Craptina

Bye-bye Noel

We had to give up a kitty. Mr. Noel was requested to live with Joe's  parents in Long Island. And since he isn't our kitty (we've just been taking care of him while Joe was in Beirut) we had to comply. So now we are a house of three cats and somehow that's just not as exciting. Sure, it's still manaical to be surrounded by fluff and tails at 6:40 every morning at chow time. I guess less pitter-patter on the stairs makes it more of an empty nest. Noel, you were a pain in my ass with the meowing in the middle of the night and you scratched the shit out of the railings, but I still love you and I will miss you.


Not much other knitting news to report at this time. I do have some projects going on, and an FO or two, but I can't share any. I've officially started, dare I say it- Christmas knitting. I took last year off from any christmas knitting but I'm crazy enough to do it again this year. What's the definition of insanity again? I keep reminding myself that chrismas knitting is about the thought and care for the receiver, and not about the saving of the money. But that helps, too. My credit card and I are looking forward to a calmer holiday this year. Yes, I realize that it is the beginning of September, but the budget is ticking so I've started knitting :)

Rockin Girl Bloggers!

Woo hoo!! Kaitlyn nominated me for this sweet new fad- Rockin Girl Bloggers. Thanks homegirl for the love- if there's anyone that deserved this button it's definitely you.

There are a few other women I'd like to nominate who definitely deserve this title. Therefore, in no specific order of rockitude.....

Karin from The 21st Century Hostess- We've never met in person, but I'm sure if we did we'd be fast friends. Not only does Karin try to knit a sweater a month, she's back in school and still finds time to craft, blog, and cook amazing recipes. As a fellow foodophile, she proudly photos her dinners and shares her experiences, even when they don't turn out so good. She's a brave woman to do that and she rocks in my book.

Nicole of Sum of Two Drunks- Why more people don't read this blog is beyond me. Not only is Nicole Hilarious, she's politically  observant and educates the masses despite the few comments. She's currently 4.5 months pregnant, and the documenting of this experience cracks me up. For your Sweatshop Free Agenda and the call to End Leggings as Pants you rock.

Carrie of Every Word's a Purl- This blog is one that you look forward to reading because the writing is so well done and engaging, well- you just can't wait for the next post! Carrie is an adventurous knitter who takes on projects that I immediately want to knit after seeing her FO, and keeps on trucking when it doesn't always work out. She has a fabulous sense of style that takes names.

Sarah of Blue Garter- Within two and a half years of knitting Sarah has not only taken on the most intimidating projects, she also designs her own garments, models for magazines, hikes mountains, rides horses for weeks on end, makes her own greeting cards, sheesh, the list goes on.....She's rockin, all the way around.

So much crafting, so little time

I made these.....

Monkey Socks!
Yarn: Rowan something something discontinued. I forget. It's wool, and it breaks when you pull it too hard.
Needles: No.1 DPNs, purple, to boot.
Time: about a month
For: moi.
Notes: will make these socks again in a varigated yarn, because I think the lace pattern will pop better.

And my Big Gay Blanket is coming along well...

Who's it for yet, I don't know. I have a few pregnant ladies in my life and a few toddlers. Or maybe it will turn out so strange it'll be sent to Iraq to warm a soldier's heart. Lucky you might be the recipient of such magnificent acrylic beauty...

AND I made this curtain. Big A has been complaining about getting the sun in his eyes, so I surprized him with this 10 foot curtain. The fabric is from Purl, and yes it was expensive, but so pretty!!

This past weekend Big A and I went to Southold, NY, which is a pretty town out in Long Island where is family has a vacation house. He starts school this week, so we had a nice romantic weekend watching the meteor shower, boozing it up at wineries, boating, and antiquing. I got this awesome scale:

It's the Deluxe Supreme  Postal Scale and it will accurately tell me the weight of my postal packages, though I bet the rates will be out of date. This baby balances up to 4 pounds, so it may find a serving of food on it too. And by the way- the yarn that this is holding is something that I got at the yarn swap at the Spiders Summer Gala but I have no idea what it is. Was this yours? Can you tell me what I'm holding here?

