Moving Right Along

Well, Jer has moved out and ManCandy is looking for furniture. The 7th Harry Potter book is out and I've finished reading it, the Hogwart's Sock Swap (Year 1) is over and Year 2 has begun. I'm working on my second Pomatomus sock for Sockapalooza since August 2 is next week - I may have to take an afternoon off to knit in order to finish on time! - and the moment I cast off the Pomatomus socks I'm putting on some test knitting, which I will be doing in my very own yarn from my very own Etsy shop. Sooner or later I'll get things going; I've been pretty good about doing something for the shop every day but what I'm really looking forward to is a week off in August with nothing to do but dye and photograph yarn. And catch up on my 15 bazillion podcasts, of course.

Speaking of which, I should dash. Those pomatomus socks are whispering my name from the other room, and tomorrow is the Relay for Life so I'll be up relatively early. I'm ready for my shift; I've got Lime 'n' Violet on the iPod and a little sock bag for my knitting, now all that remains is to see if I can walk and knit at the same time. Should be interesting!

I've passed!

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

Second Years

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Ravenclaw

2. Shoe size? Foot length? Foot circumference? US 7.5, EU37. Foot length: 9 inches. Circumference at the ball of my foot: 9 inches.

3. List your three favorite sock yarns.

a. The Knittery 4-ply cashmere or cashmere/merino

b. Koigu KPPPM

c. Rowan 4-ply merino

4. Would you like to try a new brand of sock yarn? If so, which brand? Louet Gems, or maybe Tofutsies or Curious Creek or Panda Wool (I’ve tried the cotton), or or or… J

5. Do you prefer variegated or solid sock yarn? Either is lovely.

6. What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash? I don’t seem to have any browns or neutral colors, so probably those.

7. What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle? I tend to like ribbed/cabled patterns and am learning to love lace. I have a super-high arch, so I tend to prefer stretchy patterns.

8. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.) I’m allergic to cigarette smoke, but otherwise no.

9. Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them? They will be exposed to my cat; try as I might I can’t keep the little alien away from my wool.

10. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? Of course! My uncle is extremely interested in International Magical Co-operation.

All Hail the Slytherins!

Okay, but only for a minute or two, I swear. I came home yesterday to a package from the Owl Post! At first, I promised myself I wouldn't open it until I sent off my own package. But then I decided to catch up on my knitting RSS feeds and found a picture of Ravenclaw socks that made me simply drool. Her blog said she was in Massachusetts, and the return address was in - you guessed it - Massachusetts. So what was there for it? I had to open the box! And here it is:

Presents for me!

Just loooooook at all those goodies! And they turned out to be awesome. Earl Grey tea for weekend mornings (like today! Yummmm), some Blueberry Body Butter (ManCandy approves!), Burt's Bees lip balm (which I had forgotten to buy at Whole Foods earlier last evening, thankfully!), a Solitaire game to keep my wits sharp, a lovely chocolate bar, beautiful casein DPN's (no nickel!), and best of all? The socks, hand-made stitch markers and matching earrings!

They're perfect!

I absolutely love everything, thank you so much, Omly! You utterly and completely made my week. Now, I'm off to wrap my pal's gifts and hit the Owl Post Office myself. Go Hogwarts!

Edit: I can't resist putting in a picture of the stitch markers and earrings. They're just too gorgeous to be real!

Darcy says:

There are many like it, but this shelf is mine.

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy-warty Hogwarts!

I fiiiiiiinished my Hogwarts socks last night and got some goodies for my pal today, so I can send off my package on Monday when I hit the Post Office to get my passport. Pictures once my pal's owl is well on its way!

Next up: Pomotomus socks and some work on the Faina stole for my mom. w00t!

PS: Ravelry is evil. It sucks my will to finish projects before I begin new ones... damn start-itis!

The Things I Am Not Doing

1. I am not casting on for the Mystery Stole 3 even though it is Friday and Clue 2 comes out today, because I have not finished my Hogwart's Socks.

2. I am not registering for Fall '07 classes because I am waiting for my school to decide where all my transfer credits go. If I don't have to re-take Chem 101, I'm certainly not going to!

3. I am not freaking out that ManCandy has left Michigan in a car and is at this very moment hurtling toward a life with me.

4. I am not freaking out that ManCandy has left Michigan in a car and is at this very moment hurtling toward a life with me and will be here tomorrow night and there is nowhere in my room to put his clothes.

Okay, I may be freaking out a bit about the latter.

I stopped on my way home today and bought a basket that will eventually hold yarn in a pretty and convenient fashion, and a crochet hook for putting beads on Mystery Stole 3. I also printed out directions for my Sockapalooza 4 pal's socks and found a good project for Gabe's socks as well. Tomorrow is the Fair Isle knit-a-long at the LYS, which means no sleeping in for me but that I will be playing with Alpaca/Silk for 2 hours in the morning. Yippie!

