Mail Call

I actually received my yarn a couple days ago, I've just been too lazy to post.
There are my 5 balls of Callista yarn, my very first purchase from elann.com! They are actually much prettier than the picture shows, i blame poor lighting.



And what exactly will I be knitting with this wonderful yarn?

Why the Luna Moth Shawl of course!


I know, I know, it looks a bit complicated. And maybe I am getting in over my head with this one, but I really really want to knit this. To wear with my dress at my cousins wedding in August. So as soon as all of these secret projects and gifts are done knitting, I will attempt the shawl. (:{

I plan on making it a bit smaller than the pattern states though. If I knit it to size it would be a blanket on me since I'm so short. And I dont want to feel like I'm carrying around a blanket on my shoulders, that's just not attractive.

WIP: blanket

Here is one of my current WIP's: a baby blanket, yay! Its for my coworker Debby, a really sweet MD researcher from the Netherlands. I thought I would have until the end of July for this, but they may need to induce labor so they can perform surgery on her little boy if his kidneys dont fix themselves in the next couple of weeks. She explained to me what was wrong a while ago when they discovered it, but I dont remember the specifics. I do know its common in boys and that it often fixes itself during development, but if it doesnt, the baby has to be delivered and operated on. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's busy fixing himself, and just in case I'm bustin-a-move on the blanket.
I will delve into more detail when I finish it.
Just felt like doing some knitting blogging to show I'm not being knitting lazy, I just have some secret WIP's right now!

More birthday goodies

Here is the necklace that Emily gave me for my birthday. I love necklaces. I was worried at first b/c its red, but since I actually dont own any red clothing besides my old BU stuff (worn only for hockey games of course) it wont clash with anything. And it draws attention to me, which, in a crowded bar is a good thing (well this kind of attention is good, not the look at the drunken idiot kind).



And here is the bouquet of flowers that my roommate Lindsey bought for me. They are so beautiful! I went all crazy with the camera on saturday morning, and I have to say, the pictures came out amazing. I have a couple for you here. It was hard to choose which to show since there are about 40 that are my "favourites," but as time goes on i'll probably insert one here or there in a boring blog moment (:{ But for now, enjoy these.






And why am I up so late blogging and not working on my 5 knitting wip's? b/c of a random full-on migraine today ugh. Couldn't even make it to the gym. I just slept the afternoon away and now that i woke up I feel the usual post migraine queasy-out-of-sorts-hungover feeling. And I cant concentrate on knitting when I feel like that. Ugh, now I'm going to have to overload on benedryl or I wont be able to fall asleep after the nap. Stupid migraines.
Hopefully this weekend will bring serious progress on the wip's and maybe even some pictures o:{

Birthday goodness

Yesterday was my 25th birthday. I could talk all about how for the past week I've been having a stupid "quarter-life-crisis" even though I think its stupid and assured myself that I would never do anything silly like that, but instead I want to talk about my awesome birthday day (:{

The picture below is the mum plant that my old boss Jyothi gave to me for my birthday. Luckily the sun was shining into my window yesterday and I was able to gt some good shots that adequately depict the pretty-ness of it. Other goodies at work included a card and a cake at lunch, and my friend Liz made me a beaded bracelet.



After work I headed to Sol Azteca with Andreas to meet a whole host of people I had invited out for dinner. Sol Azteca is one of my absolute favourite restaurants in Boston and the Sangria is amazing. When we got there Alexis and Catherine were outside and Amanda and Ariel were already inside at the table. After several other people arrived (my roommate Aditi, Liz, Angela, Laurie) the yarners decided it was time to give me my gift. Here I am wondering what it is that they have for me. (pictures courtesy of Ariel, the paparazzi for the night)


Here is Amanda un-veiling the gift: a Sock Virgin kit!!

Backstory: I'm the only one in the knitting group who does not know how to knit socks. The rest of them are almost obsessed with it. So they created a kit just for me! Squee!




And there is my reaction to it! (Andreas next to me is thinking "now I know for sure Cassandra and her friends are weird and crazy. wtf?")






And here is the contents of the kit
Lion Brand Magic Stripe in blues and greys, Inox needles (good for magic loop socks I hear), a pattern called "Beginner's Lightweight Socks" from Knitting Pure & Simple (this is The pattern that Amanda used to learn to knit socks!), hand-painted Tess Designer Yarn from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival Ariel and Amanda attended, and last but not least: a Sock Virgin Coupon Book!





