Back to my Roots, or, Reclaiming my Mojo

I learned to knit in December of 2005. I learned how to crochet in December of 2006. I learned how to needlepoint in 2000 or thereabouts, I think. But when did I learn how to bead? Some time in or around 1991. My mom taught me how to make daisy chains, and from there, there was no stopping me. At sixteen, I sold my jewelry at a little market (making next to nothing). I sewed beads onto paper, making a sign that read "Beaded Bijoux." That was probably when I found my place in the crafting community. My friends came to my house for "bead days." I was in bead heaven. In college, I taught my friends how to make beaded lizards. I have pictures of a lot of these things, which I will put up here some time. Some of them are at my mom's house in Australia, so that makes them slightly inaccessible, and others are *gasp* not on a digital camera, and I don't have a scanner at home.

For Christmas, I made the other paralegals I work with beaded necklaces. The center of the necklaces are little hexagons.

There is a story behind these hexagons. I adapted them from the base of a pattern for a beaded box. This pattern was published in Bead and Button Magazine in the late '90s, right around the time when Austin Powers, the Spy who Shagged Me, came out. My friends and I loved that movie, and my mother proclaimed that everything was "Very shaggadelic!" It was the Austin Powers movie where Austin Powers "lost his mojo," so I decided that I would make a box for my mojo - it was my mojo box!

I want to start making jewelry that is really fun, but still wearable for people who are not as eccentric as I am. The mojo hexagon was perfect! And their new owners said they love them, so it all paid off!

At Last

I actually finished something on time.

A hint: Tomorrow is the last day of work before Christmas.

As promised

This is Sam in his new hat.

In other news, my hand hurts from knitting too much. I've been knitting something for Sam in front of him. We had something of a Sopranos marathon yesterday (in just six months or so, we finished seven years worth of episodes) and watched a pay-per-view movie with his parents the night before last, so I just couldn't see wasting the perfect knitting opportunity. But he still doesn't quite know what it is (although I'm sure he could probably guess by now...)

But today is my day off work, and there will be no knitting for me (though there might be crafting...)

Dear Knitting Blog,

Yesterday, my work friend and I went to the craft fair at Bryant Park during our lunch break. There are so many awesome things there for sale. Not only did it challenge my ability to resist the temptation to buy things, it made me itch to make things and it also made me itch to design things to sell. Many of the artists had used very bulky yarns, which would make knitting hats more cost effective (as far as production time). This would be especially for me, because I am a pretty slow knitter.

Last night, I finally gave Sam the hat I knit him for Hanukka. The thing took me forever, because I redid it when I was almost half way through, and then when I got to the top, I feared that it was too short. I kept trying it on myself, dpns sticking out of the top, over and over, until I finally decided to rip it out to where I started my decreases. The result was a hat that is a teeny tiny bit too wide and a teeny tiny bit too long, but that still works. In both cases, I really should have left what I had (for once!) But the hat works. It has ribbing, and I designed it myself. I made it out of alpaca, which I bought after Sam told me that he loved the alpaca that I bought for my dad's scarf. Overall, he's happy with it and so am I. I promise I will post a picture of Sam in his new hat, but he's not here for me to take a picture now, and I don't have the pictures that his parents took (of us on Hanukka) yet.

Speaking of my dad's scarf, the 12th as a finish date is looking bleak, considering the fact that I have yet to start the thing. But at least I thought of a pattern. It's actually the pattern from one of his cotton sweaters, and will use that. (My dad's wool allergy gives him such an interesting winter wardrobe!) It's a really easy pattern that actually works out in a really cool way! It's simply:

k(kkpkkkpk), repeating the bracketed section until desired width.

The pattern is the same for rs and ws. It's not ribbing or seed stitch, but sort of a hybrid of both. If all goes according to plan, this will turn out to look like stripes of knit, purl, and garter stitches.

Love,
Adina

It's already been a while since since our holiday knitting night at Joanna's apartment. She made us pumpkin muffins and, not surprisingly, they were amazing.

