Sewing Success!

It's a skirt!

In a messy room! Nina Garcia would definitely not approve (boring and poor construction, I'd be Auf'ed for sure), but my goal was not high fashion. It was to produce a wearable article of clothing, and that it is. In fact, it actually looks pretty good, as long as you don't look too closely. The fabric is quilting cotton from JoAnn's and is maybe a little stiff for the skirt, but other than that, I'm not going to bother to point out any other problems (and there are many) since they don't show (much).

Close up of the fabric. I'd like to make the skirt again, this time in wool (with the temperature registering at 14 degrees, I can't wrap my head around summer weight anything).

But look...it's a fabric stash! I found 6 yards of this in an antique/junk store in Grass Lake. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I'll think of something.

Completely gratuitous picture of an adorable kitten.

Bits and Pieces

By tomorrow, I should have more to say. Or at least pictures of interesting projects. Or less than interesting projects. For now, though, a couple of pictures and a story (very short, I promise).

Baby sweater and pants, in situ. Isn't she adorable? I'm verklempht.

This project is finished and I don't hate it. Until I have pictures, I'll leave it a mystery.

And a story. As I've said before, I love the Oscars. The ceremony was pretty boring this year, unfortunately Jon Stewart didn't manage to offend anyone (he ticked off both Steven Spielberg and George Clooney last time he hosted, which I found pretty funny. But I'm kind of mean that way). The only really good story of the night involved the winners of best song, "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irlova from the movie Once. Their win was a bit of a surprise, since they were up against a bunch of Di5ney songs (and they almost always win). They bounded up to the stage and Hansard used up all the mike time with his speech. Stewart thought Irlova deserved better and brought her back out so she could make her speech. It was a very sweet, genuine moment.

Mix Tape

Since I don't have much of interest to report on the knitting front -- Frost Flowers and I are getting along much better, and I've screwed up Equinox yet again -- and the Great Feline War continues, but has worn out it's usefulness for blog fodder, I decided it is time for another list of random songs from my iPod. If I can turn one more person onto Big Country, my work here will be done.

1. One Step Up – Bruce Springsteen (Tunnel of Love)

This is one of my favorite albums. It came out around the time he married and divorced his first wife, and I was obsessed with it during the time I was dating my first boyfriend. Not really a great combination, since the album is about the struggles and complexities of relationships. Love should be simple when you are 20, but I already knew it wasn’t. “When I look at myself I don’t see/the man I wanted to be/Somewhere along the line I slipped off track/I’m caught movin’ one step up and two steps back”.

2. Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes – Los Lobos (By the Light of the Moon)

This came out the same year as La Bamba, but I’m pretty sure I got it because of a review in Rolling Stone. They are a great fusion of rock, country and Tex-Mex, and their sound is so warm. This is a great party song.

3. Melt Your Heart – Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins (Rabbit Fur Coat)

This is a great album, though I’m not sure why it hasn’t yet inspired a Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley buying spree. This song has a sweet, lilting quality.

4. One April Day – Stephin Merritt (Pieces of April)

Pieces of April was a lovely little movie (starring Kate Holmes before she was kidnapped by the pod people) about the woes of Thanksgiving. I can relate. The soundtrack is a terrific collection of songs by a couple of Stephin Merritt projects, the 6ths and the Magnetic Fields. This is the only solo song on the collection and is so very beautiful, sometimes it makes me want to cry.

5. Places – Georgie James (Places)

I haven’t generally been interested in music NPR puts out there, Georgie James (and Mocean Worker) is a recent exception. I don’t know the album well enough to separate out the songs, and to be honest, these all sound kind of similar to me, but not in a bad way. I like that GJ have a retro ‘70s-‘80s sound, without sounding like anything I’ve ever heard before.

6. Shake Ya Boogie – Mocean Worker (Cinco De Mowo!)

Another NPR find, and completely different from anything I would expect to like. Mocean Worker is a producer/DJ (the album is classified as Electronica/Dance), for this record (CD, whatever) he takes classic jazz lines, cuts them up and puts them back together to a Latin beat. Completely random and weird, but very fun.

