The Corvette

By popular demand (yes, one comment IS popular demand for me, okay? ;)) here it is: My new baby, the 1981 Corvette. We've named it Maverick, in honor of the best 1980's movie EVER. The front isn't as big as it looks in the photo, proving that even for cars, the camera adds ten pounds.

Photo credits to Jeanne.

And yes, it came with the damage. But I will love it and fix it, won't I baby? Yes yes yes. *drool*

Loving the Lace

Thanks to the blazing summer heat, lace has become my summer-knit of choice. As mentioned before, I've started on the Icarus shawl in a lovely alpaca, and have begun the Shetland Tea Shawl from a Gathering of Lace using lace silk from Hand Maiden (yes, I am shamelessly copying the Monkee). I also have some Schaefer Anne in colourway Greenjeans laying about, wondering what shawl it might become. Suggestions for that yarn are highly welcome.

Learning the circular cast-on for the above mentioned tea shawl made me feel like a new knitter all over again. It took me three days of casting on, getting my stitches all twisted, and cursing like a sailor to finally get it right. I am pleased to report that the shawl is now at doily-size, and growing quickly. Circular shawls definitely appeal to me.

Will post pictures of Shawls in Progress as soon as I find my camera cord.

Oh.

And.

I BOUGHT A CORVETTE.

Pictures soon, I promise.

Lace Gone Wild, and some Stash Enhancing

After much talking about it, I've finally gotten yarn and cast on for the Icarus Shawl from Interweave Knits summer 2006 issue. Seems like most of the knitting blog world is doing this shawl, and much as I hate to be the conformist type - lordy is it pretty. I'm using Misti Baby Alpaca and I'm constantly stopping to fondle the teeny bit of shawl I've knit so far. Soooo springy and soft!

And, much to my delight, I've finally gotten ahold of some Fleece Artist silk lace via eBay. I can't WAIT till it gets here. I picked up "A Gathering of Lace" and will probably make one of the circular shawls therein. While I was on eBay, I noticed Mystical Creations Yarns had a gorgeous wool/silk blend in pretty shiny blues. Anyone who knows me knows I can't resist anything with tropical blues and greens. It's a sickness.

Current Project Breakdown:
Log-Cabin Blanket - Probably going to end up as an ottoman cozy
Embossed Leaf Socks - Halfway done with the second sock
Prairie Tunic - Hahahhahahahha
Third Cabled Hat - All I've done so far is the roll-brim. Possibly the hat madness has ceased to affect me.
Icarus Shawl - About 30 rows. DAMN those are tiny charts.

So much for my attempts to finish some projects before I started another shawl. Ah well.

In non-knitting news, the weekend was a rousing success. The Hussies Three went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and man was Johnny Depp hot in that. I'm even beginning to see the appeal of Orlando Bloom (in the words of fellow Hussy's sister: "He's actually got some facial expression in this movie.") We followed the movie up with cake and martinis, and started our morning the next day with some SUPER yummy Christian Bale in Equilibrium. As a side note, if you like sci-fi, you MUST see this movie. It's got a much smaller budget than some of these films, but is still very effective.

Mmmm.... Christian Bale.

Dances with Hats (a pictureless post)

I have never been a hat wearer. I know lots of knitters who make lovely hats, including my dear friend who makes baby hats at the speed of light. But a little while back, I finally gave in to making one for a male friend of mine who has been subtley requesting (and by subtley requesting, I mean asking "Where's my damned toque?") one.

I am now on my third cabled hat. The Noro transitions lust has gotten hold of me. I even frogged the original toque and reknit it on slightly larger needles because I decided it Must Be Longer and Wider (story of my life, really. ;)).

Shameless (unpaid, don't worry :)) advertising here, but you MUST go check out: www.girlfromauntie.com . Try the cabled hat pattern. It's 3 bucks, it's addictive, and oh my GOD does it look good with Noro.

Must... knit... hats....

