Vacation and random gifts

Well I'll be off to Seattle tomorrow for 1.5 weeks of vacation, tourist attractions, and fun. I've reached the neckline shaping section of Talia and she is beginning to get difficult, so I will unfortunately have to leave her at home. People laugh at me when I say knitting stresses me out at times. Not all the time. Only the times when I make mistakes I don't know how to fix, or when I keep ending up with the wrong stitch counts. But I'll be bringing along some wool and straight needles to try a cabled scarf pattern I've been eyeing for a while now. Something easy and relaxing.

Here's a picture of a bag hook my bf randomly gifted upon me last week. I have always wanted one, and surprisingly, The Limited were selling bag hooks! I don't know of any other store in the mall that carries them. They're great for hanging your purse on the table when you're at a restaurant and you won't be forced to put it down on a chair (or worse, a dirty floor!)

Talia progress

Front progress...

Back progress...

Casting on for Talia

Well, I have basically finished Green Gable. The only things left to do are the sleeves. Sigh. Which brings me back to the same problem I had with Rusted Root. I don't know why I can't seem to bring myself to learn how to use 2 circulars to complete the sleeves. I even have the instructions printed out in color lying on top of my Green Gable to motivate me to finish it. But, alas, to no avail.

So I decided to cast on for Talia after admiring Amateur Craft Mom's and Juicy Knits' Talias. After scrounging through my stash, I tried a swatch with Patons Classic Merino wool but the gauge was off by too much. Not to mention the fact that I really didn't want a white vest. So I decided a swatch with Cascade 220 in a gorgeous burgundy shade. And for the first time ever in my life, I got exact gauge!! It made me so happy since I could never seem to be spot on. Holding onto the gauge throughout the project...well that's a different story. I'll be going to Seattle for 1.5 weeks next week, and I'm not sure if I should bring Talia with me. She is going to get complicated and I don't know if I want to bring something that I might not be able to fix without access to Ravelry, online knitting videos, and other knit friends like Amateur Craft Mom and rchrispy.

If I get really lucky, Talia should look like this...

And look at her gorgeous waist shaping...

I would love it if anybody has suggestions for mellow, plane/airport knitting patterns. :-)

Green Gable progress pics

Some quick pics of what I have done so far...

And to the yarn stash it goes...

Since I received 2 sets of the same Ratatouille Remy talking figure last Christmas, I decided to give one set away to one of my co-worker's 6 year old son. A couple weeks ago, she surprised me with 2 skeins of Patons SWS in the Natural Earth colorway. Wasn't it nice of her?

The gift bag her son chose for me.

So what should I make with 220 yards of Patons SWS? I have never used this yarn before and would appreciate any suggestions. :-)

Green Gable progress

Here's how my Green Gable is coming along. After close examination, I realized my lace section is incorrect. The first half is correct, but the second half is wrong. Sigh. However, it is consistently incorrect, so to a non-knitter, it could be interpreted as a deliberate design detail. :-\ Anyway, I'm going to leave it in because I'm too lazy to frog and it doesn't bother me too much. I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn last night and I ended up with 3 stitches extra on one sleeve, and 4 on the other. Sigh. Plus, 3 less stitches for the body. Perhaps I'll do a little decreasing when I finish the sleeves and hopefully it won't look too big. I wouldn't mind a slight puffed sleeve look.

Doesn't it match my comforter quite nicely?

Green Gable

Wow it's been so long since I have updated. Blame it on the moving and enjoying a single room and enjoying a single room with open windows and enjoying a single room with open windows and a TV. I have never had a TV in a bedroom before so nowadays I tend to come home and flip on the CW (only good channel I receive). Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and Gossip Girl take up my time. Yes, you heard me right. Gossip Girl. I watched 2 episodes and I'm ashamed to say I'm slightly intrigued. At the very least, the girls on that show have such stylish clothes. I wonder if they will wear beautiful knits come winter. (Ah, the mind of a knitter/crocheter.)

Case in point: This dress from Anthropologie made my jaws drop.

Also, I have recently decided to start cooking real food again. When I say real food, I mean making dinners that involve ingredients and mixing. I've been living off of Trader Joe's frozen food for a while to accommodate maximizing my knitting time after work. But I'm going to try to spread it around a bit so I can cook, watch TV, AND knit/crochet. To inspire me, I bought a new set of plates, a French bohemian design, at Ralph's. They were on sale and I had always coveted that design ever since I bought a matching ramekin two years ago when I tried my hand at making corn chowder.

Last week, I learned how to make a classic French dish of sauteed chicken with cream-mustard sauce and last night I made chicken alfredo for the first time in my life. Yes, it's sad I have never cooked pasta in my life before. My pasta came out a bit watery and I accidentally made too much so I'll be eating pasta for lunch and dinner for at least 2 days. But practice makes perfect, right? I also discovered a new type of cookie at Trader Joe's. Oatmeal and cranberry. They are so delicious! I love the fact that they come in a package of precut dough, and all I have to do is take them out and bake them for 12 minutes or so. :-)

Hello. I am the front side of the bowl.

And I am the other side. Can you spot the difference?

Dinner is served, mademoiselle.

Please put some corn chowder in me.

In knitting news, I finished Juliet a while back but recently just got around to blocking her. She is drying as I type, and hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures by next week. To get me out of my knitting hiatus, I casted on for Green Gable last night. I'm a bit afraid that I'm not doing it correctly for the Part A, Row 1 part. It says that I need to YO, K2tog during the lace section and then K1f&b 1 stitch before the marker. However, I always get an even number and don't end up with 1 stitch left before the marker. Sigh. I'm going to fudge it and see how it goes.

Busy bee

I haven't updated in a while due to being quite busy and stressed out. Last week, I caught the cold that was going around my office and on top of it was somehow extra busy when I had a 102 degree fever. But luckily, I have recovered. Knock on wood! Lately, I have been stressed out over finding a new apartment, packing, and finding the perfect desk, but that will be over soon. :-) Last night, I finally bought a desk that I managed to get delivered to me. Maybe one day I'll find a matching hutch for it, but it will do for now. It is beautiful and in very good condition and I am excited because there will be enough room to throw my WIPs on it.

Tonight I'm going to begin moving my stuff over to my new apartment. I am very excited and haven't been sleeping well lately due to that. I haven't had my own room for six years. Yay to being able to sleep peacefully without hearing my roommate's snores! Yay for being able to control the ability to open my windows wide! (I love fresh air.) Although for 2 years in college, I did have a really good roomie who subsequently became my best friend. Thank god Maryann loved air too! :-D

In knitting news, Juliet was finished last Sunday when I was feverish, bored, and trying to relax. I wove in all her ends as I knitted her because I know I would never be able to finish a project if I had a million ends to weave in after alll the knitting was done. Now all she needs is to be blocked and then I will post some pictures!

Here's a picture of my new desk!