No pics this time.

Why is that I impelled to post when it's snowing? It's coming down pretty good right now; I get the feeling we're not going to be able to get together with Peggy this weekend. :( Oh, well, there'll be other times...

The back of the bump sweater is done up to the armholes - yay for being done with miles of 2x2 rib with no shaping! Now to keep on with it up to the neck, and then do the sleeves - *with* buttonholes, thankyouverymuch. I started a sleeve about a week ago, and when I got home from my meeting, I found I'd forgotten them. Oh well, I'll just call it practice!

I have one Monkey finished, and am waiting to start the next one until I have finished one of my brother's kilt hose - I'm not confident I have enough yarn for the pair, so I need to find that out asap!

moar funny pictures

I just woke up from a nap where the Fat Cat had, about the time I was passing out, curled up with her butt to roughly the area of my bladder. The warmth felt good to me, so I didn't protest at all... but having found this on my Google Reader as I sat down to check it while waking up, now I understand everything. I have no questions now why she sat just so. ;P

nom nom nom

Blueberry waffles from scratch and a strawberry-raspberry smoothie.

I didn't get a picture of the Fat Cat begging for waffles.

ZOMG, another post!

This time with illustration!

This is the sock I'm knitting for my doula colleague.
Pattern: Monkey
Yarn: STR Mediumweight, unnamed colorway, but I think of it as Rainbow Sherbet.
Needles: US 2

This pattern knits up so darn fast... You may not be able to tell from the photo, but as of this writing, I'm much of the way through the gusset decreases, and I really haven't spent all that long working on it.

Still Not Dead.

Just being bad about posting.

I don't have any pix ready for posting right now, one big reason I haven't posted lately. Yes, Tiennie, the mittens were striped, and their recipient LOVES them. I like them a lot, too, and will probably make some for myself at some point.

Igor (that's Eye-gor, like in Young Frankenstein, just a use-name until the weevil arrives), also known as MendyBaby to any Knitty types, is now twenty weeks and moving more than the San Andreas Fault. The genetic testing came up completely clean (yay!), so I'm just waiting for the ultrasound on Monday to completely confirm my assumptions of perfection. :) I am now indisputably showing, even if it's not obvious to anyone who doesn't know me (my favorite ginormous green sweater that I wear all the time is probably a good muffler, even if I don't intend it that way). I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to get very big at all, given my proportions - tall, relatively long-bodied (in absolute terms, if not in proportion to myself), with wide hips for Igor to nestle into when I'm upright... I'm definitely in need of proper maternity clothes now, though, from the skin out! The only things that even come close to fitting properly right now (besides the assorted comfy pants I'm living in most of the time) are the new bras I insisted we get me last weekend - and even they're a little off, because I bought bras with room to grow!

Knitting! I've actually been knitting a lot more the last few weeks. Part of that is that I want to get my bump sweater finished before I don't need it anymore (although the miles of straight 2x2 rib I'm working on at the moment aren't very enticing), and part of it is that I want to get my brother's kilt hose done in good time for his wedding at the end of March. It's also that I just plain have energy for it now... some of the time, anyway. :) I'm also working on a pair of Monkeys for a doula colleague - she's also expecting, about a week ahead of me, and is making me a sling. I'm making the Monkeys partly in exchange, partly just to make her something. And it's finally the perfect project for the STR that I bought at OFFF last September, because it's just in her all-time favorite colors. So that project is win on all sides. :)

That's probably enough of a book for now. I should go make food and get dressed and stuff like that... More posts soon! I promise! (maybe)

Merry Christmas!

I looked up about half an hour ago to see it just beginning to snow - and it's getting heavier! And it's cold and dry enough to stick! So, looks like this will be a white one for us!

I am about to stop apologizing for not posting very often... if you're still with me, you know I'm terribly irregular. Maybe I need some blog fiber? I promise to post knitting and baby updates soon!

