Eye Candy Friday

Ugh, Blogger is kinda apeshit today.

I can't seem to get my head wrapped around any of the projects I want. I cast on for one and completed 24 stitches of the first row before I went all "Hey, look, a chicken!" and wandered off on it. Then there's the sock. And the blocking that needs to happen on Mom's shawl. And then there's the project I started last night, a truly experimental mess that could end up really fun - it's a birthday gift for a friend who, however unlikely it may be, could wander on here....so it has to wait.

Non-traditional eye candy....my kids, and then a tale.

I love how Rooster gets all jazzed every time I open the blinds.


I love how Bitty's all blurred (cause she CANNOT stay still) and Rooster's sniffing her paw like, "Um, excuse me, you're not putting DIRTY paws up on MY windowsill, are you?!"

Last night I had dinner with a girlfriend at a little Vietnamese noodle place. Right before we left, the lady seated directly behind me ordered dinner - only she didn't want the noodles her order came with. She wanted the "hearty" noodle. If that didn't crack me up enough - the server wasn't entirely sure what noodle to which she was referring. So she had the server - and I swear to God I am not making this up - go into the kitchen and BRING HER A NOODLE.

This was TORTURE for someone like me. Seriously. I was shaking-crying-stomach-hurting (mostly-silent) laughing. I almost peed.

You think she knew I was laughing at her?

Live, From Spoiled-Rotten Central!

Okay, there's a whole lot of drool-worthy fibers in this post. Don't say I didn't warn you.

First, I weighed my shawl and teensy scrap of leftover yarn to see if the skein had been short (then I'd be able to go back to Handmaiden and ask for a kickback). I couldn't figure out how I could have run out of yarn.

In the interest of exonerating Handmaiden and Fleece Artist:

You win, Handmaiden. I suck.

Next! Here is the latest - so yummmmy......


Click either for detailed view.
Project Stats:

Pattern: Luxe Neckwarmer from Knit 2 Together
Yarn: Handmaiden Cashmere 8-Ply (I'm on a Handmaiden roll!)
Needles: Size 9 Addi Turbo circs
Started: October 2 (just the cast-on and a couple of rounds)
Finished: October 3 (This could easily be a night-of-TV knit.)
Changes/Thoughts: Just knitted til I ran out of yarn. Even if it did take me eons to do, I loved the cable cast-on. I don't use that one much - I usually do the long-tail 'cause it's quick, even though it's not the best choice. Great quickie pattern - not sure how useful it'll be in Florida, but it's the perfect way to use a precious skein with limited yardage (80m).

In case the Sea Silk shawl and the cashmere neck warmer doesn't make me look fiber-snobby enough (and I assure you it's normally much cheaper around here):


Check out what Alyson found in her post office box today, baby. There you have four skeins of Tilli Tomas in Ruby Wine from Sarah's (there's a pattern in Knit 2 Together I've already earmarked for this yarn). And of course, because I'm hooked, more Handmaiden Sea Silk - in Ocean and Autumn - from Colorsong Yarns. I've spent the last fifteen minutes just dragging all this stuff across my face. (And sniffing. I admit it - I'm a sniffer.)

If that's not enough, Sarah sent along a color card or two. Or eight. Lambs, merinos, silks, cashmeres, silk/wool blends, silk/cashmere blends...


This is what we call "enabling," boys and girls. Can you say that? E-N-A-B-L-I-N-G.

Ugh....I'm off to cut up my debit cards and cancel my Paypal account before it's too late.

FO, FO, I Have An FO!!!

But it's not the FO I'd planned on...that'll be tomorrow's post.

When we last saw our hero....

Shortly after this photo cuts off, so does the yarn for the bind-off. But it's lookin' pretty good up to there, eh?


I love those nupps! (And they weren't nearly as difficult as I was expecting - just a p5tog, not so bad after all!)


Look at me! I'm happy! I'm binding off, without buying another skein of yarn! Aija clued me in to the ol' crochet cast-off. Um...duhr! You'd think it might have occurred to me at some point...but nope! Thank goodness for her!


