More Ravelry Love!

I received another great package today. This one is from my "Hands Across the Sea" swap buddy, SuperMonkey.

It is a box full of British love. Check out the beautiful sock yarn! And there are Twiglets! Lots of yummy looking chocolate and salty snacks for me. This will keep me going through the holidays for sure.

Mmmmmm- assorted British treats.

I'm a Winner!

I just got a package of happiness from Ravelry pal Knitterotica. I correctly guessed when she would hit 500 posts and was rewarded with swag:


There's a skeleton lolly, chocolate, tunes, and handmade stitch markers! The stitch markers are a beautiful blue- my favorite color.

I feel so validated.

Why That's Really Arbitrary!

I've been given an assignment. I am to photograph myself in my biggest mixing bowl.

Here ya go:

I habba code in my node

I finally caught a cold. I'm sure I had it coming with all the stress of last week.

I was taking it easy and listening to Cast On today. Brenda talked about lace knitting and also about feeling like her thoughts were jumbled.

I thought about how lace knitting usually looks like cat yak until it is blocked. Last week, as I was prepping for what felt like lecture 1000 of the week, I hit the wall. I couldn't pull it all together and I felt like there was no way this lecture was going to be any good. But when I stood up in front of the crowd, it all clicked and came out much better than expected. Just like lace after being blocked.

But now I have a cold. And another gabilliion lectures this week. Husband wisely fed me garlicky pasta and red wine for dinner. I'm feeling better and ready to face the week.

Sleep, Perchance to Dream

I'm so tired.

I have a hectic lecture schedule this Fall. I love it, but I'm a little burned out right now. I'm giving a lecture tomorrow night on Women in Art, and I haven't finished writing yet. The topic is an easy one for me, and I have all the images ready to go. I just can't facing writing any more right now. It feels like all I do right now is write art history lectures. The house feels like chaos because I don't have time to do anything about it. It was rainy today- the perfect day to curl up and knit and read, and I couldn't.

For a mental break, I listened to Cast On for the first time in a long time. Something about Brenda Dayne's voice makes you feel like everything will be ok. Which it will be.

And while I listened, I worked on this:
It's my father's Christmas present- a vest from Folk Vests by Cheryl Oberle. I'm anxious to get into the body of it so I can see how the colors will really look.

But now to bed.

Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

I never thought too much about my yarn or finished object photography. But after reading various general comments on Ravelry, I looked at my pictures with a fresh eye and went ew.

So after finding some great advice on the photography forum, I tried again and really tried to learn about the features on my camera. I'm particularly proud of this one:

It's Berocco's bamboo yarn. The sharpness of the photo is better than anything I've taken before and the color is pretty true.

And I took a photo of my current work-in-progress- Hedera with Cherry Tree Hill yarn. I think the pattern shows up better than anything I've photographed before. I still have a lot to learn, but this is a great start!

Read a Banned Book!

Banned Books Week 2007 ends tomorrow. Have you read a banned book lately?

Don't have time to read a book? Then head over to Pacifica.org to hear Allen Ginsberg read Howl.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness . . .

I Feel Like Cinderella!

My Ravelry invite came! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So we know what I'll be doing with any free time over the next few days!

Check me out on Ravelry.

*sniff* I'm so happy!

Tim Gunn Shills for Macy's and I Love It!

I love Tim Gunn! Even his new show, which is basically "What Not To Wear" but with Tim Gunn and Veronica Webb, sucks me in. He is so serious, and yet wry. Love him! When I heard he was in a Macy's commercial with Martha Stewart, I was alarmed enough that I considered lying down with a cool towel on my head. But now that I've seen it, my faith in Il Gunn is restored! Just what one would expect- funny, tongue-in-cheek. And the last line, with perfect Gunn delivery- "I love hats!" We know you do, Tim, and we love you for it!

Going Dutch!

Just came back from the Netherlands. If you have a chance to go, go! Wonderful people, beautiful cities, great food, great art... I'm in love.

I wanted to get to the Amsterdam yarn shop recommended by Franklin in his blog, but I couldn't get there when they were open. I did get to buy this fabric


at this market in Delft.



While at the market, our guide, Thea, showed us how to eat herring the Dutch way:

I tried it. I'll stick to the delicious stroop waffles.

Thea is not only a great guide, but she is also a talented knitter and crocheter. Here she is in a sweater she made
She is being weighed at the scales in Oude Water to see if she is a witch. She isn't. A few of us were, and my husband is a poison frog. Who knew?

Just in time for the trip, I finished my Bristow sweater

I love how it came out, but the buttons are too small. I bought some new ones at the market in Delft and will attach them soon. Great pattern!

Tot ziens! (see you around!)

Fifteen Cyber-Seconds of Fame!

Well, not really fame. Fame made a whooshing noise as it passed me by. But still this is very, very cool- I made it into Slate.com! Well, sort of. An e-mail I wrote was published in the wonderful Ad Report Card column. Check it out! The rant about Ask.com's creepy commercial is me. And it is creepy.

I am in the home stretch with Bristow. Just one sleeve and the trim to go. I fear I have made the sleeves too long, overcompensating for making them too short on my last two sweaters. We'll see. Just got some uber-groovy sock yarn from DharmaFey. Check her out! I love her use of literary and cinematic inspiration for her colorways. (plus I am a sucker for all things Labyrinth).

Photos coming soon!

Bad Blogger! No Cookie!

Has it really been almost a year since I posted?

Sad.

Well, with the impending (I hope) arrival of a Ravelry invite, I figured I better get blogging again.

I have tons of finished stuff, and some cool things from the sewing machine. Just got to dust off/ recharge that digital camera thingy.

Hi, blogosphere. I'm back!