Oh, and I'm in the home stretch for my Hogwart's socks. I may even finish them by tomorrow night, if Nadh and I don't get too much of a shopping bug. Perhaps Sunday would be a better bet...

Some Like It

Dear Lord Above,

Thank you for California and the beautiful beaches and bitches and hot men and endless miles of freeway with toll boths (but Lord, is it really a freeway if I have to pay to cross a bridge?). Thank you that a bunch of my family live here and for Disneyland every New Year's Eve and happy cows and the Sonoma Valley that's so much better than the Napa Valley.

Lord, I know we people down here on earth have messed up the planet pretty good by now. I know that we do things and worry about the consequences later, which is probably a fault. I just want to point out in the politest and least judgy way possible that California has - as a whole - tried quite hard to contribute to the closing of the holes in the ozone layer and to lay off the CFC's. There are other states that are much worse than we are - Michigan and Illinois for example, not to mention Tejas. And Lord, forgive me if I'm being judgy or opinionated but my momma raised me to tell the truth and the truth is it's GODDAMNED HOT HERE AND WE DON'T DESERVE IT.

So Lord, if you could find it in your heart to have pity on this state, or maybe just city, or maybe just on my one little apartment in the South Bay, I would really, really appreciate it. Because the gardeners have decided that the best time to water the plants is in the late afternoon, which uses up all the cool water and leaves me with steam coming from my taps.

With love,
Tikabelle

PS - sorry about the profanity. Have I mentioned it's hot?

Oooh, yes!

Please take note of the progress on the Harry Potter Sock Swap bar. Woot! One sock down and another a few inches in. I just cracked open the third ball and I'm about 4" into the second sock, so I'm pretty sure I'll have enough left over for another pair - another pair that will be tucked into the back of my mind to marinate for awhile, since I shall be heartily sick of Slytherin green by the time I bind off my pal's second toe. I've been slowly collecting cute things to add to the package, and I'm excited to finish the socks so I can send the whole thing off. No sock pictures until the package is in the Owl Post, though!

I also got my invitation to Ravelry today! Hurrah! All I want to do is go home and start entering things in, but alas I'm at work until 6. I also decided to head up to Mountain View to go to Bobaknit tonight, so the internet fun will have to wait.

Yesterday I caved, and caved hard. I joined a Fair Isle knit-a-long at my LYS and bought yarn for what is likely going to be the most expensive piece of clothing I will own, ever. A Fair Isle sweater made of Blue Sky Alpaca's Alpaca/Silk... good lord, it will be gorgeous and I'll want to wear it every day. I'm excited for Saturday morning to come! The girl who works at my LYS is so nice; I like her a lot. Maybe I'll start going in there just to hang out so we can become friends.

In penance for spending more than I should have, I spent the evening boiling pots of yarn and winding 100g skeins of the superwash sock yarn from the innocuous little box. Four skeins of blue/yellow that are probably going to go for another dip to even things out, and one skein that was supposed to be brown and red but instead became copper and pink. Hmmm... we'll see what it looks like when it's dry.

I had a look at my stash the other day when I re-arranged my room. It's growing much faster than I'm going through it, so I've decided it's time for a Yarn Diet, starting at 4pm on Sunday. And for this one, sock yarns WILL count as stash. The terms are: I cannot buy any yarn that isn't for Dye Trying (coming sooner rather than later, I promise!) until I have completed both of my sock swaps and all of my UFO's. The only exception will be the rest of the alpaca/silk for the Fair Isle sweater, since I'm a couple of skeins shy at the moment.

So that's it! No pictures (did I mention I'm at work?) , but soon there will be Ravelry. And what Ravelry there will be!

Oh... I feel I should mention, for those in the area: Sunday from noon-4pm at Full Thread Ahead there is a 40% off of everything you can carry sale. No baskets, no bags; if it fits in your hands you can buy it. Therefore, the Yarn Diet begins after I've hit up the sale - if there are Addi's included in the sale, this will be a good time to flesh out the collection.

One of Those Days

Have you ever had a day you couldn't completely categorize as "shitty" even though you sort of wanted to? My day has been like that. This morning at 8:15 my cell phone decided to automatically turn off my alarm so I was this close to being late for work after rushing about like a mad chicken. Around 1:30, I discovered that the way I told my 2nd graders to address a business letter is not, in fact, the proper way to address a business letter and got spoken to sternly by my boss (who is very sweet and I don't think would ever yell, but made my be-sandaled feet quake all the same). At 2:30 I left to give a final exam to the kids at the Satellite Center, only to make a U-turn at 2:33 because I had forgotten the Prize Box. By 2:40, I was on my way until I hit deadlocked traffic at 2:45. It seems that roughly 300 yards in front of where I was stuck, the median between Megahighways 1 and 2 was on fire, so I sat in my un-air conditioned car dressed in polyester pants in the California sun for an hour, which of course made me late to the final and had me fuming because if I hadn't forgotten the Prize Box... well, you know the rest.