Storms and a Book Review

I had a rotten morning. Every once in a while I remember how very lonely I am here; I'm not good at making close friends, and that's when I'm regularly participating in activities that put me in frequent, nay, daily contact with other people. In my current life, I don't see many other people at all, and the few I do see, I only see once a month or so, if that. My geographically nearest best friend is hundreds of miles away, and while we're in frequent email contact, it's not the same as when we used to sit at the coffee shop on campus and talk about classes, instructors, and life in general. Combine this loneliness with pregnancy hormones and morning sickness that currently feels like it's not going to go away for six or seven months, not to mention throw me new and surprising curve balls each of those months to come (last month I exchanged constant nausea for vomiting, this month it's rotten headaches that are almost worse than the vomiting, who knows what next month will bring), and you have a recipe for breakdown. Which I did. I'm not usually one to cry a lot, but this morning I pretty well soaked my favorite hanky. I would have soaked Josh's shoulder, too (he was home for lunch), but he was wearing his jacket. I'm still feeling pretty damp around the edges, but I'm at least presentable. I tried to nap while watching a movie, a favorite "lullaby" technique; while I didn't actually sleep, I did rest and collect myself somewhat. When it was over, the sun was actually shining, so I decided to throw some clothes on and get out of the house for a bit by walking the whole block and a half to our local Borders to drink a beverage and stare at knitting books I can't buy today.

Which was not a mistake! Staring at the (somewhat limited) knitting shelves, I actually found a copy of Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits, a book I had not previously had a chance to meet in the flesh. I want this book! (I wishlisted it. ;P ) I'm not entirely sure what I think about all of Japel's knitting philosophy, and as a pregnant mama planning to be breastfeeding this time next year the extreme fittedness of most of the designs felt a touch lacking (although in previous stages of my life I would have been swooning - those parts of me still were :) ). Still, there were aspects at least in every design that I liked and want to adapt for my own work - I'm not really into bulky knits, but hers at least have intriguing details I want to borrow. There were several designs I want to make as written (well, almost!), such as the coat with lace lapels, or the pretty summery dress, or Elizabeth Bennet's Cardigan, which seemed more 1950s than 1810s to me, but was gorgeous and covet-worthy nonetheless. I don't often find designs in knitting books that I want to make as written!

Yet another WIP

Yes, Peggy, they are striped. :)

I mentioned a month or so back that I had something distracting me that I couldn't post about yet. Well, the time has come that it looks like I can finally come clean and public about it, so I am!

As of today, I am thirteen weeks pregnant. I'm due more or less the first half of June, assuming everything goes well. Other than as-yet unpredictable morning sickness (will I be functional today or not? let's spin the wheel and see!), I'm doing ok. I think I'm out of things to say about it right now! Nothing exciting, other than the fact itself, which is as it should be.

I LOL'd.

Image via icanhascheezburgr.com

So Josh came home to this pic today, on his regular post-work cruise of assorted intarweb stuff (I get it all day on Google Reader). His first comment? "Block your cat!"

After I finished hooting, I had to explain that most "muggles" don't call it blocking...

Baaaa!

I feel like a sheep. So many people (who all live in colder climes than I do) are making and posting about gorgeous mittens; ok, mostly just Stephanie and Norma. But I've been bitten by the bug nevertheless... too bad I own one pair of mittens, which I only use about 3 days a year! However, it occurred to me that my Dutch sister-in-law, who just moved up this summer from California and suffers from chill and damp pretty fiercely, might want a pair. Happily, she does!


Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in Cornflower and Iris
Needles: US 3 dpns (these are the largest dpns I own - I really need more sizes!)
Pattern: EZ's Mitered Mittens from Knitter's Almanac

Yay, I'll have something new to finally post to Zimmermania!

eta: I still want to make some fancy colorwork mittens.. but those will have to wait on money and shipping..

Not much going on..

..so I haven't had much to say. Been feeling ucky a lot, and not really doing much knitting in consequence.

I did reactivate my FFXI character, so I've been playing that happily.. and knitting here and there in the inevitable stretches of waiting.. but I've also been not playing a fair amount. Reading, reading is good, and leads easily to napping...

So yeah. The title pretty much says it all - not much going on chez moi.

But I thought I'd leave you all with a cute kitteh picture, courtesy of icanhascheezburger.

FFXI, how I miss thee...

