Kitchen Stories
(****)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
fun! (****)
The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman
i love documentaries about hollywood in the 60's and 70's. (****)
since i've posted about shoes.
i just ordered these Stephane Verdino lace-ups. whenever i buy clothing or shoes online i always say to myself, 'i'll probably send them back.' that only happens about 20% of the time.
if i keep these that means i'll need a crisp, new pair of skinny jeans.
the real problem with buying things is that one purchase begets another.
i designed this sock for Scout's Indie Swag Club in 2007. i am now making the pattern available for purchase!
stats:
skill level: experienced beginner (if you can knit a basic sock, you can knit this!)
gauge: 32 sts/ 4 inches
yarn: 100 grams of fingering weight sock yarn
needles: US size 2 double points
price: $4.50
pdf file will be sent by email within 24 hours of receipt of payment.
the sleeves are attached and i'm well on the way to completion. pretty soon i'll need to start moving half the stitches to another needle so that i can try it on and see what's what. i'm terribly nervous that something is wrong. i have no real reason to think that other than the fact that a project this involved and labor intensive always seems destined to have some fatal flaw that will involve hours of meticulous stitch by stitch unknitting and then laboriously re-knitting them again. i'm keeping my fingers crossed. even though i surely won't be wearing this for another two and a half months, i am eager to be done with it.
no new news. thanks to Sola for turning me on to Skins and Gavin and Stacey! i think both shows are destined to make it on to regular Tivo rotation. carry on!
the amazing, technicolor dream smock is coming along. sleeve #1 is done and dusted. casting on for sleeve #2 today. err... maybe tomorrow. i wish i could get motivated to get on with it because the fun doesn't really begin until you get to the yoke. i have some interesting ideas in mind, but we'll have to just wait and see how it plays out.
lack of good television definitely means less knitting for me. it's really the dead season now, isn't it? my tivo has practically retired. i am loving that Don Draper. i don't think there's been a more fascinating (and good-looking) character on television since Six Feet Under's Nate Fisher. what is better than Mad Men? Weeds has been pretty good, too. Still getting my weekly dose of Anthony Bourdain, but that's really about it for television now, isn't it? if you're watching something great, please leave it in the comments. i've been filling in the blanks with whatever's showing on BBC America. i've become obsessed with Top Gear, which is odd since i don't drive, but whatever. The Graham Norton show is great, but that's been showing reruns, too. i've seen every episode of Dr. Who at least 3 times. Project Runway is a bit of a snooze fest this season. grr... i guess i've been spending less time watching the tube & knitting and more time reading. not a bad thing, but my needles are starting to wonder if i've got another craft on the side.
it may be a couple of months before my brain recovers from what has been an endless summer. maybe when it cools down a bit i'll be able to come up with something clever. carry on.
that's right. it's 1:45 pm and a record low of 79 degrees! it hasn't been 79 degrees at this time of day since like April or May or something. seriously. i feel like celebrating! which for me, on a Tuesday afternoon, would mean squirelling away in a dark pub with a fish & chips and a pint or 3. sounds degenerate, right? not so much considering that i almost never drink at night. you see if imbibe just before going to bed i can't sleep. and when i don't sleep i'm a total wreck and absolutely useless the next day. so, if i'm going to drink, i like to do it during daylight hours so that i can be sober when i go to bed. oh, the joys of being self-employed! (a friend just called and wants to go out for a little afternoon knitting + beer. perfect!).
i feel i've been a bit remiss in not posting any photos of josephine and the amazing technicolor dream smock. the thing is that it's just a big stripey blob until i add the sleeves and i'm only 2/3 of the way through sleeve #1. i'll spare you the boring stripey details.
i designed this square for a group knitting project underway on the Yarnplayaers group on Ravelry. now if i could only a knit another 19 or so we'll be in business! i'm off to find a knitting project that can hold its own alongside a Stella or two....
