ARDIRI

2012--Finally!

At long last, the year 2011 has finally ended!  Watch as I bow down, prostrate my self upon the ground, and thank all the gods! 

Last year was a doozie: the end of a long relationship that truly should have ended at least a couple of years earlier, my re-entry into the dating scene for real, a quick lesson in salary negotiations, my first Bikram Challenge completed*,  a quick weekend jaunt to Hawaii, and a re-realization that the world is damn awesome! (*OK, so I didn't fully complete the challenge, but I did do 27 classes in 30 days while working full-time; I think that is more than pretty good!) 

Now for the resolutions:

1) Complete my Master's thesis. I have no more excuses left and I have no one but myself holding me back.  I must see this as a series of papers and not some big monster lurking under the proverbial bed.  

2) Continue my Bikram practice.  It makes me happy and healthy.  Ideally, I would like to do 4 days a week, but 3 will suffice.  However, I need to be conscious of how my angry little right knee is feeling and back off when necessary.

3) Keep up with the blog. I know that there is a novel,  a non-fiction book, or a series of restaurant reviews hidden somewhere in me and writers only get better by actually writing.  Of course, writing the thesis will help, but I've got to have some fun writing to do as well.

4) Spend more time with my girlfriends. Friends rock and should be prioritized. We all have busy lives, but I know I can make room for them.

5) Start being crafty again.  I used to do a lot of creative things--sewing, knitting, glueing shit from magazines to anything that stood still for more than 5 seconds (decoupaging).  What happened that stopped me?  A lot and really very little.  This year I'd like to return to being a crafty chica and also dip my big toe into "urban art" (but legally, of course).

Alright, I think that is enough for today.  There may be more resolutions to come...

Happy New Year to All!  Hello 2012, you are looking fantastic already!

I Still Knit!

My "Bert and Ernie" fingerless glove made with Madeleine Tosh Sock in Baltic (the dark blue yarn) and some mystery sock yarn.

And my overdyed Koigu yarn in another pair of fingerless gloves:

Each glove is 5o stitches cast on with a smaller-than-size-one needle, k1,p1 for 8 rounds, and then switch to a size 1 or 2 (not sure as I don't currently know where my needle gauge is...will ETA later when I find it) for knitting in the round. 

Slowly coming back to life (my life!).

Big, rather new, life-pattern observed (two years strong now): Whenever a new school year starts (a la teacher-mode), I sort of lose part of myself to teaching.  I pretty much stop doing any thing crafty (no knitting, no sewing, no weird bursts of creativity), and I disengage from the internet (reading, commenting, communicating).  Finally, when things slow down and settle in at school, I burst from my cocoon like a metaphorical moth starving for connection and creativity. And now, I sew (ha-ha!) want to make this and this!  Mellow yellow, sugar!  I am more likely to make the quilt as I am in a nesting mood as of late.

I am actually knitting the Felicity Hat right this moment in Cash Vero (Charcoal grey color 29, Lot 3887).  OK, so I am not exactly knitting  right this moment, but in little spurts between typing and drooling over the pretty things I see on the internet. 

Thinking ahead, I see myself knitting up at least one little cap for the Save the Children's "Knit One, Save One" campaign (postmark due date December 31, 2008).  Two years ago, I managed to crank out 7, but at that time I was commuting on the BART a lot.  I have decided to let go and to be content with just one.

And--OMG!--there are only 9 days left till THE   ELECTION! 

Frog, frog, frog...I suck at reading charts!

Ugh, so this is why I've avoided lacework and colorwork...I don't count or read charts very well!  I keep on adding or subtracting the # of stitches I'm supposed to work in a color.  Oh, well, I always knew that I wasn't a very good counter; as a sales clerk, doing inventory for stores was one of my worst nightmares.

This is what I've got so far on my entomology mittens.  However, I'll be frogging back to the ribbing to add another 10 or 15 rows of striping.  I've also decided that these are going to be fingerless mitts come hell or high water as I really don't wear mittens.

Bugs on the Hands and Mind...

