FO: baby hat for Hannah

Project Name: baby hat for Hannah
Pattern: made up in my head. See notes after pictures.
Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream, 100% cotton, color 02235, half skein
Needles: US 7

Finally finished the baby hat today at knit group w/ the yarners. Well mostly since Amanda is stuck in DC. Also, finally learned how to "weave-in my ends" properly tonight from Ariel.

When I arrived home I tried to think of how to display my tiny baby FO since I dont own any babies. So the first unwilling photoshoot subject was my one and only stuffed animal, Bunny. Too bad the hat was a bit big for Bunny and went right over his eyes. Good thing he couldnt see it too since it made him look like a girl.




Then I remembered that my roommate has a ceramic sculpture of a skinny head. Perfect!!
I carefully placed the hat on and it fit! Muahahaha.


Here's a close-up of the top of the hat.


Mr. Sculpture doesnt look too happy there, but the jokes on him cuz he's famous now. His picture is going to be all over the internets by morning. Well, ok, maybe not, but dont tell him.



Pattern notes:
Attmepted to cast on 216 sts but only ~158 fit on my circular needles. Since I was on a bus to NYC, obtaining longer circs was not an option. Knit 1 round then K2tog all the way round. K around again then K1, K2tog around. K around. then something like K10, K2tog until I had 53 sts. Then Knit for 3 more inches.
crown decreases
K7, K2tog all the way around.
K one round
K6, K2tog
K 1 round
....etc....
until 6 sts then weave in ends.
Viola!
Taaadaaa!

and now I have a random migraine so I'm going to do some laundry and go to bed.
The End.

This is my Massachusetts

Went for a longer bike ride today: 20 miles. Almost up to my usual 23 mi route. I did go the usual route, just shortened it, so I got to see all of my favourite spots. Soon everything will be alive and blooming again but I'll show you all what it looked like today. There are a couple spots conspicuously absent from the photoshoot, but that's b/c they were too crowded with people to stop and take pictures.

Here's my bike by one of several bridges that just scream "Boston"


The really nice biking doesn't come until about 5 miles out of the city when you hit trails kept up by the DCR. They have nice carvings and markers but I wish the DCR would also add some bathrooms along the 10+ mile path.

The image above is at the very beginning of the niceness. Below is one of the kewlest bridges along the path.


Above is another area where the river whirls and froths and makes pleasant falls sounds. Below is the view from my absolute favourite bench to sit on. I always stop there and stretch and eat my snack. I can hear the falls pictured above and the sounds of birds and bugs while looking at an old bridge. In the summer there will be purple wildflowers everywhere. Cant wait.



Also, while sitting and eating my snack some of my friends came over to say hello. I had a visit by some mallards as well , but they didn't get close enough for a good shot. Will be more interesting when there are goslings about.
I could also go on and on about all of the idiot pedestrians that litter the Bike Path but I'm sure everyone knows exactly what I am talking about, no need for me to bitch and get all irritated again. And as per usual, I'm left w/ an odd reminder of today: a strange sunburn. I'm really good at getting them. For some reason I only burn in bizarre patterns. You know, in case you get bored of looking at a normal me.

Wish I could say I also had a FO to share but the nice weather delayed my knitting a bit. And general slack-ass-ness helped too.

Spring in New England

Is Not pretty. There is almost no green. Just skeleton branches waiting for their leaf clothing.


It is, however, sunny and warm (finally!) for at least a few days. So here are some pictures from my bike ride today along the Charles River.




I like tree stumps. I dont know why, I just do. Especially ones with moss and decay. Jagged ones, even better.



Occasionally, there is some spring green where public works crews have planted some flowers. So early spring in Boston is not altogether barren and devoid of color. Here are some daffodils along the river.



And pretty little bluebell thingys peeking out from underneath the daffodils. It was neat.
Passersby thought it funny that I was crouching down on the ground taking pictures in my biking gear, but I didnt care. Whatever. I'm not going to take off my helmet and gloves for the 10 minutes I stopped to take pictures.

