Werewolf Bar Mitzvah: spooky, scary

Boys becoming men...men becoming hairy...

Ok so, I wasn't really planning to dress up for Halloween, and I still probably won't, but Blake and I did see a set of costumes in the window of a novelty shop that I can't decide whether they are stupidly corny, suggestively hilarious, or BOTH...aka awesome.

It may be kind of dumb. But Blake and I can make ANYTHING cute. No really. It's quite a skill.

The most amazing thing happened last night! So you know that Branching Out scarf I'm working on? Well, I was concerned as to whether or not I had enough yarn, as my mom likes longer scarves and I wanted to add some fringe. After finishing up one ball of Karabella Aurora 8 (which I'm a big fan of, by the way) and the scarf only being about 2.5', I knew I needed another ball. The only place near me that has that particular colorway of Aurora 8 is the Stitch DC in Georgetown (which is who I bought the first two balls from), so I decided to go there last night. I was praying (but not counting on) them having the same colorway AND dye lot that I've been using, and THEY DID. Amazing. I bought the first two balls 2 months ago, and Stitch DC is a well known LYS...how did I get so lucky? So now I can finish the scarf this weekend without fear that there will be a slight difference in color when I change balls. This is the delicious yarn I speak of:

I also finished my SECRET project last night, but I'm feeling a bit insecure about it. I'll say that the colors are just a bit...rainbow-y...I just don't know. People are funny about colors, and I may just start over with a new yarn and a new project. However, it will set me back a bit, time-wise....blurg.

Have you guys ever been around someone who was constantly trying to compete with everything (literally, EVERYTHING) you say or do? It's been affecting me somewhat lately. I don't mean to be cryptic, it's just been on my mind. I mean, hey, I don't think I'm better than anyone, and I always try to be considerate in the way I word things to even the MOST sensitive people in my life, but this is different. And irritating. I think I'll stop letting it bother me.

I joined Bally today, and I'm going to the gym tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm also going to plan out healthy dinners from the Bob Greene site that my mom has joined. It's all happening. Yep.

I'm looking at a weekend full of knitting, so I'm sure I'll have more pictures to post very soon....and Happy Halloween guys...GO CRAZY.

MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE...or just knitting I guess.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Bobbles
Button holes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Continental knitting - (epic fail)
Darning
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting - both accidentally and intentionally
Garter stitch
I-cord
Intarsia
Kitchener BO
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with DPNs (we all know how I feel about DPNs...blech)
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Magic Loop - hellz yeah I ROOL AT MAGIC LOOP
Short rows
Slip stitch patterns
Steeks (I will try one day, but I find it effing SCARY)
Stockinette stitch
Swatching - not nearly as much as I should
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting - had to look this one up...I prob won't ever do it

Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with banana fiber yarn - not yet, but blondechicken on Etsy has some that I want!
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair - nope, but maybe I'm spin up some Myoshi yarn...it'd prob feel like angora I imagine?
Knitting with linen
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with soy yarn - have some but haven't knit with it yet
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with wool

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
Baby items
Cardigan
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Gloves
Hat
Hair accessories
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Jewelry
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Pillows - got a cweet one planned for a friend
Purses/bags
Rug
Shawl - what the hell would I do with a shawl? All "shawl" type things to me are just oversized scarves, essentially
Scarf
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slippers
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Stuffed toys
Sweater
Toy/doll clothing

Charity knitting
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street) - no, but I'm going to do this immediately
Knitting art
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting a gift
Holiday related knitting

Designing knitted garments - Not yet...well, not one I've written up, anyway
Dying with plant colors
Dying yarn
Participating in a KAL
Publishing a knitting book
Knitting to make money
Knitting for a living - pshhh...I wish. Sorta.
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting on a loom
Machine knitting
Olympic knitting
Teaching a male how to knit - not yet, but it WILL happen
Writing a pattern
Knitting in public

Now that I've done that, here's my mom's xmas scarf! YOu should all know that I'm VERY pleased with myself as this project is:

a) the first somewhat intricate lace project I've done
b)Nearly halfway done after only 1 1/2 days
c) The coolest thing I've knit...and with no unfixable mistakes (YET)

I finished the Pithy Hat too, but I need to set the dye with vinegar water (the green rubbed off on my hands a little, and although I don't think this is neccessarily common with Manos yarn, it's been known to happen), and I need to block it also. I sort of want to kick myself a little because the cast on edge is too tight...just slightly. I'm hoping blocking with help.

