Wonky Tea Cozy

I finished this tea cozy awhile ago, but never blogged about it. I used a knitty pattern, but didn't follow the directions exactly. I used a different yarn, Noro Kureyon, and once I started the decreases at the top, I did them more frequently than called for. In other words, I did fewer plain rows between decreases, because I was running out of yarn. Also, I didn't do the embroidery.



It didn't felt very well. This is after four or five washings. I first tried to wash it in zippered pillow case, but it wasn't felting at all, so I put it in a lingerie bag and that worked better. I washed it with old towels and used baking soda. I didn't take it out during the spin cycle, but it hardly matters b/c it didn't felt completely.

I've read that Kureyon doesn't felt very well, but I think others say it does. So who knows. Maybe I didn't knit loose enough. In any case, I probably won't be using Kureyon for another felting project.

But, even though it looks funny, it does fit over a regular sized teapot and keep the tea warm. And the colors are pretty! It does, however, need a shave.

So it works. I just probably won't be displaying it in a place of honor.

Other crafts

I worked on my quilt a bit this week. What quilt? you say. Yeah, that's how I feel about it too.



It was two years when my mom came to visit and, along with L, we went to a great fabric store in Annapolis and both L and I bought fabric to start a Yellow Brick Road quilt. We cut out strips and then we stopped. Fast forward to yesterday, and I needed to pack up my machine for our move. Well, I decided I couldn't pack it w/o using it a bit first. So I dusted if off (literally, I hadn't used it since last summer) and started to sew some of my strips together and did quite a bit of them.

I love the fabrics I have: all pinks and greens. I can't wait to work on it some more, but it will have to wait until after the move. I am hoping to set up a nice spot for it in the new house.

It'll be my sixth quilt, I think. Well, my first quilt doesn't really count because it was just two different fabrics. Plus I lost it. During one of my 10 or so moves in my 20s, it disappeared. I suspect an ex-boyfriend. So, my second quilt is a lovely strip quilt, mainly in purples. Mom let me "shop" in her stash so I only had to buy a border and back fabric. I love this quilt. It's a large lapquilt. I have also made one of those flannel lapquilts where the seams are on the outside, so the fray. It has a name ... but I forget. Sadly, these are both packed up, so I'll show pictures next month. And I've made two baby quilts, really cute! But I didn't take pictures.

And here is a bag my mom made for my birthday. I love it!



And here's some pictures of really old and beautfil bonsai trees from the National Arboretum. The green one has been "in training" (that is the term they used for the trees) since 1625.

8 Weird Things and 2 Socks

I finished G's socks, finally. He likes them very much and plans to wear them to our house closing next week. What a sweet dork. So the yarn is Ocean Mist from C*EYE*BER Fiber. But G has big, long feet (lucky me) and I ran out of yarn. Thankfully, I also bought a skein of the Riverbed colorway last fall at the Cloverhill booth at Stitches East. I could have made them shorter, but there was no way I was going to unravel these just so the toes would match. I like non-matching toes anyway. Of course, if I had done them toe-up I could have avoided this problem. But I like doing socks top down on DPNs. I'm not saying I'll never do the circular method in the future, but I like my DPNs for now.



What matters is he loves them, I like them and I am finished with them! I started the first sock in early Jan. Um, yeah, socks take me a long time. I did finish the first sock by Feb 13, but got stalled out on the second one. It's the darn cuff in k2p2 that kills me. I find the socks speed by once I finish the heel.

Also, every time I knitted these in public, I got tons of compliments. Erin makes pretty yarn. I think the colors look like islands in the ocean. I didn't use a fancy pattern, just a k2p2 cuff, basic heel flap and toe and knit the rest.

Now, the eight weird or random things. Heather tagged me for my very first meme. Also pheelya tagged me for the seven random things, list. This list covers both. Here goes:

1. I don't like to walk over sidewalk grates (like over a subway or sewer). I am afraid they'll break as I walk on them.

2. I used to eat sand when I was a baby, by the handful. My mother tried to make me stop, but I gave up.

3. I love the sloth bear baby at the National Zoo.

4. My k2togethers are nice and neat, but my ssk stitches look like crap.

5. I like to dip my french fries in ice cream. I like to eat pickles with cookies. Basically, I like to balance salty with sweet.

