merry go round

my poor little blog, i have been neglecting you. it's been so busy lately i feel like i have barely enough time to get everything done. and hot. did i mention that it was HOT in the valley? my apt normally gets a bit warm in hot weather but it's been so hot that in the evenings when i got to bed at midnight, it's still 80 degrees in the apt. i shower at least twice a day now. i mean, my hair's squeaky clean but i really want some cool breezes to blow in soon. it's so hot that the thought of knitting with hot wool just makes my cringe. there's knitting news but let's get through the other stuff first.

last weekend (or maybe 2 weekends ago) i went down to san diego for comicon. every year it gets bigger and bigger and every year it just seems like i am never prepared for it. this year was no different and my roommate and i headed down there on friday to just wing it. luckily our friend jared was a superstar and let us stay at his place for the weekend. one of these years, we'll have enough money and forethought to book something a little nicer. i'd love to go all four days one year. there's just so much stuff and cramming it all in one weekend never seems like enough.

sadly, we were still in line to get into hall h when bryan singer was on. the usual suspects is one of my favorite movies and i really wanted to see him. poo. luckily we were able to get in later and snagged some awesome seats for the kevin smith talk. he was hilarious and brilliant, as usual. i can't wait for an evening with kevin smith 2: evening harder. ha! and he also introduced richard kelly, director of donnie darko and southland tales (which smith will be acting in.



and i was got my roomie hooked on firefly, so we were both stoked to see the serenity panel. the footage for the new film looks great. i can't wait to see it. the only cast member who wasn't there was alan tudyk, who was on broadway doing spamelot, but the cast and joss whedon were funny and smart and just seemed like a fun group of people. here are a couple of shots from that panel:


they play brother and sister on the show


captain, my captain

we also went to the chronicles of narnia panel, which looks really amazing. must remember to read the book again before the film comes out. and here is just a variety of shots from the weekend:


nice display case of blythe dolls. i have a thing for dolls on display. i find them so creepy- i just have to take a picture.


this was drawn in front of my very eyes by the talented aaron renier, whose book, spiral bound, i bought.


and of course, the obligatory storm trooper.

i was going to go into knitting but i find that this post is way too long as is and my room is way too warm. knit content to come soon!

beauty and the geek

i am not sure why i titled my post that but the beauty and the geek reunion was on last night and i saw part of it. my roommate got me to watch some of the show, and it was somewhat entertaining, even if i think that the premise is pretty horrible. but i haven't posted a real post in so long. i've just been too lazy, that's the truth of the matter. but now it's like so much time has passed i don't even know if it's worth talking about some of the stuff i wanted to.

let's see, last sunday i volunteered for an organization called boarding house mentors, that teams up kids with "mentors" at my work. i don't have a mentee yet, as i started here too late to sign up, but there was a surfing workshop and i asked if i could just come help, and they said yes! let me just say that i am not athletic, coordinated, or even in shape but for some reason i thought this sounded like a good idea. it was a lot of fun and i swallowed so much salt water, and it was scary, too. but no sting rays or sharks got to me and i made it out in one piece. but i did get sunburned in weird places (like me knees) and was so sore the next day that i could not lift my arms above my shoulders. it was horrible, but i am doing much better.

not much knitting has been going on. it's just been so hot lately that i don't want to pull out the wool. i want to finish my vintage velvet scarf but the extra yarn i ordered hasn't come in and my emails to the store have gone unanswered. this worries me. (note- i just called the store i ordered it online from - in june - and "someone will get back to me.") normally i wouldn't worry, but this color is discontinued and i was just happy that they had it. looks like a might be sol.


i started tblue ribbed sleeve yet again, this time with a selvedge, so hopefully i will be able to do my increased and not have it come out looking like crap. only time will tell.


and this is a swatch that i made for a vest i plan on knitting my dad. it's in dale of norway falk, which i got on sale at kaleidoscope yarns. the yarn is washable wool and softens up quite a bit after washing. it's nice. but the vest i was planning on making is from the best of knitters arans and celtics book (sorry no pic of it). but if you have the book, it's the wall street cables vest. but i am not sure if it might be too busy for my dad. it's cabled all over and i don't know if he's an all over cable kinda guy. if anyone's seen this pattern and has a comment, let me know.


