Feelin' a little like Sasha Cohen

I said I'd reward myself the silver if I made it halfway through the second sock, so there it is. With absolutely no time to knit on Days 11, 12, and 13 (having gone into rehearsal for my next show), I only just managed to cast on and knit about six rows. Friday night, I sat down and accomplished this:



Saturday morning, I got a lot done -- about 30 rows. With rehearsal Saturday afternoon and dinner and a show on Saturday night, I added just about 5 more after we returned. Today, I woke up and did 30 rows before heading out in the afternoon, but when I returned my hands were pretty cramped. I decided not to push it. Here's where things stand tonight, as I watch the closing ceremonies:



Not bad -- very nearly done with the leg, and the foot is much easier without all that lace. I should finish this week, and that's the true reward -- gold medal or not, at the end of the day I'll have a nice pair of socks.

I wish we knitters got to have a big closing ceremony, with us all waving our FOs and not-quite-FOs in the air as we march triumphantly into Stadio Olimpico, no doubt to the tune of some terrible pop song.

Congrats to all the participants! And good night!

Week One = One sock

I haven't been blogging. I've been knitting. Oh, yeah, and somewhere in there was Stitches West -- four classes in three days, three large bags of yarn and other sundries purchased.

But at the end of it all, I have a sock! And it's beautiful and it fits. I'm going to reward myself the bronze medal right now just for getting one sock done. I may have to kill myself to get the second sock done, but even if it doesn't happen, I feel pretty good about accomplishing one.

Here's the quick wrap-up of the last few days:

Days 4 & 5:

So little accomplished on the sock that these days hardly count! We did have a lovely Valentine's dinner at 231 Ellsworth on Monday, and saw "Brokeback Mountain" on Tuesday. No way could I knit complicated lace patterns in the dark.

Loved the movie, but the idiots at the Century Theatres in downtown San Mateo had WASHED THE SEATS that afternoon. By this, I mean that they had sprayed the seats with water so that the aroma of human sweat and spilled sugary soda pervaded the theatre. We also had to SIT on these seats. By the end of the movie, half the theatre looked as if we had wet our pants. To their credit, they did refund our money, but their short-sightedness was amazing to me. They said they thought it would be a slow night at the theatre. Valentine's Day? A major date night? Not to mention the fact that this is the most critically acclaimed romance of the year? Hellooooo, people.



Day 6:

I headed over to Nine Rubies, our lovely new San Mateo LYS, for social knitting, but unfortunately I finished up ball #1 quickly and ball #2 was at home. So I sat in front of the TV and watched some skiing while plugging away at the leg of the sock. And then, like Lindsey Kildow during training, distaster struck! I missed a couple of yarn-overs and didn't notice, blithely knitting on until, about five rows later, I realized I didn't have the right number of stitches to decrease properly! I tried to drop a few stitches back and add in the decreases, but I knit pretty tightly and it just wasn't possible. I frogged the whole thing back and then had quite a time trying to get the teensy little stitches back on the teensy little needles. The DH needs special kudos for bearing with me during the 45 minutes of frustrating wasted time this all entailed.

Day 7:

After work, it was off to a friend's 40th birthday dinner at Buca di Beppo. Stuffed to the gills with eggplant parmigiano and fried shrimp, I managed a few rows after we got back. (Fortunately, I stayed away from the Chianti, or we might have had a repeat of yesterday.)

Day 8:

I was supposed to work at home in the morning, but my webmail account was down, so after I'd made a few phone calls, I had nothing to do but knit! At this point, I crept toward the end of the long leg section, then headed down to Stitches for my first class of the weekend, "Two Hands, Two Colors" with Sally Melville, my absolute favorite knitting teacher.

By the end of the afternoon, I could do Fair Isle! Gotta love it. I can't wait to do my first Fair Isle project, and I spent much of the class blessing Nancie Wiseman for successfully teaching me Continental in TKGA last April. I love holding a color in each hand, far superior (in my opinion) to any other way of doing it.

At random moments in the class, I picked up my sock for a row or two, thinking that I wouldn't have much more time to knit that day, since I had to drive up to Berkeley for callbacks that evening. Fate had other things in mind, however -- I ended up stuck in terrible traffic with no way of getting to my destination by 7, let alone 6, my planned arrival time. I abandoned hope of joining the director and choreographer, called in to let them know I was stuck, and made a left turn across the bridge to home and a cozy evening with my sock. Leg finished, heel begun.