After biking (and showering) I wandered over to the Booksmith and made some impulse purchases. Living by the Booksmith has led to many an impulse purchase, mostly books and jewelry (yes the bookstore carries curios and jewelry and even beautiful stationary!) but Ive gotten the impulse buys down to one very couple months, so its not so bad. Good thing I dont live close to a yarn store. Or I'd never have any money to pay the rent.
I bought two beautiful Edward Gorey children's books. They were 2 I'd never seen before and the cover drawings are incredible. Since they were on sale, I couldnt not buy them. I just read them both and it made me so very happy that I bought them. (:{
I was going to try to clean my room, but it never really happens at night. I dont know why, I just dont like to clean at night. Weird, I know. I'm weird.

Spring brings.... Spiders

Ugh! If there is one thing I hate the most about spring, it has got to be the reappearance of all the spiders wandering around the apartment. Today I saw one in my windowsill and I tried to kill it but it ran away so I had to close my window. And now, since its night, I'm afraid to re-open it. I'm sure if the bugger really wanted to it could find a way back in my room, but still. I cant open the window. Ew ew ew ew ew. Makes my hair stand on end just writing about it, yuck.

I had a lot of things I wanted to write about, but I put it off and now I cant remember.... darn.

Well I'm going to try and tidy a square of my room and maybe then I'll post some pictures from my bike ride today in the nice weather.

Walk with Purpose, and FO's

I have some old FO's to share tonight thanks to a YarnStars group photo shoot.
PS -- what do we think about that ladies? shall I refer to us as YarnStars or the Yarners? Maybe something else? I like YarnStars and I know at least Ariel will too.

Anyhow tonight we celebrated Ariel's birthday (she was at Sock Camp so we couldn't celebrate on the exact day) with dinner at Canestaro's in Fenway, ice cream at Emack and Bolio's, then knitting at Catherine's. The title of this blog refers to our discussion of the Brookline Hooligans (they hang out in Coolidge by the CVS -- you know em when you see em) and how they dont mess w/ Ariel b/c she looks more hardcore than they do. Catherine (I think?) said they key to not getting messed w/ was to "walk with purpose" ie look like tough sh*t. Today was also the Boston Marathon but we at Harvard do not get it off so while those poor runners braved the Nor'easter I was safe and sound in the lab.

And now, for some yarn Glamour Shots. Ooooh Aahhh



Project Name: Fetching
Pattern: free from Knitty
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, color 607, purple, one ball
Needles: US 6 bamboo
Pattern adjustments: knitted exactly as pattern states
Notes: The picot bind off is very pretty but as soon as you start wearing these babies it rolls up on you (you can kinda see that in the pictures). So its not very nice to have the part of the mitts you want to be the tightest to roll up and be all loosey-goosey. I suppose I could extensively block them, and then they might stay for a little bit, but not forever. However, I do not block if I can avoid it. Which means I dont ever block. Its just annoying. I'll pin them out the first time I wash them and see if it does any good. If it doesnt, then I wont bother again. However, they are very comfortable and warm.


And here is the scarf I made to match the Fetching mitts its a light spring / fall scarf. And the serious pose was Catherine's idea but I actually think its the best of the lot so there it is.




Project name: Purple scarf
Pattern: garter stitch
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, color 607 purple, 3/4 ball
Needles: US 15 metal
Notes: Nothing much to say here just a pretty garter stitch scarf that i wanted to be simple, quick, and semi lacy / webby.

Anne I think you will get a laugh out of that picture of me, remind you of any photo shoots from our misspent youth? (:{

crazy weekend

Well I took the bus down to NYC yesterday afternoon for my friend Lisa's bachelorette party. I've known Lisa since my sophomore year as an undergrad at BU when we were in some art classes together, we were both visual arts minors. The bus down was uneventful which was good. I wandered around Times Square for a bit since it was so nice out and I've never been before. it was just as crazy as I thought it would be and now that I've seen it theres no reason to ever return unless I'm going to a particular destination. The area is way too tourist crazy and its impossible to even walk down the street there are so many people. Then I stopped by the apartment of an ex of mine and chit-chatted for an hour. It was good to see him though he was a bit drunk so I was kinda glad to leave for dinner since he was hitting on me.

