lot.

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Finally, I leave you with Viva whom has now decided that she will not consume from her food/water bowls on the ground anymore. Oh No, they now must be placed on my desk so she can continue to survey the whole room while she munches away. Plotting, I tell you!