Day 8:

Officially halfway through the Olympics, and the first sock ain't done. And not much chance to knit today! First there's Nancie Wiseman's "Intarsia Basics," and by lunchtime I can add Intarsia to my list of new color knitting skills. Lunch with Spinnity, a quick dash through the marketplace, where I purchase a little more alpaca for the DH hat/scarf at Yarn Barn. In the afternoon, it's back to Sally for "Creativity," a fun, mind-opening class that's mostly lecture, so I knit away at my little sock and turn the heel, which is no big deal as far as I can tell -- not sure why it's supposed to be so challenging.



Then I dash back to the marketplace and make some more purchases, yarn at Webs, buttons at the Button Lady, and Nicky Epstein's new book signed by the lady herself. So far very little financial damage done. Then we had a birthday dinner to run to, and a play to run to after that, and then I crawled into bed and only knit a couple of rows. One more day gone, and still lots of sock to do.



Day 9:

I wisely did NOT sign up for a class Sunday morning, so after sleeping in a bit I headed out for a calm stroll through the marketplace. Fewer people, much more mellow, which put a bit of a strain on my pocketbook resolve. Particularly when I came across the must-own kits from Drops yarns, sold at a knitting store in Washington state. I got a cute bolero kit on green alpaca and mohair with a bit of sparkle. Then I bought some yarn at Hand Jive Knits from Sacramento. Then I bought some more buttons, from Buttons! in Calistoga.





I was starting to get a bit reckless, you know that "I've already gone over budget, what does it matter now" feeling. I got some Debbie Bliss cashmerino Astrakhan on sale, and some sparkly colorful Wool in the Woods for a certain birthday project. Luckily a call from Spinnity saved me from more spending, and I went to sit with a bunch of Santa Clara and San Mateo Meet-up friends in the stage area, to eat lunch, knit, and wait for the grand prize drawing of $750. Lo and behold, it went to Bogie! We all gave her a standing ovation, she was totally overwhelmed. If anyone deserves it, she does, my dear Fairy Godknitter who helped make the extra Shawlapalooza for my wedding!

My afternoon class was "Keeping Trim," my first ever with Lily Chin, and I have to say, believe the hype. She is funny and creative and clever, and she taught us a number of useful trims for the bottom of sweaters that won't curl or cling or make you look pregnant, and showed us a lot of great new stitch patterns and techniques to use just about anywhere. She's very high energy and New York-y, but she didn't flog her books or spend half the time self-promoting, which is what I was afraid of. I prefer Sally's laid-back hippie Canadian charm, but I would certainly put Lily on my good-teachers list.

By the end of the class, I was exhausted, and ready to curl up with my sock. The DH and I met up at Spinnity and Bill's for dinner and yarn-sharing. The foot of my sock was growing, and a new problem presented itself -- there was no way I was going to finish this sock without running out of yarn. Sure, I had two more balls at home, but those are for the other sock! What to do!

Day 10:

I made an emergency run to Nine Rubies for more sock yarn. Unfortunately, they don't carry Rowan 4-ply Yorkshire tweed. Choices -- order on-line, wait, risk missing Knitting Olympics deadline, not to mention a totally different dye lot. Or do the toes in a different color. The second option started to appeal to me; after all, then my socks would be truly unique! Nine Rubies yielded plenty of gorgeous colors of 4-ply Scottish tweed, which is a little loftier than Yorkshire but claims to have the same gauge. I got a nice contrasting burgundy. I actually really like how it's turned out. My lack of patience has resulted in something truly lovely.

The sock was finished about 11:30 last night with the painstakingly grafted toe (thanks again to Sally M for last year's Good Grafting class notes). I will never like grafting, but it did work and the sock is done, except for weaving in ends and adding the cute ribbon bow trim (which will be burgundy to match the toes, of course).



So I'm 10 days in, only 6 to go including today. Can I do another sock, especially now that I have rehearsals every night? Solani and Sudha at Nine Rubies cheered me on yesterday, making me think that just maybe, if I give up a certain amount of sleep and sanity, I could do it. Time to give it that old Olympic try.

Sean White rules, but so do I

While watching Sean White kick snowboarding butt, and poor Apollo Ohno not even get to compete, I completed my goal for the day -- 42 rows of the pattern, the complete first chart!



And some unexpected news in the Knitting Olympics world: Team San Mateo has a new surprise member! My DH picked up the needles for the first time since childhood to make me a coaster to match the one I gave him. The yarn is GGH Samoa in a nice green. He's using my size 7 needles. And honestly, for his first two rows, he's doing pretty well, even if he looks a bit annoyed.



Immediately after I took this photo, he returned to playing Civilization IV.