and this is some recycled silk that i got this week in the mail. sorry the pic is kind of blurry but you know how those nighttime photo shoots can go. i am not sure what i plan on making from this. either an unbiased bag or a different sling type bag. but the colors on this are really gorgeous. i like to just look at it and pet it.

this seems to be the slowest day at work right now. half of the office is out and it's so quiet. after work tonight my roomie and i are driving down to san diego for the fun fest known as comic-con. it's going to be good this year. we're planning on seeing kevin smith, the serenity panel, and bryan singer! i'll probably also end up picking up some good books from top shelf comics and other goodies.

i'll try to take some good pictures to show you all next week. have a fun weekend!

finally i belong

i got an email from rowan today, telling me that i needed to sign up for a subscription, and i did it! i've been wanting to do it for awhile now but just haven't for some reason. but the free gift right now is make from the gorgeous kidsilk haze so i couldn't resist. i chose trance, a lovely pale blue shade for my gift. all the fall magazines are starting to come out and i am going a bit crazy. i want to knit them all, but i am still knitting things from last year. i'll never catch up, geez.

i promise to write a more detailed post soon. things have been a little crazy lately with little knitting going on. have a great day!

ps

stuff posted on the swap/sale page. :)

tragedy

my heart goes out to everyone in london right now. i have friends who live in london that i haven't heard from yet. my thoughts are with you all.

ps- and can the u.s. news please stop for just one second and think about the people who were attacked instead of if we might be attacked next? sheesh.

on the road again

well i am hitting the road yet again after work today. my parents were initially supposed to come down to see me, but they couldn't find anyone to take care of our dog so i am coming up instead. i packed a bunch of knitting (does anyone else pack way too much knitting when they go on vacation?) and will be gone until tuesday.

have a fun and safe holiday!

nothing ever happens

it's pretty slow here at work right now so i thought i'd try to sneak in a quick post. i can't believe it's already tuesday, as the weekend just flew by. it was a jam packed movie weekend for me, as my roommate was out of town and i didn't have much to do besides sit in an air conditioned movie theater. on friday night, i went out with a couple of girls from work to see bewitched. i personally thought it was really cute and will ferrell was hilarious. nicole kidman was good but i know a lot of people are going to think her character was really dumb. the key word is "cute." if cute doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then i would pass on this movie. and nicole kidman's wardrobe is really good in it.

on saturday i managed to get myself to the post office to pick up a package from lyn. thanks, lyn! i have to send you a real thank you soon. then i went to ralphs for some much needed supplies. after that i turned on the a/c at home and watched the first disc of deadwood, which, sad to say i loved. sad only because now i have to go buy the set, as i am notoriously horrible at watching tv on dvd in a timely manner. it's much better when i just have the series and can watch it when i want it. i can't stand the pressure of renting or borrowing tv shows from people. and did i mention that i was sick all last week, so i was kind of out of it during the weekend? yeah that wasn't fun but i wasn't too sick, so it's all good.

sunday i felt a lot better so i went to burbank to catch a showing of howl's moving castle. i've never read the book, but i thought the film was excellent. i am not sure if i liked it better than spirited away, but it was up there. and hello- christian bale has a sexy voice. seriously people, i could melt. i didn't even mind that it was dubbed over in english (i saw his last movie in japanese). i guess they're trying to appeal to kids and i am sure more people are going to see it if it's in english, even though it's not really a kids movie at all. but there were a lot of children when i went. it's kind of hard to sum up, but basically a it's about a shy young girl who is changed into an old woman by the witch of the waste and she's in love with howl, this self-centered wizard, and there's a war going on and it just goes all over the place. since i didn't have anything else to do after that i stayed for a showing of land of the dead. i enjoyed that, too. i thought the effects were really awesome and just gross at times and the plot was pretty interesting, too. there's really only so much one can do with a zombie movie but it was fun, if you like that kind of stuff.

wow it seems like i am such a couch potato. oh well it's my weekend, right? and last night i watched a really great episode of wonderfalls with my roommate. man that show was so brilliant! why oh why did they cancel it?

knitting news soon...