6. I decided to move to Baltimore after I had my tarot cards read at the Renaissance Faire. A bit of background: I had lived in my previous city for 10 years and I was ready for a change but I didn't know what to do. I spent Labor Day weekend here visiting my friend L and had a fabulous time. So it wasn't like I had a reading and the woman said "you have to move to Baltimore" and I did. It was more that the experience helped me realize how stuck I was and that I didn't have to be. I was keeping myself stuck, but why? Other than my job, I had nothing keeping me in that town. So I got home and within two days decided I was going to move just b/c I had so much fun here, it was something new and I was excited. I even got to keep my job and start telecommuting.

7. I still get dressed up like a wench and go to the Renaissance Faire every year. That is where G proposed. But we didn't have a Faire-themed wedding or anything. I am a big dork, but I draw the line.

8. The last song at my wedding was "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot. That wasn't the intended last song, but we had the reception in my parents' backyard and had to finish up the music at 10:00 p.m. G did all the music on iTunes and printed out a list of the songs so people would know what was coming up. My younger cousins, especially, loved this. But he overestimated the number of songs by an entire CD! So, when 10 o'clock rolled around, and we only had time for one more song, he asked me what I wanted. I looked at the list and said "Baby Go Back." Was there really any other choice? The best part was seeing my super religious uncle dancing to it. I assume he wasn't listening to the lyrics very closely.

Fingerless Garter Mitts

Here's a finished object to show off: the Fingerless Garter Mitts from One Skein. I used one skein of Koigu purchased online from Got Yarn. (I needed to buy a skein of something else and the shop had a minimum purhase. I knew I had a pattern for one skein of koigu.) I got some beads at Michaels. It was my first beading project.



Started: May 6
Finished: May 14
Yarn: Koigu
Pattern: Fingerless Garter Mitts from One Skein

It was a very easy knit, just garter stitch and then some seams to sew, which I am not very happy with. Sewing horizontal seams in garter is not very smooth.

Also, I am not sure how much I like the color. I love pink. I love purple. But together, they might be a bit too little girly.

The beading was fun. I want to do another beading project in the future. And they are cute. I will wear them, but probably not as often as my Fetchings.

Close up of the beads:


I also started a shawl for my mother. It is the Half Pi Shawl from Rosie Knits that I got at Stitches East last November.



I bought this yarn (some random hand dyed merino) from A Good Yarn in Fell's Point almost two years ago. It was going to be a Christmas present, twice. But now it will be for her birthday in July. I can't work on it this weekend though, because my parents are coming to visit! Yeah, so excited. G and I are planning various things to do. We're going down to D.C. on Saturday for a bit. My dad hasn't been to D.C. since he attended an anti-war rally in the 60s. We're going to a restaurant that has singing waiters. They sing showtunes, standars and opera. He loves opera.

We're also going to take them by the new house to at least see the garden. We close two weeks from tomorrow! I don't want to jinx anything, so I'll post a photo of the house after we have the keys. But until then, here is a little peak:

I just want to knit!

Maybe with some of these new purchases?







On Saturday at Maryland Sheep and Wool, I found myself sticking to a three-color palette of reds, greens and browns. I didn't buy any blues, which is what I normally gravitate towards.

During the first hour, I didn't think I would buy anything. It was my first time at MD S&W and I was very overwhelmed by the crowds, by the many, many booths. L and I sort of wandered aimlessly. We didn't know where to start.

We started the day out very nicely with breakfast when we met the Columbia knit night girls at Coleen's (and we got to see her beautiful Arwen). What a treat! It kept me sustained most of the day. I did stop long enough to eat a single bbq sandwich, but that's all.

Here's the booth selling Socks That Rock. Or rather, this is the line of people trying to get in to the booth selling STR. Can you see how I could be a little freaked out?



L and I made it inside the booth after lunch, where there was still some STR left (see the mostly bare walls behind the lovely, blogless, L?).