The next two evenings are somewhat busy ones, with Valentine's Day and all, but I'm setting the modest goal of completing the next 29 rows of the pattern and 1 decrease row. 15 rows a day, pretty manageable. Wednesday is meet-up night, and I'm hoping to get to the heel that night -- another 42 rows, but shorter ones, so I might make it. The heel terrifies me slightly, I might need a little help from the sock goddesses.

If the first sock is finished by next Saturday, I'm in great shape to finish the second by the closing ceremonies. However, Stitches looms large on the horizon. It's kind of like suddenly broadcasting a Nascar race in the middle of the Olympics... oh, wait, they're doing that.

A busy day, a rest for the hands

Day Two:

When I woke up Saturday morning the cramps were gone from my hands -- the exercises seem to have worked. It was a very busy day, not very much knitting time, but I got a good start on the leaf lace pattern of the body of the socks. Here's a different angle, with a bamboo chopstick mat backdrop (a present from Bill and Spinnity):



So far it's not difficult, and the size 2's aren't killing me.

Let the games begin!

Day One:

Marathon couch session during the opening ceremonies.





Cast on and knit 25 rows. Challenges: #@*! tiny 1.5 needles. I was determined to finish the ribbing, and I did, but I had to do some major hand exercises afterwards. Felt MUCH better when I switched to #2's; it's amazing what half a needle size can do. Here's what I had at midnight:



And here's the goal. One sock certainly doesn't seem impossible, but can I do two?

A good month for FOs

I've been waiting to blog until I finally had some photos to show. I'm very pleased with my January output -- my butt may permanently weld to the couch, and I have watched a LOT of Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica (not that there's anything wrong with that), but I have a bunch of FOs to show for it!

Here's the Kaalund Waterlilies scarf from a yummy Wizard of Yarns find:



I love this scarf; it matches with everything I own and it's nice and long. I cast on length-wise instead of width-wise, and did just a few very long rows of garter stitch, then added fringe -- very simple, and shows off the thick-and-thin yarn really well. I wear it about every other day; on the off days I'm wearing the Anny Blatt scarf that was my second project ever. Here's the Anny Blatt taking a trip to the Palace of Fine Arts:



That was a great day -- we took Princess M to the Exploratorium for the first time. I should also mention that it was my DH's first time at the Exploratorium. I'm not sure who was more excited.

Here's Ethan's car backpack, finally finished and ready to go to the little guy (one of CNITU's pals). It's in Karabella Aurora 8 and GGH Samoa. Please note the cute VW Bug button and racecar lining:





I knit this little hat on the way back from SoCal, for CNITU2. It's from Crystal Palace Kid Merino held together with Filatura di Crosa Millefili Fine, my own design:



Including the onesie and Heidi's gloves, that's five FOs in the month of January! If I can keep that up, it'll be a record year. I also started the Hourglass sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, one of my favorite books. I've got the body and one of the sleeves done now, but here's what it looked like a couple of weeks ago:



It's in Noro Cash Iroha. This yarn is so amazing it should be illegal. Miles of stockinette stitch, but never boring because, oh my god, the yarn!

You might notice that the FOs have a deep, sexy Espresso wood background. This is my new Stinson coffee table from Pottery Barn (or, as Spinnity likes to call it, Poverty Barn.) I swear to you, we went to buy bedside tables, and this followed us home. It was on sale! I swear! It has five deep drawers that can be pulled out from either side. They were designed especially for yarn. At least, that's what I'm telling the DH. He asked politely if he might have just one of the five, but he has yet to come up with anything better suited to these drawers than yarn. Just look at this Patagonia, you can tell it feels right at home:



These random leftovers look quite cozy:



I don't think I've ever been quite so enamored of a piece of furniture. I may have to betray it soon, however, because we have purchased the matching 16-drawer CD Console. It's clearly named a "CD Console" for purposes of deluding non-knitting SOs into buying it. CDs can be stored on computers. But yarn... yarn can live in deep, dark, espresso-stained drawers. Yum.

Olympian effort

I was reading The Knitist's blog just a short time ago. She has declared her intention to enter the Knitting Olympics, hosted by none other than the Harlot herself, that mad, wonderful creature. I, of course, not being the type to resist a challenge, have been thinking about it for the past twenty minutes. Can I do it? What would be my challenge? Then I thought of it -- socks. My first pair of socks.

I own plenty of sock yarn but have resisted the temptation thus far. I like big, impressive projects, I guess, not things that get hidden inside of shoes. However, this may be destiny calling my name. Surely I can complete socks in 16 days, even if I'll probably be working on my Stitches homework simultaneously. Surely.