We never ended up taking pictures, so I don't have any to show here. That's probably a good thing, though, because we were all making holiday presents. The thing I was knitting ended up being the wrong size! Luckily, between eating pumpkin muffins, talking, and watching a follow up on the Bachelor, I hadn't gotten that far anyway, so I was able to replace what I had ripped out over the next couple of days. I hope this one isn't the wrong size!

Thanksgiving, by the way, was awesome! My cousins from Arizona got here on Wednesday night, and I've been spending all the time I can with them.

the knitting season

This month, I have assigned myself the following task:

Make your @!^%#** holiday presents.

Surprise, surprise, I don't think these will be done in time.

After realizing that the incredibly expensive non-returnable all cotton yarn I bought for my dad's sweater is the wrong weight, I've decided that the sweater will have to wait. Instead, I some alpaca wool to knit him a scarf for his fiftieth birthday. I am amazed to have learned that alpaca is not a kind of sheep (hence, hopefully, no allergy). Somewhere along the way, I missed that.

I've been promising to knit my aunt a scarf ever since I started knitting, so I bought some Be Sweet Magic Ball. It's made of wool, mohair, ribbon, and silver foil stuff. Although it is not purple, it is soooo my aunt in every other way. It's supposed to be able to knit up a whole scarf in one ball, but we'll see about that. It's made through a job creation program in South Africa, which in itself is awesome.

I'm going to buy presents for my parents and sister this year, and everyone else who I'm making things for reads this blog. So you'll just have to wait and see what I come up with. :)

CONGRATULATIONS KATHLEEN AND JUSTIN

on your engagement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







In other news, this UFO thing isn't working out too well. I'm onto the sewing stage of my sweater, but that's it. Perhaps the month that I got sick, went on vacation, and started studying for the LSATs like it's my job wasn't the best month to do this. I hate to give up on this so lightly, but I don't want to be a downer...soooooooo onto the next thing. Christmas! Hanukka! Dad's birthday! I don't think my dad reads this blog, but I'd like to think that some of my friends do! So a lot of the next few months will be revealed after the presents are given.

That is all. Off to do some reading comp. Wish me luck.

Best Vacation EVER!

I had sooooooooooo much fun in New Orleans! I had never really been to the South before, and I went with some awesome people and amazing friends. We drove to the gulf shore in Alabama, saw a boat festival, partied it up on Bourbon Street, ate food that I had no idea would taste so good, explored the French Quarter, and celebrated Jen's birthday. It was the first vacation (other than weekend trips) that I have taken since I started my job, and by the end, I felt completely refreshed.

It's a good thing that Jen's house has so much water, because it took hours for every person in the house to shower. While waiting, we had a little bit of down time, when the knitters in the group could knit. I made some progress on my sleeve, although I didn't quite finish it. We also caught some k's (wow, I've just surpassed my own dorkiness) during our FOUR HOUR DELAY at Newark airport, a delay that killed our first night there (although it was cool when Duane the shuttle driver got out of the shuttle, moved the barricade to the street on Bourbon Street, got back in, drove the shuttle into the street, got out again, and blocked the street back off behind him). In these pictures, Joanna is starting a cabled gauntlet in Newark, and working on it as we wait for the plane to take us home.

Jen, Kathleen, Joanna, and I broke off from the rest of the group as they downed a couple of hand grenades (potent mixed drinks) to tour Jen's new lys, where she's already made friends. I saw a beautiful (to look at and feel) Coigu shawl, which I would love to make some day. This is us outside the yarn store, with Kathleen's new prized yarn.

eeeeee!!!

I'm going to New Orleans today! Sam and Joanna and Kathleen and some other people and I are going to visit Jen! Jen sent us a massive list of activities going on there this (very long) weekend, and a lot of them are crafty! It's going to be a huge group, so I doubt we'll travel as a herd the entire time. We could split up, for example, into knitters and non-knitters!

Now the question is...what UFOs to pack for the plane...

I think my sock, definitely. Maybe my sweater to crochet... Maybe my soccer mom sweater... although that is really bulky and I want to pack light. So maybe I'll just bring the last sleeve. Oh, decisions, decisions!!

