Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!! 2008 FO wrap up to come tomorrow. Until then, party hardy!

February Lady Sweater

I have a few things to post about that are 2008 FOs, and here is the first:

The February Lady Sweater.



Yes, I finished this ages ago (27 November, to be exact), but I keep forgetting to post about it. I started it back in October and was determined to wear it Thanksgiving day. I worked my little fingers off and finally laid it out to block on the Tuesday prior to the holiday.

This is not my first sweater. However, it is the first adult sweater I've made successfully. Previous attempts were all ripped out at some point except one, and that one turned out to be about 3 sizes too big for the recipient. It was perfect for her when she was 8 months pregnant, but other than that, I don't think it'll be getting much wear.


Check out the new couch!

Anyway, I seriously love this sweater. It fits absolutely perfectly, despite my fears that it wouldn't. The whole time I was working on the yoke I thought for sure it was too small. Even though my gauge was spot-on (a frickin' miracle in my world), I still doubted. It wasn't until I had finished the body and tried it on (for the hundredth time) that I was comfortable with idea that it was going to fit just fine.

The soaking and blocking did wonders to loosen up the fabric just enough to make the fit perfect. The girls have enough room up front, something us well-endowed chicks often have trouble with. The length is exactly where I want it, right at the bend between my hips and upper thighs.



The yarn is Cascade 220. I am in lurve with this yarn. It's reasonably priced, the yardage is quite generous, and it's pretty soft despite being plain ol' wool. I used about 5.75 skeins. I'm thinking I could easily get a long sleeved sweater out of 6 skeins - at roughly $6/skein from my LYS, that's a sweater for less than $40. What a deal!

The buttons came from As Cute as a Button. They're abalone - pale pinks, creamy colors, hints of blue and lavender. I wasn't sure about them when they arrived in the mail. I was a little concerned that they would be too light in color. But they are perfect.

Pattern: February Lady Sweater
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: 32" size 9 Addis, size J crochet hook
Started: early October
Finished: 11/27/08
Mods: The only modification I made was to do a crochet bind-off. I really liked the way Cristi's bind-off looked on her sweater, so I stole the idea. Otherwise, I followed the pattern exactly.



Love it!!

Holiday briefing

So, how was your Christmas? Mine was good. Somewhat uneventful, but good.

Shane picked up BB Christmas Eve and brought him back to our house for the night. I pulled up the NORAD Santa tracking website on Shane's desktop in the office and BB spent most of the night hopping up every few minutes to check on Santa's progress.

BB was in bed by 9pm. I quickly wrapped his last Santa gift (Santa takes most of BB's gifts to my parents' house), and then the Man and I went to bed.

Up early Christmas morning so that we could be at Mom and Dad's by 8:30. We ate our traditional breakfast of grits, eggs and ham. BB had a hard time being patient through breakfast. He was bouncing around like he had ants in his pants. Can't blame him, though. When I was a kid, we were always up and tearing into gifts by 6am. Poor boy has to wait for all us old folks to eat breakfast and get enough coffee in us to function. I think we finally started the gift free-for-all at about 9:30.

Santa and Dad/Beverly were very good to Brady this year, as were Gigi and Grandpa Glenn (my parents). His big gift from us was a Nintendo DS Lite. He was so surprised. My parents got him some Star Wars weapon-like thingies that make noise and light up, as well as a small electric drum set. BB plays the snare drum in the school band, so he was excited about the electric drums.

Unfortunately, BB's mom drove through town on her way to her parents' house and picked him up at 11am. About an hour after he left, we ate lunch, and then came home to nap. I went back over to my parents' house for dinner a few hours later. Shane was too wiped out, so he stayed home.

That was pretty much it for Christmas. The rest of the weekend was very lazy. I managed to get some cleaning done around the house, but otherwise, I just laid around, knitting and watching tv.

Oh, and what was under the tree for me this year? Brady gave me a digital picture frame. I haven't played around with it yet, but it looks pretty cool. If I ever get the f*!@ing living room painted and rearranged, the picture frame will look great on the our new tv stand. I also got some money from my parents toward the purchase of a spinning wheel. We just bought a new couch a couple of weeks ago, so that is Shane's and my gift to each other. I know - how boring are we?

We'll be having another Christmas with Kevin, Christy and baby Riley on New Year's day. They spent Christmas in St. Louis this year, so they weren't around for the usual family festivities.

Anyway, I have some baby FO's to post about as soon as I get some pictures taken. It's very cute stuff, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Shane picked up BB a little while ago and we've settled in for the night. Tomorrow morning the three of us will head over to my parents' house for a big breakfast, complete with grits, ham and biscuits, and opening presents. My brother, his wife, and my niece are in St. Louis for the holiday this year, but it should be a good day for us anyway.

Merry Christmas to all!

Tree's finally up!