7. Just a Shadow – Big Country (Steeltown)

You might remember Big Country as a one hit wonder (“In a Big Country”) from the ‘80s, but they continued recording and had modest success in Britain. Steeltown was their second full length album, and in 1984 it hit my 16 year-old self like a ton of bricks. I was still listening to a lot of Air Supply and Duran Duran, songs about love and hungry wolves, Steeltown is about the failing Scottish economy, war, and love, stuff that mattered. I can’t say enough about this album, even 24 years later it sounds fresh to me. “I know there is no need for what’s been done/I know there is enough for everyone/Frustration brings a heavy hand to bear”.

8. Walking Spanish – Tom Waits (Rain Dogs)

That Tom Waits is never included in Best Songwriter/Album/Song/Whatever lists negates every one of them. Sure his voice is hard to get used to, it sounds like cheap whiskey and unfiltered cigarettes, but once you do I think you’ll find real beauty there. This song is a sing-songy chant, “Take off your watch, rings and all/Even Jesus wanted just a little more time/He’s walking spanish down the hall”.

9. Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key – Billy Bragg & Wilco (Mermaid Avenue)

Mermaid Avenue 1 & 2 are collections of previously unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics, which Bragg and Wilco set to music. This is a lovely song, Natalie Merchant (of 10,000 Maniacs) sings on it with Jeff Tweedy (I think), and while I sometimes find her a bit tiresome, her voice is very pretty.

10. Biko – Peter Gabriel (third self-titled album)

This is such a beautiful powerful anthem about Steven Biko.

Bowling for Honkytonk

Len and I went out on Saturday night. In our case, this is kind of a notable event since we never go out. We are both cheap and lazy, and anti-social. We really are a good pair.

We went bowling. Even though I can't bowl (I scored 73 and 90), I think it's a hoot. And I don't care to get better at it, thank you very much.

A friend of our's was playing bass in a honky tonk band at the bowling alley. This foot is not his.

Nor is this arm. I'm not sure that tattoo is very honky tonk.

The hat is, though.

This lethal concoction was all the rage. I tasted it, and it was nasty -- pineapple juice, vodka and possibly a nuclear reaction. I'm more of a gin and tonic girl, myself.

Bowling and country music. It's a great way to spend a Saturday night.

Random This and That

A Valentine's Evening to Remember: Len called me when I was close to home, "Hey, do you want to go to Big Boy in Brooklyn (not New York) for Valentine's Day dinner?". He'd been looking in vain all day for salt to spread on parking lots and was going to make a last ditch effort in Brooklyn. We ended up stopping at a hardware store in Napoleon (don't you love these small town names?) where he found just what he needed. Rather than continue on to Brooklyn or try to choose among our very limited options, we just went home and made dinner (a lovely salmon, asparagus and roasted potatoes). We are so romantic.

Not that I mind, I'm not a fan of the day. On the other hand, I heard a lovely story on NPR yesterday which has me thinking about it in a different way. Ted Kooser, the U.S. poet laureate from 2004-2006, sent Valentine poems for 20 years (he finally stopped when his list reached 2,700). They are all published in a new book, and I highly recommend reading the ones on the story's website.

Update Chez Feline Central. They are starting to calm down. We are using Comfort Zone which the cats seem to perceive as an amorphous benevolent kitty god, or something. The package says to give the product 4 weeks for behavior change, but Judy's attacks seem less frequent and not as vicious. She has even let me pick her up, yesterday she drooled on me, which is kind of sweet in a gross way. Fred has no problem using the litter box in the bathroom, but I cannot stress enough how temporary this solution is. I won't go into how gross it is, but this is really only one step better than her using the floor.

Pretty Babies. We had dinner with Len's sister, Amy and her twins. I think they still qualify has The World's Prettiest Babies.

