this has been finished for a couple of weeks now. if you don't recognize it, it's odessa by grumperina.



pattern: odessa by grumperina

yarn: about 1/2 skein of peace fleece in kamchatka sea moss

needles: us 6 16" circs (with a 4 for the bottom ribbing)

notes: this was a very fun and easy pattern to knit. i left out the beads, as you can see and i adjusted for the heavier weight yarn by casting on only 90 stitches instead of 110 and it fits my head nicely (my head is pretty normal sized). the pattern is super easy to adapt to different yarn weights and the results are super cool. i am not actually keeping this hat, as we've started a little knitting group at work and we've decided to knit hats for the dulaan project. i've decided to try and use up stash yarns and leftovers for these hats so i get to do a good deed and clean out the yarn closet. i also love making hats but i never wear them (my head looks funny in hats and it's just too dang warm in california for them anyway). this will be a good chance to try some new hat patterns. for anyone who is thinking of making this hat, i definitely recommend it. it's fun and fast and really cute. i may just have to make one for myself one of these days.

i can't believe the weekend is over already. the weather here was just grand, nice and sunny but breezy and not hot. i didn't do much really except catch cars (very good) and go to a streets concert. i've also decided that i can't shop anymore. i am in way too much debt and i just have to buckle down and pay everything off before i do anything else. so no more yarn and no more shopping online while at work. the madness needs to stop so i can actually start saving money.

cool down

wow, my last post was a awhile ago. i've been super busy the last couple of weeks because a good friend of mine was getting married and i was the maid of honor (and the only person on her side of the wedding party). they finally gotch hitched on saturday and it was so beautiful. the chapel was right by the ocean and you couldn't have picked a better day for a wedding in a glass church. the sky was so blue and it was just a really lovely thing to be a part of.



and now they are off in hawaii for their honeymoon, guests have left town and i am finally able to just relax. thank goodness the temperature's gone down this week. it was just horrid last week, with high nineties everday and no a/c in my room. seems like june gloom is trying to make up for it and i couldn't be happier. i do some fo's to share today.



pattern: warshrag from mason-dixon knitting

needles: us 5 bryspun circs

yarn: about half a ball each of sugar n cream cotton in a solid and ombre shade

notes: these are fun, fun, fun to make and i can see how they can be addicting. i love watching the colors change in the ombre and it was fun to see the pattern emerge by just slipping a stitch. i am not sure what i am going to do with it, since i really just think that washing gunky plates with a cotton rag sounds gross (i don't know why i can't get over it).


"i'm ready for my closeup mr. de mille."

and far be it from me to let a lame little thing like not actually liking to use cotton dishrags to wash dishes stop me from making more of these fun babies. oh no.



more warshrags to come! i have one more fo to show you all but i am pooped at the moment. i'll do it tomorrow. (random note - my neighbors are driving me a little insane. i don't know who it is but someone across the way from my building has taking to singing really loudly and talking at the top of his lungs at all hours. wtf? our new owners chopped down a bunch of trees between the buildings and i think that's why i can hear him better than ever. ahhhh!)

and congratulations jana and kevin!

bananas on parade

i just made the best banana pudding ever (and i don't even like bananas). last month when i went to new york, i had the most delicious banana pudding from magnolia bakery. the place is known for its cupcakes (which i think are overrated and not that tasty) but we also tried the famous banana pudding. the pudding itself isn't actually banana flavored, it just has bananas in it, which is probably why i can eat it. and it's got cakey bits of nilla wafers mixed about-mmmm. i bought this book, just for the pudding recipe. little did i know that this recipe is available online here. it came out tasting pretty similar to what i got at the store so i am happy. however, i have a huge vat of it now and don't know what to do with it. i just wanted a little bit.


this is kind of a crap picture.

here's the recipe for anyone who wants to try it. it kind of killed the fun by making it because now i know what's in it. and what's in it is NOT good for you, but it's worth it.

magnolia's famous banana pudding
taken from recipe link

• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 1/2 cups ice cold water

• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

• 3 cups heavy cream

• 1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)

• 4 cups sliced ripe bananas

1. In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

3. To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.

a little bit of knitting going on. here's the left front of the astrakhan sweater.



