drew-o-rama

YOU LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME!

I can't deny the fact you like me - right now, you like me! You really like me!
-Sally Field, 1984 Oscars

I'd like to thank the Academy... Just as I was about to give up hope on my new blog, a certain silly wabbit goes and puts a totally awesome blurb on her blog about little ol' mouse. And because of it, the daily visits to this here mouse hole have risen times ten. You're a rock star. Thanks!

And to all of you out there who have visited my blog, thanks so very much. I am very inspired by your kindness and interest, and I hope you stop by often!

KNITTING AVEC TV/MOVIES

I have started seaming the Big Blue Sweater. I know I keep saying this, but this thing is really a behemoth. I have the shoulders seamed and one sleeve. I just started on the other sleeve. I am slowly discovering that I hate the finishing part of knitting. It's really funny, because...

... A few months ago, when I was at my parents, my mom got her yarn stash out and tried to pawn some of it off on me. (I did get a few good items, including two skeins of some sort of mohair blend as well as one skein of something that has a metallic thread in it.) She kept pulling out all these unfinished projects. All the pieces were knitted, but nothing was seamed. I gasped when she pulled out a gorgeous aran sweater, in a traditional cream color, with amazing cables and bobbles and all sorts of difficult knitting that was almost finished. I asked when she had knitted it and she said sometime when they lived in Minnesota. Um, my parents left Minnesota in 1969! So, it seems as though the anti-seaming gene runs in the family. I promise I won't keep any of you waiting that long for a finished project. I think I can finish my pieces before the decade ends.

While I was seaming, I was inspired by Becky, and decided to watch a movie. My selection was Amélie, which, je adore. There are so many amazing things about this movie. One of which is the art direction. Have you ever noticed that most of the movie is green and red, with an occasional bleu thown in? I also love how French it is, especially the characters/actors. They look so Gallic. Which, I am sure, is intentional.

Tonight, I also finished a few rows of the Funky Funnel-neck while watching some TV. This time I was watching a Japanese anime TV show called Magic Users Club. The show is really strage, centering around 5 high school students and the magic club they are part of. I told Fox, it's like tomacco... you don't like it at first, but then you can't get enough because you're addicted...

"YUMMY YARN"

I just got back from one of my LYSs to return the Rowan Summer Tweed. They would only give me store credit, so I bought three skeins of Noro Kureyon. When I came home I told Fox that I had bought some "really yummy yarn." I then paused and said, "That sounded really gay, didn't it." And he said, "That sounded über gay."

The yarn really is wonderful. I am not really digging the texture, but the colors are amazing. I am going to make some small, felted bags with it. I have the perfect mod, sixties material to line them with that I found at a thrift store a few years ago. I was inspired by Jennifer, who made a really great eyeglass case lined with cool, mod fabric. Perhaps I will put a zipper in one of mine. I have never felted anything before, so it will be an adventure.

I also started a square for the Afghan-a-long while I was waiting for Fox to get his hair cut. I don't have anything on needles right now after binding off the funnel-neck. I really should use this time to assemble the Big Blue Sweater, which I think I am going to do right now...

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Just some silly little thing that some of you might find interesting...

What was the last...
Book you read: I hate to admit this, but I am too fidgety to sit and read. I do have some patience to sit and flip through magazines. The ones I look through regularly are Dwell, Readymade and Everyday Food.
Movie you saw: Chicken Run
Movie you saw on the big screen: Mean Girls
Show you watched on tv: The Simpsons
Song you heard: Super Sprøde by Freezepop
Thing you had to drink: Sprite
Thing you ate: left over Indian from last night... Lamb Korma
Time you showered: This morning
Time you smiled: A few minutes ago
Time you laughed: A few minutes ago
Person you hugged: Fox
Person you talked to online: My friend Kevin
Person you talked to on the phone: Fox

Do you...
Sleep with stuffed animals? No
Play an instrument? Saxophone and any three-valved brass instrument... I studied music for brief period in college.
Believe there is life on other planets? Yes
Read the newspaper? Yes, the local alternative paper online
Believe in miracles? Mmmm, not really
Consider yourself tolerant? Yes, I'm very liberal and very open to people that are different from me.
Consider police a friend or foe? The cops aren't anybody's friend in the city where I live.
Believe in astrology? Not really
Believe in magic? No
Go to church? I did when I lived with my parents, but not now.
Have any secrets? A few
Have any pets? No, but I would like to have a whippet or a rescue greyhound.
Go or plan to attend college? I have an undergraduate degree in Graphic Design.
Talk to strangers? No. I am not the talkative type.
Have any piercings? No
Have any tattoos? No
Hate yourself? No
Wish on stars? Yes
Like your handwriting? Yes, I have the all-caps-designer-thing going on. But my signature sucks because it takes too long to write... my first and last name together has 22 letters. Plus, my Dad is a doctor, bad signatures must run in the family. Just kidding, Dad.
Believe in witches? No
Believe in ghosts? I'd like to say no, but I couldn't sleep for a few nights after seeing The Sixth Sense. I am also terrified of UFOs and aliens.

WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU MA'AM

I just finished the back of the funnel-neck sweater after starting over. I bought some better needles, size 11 and 13, and recast on. It went SO FAST! This time I added 12 rows of 4x4 rib. The large, slick needles and thick yarn made the sweater fly. For some reason, the photo makes the variegated yarn pattern look ugly. It really is a nice blue and off white. I am a bit concerned about the funnel neck and its size. I hope it's large enough to get over my sister's big Alien head*.

One reason the funnel-neck is going quickly is because I have been taking my knitting to work and working on it over lunch. I just go to a quiet part of the building with my lunch and sit and knit. I am a graphic designer in the marketing department of a private university, so summer can get pretty hectic getting ready for the new school year. It's nice to get away from everything. Knitting really relaxes me. It's great for stress. That's one of my favorite things about it. That, and it's very portable and doesn't require any clean-up.

Tomorrow, I am going to stop at one of my LYSs and return 3 skeins of Rowan Summer Tweed. This is the yarn I used for Tankerific. I really didn't like using this yarn for reasons I have stated in previous posts. I am hoping I can exchange it for some Rowan Calmer so that I can maybe make an Audrey for my friend GA.

I actually have 4 skeins left, but I can only return 3. Why you ask? Well, when I bought this yarn, I thought I needed more after I had left the shop and walked down the street a bit. So I returned to the shop, bought 4 more skeins and left. {cue light-hearted, comical music} I was holding them in my hand, accidentally dropped one, and stepped on it! DOH! So now it has foot print on it. Moral of the story, don't hold oddly shaped skeins in your hand. Put them in a bag.

*My mom didn't want us to have flat heads, so she layed us on our stomachs in our cribs. Yikes! Um, can somebody say SIDS? So, 3 out of 4 of her kids (including me!) ended up with oddly shaped heads. So one of my brothers and I think our heads look like the alien's head in the movie Alien.

WE'RE HERE, WE'RE KNITTERS, GET USED TO US!

Today was gay pride day in the city where I live. The main parade route was 1/2 block from my apartment. Fox and I went with our friend GA, who I work with and, coincidentally, live next to. She was the one I made Tankerific for. I shot a few photos of her wearing it today. We were sitting on a bench right outside of the fire station on the parade route. She says she would like to shrink it a bit more and I agreed. After the parade, we all went to a chili restaurant for a late lunch. Then, GA went home and Fox and I went to the pride festival and saw a bunch of friends.

Speaking of the parade and friends... I saw my friend who opened the shop, the one who I sent a card to. He was marching with the AIDS volunteer organizaion along with his boyfriend and their 1 year-old weimaraner. When he saw me on the sidewalk he yelled, "Thank you for the card. I got it yesterday. It was great."

This weekend I also blocked the sleeves for the Big Blue Sweater. This thing is a monster! The yarn is SO THICK. I think I am either going to split the yarn to sew the seams or use some other yarn altogether. I know I will have to split the yarn to weave in the ends. It should be a nice sweater, however. I think it will be heavy enough to use as a jacket in the autumn.

I was also able to cast on for the sweater that I am knitting for my sister. I have decided to use the "Funky Funnel-Neck Fun" pattern from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits. I am subsituting Rowan Chunky Print for the Crystal Palace Iceland that they suggest. The funnel-neck shape ist wundebar becuase I will not have to shape a neckline or pick up stitches to make the neck. I had to cast on three times, because the first time I started with a rib. I then realized I should use a smaller needle. So I started with #10.5s, got through 8 rows of 4x4 rib, went to switch to the #13s and couldn't get the stupid stitches on the honkin' needle. Finally, I started a third time with the #13s and skipped the rib. In the photo the material looks all wonky, it's not, it's just the fabric wasn't flatted enough when I shot the photo. You can see the irregularly spaced stitches on the needle.

CHICS AND CARDS

I finished the back of the ChicKami. I think I am going to wait to start on the front. This is the second tank in a row I have worked on and I am getting a bit tanked out. I had some trouble binding off - it was too tight. I did it a second time and it was better. I really am not used to #3 needles. They are really small!!

Yesterday, I got a call from my LYS about the remaining Rowan Chunky Print. They wanted to make sure they were ordering the right color. I think it's called "Deep End" or something like that. Speaking of missing yarn, Breiweb emailed me to let me know that they were late sending my order because they moved their business to a new location. My yarn will be sent this week... woohoo! I am so excited to start on Le Pull Tunisien from the Phildar 2003-2004 Hommes pattern book.

Also, thought all you crafty people might want to see some cards that I made tonight. The one on the left is a thank you card for my boss. He gave me a $100 gift certificate just to say thanks for all the hard work. Awwww. He's all, "go sports!," so I used some kitschy clip art from a soccer manual I found in a library sale a few years ago. The one on the right is a congrats/good luck card for a friend of mine who just opened a new boutique-y gift shop in one of those all-the-artists-are-living-there-now-but-will-soon-be-gentrified-neighborhoods that every reasonable sized city seams to have these days.

