Sweetgirlknits

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

I hope all out there survived the holidays. The last month for the Husbeast, Peanut and I has been wonderful, joy-filled, adventuresome, and more than a little bit harrowing. Gratefully, we are all ok. On the evening of December 21st, The Husbeast I out headed out into Fort Greene to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement, and the start of our vacation. We never made it to dinner because mere yards from the restaurant we were hit by a car while walking across the street. We were in the crosswalk. With the light. And we were hit by a car making a left turn. An unmarked police car driven by the commanding officer of our precinct. The Husbeast and I were both knocked down onto the street. I freaked and became hysterical. Many, many police cars showed up, as well as an ambulance and we were taken to the closest hospital, which I won't name but will tell you was a filthy, scary public hospital. We were there for 5 or 6 hours with a coterie of 6 police officers making sure we received the best possible care. They checked me out, gave me an ultrasound and kept and eye on Peanut's heart rate. The Husbeast needed his knee x-rayed. Fortunately, we were fine, and Peanut was fine. The officer who hit us came by and apologized - he seemed as genuinely traumatized as we were. We were bruised and sore for a few days, but relatively unscathed. I am still very shaken up, and definitely less trusting of my safety in crosswalks. I consider it a miracle that we escaped disaster.

Unsurprisingly, after that experience, we really NEEDED a vacation. The Husbeast and I had decided a month or so earlier that we would treat ourselves to some spa services and natural wonder in Arizona for the holidays. How prescient was that? A few days after Christmas, we hopped on a plane for Sedona! When we arrived we were greated by such loveliness!

I had never been to the desert before, and was completely awestruck at the scale and glory of it all. While it was just as cold in Sedona as it was in NYC, the towers and canyons of the high desert were an inspiration!

We even made it to the Grand Canyon! Being pregnant, the altitude really hit me. Here in the Big Apple we are essentially at sea level. The Grand Canyon is closer to 7200 feet. We walked around the South Rim all day. Boy was I winded!

They're awfully proud of their javelinas in the Southwest. I loved these two. All in all this was a perfect vacation. We indulged in a couple of massages, were surrounded by natural beauty, ate nothing but delicious food, and stopped for lots of naps.

In knitting news, I've directed my efforts towards making things for Peanut. The first picture is of an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket. I call this my manifest destiny sweater. I started making it when we started trying to get pregnant. I tried to pick gender non-specific colors. The yarn is Lorna's Laces, although I don't remember the color name. I still have to find some buttons for this.

This little lovely is my new subway knitting. It's another EZ pattern. I think it's called the Baby Sweater on Two Needles. I can't remember the name of the yarn I'm using. I bought the day I found out Peanut is a girl. I wanted to make her something lovely.

Also on the needles for Peanut is a blankie. I'm using more Lorna's Laces - it's a superwash merino in a color called Rainbow. I am using a domino, or modular knitting technique but I don't have a specific pattern. I think this blanket is super happy looking, and the yarn is really soft. I'm looking forward to wrapping up my little one in it!

Besides getting hit by a car, my pregnancy is otherwise unremarkable. I thank my lucky stars for this every day. I'm a little more than four months along, and just starting to grow a belly. I haven't had any morning sickness to speak of, and am up about 2 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight. We had an early anatomy scan this week. Peanut is currently 6 inches long and weighs about 6 ounces. I still haven't felt her kick, but I know it can't be too far away. I'll keep you posted!

There's something I've been meaning to tell you...

2007-12-09T18:08:00.000-05:00

I'm pregnant! With this little one! We're due on June 16th, 2008.

I'm early into my second trimester, so there's still no bump to speak of, although the mammaries have damn near doubled in size. This photo was taken at 13 weeks.

Some delights have been knitted for the Peanut, as I'm calling the baby, but preggers-induced fatigue makes it impossible to accomplish minor tasks like photographing. Or blogging regularly for that matter.

I'm off to grow a baby.

Re-Cap, or where the heck has Sweetgirl been?

2007-11-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

Well, a whole lotta life has been going on, and very little knitting. That's the way it goes sometimes. Here's a bit of a re-cap of the highlights:

1. Took my students to a reading by J.K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall - she really is a lovely woman!

2. Went to Rhinebeck with the gals

3. Bought some lovelies at Rhinebeck, including some hand dyed merino from Brooks Farm Fiber and some lovely laceweight cashmere from Jojoland Cashmere

4. Met my gorgeous new nephew, Henry

5. Have been knitting very slowly and sporadically on my Juliet from Zephyr Style

6. Used my Superpowers and Superfriends to defend the world from non-standard English - Grammar Girl, Contraction Action, and the Punctuation Princess to the rescue!

