my life in stitches

sometimes you just can't help but whine

so as to avoid giving myself another forum in which to complain about the unrelenting heat, i have avoided posting. i mean, honestly, i have nothing else to talk about except how miserable i am that we've had triple degree temperatures for the past week and it's forecasted to continue for the next few days. aside from going out to teach a class, trips to whole foods, and walking my dog, i do not leave my apartment. seriously. it is just unbearable. so, what am i doing you ask? finishing up mimi's gloves, reading, watching films, and watching reality television. everything is just so good right now.

here's the rundown:

so you think you can dance - i'm definitely hoping that benji takes it. i like travis, too, but i think benji is more fun to watch.

rockstar supernova - my money is still on dilana, though ryan has really been stepping up lately. lukas is really good too, but his attitude is a bit much for me. i just want to bitch slap him. but, truly, i only watch it to see tommy! seriously...

dave navarro's blog is sometimes entertaining.

project runway - michael! michael! michael! i think he is super talented. while angela's dress was great last week, i am so ready to see her go. vincent, too. ugh.

and that's all the reality tv that i care to admit to watching.

when i move or the weather breaks (whichever comes first) i'll return to having a normal social life. carry on.

Rock Opera - fingerless gloves pattern

(for photos of gloves in progess, click on the gloves & mittens category beneath this post.)

get a head start on your fall / winter accessories! the Rock Opera Fingerless Gloves pattern is now available for purchase!

specs:

pattern has instructions for 2 sizes - S/M and M/L
yarn: 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport
gauge: 6.5 sts / inch
finished length 16.5" (17/5")
price: $4.50, PDF file will be sent by email within 24 hours of receipt of payment.

tv knitting

i haven't been blogging, but i have been knitting! say hello to mimi's glove. i'm swapping the gloves for one of her amazing cloth dolls. i am so, so excited! (look for the glove pattern to arrive here sometime next month.)

i finished the back of Bobbie and i'm very leisurely knitting the front. unless the collar is outrageously long, i'm guessing i should have enough yarn to complete it.

in other news, i'm exercising, meditating, and dosing myself with Bach Flower Remedies in order to combat my summertime blahs. i won't even talk about the heat. let's just say i'm spending most of my time indoors. luckily, there's good tv right now. my reality tv favorites break down like this:

Mama, I Wanna Dance! i mean, So You Think You Can Dance - i have to go with Benji. i love this goofy kid.
Rockstar Supernova - Dilana. definitely Dilana.
Project Runway - Keith Michael. if i had a thing for gay boys, i'd have a thing for him!

ho, hum. what's new with you?

(the toes insisted on remaining in the shot.)

sweet.

i've almost finished di's gloves! yay! just a couple more inches on the hand and then i'll finish up the thumb and they will be packed up and sent on their way to australia. they are really fun to knit. i love the psychedelic pooling at the bottom. i'll post the pattern for sale in a week or two or even later, as i'm sure no one on this end of the globe will be in a hurry to knit a pair of gloves. i'm going to knit a pair for mimi in exchange for one of her amazing cloth dolls. i collected dolls when i was a kid and i have since lost all but one of them. it seems i've inadvertently started collecting them again. handmade dolls, this time. i just love them! i feel for the next man who makes his way into my bedroom. he is sure to wonder what kind of weird scenario he is in for, as it appears to be a room that could only be inhabited by some sweet and innocent jailbait. it's so saccharine and girly that it's ridiculous. strange how my aesthetic has changed so drastically. what's stranger is that i didn't really notice the shift from ultra-minimal to completely over-the-top cotton candy until just lately. is it irony? or has my inner tween taken over? god. what's happened to me? next thing you know i'll be hanging boy band posters over my bed. shoot me. (but, hey! don't hate me because i rock J.T.)

just so you know, i watch television so that i can entertain you with my outrage... sebastian b*ch is a pig, isn't he? pimping your wife behind closed doors is tacky, but on national television it's downright disgusting. what a train wreck! i felt bad for his wife, but she said she was willing to pose for those shots to please her husband, so whatever. i have no problem whatsoever with whatever ridiculous things consenting adults choose to do, but i think sebastian b*ch is a pig for putting his wife in that position. what will the kids think? tacky.

and once again i find myself agreeing with ted n*ugent. people in hell must be drinking iced water.

but, seriously, i don't really take anything i see on the tube that seriously. it's just funny and sadly entertaining. carry on.

glove accompli

most people read books when they want to learn how to do something that they've never done before. i, on the other hand, simply muck about until i figure it out how to make it work. this was my first gusset / thumb experience. since the last photo i had to rip the whole thing back to just before the gusset and begin all over again. my previous thumb was too tight. this time i used a knitted cast on and added a couple extra stitches, then i picked up a few stitches around the gap where the two sides of the thumb come together. voila! glove accompli! however, the real problem with gloves (and socks and sleeves) is that there is always a second one.

in completely unrelated news, i can't believe they killed off m*scha barton! there's no show without the ever pouty and pitiful marissa!

mam, just step away from the gusset!

just the word 'gusset' sounds like something really awful. and believe me when i tell you, it is! this little glove was going along swimmingly until the gusset happened. wonky increases, then the needle was too small, then too few stitches! ugh. i've taken it out at least 4 times today and reknit it. grrr... okay. i am taking a step back. i am leaving it alone until tomorrow. nothing like being foiled by 21 lousy little stitches.

we are all fine here

guess whose scarf vickie is wearing on the cover of Not Another Teen Knitting Book?!

just checked out vickie's new book yesterday. it is super cute. my photo in the book, however, is not. i seem to have really rotten luck with book photos. in this book the image has been cropped and is weirdly stretched out, making my face look super long. for debbie stoller's 'Stitch N Bitch' i submitted a photo of me wearing a sweater that i designed. that photo was cropped, so you don't really see the sweater at all and my face just looks really puffy and awful. eh. hopefully, i'll have better luck with my book jacket photo!

i am nearing the finish of glove numero uno for di. Back In Black should be finished shortly. well, the knitting at least. i am dreading picking up all the stitches around the neckline for the finishing. picking up stitches on black fabric, knit at a fine gauge, is not exactly my favorite thing to do. i plan on making the pattern available for sale. hopefully, with a wider range of sizes than Tulip. we'll see...

(by the way, if you are knitting Tulip, please let me know. i would love to see in progress photos!)

i really want to work on some things for my home - rugs, cushion covers. however, i am determined to finish at least one of my current projects before casting on for something else!

my quilting adventures will continue on wednesday when i'll have some friends over for an evening of craft. it is so strange for me to have no idea what i'm doing and to have feel like i need to have my hand held throughout the entire process! i'm really good at being good at something, but i'm lousy at being a novice!

look! i've been knittin', kitten!

Back In Black is not much to look at in this state, is she? so difficult to photograph black. to be quite honest, i'm getting a little sick of her. however, i won't be defeated!

i finally cast on for di's fingerless gloves! hurray!
i love, love, love this colorway of Lorna's Laces. it's Vera.

thanks very much for all the lovely birthday wishes!

not much to say today, so i'll be on my way!

melly's new gloves!

here's a pic of miss melly wearing the gloves i knit for her. doesn't she look fabulous?!

the glove you gotta love!

next project

i will be using this:

to make these fingerless gloves:

for melly and myself. she will create a lovely piece of artwork for me in exchange! how lucky am i!