Needless to say, by 6:30 I was more than ready for the day to be over. I came home, grabbed the mail and walked in the door to find this: An innocuous, much-anticipated little box!

And this:

An amusing Art History shirt! (Translation: This is not a pipe.)

But best of all, this:

A clipping from The Oregonian

A present from my favorite Coffeebean, who is obviously still thinking of me and loves me enough to send me newspaper clippings about the Harlot even though I am a horrible friend and never call her. Although the day is waning, it suddenly became much brighter.

During the week, I also got four cones of this:

2/15nm raw silk laceweight

It's some pretty potent stuff, that raw silk. Just reached out of the monitor and grabbed me! But I'm going to experiment with a bit of dyeing (more on that later) and should be able to - shall we say - recoup my investment. I also got some lovely sock yarn from 1870 Pearl, who is a dear and deserves all of the little bits and pieces I've been squirrelling away to send her once she arrives in her New State of Choice.

A lot has been happening over the last couple of weeks. The Boy was here for a week for an interview, and was subsequently re-named ManCandy by Elizabeth. So say we all! Then, he got the job. Then, Jer and Elizabeth (who hates "Liz" but isn't opposed to "Zab," according to her man) got an apartment in The City. ManCandy will be moving into my apartment in early July, just in time to use his man-candiness to help Jer and Zab move out. Then it's just the two of us, and we'll make it if we try, with a little help from Mr. Will Smith.

P.S.: I just nearly posted all of this to the Hogwart's Sock Swap page. I think it's time for beer and Scrubs, and maybe to open the innocuous little box. With a bit of luck I won't kill myself with the box knife... AND the sizing for this post is f'ed up but I'm getting a beer and leaving it be. Today is officially Not My Day!

Not Again!

I ripped them. Again. Stupid Slytherin socks (although my pal is definitely not stupid; in fact she is completely sweet and that is probably why I'm struggling to make her socks *perfect* which is difficult to do considering she lives in... well, not in my hometown). The problem was that her leg is smaller than mine, and when I put on the sock it wasn't quite tight enough for my taste so it would have been too big for her. Completely unacceptable. So a week's worth of work was undone tonight in about.... 2.5 seconds. Maybe 45 seconds, but definitely not more than a minute including the mourning period between deciding to rip the sock and actually taking out the needles. It's sort of like ripping off a Band-Aid, isn't it?

I must say, that 4-ply Rowan I bought has taken all this beating and ripping and re-knitting with amazing aplomb. It's still springy and lovely after 5 (FIVE!) ripped beginnings. Tonight I'm trying to get through the ribbing for the last time (I swear!) so I can be back to starting the actual sock tomorrow. I'm annoyed that it's taken this long to get it right, but I also feel better for having started over. The sizing issue would have bothered me forEVer.

In celebration of starting the Slytherin Socks (yet) again, I allowed myself to wind the Passionfruit yarn I got from the Knittery into 2 50-gram balls. It will become a pair of Baudelaire socks for Nadia's fabulous and adorable ammi. I printed the pattern, but haven't started them yet because I am exercising great restraint. I also unwound all of the yarn that was languishing in my stash back into skeins using my nifty new swift. Apparently leaving yarn wound in a ball make it stretch weirdly - who knew?

Back to the Slytherin Socks. I'm nearly 3/4 through the first Harry Potter book with all this re-knitting. Woo!

Yarn pr0n!

All the stuff I ordered in my post-school year frenzy has arrived, and let me tell you... I am one sated knitter. First, I got my swift and ball winder from Knitting Notions. Isn't it lovely? Then came these from Australia:

From The Knittery: Wildflowers (top) and Passionfruit sock yarn accompanied by size 1 Addi's!

And these from Britain (on the same day, no less!):

From Colourmart: 6000 yards of 45% cashmere/55% silk laceweight in "Tussah"

Erick and I headed up to my mother's for the weekend, where he endeared himself to her forever by cutting down and then cutting up three of the dead poplars on the property. Oh lordy, that boy knows how to work the mom angle, let me tell you! Then, despite my determination NOT to spend any of the $50 I have left for the next 2 weeks until my first paycheck from the Tutoring Place, my mother and I spent a bunch of money on fabric at the local Ben Franklin's. But, dear reader, it was for a purpose! We spent yesterday designing and making these aDORable reversible sock project bags!

The first one with no pockets:


And the second one with 2 pockets (one inside, one outside):


I'm quite enamored of them, and came away with enough cut fabric to make several more. With what, you may ask? Why, with this!

My very own Bernina 1000!

I think I shall name her, but I don't know what. Any suggestions?

Since I was away from Darcy all weekend, I have no kitty pictures to show you. Instead, we visited my mother's friend Karenna and her newest addition:

Isn't she just too darn cute for words?!?

