Friday, October 26, 2007

More Knitting on TV

I saw knitting on two shows this week. First, a female character on Carpoolers or Carpooling? was knitting.

And a character on South Park was knitting! I can't remember if it was the most recent episode or an older one. And I can't remember which character it was. I am guessing it was Mrs. Scotch, Butters's mother. She seems to me the most likely candidate. ETA: It was NOT Mrs. Scotch, but an old lady on the bus w/ Cartman during last week's episode. (Thanks to the girls on Ravelry's South Park a Teers group for reminding me!)

That's all!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Knitting Saves the Day

I watched the last 15 minutes of the new ABC show Pushing Daisies last Wed. It was kind of cute. But what really caught me was that a male character, a detective, who doesn't enjoy knitting in public, says the voice over, but who always carries needles lest he encounter a dropped stitch (or something along those lines), pulled out a pair of long metal needles to poke through the body bags that he and two others were tied up and stuck in and about to die in a crash test car.

So the knitting dude saved them all!

I don't know too much else about the show, though it did seem cute. I'll try to catch a whole episode next time.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

My Wedding Quilt

This is the quilt my mother made for G and me for our wedding. I adore it. (This is not turning into a quilt blog, I just happen to have a few quilt-related posts lately.)

IMG_1882

My wedding was last summer, but the wedding quilts are usually about a year late. I didn't mind! It was something to look forward to! I requested the beige and white color theme and I am so blown away by how beautiful it came out! It is pretty and girly enough for me w/o being too pink for G! It looks so lovely in our sunny, white bedroom. And it will look so pretty under other quilts. I want to have a bunch of "accent" quilts to change it up throughout the year. For example, in December, I could drape over it the Christmas quilt that mom made for my wedding shower. Also, I am working on a pink and green quilt that will be pretty over it in the spring. And if I someday make something with oranges for fall, it will look nice too.

IMG_1883

Here's a close up of the center log-cabin motif:

IMG_1884


I absolutely love it!

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Some UnSock WIPs

This scarf has been taking up a lot of my knitting time.

IMG_1907

It is the Easy Flame Lace scarf by Wendy at Knit and Tonic.

Close up:

IMG_1908

The yarn is Malabrigo. I am using my Knitpick Options size 4.

The pattern is easy and so lovely. It's good TV knitting, but not so good for group knitting (which for me, requires a virtually think-free pattern!). It's to be a Christmas gift for my step mother-in-law. I hope she likes it. I can't imagine she won't, but, in truth, I don't know my father-in-law and step-mother-in-law very well. (I've only met them twice: once when all three sets of parents gathered in Baltimore to meet each other before our wedding and then AT our wedding. But the little time I did spend with them was really great. G is much closer to his mom and step-dad, so we spend Christmas there, and Thanksgiving is for my family. Having all the parents in three not neighboring--to us or each other--states means we can't do a Christmas Eve one place and Christmas day at the other. Hopefully we can make a trip to his dad's next spring. In the meantime, this scarf is my way of saying: I think you are neat!)

I'm also working on an easy triangle shawl with some Noro Blossom, purchased at Stitches East 2006.

IMG_1902

I was guilted into starting it before Stitches East 2007. I love the bright, friendly colors. And it will be nice and warm to wrap up in during the winter. This is my big project but I really want to start a sweater. Since it is stalled (I really should order a longer cable from KP), I might just have to start a sweater ...

IMG_1904

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Socktoooooberfest!

The other night, I was gathering my sock yarn (if I saw it all together, I could decide what socks to work on this month ... or that was my theory anyway). It was bedtime and I was waiting for the bathroom, so why not be productive, right? Since I was in the other bedroom, G asked "what are you doing?" When I said that "Socktoberfest starts tomorrow and I needed to get organized," he broke out into a long song-like "Socktoooooooooberfest." It had me in giggles.

Well, the organizing and photographing of my sock yarn did NOT help me decide what to do, yet.

Here they are:

IMG_1895

Part of me thinks I should start socks with the Trekking XXL (top row, pink and green) b/c that was my first sock yarn purchase EVER, in April 2006. But I am really drawn to the atumnal orange Dream in Color (top row, left) that is my most RECENT sock yarn purchase. But I bought the blue and Tess Designer Yarn (bottom row, in a ball) at Stitches East last year and Stitches East this year is just a week away, so wouldn't it be good to use that up?

But since I am working on a lace project, I also like the idea of using the Lorna's Laces worsted (white, gray and tan, second from right) b/c it would be fast socks and a nice break from the teeny yarn. Plus, there's a pretty pattern for cabled socks in One Skein that uses LL worsted.

I do have a couple of pairs of socks on the needles. These DK-weight socks (Colinette Cadenza) are my plane project. These basic ribbed socks on wooden needles have been my travel project for the past couple of months. They are stalled now b/c I don't have any trips until Thanksgiving. I could just finish these up and have a Christmas gift ready (or keep them myself).

IMG_1900

And I love the yarn I won from Knitpastis. I started a Roza's sock (from Summer Interweave Knits), but haven't gotten past the top rib yet. I need to use smaller needles or it will be too big. And I am no longer certain I want to do this pattern. I love, love, love, this yarn! I really want to find the perfect pattern.

IMG_1898

I need help.

(I think I found some help on the Socktoberfest Flickr group, in this discussion. Some great ideas for patterns that work nicely with variegated yarns.)

But still how to decide what yarn???