it's going well so far, but i think i might be short on yarn. it's gonna be really tight and now i am debating whether or not to order another ball or wait and see if i can finish with what i've got. i also have no idea what yarn i am going to use to sew it up, as the astrakhan is way too bumpy and weird to sew anything with.



the mason dixon dishcloth. most people can finish one of these in a few hours but i'm still going on mine. i just can't seem to stick to one project so everything only gets a little attention. this'll be done soon, though. and look how nice the colors are.

holding my breath

did you guys see grey's anatomy tonight? i can't believe all the sh*t that's going down. tomorrow night is the season finale and it's two hours long! i think i'll be biting my nails for most of it. i didn't get a ton of knitting done this weekend but i did manage to finally finish the collar for the astrakhan sweater. fronts, here i come! i know i was supposed to be good and not start any new projects but i've been reading the mason dixon knitalong and i just had to try one of those cute little dishcloths. one trip to joann's later and i cast on. i really wanted the peaches & creme yarn but they only carried sugar n cream, which i hear is almost the same. i am still looking for the peaches & creme, but it seems like only walmart carries it. oddly enough, there aren't a ton of walmarts in the la area so it looks like i'll have to wait. this is what i have so far:



i know it's not much but i like seeing the pattern show up in the ombre yarn and the colors are so bright and fun. i don't know what i am going to do with all of these dishcloths i plan on making, as the thought of washing my dishes with them sounds kind of icky. i just imagine bits of food stuck to the cotton. ew. give me a sponge any day.

hope you all had a great weekend. and happy mother's day, too. :)

buried

i came home this evening to find that the new owners painted our entire building yellow. i don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but my building's yellow. now when i give out directions i can say, "...and then it's that yellow building on your right." i have been knitting, although somewhat sporadically. i feel like i never have enough time to knit or i end up using some of that time to do other things, like read. it's too bad that work takes up so much of the day.

and lately it seems like my wip basket is overflowing with things that are just not quite done yet. the lure of new projects calls everyday and i am trying hard not to give in. but here's a mini rundown of some of my bigger wips.



remember this puppy? it's cyd, from jaeger. i think i started this last summer and here it is still not done. i had some issues with the shoulder shaping and the back (which i made sometime last year) seems way too big. luckily the front is a bit slimmer i think because of the intarsia. since this photo, i've finished one side of the neck and i hope to finish it soon. i still like the vest but i started it before i was really into noting and counting my rows, so it's kind of a mess coming back to it every few months. i gotta be good and work on it consistently.



i started shedir on a whim with a ball of rowan felted tweed i had lying around but got stalled with the chart reading. i don't mind charts but it's not really good for mindless tv knitting. so this has been put aside for a bit.



oh here is the lovely atacama t-shirt sweater. i was so close to finishing this before i realized that the back was way too red. the atacama yarn is really beautiful but the variegation is a real bitch. i switched balls every two rows but i think the skeins i used for the back were just redder than the rest of the sweater, which is more blue. i thought i could live with it and even sewed up the sides before realizing that i wouldn't be able to live with it. so i ripped it out and am now in search of two more skeins of more atacama to match. unfortunately not too many stores carry this yarn in my area and i want to see the yarn before i buy it to make sure it matches. so this is stalled until i find more yarn.



the debbie bliss shawl collared jacket in astrakhan. i've been working on the collar for awhile now. it just never seems to end. it's take more than 2 balls of yarn! luckily it's almost done and i'll be starting the fronts soon.



you didn't even know i started this one. it's forecast from knitty. i am using some beaverslide wool i bought awhile back. i started this on a whim, too, and have been working on it bit by bit. it's pretty interesting to see it form from the top down and the texture is great.



ooohh...bobbly goodness. just looking at all of these unfinished projects makes me tired. but i will persevere and i know that one day, something will be finished. well it's off to watch "the office" for me and then to bed. have a great friday!