I met Lisa and the rest of the ladies at Il Buco restaurant. Dinner was fabulous and the wine spectacular. We had appetizers that had fresh mozzarella (they make it there!) and they were amazing. The olives too. Very good.
After that was the Savage Men show at Lucky Chengs. It was a tiny little cramped room and the men were kinda skeevy but some of them were really good looking. It was worth it though b/c we made Lisa go up on stage (its part of the bridal package) and the strippers danced all over her. Not sure I'm allowed to be blogging about this but I dont think many people read this yet so whatever. It was fun but def not something I would do all the time. After that we went to Bar13 and drank some more. And danced and drank. I also ran into Emily at the bar which was totally random. Late into the night the guys (Lisa's fiance and his bachelors) met us at the bar and we continued to drink and dance. I was sad that our mutual friend Delphine was sick and could not make it since I havent seen her in ages, but it was good to catch up with some other familiar faces, meet new people and generally party down.
Around 3 we finally decided to leave the bar and I took a cab back to Hoboken with Lisa's sister in-laws and crashed at one of their apartments. In the morning despite my still drunkenness and general wooziness I managed to partake in the pancake breakfast with some of the other bachelor and bachelorette partiers then I hopped on the Path back to Manhattan and got soaked in the downpour on the way to Port Authority to take the bus back to Boston.
And now I'm home and completely exhausted but it was so much fun!

No pictures to share from the party (was having too much fun to really remember to take picts) but I do have a picture of the chocolate rose I just ate and the knitting I worked on on the bus.
The wip is a baby hat for a coworker of mine. His wife just had a baby girl -- 4 weeks early! So I'm a little behind on the knitting since I thought I'd at least have another 3 weeks to work on it.

Sports etc

So Ive been avoiding talking about the two hockey seasons that just ended due to the depressing end they both had.
First, I'm glad that the Bruins GM decided to keep Coach Lewis. Too much change is just too much. After the rebuilding last year and this year I think the team could use some calm. In the middle of the season after the players got to know each other they had a great run of wins, it gelled. But then GM changed it up some more and they began to lose again. In any event I'm looking forward to see what they do next season. I have hope. (of course I do, I was raised a Cubs and a Bears fan).
For the Stanley Cup though I'm hoping its Buffalo. I love the new guys in the sport like Malkin, Ovechkin, and of course Crosby, but i think the older guys like Chris Drury have so much more to show us. The man is just Clutch. (of course, he went to BU, so I'm conditioned to love him, they fed it to us in the water at Walter Brown Arena). And it helps that the Sabres are The Complete Team. They have it all together. If I had to pick an alternate for rhe cup it would be the Devils. Love Brodeur and Pandolfo is amazing too.
Moving on to college hockey. Well, as expected, most of the teams in the NCAA tourney behaved as per usual. BU had an awesome season then folded in the tourney. Same with UNH. Maine and BC had fair to middling seasons then pulled it all out for the tournement, both making the Frozen Four. Minnesota had an amazing season but lost to North Dakota, again, as usual. The only surprise was Michegan. Usually I'd be all about surprises, and also all about BC losing. BUT a Hockey East champion would be so nice. SO BC losing to Michegan St was very not kewl and dissapointing at the very least. Sigh. Maybe next year.
Allright enough hockey banter for now. Back to the hated laundry. Hopefully back to knitting soon as well.

Easter Egg!

So today was a Long day in BSL3 (9a - 7p) and tomorrow, weds, and fri will be as well. So tiring. Luckily Mondays are knitting with the Ladies. Today though I arrived late and by the time I got there Amanda wanted a martini. Considering my day, I was all for it. So we all left Starbucks for a brand new restaurant under the Trilogy apartments, Burton Grille (or something. Burton something anyhow). The appetizers were wonderful and the martinis fabulous as well. A nice little change of pace is good too.