You could disagree, I suppose, but I don't see how.

Home #10

It's been a while since I did one of these. The snow hasn't been exactly inspiring, but I stopped yesterday and captured this.

Frozen Wolf Lake

A Lot of Knitting Happened...

...To the detriment of house cleaning, that's for sure! The cats have me so frazzled, all I can do is knit. Likely excuse, I know.

My plan was to show you lovely pictures of lovely knitting and bad sewing, but all I have are crummy pictures.

Here is my version of the Equinox sleeve. The colors are a little different, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Also, I recounted the stitches in the body. It seems my original count was wrong, and I do, in fact, have the correct number of stitches.

This is a horrid picture. One color is off and it is throwing the whole thing out of whack. The background for the bands of pink petals ("peeries", according to Meg Swanson) should be a very pale green, not tan. Oh well. This is the one bit of knitting that hasn't been giving me fits lately.

And here is a crummy picture of my first sewing project since Junior High Home Ec. The seams are crooked and don't match up, the handles are slightly different lengths, one is a bit tilted, and the lining shows more than it should. But here's the thing: it isn't going to fall apart, so I'm putting this in the Success column.

And it has a pocket inside. Sweet!

It doesn't take much to please me these days.

Not All Doom and Gloom

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. This is definitely one of the more challenging feline situations I've had. We have a litter box in the bathroom which is helping a lot, and Happy Kitty Nerve Gas is spewing through the house (apparently it can take 4 weeks to take effect).

It isn't all doom and gloom Chez Feline Central.

Fred shoved herself into a shoe box, then she took a nap. Look at that little face -- she is so worth all the pain (Judy is, too, it's just harder to make a case for her).

Then Fred and Gwen took in a little cat TV. By the way, Gwen is not a large cat, she's about 9 pounds, but a good portion of that is pudge, otherwise she is pretty short. She is quite neurotic, but in an interesting, quirky way (as opposed to a Kill-the-Kitten way), I'll be interested to see how she reacts to the nerve gas.

Roadblocks Still Holding

First of all, it isn't as though I've been having a truly bad year -- others I know have been dealing with roll over accidents, floods, house fires, illness, wrongful arrests and chipped teeth. I know quarreling cats and bad knitting don't measure up, but it is my blog so I'm going to go ahead and whine.

The cats are still at it. We got anti-anxiety drugs for Judy, but we can't get her to take the pills. The first night I stuck one in some wet food and she ate it, but she's gotten wise to that trick. She either won't eat the food at all or eats around the pill, breaking it up does no good because she can taste or smell the medicine. She acts as though we are trying to poison her. I'd be more willing to let Judy's anger play itself out, but there are two issues. One is that Judy was a little anxious and shy as a kitten, but rather than getting better she has gotten worse, so I have no reason to think she will eventually accept Fred since she doesn't now. The other big problem is that because Judy attacks her, Fred seems to have given up on the litter boxes altogether. I'm concerned if this continues much longer, Fred won't ever use the box.

Our next step is to try the Happy Kitty Pheromone Diffuser (I don't think this is the official name). This isn't an inexpensive solution (and will affect all of the cats), but maybe it will chill Judy out enough that we can give her the pills. If it doesn't work? Does anyone want a massive, foul-tempered calico? She comes with a bottle of anti-anxiety drugs and a bunch of diffusers. You'll need them.

Knitting is a mixed bag. I've restarted the Fair Isle Cardigan. The only reference I can find to this is from April, obviously I have derelict in my blogging duties since I've just started the gusset and haven't been giving you a stitch by stitch update. I don't even have a picture. You will have to trust me when I say it is pretty and I haven't (so far) screwed it up, despite my best efforts.

The Frost Flowers and Leaves continues to be problematic. I thought I fixed the problem in row 51 (missing decrease), but I can't get row 52 to work correctly. I looked at the 6th printing of Gathering of Lace to see if I could figure it out (I have the first, error-riddled, printing), but it doesn't look like the publishers (insert swearing) fixed row 51? I will need to take that row out and re-do it, I haven't worked up the energy yet.