Update

I've been sick. I took two days off last week and on top of all that I got an infection from my wisdom tooth. Apparently, that's kind of common six weeks after the fact. I've also been studying for the LSATS (again). I have been working on a certain UFO though - my sock! I had ample time to do this when I was sick, and it lasted me quite a few episodes of Law and Order. Much of this time (I'd say at least four hours) was spent untangling. Who knew sock yarn was so tangly?!!

My challenge isn't going great, but there is still a long time in October to finish those UFOs.

Today is October 1st

and I'm getting sick. I had a tiny sore throat this weekend, and it got a lot worse today.

However, I still got to finish my first October UFO. This should have taken about 10 minutes, but in true Adina fashion, I messed it up first. I had already knit the last row of k2tog, but for some strange reason (I'm blaming it on my sore throat), I knit an extra and then a row of k2tog again. Luckily, it was still easily fixable. I have a habit of making every hat I make for myself a little bit too small, and this one is no exception. However, I think it is still wearable, and I have a nice blue fall!
In other news, the knitting night at Kathleen's was lots of fun. Kathleen always seems to outdo herself, and I never cease to be amazed at her knitting progress. She finished her first mitten, and now has one mitten and one sock (a true knitter - good thing it's UFO month!)
I took a picture of the baby blanket she is knitting, before remembering that the mother-to-be hasn't seen the blanket yet, so I won't put the picture up until the baby is born.

Meanwhile, Joanna taught herself to cable,Kathleen taught Amna how to knit continental,
Sara reunited with a pair of knitting needles and learned how to cast on,

and I worked on my first sock (which is now, technically, another UFO while I finish my other UFOs).
We ate a delicious gourmet meal cooked by Kathleen's boyfriend, Justin, and had yummy cookies that Kathleen had baked. The next time we knit together will be in New Orleans when we visit Jen. Or, more likely, on the plane.

Tomorrow is October 1st

and I spent the weekend moving. Not myself, Sam. (OK, not the whole weekend, we also went to a draw-a-thon and Octoberfest at the Bohenian Beer Garden.) Now Sam has an awesome apartment of his own, but we had no internet. I have yet to write about the awesome knitting night at Kathleen's last Thursday, but I have some great pictures, which will be up here in a day or so. For now, I'd just like to list my goals for UFO month. I'll just go through the inventory...

1. Giant multicolored handbag. I don't see this one happening until I get a sewing machine, so I think this one will stay on hold.

2. Blue hat. Finish it! (Even if it does turn out to be too short.)

3. Black headband. Finish it!

4. Luxe gauntlets. Finish them!

5. Soccer Mom Sweater. Finish it!

6. Crocheted sweater. This one might get finished eventually, but I don't think it is reasonable to expect to finish it in the next month.

7. Lu Mei's hat. I'm going to attempt to felt this one. (I.e. finish it!)

8. Mom's giant purse. I don't think I will be able to finish this one right now, but eventually I would like to make the pattern up as I go along...

9. Green gloves. Finish them!

10. Going out with a bag. Finish it!

11. Yellow and blue bag. Redo the lining. (I.e. refinish it!)

True Confessions

So I took that inventory. And I'm embarrassed to say that many of my UFOs are featured in this very blog:

1. Giant multicolored handbag. I think the last time I wrote about it was, um last week.

2. Blue hat.I was almost finished with it at Cafe Lalo in June. I don't even have any knitting left - I am at the strictly tapestry needle phase. Why did I never finish? I think this one is two short and I kind of didn't want to face that.

3. Black headband. This is a product of my knitting-for-profit phase (in June), which is currently on hold. I based it on the Interweave pattern I used to make two lace headbands of my own. This one has a tiny bit of lace around the edges, but my intention was to knit or crochet a flower or two to sew on. So I have to learn how to that first. Oh, and I have yet to weave in the ends.

4. Luxe gauntlets. I thought I had enough yarn to bind off, but apparently I did not. I didn't have the patience to un-bind off, un-knit, tie on more yarn, knit, and bind off. So I took some of the needles to work on the black headband. And then the one needle came off on its own. I can't remember when I started this project, but it too has been a UFO since June.