Adventures in Mass Transit

Yesterday was not a whole lot better than the Monday of Intense Evil. I took the train, and then BART up to the city to drop off some paperwork for the Bossman. On the bright side, I saw stuff like this:

And I discovered that Caltrain has been so thoughtful as to put in yarn ball holders! Hooray for Caltrain, they do love their knitters (I actually had a conductor who is an avid crocheter ask me about my sock - I guess he wants to learn to make socks for his mum. What a sweetie!)

Also (and please excuse the thumbprint), I though I would share my favourite "WTF" sign at the local station. Note the middle sign. The first time I saw it I thought "No cigars? No hoverboards? QUOI?"
Apparently someone else was equally confused:

The embossed leaf lace socks from Interweave are nearly done, but I have been remiss in taking photos. Instead, may I present the Tulip socks from KnitP icks. Adorable, but with a heel pattern of Much Evil. There are two (these were finished a while back, but I never took more pictures), and further pictures are in the photo album "Socks," located in the sidebar to your right.

Coming this weekend: Adventures in 21st birthdays (aka - the hussies get knackered)

I hate Mondays

Yesterday went like the 12 Days of Christmas as written by, oh, say... the Devil.

12 hours on the go
11 hours running around like a lunatic
10 hours of transit
9 hours at work
8 of those dealing with messes from hell
7-ty million files that are horrendous
6 legged beasties
5 prospective bossssssssssssssssssses
4 more days till the weekend
3 collection notices
2 cat bowls full of ants
and a dead fish in the fish tannnnnnnk

Needless to say, no knitting got done. Maybe today, if I survive with my sanity intact. Also, I forgot my camera cord, so no pictures either. I suck, I know.

And a wild time was had by all...

Since we both had Tuesday off, my friend Jeanne and I decided to hit one of the local parades/craft fairs. Jeanne found what may be the most hysterical cat item I've ever owned:

It looks JUST like my overly fat cat, Ceres. Thanks to Jeanne, for the adorable gift!


But of course, no duck outing is complete without some minor disaster. A little while back, for whatever reason, I had a paint can next to my driveway. So as we were pulling out of the driveway to go frolic at the fair, we hear this loud "ka CHUNK" noise. I re-arranged the truck and pulled out of the driveway where we saw... this:

And of course, the first thing I said was "Oh sh*t, I hope we don't leave a trail of paint!"

Of course. Of bloody course.

Emmy says: I'm SO embarassed.



Socks to come, I swear. One is finished, one is in the works.

Photo credits for today's post go to Jeanne, because heaven knows I would not have taken photographic evidence. ;)

A Walk in the Park, pt. 2

Yay, Monkee loves me! All right, here's some more pictures of my favourite Bay walking spot. Sorry for the delay, but Basenjis are distracting.


Part of what I love about the trail is the number of benches they've set out to just sit and look out at the Bay. There's nothing really special to look at - sometimes on nice days we get a bunch of kite-sailers - but most of the time it's just the water, the bridge, and the cities far off in the distance. I like that despite there not being anything to really watch, they've put places in to just sit and de-stress. In an area like ours, where things tend to move at high speed, this is a pleasant respite.

<The other nifty thing about this trail system is how well they've integrated wetland areas into a park. There are tons of places just like this, close enough to view, but kept apart from the joggers and dogs. Our local ducks seem to love it, and we do get the occasional egret. At least, I think it's an egret. I'm definitely not the biologist type - but it's a pretty white bird that looks like a miniature heron.

We also have some damn cool architecture. This building and the footbridge nearby were featured in the San Francisco Chronicle a little while back. They're sort of silly looking, but it's a nice change from the standard blocky park buildings.

And of course, the Bay sunsets. Admittedly, I've seen more colourful ones (Oahu and Maui come to mind), but this is the reason I walk in the evenings. I have an innate love for palm trees and sunsets - I don't think I could ever live some place without palm trees.

And finally, home home again, to find that my vine is finally starting to give in to the watering and fertilizing regimen I've set for it. I absolutely love passion flowers, and I'm hoping to eventually have them covering the whole front of the porch.

Thanks for coming by, and thanks to my good-feedback leaver. ;) Will be back tomorrow with Actual Knitting Progress (and pictures, thereof).