There is a more exciting and current update pending!

I'm not dead yet.

2007-10-05T17:50:00.000-05:00

Just buried under home improvement projects, the start of a new school year, and other miscellanea. Will be back with a real post right quick!

Bring on the wool!

2007-08-17T11:19:00.000-05:00

Josephine is consuming an absurd amount of my summer knitting! I have finally reached the v-neck split, and am itching to get this one off the needles. While I am really enjoying this project, the cotton yarn is really hurting my hands. The stitch definition is great, and the sheen is lovely. It still hurts. I am definitely out of love with cotton. Bring on the wool!

While summer lingers on, I have been continuing my home improvement efforts. This latest round involved the outside of my house.

Here's the before: (please note: the numbers on the door are actually printed out on an envelope and taped to the door - thanks previous owner.)

Here's the after: I painted the door and frame (benjamin moore's classic burgundy) - it took 4 coats! I coerced the Husbeast to hang the new number sign, which I had custom made at Home Depot.

In a week or so the construction of our roof deck will begin - it was supposed to go up a couple of weeks ago but the foreman broke his leg. We're also getting estimates to put in an iron fence with a gate, a pretty iron fence! I want to get some wooden lattice to cover the not-so-pretty-stoop and train something pretty to grow up it.

The home improvement continues with the purchase of some lovely fabrics to make drapes for the living room. The pictures don't do any justice to their loveliness. The stripey fabric will be the main panels and the yummy embroidered fabric will be the valance/swag. I purchased some red and gold tassel trim to edge the valance/swag bits. Lush and lovely!

Tomorrow the Husbeast and I are off to Key West, Florida to celebrate my birthday. Don't worry, I'll have some key lime pie for you! Y'all have a slice of birthday cake for me on Monday!

Bbbbbbbootie, that's what it is!

2007-08-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

Apparently everyone in the Husbeast's office is procreating - NOW! I've been commissioned to make baby gifts for them, and I figured booties were a pretty easy, quick gift to whip up. The Husbeast paged through my copy of 50 Baby Booties to Knit by Zoe Mellor and picked out these:

I used some Louet Gems Opal that I picked up at the Point the other day. I modified the pattern slightly by including a contrast roll cuff instead of just a cast on edge, and by opting for a 2 by 2 rib instead of 1 by 1. I actually made another pair in the same colors, reversed, but I forgot to snap a photo before the Husbeast absconded with them. Use your imagination.

I'm making slow, steady progress on the knitting projects I'm working on for myself. The body of the Assymetric Cardi is nearly complete. I think I will knit the button bands before I work the sleeves because I am concerned about having enough yarn. I'd rather have button bands and 3/4 length sleeves than have to fudge some sort of contrast color.

I bought some shank-style buttons which I plan on knitting directly into the band. I read about doing this somewhere, I think it's a Lily Chin thing. I have trepidation about buttons falling off and the sweater unravelling with this technique, but I think my fear is unfounded. I've never lost a button off any of my sweaters. Have you ever tried this?

May the wind be in your sails, Miss Susi!
Our dear friend and longtime SnB-er is headed off for a new life on the other side of the continent. Of course, we had to send her off with a communal afghan.

I made the Empire State Building in the center. May it keep her warm and cozy!

Minor leagues = major fun!

2007-07-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, we brought Stitch n Pitch to the minor leagues! Thanks to blogless Ruyth, a whole bunch of the Point's Tuesday night regulars enjoyed a trip to Keyspan Park at Coney Island! We watched the Coney Island Cyclones tromp the Vermont Lake Monsters in extra innings. In attendance were Katy, Ravi, blogless Ruth, Jenn, blogless Susi, blogless Kara, Mary, and assorted menfolk.

Much fun was had by all. In fact, the fun was nearly doubled by a lucky coincidence: it was Sylvester Stallone tribute night! This seemed like a good excuse to play lots of Rocky music and encourage the masses to armwrestle. Sadly, the Sly guy did not show up for the hijinks.

Fortunately, my urge to consume massive quantities of non-nutritious foodstuffs and purchase silly souvenirs was not dampened one little bit.

In knitterly news, I finished the back of Josephine! Huzzah! I'm about 1 1/2 repeats into the front. Things are knitting up slowly these days. Sigh.