Hogwarts Sock Swap

Progress! Or lack thereof. I have cast on for my Slytherin's socks about oh, 4 times and the beginning continues to elude me. But at least she won't know who she is, since I haven't gotten far enough along for it to be discernable!


The yarn is Rowan 4-ply soft, 100% merino. I like it very much - it's springy and has good loft. I *might* only make the socks in green and make up the silver bits later, but that remains to be seen. Today at lunch I'm going to rip this incarnation of the cast-on and begin afresh, and hopefully make some good progress! I got my pal's stitch markers in the mail today. Green and white pearls from zero.etsy.com. Go Ravenclaw!

Maybe Erick will drive to my mother's today so I can knit in the car. Yea, he's here. Till next Saturday. More on that situation later, 'cause I'm late for work! We're taking the camera to The Farm this weekend, so updates will ensue.

And then there was one...

Three down, one to go. My Islamic final went surprisingly well - other than the expected choking I did on the slide identifications. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when one spends too much time "decompressing" by knitting Super-Secret S--x projects and not enough time compressing. So I didn't study the 500000 slides she assigned. At least I wrote a pretty okay essay, and I shouldn't get below a C in the class. I know, I know. Not exactly what I had in mind grade-wise but whatever. At some point, it's time to just Be Done, and since I'm not going to go searching for a master's program any time soon, we're just going to call this one a wash. Good news though - the same prof is teaching Ancient Egyptian Art next term at a time I can squeeze in with my new job! Hurrah! Teachers like loyalty in students, I've noticed.

I would like to announce my current score (get your mind out of the gutter! It's not that kind of score.):
Panda Cotton: 0, Tikabelle: 1.

It was a close squeeze, but I ended up with a yard and a half left of my Panda Cotton after binding off the first of a pair of Monkeys. It was close there for awhile, sort of touch-and go. But I managed to pull ahead at the end, all the while considering what might be several universal truths:

1) Knitting faster does not make your yarn longer, although there is some stubborn part of me that still believes it will.
2) Staying up knitting frantically until 2am will not make your yarn longer. This holds true even if you have to work at 5am the next morning, despite what your sleep-deprived brain will try to tell you.
3) Staying up knitting frantically to use up your yarn will not keep away the Yard Gnomes - those pesky buggers who steal a yard here, a yard there and mean that you end up with (you guessed it) slightly less yarn than you need to finish your project.
4) Knitting more tightly does not make your yarn longer, although it may have adverse effects on your gauge.
5) Check your lot numbers before buying two skeins of anything. Especially if - for some mysterious reason - you are racing with the Yard Gnomes for final posession of your Finished Object.
6) A single Monkey sock takes approximately 168.5 yards with some slight modifications in the toe for the purposes of conserving the last few inches of yarn.

And one more little tidbit for good measure. I am a child of the 80's, so swatching brings me a special sort of joy. I hum the Swatch commercial to myself when I begin and have been known to totter into the kitchen chanting "swatch, swatch, swatch... my that's fun to say... swatch swatch swatch..." in what my roommate assures me is not an at all alarming fashion. I started swatching my Hogwart's Sock Swap socks today, and came up with a solid 8.5/inch on Addi zeros instead of 8/inch like I was shooting for. My Addi size 1's have not yet arrived; I'm going to try out the Crystal Palace size 1's tonight. Hopefully I don't have to do fussy math to get gauge for my partner's socks.

No Darcy picture today (or pictures of any sort really but I know what's important!). The little Feline Impersonator decided to spook while I was holding him up near my shoulder, and *bam!* my ear was bleeding all over everything. Luckily he scratched my ear and didn't snag and/or rip out my hoops, but it was a near miss. Because I know it wasn't his fault, I tried very hard not to be upset with him, but I'm retaliating against his alien race by not posting his picture today. Do you hear me, aliens? I'm SO on to you! My ear hurts. :(

Lawsy lawsy! The times, they are a-changin'

I'm half-way through finals and it feels as if my brain is sort of spattered on the inside of my skull. So what did I do? I indulged in a little of what we like to call "retail therapy." Now, some of you know that I am what we like to call "dead broke," so my indulgence may come as somewhat of a surprise. But that's all part of the million and six things that have happened since I came back from Michigan, all million and six of which can be reasonably defined as Earthshaking Changes.

I finally convinced my Egyptian sock to pose for a photograph. It preened a little, but finally calmed down enough to get all of itself into the picture: I'm a big fan of the star-shaped stranded toe. I may have to incorporate it into some other socks, but how I have no idea. Toe-up might be a good place to start.