She bought some of the famed yarn, but I got this Gypsy Girl stuff instead:



The best part of the outing was getting to meet other knitters. At the blogger meetup, I met Mel, who was wearing a gorgeous sweater, Susan, Stephanie (love her blog name!), Mary (in the pretty, red tank/vest) and Gryphon (whose skirt in the summer Interweave Knits I love!).

Mary (left)) and Mel (right) trade info:


Stephanie (right) and Gryphon (left)


And of course, here are the requisite animal pics:







And, finally, a good husband award goes to John, Jody's husband, who stood in line for an hour(!) to get t-shirts for Jody and about 10 of her friends, including me. Aren't they cute?

Gifts for Moi

Look what my brother brought me back from his travels in Tibet? Yak yarn! For some reason, I thought yak yarn would be very scratchy, but this is so very soft. And such pretty colors.



Close up shots:







So cool! I am thinking of making a stripey, lacey shawl. No idea about the pattern yet though.

And, I am extremely late in properly thanking bySarah for these lovely stitch markers (there is a fourth hiding somewhere around here). I heart them. If you want some, check out this store.



And an almost finished project: a not-yet-felted tea cozy made from Noro Kureyon.



With the white stripe at the top, followed by the darker green in the tip, it kind of looks like a boob. But felting will probably allow me to make the tip less nipple-shaped. And if not, a boob-shaped cozy is fine for my tea. Kind of appropriate, really.

I am going to MD Sheep and Wool on Saturday! I am tres excited. It's my first time. Last year I was out of town and the year before, I actually tried to go to a yarn shop but it was closed for sheep and wool and I had no idea such an event even existed! But I am ready and have a plan (well, sort of. Ok, no, not at all. I wrote down the yarn I need for a bunch of patterns that I want to make, but I feel like I'll be so overwhelmed that I'll just wonder aimlessly.) But still, super excited. And, since it's my birthday at the end of May, I suggested to G that he NOT go to all the trouble of buying me a birthday present and that I'll just spend a little extra at sheep and wool. Normally, he likes to be very secretive and romantic and think up a very special gift (like a vintage copy of Anne of Green Gables, my favorite childhood book). And it's so sweet. But I am ok w/ not having a big surprise this year if I get to buy more yarn! :)

Where to Start?

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post. I had a
big post all planned for April 1 because I actually finished three
projects that day. Three projects that by coincidence fit the
yellow/green/pink Project Spectrum theme.

But April was insane. So much happened in just a few short weeks.

First, let me show you my finished objects.

Here is my first sweater for me:
title="Photo Sharing">width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_1274" />

I say ugg.
But I am happy with how some things came out. First of all, I thought I
did a good job on the short rows, figuring out where to put them and
then actually doing them. But I should have also done some waist
shaping. I opted just for the short rows b/c I thought the waist would
be snug already. But it could have come in a bit. Also, I thought I
would like the longer, tunic length, but I decided a shorter,
hip-length sweater would be more flattering on me. And the neckline is
a bit funky. You can't see it in this picture b/c my hair is blocking
it (and sorry about the crappy photo, but I wasn't feeling too inspired
to take a better one). There are these tab-like things on the neck that
are hitting too high. They should be at about the collar bone, but on
me they are at the very base of the neck. Good thing my hair covers
them.

The yarn is Cascade Eco. I love the color! I had a TON left over. I bought three (giant) skeins, each about 480 yards. I think I have one whole skein left.

I
did OK with the seaming, though I did get a bit lazy and I probably
could have been more meticulous. It looks fine, but it probably could
look better.

This is my first sweater ever:
title="Photo Sharing">width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1372" />

I knit it last July, seamed it in Feb. and added the ribbon on April 1. It is knit in gross Redheart
that I got at a swap and I used because I just wanted to "practice" a
sweater. Of course, the problem with that is then I didn't want to give
it to either of my baby nephews and now it just sits on my couch.
Still, it is cute! Baby things almost always are, even if they are made
out of bad yarn. It is too small for the nephews now, so I may give it
to the church's giving tree next Christmas.