My Assymetric Cardi is also moving along at a glacial pace. I'm having a hard time getting the colors right with this one. My camera is old. I need a new camera. Replacing it is on the Stuff-I've-Broken-Recently-And-Need-To-Replace list which includes: blender, food processor, paper shredder, the Husbeast's X-Box, my fancy watch, all the fancy glassware and crystal that shattered when the cabinet shelf broke, and my cell phone. What can I say, I'm an expensive habit.

AT least I'm making some progress around the house. This week I've been installing ceiling medallions and chandeliers. I love my fancy chandeliers! I had to learn how to countersink screws to put up the medallions - very handy!

Here's another one. As an aside, if you're ever looking for crystal chandeliers and don't want to pay a ton of money for them, Ebay is an excellent source. Over the past couple of years, I've bought 5 fancy crystal light fixtures for way less money than the wholesalers on the Bowery sell them.

Singlehandedly, I got this ceiling fan up! It weighs 50 pounds! Who needs a gym?

I might....mmmmmmmmm.......COOKIES!

Jam Thumprints, recipe from Ina Garten. I made the preserves myself - the pink ones are rhubarb, the purple-y ones are sweet, dark cherry. Yummy!

Slow and Steady

2007-07-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

seems to be the motto of my summer. I'm still working on the back of my Josephine top. I love the how nicely the mercerised cotton shows off the stitch work. It really is quite lovely! Now that I've reached the allover mostly stockinette section, I think the rest of the back should zoom along nicely. I've seen some other very pretty Josephines out there in blogland. A lot of folks have substituted ribbon or leather for the knit cord. From what I've read, others have spent tons and tons of time doing the finishing work on this project, which involves picking up hundreds of stitches around the neck and hem. I'm planning on finagling some crochet solution to avoid all that. There are currently two lovely, albeit wintery, sweaters laying about waiting for buttons and a zipper to be sewed in. Clearly, finishing is not capturing my fancy these days.

Hopefully the lovely Josephine will not be relegated to the same fate....

House update:

While I have been lax in knitting and blogging, I have been quite effective around the house. Please note the BEFORE shot if my kitchen. Points of interest include:
1. Crappy, but new range - recalled for lack of a heat shield and propensity for setting homes on fire.
2. Hole for a dishwasher, but no dishwasher
3. Third-hand 2/3 size fridge held together with packing tape and mold. Undoubtedly leaking CFCs into the atmosphere.
4. Ugly, chipped up laminate countertop.
5. Not visible behind the door on the left: hook-ups for a washer and dryer, but no washer or dryer.
6. Microwave on the countertop, ineffective range over the scary stove
7. Also not visible - the sink is about 1.5" deep and the hot/cold water is hooked up backwards

DURING
Please note: there are no electricians, plumbers, or handy-people in the shot. While the kind Azerbajiani men from PC Richards hauled the appliances upstairs, the Husbeast and I installed everything ourselves. We hooked up water, electricity, and gas, and STILL haven't blown ourselves up.

AFTER:
1. New appliances installed!
2. Lovely granite counter top installed!
3. Walls painted!
4. Double crazy deep sink and goose neck sprayer faucet installed!
5. Not visible: ugly booby-looking light fixture replaced with halogen track lighting!
6. Ineffective hood replaced with microwave/hood combo!
7. Empty dishwasher & washer/dryer holes replaced with actual appliances!

The knitting will undoubtedly remain slow and steady throughout the summer. I hope to keep the home makeover updates coming fast and furious!

Where did that month go?

2007-07-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

It's been over a month, mea culpa. The month of June flew by with all the end of school obligations and festivities, and very little in the way of knitting going on. Coupled with trying to settle in to the new house, still in the works, my energy was simply syphoned off in other directions.

Happily, on many fronts life has returned more or less to normal. Yesterday I managed to finish (yes, FINISH!) the first room in the house - the all important kitchen! Now that one space is completely, utterly finished, I can turn my efforts towards tackling other areas still littered with cardboard boxes and assorted piles of stuff. I really want to have a housewarming party this summer, but the boxes need to go first!

I've also been able to focus more on my knitting! Just in time for summer, I completed the knitting on a little jacket I've been making for the past 3 or 4 months (conservatively speaking). I bought some adorable buttons, but have yet to sew them on. I'm not in much of a hurry given the positively swampy weather in NYC. I would have taken the required self-portrait-in-the-mirror but we have no mirrors up yet. None. I've been getting dressed using a compact mirror, which explains things if I've been looking particularly dodgy of late!

