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Why, we knit!

Photoblog time! (I just heard a run-through of HammerTime in my head. Not okay.)

First, I have to show you what was on my doorstep this morning when I got home from work. I had been complaining all night that I hadn’t had any Cadbury Creme Eggs in a while, and look what the Bunny (Christy) left!

I took two eggs to bed with me for my two hour nap. Those eggs are my favorite candy in the whole wide world, and if they’re available anywhere all year round, please don’t tell me. It’s a good thing for my ass they’re seasonal.

After my nap, I got up and went a’knittin’. I gotta tell ya that I was a little nervous about it — only a wee bit nervous, since I’ve held S’n’Bs before, and this time I knew Joanna and Silvia were my co-sponsors, but still. There’s that moment in which you wonder, “Will anyone come? At all? Will I sit here and drink by myself?” Luckily Seltsame showed up right after I did (I don’t want to butcher the correct spelling of your name, dear, so I’ll use your online name….) and pulled out her knitting. She was quickly followed by Martha (I think). After that, hell, I lost track.

So many cool, fun, funny people! All in one place! I had a BALL! Didn’t even take that many pics (for me) ’cause I was too busy running my mouth off. But here’s a few fer ya.

A group shot (that’s all us in the background, too):

Here are Juliette, Silvia , Amy, and Stella:

And how cute is this one? Sharlene and Juliette mugging it up:

And below are Laura, ready to HAVE that baby, Nyondo, Laine (the reader who recongized me at Stitches!), and my friend Tara. Martha’s in the foreground in her FABULOUS pink Bella cardie.

No one could stop ogling Martha’s bella Bella , and she inspired us all — I bought a bunch of Horstia orange (duh) silk/wool to make it.

Darling owner Christina of Article Pract gave us 15% off all yarn purchases (THANK YOU!). It was so much fun walking around the store talking to Joy about spinning, and Nathania about color, all of us passing our patterns around — What’s the yardage needed for this? Hey, can you check the gauge on that? Sigh. Heaven.

Nathania and me (yes, she really is that gorgeous):

And Stella, me, Nathania, and dear reader Anna:

See? I wore it in public (and then took a slouched picture, oh, well….).

Am I almost done? I’m soooo tired and sooooo stupid after so little sleep, but I want to post this before I collapse on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon/evening (NO SLEEPING! If I sleep now, I’ll screw up my night sleep for my weekend…..)

Oh, can’t forget my favorite Rogue, Joanna:

Isn’t that fit aMAYzing? Mission Falls Wool, people. All I’m sayin’.

All in all, it was a MARVELOUS time. Hey, send me an email if you want to be on my reminder list for the next meet-up, let’s say next month? The more the merrier, says I, and it sure proved true today.

Damn. I’m tired and so happy.

Okay, off to be stupid in quiet. I’m going to the little mama’s house tomorrow for some hot cross buns so I won’t be around on-line much for the next few days. But I’ll be thinkin’ of ya! Meantime, didja see my new cafepress store (below)? Knitting IS sexy, damn it. See above pics for proof!

I had that dream again today. I’m not scared of the ocean, not really. I like boats and I like snorkeling and I LOVE being in/near the sea. But one of my recurring nightmares is about THE WAVE, the big one, the thirty-footer tsunami-like one. I’m looking up, either on the beach at the water’s edge or actually in the water, and the wave is towering over me, just cresting, ready to fall, ready to drag me under. Or it’s getting ready to do that to someone I love and I have to hold on tight (never tight enough; I always let them slip from my hands). Today while sleeping it was just me, bodysurfing the waves, knowing if I kept just beyond the crest of the waves I’d be all right, but I was getting closer and closer to the breaking point.

How symbolic is that? I know, disgustingly so. And what’s always irritating is that the dream comes not when I’m stressed out, not when I have major life-decisions to make, not when I’m in the midst of chaos. That would be satisfying. I could point to the dream and say, “look how stressed I am! See? See?” No, I always get the dream in relatively quiet periods of my life. Makes it difficult to say my subconscious is clever. No, I have a delayed-reaction synapse in my psyche, apparently.

Although I am thinking about surfing lessons. Hmmm.

I’m off to slap some pics on Bethany’s site. For those of you keeping track, she’s my little sister and she’s off on a Grand Adventure. She’s been living in her truck since August, traveling the country. When she runs out of money, she gets a job, makes a little bread, and then gets back on the road. She just had her last day of work at the inn two days ago, and she’s in Florida, headed south toward the Keys. She does wonder if the Keys at Spring Break is the wisest choice, but hell, maybe there’ll be free beer to make up for the bikini crimes. Might take a while to sort and download all her photos that I just got processed, but there should be a few up tonight…..

