Dang!

It's been a month since I posted, just about. Jeez! I have some knitting to show for, but still need to photograph it. But I can show this:


This is the ONLY tomato we have gotten out of our garden this year. It's been a shitty tomato year here in NM, apparently, which makes me feel less bad about my gardening skills. I felt bad eating it. But it was soooooooo good!

I finished the vest, and I need to weave in the ends and post it. I am happy with how it came out. I love Stefanie Japel's patterns! I have been busy cramming for my next registration exam, so I missed SnB last week, but I have my exam this coming Tuesday morning, so I should be there this week!

Something I can post!

I finished the Welt Fantastic socks I started a while back and put on hold to knit the summer tank and a present I cannot yet blog about. I am very happy with them! The sock on the left however, I had to finish the toe in another blue sock yarn I had leftover stash of, as the second ball of Knitpicks Felici had significantly less yarn in it than the first ball! Grr!!!! While cheap, they do have some serious quality control issues over there.

Welt Fantastic Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks
Knitpicks Felici, 2 balls (and some yardage of a random yarn!)
Size 0 DPNs. I like my socks knitted tight.

Overall, I am happy with them. I am much more impressed with Felici than I ever was with Essential SUCK yarn, their standard sock yarn. Felici is spun more tightly and isn't all fuzzy and bloomy. Which brings me to a review of Swish Worsted. Kind of sucks. It's super-bloomy, and had I known that, I would not have knit the tank out of it. I was disappointed. It kind of pisses me off, because Knitpicks' motto is to bring us affordable luxury knitting, but I would hardly categorize what they produce as luxury, at least what I have experienced. Grr. It's cheap, and it shows. I have even had problems with my interchangeable needle set - the needles don't screw onto all the cords correctly - my size 7's pop right off of the thread where they are supposed to screw on! I can only use those on the 24" cord so far. I think I will call them about this one, because it is a faulty product, and you don't find out until you use a certain needle size. Seriously. Lacking. Quality. Control.

Ginger approves of them, which is of utmost importance:

Isn't she just so damn cute????


I am now starting the U-neck Vest from Fitted Knits. Ginger checked the pattern for errata, though osmosis:


In other news, Hugo thinks everything is an opportunity to go for a ride:


And I made pesto from our bumper crop of basil! Yum! I also made some creamy pesto sauce by mixing a couple of forkfulls of the pesto into some alfredo sauce, and holy Moses, was it good! We had it with four-cheese ravioli, salad and some delish wine! I admit it - I am a foodie.


El Hubbie mail-ordered 3 bottles of wine from Georgia (the county). It is really good, and was relatively inexpensive. This is just a standard dry white wine. Very tasty.

I don't get political on this blog, but what is happening in Georgia is despicable, and as we don't personally have artillery or tanks to lend them, Hubbie, the economist, believes the second best thing we can do is support them by trading with them. We also learned that Georgia is the oldest wine growing region in the world, going back thousands of years! Neat, huh?


Some precious kitty moments to leave you with, Ginger makes pillows out of just about anything:

Mr. Rogers ruled

And the last reason on this list is, I think, the best.

You must go to this website!

My dear friend Stephen has a small cookie company, Albuqcookie, and his website just went live and is taking orders! The cookies are amazing and worth every cent! They make great gifts; I buy some for my parents every Christmas. I served bags of Albuqcookies at my wedding as the favors! My favorite are the lavender lemon biscotti. You must try some so you can have a favorite of your own!

It's done!

The drop stitch lace tank is finished, and I love it! I wore it to work and received many a compliment, especially since no one knew I made it! I love knitted items that don't look "homemade". Handmade is very different from homemade.

I made it in the smallest size in the book, which was like, a 28" bust (which I am not!), and on needles one size smaller than recommended for the yarn (Knitpicks Swish worsted, I used size 6 needles). This pattern is super-stretchy, so I would recommend making it smaller than you normally would knit anything for your size. And I also modified it by knitting into the back loop of every stitch in front of and after the yarn overs so that the lace keeps it shape better. Otherwise, the lace looked kind of scrappy.




* Update - At her request, I am reminded I should credit my fabulous photographer, Katie, for taking the shots. The way she captures emotion through the lens, her ability to set the flash to "on" or "off" and the fact that when you tell her to zoom in and get some detail and she knows what the hell you are talking about (no offense hubbie) makes working with this Einstien of the photographic world a great joy each and every time.

Knit that Knazi!

Holy crap I HAD to take a break from studying to post this.


Rachel Matthews has created a pattern book so you can knit a doll of your favorite evil dictator! Who hasn't been waiting for this? (sarcastically said).

You can read all about it here.

Although the thighs are a bit femme, that hair and 'stache are pretty right-on, I must say.

Progress!

Without the flash

With the flash. Much more true to the color.

The tank top is almost finished! Just some seaming at the top, a few buttons, and then I will have a summer project done! Yay! Then I can start the next one which has to be done by the fall and of which I cannot speak, lest the recipient be an avid knitting blog reader, which I doubt, but you never know. I don't know who reads this thing except for the people who comment, so I can't take any chances.