Getting back on track, this sweater used about 7 skeins of Frog Tree Merino in a color I called kermit. The yarn is a super soft single ply worsted weight, and probably destined to pill like a mo-fo. It was a simple knit during a stressful period of transition, a top-down raglan. When I was designing (making it up as I went along), I was thinking about a layer that would work during the transition between seasons - too warm for a full sweater, too cool for only a shirt. Transition-transition. Hey! Clearly this wants to be called the Transition Cardi!

Next up: two projects started in the last couple of days.

First we have another cardigan I'm making up as I go along. Muchas gracias, Barbara Walker! It's another top down raglan. This one will have a crew neck, maybe puffy sleeves, and have an assymetric button placket. I am using the "Edie" sweater from YarnPlay as a jumping-off point design-wise. I like the idea of assymetry, but I really did not like the shoulder cap/armscye shaping of the actual sweater. It looked like a modified drop-shoulder, which is definitely not the best look for me. Raglans are better on me, easier to figure, and let me add in cute girly eyelets around the armscyes. The yarn is some random wool I bought on ebay a few years ago. I'm sticking with my plan to only use yarn from my stash for the foreseeable future, and the happy colors here called to me. There was no label information on the balls when I bought it, although it was advertised as 100% wool. It's definitely not the softest wool out there. I'm hoping this will become one of those workhorse sweaters this winter. Gotta love a workhorse sweater - they may not have the fanciest needlework, but they get you through the cold, cold months.

The other project I'm currently working on is the Josephine top from the latest Interweave. I've seen this sweater in real life, and it's lovely. There also seems to be a lot of people making it out there in the blogosphere, although I'm not sure if there is an official knit-along happening. I'm having a lot of fun knitting it - the stitchwork is keeping things interesting. I'm using some sportweight mercerised navy blue cotton, Elann Cotton Sonata I think, which I bought a few years ago. As Jenn pointed out last week, the navy is a departure for me, colorwise.

I'm looking forward to the final product, although I must admit that the mercerised cotton is angering my wrists. It's reminding me why I generally don't like to work with plant fibers. I also have concerns that the resulting fabric is starting to bias. Is there any way to prevent that from happening? Since the eyelets and decreasing only go in one direction I think I have to accept the biasing as part of the territory. Hopefully my fears are unfounded, or can be remedied through aggressive blocking.

I'm off to see whether others are having the same issue on RAVELRY!

Actually pretty close

2007-06-09T17:22:00.000-05:00

My New York age is 34

This New York age puts you into a middle category between young and old (but not "middle age" per se). Be proud. You've got a nice balance between going out hard-core and staying in. You care about culture but also like some quiet nights. Keep it up, but think about expanding your horizons in the other directions. Head to Studio B or Anthology Film Archives for the first time, or finally check out the Village Vanguard or Elaine's for a dose of old-school NYC.

Does your age reflect how you're living? Let us know.

What's your New York age? Take the Time Out New York quiz and find out!

bienvenidos a brooklyn

2007-06-01T14:19:00.000-05:00

And so it is done! The Husbeast and I survived our move! It was a long, stressful day. The movers broke a couple of inconsequential things, it was hotter than a barbeque in Hades, and I had to relinquish control of all my earthly possessions. The couch wouldn't fit through the doorways and stairs of the new place. The movers knew a guy. We called him; he came and disassembled the couch on the sidewalk. He noticed that one of the wooden ribs inside the couch was broken. An un-trash-picked piece of the former countertop was laying around on the sidewalk. He cut a new rib from it, replaced the broken one, carried all the pieces inside, and reassembled it. Now that's crafty! If I had known where my camera was at the time, I would have photodocumented it all.

Now, we're living in a cardboard labyrinth. I don't know where much of my stuff is, and it sure feels good! I love my new house! I love my new neighborhood! I love meeting my new neighbors! I love the SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE of the new place. I was worried about leaving the meticulous loveliness of Battery Park City for the up-and-coming-ness of the Bed-Stuy end of Clinton Hill, but everyone I've met has been so friendly and welcoming. Seriously, the head of the block association came over and introduced himself and welcomed us to the neighborhood. Block Association!

Not too much knitting has gone on lately. The Husbeast and I were putting in 30+ hours per week outside of work in sweat equity on the new place before we moved. Now that there is no clock ticking down, I can unpack at a reasonable speed and (gasp!) reconnect with my life.