Going to Uniquities today to get another ball of Karabella Aurora 8 yarn to finish the above scarf...I hope the different dye lots are ok together, as I need to make it long and I want to add fringe. Also getting some other yarn from Uniquities...but the project is a SECRET. And I need yarn to make the Endpaper Mitts for my friend Katie...well, a contrasting color of yarn. I'm going to drag Blake with me to Vienna so he can see the glorious Uniquities. Let's just hope I can get out of the office in time to go....

So, you guys like my new widgets? I decided to add my Shelfari and Netflix info with all of you, and you should do the same on your blogs!

Oh yeah...and the sixth HP movie isn't coming out until July 2009. I am so pissed about it. I mean, WHAT THE HELL GUYS.

Bai dorkz,

Cecilia

Time is making fools of us again

Ok so I found the coolest thing last night...a combination of two of my favorite things ever....what's that, you say? There's a way to combine Harry Potter and yarn? But how?

Opal came out with a new line of self-patterning sock yarn this fall dedicated to some of the HP characters! I 'm pretty set on getting some. Here's the yarn in skeins:



And here it is knit into socks:



For more info, check out Opals's website.

It's pretty pricey yarn, but 1 skein can make a sweet pair of socks. And as I'm sure you know, I'm not really a sock knitter at all...but this yarn could inspire me to become one. I particularly love the Dumbledore, Lupin, and Ron yarns...although I have to express my annoyance that there's no Hermione or Ginny yarns...Hermione is my favorite.

Did any of you see the three patterns that Knitty added today? None of them are really my thing, except for a pair of socks that I found fitting to this blog...



Yep. Frankensocks. Again, more inspiration to become a sock knitter.

So, I haven't been cooking really at all (if you saw the lack of space in my kitchen and the messiness of the people I live with, you wouldn't either), but I'm still trying to make good things to eat, particularly for my lunches. I have been eating this salad all week, and I've decided it's the best lunch ever!

You guys should try it.

It's made with:
-baby spinach
-dried cranberries
-crumbled goat cheese (I know, right?)
-sliced almonds
-annnnd Trader Joes Fat Free Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette (yum)

Stitch N Bitch this past Tuesday was AWESOME. Everyone is so smart and funny in my SnB, and I found out Tuesday that they also have great taste in music as well. One of them , whose name is Allison and has an etsy shop at A Stitch to Wear, saw the Nick Cave show that I was DYING to see in early October, but I couldn't go because I had house guests. Anyway, it was just really cool talking to everyone on Tuesday, and I'm so glad I started going to the DC SnB. I haven't gotten a picture of the group, but here's The Saloon on U St, where the weekly SnB is held.



Not the greatest picture, I realize. The important thing is, the beer is great. And on Tuesday, they gave us free food because we're regulars to the bar. It was delicious.

So I want to move to Arlington with Blake really soon. I'm so frustrated with my living situation and the Clarendon area of Arlington seems to have some awesome people, The Galaxy Hut, and proximity to a metro that can get Blake and I to work. Ideally of course, I'd live in the city. But, it will be a little while until I can do that. Either way, Northern VA is less than 10 miles away in most cases, and I think Arlington seems cool.

My Pithy Hat is almost done. And I frogged the Cat's Paw scarf...I have something else is mind now...Have I reached my WIP limit yet? I need to finish these things!