So about the bike....

 

It was stolen in the flipping courtyard of my building.

I don’t know what time it was taken. We have an overnight 7pm-7am security guard for christ’s sake. And he’s a great guy, but we often spend more time with him boozing it up in the courtyard than casting an unwelcome presence to our neighbors. The funny thing is that of the two bikes Big A and I own, they only took one, and the crappier one at that. The seat was terrible to ride on, that same seat was too low and my legs could never fully extend to rock some speed and only one gear handle worked. So I should be thankful that they took it, it’s an excuse to get another, better bicycle. But we can add Murphy’s Law to this scenario because I HAD a third bike and I sold it on craigslist last month.  

Ugh.

My bike was stolen. I'm so pissed.

It's been busy around here

Chez Craptina has been anything but slow lately. The Spiders game over last Saturday for our first annual Summer Gala, and I think everyone had a great time. I had secretly been working on a quiz game that was revealed after the yearn swap- let me tell you, it is TOUGH coming up with 30 different knitting trivia questions. There were some silly questions and some hard ones, but the girls enjoyed them all.Check out Veronique's most recent post to see some sample questions. I'd post them all, but I'm too tired......

My family is Really Into Playing Games, and my mother always had fun things like this planned for us. My mom also gave me the idea to put a goody in a handful of the cupcakes; if you got a dime in your cupcake you win a prize! Every christmas my mom makes a lazagna and after it's done she'll put a couple uncooked kidney beans in it. If you get a bean in your piece of lazagna you win a prize. A little candy bar or something, it's cute.

The whole tiara thing started out as a joke, but the ladies kept teasing about it, so Jess and I decided to actually buy some tiaras!

Let me tell you about my kick ass neighbor Lachlan: not ony did he make the hummus from scratch, he washed the dishes, brought the grill up from the courtyard, carried chairs and the beer, lent chairs from his apt, got the grill going, AND wore a tiara. Lach- you rock.

we also had a yarn swap! I ended up with some sweet sock yarn, and some light green alpaca.

And in the knitting sector of the world, I had a bomb drop on a tank top I haven't bloged about yet. I started and finished a tank top in 8 days. Sweet, right? Well it was also in brioche stitch, which I'd never tried before. It was definitly a bitch to get started, but with help from my homegirls, I got it down. Using some Jo Sharpe Desert Garden Aran Cotton, which is nice and bulky at 6 stitches per inch. I swatched my gauge and cast on for the Brioch Bodice from the Fall 06 IK. This bad boy worked up so quickly I didn't notice how wide it had gotten in the body. Dammit.  I gave it a good blocking, and pinned it exactly to the measurements I wanted, but the g.d. cotton went right back to it's shape as soon as it was unpinned. Sigh.

Amen for ravelry. I looked up this yarn to see what other projects people had made with it and LO AND BEHOLD it kind of sucks for garments. It tends to split, stretch, and gets very heavy. So the Brioche stitch added to the stretch, which is why this garment rocked on the swatch, but casting on additional stitches encouraged the stretch. Oh well. Look for this yarn in an upcoming stockinette piece.

In responce, I started a new non-garment project: My Big Gay Log Cabin

Turns out, all this acrylic I've been hiding under my bed is all colors of the rainbow. Perfect baby blanket crap material and uses up the stash. sweet.

Tuxedo Tank complete

Boo-ya! An FO!
Pattern: Tuxedo Tank, from Summer 2007 Ik
Designer: Theresa Schabes
Yarn: Random cotton from the stash, given to me years ago as a gift: "You're a knitter, here- take this."
Needles: No.4 circs
Time: about 6 weeks.
Notes/Mods: None, this pattern was really simple and easy to do. One could add shaping easily to the body, but I have enough shaping as it is ;) I've worn it a couple times since finishing, and it is the one handknit that people don't ask me if I made. It makes me feel sneaky......

I love this shirt so much here's another picture.