Okay, I don't have the same flexibility in the edges, but I think it'll block out pointy enough. And if it doesn't....well, I hate to be like this but.....it ain't me who's gonna be wearing it!! (I think it's gorgeous either way.)


(The color's off in the above photo, but the pattern definition is good.)

Project Details
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk in Capri
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl from Fall '06 Interweave Knits
Needles: Size 6 Susanne's Ebony circ
Start: September 10
Finish: October 3 (officially)
Changes: Due to the yarn shortage, I removed the last two rows of the lace edging, then changed the bind-off and did the crochet cast-off instead. (And yes, I do plan to block the thing, I just figure it might be a while, so I wanted to post the stats before I forget them.)

Thoughts on the pattern - uh, LOVED IT! If there weren't 47 other things I was planning to knit in the next month, I'd love to knit it again.

Finally: this cracks me up. 'Tis the season for my favorite kind of ice cream, which I can't find any time other than Christmas...and turns out that I've been eating it all wrong. See the serving suggestion:


Get that? Alright, I gotta go - time to knit a scarf for my ice cream.

Oh! Hello!

(See, you have to picture me walking by a camera like I totally didn't know it was there, then stopping suddenly as if I'd just seen an old friend. I love when they do that in film. It's hammy - and I LOVE hammy. You should know me. I am QUEEN of Ham. As you can clearly see.)

So yeah....I'm just electing to pretend my Swallowtail never existed right now. I let my mom know she might not have the shawl when I had hoped. She may have it in time for her birthday, but I'll have to mail it. (The AGONY of making something breathtaking and not getting to see the look on the recipient's face. Boo!)

I've emailed the person from whom I obtained my skein. In my perfect fantasy world, she bought five skeins, used three-and-a-half, sold the whole leftover fifth to me, and still has 200 yards just lying around. (Please don't spoil my sunny optimism. It is so rare...) And Nancy from Colorsong made lovely offers to ship what yarn I can scrap together back to Handmaiden, where they will dye-match it to create another skein for me. Which is what I'll do if all else fails...but for now I'm scrambling around looking for scraps. However, I was so steadfastly impressed with Nancy and how lovely and sympathetic she was, I immediately purchased two more skeins of Sea Silk from her. (Autumn and Ocean, if you're wondering.)

I picked up Knit 2 Together on Sunday. I've already started a project from it, and have plans for another. There's not as much exposition as I'd expected (which was somewhat disappointing, since Tracey Ullman is so awesome,) but there are quite a number of really charming and classy (and a few silly!) patterns. Worth a look.

I'm back on my Eleanora socks (finally!) They're a Christmas present, so I have to get them done. It's about that time - gotta start focusing on others.

It was killing me to not have an FO in so long, though, so I should have a little scrappy something to show you tonight. (And I guess I could go ahead and take photos of Swallowtail in her current state. She's being so dignified about this whole thing, and she deserves a reward.)

Blink. Blink Blink.

I finished the shawl tonight.

Sort of.

I cropped out the last two rows of the peaked edging chart. I did the final two rows, and I started binding off.

I ran out of yarn.

I RAN OUT OF YARN.

I could weep. I didn't run out of yarn and have a gauge swatch to rip back. I didn't run out of yarn I could trot down to the LYS and pick up for seven bucks.

I ran out of a backordered-for-nine-weeks, $35-for-475-yards-and-you-only-need-nine-yards-to-finish yarn. I don't NEED 466 yards of this stuff lying around. I've already worked this colorway! Time to move on! And I had planned to enter this shawl in a show. (Just for fun.) Then give it to my mother for her birthday. (I've emailed Colorsong in the hopes that they'll be getting some in sooner. Or would be willing to throw me a bit of Capri they might have stashed, in exchange for an order - I want tons more of this yarn....but not in Capri!!!)

And if I'd known I was going to run out of yarn anyway, I wouldn't have shortchanged the pattern! This should have worked! Vanessa knit hers on larger needles and still had a ton of the stuff left over!! What...???

Please, does ANYONE have a clump of Sea Silk in the Capri colorway lying around?

I think I'm going to throw myself onto my needles now.