To make it harder, maybe I should do knee socks? I am a pretty fast knitter these days. I am tearing through my 2006 projects. I have completed four so far (the sexy Kaalund scarf is off the needles, love it love it love it), thanks to watching the complete first season of Veronica Mars, and I'm a good 5 inches into the Hourglass sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (in blessedly sensuous Noro Cash Iroho, how decadent). And knee socks would be less hidden by shoes, especially if worn with gauchos or a short skirt.

Hmmmm...

In other knitting news: CNITU2 wore his Cashmerino onesie out on the town Saturday night -- it finally got cold enough in SoCal. Wouldn't you know it, he picked that night to projectile poop with such force that his diaper leaked all over his pale blue loveliness! Sis has washed the thing twice and it's still stained. I am less upset about this than you might think -- after all, it's meant to be worn, and babies poop and spit up and pee all over things, that's just what they do. I do hope she can get it out well enough for him to wear it again. At least I got photos...

Year in Review (and look! actual photos!)

It was great to see Spinnity, Jo, and Lori at Meet-up last night. Spinnity brought in a "conundrum" for our review -- a turquoise FunFur shrug, knitted by a friend, that (despite gauge swatch) was many sizes too large and also included some dropped stitches, thanks to the tricky yarn and a slightly complicated pattern. Solutions ranged from tearing the whole thing out to clever use of steeks. The project can't simply be abandoned, because the yarn was a gift from the knitter's adoring husband. The fact that the dear man went to a yarn store and voluntarily purchased this yarn for his wife while she was sick in bed means that she *must* complete it. And wear it, so it has to fit.

Being in a knitting frame of mind, I came home and posted photos! I calculated that I completed 25 knitted and/or crocheted FOs last year. Here they are, with their recipients, and eventually I'll link to photos of all of them (the numbers are all different than my first list, because I forgot a couple of things):

1. Shawlapalooza (Sis)
2. Yellow crocheted dishcloth (in our kitchen)
3. Red crocheted coaster (DH)
4. Princess M purse (PM)
5. Koigu Bias Betty scarf (Mom)
6. Pillow sachet (Mom Wiz)
7. Red fingerless gloves (Me)
8. CNITU's fish backpack (CNITU)
9. Blue Cardy (CNITU/CNITU2)
10. Squiggle Choo-choo scarf (Sis)
11. White Lies Nicole camisole and panty (Me)
12. Vintage camisole (Me)
13. Green fingerless gloves (Ragnar)
14. Basket stitch scarf (Andrea)
15. Basket stitch hat (Luke)
16. Mini-longshoreman stockinette stripe hat (Ethan)
17. Bear costume (CNITU)
18. Ugly yellow hat (hiding in the stash somewhere)
19. Zofia purse (sold)
20. LuLu purse
21. Lucas backpack
22. Kylie purse

Here are those last three for sale at Wizard of Yarns!



23. Green bolero (Sis)
24. Rowan flower pin (BF)
25. Rowan flower pin (Mom)

Here's my best friend modeling her flower pin before Christmas! Isn't she pretty?



So that's my year! A heck of a lot more FOs than last year. Plus, I've got three FOs since January 1st. Here's CNITU2 modeling his gorgeous Debbie Bliss Cashmerino onesie:



His big brother thinks it's pretty cool, too! (Notice his lack of clothing -- it was actually about 85 degrees in Laguna, and a cashmerino onesie was hardly necessary.)



And here's my neighbor Heidi modeling one of the fingerless gloves I made her for Christmas (I was her neighborhood Secret Santa. I actually gave her a ball of yarn and promised I would turn it into gloves by the new year.)



The third FO has yet to be photographed -- it's a little blue hat with the letter "L" on the front, knit during the drive back from Laguna for CNITU2.

Yesterday at meet-up I started a gorgeous burgundy, purple, and green wool scarf made from yarn I bought at Wizard of Yarns -- an Australian brand called, I think, Klaalund. It's amazingly lovely and soft. I got some other interesting goodies there, but some of it's meant for knitter gifts so I won't share just yet.

Happy New Baby!

I just returned from two weeks of heavy holiday-ing, playing with my 2-year-old nephew, and moving furniture and appliances around Sis' still-being-remodeled house. But the best news is wee CNITU2, born 12/30/05 (two days after my birthday, oh well), a special gift for us all. (And a big one -- little chunky is 9 lbs of adorable chubbiness.) He looks really cute in his onesie, too!

CNITU did pretty well when Mommy was in the hospital, and he really loves his baby brother. There were, however, a couple of major tantrums involving the correct way to prepare a muffin. I include them here just in case you know a 2-year-old and need to make them a muffin.