5. Soccer Mom Sweater. This pattern is really simple - a good second sweater. If this makes me a (childless) 23-year-old soccer mom, so be it. I just have to finish the last sleeve and sew it all together. (This project appears to by my only "normal" UFO.) I started this one last fall and it has definitely been hiatus since late 2006.

6. Crocheted sweater. I've been working on it since August of last year and I haven't touched it since September. The reason? I misread the pattern, which is fine - the thing just looks different than it's supposed to look - but now each stitch is a little bit off, and this "Seamless Sweater" has a (slight) diagonal seam down the back.

7. Lu Mei's hat. Last year, I promised my friend, Lu Mei, that I would crochet her a hat. Well, I couldn't figure out how to check crochet gauge, so I thought I'd just wing it. Not so smart. It turned out way too big, and I think think only way to salvage this one would be to felt it - which is something I've never done before. I haven't touched the thing since last September.

8. Mom's giant purse. When it comes to purse size, my mother rivals any New Yorker. When I started the research for my college thesis, I bought yarn from a lot of different yarn stores so that I would be able to get a feel for the stores and the people. At one store, I bought some giant yarn and started knitting what I hoped would be my first felted object, a handbag for my mom, from a free pattern which I promptly lost. About six months later (after I graduated), I contacted the store to ask for the pattern. They were really nice about it and they emailed me a pattern. Unfortunately, it was the wrong one. Maybe I should just wing this one. In any case, this bag has been a UFO since around February of 2006.

8. Green gloves. These were knit on two needles. I didn't finish them because the pattern (which I no longer have) instructed to "darn" the sides together. I didn't know what darning meant. Hence, I never finished them. That was two years ago.

9. Going Out with a Bag. This is the one I've been bitching out since the nascence of this blog. Still not finished. Still gotta learn to sew in zippers. I have the zipper. Right now, I can't even find the thing, so I can't take a picture of it. I was going to make this for my sister's nineteenth birthday. My sister is now 21, and still no bag.

10. Yellow and blue bag. Two and a half years ago, this one was based roughly off of Stitch 'n Bitch Nation's Poster Boy, but I didn't put the boy on it. Technically, it is not a UFO. It was finished at one point. But I made the lining too small and out of fabric that was too light for my heavy school books. I still use it, but the lining is in desperate need of replacement.

Rules

I am making it my own personal challenge to finish as many UFOs as I can during the month of October. To anyone who wants to join me in my quest, here are some simple rules.

1. Take an inventory of your UFOs. Some things will be worth finishing, some things will worth ripping out.
2. Choose the objects you are going to finish during this very productive month. Note how much work each object will need and, just for kicks, how long each object has been a UFO.
3. Be prepared! Stock up on any yarns, finishings, etc. that you will need to finish the project.
4. Start finishing!

I will keep track of my progress here.

More on My Manhattan Frivotities

This handbag is turning out to be quite the project. I finally finished the knitting part, but now I have to do all that sewing I've been whining about. Oh yeah, and I have to figure out what I'm going to do about straps. I'm going to need something extremely strong. Something about Manhattan causes women (e.g. me) to carry obnoxiously large handbags everywhere, and to keep them full. In college, I rarely carried a purse anywhere, even on my occasional nights out on the town. I had my phone in one pocket, and my keys, school ID, and wallet, in another. Now, I am no Carrie Bradshaw, but after just over a year, I have morphed into this crazy and slightly ridiculous being.