hot in the kitchen

i just got my new issue of "interview" magazine today and the lovely rachel mcadams is on the cover. i find her terribly likable and i think she's a good actress. loved her in mean girls and i will admit that i watched the notebook on tv this weekend. i hadn't seen it since i saw it in theatres and i feel no shame in saying that i do love it so. and ryan gosling is hot! plus rachel gets to make out with my other boyfriend, cillian murphy, in the new wes craven flick, redeye. at my old job, wes craven's company was on the floor above us and sometimes we'd get their mail. someone else usually went up to give it back, but from what i hear, they were very nice.

so last night we went to the rilo kiley concert at the wiltern. they were so awesome live. incredible. they have such great chemistry and jenny lewis' voice is even better than on the cd. you should totally go out and get their new cd, more adventurous, if you haven't got it yet. but get this, during the encore, she said she wanted to have her friend "deborah" come out to help with the song. so this blonde girl comes out and me, being short, can't see all that well. but they guy next to me starts to freak out and says, "oh my god, is that debbie gibson?" and it so was. my fourth grade dreams were realized when she sang "lost in your eyes." yes she did. i wasn't a huge music geek when i was young and i only owned two tapes. the first was the wilson phillips album (you know the one) and the other was debbie gibson's out of the blue. i never really got into electric youth but my friend linda can still bust out lost in your eyes on the piano. and i never got to see debbie in concert, but now i can say that i have. i thought that was pretty cool.

tried to knit on the ribbed cardi today but i ripped the sleeve out again. i don't know how to do nice increases on ribbing while keeping in pattern, so i am going to have to figure it out before i do these sleeves again. they just looked too ugly the way i was doing them, so i put them out of their misery. anyway, i am going to bed now. another day awaits!

unfinished business

HAPPY FATHER"S DAY!


sorry- i don't have any better pictures with me of my dad. this is a picture i took of an old picture. don't my parents looks so hip and 70's? i think it's hilarious. but i just wanted to say happy father's day to my dad. he doesn't read the blog but i wanted to put it out there that he is a great dad. he came to this country with nothing but a pair of boots, a hammock, and a canteen and managed to raise 2 somewhat normal kids and is still around to tell the tale. he's been through a lot in the past few months but he's still alive and kicking. love you, dad! and happy father's day to all the other great dads out there, too.

it's really a gorgeous day out today. i can spell someone outside bbq'ing and the sun is shining. i am a bit lazy to go out, however, and am still laying about the house. i don't really have anywhere to go today and i don't want to spend any money, so i figured i would just stay in and knit. it's starting to bug me that i have all of these unfinished projects lying around. i want to finish them so that i can start something new. so last night i seamed up the rebecca chevron tank. it actually didn't go too bad and i think it looks alright.


i tried putting it on last night (sans straps) and it's a bit snug and short but i might be able to block it a bit larger. it sucks that i ran out of yarn for the straps. it's gonna be unfinished until i can find something to make the straps out of or some artyarns fable falls out of the sky. you never know.


i've been working on this bikini from stitch n bitch since last june. i started it for a friend of mine (who has since moved to new york) when i first started knitting. she bought the yarn and i said i would make this bikini for her. it was stalled for awhile because i kept messing up the bottom piece. this time, it looks better, but the intarsia isn't great. it's really hard to keep your tension in the classic elite star. i am so sick of this though that i think i am just going to plough ahead and see how it goes. truthfully i don't even know if it is going to fit her. it look awfully small. let's hope the lycra in the yarn works.

**i just got home from an awesome rilo kiley concert. more on that tomorrow. good night!

too much food

i can't believe that the weekend is already over. it feels like it just started. well yesterday i spent the day wandering around by myself. i actually got my car washed (bye bye dead bugs) and went shopping for birthday gifts. i also went to a showing of mr. and mrs. smith. man the line to get in was super long, but since i was by myself, i didn't really have a problem getting a seat. i really enjoyed it. publicity and tabloid aside, brat pitt and angelina jolie have fantastic chemistry, the writing was clever, and the action was very stylish and well shot. i like doug liman a lot and i thought the film was fun, smart, and entertaining all the way through. i would definitely watch it again. i would still like to see cinderella man, lords of dogotown and saving face. so many movies and so little time. i still have my netflix i need to watch, too. i popped by borders on the way home from the movies and i really wanted to buy a book, but nothing caught my fancy. i ended up buying a couple of fashion mags and that was it. there are a couple of hardbacks that i want to read, but i am too cheap to shell out for them. i gotta go paperback all the way. plus it's really hard to read hardbacks lying in bed. i am looking forward to the new batch of fall knitting mags. fall- ha, summer's not even started but fashion is always ahead a season.