I'm sure you recall the Saga of the Finger, which thankfully has ended well although I think it will be awhile before I attempt marathon stranded work again. I recovered enough to finish my first German Stocking, of which I am quite proud. I resumed work on the Super Secret S--x project, which seems to be going along swimmingly since I swallowed my pride and ripped back the four pattern repeats to the original site of the missing yarnover. Now there is the proper number of stitches and everything is going well. I quite like the yarn and the colorway just tickles me to death, so I'm perpetually entertained. Then again, that's not difficult given my current (some would say permanent, and I know who you are!) state of being.

And now back to the retail therapy portion of our show. Last Friday, I took an interview with a tutoring company that was looking for a writing/English teacher. The interview went so well that I drove straight over to my usual LYS and bought my first Koigu and Lorna's Laces.
Oh, smooshy yarn I love you so! And in such pretty colors! Originally I was looking for something for my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal - a Slytherin - but I definitely came away with yarn I am unwilling to part with. Or should I say, yarn with which I am unwilling to part. Ending a sentence with a preposition is bad, mmkay? And I should know, because after all I am a tutor. And given my current obsession with knee-highs, I may have to pick up one more skein in each colorway before the dye-lots change on me.

Anyway, the interview went really well and on Saturday I was offered a full-time job with benefits and everything. Hurrah for a new job, with no more 5am mornings or snaggy fingernails or harsh chemicals! Can I get a hurrah - in case you missed it the first time - for no more 5am mornings? This clearly deserved more celebratory yarn purchases, so I ordered some things from Knitting Notions. Then I headed to Purlesence, where I actually found yarn for my sock swap partner.

Whew! All that searching and celebrating put a dent in the $900 refund from my student aid, but not as much as tomorrow's trip to H&M will. Since I am moving up in the world, I need more than one pair of khakis. Apparently teachers don't usually wear jeans and t-shirts to work like coffee jerks do. Who knew? So I'm saving some, but most of the rest of that refund is going to end up morphing magically into clothes that are work-appropriate.

In the meantime, the actual therapy occurred today to celebrate the middle of finals, two-weeks notice at the coffee shop and a successful first day at the Tutoring Place. I bought some things from The Knittery and some things from Etsy and and stopped there to create my very own Etsy shop, which will justify some of the purchases of the last 3 days. Once finals are over, I will start dyeing yarn. Hopefully it will continue to come out like this: So that's what's been going on. Lots of changes, no? There are more. Remember the Luscious Boy I mentioned visiting in Michigan? He may be moving here. And since Jer and Elizabeth are moving to San Francisco, he may be moving in with me, which has me in an interestingly mixed state of mild panic and excitement. Updates as they occur.

Can you see the problem with my Stash Drawer?
Technically there are two problems. One is that it is kitty-free - all that unlicked yarn! - but the second has to do with the top right corner. Oh, the depravity! And just so this post isn't as problematic as my Stash Drawer, here is your gratuitous tummy-and-paws shot of the day. Stay back, ladies! He's aaaall mine:

Oh Oh Cee

I can't believe this has happened. I'm so annoyed, I may just burst. And at the same time, I'm relieved and fully plan to use this little setback as a perfect excuse to A) procrastintae profusely on my projects and B) alliterate to my hearts content. But first, the back story!

Last Wednesday I was curled up in Erick's bed, warm and sprawly in a queen-sized set of UofM-colored sheets. Everything was fine. Then, Erick himself toddled in and curled up next to me (he sleeps on the hide-a-bed when I visit in order to Keep Up Appearances for his lovely parental units) and said "baby, I don't feel so good..." So like any good Big Sister has learned to do, I kissed his forehead. Yep, fever. And for the last 5 days of my trip, he alternately sweated and shivered on the hide-a-bed while I worked on my sock and drank Airborne like it's going out of style. Poor boy, he gets fretful when he's ill and says things like "I'm sorry I'm sick, I'm ruining your trip, where is that ginger ale you promised me? I need my ginger ale! Why are you so mean to me? I like you," and snuggles up until the pattern repeats. It's trying, but it's adorable. Men, hmpf!

I thought the Airborne had done its job, and came home on Sunday. This morning I woke up with a suspicious lump in the back of my throat - one that says "you may not get away with this..." So I feel a sickness coming on. It's possible that I got it from Erick, but it's also possible that the blogosphere made me sick. Wendy was sick, Stephanie McPhee was sick, and now maybe me. What illustrious company I'm in!

But the impending doom of Blog Flu isn't what annoys me. Sure, being ill sucks bigtime, like onions. The question is, what do knitters do when they are under the weather? They finish projects. They work on easy stuff and catch up on Grey's Anatomy, which feverish recent Michigan graduates seem to have an aversion to, even though their nurses luuuust after McSteamy with a passion bordering on the obsessed. (On second thought, perhaps it is the lust for McSteamy that the UofM graduates have an aversion to. This requires more research.) And what could possibly make a knitter unable to knit? Well, a swollen tendon in the little finger of her left hand, for starters. That's right, I have a Knitting Related Injury. During the last repeat of Egyptian Sock #1, I noticed that my little finger was going prickly. Then the joint started hurting. I bound off the sock just in time for some irritating, my-knuckle-needs-to-pop feelings, and haven't picked up my needles since.