Amazingly, my bags are usually much smaller than girls I am friends with and girls I work with. For example, although I keep a giant wallet with a year's worth of receipts and change, a pencil case full of makeup I don't wear, and painkillers for any kind of spontaneous injury, I do not usually carry an extra pair of shoes, and I only carry a novel on occasion. Nevertheless, what by rights should have a simple project to keep my occupied over a knitting night or two has lasted me about a month. At last, I have giant pieces that need to be sewn together. I need to figure out how to sew in a zipper and, um, to make a strong lining. As far as straps, I'm thinking I might just use whatever fabric I use for the lining - maybe I'll get some metal rings to ensure that the straps don't misshape the knit fabric or tear it. Or maybe I'll knit some out of the same fabric I used to make to bottom. So here it is. The source of the past month's rants. I'm actually pretty proud of it. When I took the picture, the bottom part curled under, but I think that's just because I knit that part pretty tight. I think that when I sew it together, it will come uncurled.

And now I can move onto other things! (while I figure out this sewing machine thing). I do have the UFO project, but I think my most immediate thing will be my first pair of socks. As usual, though, I have I second project in ming. Once again, I am inspired by my high school friend, Anna. Her blog got me really excited about the Irish Hiking Scarf. It's a cable scarf knitalong. I've wanted to make a cable scarf for a while now, and I've never done a knitalong. As much as I love mindless knitting, I think it will be a while before I can make anything in plain stockinette stitch, garter stitch, or ribbed. I owe my Aunt Carol a scarf and plan to make one for Sam too, so this pattern will work for either of them.

Living in Manhattan

So I'm forfeiting a couple of concert tickets to finance my knitting habit. I'm determined to buy a sewing machine first and foremost so that I can finish this freakin bag. I'm so close to being done with the knitting part. If all goes according to plan, I should have pictures of the pieces (pre-sewing) up here tomorrow. (It's not ready now because of a headache I had earlier, which itself was due to my sorry attempt at Yom Kippor fasting.)

Let it be known that I'm not completely crazy. I have been asking my parents for a sewing machine for my birthday every year for several years. Being the practical parents that they all, they had too many reservations to give in to such consumerism. When would I have the time to sew? And where would I keep the darn thing? An ipod, they reasoned, was much more practical gift. Now don't get me wrong - I don't know if I could survive without my ipod, but now that I can actually afford a sewing machine on my own, I have a job that allows me a little time to sew, and I have a bag that will not be complete without a lining, the timing is perfect.

One problem remains. I have no room at all for the thing. Somewhere along the way, I acquired an extra air conditioner, and that is under my desk. I don't even have enough space for all my clothes, resulting in piles on the floor. Not to mention the fact that I'm already an extremely messy person. If I couldn't fit a sewing machine in a large dorm room, how will I fit it in a similarly sized room that also contains a kitchen and bathroom? Well, I'll make room. Probably somewhere on the floor. Maybe I'll sell the extra air conditioner.

P.S. I still haven't forgotten about UFO month. Along with pictures of the bag (parts), I will try to get a rules posting up here tomorrow.

Another New Project!

This is the problem with UFOs. There is always a new project. Always just one, five, or ten more before we finish that thing we made last fall. It would be out of the question to ask a knitter to spend a whole month working on nothing but UFOs.

So I think it is perfectly reasonable to start this. You can make squares and send them in to be sewn into afghans, or you can team up with a group and make the whole thing. Joanna gave us the idea for this one, and she, Kathleen, Jen, and I are all very excited. (The four of us are making one together.) At the rate these girls are knitting, we'll be done in no time! It will give us opportunities to experiment with new stitches and techniques, and to use some of our leftover yarn. I think that during October, it would be reasonable for me to work on this, at least sometimes, when I'm busy but just need something to do with my hands.

My friends rock. So I'm going to do this! There is posting of rules to come, but I need to think of the rules first! Everyone's UFOs are different. For a start, just how unfinished these objects are varies greatly. And the numbers of UFOs people have vary greatly. I know better than to even suggest to a knitter to finish everything. Besides, I don't think I could do that myself! There are some things I don't think I'll ever finish, and things on which I've given up (but not taken out) after I've barely started. Any ideas for rules are welcome here!

And in other news....

I went hiking at Breakneck Ridge with Sam and Cecily for the second time yesterday. This time, we were also joined by Adam. It was awesome! The last train was at 8:57 and I almost didn't wake up for it, but I'm so glad I went. Last time, we accidentally took an easier trail, but this time there was a lot of steep rock climbing. The views were picture perfect and the climbing made me feel amazing. (The company was pretty cool too.)