lazy

thanks for all the nice comments on the new york pictures. i had a really fun time and am definitely coming back soon. i've been super lazy lately about posting. there hasn't been a ton of knitting progress to show you and i've been lax about taking pictures but i am going to try to catch up this week. but i had a lovely weekend. the weekend here was very nice and sunny, even though it looked like it was going to rain both mornings. i went to the la times festival of books over at ucla this weekend and managed to walk away with only a few things. i also managed to see bruce willis (whom i love) randomly at a movie premiere we walked into in westwood. ah - la. anywhoozle, updates on new books and knitterly things later this week. hope everyone had a great weekend.

spring has sprung

well i am back from my brief trip to new york city over the easter holiday. i had a fantastic time and stayed with great friends (who live in an awesome apt in greenwich) and only wish that i was weathly so i could actually afford a place in new york so i could be there all the time. we couldn't have gone at a better time, as the weather was lovely and flowers were planted all over the city just for us (well they probably weren't for us, but they were there still). i left thursday night for a redeye flight. i haven't flown in a couple of years and it all came rushing back what a pain it is to fly. i feel to hurried when i have to go through security while taking off my shoes and trying to keep my tray moving down the line. i got a bit airsick but it subsided after a short rest at our friends' apt.

our first meal in new york was at carnegie deli. it was a bit tourist-y but the food was pretty good. my friend's sandwhich was piled so high with meat that i thought it was a joke. really, i think it's pretty wasteful to give all this food when one person (or even two) could not possibly eat it. we carried the leftovers around for hours trying to find a homeless person to give it to but we didn't see any. a friend told me that ny shipped all the homeless to queens, but i couldn't verify this.



we also tried to go to the emire state building but they told us that there wasn't any visibility due to some rain that we had that day. i managed to get this creepy looking picture of it from the bottom, though.



the next day my friend mecaila drove in from albany to meet us and we had brunch at a yummy place down the street called pastis. there was a bit of drama there as some guy in a van backed into a vespa trying to parallel park, knocked it over, picked it up with a waiter standing outside the restaurant, then drove off in front of everyone in the patio dining. what nerve. the waiter ran after him and i hope he got his plate numbers.


mmm i had french toast


fancy schmancy eggs florentine

we spent the day exploring greenwich and soho where i mananged to spend an hour inside purl patchwork, the new fabric store that purl soho opened. they had so many beautiful fabrics and i picked some out so i could try to attempt some sewing. i do have some pictures but they were not on my camera so i don't have them at the moment. i popped into the purl yarn store but didn't get anything, as i had already gone a bit crazy in the patchwork shop. then to ground zero just to see it and a trip to century 21, this crazy discount store that was just filled with people. it was so crowded and people were just insane. it's like they'd never seen a sale before. i actually didn't buy anything there but one of my friends bought 3 pairs of very cute shoes.

sunday was spent on the upper west side having brunch and buying jams from sarahbeth's (i hear they're very good but i haven't tried mine yet). we also got caught up in the easter parade on 5th avenue (who knew that it was a thing to wear crazy hats on easter?). we wanted to go to the macy's flower show but unfortunately they were closed for the holiday. (i am condensing now as i am tired of writing) but monday was our last day and we spent it getting lost going to the subway (but finding some really cute stores along the way) and running around central park. the weather was fabulous again and we went through the park, hitting the popular sights. then a brief visit to the dinosaurs at the museum of natural history and over to chinatown, where i bought a fake rolex for my brother. he asked for one, don't ask me why. then we ran back to the apt to try to cram all of our stuff into our carryon and off to the airport we went. that was a very short version of my trip, even if it seemed long reading it. i had a great time though and can't wait to go back. i will leave you with some random snapshots of new york. hope everyone had a lovely easter!


central park dress made of peeps


vintage toy store window display


seafood sellers in chinatown


the coolest packaged chocolate from chocolate bar (check out their shirts!)


flowers just for us

there's never enough time

i started this post over the weekend but never got around to finishing it. lately it seems like there's just not enough hours in the day to do everything that i want. but i do love that it's not dark when i get out of work now. makes me feel a little less pathetic. last weekend i worked a bit more on the shawl collar of the debbie bliss jacket. it's coming along slowly, but surely. see how odd it looks? hopefully all will be revealed when i am done with it and it'll fit together.



and remember this guy?