Equinox. Betty, a reader who kindly sent an e-mail when she couldn't comment, remembered Alice Starmore's technique of sewing or tacking steeks down, and that may be a reasonable way to deal with these. I don't have the particular book in which Starmore explores this technique, but last night I was reading Handknitting with Meg Swanson (oh c'mon, you read knitting books in bed, too!), and she also discusses a couple of ways to tack down steek stitches.

But I have another problem: leaving the steek stitches aside, the number of stitches I have on the needle doesn't seem to bear any relation to the number of stitches I should have, it looks right now like I have about 10 too many for the Large and 12 too few for the XL. {sigh} I've decided to knit the sleeves to the point that they get added in and see what happens. I should be ok if I have (or can get to) a multiple of 8 (that of the color chart for that section). I think.

My head hurts. I think I'm going to crawl under my desk and take a nap.

Making my Day

I left work on Thursday tired and crabby (some people might say that is my usual way of being, but I am ignoring them). I took Friday off and laid low all weekend, which was helpful, but dealing with the cats and continuing knitting problems ended up really bumming me out (man). So it was so lovely to come back to work yesterday and discover that Valerie had given me a You Make My Day Award, and it has left me verklemft. I'm very fond of Valerie's blog, so it is, indeed, an honor.

I know some people find these sorts of things burdensome or irritating, but as Sharon expressed so well in her post, they can be a terrific way of creating an online community, which is at least part of the reason we create blogs in the first place. Plus, I always appreciate an opportunity to yammer away about stuff I like. However, I'm going to try to make this a list of blogs I find inspiring for reasons other than knitting, mostly because I always find knitting inspiring.

So, in order of appearance in my Bloglines subscription (er, alphabetical):

A Dress A Day. Just what it purports to be. I love dresses, Erin's writing is wonderful (her "Secret Lives of Dresses" series is not to be missed, they can be found in her sidebar), and while she is giving the not-so-secret desire to sew dresses of my very own, it is not necessary to enjoy her blog.

Farmgirl Fare and In My Kitchen Garden. I'm counting these as one since the same blogger writes both; IMKG, in which the author mainly discusses her extensive vegetable garden, is an offshoot of FF, which is about her life on a Missouri farm. And food. Her Basic White Bread is fabulous.

Fashionist. Located in San Francisco, Mai takes pictures of people whose clothes catch her eye. I particularly like this blog because she is so positive, it has changed the way I see people on the street. I'm much more apt to see people whose style I like, though I have to admit to still shaking my inner fist at kids in mini skirts and Uggs, or flip-flops when it is 40 degrees and raining, or slippers (seriously? you couldn't find shoes?)

Manolo for the Big Girl. Manolo (a great Shoe Blog, but not the great Blahnik) has spun off into several different subjects -- brides, kids, men, food, etc. -- this one I identify with most closely. Part fashion, part You Go Girl, with the occasional book and movie review, Francesca and Plumcake's writing is funny and refreshing. This post is a great example of what they do best.

Matt Callow's Livejournal. Callow is an Ypsilanti based photographer who specializes in pinhole and crappy cameras. Amazing stuff.

Miss Information. A crabby, annoyed library clerk. Even though our patrons are faculty and phd and master degree candidates, I often know just how she feels.

NPR's This I Believe. Not a blog, but it is in my feeds, so I'm counting it. I love these essays, after hearing or reading one (or more) I feel reassured that we aren't necessarily headed for hell in a vapid handbasket. I'm particularly fond of Be Cool to the Pizza Dude and Always Go to the Funeral (which I first read during a time I seemed to be going to an awful lot of them).

Tales from the "Liberry". A small town library employee dealing with the crabby, the smelly, the "innanet crowd" and the bathroom challenged. Huh. That could describe my house!