Although there hasn't been too much in the way of knitting, I have been able to see the stash all at once for the first time in over 5 years. Holy crap! Photodocumentation will be provided at a later date. As will evidence of the formerly craptastic, now stainless steel and granite heaven of my new kitchen!

Getting close to the finish line....

2007-05-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

The Husbeast and I are officially leaving Manhattan behind for the borough of Kings in a mere 12 days. The task of preparing a home for living has been quite time consuming, but also quite rewarding. We have been spending our blood, sweat, and tears on the new place every chance we get. It's been like having another full time job above and beyond our real jobs. Happily, the effort has finally started to pay off.

After two coats of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore's Apricot Ice, the booger green bedroom has stopped looking like it did back in January:

and started to look more like this. I've never been one for subtle colors, but my tune may be changing. There was something about that green that I found so unsettling. It's not a color either the Husbeast and I would ever look good in, so it had to go. The results (poorly lit) are a warm whitish color that reads peachy at different times of the day. Me likie.

Check out my latest look for spring. This is how I have spent the last 4 or 5 weekends. That's the fast paced life of New Yorkers for you. Nothing but glamour around these parts.

The thing that sets house living apart from apartment living - there's a whole lot more wall to paint! I didn't have a chance to photograph the "after" shot, but I painted two coats on this room this weekend.

Don't feel bad for me, though. The Husbeast set about installing all these appliances! You wanna know the true test of love? Let your partner set up gas appliances. Seriously, it takes a lot of trust to believe that a novice won't blow you up with a gas leak. I can't wait to shoot the kitchen once I get my granite counter tops installed - sunset red. Woot!

Once all the paint is dry and we've moved in for good, the next renovation frontier lies above! I really want to get a roof deck built up here before school is out.

Because then I could sit under an umbrella at a table and look out at this:

Yeah, that would be the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. At night, you can even see the New York Life Building. Brooklyn rules!

I almost forgot to mention: Have you heard about the new yarn store in town?

They've got some pretty neat stuff!

Strangest thing about All Spun Out? It's not an actual store. It's a product demo at Ikea Elizabeth! I guess all that hooplah about recognizing the consumer power of knitters a while back really had an effect! Do all Ikeas have this display?

Not much knitting going on

2007-04-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

But lots and lots of painting, scraping, sanding, priming, taping, and general banishing of the previous owner's poor taste. Fortunately, the prior owner of my new house did not get around to much beyond painting my bedroom an awful booger green. So awful it required two coats of primer!
While I've only owned the new Casa Sweetgirl for a mere two weeks, I am already a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of being a homeowner. Have you ever bought major appliances? The selection is dizzying! I've seen so many sinks I'm ready to cry. How does one even begin to select a kitchen faucet? None of the tricks and strategem I learned whilst buying yarn comes close to applying! Walking around a granite warehouse does not lend itself to fondling or swatching. Yo.

Since I haven't done a whole lotta knitting, I need to start documenting the work the Husbeast and I are doing on the house. We're moving in at the end of next month, and have a whole bunch of projects to accomplish before then. I've painted and decorated apartments before, but never anything of this scale. It's so exciting to have a larger (by NYC standards, anyway) palette to work on.

The colors we're planning on using throughout the house are:
Benjamin Moore's
1. Apricot Ice
2. Golden Lab
3. London Fog
4. Ruby Red

Will post again soon. with photos. seriously.

Guess who.....

2007-04-09T22:04:00.000-05:00

became a homeowner today? ME!!!! and the Husbeast, of course!

In a marathon 4 hour closing, the Husbeast and I signed a gazillion papers, borrowed a bazillion dollars, and bought ourselves a little piece of Brooklyn. We're landlords, too. Mrs. Roper and Donald Trump all in one day, yo.

I'm so excited! I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control, and I think I like it! Oh yeah! (courtesy of the Pointer Sisters, for all of you out there not old enough to remember the Pointer Sisters. Now that I'm old enough to own a piece of NYC real estate, I can talk about folks being too young.)

New House = design opportunities! Yippee!

Crazy Fiber Action

2007-04-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Soooooooo.... If you happen to be in Grand Central Terminal today, you'll notice that the country of Scotland is having an exhibition in the Vanderbilt Hall area of the main terminal. There are dozens of men, and even some women, running around in kilts and handmade kilt hose. There are folks from the Harris Tweed company showing off some gorgeous fair isle sweaters and gloves, which also appeared to be handmade. Way off in the back, there were some very nice ladies showing off some truly lovely, lush, yummy Scottish cashmere.
I'm thinking that if we all bust out our homemade balaclavas, and show up en masse, we could probably roll the joint for their wares.