i busted out the jaeger vest this weekend, too. it was pretty confusing trying to figure out where the heck i was in the pattern but i think i got it and i've made it up to the armhole and neck shaping. however, i took a look at the finished back the other day and it looks ginormous compared to the front. i am going to pin everything together once i am done to see how it fits but i have a feeling that i may end up re-doing the back piece.

i also started to seam my atacama sweater and realize that i officially hate seaming. it's really not fun and i can almost see why people pay other people to do it for them. how i wish i had a friend who was crazy about seaming. i've only got to attach the sleeves now. i don't know how i really feel about the sweater. it's okay. but the back piece is much more red than the other pieces, even though i alternated skeins. it actually bugs me a lot and i am thinking of overdying the whole thing once i am done. only i've never done anything like that before so i am scared. i'll get a picture in the light so you can all see what i am talking about. and i am off to nyc this weekend for a bit of fun. probably won't get to yarn shop at all or knit for that matter, but it'll be a good time. have a great week!

raves

this is my new favorite knitting book. i'd been a fan of the blog for a little while now but i really didn't know what to expect from this book. what did i get? a book full of wonderful stories, great tips and fabulous projects. i really loved the conversational tone of the book, the great stories behind the projects and makers and the clear and beautiful photography. this book has me wanting to make things that i've never wanted to make. things like dishcloths, spiral rugs, log cabin blankets (there are so many beautiful ones in the book) and felted baskets. it just makes me very excited to knit and make things. i think it's a great addition to any knitting library. below are some pictures of some of the projects inside.


slip stitch dishcloth made from peaches and cream.


a knitted curtain! awesome.


i can see myself making some of these for the house.


gorgeous


more log cabin action


this one is so modern and pretty


rug made from potholder rings


this is made from rag balls. i'd never even heard of rag balls before this.


i loved this afghan when i saw it on mason dixon knitting and i so want my own.

ahhh - the power just went out in my apt! good thing i have candles and good thing i saved this post. one bit of rain and the whole town goes out of whack. i am off to start my taxes before the lights go out again!

sneezy me

i am having a case of the sneezes right now. i think it was from visiting a friend's house this morning who has a bunny. he's very cute and sweet but i am very allergic to him. and i said i would give you all a finished knit almost a week ago and i am just getting around to it. it's been a very long and busy week at work so pardon my tardy post.



pattern: jack from rowan junior
size: made for 4-5 year old
yarn: 3 1/2 balls of plymouth encore worsted in 3335, a light lime green(more green than the picture shows)
needles: bryspun circs in 5US. i knit it flat but on circular needles because it was just easier that way.
gauge: can't remember but it was pretty much what the pattern called for
notes: i substituted a worsted weight acrylic/wool yarn in for the rowan handknit dk cotton. i wanted the recipient's parents to be able to wash it and i just think cotton can get heavy on a small child. the plymouth encore was pretty nice to work with, even with the high acrylic content, and i didn't really have any problems with it. i did the cables without a cable needle and that sped things up a bit. i had a problem with the arms at first because they were not the same length and both were too long. i think i was just measuring poorly, though. actually the ribbed cuff of one sleeve is about 2 rows shorter than the other (for some reason i thought the ribbing went on for 4 rows instead of 6) but i didn't want to do the whole sleeve over again, and i don't think anyone but me can tell. another mistake: i didn't read the sleeve directions properly and missed the part where you were supposed to mirror the cables on each sleeve so it would look cool when put together. instead my sleeve cables all twist the same way. again, i don't think anyone would really notice. i also did a lot of seaming on this one, and, while i can't say i love seaming now, i definitely think this project helped me get over some of my seaming apprehension. here are a few more shots for you to look at....


oooh the same thing but inside out!


close-up of my seaming job. it's ok.

it's already been sent home to my mom and given to the recipient. i've had this thing in my wip list for months now and it feels good to be done with it. to reward myself, i bought a new book by some awesome people today and ordered a bunch of phildar mags last night. and it's been kind of rainy and cold in la this past week so i've gotten a bit of reading and knitting done. i am working on the shawl collar part of the debbie bliss astrakhan sweater. the construction seems a bit odd to me and i am not sure how it's going to fit at the moment, but i am trusting in ms. bliss to get me through this. that's all for today. have a fun fun weekend!