1. Put whole muffin in microwave WITH PAPER STILL ON IT.
2. Microwave so that it goes "beep-beep" - very important to have the beep-beep.
3. Bring muffin to table, remove paper, in that order.
4. Do NOT under any circumstances remove any part of the muffin until instructed. Even when instructed to "make baby pieces," double-check before actually doing so. The two-year-old may still be contemplating the serene beauty of the COMPLETE UNTOUCHED muffin, and if you dare to defile it, woe betide you.
5. If you have double- and triple-checked that it's okay to tear off a piece, remove one small piece from the muffin for your young master to savor. Terrible things might still happen. Your best plan is to convince the young gourmand that things will be much better for everyone if he just makes his own baby pieces and allows you to retreat strategically to the other side of the table.

My sister, brother-in-law, and I broke some combination of these rules not once, not twice, but three times IN ONE DAY, causing serious screaming and crying and near bodily harm (to us, not to him). After which, we hid the muffins in the fridge. Imagine our trepidation when he opened the fridge the next day and asked for a muffin. Sis very carefully talked through each rule in order, checking with the sage at every step. He happily tore off his own pieces and ate all the pretty outside parts of the muffin, which is all you can expect a two-year-old to eat anyway.

Let us all pray that CNITU2 will be the sort of relaxed kid who will, when he turns two, bring his mother tea and fresh fruit in bed, before whipping up muffins from scratch and serving them on a tray garnished with hibiscus blooms.

Ha.

Happy Holidays to all!

Just a quick post before I take off for Laguna Beach. There was a bit of a scare earlier this week that CNITU2 had too large a head and may have something wrong with his wee brain. However, Sis saw a specialist yesterday and it turns out that he's just large in general, so they don't want her to carry to term but will induce next week. Hopefully on my birthday!

We had some Xmas present opening already -- wonderful gifts from Spinnity and Bill include a gift certificate to Creative Hands in San Carlos as well as fun goodies from REI. Their birthday present to me was a beautiful pair of fingerless gloves, in brown and cream with lacy cuffs. So elegant! Susan and Princess M went all out with a brand new knitting bag for Christmas (it's Jordana Paige's messenger bag in brown) and a beautiful silver Tiffany necklace.

And at last, Adam got some of the photos out of the camera. Here's me finishing up (L to R) Kylie, Lucas, and LuLu bags for the sale.

Another long hiatus

After this one, it will be amazing if anyone's still reading this blog! My very good excuse is that I have been rehearsing and performing in "A Christmas Carol" up in Napa. I think it turned out rather well, so if you're interested visit our website for more information.

In a triumph of holiday knitting, I also finished four purses for the trunk show in Laguna Beach. I failed to finish the fifth. Turned out that the sale was badly attended, anyway, but I did sell one purse! Zofia, the sherbet-colored one with sparkly maribou trim. Wendy is keeping the other three in the shop for the time being. It was a fun experiment, but I have to admit that it got boring, knitting the same thing four times in a row. I couldn't wait to get back to Lucas' onesie.

I *did* take all kinds of photos, still in the camera, of course, but I promise, they're coming.

I have not been to a knitting meet-up in ages due to all this rehearsal stuff, but last Wednesday I did spend a delightful evening with M.O. at Julie's in Alameda, working on our Christmas knitting projects. We like Julie's; they are very knitter-friendly and have a crafting night every Friday. And very good teas, coffees, and cookies.

The rest of my modest Christmas knitting is a secret. I have not taken on any big ambitious projects this year, except for the onesie, and that's progressing well. Needed a break from deadlines. But for all of you who are counting the hours, keep the faith! You will make it!

Music plug

No, sorry, no photos yet. But I just wanted to mention the lovely night of music the DH and I experienced yesterday! Normally, I try to avoid plugging theatre too much on this blog - it's impossible to promote everyone's shows, and as a casting director I don't want to be perceived as slighting anyone. However, when it comes to music, I am purely a consumer with so little talent of my own that I can only sit in awe when I have an experience like last night's.

My former roommate Megan and her partner Sam are extremely talented musicians, and they played a great gig last night at the Bazaar Cafe in SF. This is one of my favorite music venues -- tiny, cozy, great food, nice folks, and of course, you can knit to your heart's content. If you're familiar with Beth Waters, Mokai, Vienna Teng, or Ira Marlowe -- they play there. It also happens to be half a block away from our old apartment. It was a birthday show for Megan, and the owners even had chocolate cake for everyone. When was the last time you went to a concert and got free cake?