Big A is heading out to India this weekend on business for a week, so I'll be a free woman- wait that sounds weird. I am a free woman, but I guess my schedule will be more free, since my lover will be out of town. So please send your well wishes. He's traveling 30 hours each way and he'll only be there for 5 days total. yikes. My body would be hurting. Luckily, he's preparing by drinking lots of alcohol  (that must help, right?) In the meantime, the kitties will keep me lots of company. Here are some shots from the past week that are not to be missed!!
Lucy, who loves to clean Big A's armpits and lick his feet, found some sweaty sneakers to love. It's gross, yes, but it also very loving in a kitty-cat kind of way.

                                                                                                                                                                 While comparing mortgage rates on lendingtree.com, Darla informed me she didn't appreciate being photographed while working.

First prize

I won first prize at the company picnic Bake-Off. My Strawberry Rhubarb Pie took names, people. I ran out of pie after 30 minutes and there were still at least 15 desserts on the table. There was a cheesecake, lemon meringue, pumpkin cookies, and so many other delicious items. Aside from the fabulous prizes above, I also won a gift certificate to Starbucks and a chip & dip set (very exciting)

Strawberries are now in season so bake and enjoy!

• 1 egg
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 pint fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, halved
• 9 inch unbaked pie shell

TOPPING:

•   3/4 cup  flour
•   1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•   1/2 cup quick-cooking or rolled oats
•   1/2 cup cold butter

                                                                                                                                                        

1. In a large mixing bowl beat egg. Add the sugar, flour and vanilla; mix well. Gently fold in rhubarb and strawberries. Pour into pastry shell.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and oats. Cut in the butter until the mixture crumbles. Sprinkle over pie until the top is covered. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F bake for 35 minutes more. cool to warm before serving.

It's a duster!

Congrats to Steph for guessing right on the first comment! She'll get some use out of this handy item (pun intended). Pete and Joey here had a great time trying the duster out, which was a big help around the house.....

Before I get into all the knitting that's been going on, I want to apologize to all my fellow bloggers out there; I haven't been able to keep up with commenting at all lately. Several weeks ago our paper buyer gave notice and yours truly has been helping to cover ever since. It's a lot more responsibility and therefore more time and focus. I have no time to read blogs on my lunch break and often when I come home I can't even think about looking at the computer. So if anyone knows someone who buys paper for publishing houses, please drop me a line, I'm drowning over here! Send good-for-hire vibes to my bosses, plesase! So know that I do read through your blogs and am doing my best to keep up. I may not be commenting but I'm listening :)

What's the best cure for stress? A little yarn therapy! There's been a LOT of knitting going on, so lets start with an FO...

My First pair of tow up socks!
Yarn:Brooklyn Handspun, in Jungle Canopy
Needles: No.2 DPNs
Pattern: On Your Toes Socks,  from the Summer 07 IK
Designer: Ann Bud
Mods: Aside from the short row heel (which I am finally beginning to memorize) I felt this pattern was a breeze. So much so, that I quickly cast on for the second sock and didn't bother to look and the first one OR the pattern and see that it was supossed to be a double rib instead of a single......doh! Oh well, I guess these will be around-the-house socks, at least they are the same colorway.

Also from the Summer 07 IK is the                                       Sleeveless Tuxedo Shirt from Theresa Schabes. I've been rocking out on this baby for about three weeks, I just finished the last sleeve strap this evening, and am ready to block and start finishing!

I promise there are armholes on it, they are just curling up the sides:) The yarn I'm using is kind of a mystery . Someone gave me a bag of yarn a few years ago and this cotton was in it. I'm not exactly sure how much there is, but it looked like it was probably enough for a tank top, so I cast on for this the minute I got the magazine in the mail.

Lest anyone forget Glee is still alive and I have a progress shot!

I'm still working on those sleeves, and the finish line is in sight.This is very good because I only have one ball of Rowan Calmer left. Ann let me use her kitchen scale to weigh out the last ball, so I'll have enough to make those sleeves. I figure, once I get to the end of the yarn that's it! I hope I can at least get a few rows of ribbing in to keep it from rolling. Maybe this time I'll remember to check if it's single or double rib.

Lastly, I shall leave you with the two cutest Sunday afternoon nappers.....

First person to name this object wins one!