The kitties are trying to beat the heat. It has been really toasty lately:



Hugo is so cute sometimes. Sometimes.:


I got up early this morning and jogged in the foothills with my friend Susan. Man! That kicked my ass! I run almost daily, but it's just around my neighborhood, which has some hilliness, but is relatively smooth and even. I can't wait to get back out there and run the foothills again. What a great workout! I am doing another 5K in two weeks, the Chunky Monkey, which is in the valley and totally a flat course, so there's not really much to train for, except being able to run in a straight line for 3.1 miles.

I will probably not be at SnB Tuesday, as Melissa is coming to visit and knit on Wednesday, so I am taking that as a knitting night instead. Hope to see some of you Wednesday, same time and place!

This and That

The drop-stitch lace tank is coming along nicely. I think I will have it done in the next couple of weeks. Just in time for summer wearing! Although it has been summer here for gee, at least 2 months now! I can certainly wear this top clear into October with the weather we have here.


Hugo was so cute when I got home I had to get a picture of him:


The flash makes him look satanic, but he moved his head too much and there isn't enough light coming in the room (we're hoping some rain will come out of all these clouds):


I can't decide which picture he looks more evil in! Well, I'll leave that for you all, and I'm off to eat dinner then price stuff for my garage sale Saturday with Paula. Toodles!

For anyone wondering...

Our SnB meets at 7pm on Tuesday nights at the Flying Star on Rio Grande. There are always peeps there, unless it's Christmas Eve or something.

Drop stitch lace tank

This top is coming out really cute. After a few failed starts, I finally got started on a version I think will work well. I have modified the pattern to knit it in the round, and I am using a smaller needle size than it calls for. Like many who have made this top, I am knitting through the back loops on either side of the YOs. This pattern is really stretchy, so I am making the smallest size in the book on size 6 needles, instead of 7s. The yarn is Knitpicks Shine Worsted.

Ginger likes to help supervise the knitting:



Just more cute kitty photos:

Where my Stitchin' Bitches at?

Last night at SnB, there was only one other person there, novice knitter Diane (who is kicking all our asses, btw. She's only been knitting for 6 mo. and has already conquered socks!) Even the waiter/server noticed and asked where all our friends were. What gives? I guess it was just one of those fluke nights when no one shows up.

I have started the Drop-Stitch Lace Tank from Fitted Knits, after starting and frogging it twice before. I have finally modified it and am happily knitting away. I will post piccys soon.

Hubbie and I are off to see Spamalot tonight. I am SO excited! We have had the tickets for at least six months. I listened to our Monty Python Sings CD at work today. EEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! On that note, I am going to get ready to walk down to Popejoy!

New socks!

In keeping with trying to knit only from my stash, I started another pair of socks a few weeks ago. These are in Knitpicks Felici, a superwash wool. I like this yarn a lot, it is much nicer than their Essential Suck Yarn; the only complaint I would have is that every now and then, at color changes, there is a little white bit of yarn, like the dyeing was getting a little sloppy. The pattern is Welt Fantastic from Sensational Knitted Socks. I have finished one, all but for kitchenering the toe shut. I am getting really good at using up every ounce of the skein. That little bit left is the last bit of a 218 yard skein. WHO'S YOUR (sock knitting) DADDY!?!?!?!?:


And I've started the second one:


I knit socks only for myself. The hubbie doesn't like knitted socks, and they take so much time that I have a hard time imagining gifting them. Plus, they have to fit so exactly, I don't want to guess at someone's foot size just to have all that hard work go down the drain when the socks don't fit.

Below is the Cascade I bought that I mentioned in the previous post. I can't wait to make this into a vest this fall!


Hugo REALLY hates it when we go out of town. When we are packing, he climbs in the luggage and attacks you when you try to put your stuff in, and you have to spray water on him to get him out.


We barbecued on the new ass-kicking grill last night, and Ginger found a blue-and-orange friend. I wonder if she thinks they're related because it's blue and orange like her:

Don't hate me because I'm so friggin' cute

Content

Pensive. Probably pondering great questions in life, like, When do I get fed again? and, When will that goddamn neighbor's dog shut up?

Sox

They're done!




Yarn: Regia Bamboo (45% bamboo, 40% superwash wool, 15% polyamid).
Pattern: Crossover Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks

I really love these socks. They are comfy for summer wearing, fit great, and super-soft. I hate slouchy socks, and these stay up and the ribbing helps them keep shape well. Unlike the ribbed socks I made out of that pink Tofutsies. I plan to frog those. Too slouchy.

Hugo made another friend in the neighborhood. I don't get this cat at all. He is so mean to people, and then turns into a puddle of love around other cats.



They had a little love-sit in the soon-to-be vegetable garden. There is one tomato plant and one bell pepper plant, soon there will be three more tomato plants, but that's it.