And here's something pink:

title="Photo Sharing">width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1374" />

These
socks were for L's birthday at the beginning of the month and were done
in time, but I finally just gave them to her yesterday. She seemed to
like them. :)

They are knit in Colinette Cadenza, about three skeins.

Other news:
I
visited Wisconsin and got to see my nephew Owen again and got to meet
my nephew Alex for the first time. They are both about 6 months now. I
am in love. Alex's family is coming for a visit in May and I can't wait
to see him again (and my little niece too). Anybody have cool,
kid-friendly activities in the Baltimore area? Maybe a cool park?

Owen has ears like Dumbo and he sits and holds his feet with his hands, looking very monkeyish as he does it. And his hair is what I call a baby hawk; it comes to this adorable spike at his forehead.

Alex
is 10 days younger than Owen and he is a bit smaller. He has the most
enchanting smile, laughs a lot and he liked to sleep on me. Oh. Oh.


We
are buying a house! And it's yellow! Seriously, I did not TRY to buy a
PS approved house, it just happened. We close at the end of May and I
can't wait. I'll have a picture of it after it's all final. Now we are
in the process of picking paint colors (cause the pink LR and DR walls
have got to go).

Mini Break!

To (badly) quote Bridget Jones: "A mini break isn't just shagging, it means true love" (or something like that, I am too lazy to break out the DVD). Two years ago, G and I went on our first mini break to Williamsburg, Va. He has a lifelong friend who lives there and we visited. It was our first overnight excursion and the first time I met two of his best friends.



Fast forward to this past weekend and we were back. His same friend hosted a gathering of the whole crew: five guys who've been friends since middle school plus five wives. Those with kids shuffled them off to grandparents for the weekend. It was a great time. First of all, Williamsburg is really pretty this time of year; flowers were in bloom and the weather was gorgeous. We stayed at this lovely inn right next to the historical section. Our room had the best canopy bed. I now heart canopy beds.

Highlights of the trip include a poker game that I did not win, sadly. I made some bad betting decisions. Oh well, the losers got to console themselves with cheese cake and a fire pit out back. And it cooled off at night enough for me to break out Fetching!

And we will not soon forget the Presidential Museum of Heads. Ok, I can't remember the museum's actual name, but it was basically giant cement heads of all the presidents, right up to the current one. It was on odd and surreal place. But what cool Project Spectrum pictures! These pictures do not represent any political bias. I basically just took pictures of the heads I thought looked coolest.







I brought along a sock to knit, but honestly didn't get more than a few rows knit on the drive down Friday before it got dark. Yesterday during the drive home, I spent most of the time reading to G from the Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home. We are at that stage! We have an appointment next weekend to look at homes with our agent. We've been talking, talking, talking about doing this and suddenly, bam, we're taking action. And now of course I am really excited and impatient to get in a house!

We're looking in Baltimore County mostly, especially the two P-villes: Parkville and Pikesville. G lived on the city side of Parkville and really liked it and we currently live very close to Pikesville and also like it. Of course we need to do tons of research about other towns and neighborhoods. Where do people like to live? We're looking pretty modest: a three bedroom home with 1.5 baths (or more!) in a place where there are lots of people with young children (we're not there yet, but are headed that way, I suppose), maybe a park within walking distance? Ideally we'd like an actual house, but we might change our minds and look at rowhomes too. There certainly are a lot of cute ones in our area.

I've started to get hooked on the various HGTV home buying shows, which leads to jealousy: a cute five-bedroom house with inground pool in Mobile, Ala., for $264K?!!!

Since the market has cooled down a little bit, I know we can take our time (our lease is up in July), but I also know that I am going to see something that I love and want it RIGHT NOW!

Good thing I have a respectable stash; I think my yarn budget will soon be smaller.

And speaking of stash: it was recently enhanced at swap hosted by the lovely Kirby of Yarn Coffee. The swap was on March 10, but I've been pretty busy with work and never got around to photographing my haul. It was a really good swap!



I came away with some sock yarn. And some Knitpicks. Some Lambs Pride. And some mohair. And a cool needle case!