Anyway, we bought the new Bazaar compilation CD, which M & S are *not* on. This morning, I went to the SF Hootenanny website where you can buy a compilation CD including two of their songs. The site also heaps praise on this terrific duo. If you can't get enough of Sam and Megan's acoustic brilliance, their CD is on CD Baby, too.

In other music news: Four tickets to KFOG's concert for kids (featuring Madeleine Peyroux, KT Tunstall, and Aqualung) up for grabs! After purchasing tickets to the concert and pre-show wine and food tasting, I found out I can't go due to my rehearsal schedule. The rest of the group decided not to go either. These are great seats, so if you're interested in buying them let me know!

Knitting news: Trunk show progress continues -- the knitting for LuLu is all done and I've started Kylie. Friday, I'm planning a big sewing day for all the linings, buttons, trim, etc.

Trunk Show preparation...

... is actually going pretty well. Credit goes to long hours spent in rehearsal. Knitting really is the perfect hobby for actors. You can simultaneously pay attention to what's going on, study your lines, and get projects done. No missed cues, which tends to happen when you immerse yourself in a book during rehearsal. And you never get mad at your director for keeping you there for 2 hours without ever getting to your scene. It's all good -- it's knitting time.

The adorable little girl playing Tiny Tim is also a knitter. Last week she saw me with my knitting and told me all about her projects. Yesterday she brought a little fuzzy scarf in to work on. At one point, leaping to her feet to make an entrance, she got tangled in her yarn and arrived on stage trailing pink and blue fluff. If I had done this, I would have looked stupid, but coming from Lucy it was just about the cutest thing that ever happened on a stage.

I finished lining Zofia and sent it off to Sis to show to Wendy at Wizard of Yarns. Stupid me, forgot to photograph it before I sent it. It's pink, orange, and green sorbet colors with a fluffy trim and a green floral-embroidered lining. The button is a little green butterfly.

I'm close to done with the Lucas backpack (named for CNITU2). This one is all Aurora 8 wool, smoky blue, persimmon, and Aurora Melange in fall colors. The lining has little trucks on it, and the button is a wooden teddy bear.

I started LuLu a couple of days ago (named for CNITU's best girlfriend). It's pale blue, yellow, and green, very preppy. I plan for it to have sparkly trim, a little blue button in the shape of a house, and a blue lining with girly sayings on it like "call me," "let's shop," and "girlfriends."

Ethan's backpack is already spoken for by its namesake (CNITU's other best friend), but I'll probably do it next. It's primary colors -- blue, red, and green, with racecars on the lining and a little green VW bug button.

Kylie is the last one I've designed -- it's spring green, pink, and lavender, probably a floral lining and a button in the shape of a little purse. It's named for my DH's co-worker's adorable daughter, who is amazingly cute and smart.

I'm debating whether to do a couple of holiday-specific ones, with sparkly blue and red yarn and a fluffy white trim. Maybe if I have time! Sis thinks they would sell well.

Check out the new look!

I kept the address, but changed the title. You like? I had to make sure first that other knitting "Wiz"es Spinnity and my MIL were not interested in using it.

I opted *not* to use "Auntie Becca Knits" as the title, although it is my brand (I have a brand! Hee hee!). I have been in touch with lovely Wendy from The Wizard of Yarns My purses and backpacks will hopefully be featured in a trunk show in Laguna Beach on Dec. 2-3. I say hopefully because I will actually have to work damn hard on making them before then. I had better finish Zofia's lining tonight, so I have one to send to Sis (my business manager) tomorrow!

New books, since I can't leave a knitting store empty-handed

At Wednesday's meet-up, I acquired two new books and a magazine. One was a carefully considered purchase, one was a whim, and one just jumped into my bag, helped there by my DH.

The first is the new issue of Rebecca Home. (I always like to pretend this magazine is named after me.) Some great Christmas ornament ideas (easy, fast gifts!), and a little bed jacket in GGH Amelie that I saw on-line and really like.

The second is last summer's Rowan. I like the pictures. I'll probably knit something from it eventually, but mostly it's for inspiration. It's all kind of girly and vintage and all that stuff I like.

Finally, I got a great book of patterns for kids called New Knits on the Block, by the host of Knitty Gritty. This is like Stitch 'n' Bitch for kids. My DH made me buy it for the miniature Viking costume, but I also like the mermaid, the chain mail, and the superhero cape. For an auntie who constantly finds herself knitting Halloween costumes, this is essential.

Speaking of which, CNITU was a major pill about wearing his Halloween costume this year. Sis managed to get a photo of him right before he took the hood off, which she says she'll email me shortly. Luckily there will be a new nephew next Halloween, who will have to be either a ghost or a bear.