Yippee, I'm finished with teaching summer school!  And so some slightly-complicated knitting seems to be in order, thus the Entomology Mittens from the book Knitalong (sans the 2008 since I think it futzes with the lovely pattern on the palm of the mittens):

Details, so far:

• Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Zara in teal (color 1746, Lot 50) and chartreuse (color 1503, lot 210)
• Needles for ribbing: Size 1 DPNs, which will likely be exchanged for my Addi Turbos to knit Magic Loop style as 4 DPNs and two balls of yarn seems a little too much like juggling to me!
• N.B. Zara yarn is SPROINGY!

Almost makes you want one...ALMOST!

This picture of my friend Fabienne's baby, Gabriel, makes one almost want a baby...but only ALMOST!!! 

Details, Details:

• One damn, cute baby
• Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky in Bobby Blue
• Needles: Size 10.5 or 11 not sure
• Yarn Used: Hardly any at all
• Pattern: My own modification of the Bulky Wool Chapeau from Minnies: Quick Knits

And here is Mamoko modeling it as the latest hipster accessory, the slouchy hat:

He is officially ready to stroll the streets of San Francisco, Paris, or New York.

Worth Perusing...

Here are few websites that are worth your perusal:

• Tink (aka Lacey Jane Roberts) (non-traditional craft with yarn)

• Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Blog, Etc.; not specifically Walter Benjamin)

• Fecal Face (Blogzine serving the Bay Area Art Community since 2000)

• And, as always, good ol' Banksy

Seussical!

Here's my latest knit, my Seussical Fingerless Gloves:

Details:

• Pattern:  My own--the Seussical Fingerless Gloves--with a cast on of 45 stitches.  Magic Loop all the way, baby!
• Yarn: Koigu KPM Blue (Colorway ?) and Koigu KPM Olive (Colorway?  Get back to ya with those details later)
• Needles: Size 1 Addi Turbo Circulars (one in the length of 16 in., the other in 24 in.)
• Odd details:  The striping is somewhat opposite, as are the thumbs.  The Left thumb is bLue and the Right hand is gReen.  Get it?  Green has an R in it so it goes on the right hand and vice verse. 
• And despite what it may look like in the pic, the thumbs are of the same length!

Christmas Greed Cowl

Inspired by Julia of Fricknits recent cowl creation frenzy, I bought some butter-soft, yummy, Chunky Malabrigo and made my own pattern.  I named it the "Christmas Greed Cowl" because the tag for the yarn color was hand written and it certainly read Christmas Greed to me; likely it was suppose to be read as Christmas Green, but my cynical self likes the name Christmas Greed better!

Details, details:

• Pattern: My own, but if there is any interest in it, I shall type it up and post it online.
• Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky, Christmas Green/Greed, Color 208, Dye Lot 20125, just one skein.
• Needles: Size 11 Clover bamboo circulars.
• Time from start to finish: Lightspeed!  Honestly, I am not sure how long it took, but it was quite quick.

Not So Happy Puffed-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan

I finally blocked and sewed the buttons on my Puffed-Sleeve Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits.   Honestly, I must say that I am not so happy with this cardigan as:

1. It looks rather dowdy on me!  Very school-marmish; perhaps a change of buttons would help spice it up a bit?
2. The yarn--Knit Picks Merino Style--fuzzes, pills, and just wears horribly even though I have only worn it three times!  I noticed this while knitting it, but (foolishly) managed to ignore it.

Heres a close-up of the band I changed on the bottom (using the Turkish Stitch from Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns); you can see the yucky-ness of the yarn:

Ugh.  I will try a change of buttons and a lace-edged tank underneath to see if that reduces the school-marmish-ness of the sweater.  If not, it will be donated to some charity group that collects handknits.

As for the details, here is as much as I can remember (I finished knitting it in August 2007):

• Yarn: Probably 7 skeins of Knit Picks Merino Style yarn in the colorway Storm.  Super cheap yarn cost of approximately $20 for the sweater,  but the cheap price really doesn't matter since I feel that the yarn is wearing/looking cheaply.
• Needles: I think I used the sizes recommended (6 and 4), or perhaps a size smaller for each?