Waiter Rant. I haven't ever waited tables (thank god), but I find this blog completely fascinating. His writing is stellar -- he is funny, bitter and often deeply empathetic.

yarnstorm. Her pictures are lovely, and her writing is so very British, this blog is a pool of calm. Jane Brocket has a book, The Gentle Art of Domesticity, out in the UK, and I understand it is to be released in the US.

By the way, it seems that the Anonymous Comment function was working here. Please know, this was not intentional and should be fixed now.

Finished Duster and Some Roadblocks

On Monday I said I would report on the Tilted Duster buttons (as well as a hilariously unsuccessful sewing attempt). Obviously, that did not happen and I know you are on the edge of your seat. As if.

Here is the collar as it stood (heh) last week. It was big and rather overwhelming, so I ended up taking about an inch or a little more out (which really means I ripped it to about an inch below the first buttonhole, since they needed to be repositioned). I'm much, much happier with the way it looks.

Unfortunately, this is the only sort-of-nice picture I have of the duster with buttons, you will just have to trust me when I say it looks really nice. I was a little worried because the ribbing was very puffy before washing, but I suspected a good soaking would tame the stitches. Luckily, I'm not always wrong and it behaved just as I thought. The fit is a bit larger than I would like, but not nearly enough to feel like it's a problem. Overall, I'm very pleased with how the sweater came out, and I think I will get a lot of use out of it.

Roadblocks:
Sewing has a bit of a learning curve. Whenever I sit down at that machine, I start out with a tangled, knotty mess. I've managed to get through it, but I don't know how. Knowing how I'm getting past the knotty mess would go a long way towards avoiding the problem in the first place. Frustrating.

Frost and Flowers has been problematic as well. I got to a point that I just couldn't make the stitches work out. I checked and re-checked (several times) and I have enough stitches, but I just couldn't get it to work out. Finally I remembered. I have a first edition of Gathering of Lace and it is riddled with errors (insert swearing here), and when I checked the online errata, sure enough, the line I am on has a missing decrease (which I was expecting, but I wasn't sure of the placement). Now if I can just remember to take those pages home, I'll be all set.

But wait! There's more! In April, I started a version of the Equinox Pullover from Interweave Knits. I decided I would prefer a cardigan and that the whole thing should be knitted in the round and steeked (cut apart, for you non-knitters). So I casted on, knitted away, then put it aside when warm weather hit. I picked it up again a few days ago and it seems I've learned a few things about stranded knitting in the intervening months. The Dale of Norway baby sweater was a huge learning experience (funny for such a wee little sweater). Here's the problem: I casted on and have been knitting seven steek stitches (the stitch that gets cut, plus some extra just-in-case-it-unravels stitches). I don't remember why I have seven, but now I'm concerned that it's too many. I knitted facings for the Dale sweater which cover the raw edges, with such a large number of stitches to cover the facings will be very wide. Also, I'm concerned that the button plackets will need to cover much too wide of a space. The bottom and cuff ribbing are just three rows, the plackets would need to be at least double and that could easily offend my sense of balance. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

Feline Roadblocks:
Judy hates Fred.

Now that she has decided to rejoin the posse, she's around to beat up on the wee little bugger. Judy is three times the size of Fred, but Fred has been able to defend herself very well. I'm more concerned with Judy's emotional well being, she is so unhappy. We're thinking about checking with our vet to see if anti-anxiety drugs would be helpful, since therapy isn't an option.

Plus, I haven't being feeling all that well for the last few days. It finally hit me that the symptoms I'm experiencing are exactly my allergy symptoms: sore throat, oogy stomach, run down. Fred seems to have pushed me over the edge of what my allergy medication can handle. {sigh}

Drinking the Kool-Aid

The booties are from Saartje's freaking adorable pattern (which, once I worked through my bone-headedness, is perfectly clear and easy). The hat I made up on my very own (based on a hat pattern in some book I have).

I knew I wanted bright blue buttons (I sometimes pass a bright orange house with a bright blue chair on the porch and have often thought that it is such a nice little detail). I figured I would make-do with plain round buttons, but found these flowers instead. What could be more perfect?