Oh, you thought you saw some Noro, did you? No, that wasn't from the swap. See, I had to stop by the LYS on my home to buy needles for Fetching and this found its way to me. I am planning a felted tea cozy. I just love this Noro colorway.





Not bad at all! Plus it was a fun afternoon. Kirby served us yummy wine and cheese. And she has this really cute apartment that got me wanting to actually hang my pictures and tidy up.

New Love and Podcasts

I have a confession: I am kind of glad for the nasty weather we are getting here in Maryland today. It's been sleeting almost all day (and now, I think I see snow). True, I don't have to go anywhere or drive anywhere. I am all cozy in my office with a cup of tea and my new love. My Fetching mitts!









I know I am late to the Fetching party. But I jumped all over this pattern last summer when it showed up on Knitty. I just had all these other projects in line to do first. Then a few weeks ago I finally bought yarn for Fetching. And last Sunday I finished knitting and starting blocking my Rachel sweater. And I wanted a QUICK project. Something I could wear on my upcoming trip to Wisconsin. So I cast on. And finished the first mitt Monday night. Then cast on for the second on Tuesday and finished it Thursday. I didn't knit at all on Wednesday. So basically it was two evenings of knitting per mitt for me. And I am NOT a fast knitter. But oh! the gratification! Oh the love!

But you see it was 80something degrees here on Wednesday. I thought I'd finish the mitts and pack them away until next Nov. But then, a last blast of winter hit (and hopefully it'll be a short blast, I am not crazy enough to want this to last! Though it would be nice to wear that sweater just once ...).

Anyway, the astute will note that I am not, in fact, in Wisconsin. My work trip was canceled because the meeting I was to attend was postponed. There have been some insane shake ups at work this week that I will not talk about here. (I don't like to talk about work on this blog because you never know who's reading.) So I worked feverishly all weekend to finish my sweater to bring to WI and then the trip was cancled. Just as well, I would have stayed up really late seaming Tue. night. Sadly I had planned to get together with L (who conviently is in WI now) for yarn store crawls and salsa dancing. Oh well. We'll have to get together when she's back in MD.

Today is the perfect day for listening to knitting podcasts, something I've wanted to do for awhile. And I can't figure out why I haven't until now! True, I don't have an ipod, but I use itunes all the time. I had a lot of busy work to do today, perfect for listening to podcasts. So I've been sitting with my peppermint tea and my Fetchings and listening. I really enjoyed SticksandString by a man in Australia. What other podcasts should I be listening to?



Here's the details on my Fethcings:
Started 3/11
Finished 3/15

Yarn: 2 balls of Debbie Bliss aplaca silk (this is NOT the yarn the pattern calls for but called for a similar gauage. Note on this yarn: the alpaca results in a "fuzzy" finished mitt, not the most suitable for the cables. And it does split a bit. But it is very soft yarn and feels very nice and on my hands.)

Needles: size 4 DPNs. The yarn calls for a 7/8 but this pattern is worked at a tighter gauge. And since I knit loose, I used an even smaller needle than the 6 the pattern recommends.

Modifications: I added one cable repeat to the cuff. And I made the thumb longer. I have a fair amount of yarn left over so I could have made them longer still. But I think this length is good. They are truly hand warmers, not arm warmers.

I am now planning to make Dashing, because I think my Fetchings need a beau.

Thanks to Jody for this amusing diversion! You google your name + is and get all sorts of fun things. I added my editorial comments after each one.

Theresa is all over Regina and Saskatoon promoting Something Is Expected! (I love saying "Saskatoon!")

Theresa is now on MySpace.

Theresa is a childhood friend of Ryan Atwood, and the two have engaged in an "off and on" relationship, which came to a halt upon Ryan's departure. (Don't tell my husband)

Theresa is home to Widmer Cheese, which is one of the few places that makes brick cheese using real bricks. (Well ... I do like cheese.)

Theresa is a coach and flexibility expert in the field of competitive athletics (not so much)

Theresa is Deceiving Jared is Down Right Disgusting. (wow, that's harsh.)

Theresa is trying to reassure Whitney that Chad really does love her. (Sounds like I live in a soup opera.)