tomorrow is my friend jana's birthday so we took her out for dinner. we went to a restaurant in pasadena called xiomara, which is supposed to be latin fused with pan asian cuisine. it was mostly latin with a bit of asian thrown in there but it was interesting, to say the least. i had some yummy paella which jana and i shared and a really cool souffle for dessert. they were even cool enough to put a candle on the play with "happy birthday" spelled out in chocolate. jana also just got engaged to our good friend kevin. i made her hold out her hand so i could take a picture of her gorgeous engagement ring.


that's kind of a bad picture of it next to my brownie cake, but you get the idea.


look how cute they are. yay!

and lest you think i haven't been knitting, here is a picture of the front of my rebecca chevron tank. it's coming along.. hopefully it won't take me too long to finish this baby up.


and i have yet to receive my yarn from kaleidoscope for my dad's vest or my order of rowan cashsoft. i got a call from the handworks gallery saying that they didn't have the color of rowan cashsoft dk in the shade i wanted (mirage) and to call them back. i might just have to cancel the whole thing because the colors that they gave me weren't too appealing. the mirage was just the right amount of pastel without being too cutesy for me. i am going to try and call them tomorrow while i am working and see what we can come up with. if nothing tickles me then i might just cancel. sad i know, but i could use the cash.

hope you all had a fun weekend!

stars in my eyes

well it's been interesting the last few days. my fabulous roommate invited me to a screening of the new film, batman begins on the lot. unfortunately the line was huge and we had to go into the overflow theater (not nearly as nice at the regular wb theater), but we got pretty decent seats just the same (thanks, keith!). i enjoyed the film quite a bit, even though it didn't really turn out the way i expected. as we know, the last few batman films spiraled into a horrible quagmire (wow- big word) and became a caricature of the orginal batman comics and movies with its cartoonish theatricality and limited plot. this one, directed by chris nolan, was a lot better because it sort of made sense of that dramatic sensibility of the whole bat suit and gave it a purpose. it was darker and grittier and closer to the first two films but i think it could have gone a little darker. batman was a teeny bit too goody gumdrops for me, even with his dark past. and the scarecrow character was definitely not as menacing as i think he could have been. i am a big fan of cillian murphy (who plays the scarecrow and was in 28 days later), but his character just wasn't that well developed or utilized, i think. he actually came off as a bit silly. (for a good batman read, try the long halloween). also, i did not think that batman and katie holmes had much chemistry at all and nothing beats michelle pfieffer and michael keaton. but christian bale (love you in american psycho) was a very convincing batman and morgan freeman and gary oldman make this movie a must see and buy for me. oh and michael caine was excellent as alfred!

afterwards we kind of wandering into the rent set to see if we could catch them filming some of the night scenes. now i have never seen rent but it's my roomie's favorite musical. they're making it into a movie with almost all of the original cast. we were lucky to catch them preparing to film, so we only had to wait like half an hour or maybe 45 minutes (contrary to popular belief, movies aren't really magic. they take a long time with lots of prep and people just gotta sit around for a long time or do other stuff before you actually get to shoot any film). finally the actors came out and got in place of their stand-ins and shot the opening song of rent. we got to see rosario dawson, anthony rapp, the guy who plays angel, jesse l martin and chris columbus (who's a lot younger than i thought). living in la, i don't really get starstruck and i hate to make a big deal out of anything, but i really love being on set and seeing the whole process of it. i think i'd really like to try more production work one day. so we stayed for a couple of takes but then headed home cause i was tired and still a bit queasy from earlier in the week, but it was tons of fun.

then tonight i watched most of the mtv movie awards. i feel like i already knew what was going to happen cause two people from my work got to go, and they told me all about it. SPOILERS (don't read if you want to watch the awards and be surprised) my fave moments include dustin hoffman's speech, jimmy fallon (so cute!) and sandra bullock and jimmy fallon's little skit. and i love that rachel mcadams and ryan gosling won for best kiss. i don't usually like sappy movies but i got passes to the notebook when it came out and took all of my girlfriends. i LOVED it and am not ashamed to say so, but i do not cry at movies. it's just not in me, but everyone else did, so be warned. it's just the right amount of sap for me, and i love that sort of relationship where the two characters argue a lot but fall in love. and they did the cutest little fake out/make out when they won. END SPOILERS