So perfect, that I decided they deserved repeating on the hat.

I found the buttons at Threadbear on Saturday, where I got to meet and have my picture taken by a very delightful Franklin of The Panopticon fame. I am pleased to report that I did not make a complete ass of myself (at least I don't think I did). Nor did I break the bank on yarn, despite being lined up next to the lace weight (very unfair).

I also found buttons for the Tilted Duster, which I will report on tomorrow, along with my unsuccessful attempts at sewing. At this rate, MICHMash, I will be ready to help you with your pajama pattern in about 5 or 6 years.

Kool-Aid Sunrise

Tuesday night I pulled out three balls of yarn (er, Cleakheaton Country something something, discontinued), light pink, lavender, and dusty rose, and was promptly lost in a storm of indecision. I liked the colors together, I didn't think I would, but they were rather soft and pretty. However, as you are looking at orange and red rather than pinks and lavender, I think you know which way I went.

So. Cleakheaton something or other, DK weight, superwash wool. Each ball was about 50 grams. The instructions I've read say to use 1 packet of kool aid per ounce of wool for saturated color. Um. Yeah, I increased that a bit. I used 10 packets for 1.75 ounces. That was a bit extreme, since it didn't soak up all the dye, but it sure is saturated! I then spent most of yesterday evening knitting and ripping a bootie, not because anything is wrong with the pattern, but I seem to be a bit dim (unlike the yarn). I should have at least one bootie to show tomorrow.

Minor Irritations

Unlike Stef, truly minor.

Fred, who is delightful in so many ways, has developed a very bad behavior: she pees and poops in inappropriate places. We think this is because she is afraid of Judy, who has not reacted well to Fred's presence. At. All. Her hiding place is next to the litter boxes. We've put another box upstairs, but the only appropriate place is also a regular Judy hideout. The really rotten bit is that she ruined my copy of Atonement, which I have not finished.

In the very minor, but what in god's name was she (whoever she is) thinking, category: someone cut her hair in our bathroom at work. There are shreds of it all over the sink and clumps on the floor. Who would do such a thing? I can imagine a moment of bang despair, wherein she just could not contain herself (I've had those moments, but have, to this date, managed to suck it up until I got to my own private bathroom at home), but to not then clean up after herself? Very rude, and kind of gross (especially because this is a very small bathroom).

My drive to work today was shockingly bad. This winter has had plenty of snow, ice, fog, sleet and rain, but never have I seen so many cars having slid into each other then off the highway. It's as though drivers randomly decided that it is no longer winter, and that is not less true just because there is snow and ice on the road. Thus, we crawled into Ann Arbor at a whopping 20 miles per hours. Slow, but very safe.

I went to find yarn yesterday and came up with this:


Once I started knitting (a Baby Surprise), I decided there is too much tan and the self-patterning yarn does not work in garter stitch (which not have been a surprise, but, well, you know. It was.) Ugh. As I was lying in bed, stressing a bit, I remember that I have a couple of very pale pastel balls of washable DK weight wool, which I could dye with kool-aid. I can't remember if I have two or three of these and I'm just feeling very indecisive about the whole baby-sweater-in-less-than-a-week endeavor. I went to another shop at lunch. Nothing. I have decided (I think) to make a pair of booties (Saartje's booties, in fact) and a wee hat (which I'll make it up as I go). Kool-aid dye tonight, knitting tomorrow. If that doesn't work, watch this space for my exploding head.

Weekend Crafting

I am pleased to report, despite a rather busy Saturday, I managed to finish the Tilted Duster:

Simon is pleased. I added a couple of rows of garter stitch to the bottom of the expanse of stockinette, since I can't help but think it will curl, even with severe blocking. I had enough of the green to do the collar, but decided to stick with my original plan to use the mauve, which I think adds some extra interest.