Theresa is now back working in office administration, but is looking around for a job as a network administrator. (ha ha ha!)

Theresa is originally from Southern California and started her TV news career. (I was actually born in Northern California, Sebastopol.)

Theresa is also involved with Swirling Records' CDs, Soap Sessions. (oddly enough, I felt really dirty during this project.)

Theresa is clearly not practiced at dating, works hard, has some brittle edges (again, way harsh!)

Theresa is the most sought-after baby-sitter and dog-walker in all of East. (I am very proud.)

Theresa is often too tired to cook dinner. (Thankfully, I have a nice husband who sometimes cooks too).

Theresa is sarcastic. (guilty)

Theresa is now working on a Comparative Genomics module. (huh?)

Theresa is also a featured artist with the Grammy Award winning Paul Winter. (That was fun, but dddly enough, I am more proud to be the most sought after baby-sitter and dog-walker in all of the East.)

Theresa is probably the most poignant voice in American. (that's American, not English!)

Theresa is dedicated to the cultivation of Comfort. (For sure! Long live sweatpants!)

Theresa is "unusually" pretty. (Why thank you!)

Theresa is an ethnohistorian, with a Ph. D. in Anthropology from Rutgers University. (again, huh?)

Theresa is the best character on Passions. (that explains the soap opera vibe earlier.)

Theresa is very obviously not someone who follows the crowd. She spent time in France touring wineries and talking to many people. (Yes, I really have done this. I was in France, I toured a winery or two and I did talk to many, many people.)

Interweave Knits Redesign

I subscribed to IK in Jan., just a little giftee for myself. I started stalking my mailbox at the end of Feb. after I saw reports on line that people had received it and that it had been *gasp* redesigned! OK, that gasp was sarcastic. I work at a magazine that has seen three redesigns in seven years and I don't think we ever heard a peep from our readers. I think we received a few "like the new look" emails, but that was it. (Of course our readers are sooo totally different, it's not really a fair comparison), Still, I was really surprised to read the very, shall we say, passionate, things about the new look at IK. Some hadn't even seen the new look and, yet, were up in arms.

I think it is a really good redesign. It still looks like itself, just better, which is what a mag redesign is all about. You don't want to look so radically different that people don't recognize you.

I know many have emailed and called IK to voice their displeasure, so I decided to write that I liked the new look, for the most part. This is what I sent:

"I know there's been a lot of talk on the Web about your redesign. I figured you probably haven't received as many "pro" comments so here is one (with just a
tiny bit of constructive feedback tossed in!).

I really love the three column treatment for pattern type. This is SO much easier to read than two columns.

And I like that the patterns are all grouped together. It makes finding them later very easy. And they look very nice. I am sure publication design-wise, it is hard to make a pattern layout look "pretty" but you did! Plus, I noticed that the patterns "jump" less, which is a huge plus!

I do miss the full page photo for each project. And I miss the old models. They were all so beautiful and at the same time they seemed so friendly. Some of the new
models are a little blah (but not the cover girl, she's gorgeous!), but perhaps that's better for a knitting magazine. They don't compete with the patterns.

While I like the patterns all together in the second half (or really, third) of the magazine for second, third, and even fourth readings of the issue, it makes the first read less enjoyable. One of the things I dislike about many craft magazines is that halfway through it, you've seen everything (except for perhaps the last page, "last look" article). With the old Interweave Knits, I got to savor every page as I read
it the first time. So, I wonder if there is a way to sprinkle a bit more "new" content throughout the issue instead of front loading it? (Maybe just a little bit
more info about the designers or a slightly longer pattern intro? Perhaps a quote from the designer about the design's inspiration?)

I am still a very happy reader.

Thanks!

Theresa XXX

p.s. Beautiful staff projects in the Spring 2007 issue!"

And I couldn't talk about IK without congratulating Eunny on her new job! I am really looking forward to the Winter 2007 issue.

My knitting news: There is seaming in my future. Maybe I'll have a picture of a sweater on here soon!

Many Updates

I don't know what happened, but somehow it's been a couple of weeks since I updated the blog (not counting my rant earlier this week).