sweets

strawberries are super cheap at ralphs this week so i went and bought a whole truckload of them and made these:



the recipe is easy peasy. all you do is melt some chocolate chips (i used semi sweet and bittersweet) in the microwave with a slice of butter (i think it makes it smoother but you could cut it out). obviously clean and dry the strawberries beforehand. dip them in melty chocolate and put on foil to cool. put in the fridge to harden. i tried to do white chocolate, too, but the white chocolate chips were not melting nice and it didn't work. i am bringing some in to work tomorrow for a birthday at work. i made brownies for the occasion, too. my oven still doesn't work very well but i am very good about watching it. the brownies only burned a teeny bit. i have some knitting finished but i don't have time to blog about it today. however, here is a preview:



i'm off to watch the east coast feeds of desperate housewives and grey's anatomy. happy sunday!

ikea

and i had some issues with ikea today. my fabulous friend took me out to ikea to get this bookshelf because she has a big car. the shelf i wanted i tried to get myself, but i realized that the box was about 7 feet long. no way was i getting that in my car. so we get it, come home and dump out the parts on the ground. we started to bitch about how crappy the ikea directions are and how it's usually 3 pictures with arrows. bad move on our part as the swedish ikea gods decide to punish us for our blasphemy by not putting any instructions in the box. i was so annoyed and we did not want to go back to the store. luckily my friend and i were able to figure it out by looking at the picture online and now i have a lovley bookshelf for all of my knitting books and mags. everything was just crammed into one puny case and the floor before. i feel so much more streamlined and it makes me feel better being more organized. progress pics of my debbie bliss sweater and hopefully a finished object next time.

weekend update

why does the weekend always fly by? last week was such a long week at work. 3 people were on vacation at various time and i basically had to do 3 people's job's at once. i was so happy when friday and st. patty's day finally hit. i did manage to wear green on friday, afraid of what my irish co-worker would do to me if i didn't. i also brought said co-worker to unwind during our lunch break. she's a hard core crocheter who's been meaning to to try knitting and i think she is going to sign up for a beginner class there. i was good, though, and used my gift certificate to buy just one thing. inspired by joy, i just couldn't wait to pick up the new rowan ryc beach book.



i'd love to make this lovely cabled concoction. i am sure i have some yarn that i could use for it in the stash, too. love me some cables.



i also got to see two good movies this weekend. went to see v for vendetta on friday night. very good and very thought provoking. it's a bit heavy handed at times and quite dark but i found it very interesting and well done. hugo weaving is excellent even if you never get to see his face and natalie portman is fantastic always and just looks luminous. i actually went out and bought the v for vendetta graphic novel right after and already, there are some big difference. but they are two separate things and i think i will enjoy both. tonight we saw thank you for smoking, which is only playing at one theater in la right now. it was really funny and witty and i enjoyed it a lot. aaron echkhart was so spot on and you just gotta see rob lowe's character. people like him are all over la. the only bad thing about it was katie holmes, who seem to deflate every single scene she's in. she's just not convincing in anything and i hate that sneer she does. but other than that, it is also a very thought provoking and entertaining film. there's been a draught of good films because the oscars just came by and it's nice to see things picking back up.

just realized that grey's anatomy is on so i must run. hope everyone had a great weekend!

sleevage

and we have sleeves!



sleeves done on the db astrakhan sweater and i have started the back. it's really fun working with this yarn and i like the cool texture it makes. it's so cold today in la. i don't know if it's just my apt but my fingers and toes are just freezing. even knitting wool isn't warming me up. i have to go shopping today to find a dress for a wedding i am in. i went shopping last week but i found hardly any dresses and the ones i did find were way fugly. so if anyone has any tips on where to get a nice dress, give a holla. otherwise, i'll be in bridesmaid hell for the weekend. :(

new addition

picked up a new book this weekend while i was shopping. leigh radford's one skein. i haven't really gone through it yet but i thought i'd post some pics of a few of the projects i like. i have loads of single skeins running about the stash and thought this would be a good way to find something to do with them. it's well photographed (not by me, though, as you can see the blurry pics) and the projects are fun. i think it's a keeper.