It still needs buttons (I'm going up to Nirvana=ThreadBear* this weekend and will, I hope, find some). It also needs to be blocked -- the sweater fits but lays a bit oddly, the knitting really needs a good soak to relax some, which should fix that issue. I may also end up ripping the collar and re-knitting it, since it is a bit on the tall side for me.

Next up in knitting: I need to make a quick baby sweater, for a shower-lunch thing next Tuesday. I went shopping in my rather substantial stash and didn't come up with anything inspiring. I do have some very light gray wool, which I may dye with kool-aid. It isn't washable, though, and I hate the idea of subjecting someone with a new baby to hand washing. Seems mean. I'll decide before leaving work.

And in the "Have You Lost Your Ever-Lovin' Mind" category:

Yes. Sewing. Never mind that I haven't sewn a dang thing since junior high school Home Ec., or that I have my hands full with the knitting and the weaving and the baking and the cooking and the cleaning. Not to mention the stupid beads. I need something else to do like I need a hole in the head. However, I do have a sewing machine -- bought specifically for the purpose of steeks -- and it does seem like there are certain things that make more sense to make than to buy (e.g. a simple little bag). I resisted for quite a long time before I caved.

But cave, I did. Then I fell for some cute flowers.

And who can resist dots (with the requisite cat hair)? Certainly not I. I blame angry chicken. It is her book after all.

I got all of the pieces cut out (badly, I'm sure), but it all came crashing down when I couldn't find the manual for the sewing machine to review how to wind a bobbin, which shows just how little experience I have. I downloaded the manual today, so I'm good to go. Or I should be. Now, if I could just download some sanity, I'd be happy.

*I don't really need an excuse to go, but they are hosting Franklin Habit of The Panopticon fame, as part of his 1,000 Knitters project. Yes, I am a sheep (of the stupid follower variety, not of the bad pun type). But I also haven't had a decent picture taken of me since my high school senior pictures, and I am interested in how a professional would do.

Tuesday List

I have only a little to say about not very much, so a totally random list it is:

1. I continue to be in a very blah mood. Lack of sun? Too much bizarre weather? It's typical of Michigan, but always disconcerting. Depression?

2. Judy is sleeping with us again. She still hasn't forgiven us for taking her to the vet, and we still don't see her otherwise (unless she is running away), but for the last two nights, she has slept on our bed. Weird. We are supposed to take Simon, Gwen and Judy back to the vet this weekend for booster shots, I doubt we'll get Judy back up there.

3. Fred continues to be completely delightful.

4. I seem to be on track to finish the Tilted Duster by the end of this weekend. Crazy. Aside from baby sweaters, this is the fastest I've ever knit a sweater.

5. Election rant: I haven't decided whether I am voting in the primary today. The national Democratic party is not seating any delegates from Michigan and all but Clinton and Kucinich pulled their names from the ballot. And I will not vote in the Republican primary, since I dislike all of them equally. I was sick of the election about 3 minutes after it began, which was like 5 years ago. Wake me up when it's over. Seriously. Is there any substance? I have this vague memory that Edwards, Clinton and Obama released health care plans, but that was a long time ago. We get a lot of "I was against the war before you were against the war"/"No, I was" blah blah blah. Has any of them given a realistic answer as to what they would actually do about it? What are the steps any one of them would take to help stabilize the Middle East? Was there ever a time when presidential candidates actually said something? The decision about who will be our next president should be the most important decision I make today, but I can't help but believe that decision will have been made by someone with a great deal more money than I long before I step into a voting booth. Feh.

6. I'm reading Atonement by Ian McEwan. I love it. I haven't seen the movie, I've heard it is very good, but I cannot, for the life of me see how the book could be translated to a movie.

7. That is all. Here is a pretty picture:

Photographic Evidence of Knitting

I know y'all have been wondering if I'd ever post pictures of knitting again (I kind of doubt that), and here it is, evidence of knitting:

Frost Flowers and Leaves. It doesn't look like much, nor will it until it is blocked, but knitting lace is such a pleasure. The yarn is alpaca lace weight from Henry's Attic, which I bought more than a year ago (I think) with this project in mind.