First, I need to thank Jody for helping me figure out new Blogger. I finally have oneof those cool Flickr things in my sidebar. Of course, now I need actually add more pictures to my Flickr account ...

During the past couple of weeks, I have "written" at least three posts in my head, but never got them down on paper, er keyboard.

I meant to write about the fun time I had in Feb. hanging out
with
these
amazing
knitters
for yummy food and yarn shopping...

This blue/green Debbie Bliss alpaca silk is my loot from that day. I am going to make Fetching.



Then, I was going to tell you about the great time I had with G at a Nils Lofgren show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. It was a great acoustic show. I even knitted for a bit before the show and just the tiniest, tiniest amount during the show. :) At the Birchmere, it's general admission where you sit at tables. So everybody gets there early to get in and get the best seat. Like two and half hours before
the show even starts. So, even after dinner, I had a lot of knitting time.

I was probably going to blog about the snow, but now the weather is beautiful and springlike. We actually have our backdoor open. Has spring officially sprung in Maryland, or can we expect one more cold spell?

I am almost, almost done with my wool sweater. I fear I may have missed my chance to wear it this season. Unless, unless I can finish it this week and wear it in Wisconsin, where I am sure it will be cold enough.

I am heading back to the main office again in mid March. And the cool thing is L will be there too visiting her family. We have already made plans to visit at least one of the cool yarn shops in Madison.

I will actually be in Wisconsin over a weekend but my parents are going to be in Connecticut visiting my brother there. So I'll have a weekend to visit other friends, or go down to Chicago and see my brother and his tiny baby. Well, the word is
that O is not so tiny anymore. He takes after my brother who was a very chubby baby. Oapparently gets really grumpy when he is hungry. Funny, Matt does too, still.

It would be very cool to spend the weekend in Chicago. Matt and company live downtown, right across from Navy Pier. It's a fun spot.

And, as you see, I've been taking lots of blue pictures.

Why?

Why do the fashion police LOVE Nicole Kidman so much? She could wear poop and they would rave about her brave fashion choices. I should disclose that I have never liked anything that she wore to the Oscars. It's all blah, blah and blah. But this week, she was praised for wearing something that Charlize Theron was raked over the coals for wearing in the past. And during this week's Oscar Fashion Police on E!, those cats said that Kate Winslet shouldn't have worn such a pale green dress, because she is so pale herself. Hello?!!! Nicole Kidman is so pale she is practically translucent! And yet she usually wears the palest, most blah mother-of-the-groom colors like lavendar (when she isn't wearing a wedding dress like she did at last year's Oscars). Hey, at least this year, she wore a vibrant color. But I DID NOT like that noose thing around her neck. At least they acknowledge their bias. The Fashion Police (Debbie and the two Js) did not like Kirsten Dunst's Chanel dress (gag) but said that they would have loved it on Nicole Kidman. What??? I don't know why this bothers me. But it does.

Why does it seem like I didn't make any progess on my husband's 2 by 2 ribbed sock cuff during the four hours (plus a couple hours of red carpet coverage) during Sunday night's Oscar broadcast?

Why won't new Blogger let me post a picture to my sidebar with a link embedded?

Why can't I figure out how to customize my freaking sidebar in new Blogger?

OK, I do know why the Nicole Kidman stuff bugs me. The fashion police like her b/c when she wears a dress, they can just look at the dress without any woman getting in the way. She is a hanger (and I don't just mean b/c she is so very thin; she doesn't seem to have much of a personality; there's no spark there). They can get all geeky about the couture dress. But a dress should never wear a woman. It should never be the main event. I confess, I love to watch all the red carpet shows. I flipped between E! and the Rivers on TV Guide Channel just so I could see all the clothes. But I like dresses that make the most of the beautiful women wearing them. Take Salma Hayek. Nobody is ever going to miss her for the dress. Yeah, she's got amazing curves that couldn't be hid if they wanted to be. But she has so much personality; she is so vibrant. You're going to notice her and then notice her dress. The way it should be. I fear it is the opposite with poor Nicole. Honestly, I saw a red dress walking down the carpet and then realized it was on Nicole Kidman.