Who's in?

Back in the saddle

2007-03-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

So...uhm..yeah... I've been a terrible, negligent blogger. Partly due to laziness, partly due to being swamped at work, partly due to being committed to spending time at the gym, partly due to house-buying stuff, and partly due to being plain old exhausted. But with the return of spring, and the now-extended daylight hours, I'm feeling a sense of renewal.

While the Husbeast and I haven't closed on the house yet, that and the move are imminent. I get so excited about this, I literally can't sit still. We're moving to Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, which is sandwiched between Fort Greene and Bed-Stuy. We've spent a lot of time in recent weekends exploring the new neighborhood, and getting to know what will soon be our new turf. The neighborhood is in a period of transition and renewal which means a mix of good vibes and slightly scary vibes on the street. There's a Clinton Hill group on Flicker. I'm not a member, but if you're interested, you can check it out here.

Anywho.... In knitting news, I've been working monogamously on the Cabled Hoodie from the Paton's Street Smart booklet. I've finished the back, fronts, and am currently working on the first sleeve.
Here's a shot of what I've done so far:

The sleeves and the hood are still a huge amount of knitting to do. I'm enjoying the cabling! At this point, I have the cable sequence memorized - it's 30 rows long.

The cabling is very swirly looking. I've never seen a similar one. Here's a close-up. I'm having a tough time photographing the bobbles. Natural light would probably help, but it's heinously windy and cold outside today, not to mention slushy. There's no way I'm taking my precious knits out there. Here's the best shot I could get of the cable panel.

Even though there's still quite a way to go on the cabled hoodie, I have a major yen for a new project. Most of the projects that are calling to me right now are very wintery. I have mixed feelings about this. It's almost springtime, and I know that wooly cardigans are not the most appropriate for the upcoming weather. Still, most of the sweaters I actually wear on a regular basis tend to be wooly cardis. The tanks and shells I've made over the years go mostly unworn. What's a girl to do?

Well, maybe I'll knit this:

Or maybe this:

Or, a slight nod to the anticipated spring weather, maybe:

Or maybe I'll make all three! Ultimately, I don't know for immediate gratification. So what if I make a wooly cardigan in April? If it's something I get a lot of wear from in the long run, then it's a great use of my knitty time. Besides, the majority of the yarn in the stash is wool. I've put myself on a yarn diet, and I'm sticking to it! I know people say wool is a four season fiber, but I'm really not buying it. I guess I could see a tank made out of some Aurora 8, but I can't really see myself wearing any Kureyon or lopi in the summer. Sweat and scratchy yarn definitely do not mix.

I haven't bought any yarn in over four months! It's not so much about being on a yarn diet as much as it's an everything diet. Seriously, I've been resisting the urge to purge everything out of my closet, my bookshelves, and my kitchen shelves. I want all the clutter and useless stuff gone from my life. Heck, I've even lost 13 pounds in the past few months. It's like all the flab in my life needs to go! I think this urge to purge is brought on both by the glimmers of spring, and the knowledge that I'll be moving soon, and I don't want to deal with all my stuff - even if we're moving into more than twice the space.

When the Husbeast and I know when we are moving, we plan on having some sort of reverse potluck, house cooling party of sorts. Everyone will need to come empty handed and leave with something we don't plan on taking with us to the new place. Some yarn may even make it on the freebie table!

House Guests

2007-03-13T05:31:00.000-05:00

Lots of folks have visited us in recent weekends. Thrilling, photo rich posts to follow.

In my brain

2007-03-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

There is something about the month of March that just seems so blah. I'm hungering to play outside. Yesterday was uncommonly lovely here outside, and did you catch the lunar eclipse?!? Gorgeous! Yesterday felt like parole from a winter of being cooped up. I probably feel this way more so because I've been plagued by some seriously awful migraines recently - waking up at 3am Friday morning all pukey and throbbing and disoriented. Yucky! I haven't had a seizure in a while, but thess migraines are putting a serious damper on things. They're happening more frequently, which means I need to go see my doctor, which probably means I'll need to surrender to a barrage of testing in scary machines, which means way less fun and mischief than normal. Apparently there is a link between epilepsy and migraines -the term is comorbidity, but I don't like the word morbid. Also, apparently epilepsy is only something that happens to geniuses, so there I go. I'd take a slightly lower IQ if it meant this crap would go away.