(note- man i've used the word "love" a lot in this post. i must be in a good mood)

i am super glad that tomorrow is friday, though. it's been a really long, busy week at work. i like it a lot but i could use a breather. oh and my friend jana just got engaged last week. scary (that everyone's gettin hitched) but so happy for her. and her birthday is this monday so hopefully we will be able to hang out and sunday and she can show my her rock. yay jana and kevin!

oh knitting- not much going on there. i am working on the front of the chevron tank. i finished a few inches tonight watching the awards, but nothing good enough to show. still not sure what i am gonna do about not having enough yarn for the straps but i'll just think about that later. i did receive some nice fiber awhile back in a trade.




not sure what to do with it but it sure is pretty. hope you all have a great weekend. i'll try to get something done so i can show it to you on monday. :)

fizzy drink

uughhh i am not feeling too hot tonight. i don't know what it is but i am so out of it and i just took a two hour nap when i got home from work. i wasn't feeling particularly great at work today but i just thought it was not enough sleep + lots of work. you know, the usual. but now i am going to sip my glass of emergenC that someone from work gave me and hope that it helps.

i spent the better part of last night re-watching the princess diaries 2 (actually a lot better the second time around) and frogging my blue ribbed cardi sleeve. i finally got through the 4 3/4" of stupid garter stitch only to start the ribbing and realize that wtf? i had two stitches too many. no idea how that happened but it did so i had to undo it and start all over again. i also cast on for the front of the chevron tank that i know i am going to run out of yarn on and that was my evening. don't be jealous of my jet set hollywood lifestyle.


there's a progress picture on cyd. not too much further along than from the last time you saw it, but it's coming. i keep getting tangled up in intarsia so this is slow going, but i like the way it's coming along so far. i also stopped by my fave yarn shop at lunch last friday (i need to bring knitting next time so that i don't spent money) and plunked down for the new sarah dallas book.


i haven't read any of the patterns yet, just thumbed through the intro and pictures. the book is separated by color scheme (interesting choice) and the pictures are quite nice, though a few lack detail. i mean i wish i could see a bit more of the cardigan that i'll be making but the sacrifices that are made for art...the patterns are nice, but simple, certainly nothing revolutionary. but if you like simple, classic patterns in vibrant colors and just have to buy another knitting book like me, then it's not a bad buy. but if you are looking for really innovative and interesting patterns, you're better with something else. but here are some pictures of some of the projects that i like (of course all done in rowan yarns):




oh and i picked up a skein of lavender mohair that i was hoping would match with this ball of kidsilk haze that i was gifted with.


it's a bad picture but the colors are almost accurate. i didn't know what would go with the pink and i thought the lavender was closest to being cute. i was thinking of making this scarf from rowan's vintage style for my friend adriana (the one with the two boys from the last post).


what do you guys think of the colors? too weird or what? help a girl out.

weekend update

i am a lazy, lazy blogger. even though this was a short week due to the holiday on monday, it sure felt long. i had a great memorial day weekend at home with my parents. we get half days before holidays at my new work so i was able to hit the road on friday and make it home by dinnertime. yes i love me some home cooking. not much was really done on the weekend except for some eating and playing with my doggie. but i did have some distressing news. i wasn't gonna tell y'all about it but since you're my internet friends, i don't think i should hold out on you. a few weeks back my dad was really sick. and for some reason, my family decided not to tell me. actually i think my dad made them promise not to tell me. he had to go into surgery and he says that he knew that there was no way i could get there in time (hello- airplanes?) and that it would be more stressful for him to think about if i was ok travelling and that it would be best not to tell me. and i just knew that something was wrong. i call my parents almost everyday just to see what's up and for like 3 days, i couldn't get anyone at all. and then when i finally did speak to my dad, he was so out of it and weird and then he gave me to my mom, who sounded odd, too. i so knew that something was up and no one said a word, not even my brother. i was kind of mad but mostly just sad that my dad could have died and that i would never have had a chance to say goodbye to him. just thinking about it now it making me tear up. but all is well now. he's doing well and is on lots of meds and he's kind of weak but really he's gonna be fine. but it just makes me sad that i can't live closer to them and see them more. anyhow- it was a nice but short visit home. took lots of food back with me.