There I am sniffing the yummy sock yarn. It actually smelt quite nice!











And reading the sex themed coupon book for the first time. This is not the most attractive picture but it is really hilarious. The coupon I'm reading in this says: When things get kinky: turning the heel.



And below: Going for the big T"O"E: Finishing






After presents and dinner came desert of course! Here I am blowing out imaginary candles on my mousse









And finally, here is a close up of the wonderful hand-dyed sock yarn that smells so nice (:{



I'd have to say, this is probably one of the best birthday's I have had in a very long time.
After dinner Elissa from work stopped by (she had to work at her second job at the REI bike shop so she couldn't make it) and a few of us continued with one more drink at the Beacon St Tavern.
So I returned home completely full of wonderful food, a little tipsy, and full of merriment and joy (and somewhat gushy). After all of this "what am I doing with my life and career" stress it was a much needed good time.

Bit of Happyness in an otherwise Crap Week

So this takes a little explaining.
If any of you have seen Le Fablioux Destin d'Amelie Poulain, or Amelie, possibly my all time favourite movie, you will understand. I'll explain it just in case you haven't. There is a wonderful sequence in the movie that describes the little things in life that give Amelie and those around her pleasure. Amelie's mother loves to empty her pocketbook, clean it out, organize the contents, and then put it all back in again. Amelie's father likes to do this with his toolbox. Nino likes to collect discarded photo-booth pictures. Amelie loves sifting her hands through grains at the market when no one is looking, cracking creme broulee w/ a teaspoon, and skipping stones at St. Martin's Canal. These simple pleasures are the things that cause you to stop your day, pause for a moment, and smile; that's how wonderful they are. One of the simple, or silly, things that gives me pleasure is getting a perfect orange or banana penis.

Wait a minute, a banana or orange penis? Are you crazy? Only sometimes kids, and not today.

Now I will explain what an orange penis and a banana penis is.

First the orange penis b/c I have no pictures for you of it. Yet. The orange penis is in the middle of the orange. Its attached to the outer peel and I think the botanical term for it is the pith. Anyhow, to get it perfect, you need to carefully peel the orange. Pick an end to peel first then peel all of that end (equator down) leaving the other hemisphere or end intact. Then, carefully separate the remaining hemisphere of peel from the orange making sure to keep the penis, or pith, undisturbed and attached. Last, use all of the peel to pull straight up, no angles, and the penis should come out completely intact, attached to the peel. If you set the peel on the table, the pith looks just like a penis.

And now, the banana penis. With visual aides. The banana penis is the dark, sometimes black, thing that sticks up from the bottom of the banana, holding the pulpy yummy goodness to the peel. If you are not careful, you will eat it, as it is easily dislodged by clumsy human hands. To get a perfect banana penis, eat the banana as you normally would. When you get to .5-.8 of an inch of the bottom, stop. Grasp the banana fruit, or pulp, or whatever you call it, and pull straight vertically up, no angles again. You should be left with a piece of fruit with a small puncture hole in the bottom, and a perfectly intact banana penis.
I took these pictures a couple weeks ago when I was messing around w/ camera options and I would like to post these picts not only for their banana penis wonderfulness, but also to demonstrate my camera awesomeness.




Oooh, a sepia tone banana penis!!



Le grand finale, in vivid color and macro close up setting, high quality, image stabilized, ISO800 wonderfulness..... Ta Daaa!!


Now, if you are thinking, only someone with a mind as sexual and dirty as mine could come up with this, you may be right, but this isn't a recent thing. I've been reveling in making perfect orange and banana peni since I was a kid, probably around age 5 or 6. But, using the word penis to describe it didn't occur until I understood the non-urinating functions of the penis, around age 10. However, the term came about not in a sexual way (ie: this is not my overblown metaphorical yearning for a phallus or anything), but in a descriptional way. To the child me, a penis was a pole or spike like something that went inside a hole, the vagina, specifically designed for the insertion of a penis. The penis and the vagina are different entities (male and female), but the same (human), and one is made to perfectly envelope the other. This is why I named it a penis. The description fits both fruits and the protrusion that can be extracted from them. (:{

What are your simple pleasures?

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.