The cards are some cards that I had printed a few years ago that start out blank until I add a collage, drawing, run them through a pinter, etc. and then send off. I use them for all sorts of occasions. Everybody made fun of them at first, but now they like getting them. I like any excuse to be creative, so I don't mind customizing every card for every occasion.

A BLOCKING WE WILL GO...

Here are some photos of my Big Blue Sweater blocking. This is my first sweater I have knit. It just has taken me forever to block it. The pattern is from Anne Budd's book of patterns. The yarn is Lion Brand Thick and Quick. This sweater has so many mistakes it's funny. I made the M1 increases wrong on one of the sleeves, and I did something wrong with the selvedge on the back. The yarn made this sweater pretty heavy, so I really don't plan on wearing it other than around the apartment on a cold day. So, the mistakes don't bother me. I knit to realax, not to be an anal retentive crabby ass.

In the photo you can see the front and the back of the Big Blue Sweater. I will block the sleeves when the other pieces dry. By the way, this is pre-blocking. I am not letting them dry leaning against the wall, they are currently lying on the floor. *

I love my blocking boards! I got the directions from Knitty. They are Styrofoam instead of Homosote which the directions called for. I glued and stapled cotton tape around the edges then covered them in gingham print fabric. They work really well. I just put them in a closet when not in use. In this photo of my knitting table, er, dinning room table you can see them sitting on the floor in the background.

In the above photo, you can also see the UFO table lamp I bought at IKEA last weekend. It's tres cool. I got the gerbera daisies yesterday at Wild Oats during lunch. They were on sale; I thought it would be nice to have some fresh flowers in the apartment this weekend. (OH MY GOD, I AM SO GAY!)

I also got some work done on my ChicKami. Here is a photo of the boyfriend holding the yarn for me while I wind a new ball of the light blue. I have a few rows to go on the back and then I can start on the front.

I have just updated my Finished Projects photo album. There are not a lot of photos, but keep checking back and I will keep updating as I finish my projects.

* While I was blocking, there was an afternoon jazz concert going on the the park close to my apartment. The windows where open and I could hear the music in the distance. It was really nice. I love living where I do. (Becuase I want to remain anonymous on my other blog, I really can't tell you where that is... sorry.)

COOL YARN

Here is an artsy photo of the Rowan Chunky Print that I am going to use to knit a sweater for my Sister. I think she will look really great in the color. She has a lot of style, too, so I am sure she will make it look even better. The yarn is a substitute for Colinette Point 5 which is too expensive for me. The Chunky Print doesn't match the guage of the P5, so I am just going to use Anne Budd's pattern book and make a simple ol' sweater. The LYS where I bought it is excited to see how the finished piece looks, too, since they have never seen anything more than a scarf made out of the stuff.

TANKERIFIC!

So here is the photo of the finished tank that I promised earlier (go to Finished Projects for more). Once again it's from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits. I like the book, and the directions are easy to follow. Especially, the charts that follow you through the raglan and armhole shaping. My only beef with the book is the fact that all the yarns their patterns use are very expensive. I mean, I really don't have $225 to spend on 700 yards of yarn to make a sweater that I am not sure I am going to wear. But other than that, the patterns are really hip-tastic. I know they are also coming out with The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kids Knits which I may buy so that I can knit for my nephews and niece.

BONUS... here is a photo of the ChicKami that I am currently knitting. It's striperific. You should see all those ends I get to weave in! YAY! Cardi-Raye knit-alongers eat your hearts out. I didn't get to spend any time on it tonight because Fox and I spent time assembling my new sofa from IKEA. I was hoping to get through the beginning of the raglan shaping tonight.

NEW SWEATER?

OK, So I bought these cool pair of pants this weekend from Urban Outfitters. They are gray with little yellow pinstripes. They would be great with a patterned top for that hip bohemian look. Anyway, I am thinking about knitting this sweater from Rebecca #20 to go with the pants. I'm not sure about the red. Maybe in a gray and black.

I finished more of the ChicKami this weekend on a 5 hour car trip to Chicago with Fox (my boyfriend). I am up to the raglan shaping. (I promise I will post photos soon!) Adapting the pattern to work with straight needles has been easier that I had thought. Knitting on long road trips is fun. I'm not really a reader, so knitting is great for somebody like me who fidgets if he must sit in one place for long periods of time.

Check out the Colinette site. Love that Point 5! Too bad it's $25 a skein. If you go to "millshop" take a look at the "packs". Its a collection of ten random 1kg hanks of Colinette yarns collected by color. Too cool!

Also, no yarn from www.breiweb.nl! I am getting anxious to start on the Phildar sweater. I don't let myself work on more than two projects at once, and the ChicKami is starting to get a little old. Hmmm, maybe I will just have to go to the LYS and get some more yarn in the mean time...