BB and I put up the tree yesterday. It's the first time I've put it up since Shane and I started dating 4 years ago. I'm not sure why I haven't taken the poor thing out of its hiding place for 4 years. I'm sure glad I did this year though.



It's purty. And white. My feeling is that if you're going to have an artificial tree, then it should be REALLY artificial. None of this fake-tree-trying-to-be-a-real-tree stuff.

And no tree is complete without a super hero.



That thing makes me giggle every time I see it. Sing it with me: "Wonder Wo-man!!"

Chevron Scarf FO

When Yarn Barn had their annual sale last December, I bought the yarn to make the Chevron Scarf. I'd heard that knitting the thing was a chore due to finished size (70" long, I think). But after trolling through the completed projects on Ravelry, I just had to have one.

Initially, I thought I'd use these two similar colors:





Then I read that using contrasting colors is a better way to go, otherwise the lovely variations in the colors would get lost in the pattern. Keeping this in mind, I went back to Yarn Barn and got a skein of Koigu in a turquoise-y colorway. I thought it would look nice with the bottom of the above two skeins.

The yarn sat in my stash for almost a year, but when I finally started the scarf, I discovered that I chose my colors well...



Despite all the complaints I'd read about the scarf taking forever to knit, it only took me a couple of weeks. I was so in love with the color combination that I couldn't stop knitting it. I even balanced two skeins of yarn on a flight to San Diego in October just so I could keep working on it while I was traveling (I usually take only the smallest, simplest, single-skein projects on trips).

The finished scarf is only about 52 inches long. I'm not sure what happened there. The called-for gauge is 38 stitches per 4" in the chevron pattern. Now, that seems awfully tight for Koigu (the called-for yarn) on size 5 needles. I don't even get that tight a gauge with Koigu on size 1s, and I'm an uber-tight knitter. I checked my gauge a few inches into the scarf, and I got a little over 8 sts/in. on size 5s. One would assume that the scarf would then turn out much longer than in the pattern.



Nope. I knitted until I had just a few yards of the turquoise, then bound off. It's a decent length for a scarf, but it's not near the size it should be. I don't mind though - it works well for me. I can wrap it around my neck once, and the ends are wide enough the cover the top of my chest under the v-neck of my pea coat. I've even worn it a few times during the day at work. It goes really well with a pair of corduroys I wear regularly.

The first time I wore it to work, I was sitting at my desk, checking email, when I looked down to admire my handiwork and fondle the softness that is Koigu. And what do I see? A f@*!ing dropped stitch!


See that little bump in the middle? Dammit.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I dropped a stitch that I didn't notice right away and fix. Seems like a rookie mistake. But not fatal. I just anchored it on the back of the scarf by running some yarn through it and weaving in the ends. Now you can't even see it anymore.

Pattern: Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: one skein of Claudia Handpaints (the brownish one) and one skein of Koigu PPPPM (the turquoise)
Needles: 10" size 5 Clover bamboo straights
Started: 10/28/08
Finished: second week of November '08
Mods: The only thing I did differently from the way the pattern was written, was that instead of using the same color for the 4 knit rows at either end of the scarf, I did one end in the brown and one end in the turquoise. Otherwise, I followed it exactly.



I loves my scarf.

Meme thingy

Just because I've seen this on so many blogs this week (yes, I'm a joiner. So?)...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My dad once told me that his first girlfriend's name was Beverly. Sure hope I wasn't named after her. Don't think mom would be too happy about that.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
I have felt like crying the last 2 days, but the part of my personality that requires that I eat all my emotions has turned that urge into a smile. So the last time I cried was when Bob the cat died.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Most of the time, yes. It gets a bit messy when I'm in a hurry, but otherwise I take pride in the fact that it's quite legible (which is important in my profession as an editor, where I have to mark proofs all the time, if I don't want to incur the wrath of the typesetters and proofreaders).

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I probably eat turkey more often than anything else, but I wouldn't say it's a favorite, just a habit. I like salami and ham a lot too.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Of my own? No. Sadly, no. Yet. Maybe.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Possibly. I'm really opinionated, and sometimes whiny. On the other hand, I've been told I'm good for a laugh.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Oh, yeah.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes. They get all red and huge and painful when I have a cold.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
There are a lot of things I would do, but bungee jumping is not one of them. I just don't see the point. Falling off a bridge and bouncing around on a giant rubber band. Oooo, fun.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Bite size Frosted Mini Wheats. Hands-down.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I can't remember the last time I wore shoes with laces, but when I did, I always untied them first.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Emotionally, yes, because denial and avoidance are my favorite past times.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
I'm kind of a purist when it comes to ice cream. Plain old chocolate will do.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their sense of humor, or lack thereof.