Best knitting pun to date: Purl Jam

1. Cecilia Gallerani, aka "The Lady with an Ermine" - Leonardo Da Vinci, 2. salmon belly sushi for you ?, 3. Front cover of the 1937 Madison Central HIgh School yearbook, 4. 47/365 - let go, 5. Gael García Bernal, 6. Vitamin Water Rainbow, 7. 宮川町 Miyagawa-cho, 8. do you ♥ a matcha tiramisu? ^-^/, 9. Call of the Raven (formerly Nature's Special Effects), 10. The Calvo Family - Holidays, 11. September 8th - Kaleidoscopic, 12. 365 Toy Project: My Heart's a Bitter Buffalo

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.b. Using only the first page, pick an image.c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Cecilia
2. What is your favorite food? Sushi
3. What high school did you go to? Madison Central
4. What is your favorite color? Brown
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Gael Garcia Bernal
6. Favorite drink? vitamin water
7. Dream vacation? Japan
8. Favorite dessert? Tiramisu
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Happy
10. What do you love most in life? my family
11. One word to describe you? kaleidoscopic
12. Your flickr name? bitterbuffalo25

I love these things...don't you guys? Looking at all those pictures of sushi made me want some....I may have to stop by Kabuki Sushi before my Stitch N Bitch tonight...Here's a kntting mosaic, just for fun!

1. Silk Garden 226, 2. Rolling Hills of Noro, 3. Young Cria - Diana and Scott Blair's Alpacas, 4. Seasons Cable Fingerless Gloves, 5. f. pea, 6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/9055213@N02/605762117/, 7. knitting, 8. DSC00101, 9. entrelac scarf, 10. attempt #2 at knitting on double pointed needles yields success, 11. Frankenskein on Merino-Rambouillet, 12. day dreamers

1. Favorite yarn? Silk Garden
2. Favorite brand? Noro
3. Favorite fiber? Alpaca
4. Favorite thing to knit? Gloves
5. Favorite knitting blog? f pea (currently)
6. Favorite LYS? Uniquities (in Vienna, VA)
7. Stitch N' Bitch I attend? DC Stitch N Bitch
8. Current WIP name? Pithy Hat
9. Favorite skill/technique? entrelac
10. Most hated skill/technique? DPNs
11. Blog name? Frankenskein
12. City I knit in? Alexandria, VA

Let my love open the door

As someone who is a knitter, an artist, and a architectural designer, I have realized that I notice silly, tiny little things in tv/movies that other people do not. I notice knitted items in EVERY movie/tv show I watch, artwork framed distantly in the background, wallpaper and bedding, etc. And, while I consider this for the most part a wonderful thing, it does tend to suck up quite a bit of time on le interweb when I feel hellbent on finding, for example, a similiar wallpaper to the one used on Flight of the Conchords in Bret/Jermaine's bedroom...

And I don't think this happens because I lack originality...I think I am just someone who is very easily inspired by visual images...so I may stray from where I started, but the initial inspiration found in movies and some tv sends me into a frenzy...if I had no eyes, I would have no life....I guess that's a characteristic that is shared among us knitters.

Anyway, my point is, I have a lot of fun finding patterns for knitted items I've seen...and 90% of the time, some similiarly crazy knitter has already seen the item in question and written up a pattern for it. Here's a couple that I've been thinking of writing patterns for:
Mary's hat in "The Secret Garden"

Lily's hat in "Eagle Vs. Shark"...this one would be an easy one to write....you can't really tell, but all it is is a super-duper wide 1x1 ribbing around the bottom, and then a non-gradual cinch at the top....similiar to the Pithy Hat I'm working on...
And of course, all of the many many MANY HP-inspired knits...This still is from THE NEW HP. The best book...of the series. And so help me, if they mess it up like the 5th movie.....WHO'S EXCITED? Not quite nerdy enough, you say? Well, there was even a sweeeet book written on the subject of HP knits:This book has sweaters, hats, scarves (of course), socks....all from the HP movies. I hope she writes another one after they get done with all the movies, because I want to make that lacy cabled hat worn by Hermione in the image above from the 6th movie. Is anyone else annoyed that they made Daniel Ratcliffe's hair look stupid again for the new movie? It needs to be longer! Oh well.