Not that I like whining and moaning about all this. It upsets me because I hate to miss work, which I did on Friday, and because its so exhausting. Literally, physically exhausting, like my brain needs to discharge and the only way to feel normal again is to go to sleep for a few or many hours. And I hate to not remember what I say or do, and not make sense when this happens because my brain is actually not working right and I apparently sound like I'm drunk or on drugs. I hate the little twinges of vertigo, the deja vu, the lightening bolt of pain through my left eye socket, and the throbbing behind my right ear that last only a couple of seconds, but let me know that in a couple of days I'm in for something big. Most of all, I hate that forewarning - spending days dreading what's heading my way. Woe is me.

It's been a rough week. There has been some really good stuff happening too, but right now I feel like licking my wounds. Maybe after a trip to the gym, there'll be some more positivity flowing through these veins.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

2007-02-24T09:54:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Pig was ushered in with fun, frivolity, and a lot of really loud noises last Sunday! The Husbeast and I headed up to Chinatown with (blogless) Susi and Nick to watch the lion dancers, hear the fireworks, and gobble up a sinful amount of dim sum. Of course there was plenty of running about, giggling, and general mischief-making.

First order of the day: shooting off an air cannon! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! We spent a good part of the day getting showered with confetti. It took a couple of shampoos to get all the glitter out of my hair.

I wish there was some way to share all the wonderful clanging and banging that accompanies the lion dancers up and down the streets. It's so joyous! The folks in red are the dancers entourage who clear the path for them.

For those of you who have never seen an Authentic Chinese New Year celebration, the lion dancers enter the local businesses to collect a monetary tribute. This guarantees that the lion will protect the business from bad luck for the year to come. There were several troupes of lion dancers parading the streets of Chinatown. When one street became to crowded, we scurried off to another block to check out another troupe. Fun!

Chinese New Year always pulls at my heart strings a bit. Ten years ago (oops! eleven years ago) I was living and teaching in China where I experienced my first real Chinese New Year. I lived in a wheat province (no rice), and spent many hours helping a kind neighbor, Mrs. B, make jiao zha - dumplings for her family's celebration. It was hard work, but being included in a family while a million miles from my own was well worth the sore wrists and shoulders.

Ahhhh...one of my favorite parts of Chinatown: unfortunately translated business names.

Out of Office

2007-02-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh...........Presidents' Week, a bizarre excuse for a week off work. I wasn't really aware of it until now, but I sure am ready for a week off. This is the first time in forever that the Husbeast and I are not escaping from the city for an adventure somewhere wonderful. Since we are in contract on the house, there are no sheckles left in the piggy bank for frivolity. So I'll have to make my own frivolity. Today we're headed up to Chinatown to watch the lion dancers and dragon dancers scare the evil spirits away with firecrackers. They're welcoming in the Year of the Pig! Ever since I spent that year in China - sheesh! that was a decade ago! - I have a strong connection to the Lunar New Year and all things authentically Chinese. I hope to take all sorts of fun pictures while we're there to share later.

In knitting news, I've actually had some time to knit! I've been humming along on the bobblicious hoody from the Paton's Street Smart booklet.

So far, so good. I ran into a couple of snafus when progressing from the ribbing to the cable pattern. For some reason, the pattern is written so that the ribs do not flow smoothly into the cables. O found this to be aesthetically unacceptable, and fiddled with the increases to make the transition more organic. I hope to get the bulk of this cardi finished during this break.

I've also been moving along slowly on the Deco Wrap from Amazing Crochet Lace. The pattern is pretty intuitive at this point, and the crazy pink mohair makes me smile, especially because it does not shed!

Finishing this project is definitely a reasonable goal for this week off!

Lizzie tagged me with the Six Weird Things About Me meme the other day, so here they are:

1. I always make the Husbeast answer the door when we have food delivery because I have an unreasonable fear of becoming the victim of a home invasion.

2. I invent back stories and names for the people I see regularly on my subway commute to work. I see the same folks everyday, but we never talk to each other - it's a New York thing. Still I imagine them to have exotic hobbies and talents like sword swallowing and hula hoop-ing.

3. I constantly make up my own lyrics to established songs (usually '80's hits) to suit the situation at hand.

4. When the Husbeast kisses me, my booty tingles.

5. I have very little cartilage in my nose. It is extremely squishy.

6. I keep an inordinate amount of candy at home. I don't eat very much of it, but having it around makes me feel safe. If there were some sort of candy shortage in the US, I'd been well-supplied, possibly for years.

