Happy Blogiversary to me!

Yup, it's been a year. Where are we going? Why are we in the handbasket? Is the blog getting bigger? Better? Who knows. But I haven't gotten arrested yet, so I suppose I'll just keep going!

Guess what else? My office has been moved. My life has been chaos for the past week or so, and my new reward is a 10 minute longer commute. I know, I know, sure I'll take some cheese to go with my whine. Many people, especially in this area have much, much longer drives every day. The upside though? 20-30 minutes in a car is enough time to inspire me to put on the ipod. And on that note- a couple of new podcasts that have caught my fancy:

Insubordiknit Love, love, love this one. Sometimes it's about spinning and sometimes it's just good stories, but the production value is up there with Cast-on, it could practically be a professional radio show. And Jacey is very entertaining and I just keep tuning in.

Math4knitters Stop laughing! My math shortcomings are well known to my knitting group, but that's not why I listen. Lara Neel is really easy to listen to and even though Math is in the title it really is a podcast about knitting. I'm really surprised how much I like it. Give it a chance and you will be too.

KnittyD and the City Ok, I can totally understand if there are people out there who don't like this podcast. But I do. This podcast is a little less structured than most. A lot of the time you kind of feel like you're a fly on the wall listening to Wendy and Christina just hang out and knit. Which is kind of cool. After spending your day with attorneys like I do every day, getting in the car and listening to girls crack up over nerdy yarn jokes can break a lot of that tension you're carrying come quitting time.

And of course I will always love Cast-on and The Mosh Knit. I suppose the longer commute may not that bad after all...

Drool.

Drool. Drool. Drool. I opened my email this morning to find a link to this. It's all the new KnitPicks yarns for Fall 2006. Yay! Can I just say I can't wait to try almost everything on here? Especially Gloss, the new Merino/Silk sock yarn. Yum. Also there are new colors of Suri Dream which is nice because I've wanted to make this throw pattern forever and I wasn't to thrilled with the original colors they had to offer. And I also think Quarry looks like an awesome new quick-scarf yarn.

Oh well. Alas, it will probably be awhile before I'm placing an order with KnitPicks though. The postman brought this for me the other day

36 bucks worth of soft fibery goodness. These are going to be used for Fetching from the new Knitty. It's all the fault of Amy from my knitting group. First she came in with the yarn one day, and it is so bee-you-tiful and soft and pretty. Then the next week she had one glove finished and I was able to try it on and confirm that it would fit me (I was worried my hands might be too chubby) and well, it fit like a glove! And now I just have to have them. I know the pattern says you're supposed to be able to knit a pair from one ball but I'm paranoid about that stuff, and I figure if I have left over I can just make more or use the yarn for something else. I'll keep you posted how I make out with that.

And finally I have to say thank you so much for all the positive feedback on the Forbes Forrest scarf. The pattern is from the Scarf Style book, sorry I forgot to mention that. It's an awesome book, and this was in the end, a really great pattern. Even though the scarf took awhile it was not that hard to do and the end result is really such a pleasure. Now it's going in a plastic ziploc bag until Christmas, when I'm giving it to my godmother. I really think she will like it.

Lunacy

You would think it would be lunacy to finish a big complex project and then pick something very, very similar for your next project. Right? Well, as I type the Forbes Forest scarf is done and happily blocking away on the dining room table.

It is very pretty, and a great warm, soft scarf. I'm so happy I did it, even though it did seem like so much work and chart-reading at times, it was totally worth it.

I don't know why the color is off in that second photo, the first photo is much better. Anyway, definitely towards the end of this I was dreaming of starting something simple, something in garter stitch, more headbands, maybe dishcloths, items that didn't need patterns, in worsted weight that would go pretty quickly. This is why it is a mystery to me that somehow this has found it's way into my knitting bag:

For some reason this weekend I chose to start another green scarf that I need a chart for. (???Lunacy, I tell you.) This is the Dainty Bess Pattern from the Elizabeth I patterns I got from KnitPicks. It's my first laceweight project ever, which is neat. The yarn is so fine, but it does seem to go faster than I thought it would. This chart is pretty simple too, it's purls all across the wrong-side rows so that makes it a little faster than Forbes was. I do like it as a project in and of itself, I'm just not sure this is the right thing for right now. Still I'm such a stickler for finishing stuff out. Maybe this will just have to be one of those long-term things I'll break up with other little projects in between.

Summer cool down

They're talking temps over 100 here in a few days. You know what can cool you off and get that hair up off your neck and out of your face right? A new headband!