If I were a famous knitting blogger...

Come on, we all know they exist. I don't dream big but I do dream. [Enter ironic chuckle or deadpan stare.] Well, if I had my own knitting empire, I would declare October the month of the UFO. I have several items I am so close to finishing but have not finished because of various reasons (I'm not the biggest fan of weaving in ends, I don't know how to sew in zippers, I can't find one of my needles, I'm worried that when I finish I'll have to submit myself to knowing that the dimensions are wrong...) But I would set up a challenge for people to finish as many unfinished objects as they could throughout the month of October. That would, of course, give me the motivation to do so myself. But alas, I am not a famous knitting blogger. I have until the end of September to decide if I want to give myself that challenge, or if it would be just another boring, dead-end task.

Finally

A knitting group at my apartment! Soooo much fun. I made peanut butter cookies and my mom's tuna casserole! Both were a hit, although most of the cookies burnt (though a few did not) and the casserole turned out to be more like tuna pasta (it did not stick.) But my friends assure me that it still tasted good.

Amna, Kathleen, and Sam came. Amna spent most of the time untangling her yarn, and she still finished her scarf! Kathleen was (she's probably done by now!) making a beautiful scarf for her boyfriend, and Sam learned to cast on! He is our mannitter.

And in other news....I finally went the other knitting store. They have Lamb's Pride, but not as much as School Products. They do have a lot of yarn, though. A lot of cool yarn. I got sock yarn... and they have a sock support group once a week! I'd better start those socks!

Meanwhile, I have so many bag/purse ideas . I'm still working on the bag I started at Kathleen's place so many weeks ago, but I can't wait for the next one! And the yarn I bought is sooooo nice. So soft! My newest love.

I'm finally having a knitting night at my apartment! On the agenda for today: cleaning my apartment and knitting. Then on Tuesday (the big night) I'm going to try to make time after work to cook dinner. Sam is even going to try to make a guest appearance. Any man who will learn to knit is a keeper!

more central park knitting (and adina gets philosophical)

My great-aunt Dora loved to crochet. Every member of my family has some item crocheted specially by Aunt Dora. Doll clothes, countless afghans, pillow, the list goes on. I have some pillows she crocheted specially for me decorating my room at my parents' house. I keep two warm afghans in my tiny apartment - two of the few items I took home with me after my grandparents died. My grandmother, her kid sister, was never really into needle crafts. I don't think she learned to knit or crochet when she was growing up in the 1930s and '40s. But when she was much older, and in the hospital, someone there taught her to crochet. She crocheted a large blanket, using mostly single crochet, with stripes and texture. It sat on my grandmother's couch for years, the oranges and yellows blending in with the 1970's decor that to this day still furnishes the house, warming anyone who sat on the couch or cozy armchairs or slept in the living room when all the bedrooms were full. My grandmother promptly forgot how to crochet, but she was always humbly proud of that blanket that she made when she was so sick.

Needle crafts really are comforting and healing, which is why I've been doing so much of it lately. I know that almost everyone gets their wisdom teeth out and that people deal with it, but mine were pretty badly impacted and are still very painful. I would love to one day teach crafts to hospital patients (unfortunately, my current work hours keep me from doing that right now). Knitting has been calming me, keeping me occupied and happy. When yesterday afternoon I finally got out to soak up some sun, I went to a knitting store that I went to with my mom when I first moved here. I had been looking for it for months but I finally found it on the internet. (The problem had been that I had no idea what it was called and couldn't quite remember where it was either.) When I got there, it was closed for Labor Day (who closes for Labor Day on Tuesday???) so I went back to The Yarn Co., which has a nice selection but is kind of small (so nothing really out of the ordinary) and doesn't stock Lamb's Pride. (Still I buy a lot of stuff there and what they do have is really nice.) I got some black Torino bulky for the bottom of my purse (if I use the silk I've been using for the rest of it, it will probably tear after a day or two) and some in black so that I can finally make a hat for Sam that isn't huge. Later, Amna came over and we got soup from a place on my block and went to Central Park for a picnic soup dinner and to knit. (Her scarf is getting so long - it looks awesome!) This cheered me up immensely, it even helped take away the pain (as the frozen yogurt we had afterwards!) I hadn't brought my camera - but Amna had hers! Unfortunately, I still have my chipmunk cheeks from getting my wisdom teeth out. (So I'm vain enough to disclose that but not enough to not put a picture of myself looking not-my-best up)