I've spent large portions of the last 3 1/2 years playing a little MMORPG called Final Fantasy XI. We decided to cancel our accounts for this last month for a number of sound reasons, but I shortly began to really miss it. Not only do I still thoroughly enjoy the game itself, but a large portion of my social life is involved in it. So this afternoon I've spent several hours cruising Youtube, jumping from video to video, trying to satisfy my thirst for this long-standing activity of mine, and to pass the time until a few days from now when I can reactivate my account.

The above video is in no way representative of actual gameplay, and I wouldn't ordinarily listen to the song for more than a few seconds, but it does give a bit of a feel for the sense of community, as well as showing pretty well the gorgeous graphics of the game. Besides, I really like the video as a whole, and have for years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Hrmm.

You spin me right round, baby, right round...

But first, another sewing installment. Not the most flattering picture ever, and the dress needs a good pressing, but meh. I'd started refurbishing this gown - one of my earliest renditions of a cotehardie - back in June, when I didn't have a camera to record the "before". Basically, after ten years of adoring this gown, the long sleeves were shredding, and I was tired of the neckline treatment. So I pulled the sleeves off and made new ones, then picked the black linen border off the neckline and cut the front down two inches in the middle. Aaaaaaand then I got distracted and didn't finish the neckline until today when I had some ENERGY!!! I could probably stand to go over the seams and check for popped stitches, but again, meh. The skirt is actually quite full, more so than it appears in this picture - it stands out better with the correct undergarments (in this pic it's just a bra and yoga pants). Properly I should be wearing a chemise and kirtle underneath, and possibly false sleeves pinned on at the shoulder. The gown itself is a lovely handkerchief weight linen that has survived the wear and tear of ten years of abuse astonishingly well. The seams at the shoulders and armscyes are wearing; when I stitched the new sleeves in, I had to sew the new seam a couple of millimeters in so the it wouldn't simply tear out again instantly. All in all, it's great for the kind of summer weather you don't see much of here in Oregon. :/ However, given enough correct under- and overgarments, it should do all right here, as well.

Construction details: I adapted a commercial princess-line dress pattern to have a longer skirt, and originally a higher neckline - I think this refurb put the neck basically back where the original pattern had it. The seams were sewn by machine to begin with, and the original neckline serged (I had a friend who let me borrow hers occasionally), but all repairs and alterations since have been by hand. Because of the way I adapted the commercial pattern, the skirt was originally fairly narrow. I added the black gores (and the black neckline no longer extant) to honor my foster father, whose colors are yellow and black, as well as general decoration and skirt-widening. I was asked to march as a part of the procession (along with his other adopted daughters) when he was awarded his Pelican, the highest SCA award for service. Now, with the navy sleeves, the dress looks pretty Halloween-y; maybe I'll wear it for dress-up this year. I wouldn't make another "cotehardie" in this manner again; I've learned a great deal about patternmaking and construction in the decade or so since I made this, and all the gowns I've made or refurbished since show my improving knowledge. However, this remains a favorite gown because it's so incredibly comfortable and well-fitting - there's even room to let the bust and waist out a bit if I get any curvier!

On to the spinning!


This is 52 yards of the Icelandic/Red Mohair roving I bought at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Fest, spun and plied. Please note, this is my first plied yarn! I still need to set the twist, though. It came out a fairly dense sport-type weight - not too bad for having been aiming for fingering weight! I don't know wraps per inch, I didn't have a ruler handy. It's not the most even spinning ever, but although it's perceptibly thick and thin, I'm fairly pleased with it, and also pleased how the plying more or less evened it out. The color reads overall as a sort of oatmeal; the Icelandic wool is a pale gray-tan, and the mohair is reddish brown - so if you look close, it's oatmeal with cinnamon stirred in. :)

And Now for Something Completely Different.

I've spent entirely too much time today writing long emails back and forth with Ann, and she's got me going on a project I'd kinda been inspired to do, but the inertia... Anyway, I originally started this blog to talk about my costuming projects, which you may still see if you look at the nice list on the left and open up the very earliest entries. I have quite a number of finished medieval costumes in my closet (and others, but mostly medieval) because of my interest in the SCA. I also have a few garments half-finished or in the middle of modifications, but we won't go there today. It's not pretty.