I can't wait to get it on the circulars. The corners where the double points are ugly (blocking will be my friend, I hope).

Drifting Pleats: two sets of pleats have drifted. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca Silk, in Garnet, I'm using size 4 needles for this.

Closeup of the pleats, with bonus cat hair.

The Tilted Duster, looking more like a sweater than a green blob. While I don't think I will ever convert to large needle knitting, there is something to be said for starting a sweater and being able to wear it in short order. I'm not there yet, but I don't think this will take more than another couple of weeks.

The ribbing part of the pattern has a 9 row repeat (increasing at the sides, decreasing at the front), which is repeated 10 times. Rather than a row counter and marking repeats on the pattern, I decided to attach 10 removable markers to the knitting. When I finish a 9 row repeat, I take one of these markers and attach it to the last row of the repeat.

I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure I will manage to screw this up. For now, though, it is working very well, and I haven't gotten lost yet.

Gratuitous cat shot: Fred loves knitting.

More this and that

My mood is quite foul. I've been indulging myself, and wallowing in it a bit, but it is getting old and about time to shake myself out.

I have knitting to show off, but haven't taken any pictures (of knitting) recently. I promise to take some tonight. So in photoless knitting news: I've finished two repeats of the Drifting Pleats and continue to be stunned by the genius of this pattern. I'm finding the instant gratification of the Tilted Duster kind of thrilling -- I've finished the back, fronts, and two sleeves. The back and fronts are sewn together and the skirt is picked up and knitted down, I am about 5 inches into the skirt. I've developed a failsafe way to keep track of where I am in the increase/decrease repeats, I'm sure enough of my boneheadedness that I will find a way around that system and screw up. Like I said. Foul mood. I've also started Frost Flowers and Leaves from Gathering of Lace. More on that when I have pictures.

The fifth and final season of The Wire started last night. If you haven't seen this, get a hold of the DVDs and catch up. This is simply the best that television has to offer (link goes to Pajiba review).

A bit more on Fred: she does have her claws, I have scratches to prove it (from a bit of roughhousing, on my part). We fall squarely in the Pro Claw camp, though I certainly can understand why someone might be in the Anti Claw camp (Simon and Gwen destroyed the vinyl upholstery on a chair of Len's, I'm a little afraid to find out how much it will cost to replace). Fred was a character on Angel, a TV show that spun off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Len and I both have huge crushes on Fred, a character who, even though she didn't possess any superhuman strength, could still kick some serious ass. At the end of the series her body was taken over by a sort of god, and she did get superhuman strength, plus blue skin, a form fitting leather outfit, and a serious lack of moral compass. Bless her heart. Yep, we do love us some Fred at our house. Of both varieties.

In order to not leave you completely without pictures, here is one I took on January 1st:

I have a couple of black and white versions on Flickr, but I think I like the color version better. It is now close to 60 degrees outside and all that snow is gone.

Winifred

Named for Winifred "Fred" Burkle. Yes, we are geeks. Get over it.

This and That

I'm back. The best I can say about the holidays is that they are over. The less said the better.

Cats, on the other hand, they are keeping our lives interesting. It's a long story, full of scratches, bites, tears, and recriminations. And that was just Judy. But. Everyone got vaccinated and we got our new baby, What's Her Name (Stella? Clara? ???) and Len did not get an infection from the cat bite.

So cute! She took over the house immediately. Simon started playing with her within a day or so. Gwen. Well, she's been less accepting. She pooped on the bathroom floor several times a day, for several days (and a couple of times in the bedroom). It's been tense, but she's working through her issues. Ha! Judy finally joined us last night, after hiding in the basement for a week, and discovered the newbie. She wasn't amused.

And our friends, C & A had a baby a week ago. I got to see her on Tuesday, an auspicious beginning to the new year.