Sadly i forgot to take picts of the finished grey brimmed hat, but just as I thought it is way to big for me. So i'll be making another one. However, I do have pictures of the present that was waiting for me at work.... A chocolate Easter egg! My co-worker and friend Liz's mom is visiting from England and Liz asked her to buy some chocolates for those of us stuck in the US. So she decided to buy us Easter eggs w/ our names on them! So awesome!! I spent 30 mins getting the perfect picture, and then I tore into it. mmmmmm chocolate.

Here it is in all its glory


And after I tore into it


And a close up of the destruction


Btw, my camera is amazing! I love it. hurrah Cannon.

Notes

I've had a headache since tuesday and i dont know why.

My taxes are ready to be mailed in-- hurrah! And turns out there is a minimum payment, if you owe less than $1 you dont have to pay the govnmt.

My room is a disaster and I want it to be clean, I just dont want to clean it.

I hate laundry.

I havent balanced my checkbook in 2 months and the receipts are piling up. I'm not sure at this point that I even want to balance it... Do people actually do this with regularity anymore?? It feels like such a waste of time. Maybe I'm just lazy?

My brimmed hat is done, hopefully picts up tomorrow. its a bit big... i'm debating frogging it and restarting or leaving it and starting a new one altogether. I could always gift it to someone with a bigger head....

FO: Odessa

So, part of the reason I decided to return to blogging was to catalog all of my knitted FO's, in case I want to go back years later and knit the same thing, I'll have all of the pertinent info right here!
So I'll start with one of my favourite FO's, that I wear almost every day (its cold hat season about 8 months of the year here in Boston).


There's my attempt to capture myself wearing my hat....
(I'm going to borrow Catherine's project format, slightly modified)

Project name: Odessa
Pattern: free from Magknits, originally by Grumperina
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK, black, one skein
Needles: US 4 and US 6 bamboo
Pattern adjustments: knitted exactly as the pattern states.
Notes: Used blue glass seed beads from Beadworks. This hat also taught me a valuable lesson: never attempt to knit whilst drunk. Yes I actually did try and knit while I drank wine and watched a movie. The results were disastrous and I ended up having to frog the damn thing and restart. But in the end it was fine. And I wear it almost everyday!


Also -- finally did my taxes today. I owe the federal government $2.09. I think that's quite ridiculous! There should be a minimum owe law where if you owe less than $5 you dont have to pay. I'd support that.

dye-ing to be young

well this past thursday the yarners fianally got all of us together to dye! fun times!
there is Catherine and Alexis hand -painting their yarn. Amanda was nice enough to bring all of her wonderful colors of dye -- lots to choose from! Ariel was there too, but i dont have any pictures of her or her yarn. Maybe if we are lucky we will dye with frequency!
ok, so i have no idea how to get all these picts to look the way i want, so they are going to stay that way for now b/c i have no patience to figure this sh*t out right now.
anyhow, dye-ing was fun and hopefully next time i'll have some wool picked out to dye. this time i had cotten and it came out ok... it was pastel which was to be expected.

tonight (friday) i saw Cold Mountain for the first time, pretty damn good movie. i love Nicole Kidman. one of my favourite actresses of all time. on a side note, the reason i stayed in on a fri and watched a movie was because i was wallowing. i just got dumped. yeah. so one night of moping and then i'll be done with it. tomorrow is a new day. at least i'll be getting to the gym more frequently. though i do so hate dating and am not looking forward to it. first dates can be so painful sometimes. oy. ok thats enough of that!

Third try's the charm?

Attempting for the third time to do this online journal thingy (now officially blogging).
We shall see how this goes. This is obviously a first test post.
More to come later though!
Shout out to all my wonderful fellow yarners whose logging of their own finished objects has inspired this!