i hate to be a complainer. truly, i do. but when you're on day 38 of an excruciating heatwave and the temps are predicted to reach 104 degrees before the week is over, it's hard not to bitch and moan about pretty much everything. why don't i just get it all out so that i can make way for more pleasant conversation? i've had to endure allergies turned sinus headaches turned cluster headaches for the past couple of months. migraine, shmigraine. a cluster headache is enough to make you want to stick an ice pick in your eye and be done with it. the constant AC (and you can't survive without constant AC) only aggravates the situtation. i seem to be able to manage without it for a few hours in the morning and a few hours around sunset, but anything beyond that is torture. i've been having acupuncture and taking chinese herbs and i seem to finally be getting some relief. it appears that this cluster headache cycle is winding down. and that can't happen soon enough because i've been avoiding alcohol, so as not to trigger a headache. and who doesn't want to drink a nice, cold Stella when it's a gazillion degrees outside? i plan on breaking my fast tomorrow when i'll enjoy a champagne happy hour with a friend who's visiting from L.A. let's hope it doesn't end with me lying in bed, on painkillers, with a heating pad on my face.
i'm knitting as best as i can. josephine and the amazing technicolor dream smock is just about at the armholes. since it's going to be a yoke sweater, it's just about time to put the body aside and start the sleeves. i always get a little stalled when there's math ahead and i haven't worked out the sleeves yet. it's hard to get motivated to do it when you can't imagine that it could ever possibly be cold enough to wear a sweater again. seriously. right now, 70 degrees would feel like full on winter and oh, i don't see us reaching that low for quite some time.
it's way too hot for me to do anything that involves being outdoors during daylight hours. i've been reading voraciously, watching lots of french films on DVD, and catching what little is left of the summer television season while dreading the weeks to come when there will be nothing much to watch until the fall season begins. So You Think You Can Dance is almost done. Project Runway, Weeds, and Mad Men are all that's left. are you watching any cool shows that i don't know about?
bandanas have suddenly become a part of my regular ensemble. more than 30 minutes of unfiltered sunlight sucks every last bit of moisture out of my hair and leaves it with the texture of a brillo pad. i've never seen anything like it! if there's a product out there that can combat extreme sun damage, please tell me about it!
a summer vacation seems entirely out of the question. i feel compelled to hold on to every spare dollar in case of total financial apocalypse. it's scary out there.
and don't even get me started about the general state of national and world affairs. it's so depressing. and so many people's lives are being completely turned upside down. so, i'm just going to count my blessings, keep cool as best i can and pray for rain (and better television).
i think i'm done now. =)
• i'm plodding along on the joesphine and the technicolor dream smock. loads of stockinette, which i certainly don't mind, but i'm getting a little impatient for something to happen. i have another 3 inches to go before i reach the armhole. i think i'm going to do a half-sleeve. well, that's the plan. we'll see how it goes.
• i will be posting a sock pattern for sale in a few days. speaking of patterns, today is the last day of the super summer blowout sale.
• there is fantastic review of Yarnplay At Home on Craftnicity. it will be followed up by an interview, which i think will be posted tomorrow.
• i'm hoping to get an Etsy shop up and running within the next month or so. i just need to get around to ordering some labels. if you have any sources for good, inexpensive, woven labels, please let me know.
• So You Think You Can Dance has me on the edge of my seat. Thursday nights just kill me. my favorites, in no particular order - Joshua, Twitch, Will, Katee, and Chelsea, but i'm really all about the boys. who do you think is going home this week?
• i'm so glad that Project Runway is back! i think is Korto is fantastic, and god is she gorgeous!
• counting the days until the return of Mad Men!
from today through tuesday, july 22nd, buy 1 sweater or tank pattern and receive a 2nd pattern (of equal price or less) for free. the available patterns are bibi,lisette, marlo, back in black, tulip, rock opera, jolie laide and bejeweled. please check the pattern for price, sizes and all pertinent info. no book patterns are offered in this deal. once you have made your purchase through paypal, email me with the subject line: 2nd pattern, and tell me which pattern (of equal price or less) you would like to receive for free. happy knitting!
check out liz's beautiful Bibi-in-progress. you know you want to knit this sweater!
listening to: Shri Guru Gita
eating: farmer's market peaches with no rBST, no rBGH yogurt.
wearing: Marc Jacobs Violet
feeling: hazy and heat weary
reading: The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley
watching: Les Diaboliques
loving: John Galliano's 2008 couture collection for Christian Dior
doing: optimistically knitting a wool sweater that i won't be able to wear for another 4 months.