There is hope on the horizon, however. I mentioned my KRI to my professor, who assured me that one completed sock was fine (I sense an eternal excuse for Second Sock Syndrome coming on) and that I shouldn't strain myself. Which, like I said before, is a perfect reason to procrastinate. Unfortunately, my usual form of procrastination comes with CraftLit or Lime&Violet on the speakers and a pair of needles in my hands, so we'll see how long all of that works out.

Okay, I'm done whining. I think I'll go play some video games instead of writing my papers... doesn't that sound like a brilliant plan? I thought so too.

Mr. Darcy is in his element - in the closet and surrounded by mylar. He was happy to have me come home though - after an appropriate period of ignoring me for abandoning him, that is.

Of Verbs and Vices

Here are some verbs I have come across in the last 2 weeks:

Gallivant: v., 1. to gad about with members of the opposite sex, 2. to go about in search of amusement or excitement.


Reproduce: v., to produce again; make, form, or bring into existence again or anew in some way, as, (...) d) to make a copy, close imitation duplication, etc., of; e) to bring (a past scene) before the mind again.

Knit: vt., to make by looping yarn or thread together with special needles.

I arrived in Michigan on Friday to hang out with Erick for his graduation. I'm taking the week off of school and staying for about 10 days, so we'll see how *that* all turns out. I had an instant of panic last week and chucked the embroidery project in favor of reproducing a pair of Mamluk socks from roughly 1100-1300CE. It's such a relief, since I wasn't going to finish the embroidery in time for the last day of class, but the stockings are ticking along quite nicely. Added bonus that it's the first time I've done stranded knitting, and picked up the idea quite quickly once I figured out how to hold both strands of yarn in my left hand. I'm sure I'm going at it all wrong, and my Fair Isle friends would be horrified, but since they're due the 14th of May and I'm not likely to wear them myself, I'm just focused on not making glaring mistakes and getting the things off my needles. I'm quite enjoying the process though; watching designs spring (mostly) full-formed from my yarn-tangled fingers is delightful.


As far as the rest of my knitting is concerned, well. I've put myself on a Yarn Diet until I can get some of my needles free - one of the benefits to having a limited number of needles is that I can only have a limited number of projects going at once (or that's what I'm telling myself). I have a few things up my sleeve, including finishing my German Stockings and the Mystery Monkey socks (x2, but that's another story - and no peeking, Swix!!). I also need to start my Hogwarts Swap Socks. Perhaps I'll give in and simply order the proper yarn since I am using the last of my Bare stash for the Mamluks, but I haven't decided yet and really don't need to until 1) I get home and 2) get the Mamluks off my needles (school projects trump sock swaps, after all).

And as for vices, well... how can I resist this face?

It goes without saying.

I love my family. They are a huge barrel of crazy, but I love them. I adore my mom because she wears the ill-fitting socks I made for her the very first day. Because she oooh's and ahhhh's with me over clear water full of Kool-aid dyed yarn, and wonders out loud with me about what Kool-Aid does to our insides if it does that to sock yarn? I adore my brother because we still act like siblings but now that he's a grown-up, we can talk about our childhoods - and there were definitely 2 separate childhoods going on at the same time back then. My stepdad is funny and lurks and makes googly eyes and drives me NUTS, but he makes my mom happy and for that I love him too. Even though I didn't grow up there, the house on the "farm" feels like home. The chickens are delightful, our ancient Peking duck named Donald still lets me pet him even though I've been gone forever, and the cats sleep on my feet. It's nice.

HOWEVER, I have learned something very valuable this weekend, and I'm writing it down so I don't forget next time. Going back to the farm for a "quiet weekend away" is a bad idea. My family loves me and so they make plans, which I then whine about because I just wanted to stay in a room that isn't in my apartment and be silent all weekend. So the next time I want a quiet weekend I'll do it somewhere else - home is more for family time than Tika time.

Speaking of heading home, my train trip didn't materialize due to the City of San Jose being completely incompetent. The train station for San Jose is across the street from the HP Pavilion, pretty close to downtown proper. And while it is on a direct bus line to my house, the bus doesn't run on Sundays. So I decided that rather than catching the bus to the station and then having to catch a cab home on Sunday evening, I would just pay for weekend parking at the train station lot. I packed and left my house in enough time to hit Starbucks so I could avoid train coffee (shudder!). I arrived at the parking lot and found a sign that read "24-hour maximum." At a train station. W.T.F? So I had to drive home instead of sitting on the train, happily knitting away. Grrrr. City of San Jose, I'm putting you On Notice. Having 24-hour maximums at a train station parking lot is stupid. When I am in charge, heads will roll.