Pick an M&M, anyone?

First of all, I wrote Draft One of this post on Monday. For some reason, no matter how many times the universe proves me wrong, I never think I have to save my posts before posting them. Especially if they are particularly long or particularly (I think) witty. I even go through a thought process wherein I say to myself, "Self, you should save this before you try to do some fancy photo thing and the whole post vanishes into the blogosphere." And Self always says back, "Ha! I am all-powerful Blogger Babe! Take that, Me!"

*sigh*

I haven't had the heart to re-create this post for the last several days, because, as Garrison Keillor knows, the Great American Novel was the one you left behind on the train 10 years ago.

So the post was all about this sale at Vanessa's. Vanessa's is fairly far down my list of favorite LYS's, somewhere around #7. However, when they send me a postcard advertising an October pick-your-discount sale, of course I have to go. This is because, as the yarn harlot has said many times in much cleverer ways than mine, buying yarn is not about needing yarn. It's about the fact that somewhere out there, there is yarn that needs you.

(There, I just saved. Ha, Universe. Ha, Self.)

The postcard said that depending on whether you picked an orange, purple, green, or black jellybean, you'd get a 20%, 25%, 40%, or %50 discount. Shopping AND gambling combined! So I had to go.

Vanessa's carries a lot of Trendsetter and Crystal Palace (unlike other yarn shops I could name), as well as a whole wall of Cascade 220 and lots of Berocco. They also have random yummy things like Great Adirondack and this:



This is called Patagonia, and I've been admiring it since I received a sample from Yarn of the Month a little while ago. The color seemed appropriate to the season.

Vanessa, being smart, doesn't actually let you pick the jellybean until you are checking out. And in the end, they weren't jellybeans, but M&Ms (preferable to the DH, who sanctioned the yarn purchase since he was getting free chocolate out of the deal.)

I have to give Vanessa props for letting me put back the first three green 20%-off M&Ms until I got a 25%-off purple M&M. I think she was feeling generous since I had promised not to buy Sally's latest book on Amazon but wait until she got it in the store. (By the way, Sally, what's up with the bad 80's look on the cover?)

I still wouldn't place Vanessa's super-high on my list, but 25% Patagonia is a good thing. The sale's on until the end of the month, and there's no limit to the number of times you can go. I think I'll have to take the MIL when she's in town this weekend.

Oh, and I'm trying to think of a new name for this blog. I ignored my bloggiversary altogether (since I didn't know there were such things until I read C's blog), but on Kathy's urging I will move on. Knuknitter no more! Anyone have any ideas?

Stitches is up!

How many blog posts have that entry today, I wonder? Anyway, I'm all registered -- two Sally, one Nancie (Wiseman), one Lily. My theme for the year is color -- intarsia, fair isle, and creativity. (Lily's class is on edgings, so I guess that kind of counts as long as they're colorful.) As soon as I find out if I got my first choices I'll post my full schedule.

Went to Meet-up in Santa Clara last night for the first time in a while. Went over to Knitting Arts, picked up a new Rowan book, Classic Woman. Nice vintage-look patterns, particularly fun flower pins that will make nice gifts. Knitting Arts is also discontinuing Crystal Palace and Trendsetter (are they high?), so I gathered a few random skeins for trims, etc. Nice and cheap.

Here's the promised photo of the bear costume:



Hopefully it will fit! That's 2005.18, for those who are counting. I think at last count I was around 200.14, the White Lies panty. I've now gone through 2005.15 (Vintage camisole), 2005.16 (Ugly yellow hat), and 2005. 17 (Green bolero).

Go sign up for Stitches now, y'all! See you there!

I'm baaaack!

I've also added word verification to block all those annoying blog spams. I actually got excited when I saw 6 comments on my last blog; alas, most from anonymous sploggers (blammers? blommers? splaggers?)

I'm finally back to the place where I can waste time blogging at work again -- after three weeks of rehearsal for The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Fortunately, my lack of blogging has not coincided with a lack of knitting. I finished the cute green bolero in time for Sis' birthday. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo before I mailed it, so I'll have to rely on her for that. It's apparently a bit small for her in her very pregnant state, but that will only last a few more months.

I also finished the bear costume for CNITU and mailed it out this morning. Photos to come! It's in an annoyingly fluffy cotton washcloth yarn from Ironstone yarns, with a baby alpaca and eyelash yarn trim.