I"m tagging Michelle, Claudine, Heather, Jewell, Jill, and Jenn to continue the meme. Remember, you've got to send it on to 6 others.

magnetic north pole

2007-02-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been feeling like I am the magnetic north pole for all bizarro freaks in NYC. There are far too many incidents at the gym recently to list them all. I suspect that I may be walking into a parallel universe every time my bar code is scanned at New York Sports Club. The other day I was next to some guy on the treadmills. We were both running along, listening to our respective ipods. All of the sudden, he starts yipping and air punching really fast, then he counted down from 10. But he did it loudly. And in German. W.T.F.

This evening on the subway some guy calling himself, "Earth Angel" explained that he was created by god to watch out for the human race. He said he was 99% divine being and 1% human, and was here to look for the good in mankind. He said god told him to spread the word in the only two languages god speaks - English and Italian.

He also said that he couldn't look at human females because it would strike him blind. He asked us to avert our eyes - this didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Why would it matter if we saw him? To save his eyesight, he was holding a fluorescent orange folder in front of his face. There was an elaborate "Earth Angel" drawing he had done on white copy paper and glued on the outside which incorporated symbols from major world religions, and possibly a liger.

The craziest thing about all this is the guy didn't look all that nuts. He was definitely odd looking, but then again, so would anyone with a seriously groomed 3 inch fluffy mullet front, and locks flowing all the way down his back, all of which was dyed super-duper black. He was in his 40's or 50's, definitely clean and appeared to have a home - a home replete with hair grooming tools. Also, he wasn't asking for money, recruiting followers, or handing out fliers. He reminded me of the type of subway crazy you see in movies about NYC that are made by people who've never lived in NYC.

Most of the subway riders were laughing at him. It was one of those impromptu bonding moments that makes me think most folks are alright. The "Earth Angel" was completely unfased. He continued with his spiel.

When I got off the train, I had a little ditty stuck in my head:

Earth angel, earth angel
Will you be mine ?
My darling dear, love you all the time
I'm just a fool, a fool in love with you

Like a phoenix

2007-02-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

this cruelly and foolishly immolated blog must rise from the ashes. Even if I didn't actually want one, I've decided a fresh start is a good thing. Out with old, in with the new. There are a bunch of new FO's from the new year that I haven't photographed yet - I'll get around to it sometime soon.

Right now I'm working on a couple of projects. I just started the back of a cabled hoodie from the Patons Street Smart booklet.

I'm using some Queensland Collection Kathmandu DK I bought a couple of years ago for my birthday. I knit it into a notch neck tunic that ended up fitting so poorly I couldn't look at it for two years. Whilst living the inert life of a shut-in last weekend I frogged the sweater and reclaimed this rather lovely yarn.

The yarn has some serious silk content to it, and I think it will hold its shape better with some cables and ribbing than in its formerly stockinette workup. This yarn is super soft and fuzzy in a non-linty way. Somehow I found out it is the same as the Jo Sharp Silk Road DK. If you can find the Queensland Collection label, you can get the same yarn at a substantially lower price.

The other project I'm working on these days is CROCHET! Since I decided a couple of months ago not to buy any yarn for a while, I've been buying knitting and crocheting books like they're going extinct. One book I've been particularly impressed with is Amazing Crocheted Lace by Doris Chan. I'm making the stole below. I like how geometric the lace work is. Reading crochet charts is a bit different from reading knitting charts. I think crochet charts are a lot more intuitive than knitting charts - the representations are a lot more visually accurate. Plus, I'm having fun improving my crochet skills.

I'm working this up with some Karabella Mohair that's been marinating in the stash for three or four years. What I like about the Karabella Mohair is that it has a substantial amount of synthetic fiber in it, and is super soft and fluffy. There is no itch factor. And even if it were itchy, who would complain when it looks like this?

This yarn is a lot more fluorescent pink in reality. Yum!

In other news - the Husbeast and I are taking the big leap tomorrow. The big leap is up to the 44th floor of the Empire State Building into the office of a very nice lawyer whose office is covered in carved wooden masks from Africa. The big leap involves writing some really large checks, and entering the exciting, nerve-wracking world on New York City real estate. The big leap also means jumping across the harbor from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Things are gonna change around here, Chez Sweetgirl. With the signing of a contract tomorrow, one hell of a ride begins! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Aaargh!

2007-01-28T13:54:00.000-05:00

Blogger just switched to a new format, and I think I somehow deleted my blog. Crap.