I did do a few good things this weekend. I took my dyed yarn up to Ellen and she was properly appreciative. She also helped me with one of Cookie A's sock patterns, since I didn't want to email Cookie herself while she was at Sock Camp. And then, I ripped all 7 inches of that sock out and started over because even though I checked my gauge and even though I was so careful to knit tighter than usual, the size I should have been according to the pattern was too small. Or maybe I like my socks too tight - one or the other. Thankfully, I was diligent all weekend and I'm back to where I was before I headed home, having lost nothing but some time - which although in short supply isn't that big of a deal. And now I'm going to watch Scrubs and work more on that sock. I highly recommend Scrubs, by the way. Great knitting television.

Somebody stop me!

I joined another sock swap. I think I might be a "joiner," but hopefully only in the most positive sense. This one is Sockapalooza and seems like great fun. I'm already behind on the 52-Pair Plunge, but I'm going to do my best to catch up over the weekend since I'll be taking the train to Rocklin and back. My grandfather Jones was a railroad man, so taking a train makes me feel close to him as well as to Those Who Came Before, much like knitting makes me feel closer to women down the ages. One of my favorite train rides was from Sacramento to Oakland. We got stuck for an hour or so due to some track snafu and I was sitting behind an elderly lady dressed in her hat and gloves. She began telling her travelling companion about how she had been taking this particular train ride since she was a little girl during the Great Depression. It was just lovely to hear her stories and made me feel so much better than if I had been sitting in traffic.

Here are the promised pictures of my Very First Socks! I realized today that I had better take some since they are for my mommy and I'll be giving them to her this weekend. All in all, they turned out fairly well and I'm excited to try new techniques and patterns.

WARNING! If your name begins with an S and ends with an X, do not follow the next link under pain of ruining surprises! Here is the picture of the project I'm currently working on until my newest Knitpicks order arrives and I can start my CookieA pattern. Speak of the devil, there's the doorbell! Maybe it's the mailman!


[runs off to open the door]


Oh frabjous day, caloo-callay! My mailman must think I'm crazy. I nearly hugged him I was so excited! We will now cut short this blog to go fondle yarn.

Hogwarts Sock Swap!!

Oh dear. Something about finishing a project must have set me off, because now I've become officially Knitting Obsessed. I dreamed about Monkey socks last night and my fingers started to itch during class today because I couldn't concentrate without knitting in my hands. This is a Bad Sign, people. A Very Bad Sign.

Since the last Harry Potter book comes out this summer (sniffle...), and since Heather Ordover of CraftLit and 1870 Pearl have both been sorted into Ravenclaw like I have, I decided to join the Hogwarts Sock Swap. Hooray! I think I'll use this opportunity to dye some of my own yarn and maybe try out some stitch marker ideas. The house assignment is appropriate, I must say. Ever since the first Sorting Hat Quizzes appeared on the 'Net, I've consistently been sorted into Ravenclaw. Not for me the brave, the dedicated or the sneaky. Oh no - I am clever. And damned proud of it! Just ask any of my professors.

So without further ado, here is the Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire!

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Ravenclaw, hurrah!

2. Shoe size? US 7.5, European 37

3. Foot Length? 22.5cm

4. Foot Circumference? 22cm

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.
a. Crystal Palace #0-1, 6 inches
b. Britanny #1 or 1.5, 5 inches
c. Clover Bamboo #0-1, 7 inches

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
I tend to have to size down my needles to get proper gauge, so anything from 00-1.5 would be perfect. I have a slight allergy to nickel so I avoid metal needles whenever possible (most metal needles are nickel-plated), but anything made of bamboo or wood I would love to try! I'm most comfortable with 5-6" DPN's but I'm not picky... about *that* part.


If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? I definitely prefer the blue/bronze of the books to the blue/silver of the movies. In the Grand Scheme of Tikabelle's Coloring, silver = invalid but bronze = healthy glow.

Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal? Ooo, yes please!

Such a Fanboi

My Very First Socks are donedonedone! I grafted the last toe together, slipped them over my feet and danced around my living room a bit. They don't quite fit properly, the heel of one is juuuusst out of line with the toe seam and I'm not sure about how long the gussets will hold up, but they're done! Plus, they're for Unit 1 and she has to wear them - she's my mommy and it's her job to wear every lumpy, bumpy, misshapen thing I send her like it came from the needles of Coco Chanel herself. And, to her credit, she does. I love my mommy.

Next up is probably a pair of Monkey socks. I broke down on Thursday and bought some sock patterns from Cookie A, along with another order of Bare from Knitpicks. Then, in order to keep myself from casting on for my newly downloaded sock pattern, I dyed the rest of the Bare from my first order. I tried my own version of rainbow dyeing - which if I'm honest I know nothing about - and it turned out quite pretty, not to mention that my house smelled like Kool-Aid all day. I hung the yarn to dry on a nylon line I rigged up on my porch, giving the neighbors a peek at my exclusive upcoming line of hand-dyed sock yarns that probably none of them appreciated as much as they should have. Muggles, I tell ya!