15. RED OR PINK?
Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I wish I was a less selfish person. The older I get, the better I am at faking the selflessness, but the selfish thoughts always exist in my head.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
TechGirl - I haven't seen her in over 2 years.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DO THIS?
Everyone already has. As usual, I'm late.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Not wearing any right now.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Shane and I had Taco John's for dinner.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The Office reruns on TBS.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I always liked periwinkle when I was a kid.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Books. New or old. In book stores, I often open the books and hold them up to my nose so I can smell the ink and paper. I even did it in a meeting the other day (I work for a publishing company, so there are books all over the place). Yeah. Got some strange looks for that one.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Shane.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
No one sent it to me. I shamelessly stole it from kemtee.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Watching sports? No thanks. I don't mind the occasional NASCAR race, but generally, I'd rather pluck my eyebrows than watch a sporting event.

27. HAIR COLOR?
It's this amazing color I like to call "Blah Brown with a Little Grey."

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Not much anymore. I used to love my contacts. Then I started a job where I spend most of the day reading. I don't blink enough when I'm reading, so the contacts get really dried out. Sounds plausible, right? The real reason is that I'm too lazy in the morning to put them in. Throwing on my glasses is much easier.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Indian.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Either is fine with me as long as the story is good.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I think it was one of the Harry Potter's this weekend.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Pink striped long sleeve t-shirt.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Winter. I have no tolerance for the heat.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs. Kisses are weird unless you're my husband or a child.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Apple pie, cherry pie, brownies.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
No one. Everyone else has already done it.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Everyone who has already done it.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I decided over the summer that I was going to re-read Middlemarch by the end of the year. It's 9 December, and I'm on page 10. Hm.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Don't have one. My laptop has one of those touch pad thingies.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Chuck. Best show ever.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
As much as I hate summer, I love the sound of the cicadas when they first start making noise in late July. I also really love the sound of the frogs in the spillway behind my house.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Definitely Beatles. They remind me of my dad.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Greece. Is it sad that I had to look at a map to see which was farther east, Greece or Austria?

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I sing. I've been told I'm good. I never sing in public.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta, GA.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I've already read everyone's answers.

Knitted Kitty FO

Awwwww....



Pattern: Knitted Kitty
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted in Lotus Pink and Cascade 220, in a dark purple, for the face
Needles: size 5 10" Clover bamboo straights
Started: 11/11/08
Finished: 11/28/08
Mods: I cast on more stitches for the head and body and worked more rows for each, but I can't remember exactly how many. These adjustments were made to accommodate the tighter gauge I wanted so that the stuffing wouldn't show through. Also, I worked a garter stitch icord for the tail.

So cute, I may just have to make a few more.

Oh, and if you ever need to make eyes for a knitted toy, this website has a fabulous tutorial (scroll down to "knittycat's Yarn Knot Eyes for Peeps Tutorial" link).

Best art?

A couple of weeks ago, Disco asked what we consider to be the best art. It got me thinking...

When I was a kid, I loved to draw. I didn't have a whole lot of creativity with regards to subject matter, but I was pretty good at drawing objects from life (I learned in high school that it's called "classical" drawing). I loved art class in elementary school and junior high. I didn't learn a whole lot in those classes, but being in them allowed me to express myself on paper, which is always a good thing for an adolescent.

It wasn't until high school that I started taking art classes "for real," i.e., as a vehicle for learning drawing/painting skills, as well as studying certain specific artists and their styles. I really loved those classes. My teacher was tough, but she knew her stuff and I learned so much. For a time I even entertained the idea of majoring in fine art in college. However, life had different plans for me and after high school, I would never draw or paint again like I did in my high school art classes.

I returned to my love of art in my sophomore year of college. I found myself needing to change my major, and after much consideration, I narrowed my choices down to English and art history. After taking an amazing short story class at the local community college, I decided on English, but took as many art history classes as my schedule would allow. That same community college offered two comprehensive art history classes that I took to feed my art-loving soul. The instructor was excellent. The material she covered spanned the history of art from prehistoric cave paintings through modern art. I was afforded the opportunity to study the amazing works housed at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as well as the equally stellar, though much smaller, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and also the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.

In the process of studying the various forms, styles, and movements of art through the ages, I came to love Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance (both Dutch and Italian), Mannerism, and Baroque paintings and sculpture. Though I am not a particularly religious person, I am intrigued by the depth of religious emotion depicted in many of these works. There is passion in these paintings and sculptures, and it is expressed so richly, with such depth.

This is my favorite painting at the Nelson:


The Penitent Magdalene --El Greco (1580-85)

So I guess if someone were to ask me what I consider good art, I would be quick to point to the aforementioned genres as my favorites. However, I really do love all art, even if I don't particularly like some pieces. Having suffered through the creative process, I understand how hard it is (or maybe it's just hard for me because I'm not especially creative). I respect all who endeavor to express themselves through artistic means. I may not love the outcome of that expression, but I respect the process that brought them to that outcome.