At the knitting night at Kathleen's, two weeks ago, I had no idea what to knit. I brought a book with me, as well as ample yarn and needles. It seems that, for various annoying reasons, I was unable to knit the things that I had been working toward. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Grey sweater started last year: couldn't find one of the needles!
2. Dad's sweater: couldn't find (either of) my knit1 magazines, one of which contains the pattern
3. new projects from new knitting books, such as "Sexy Little Knits": When I bought yarn for one of these patterns online, it turned out to be more or less useless (more like thread with parts hanging off of it) than yarn - not at all useful for the patterns.
4. sweater I started crocheting last year: couldn't find the crochet hook - besides, wanted to knit for this group, at least for right now
5. gauntlets I'm almost done with: started binding off and almost made it but found i didn't have quite enough yarn to finish (very annoying!) took some of the needles for another project and now they're somewhere in my apartment.

From this list, two things are apparent:
1. I need to clean/organize my apartment
2. I need to actually buy the yarn for the patterns in the books I buy - the patterns won't knit themselves!

So, when I went to Kathleen's I just through I bunch of yarn and a book in my bag.

When I got there, I decided to knit with some recycled silk my mom had gotten me when she visited me in Philadelphia. I casted on a number of stitches based on a pattern from speed knitting, but decided that the yarn would work better if it was not bumpy. Besides, straight knitting and purling makes socializing easier. But I decided that I would knit one long piece and flip it over and sew it up so that it would look like the "messenger bag" with a flap over it.

I worked on this bag at Kathleen's and the next time I picked it up was at Joanna's. But then on Friday I got my wisdom teeth out and since then have had very limited mobility. Sam knew I was getting better when, on Sunday, I asked him to help me find my knitting!

So I knit a lot on Sunday. I realized that I probably wouldn't use a messenger bag much, since my wallet along could barely fit in one (living in New York does that to you) and making an extremely long one would probably look very weird. But my work could be salvaged! I would use what I had done so far as the first of several panels, which I would sew together and line with something strong and durable and make a purse. I'm very excited about this and, as usual, running away with my imagination - I'm even thinking of finally getting a sewing machine (something I've been wanting for years anyway).

So far, I've just finished the two main side panels. Here is a picture of what it looked like yesterday, when I just had one and a half of the panels:So this brings me to knitting at Central Park, which is how I spent some of my Labor Day. So much fun! Yesterday, I finally went outside for the first time since the wisdom teeth. Sam took me to get some frozen yogurt. The five minute walk there and back made me feel so much better. I knew what I was lacking: sunshine! I knew for a fact that Jen and the girls were knitting in Central Park, so I decided to join them. Knitting is so therapeutic! I was kind of whacked out on pain killers and a possible overdose of antibiotics (I still don't know how many doses I took yesterday) but it was, nevertheless, lots of fun. I am definitely going to host the new knitting night at my place the week after next.

I've been seriously lacking in the knitting department. Luckily, Joanna, Kathleen, and Jen are bringing me up to speed. They are knitting machines! Hat machines, no less! Last week, Joanna and I went to Kathleen's house to knit, and today, the four of us knit at Joanna's (and ate her amazing eggplant parm). So much fun! Here are the pictures I took. (Yes, I actually remembered my camera!)

Pictures, Finally!

My knack for making things way too complicated has manifested itself once more. I finally made it to the Verizon store today. I needed no special device. All I had to do was email the damn thing to myself. Which is, I soon learned, indeed possible. This could have come in handy years ago. I'm a failure to my generation!

Anyway, here are the pics from our knitting excursion last week: