Knit Picky: March 2005

"properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit...
and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either."
~elizabeth zimmerman

Thursday, March 31, 2005
2 comments

Laguna: Yarn, Candy & Surf

My sweet boy took me on a mini-mini break to Laguna Beach, CA yesterday (we drove down Tuesday night and returned last night). We ate nice meals, stayed in a cute little motel, walked, hiked, went to the yarn shop (good Boy!), played in the tide pools...[sigh]. How lovely.

For pictures of the trip itself, I'm going to refer you to my other blog and the post for today. Mainly because I'm just far too lazy to post all those things again!

Here I'm going to show you a couple of my favorite acquisitions from the trip: yarn & candy from 'across the pond'.

First up, yarn from Strands & Stitches:

That is Rowan Wool Cotton in the purple (without a skein wrapper) and Crystal Palace Waikiki sitting on top of it -- these babies were 40% off! And then two skeins of Wildfoote sock yarn for The Boy, and two skeins of Artyarns Supermerino, por moi! (I'm kicking myself for not actively begging the boy for the one 40% off skein of Rowan All Season's Cotton in a gorgeous eggplant color -- it was, like, $5!) Anyway, the other yarns are just yummy.

And speaking of yummy, here's some candy that I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

I should perhaps mention that I am a die-hard anglophile, and I absolutely had to try candy that comes from abroad. I've actually had the (Australian) Violet Crumble before, but couldn't resist the 16 pence mini Milky Way bar, or the Aero mint chocolate bar. The place we got the candy at was so well-stocked with candies from our childhood (I also got Nerds and rootbeer barrels, while The Boy got Big League Chew and Zotz) and from European countries, that I absolutely had to bring some home with me.

To date I'd only ever read about Minstrels, Dairy Milk Bars and Cadbury Buttons, but there they all were. Alongside some that I've tried like Wine Gums (that was tough to pass up; they are SO yummy) and Smarties (did you know that Smarties in the UK are entirely different from the tarts that we call Smarties here? They are more like M&Ms). I wish I could have bought one of everything. I'm such a sucker for all things British. In fact, The Boy and are going to honeymoon in the UK next year to try to satisfy my needs. Mmmm, UK candies, watch out. Hmm, I'm starting to sound like Super Eggplant. ;)

Man, I've gotta get me a contact in the UK to send me tasty stuff like this periodically!

P.S. Remember the Monster Sock? Well, here it is now:

It had to be ripped back to the heel. The good news is, it wasn't entirely my fault. There was an error in the pattern, and instead of following logic, I stuck with the pattern. I found the perfect explanation for this lunacy in Stephanie's book At Knit's End (if you haven't gotten it yet, get it, you'll thank me later): on page 14 she talks about the ability of knitters to deny the obvious and proceed with what is clearly a knitting monstrosity. That would be The Monster Sock That Is No More. We're trying again. I'll keep you posted. :)

Monday, March 28, 2005
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A Completed Sweater, A Monster Sock, & My Boys

As promised, a picture of the completed Sitcom Chic in Sugarplum Cotton-Ease. Ain't she pretty?

Although the color in the pictures is not entirely accurate, you can get a pretty good idea how Sitcom Chic has turned out. Everyone in my LYS wants to make one now. And here's a close-up of the eyelet section.

Coming up next is my second sock ever. Did I ever mention the first one I made? The one that was soooo narrow around the ankle that I couldn't put it over my foot? Or that was much too short? The one that I plan to donate to a one-legged anorexic?

I have started one for The Boy. He felt that after a year of cheering on my knitting efforts, I should make something for him that he would actually wear (I told him a sweater comes later this year). Thus, the socks.

I had 400 yds of indigo cotton from Elann.com that I ordered almost a year ago with the intent of making socks for The Boy. So I dug them out and got started. The problem, of course, being that it was not actual sock yarn, so I didn't really know what size needles to use, or how big they would turn out. And I didn't really have a clue how to swatch to make sure these would fit his giant hobbit feet. And so...The Monster Sock.

It doesn't look TOO bad when it's on The Boy's foot. Right? It is a bit bunchy, but he could wear it around the house. I'm really not sure if I should even make a second sock to match this one. Maybe I should just suck it up and buy him some sock yarn. Or, better yet, ask him to buy some. Heh. Any suggestions out there from you sock experts??

Lastly, here are my boys. Aren't they cute???

Saturday, March 26, 2005
1 comments

A Non-Knitting Post

Woohoo! I've accepted a position with UC Irvine Extension. I will be a Marketing Account Executive for the Extension school, handling all of the Marketing for their Arts & Humanities, IT, and Engineering sections. Possibly one or two other smaller sections, too.

I'm very excited. Everyone I met there was so wonderful. The benefits are outstanding, the people were fantastic, and I love the idea of working for a University. Plus--SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, BABY!

For anyone/everyone who sent their good vibes my way, I'm so, so grateful. This has been a great job search as I've been on a number of interviews for good companies, and was given the opportunity to select from three excellent companies. I feel very blessed.

Coming Soon: The completed Sitcom Chic, and 1/3 of The Boy's monster sock (to fit his giant hobbit feet). ;)

Wednesday, March 23, 2005
1 comments

A LONG OVERDUE GRILLING

Stephanie, are you still alive?

YES

Did you ever finish your Sitcom Chic?

YES, it's at the dry cleaner as we speak.

Are you ever going to blog again?

YES

Do you realize it's been nearly a month since you last posted??

YES, I am ashamed. I suck.

Where the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks have you been?

Interviewing for every Marketing position in Orange County, CA.

How's it going?

I have 2 offers, and a possible third. YAY!

Do you promise to post again as soon as you know which job you will be going on to?

You betcha. Don't hate me. I will return when there's something more interesting to say than a) "so, went on another interview" or b) "so, did another couple inches of stockinette..."

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