Finally. I can haz computer!

I don't know why my happiness is making me speak in lolcat, but it is. A computer? I has it.

So. Awesome.

Anyway, in case you've been wondering what I've been up to:

I knit a Stanley Cup. Actually, I've knit (pause for counting) five Stanley Cups so far. This was the third, and the first that actually looked like a Stanley Cup.

If you're lucky, there will be pictures of the big one tomorrow. It's awesome.

I also knit a Travelling Roses Scarf.

I know you're like, what the hell, you've actually knit something that looks like its pattern, omg FREAK OUT, but don't worry, this really is recycled yarn from an unraveled Gap sweater. Any matching redness is merely coincidental. AND I've been unraveling an awesome light blue cashmere sweater (stained on the front) which will be turned into awesome lace sometime this summer.

And right now I'm doing a bloody slow, pain in my ass sewn bind-off on a shrug that I'm hoping will fit so I can wear it to a wedding on Saturday. Cross your fingers! And make me get the hell off the internet. The novelty of the computer has me stuck here posting pictures everywhere. Nooo! The horror! The horror!

Scratch

Ow. The Stanley Cup is kicking my ass. I may have to be a scratch for this evening's knitting, due to carpal tunnel. On the other hand, soon the muscles on my fingers will be quite nicely sculpted. :)

And it's only about a half-size Stanley Cup. I'm glad I downsized: full-size, which I may do eventually--would probably kill me.

Does Gary Roberts knit? I could use some help.

Is this Heaven?

It's not quite Heaven, and I'm not there yet, but this summer I'm going to work at a place that has both margaritas and a nice yarn store within walking distance. The only fly in this drunken knitting ointment is that I don't think there's cable or reliable internet, so it's going to be tough to keep tabs on the playoff hockey.

Also, the producer is, as usual, being damn slow about calling me back, and if I'm gonna get there in time for the first show, I need to buy a plane ticket ASAP. I just need a few more details before I start shopping. And then, singing, tequila, and yarn. Eventually there will be a salt water pool and a sauna involved, but that's not in the same place as the yarn.

I guess a girl can't have everything.

playoff hockey!

Playoff hockey means extra-special knitting. In my case, it means knitting a (nearly) life-sized Stanley Cup. I should get the barrel done during tonight's game, and then it's on to the fiddly top part, which will not be nearly as mindless, especially since I'm more or less making it up as I go. Really. I am. I've made a couple of small Stanley Cup prototypes, but the full-sized one will be a whole different bag of chips, I'm thinking.

And to think, when I started knitting, that I swore I would never be That Person who knits giant gloves for hand chairs and the like. Well, now I'm totally That Person. I'm going to own a big ol' stuffed Stanley Cup.

I'm kinda awesome.

hmmm.

Who's ready for a disjointed blog post? Whee!

First of all: I finished (finally!) the Travelling Roses scarf that used to be a Gap turtleneck. It's pretty awesome, though not necessarily anything I'd ever want to wear. My mom doesn't wear scarves either, so I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I guess I'll probably end up wearing it, though I prefer my scarves to be longer and thinner. I have a ton more basically laceweight red merino left, so I forsee many more lace scarf-like things to come. I've been looking for a shawl pattern, but haven't liked anything that much yet. I'm also not a triangular-shawl sort of girl. I will probably find a scarf pattern and widen it.

Next: I'm still making odd hats and scarves and mittens out of odd balls of yarn. Some are nice, some are eh. I'm probably going to throw them all at some charity this fall or winter.

I still can't seem to grasp the concept of fit. Negative ease seems to be beyond me. Everything I knit is too big. It's SUCH the pain in my ass.

I recently remembered that I belong to Ravelry. After all the fuss about the site, I feel like a big loser for being so uninterested in it. Mostly I suck at joining any kind of community, I'm not really inclined to organize anything, and there's so much chaff on the site that I don't have the patience to sort through the groups and stuff to look for something good. I also get sort of bugged with . . . I don't know, obviousness? Self-consciousness? I mean, I knit in public ALL THE TIME, and I don't see what the big deal is. It's like reading in public. It's something I do to keep myself amused. That's just one example, but it's the stuff like that that bugs. Or the 'why don't you like your local yarn store' stuff. Sigh. I'm mostly just cranky today, but having to wade through all that makes me tired. So I should probably just not bother, right? And yet it seems like it could be so useful . . . maybe I'll look at it again someday when the sun is shining and I have a job, and I'll be more enthused.

Argh, now I've gone all depressing. Sorry! Think of the charity hats! Think of a day with sunshine! Think that this time next year (barring hideous disaster) George Bush will not be president! Things probably won't be a whole lot better, but at least we won't still have the worst president ever. Whee!

I need an intervention.

I have apparently snapped. I've made three hats this past week, and have started on a fourth. There is no good reason for this. Spring is coming. I don't have to keep the world warm or anything. And, people, these are seriously random hats. No real recipients intended. I'll probably be happy of the damn things when Christmas rolls around, but really, wtf?

Granted, the first hat was made with a purpose. A fun green baby hat, from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. It's so cute. It took less than two hours to make, making me wish I knew more babies, particularly wee ones. Oh, the fun I could have . . . actually, I have to get off my tush and mail the hat today, because with the way babies grow, it might not fit the kid next week. And oh God, it's so cute. So I made a bigger one, just because. And then I made this blue stripey hat to use up some yarn. And now I am making a glorious cream-pink-orange-yellow striped hat that I am totally in love with. I may have to keep it, and I don't even wear hats that often. I have plenty of other projects I'm supposed to be working on, and instead I am having a random hat fit.

Help.

debating ugliness.

Ever knit something you can't decide if it's cool or ugly? Ever knit something you're pretty sure is ugly just because it's fun to knit? I'm doing both of those things right now. (Unless it turns out ot be cool once it's on.) I'm knitting up the . . . what the hell to call it? A capelet? A shrug? A weird-ass bolero? Anyway, it's the 'thing' that's on the cover of 2006's (I think) winter Vogue Knitting.

I found the magazine while cleaning my room, looked at the cover, and thought God, that's ugly. But then after a second and a third look I started thinking it was kinda cool. And then I had enough yarn to make it. And then I started making it. And it's really fun to knit. It's got cables just frequently enough to be interesting, and you don't have to look at the pattern too often, and I'm still entertained by seeing the strip of knitting turn into a pentagon. So. We'll see if it's cool or ugly in probably ten days. And we'll see if it fits. I have problems with making things fit, as I may or may not have discussed already. There's something about ease that just doesn't compute in my brain. I can't seem to figure out what size will fit my body the way it's supposed to, and I tend to make things too big, unless it's some top-down item that I can try on as I go.

And I'm also making a lace scarf from the unraveled bits of my red sweater. I have so much red yarn it isn't funny. I'll have to pick a second project to make out of it. Whee! Lots of free yarn! And recycled, so it's like I'm saving the planet.