i also got to see my old school chum who was visiting her parents. sadly she lives all the way in north carolina so i rarely get to see her but it's always good times when i do. she has two adorable little munchkins (i can't believe she has kids!) and they are so big now. they are just too adorable and totally sociable and impossible not to love. i gotta start being a good auntie and maybe do a little bit of knitting for them.


on the left there is riley and on the right is kaelum. love them!


us inside her dad's ferrari. i am not a car buff but it sure was pretty.

and my mom and i did stop by knitting arts on monday because they were having their "fishbowl" sale. basically you pick a slip of paper out of a fishbowl (really a basket) and that determines your discount. you are guaranteed at least 15% off and up to 30%. i was looking for some rowan 4 ply cotton to make orangina. i had my heart set on black but the 4 ply black wasn't that great. it had that kind of faded, i washed my black tshirt too many times, sort of look- dull black with a hint of gray. and they didn't have any other blacks in a comparable weight. i was so disappointed and my mom and i decided i should get a nicer, summery color for the top instead. the color i got instead is a really pretty shade of pinkish/purple.


color 127 flirty

so pretty but i am not allowing myself to start this until i finish something. something, anything. that reminds me that there is some progress going on. i have one half of the rebecca chevron top done, but now i am worried that i am not going to have enough yarn. i am making the largest size and i should have enough yarn going by the pattern, but the first half took basically one whole 100 gram skein with only a few yards left. i had to cut the pattern short at the top, too, and i don't think i am going to have enough for the straps. i don't want to buy another skein just to make straps so i am going to have to think of something else. sigh- why isn't this enough yarn? sniff sniff. to tell you the truth, i am not even sure if it's gonna fit me. i guess we'll just see....


and i finally gave my mom those armwarmers i made for her awhile back. i think the only pic i posted was of my one had modeling them. i think my mom does a much better job.


this post was going to be longer and with more information but i am super duper tired and last week was such a long week at work. i gotta get to bed if i am going to be good for tomorrow. i went shopping this weekend and spent way too much money (i blame my friend linda) and i also made a few online yarn purchases this week. they should be headed my way shortly. of course, you'll be the first to know when it does. leaving you with a picture of the cutest dog ever (to me at least). good night!

a cheeze it moment

i am so sleepy right now. no doubt it has to do with the fact that tree cutting/leaf blowing at 7am this morning gave me strange dreams. i was trying to block out the loud motor that seemed to be right by my window in an attempt to get in a few more minutes of sleep this morning. and fall asleep i did, only to have weird ass dreams. i dreamt that there was construction going on in our building and that someone moved the bathroom so that we had to climb outdoor stairs to get there (my apt is only one story) and then people came over to look at our apt because they wanted to buy it and i didn't want to move yet. no doubt the loud construction this morning, coupled with the fact that i have no idea what i am going to do in 2 months when my roommate moves, created these odd dreams. and then i woke up with a gasp as i realized that it was past 8 and i had to run to work. it's kind of thrown my whole day off.

and remember all the beautiful chevron patterning i showed you yesterday? well i had to rip out the whole thing. yup- was way too small. i took gauge but it was hard to measure because the pattern isn't really straight. so i ended up way too small and had to rip it out. :( i went from a 4mm to a 4.5mm and now it's looking a lot better. at least now it looks like it will fit over my head. i've got about 20 rows done so far, so i am not super behind. but oh did it kill me to rip it out. this just isn't my day so far. cross fingers that it gets better for me. :)

chocolate chip overdose

ugh- i ate cookies for dinner. healthy, i know, but they were just sitting there and taunting me. and i was too lazy to cook. it's still early so i might squeeze in some veggies before i go to bed. thankfully today was not as hot, so the apt is a lot cooler. not cool, just cooler. but that gives me some opportunity to knit some cotton.



this is actually a better representation of the actualy color. yesterday's picture was poorly lit. so far i am in love with the chevron pattern and the yarn. i gotta be careful not to split it since it's made of three plies but the knitted fabric is dreamy. i am also doing a slip stitch selvedge edge for the first time and it's turning out so great. i think that seaming this puppy will be a snap. i just hope it fits. i am also trying to finish vintage velvet before i go home this weekend. i really doubt it's gonna happen, but one can dream.