Meet-up Saturday! See below.

Wowie. I didn’t know one could receive virtual wolf-whistles! Look at the sounds I’ve received from y’all:

Ha-cha-cha!
Hubba-Hubba!
Whoo hoo!
Hel-lo!
HOTTTT!
Yowza yowza yowza!
Daaayyyyyy-ummmmm.
Homina homina homina homina a-WOOOOOOOOO-ga! (thanks, Em.)
Call 911! (thanks, alison.)

I do believe I’m more than a little embarrassed by all the attention my tank top received. And that was, honestly, the most flattering picture I took of it (them?). Most of the photos look even MORE busty, so I’ll be wearing something OVER said piece until I get a little more confident. I am normally not reticent about tight clothing. There’s something about making it yourself, though, that makes you think, “is this really all right? Don’t I need more fabric right about here?”

Carrie asked how much I changed the pattern by using the Microspun. Answer: I didn’t, I just made the 3rd size, using size 5 US needles. Remember, I am the loosest knitter in the world. Sad. But true.

All right. Back to waking up for the evening of work ahead. Need.More.Coffee.

Don’t forget the Bay Area knitting meet-up on Saturday afternoon! 15% discount on yarn at Article Pract for our little group! (I’ve already received tentative yeses from over fifteen people, so it should be a blast.)

Details:
Saturday, April 10th
1pm
Temescal Cafe
4920 Telegraph, just a few doors south of Article Pract, map HERE.

Welp, this tank is pretty cool. It also reminds me that I need to hit the streets, for a walk and some yoga later. My arms! Oy. This is a headless picture since I haven’t had a shower and my eyes are having an allergy attack. You’ve seen my mug enough, anyhow. And this is the only shot where you couldn’t see my upper arms (YOU try taking a picture of yourself in a tank while avoiding those parts):

And THIS is what happens when I try to take mirror shots.

I really liked the Lion-Brand Microspun (color 144). I used about 4 skeins, perhaps a little less, and while it is splitty and a little finicky, it’s so SOFT. And inexpensive, to boot. Pattern is from the new Spring/Summer 2004 Vogue Knitting.

Now.

I have a friend who has done a LOT for me in my move. He’s a good guy, and a good friend, and he’s giving me a couch. So I’m gonna make him a sweater. Now that the tank is done, I can dive right in. I’m using Galway Highland Heather in a deep grey, and I want something simple but not boring. I’m thinking a 3×1 top-down raglan, but I’ll have to do some swatching experiments. I cannot believe I now both swatch and mattress stitch. I used to be so proud of the fact that I DIDN’T CARE. Now I do. Don’t tell.

Confession number one: Up until tonight, I had never used the mattress stitch for any seaming. I was a back-stitch girl. Kinda like a back-street boy, but way more geeky. (Hard to imagine.) I was terrified of mattress stitch, and thanks to the new Knitty article, I am now a deflowered mattress. Or something. MAN, is that stitch cool. The seam is, like, invisible! (Big duhs all around, I know, but I had no idea.)

Confession number two: I left an inch unseamed tonight. I’m a damn inch from being done with the new Vogue cover tank, and I just can’t do it. I’ve been up since ten am yesterday, and I just got off work. It’s almost six am now. I have a tub running and hot water on the boil for tea. Tomorrow I’ll have pictures. But that inch will remain undone until I wake.

I have a sneaking suspicion this baby’s gonna be TIGHT. I know tanks are supposed to be form-fitting, but yipes. I may not be legal in it. We’ll see.

Best call tonight – a guy in a wheelchair goes into a jewelry store and asks to see some rings, asking the price of each. When he is told one of them is $8000, he says “That’ll do.” Then he gets up out of the wheelchair, and runs away into the night. Dude was fast. AND we had to return the wheelchair to the right hospital.

I find that hilarious.

G’night.

(PS – Bay Area people, don’t forget Saturday’s meet-up! See below.)

Yeah, that knitting meet-up on Saturday? Well, Christina, the owner of Article Pract, emailed me and said anyone with our group on Saturday gets 15% off anything, excluding books. How cool is that? Now you HAVE to come, if you live anywhere in my time zone. And if you don’t, I’m sorry. I wish you could come, too! (I really do….)