And then? I packed my as-yet-unfinished Very First (Second) Sock into my purse, gathered my courage and headed to Bobaknit. Oh, what joy! What rapture! A Tapioca Express full of knitters and purl tea (iseewutudidthre), and right in the middle, Cookie herself. Whose patterns I dreamed about and fashioned an entire outfit around. Now, I will freely admit that part of the reason I didn't start a new project on Thursday is that my next pair of socks will be one of her patterns (probably the ones after that, too since I don't know whether I'll be able to stand the suspense generated by the USPS). I will also freely admit that part of the reason I decided on Bobaknit instead of the Campbell SnB is because I love Knitters Anonymous and I knew that the blog authors would be there. What I refuse to whisper even to my treasured ball of Tilli Thomas 100% silk in the exact color of the baby blanket whose shreds are still in my closet and so provides both comfort and yarn pr0n in one handful of silken love is that I studiously - studiously, dear reader! - ignored her the entire night in an effort not to gush about how much I love her patterns and how I caved and bought two that very day and by the way I dye my own sock yarn canIgiveyousomeprettyplease and willyoubemyfriendbecauseyouusedthewordwhackinyourlastKnittybio! Loose lips sink (possible friend)ships, people. So I kept mine buttoned and tried not to look starstruck. I think I failed. Ah well, there's always next time.

I did make a few aquaintances there that I'm hoping will turn into full-fledged friendships. Sarah from Bella Knitting is a lovely treat of a human being who is growing a verytinyhuman of her own. We waxed rhapsodic about the Harlot's upcoming visit to Napa in June, and how to score ourselves tickets. So rhapsodic, in fact, that I traipsed over to B&N on my way home from work on Friday and bought one of her books. Thank goodness it was payday!

All in all, a quite satisfying week. Aside from school stuff, that is. Damn, am I still procrastinating about my ARTH175 paper? Nooooo, I'm just organizing in my head. Yea, that's it.

Jer took the camera to the Giants game with him today so I can't show you My Very First Socks, but I did dig up a picture of Darcy in his natural element:
Yes, he pulled the books down on his own and made an alien-shaped spot on the shelf. Impressive, no?

Flash Your Stash 2007

Well people, it's that time again! Let's see those stashes - mine is regrettably small, but I'm workin' on it, trust me. In all its tiny stashy glory, here it is!

Spring break is over, and I suppose I should rehash my List of Demands. I'll admit I was lazier than I intended to be, but it was Spring Break, and I keep a fairly good schoolwork-to-games ratio so I'm pretty content. Here's the updated list:

1. Starting Monday, do not spend any money for 1 week (not including plane ticket or bills automatically deducted from bank account). This was the big one, hooray for me!
2. Get laundry situation under control. White socks do not look good with black shoes! Laundry, to my great and abiding despair, does not stay done. Unlike, say, a paper for ARTH 175...
3. Begin ARTH 175 paper, due April 10. Notice that this is the thing due soonest. Surprised? HAH!
4. Begin ARTH 183C project. I'm counting this as completed because I've been working diligently on it and also don't need 100% of the chart to be finished in order to start the actual stitching.
4a. Scan and print stitch descriptions Now that I can spend my spare change, I'm heading to Kinko's instead.
4b. Chart motif (2/6 pages complete)
4c. Pull colors/linen from stash. And boy howdy, are they pretty! I'm excited!
4d. Begin stitching (outlines first?). Only a couple stitches into the fabric so far, but it's a beginning.
5. Finish My Very First Socks. Or at least *almost* finish them, because the 52-Pair Plunge begins April 1. I'm not above stacking the deck in my favor, especially with Spring Break Demands 4 and 7 on the books! Sock #1 is about 1/2 inch from being finished, and it will count for the Plunge. Oh yes.
6. Kool-Aid dye first set of KnitPicks yarn. They're pretty! I'm impressed with myself.
7. Choose a topic for ARTH 185B paper, or design a project. One fewer paper to write will be a blessing come May, I'm sure. Not yet, but project ideas are percolating in my brain...
8. Finish tearing apart, washing and skeining RUS's. Not a chance. Didn't even look at'em. But Darcy enjoyed sleeping on the ready-to-be-torn sweater pieces, so that counts for something right?
9. Get to 70 in World of Warcraft (yes, I said video games! What?!?) Made it to a hairs-breadth from 69. A few hours diligence here would have me at 70, but I chose schoolwork and knitting over games. I'm so good.
10. Catch up on Battlestar Galactica. Made it up through 2/18, so only a few episodes to go. Argh! The suspense!

And just in case you were missing him, here is Mistah Daaaahcy in all his glory:

Yes, he's licking my Manos del Uruguay. No, I'm not sure what it means, but I'm still highly amused.