don't look at all the ends, please. it's gonna be so much prettier when it's done. and look what i got in the mail today:



this is tuja from dale 116. i saw it one a blog (can't remember which) and knew i had to make it. blogs are so bad. they give you knit envy and then you start buying more yarn than you know what to do with. it's a vicious cycle but i'm not really complaining. i have some araucania nature wool that i think i will set aside for tuja. ooh-here is today's yarn porn, courtesy of elann.

staying cool

here is the start of the chevron tank from rebecca 29. i actually have twice as much as this right now, since i've worked on it since i took the picture. that's what three episodes of the american version of the office and the season finale of csi will get you. it's a pretty crappy color represenation of the yarn but you get the picture. oh and the office- not as good as the brit version but still cringe worthy for some of its more awkward moments. i do like steve carrell and it was picked up for next season so we'll see how it goes. however, the new tim is not as cute as martin freeman.

today i went to a late lunch with friends at the hip spot, the ivy. it's very trendy and very la, but a girl's gotta go once in her life, right? we were actually sitting right next to lawrence fishburn, who doesn't look nearly as scary has he does in the matrix. there was also a jessica simpson look a like at the table nearby but that doesn't count. after (pricey) lunch we did a little window shopping on robertson. lots of trendy and overpriced shops, but it was fun to feel like paris hilton for a day. it was so funny to see a belt that my friend was wearing and bought for $15 selling at a boutique for $70. can we say "rip off"? la is such a strange place to live in sometimes.

after shopping we took an ice cream break at mashti malones. mmm i love their green tea ice cream. it's so good. and it was unbearably hot in the valley today. i am still trying to cool off. i am going to have to jump in the shower before i go to bed or else i won't be able to sleep at all. and i finally went to the post office to pick up my package from the elann. i didn't take pictures yet but i got the jo sharp tweed and some extra goodies from another source.

i will be heading up to northern california for memorial day this weekend so i hope to get some knitting done to show my mom. i would like to finish the vintage velvet scarf from scarf style, too, so i can use the washing machine at home to felt it. oh to own a washer. that is freedom. nighty night!

the chosen one

well there were no hayden christensen look alikes at the show on thursday, but i did see two storm troopers, a couple of yodas, and a mini darth vadar. i missed the light show cause i was in the loo, but it's ok, there were enough saber fights in the movie to last a lifetime. i gotta say that i enjoyed revenge of the sith. george lucas' writing is still somewhat wooden but there were blessedly less cheesy moments between natalie portman and hayden. none of that lame ass frolicing on naboo for large portions of the movie, although at one point, portman did say, "hold me like you did on naboo" and i almost laughed. but those moments were few and far between in this one. i also liked the way that the film sort of wrapped everything up to make way for episodes 4, 5, and 6. after seeing it, i totally wanted to go home and put the old ones in. they are so good (none of that digitally remastered and altered crap though, old vhs all the way). and ewan mcgregor was great. love love him. i think he and hayden christensen have more chemistry than anakin and padme, sadly. it was so sad when they were fighting after anakin had turned and obi-wan says, "you were the chosen one...you were supposed to bring balance to the force." breaks me heart. so anyway, i would say you should see it if you like star wars. i always felt a special bond with luke and leia cause i have a twin brother, too. we're not really close but whenever there's a brother/sister twin thing, i get a little sentimental.

and damn is it hot in la this weekend. i had to think of things to do in air conditioned places this morning. first i went to unwind, oh poor me. cecily and karyn were lovely, as always, and helped me pick out a luscious shade of artyarns fable. it's mostly cotton with a bit of silk. i had this huge urge to make something summery and nice and i wanted some new yarn. so i got some and i love it. karyn also showed me how to use the ball winder and now i have two fat cakes of yarn.



and because i am such a nice girl, i made cookies for my friend's birthday, even though my house was already about 80 degrees inside. my friend is coming over tomorrow for lunch at the ivy in west hollywood. yes, she is a swanky girl. but swanky girls like chocolate chips like everyone else.



i am now going to turn up the a/c, put on star wars: a new hope, and swatch my new yarn. stay cool!

ps- guilty movie of the week was mindhunters with hottie jonny lee miller. gotta love it.