I first saw the Wild Yarn Saving Grace Headband on Persnickety Knitter's Blog and just wanted one immediately. Ok eventually I would like to have several but this is going to take time. Anyway, my main motivation is not the heat unfortunately. I'm still diligently working away on my Forbes Forest scarf and it's so close to done I feel like I can almost taste it sometimes. But then I remember that that is the slowest scarf pattern ever. And well, I just needed to have something done now, I feel like I haven't had a finished object in ages! Enter this great pattern. I used KnitPick's Main Line that I had left over from my short sleeved cardigan. But this pattern would really look great with so many yarns- I can't wait to use the Silk Garden I have left over from my Clapotis. (that should look awesome) Also eventually I'm hoping to try out Molly's Headband from Interweave. Because I am growing my hair out (much to the chagrin of my mother, oh well!) and this July is starting to get uncomfortable heat-wise. But first, yes first I will finish that Forbes Forest Scarf. This was a nice break though.

** Quick fyi I have no idea if I made this 15 inches like the pattern specifies, I pretty much just kept at it until it barely reached around my head. I also used a provisional cast-on and kitchnered the ends together so I wouldn't have to seam. Yup, I really do hate seaming that much.

Have ya seen it yet?

The new Knitty is up! And much unlike the last issue (sorry last issue Knitty lovers) I adore it completely. I am dying so much to make these and these and these have actually made me reconsider gloves. Yes gloves, which I swore off forever after the nightmarish hot-dog finger incident I had trying to make them before.



Oh that photo makes me cringe so. Ok, yeah so there's also a pattern for some knitted wings in there (wtf??) and while this pattern is very, very pretty whenever I look at it there is a banshee in my head screaming "Hot Dog fingers!!!!! Hot Dog fingers!!!!" (Ok deep breaths... Calming down now...) Otherwise I really think this issue is such a winner. For me, this is what summer knitting is all about. The summer knitting, the socks, the handwarmers, the small things. I'm supposed to go to the Knit and Crochet Show in Pennsylvania next week. You can bet yarn for a couple of these things is going on my list of stuff to look for.

P.S. And don't forget the pretty, pretty beaded wristwarmer pattern. Someone in my knitting group made beaded wristwarmers a few months ago that had us all unabashedly drooling. Girls just love those pretty sparkles sometimes.

That is so cool!

So I sit down to watch my tivoed episode of Knitty Gritty yesterday and who is the guest knitter but Kelley Deal of The Breeders. And what do you know but she's showing Vickie Howell to knit a really cool bag that I will seriously contemplate for a future project? I always like to watch Knitty Gritty, even when it's something I wouldn't really consider knitting myself. But this bag was really cute. And it was so neat to see Kelley Deal on there. Even the husband was impressed. I love it whenever I can say "See? I told you it was punk rock!"

Happy 4th of July!

Even though as I type this New Jersey's state government is shut down due to a bizarre budget impass and I am the snarky type more likely to agree with Bill Maher than Rush Limbaugh on the current state of events I am fully cognizant of how lucky a person I am to live in this country. I hope everyone gets a nice day off and a happy 4th to enjoy doing whatever they like!

On another celebratory note Chris (also known as the Crocheter) got married!

Chris and Joe got married in May on the beach in sunny, gorgeous Bermuda. Sunday their families gave them a beautiful wedding reception in Sea Bright. Look how sweet and happy they are together! The Zebu knitting crew was all in attendance to congratulate the happy couple, laugh, eat and drink and willingly take part in the desert buffet!

Top row (l-r) is Tracy, Colleen, me and Erin, Bottom row (l-r) is Chris and Amy

It was so nice to be there to party with Chris and Joe and all, and we all had a great time, and without a single knitting needle in sight!

A forest in Jersey....

Well, the Forbes Forest scarf is continuing to grow. To me this picture shows just how slow this is knitting up. Granted, I feel like for some reason I haven't been knitting as much as I normally do (where exactly the time is going I have no idea) but still, the cables and bobbles and popcorns slow things up also. Still I think it will be very worth it, the pattern just gives it such a warm, springy texture, I think this will be a great winter scarf and I think the recipient will really like it.


The red toe up socks are moving along also. Come to think of it, these are my traveling project, so maybe I've been knitting on the road more than at home lately? Dunno. Anyway, the verdict is still out on the toe-up thing, I'm getting better at the short row toes and heels, but it's far from being second nature just yet. Another thing- this picture totally does not do this yarn justice. This is Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn I got for a song at Stitches last year. The colors are mostly reds and purples but there is also brown (and maybe some greens) along where you can tell the dyes overlapped. It is very, very pretty. The only drawback? It's a little thin so these are being knit on size 1 needles. Which aren't that different than the size 2's I'm used to, they just seem kind of sharp to me, and they've definitely warped already from the warmth of my hands. A couple of them are pretty curved, but I'm going on and sticking it out anyway.

Btw-cool blog post of the week? If you have a minute, go to Say's blog for a fun read about one of the most exotic Stitch and Bitch meeting I've heard about in awhile. Also , there's some amazing sky photos and a bear encounter adventure that will definitely have you on the edge of your seat. Say is doing forestry work for the summer which is so cool. Last week I was complaining about having a barbecue in a tent? Well, she's spending her summer in one. Very neat!