Instead, I have for your delectation one of my favorite wool tunics, only recently restored to me. It's a true, brilliant red, something digital cameras have a hard time capturing. I fulled the fabric before cutting the pieces out, so it's quite warm and cozy, and entirely hand-stitched - although I'm pretty sure it needed a few... reinforcements? before I was quite done. It certainly needs them now! It also spent the last three years in a plastic bag on my mother's garage floor, with a few other garments, so it's pretty crumpled and even a bit motheaten. :( As you will see from the photos, it's technically a WiP, because I have never finished the embroidery, but I may never finish that during the life of the garment, and I have never let it stop me from wearing the tunic!


This tunic could have been worn anywhere from Roman times up to the sixteenth century or so; in the last couple of centuries, it would have been more of a working class garment than a fashionable one. The embroidery design is from a Dover book of Celtic knotwork transfer designs, possibly this one. The embroidery itself is executed in silk floss, in backstitch for the outlines and chainstitch for the fill. The neck is lined about four inches deep with linen, quilted to the surface for stability.


Yes, that is a needle poked through the work. I always figured that if I didn't give myself permission to wear it while I was embroidering, I'd never get to wear it! It does mean I have to be careful with my hugs while wearing the tunic. I'm not quite certain how I'm going to finish the colors... but that's the fun of it all! I've always thought it would be fun to fill in the eyes with some kind of semiprecious stone bead, like my favorite garnet, but that's a ways off.

A Rainbow of Socks!

I haven't posted recently because I'm pretty distracted with a big chunk of life right now. Maybe I can post about it soon.

In the mean time, I was putting my socks away after washing a couple of days ago, and realized that I can do the classic ROY G BIV with them - well, I wore the greenurple ones yesterday, so they're not in this picture... but you get the idea. :)

Still here.

I meant to post last Saturday, after having a blast at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Fest, but I got my pictures all wibbly (trying to post them, not the pictures themselves) and gave up from exhaustion. I keep meaning to post.. I do have pics, both of the stash I acquired and of the people (including the lovely and brilliant Peggy and her adorable boys), and someday I will post them! I promise! But this week I've had some life rear up and grab me, and it has been both distracting and fatiguing, so I have not done so yet. Maybe I'll just post the pics to Flickr and post a link here...

Spun out...

How is it that time slips away so fast when you're trying to figure out what to do with yourself? It's almost 10 days since I last posted, and I feel like I've done nothing in that time. That's not true, of course - just look at my pile of F.O.s and almost F.O.s.. I'm almost done with my Celtic Swan socks;just need the toe on the second, and I suppose I should see about washing and blocking them - as much as I ever block socks, that is. I made a hat out of the gorgeous Merino/Tencel I won in that MasonDixon contest, and I'm almost finished with a Scholar Collar-type scarf out of the rest. I figure I"ll just use the rest of the ball on the scarf, and it'll be nice and snuggly.



I promise, it's much longer now!



I've been haunting the spinning section on Knittyboards lately, and this morning dug out the basket with my spindle and wool. After pulling out a section of the last fluff of a chunk of sliver I had, and reminding myself how to spin, I got the carders out as well as the random fleece I was given... um... musta been at that Stitches about 4 years ago? I'm not sure what kind of wool it is, but I"m beginning to suspect merino, given its softness and the shortness of the locks. I carded three rolags and spun them, and really surprised myself with how much I"ve picked up about controlling my draft and such.





I'm really looking forward to going to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival next weekend. While the monies are low, I'm kinda hoping to pick up a couple of tools - like a nostepinne, and maybe another spindle or a Viking comb - and some spinnables.

Hot Diggity!

I am such a good cook. I say this not because I'm bragging (much), but because I am. For dinner tonight I made Leek and Potato soup, with flatbread (made from homemade pizza dough) on the side. YUM! a big bowl of soup for each of us later, and I had enough left over to put TWO containers in the freezer!

It's really too bad I don't have the energy (mental, physical, whatever) to cook like that every night. I wish I did. We would eat so much more healthily if I did!

Amy Carpenter's Round Dishcloth. A very easy, pleasant knit, even when I found I needed to make seven sections, not six or five, to make it lie flat.

I am so enjoying having a camera again!