So Blake and I have been watching a lot of "True Blood"...it's that show about vampires on HBO with Anna Paquin. It's pretty good! Cheesy dialogue, and well, it's about vampires, but there's something about it that I like.

Do you ever just want to skip town for a year and go to....I dunno, Japan or something? I've been thinking a lot about that lately. I guess it's because my undergraduate studies are over and I'm feeling adventurous for foreign countries. I think we're going to Europe next year. It'll do Blake and I a lot of good, I believe.

My mom used to (and still may) have this big box of winter wear in the closet nearest to the front door that we would all rustle through and wear when it was cold out. It was like a community winter gear box for all four of us kids....I'd like to see that stuff again and try to recreate it, as I remember a set of hats/mittens that were so vintage and adorable....I'll have to ask her about that.

Speaking of my mom's house, she's been cleaning the garage and she found a bunch of my old art stuff...and pictures of my family.My grandpa (Mom's dad) in the 1950s...in Casablanca....he was in the service and travelled everywhere.

One day I will get those scarves done...The August is For Melody scarf needs to be done by Thanksgiving....and I am just DRAGGING on it...Hopefully my resurgent interest in watching movies constantly will deplete some of my WIP woes.

Send me links to the stuff you guys have been making! Whether it's a Flickr image, something on your Ravelry/Craftster, whatever! Whip it out.

I love New Zealand 'eccents'

So I called in sick to work today...I mean, I have been sick, but today I knew I didn't have to go downtown and deal with DCRA people or anything else majorly important, so I stayed home. Sometimes you just need a day off. Also, I have pictures!


The green hat pictured to the right is the beginning of the Pithy Hat, knit with my Manos Del Uruguay yarn. In the second picture, you can kind of see what I meant before when I said that the cables aren't really well defined...but I think it'll be a good gift anyway. It feels wonderful...soft and almost silky, although there's no silk at all in it.
Down below you can see my niece's Silk Garden hat, which turned out really well, I think. I really want to knit myself one in a different colorway. The pattern actually calls for me to pick up and knit some ribbing along the bottom, but I think it's cute rolled up like this, don't you?
















I think I'll ask Livia what she thinks when I give it to her on Christmas. She's a little fashionista, so I know she'll have an opinion. Either way, it's an easy easy knit.


I've also got better pictures of my Magnum Scarf. It's so pretty, I just cannot stop touching and looking at it.

Team Leanne! She won! I liked her and Kenley the best from the beginning, and then Kenley started getting snarkily mouthy...so even though I liked her taste generally, I was rooting for Leanne. So..yes! I want that wedding dress, by the way....

I'll probably watch movies and knit most of the day....and perhaps go out later? I went shopping for a few new clothes, so I have cute things to wear. I miss Blake a lot these days. He works kind of long days, and I'm not much on being alone. But the bad thing is, I also don't feel comfortable around many people...so i kind of miss Blake being around for me to joke with.

Anyway! I may post pictures later of some stuff I bought. In the mean time, find love in everything you do, my friends. And look forward to the new season of Flight of the Conchords in January! It's going to be awesome.

What's 'boobs' in French?

So I'm sick, and its awful. Especially since I have a busy week at work with a huge deadline so I can't stay home...blurg. Well, atleast, I don't want to stay home, because I want my bosses to be impressed by my determination. I clearly have SOME free time, as I am blogging. right now. at work. Anyway, I'm just taking Mucinex until it gets better, and it needs to get better soon.

I can't decide if I'm going to my Stitch n' Bitch tonight...part of me really wants to go, chat, and also see if imported beer kills this cold, and part of me thinks it might be kind of crappy to go when I'm sick. If not just for my sake, then the sake of my fellow knitters...I don't want to get knitting needles shoved in my ears later on because I got someone else sick.......I don't know what to do! Speaking of which, I should point out BugHeart's blog. It's really pretty and awesome, and she is (one of) the main coordinators for DC SnB. And she's an entomologist, which is neat!