Haven't done much more with the Gedifra tweed project, and the Zofia purse remains a UFO, waiting for a lining. Last night I made a swatch for a Debbie Bliss onesie in light blue cashmerino for the new baby. Size 3 needles -- wow. Teensy. But so soft and pretty. I'll just have to switch to a larger-needle project occasionally so I don't lose my eyesight.

The world's ugliest hat

The yellow kid's ski hat turned out to be the ugliest thing I've ever knit. I don't even want to give it to charity -- I can just picture some little Afghan child looking at it and going "ew."

Perhaps I will leave it lying around and the first person who says "nice hat" will own it.

Anyway, it's off my needles and out of my mind. I dithered around about what to do next (must finish CNITU's Halloween costume, but I'm way ahead of schedule), and cast on several different things at once.

1. New Auntie Becca signature purse, in melon, strawberry, and lime sorbet colors. This design will be called "Zofia" after one of CNITU's friends. Knitting is finished, just have to sew it together and add the lining. I also pulled yarn for two more designs, "Lulu" and "Ethan."

2. Did a little more with the Gedifra Golden Tweed. I think it's going to be a little purse for me for fall.

3. Finally figured out what to do with light green Rowan cotton rope -- a version of Debbie Bliss' Fiery Bolero from Interweave Knits summer edition. Did the math at meet-up on Wednesday, cast on afterwards, and I'm about a third of the way through already. I think it will be a present for someone...

I must put the Halloween costume back at the top of the queue shortly, but for now I am just having too much fun with the Bolero!

M has convinced me to go to Fengari tomorrow to sin. It wasn't very difficult to convince me. I have way too much yarn already from the earlier shopping spree, but I like helping other people fall from grace.

I am so behind!

My one consolation is that many of my various blogging friends seem to be behind as well. Must be some sort of end-of-summer thing.

I am behind primarily because I went on a glorious end-of-summer-camp vacation last week to Laguna Beach, my traditional September sojourn. There's nothing nicer than Laguna Beach post-tourist season -- it's still sunny, it's not crowded, you can get a table at Javier's, and Little Bohemian has a sale. This year was somewhat less glorious than last year because CNITU and family are doing a remodel. A massive, marvelous remodel that will be absolutely amazing when it's finished, but right now it means everything's covered in dust, they're living out of half the house, there's no real kitchen, and they have a two-year-old, difficult enough at the best of times.

Yes, CNITU has entered the terrible two's with a vengeance. He hurls violently back and forth between adorable sweetness and shrieking tantrums. His favorite words are "no" and "mine." He speaks a combination of English and a peculiar tongue known only to him, and when you can't translate fast enough, he gets annoyed.

He is always forgiven, however, because he adores his auntie. He always wants me to sit next to him in the back seat, and laughs at my stupid jokes and silly faces. He lets me play with his matchbox cars. He thinks my DH is as cool as I do. He asks me to make him turtles out of play-doh, and collects shells with me on the beach.

Highlights of the trip include a trip to San Juan Capistrano to have tea and watch the trains (CNITU's top ten: 1. Mommy 2. Daddy 3. Grandma 4. Auntie & Uncle 5. Trains 6. Fish 7. Turtles 8. Trucks 9. Cats 10. Dogs). We also had a great little shopping spree at Little Bohemian followed by lunch at Zinc. On Saturday we went on a hike in the canyons all the way to Dripping Cave, which was lots of fun.

The knitting highlight of the trip was a visit to a brand-new, teensy tiny knitting store called The Wizard of Yarns. The owner, Wendy, is an interior designer who has decided to use part of her office space to indulge her yarn hobby. She carries some Colinette and some really lovely local stuff that I haven't seen anywhere else. She also sells jewelry by some of her designer friends, and she may, soon, be the first retailer of Auntie Becca purses and purse kits.

You see, Sis has decided that I need to become a brand. Her friends have been asking about the Fish Backpack, and even requesting them for their own kids. I figured that I would just have to charge too much for the things for anyone to ever buy them, but Sis took me to a number of local high-end baby stores with $35 hand-knitted booties, $115 sweaters, etc. So there really are rich people in Orange County who will buy these things.

So I am trying to come up with a logo and a website. And make about ten purses by the end of November for a trunk show. I am also vowing not to let this little endeavor take over my life or make me stop enjoying my hobby.

There are so many FO's in my world, but as usual a lack of photos. Off the needles: White Lies panty, finally, and Vintage camisole, which is fabulous and divine and my new favorite thing. I have been goofing around with the Gedifra golden tweed, not sure what it's going to be. I have a crazy yellow kid's hat on the needles. And CNITU's teddy bear costume is coming right along, should be done in plenty of time for Halloween.