handbags and gladrags

i just finished watching "the office" special (when it orginally aired, our tivo cruelly cut off the last 20 minutes or so, but i got the whole set for my birthday). and watched all of the little featurettes and interviews and it was just brilliant. it's just so funny and original and looks like it was a good time. we have the american version of the show (with steve carrell) recorded, too, but i haven't yet found the time to watch it. i heard it's not bad, either. one of these days i'll get to it.

why does elann torture me so? now they have even more jo sharp yarn and it is so hard to resist! but i have to so i am. i am i am. and my postman hates me, too, cause he never leaves packages at the door, just the stupid little note. the least the post office could do was to be open when i am not at work. my elann order from friday will have to wait until friday morning, as i am carpooling to work tomorrow so that my roommate and i can take one car to see....star wars: revenge of the sith. yes yes my friend got tickets ages ago for the movie at the arclight. i hope to see some good light sabre fights. will try and get pictures for you.



here is my progress so far on the two fronts of the ribby cardi (ignore wrinkly sheets from unmade bed). i am actually further along that this picture and both fronts are done. i am now off to sleeve island. anyone care to join me?

puddle of me

it was so unbearably hot this weekend. at least in my apartment it was. we don't have the best ventilation and when it gets hot, things start to wilt. and this is an improvement from my old apartment where things will literally melt on the counter. and why does no one in la have central air? we have one measly wall unit in the living room that does not cool the whole house. my room was so stuffy and icky that on sat i slept in the living room and last night i swear i woke up at least 5 times and could not get comfy. thank goodness it looks really cold and windy today. i need a break.

i tried to get some knitting done this weekend, but with the weather, the last thing i wanted was a bunch of sweaty wool in my lap. i tried to start a new project with some stash yarn but that didn't work out either. the texture was just too weird for what i had in mind. so not much progress was had on anything really. at least i didn't buy any more yarn, right?

yesterday i watched "the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy," which i have been wanting to see for awhile. it was very funny and strange and cool. i think douglas adams would have liked it. i read the book awhile back but i just didn't get what the big deal was. maybe i should read it again but i think i prefer the movie. and martin freeman is just too cute as arthur dent. loved him in the office and he's so good in this.

and i had this weird, brief panic thing on sat. i was going through salvation army because my friend needed help finding a costume for her friend's napoleon dynamite themed birthday party, and i was going through racks and racks of hideous clothes. i was looking for good sweaters to recycle and kept coming across these really ugly handmade sweaters and crocheted blankets and for a second i freaked out and thought, "am i just adding to the pile of ugly handmade crap that is only going to end up at the salvation army?" and the thought of having hundreds of dollars worth of yarn and books and other things that are going to end up in the trash bin seriously depressed me for awhile. but then i went home and knit and everything was fine. does anyone else ever panic like that?

friday the 13th

thanks for all the well wishes. i was still out of it on thursday but i feel much better today. i gotta go to an allergist or something to see what i can do about this. it has just been getting worse as i get older. but today's friday and i had a long day at work. lots of things to do and no time to do it in. it's warm in the apt so i am turning on the a/c for a bit while i knit some of the ribby cardi. and i am watching con air on tv. i know- i am a bit ashamed to say it. nicolas cage and his bad hair, oh the horror! but it's so cheesy and so many good actors are in it that i just can't help tuning in when it's on tv. a few other guilty pleasure movies: head over heels (you can't get cheesier than freddie prinze jr), the wedding planner (matthew mcconaughey is so cute), bring it on (spirit fingers!), s.w.a.t. (i have no idea why but i like it), the italian job, and dirty dancing 1 and 2. my roomie has tons of these guilty pleasure movies and i am sure that i will think of more after i write this.

nothing exciting planned for the weekend. i might hang out with my friend vanessa and possibly go yarn shopping and/or hit the bookstore. i feel the urge to buy more books even though i have so many at home that i need to real still. and i caved and bought some of the jo sharp tweed that elann got back in stock. i am SO bad. i know you're gonna say i'm not but i am cause i need to pay off the credit and not spend my paycheck on yarn. but it makes me feel so good to know that it's coming. it's my drug of choice but i gotta knit from the stash. say it with me- knit - from - the - stash. sigh. but this is what i got:


jo sharp aran tweed in jewel & dk tweed in cedar

now i kind of wish i had bought the dk in one of the lighter colors like boheme, but oh well. i so want to buy more but i can't! it's so wrong. but i think i am going to love it. happy weekend, do something that makes you happy!