So I've been knitting a lot lately, obviously, and aside from working on the two scarves mentioned in the previous post (which are taking FOREVER), I also finished a Noro hat for my niece's xmas gift. I've since cinched one side and put a pom-pom on top, but here is the most recent picture I have

I love Silk Garden....I just think it is the prettiest yarn ever. I'll post pictures very soon of the finished product...it's adorable.

Now I'm also working on a Pithy Hat for a gift as well, in the green Manos Del Uruguay yarn shown in a previous post. The problem is, the yarn is quite slubby, and there are lots of thick/thin spots, which I LOVE (it's the reason I bought it), but the stitch definition of the cables and ribbing is kind of...lacking because of the slubbiness of the yarn. I mean, it still looks cool, but not vrey well defined. I don't want to frog it just yet though....pictures on this to come as well.

In lieu of more knitting pictures, I'm going to show you a secret that could cost me my life...

It's le office desk. I'm pretty important, huh? Yeah.

Ok so, I've been getting back into Netflix and I think all you fellow Netflixers should share with me what you've been watching/plan to watch! Here's a few on my list:

-At home:

• In Bruges - watched it, and it was pretty good. Some hilariously funny moments, but all in all a pretty dark movie.
• Eagle Vs. Shark - Hilarious movie. Jermaine Clement is my wannabe b/f
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being - One of my favorite books, but haven't watched the movie yet...I rented it from Netflix previously, but Blake accidentally sent it back....so I rented it again.

-Upcoming:

• Pom Poko - A Ghibli Studios film that I'm really excited to see.
• Breathless - Godard's most famous.
• A Woman is a Woman - another Godard film.
• Umbrellas of Cherbourg - I should've watched this years ago...Catherine Deneuve is hot.

So more to come very soon....pictures and such.

Live every week like it's Shark Week

Sorry for some crappy picture quality on the first and last pictures....One was taken with my phone, and well, my camera isn't really that great. In fact, it sucks for taking pictures in artificial light. So...I'm in the market if you guys have suggestions.

Anyway, to more important things! These are the beginning of my xmas gifts, and boy are they moving slower than I thought they would. The only semi-instantly gratifying project I had was the scarf at the top....the Mega-Cabled Scarf mentioned previously, and whose pattern is on the Stitch DC Blog. This pattern was really fun and super quick, and I intend on making more of them in the future.

The bottom two pictures are gifts for my sister (Yellow and White plaid-ish...aptly named "August is For Melody" from the August is for Jack pattern. The pattern is easy, but a bit slow. I'm about halfway done with it, and it will be Mel's bday gift. The burgundy scarf is from a simple lace pattern called Cat's Paw Lace. It's going a bit quicker than the other one, but what can I say, I'm impatient. After these are done, I'll probably start on the fingerless gloves meant for my little sister's birthday, which falls two days before xmas. Phew....lots of work ahead!

So...I bought two tickets to Stitches East! I decided to forego the classes, as I want to save more money for purchasing yarn and supplies. In the interest of practicality and restraint, I am NOT buying yarn or anything else knitting related until Stitches East...only a month away, but given the pace that I've been buying yarn and knitting stuff, even a month without doing so will be a needed break. So, if any of you are also going to Stitches East in Baltimore, let me know the most convenient way to get there! The MARC train doesn't run on the weekends, no metro goes out that far...so I'm still figuring out how we'll get there that Sunday. I really would hate to drive it....blech.

Here's what I want more than anything right now: To stay in a cabin/chalet somewhere in Shenandoah, just me and Blake. A hot tub, canoeing, fishing, and wine drinking....where can i find this? I keep searching for some kind of highly convienient search engine for something of this sort...I NEED TESTIMONIALS...I put my Autumn weekend getaway as well as my sanity in your hands, readers. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, watch 30 Rock every night like I have been. it.is.AWESOME.

Also, check out the Yarn Harlot's latest post where she inspires one of her readers to get Barack Obama to hold a knitted sock in progress! True test of a famous person's character, I say. You can find her blog in the side margin under "dope knitting blogs" ------------------------------>

Peace Ma Nerrrrrrrrdz,

Cecilia