Happy Halloween!

Refined Palate

I must be off my rocker. I can't explain my fixation for Betsey Johnson, or justify it any other way than IT'S BETSEY JOHNSON!!! I absolutely love her clothing. Not everything, but alot. I don't know what sent me to her site, but I should have resisted. I had every intention of uploading pictures of the two pairs of booties I've knit in the past night. But now I can't. I've succumbed to Betsey. Her designs are my crack.
I used to make the trek up to her outlet once or twice a year on my minimum wage salary ($6.75). I would buy a few dresses for (even reduced) a rate that resembles insanity. Why? Why? Because ever since I was a little girl, the woman who does cartwheels across her catwalk has had me in awe. Her store at the Beverly Center gave me goosebumps. Something about the '90s. It's not just me. My best friend feels the same way. And I'm sure it's not just us.

This is my favorite:
*drool*



*drool*

*perfection*

*me likey*

*simply devine*

*in real life I would never wear this, my legs haven't seen the light of the day in years, but in BetseyLand...*

*Vegas? Or jail? Everyone has the right to look fabulous in BetseyLand...*


Why is a (for-the-most-part) stay-at-home-mom even kidding myself?

Maybe Santa right? I've been good.

Yeah right! Rick gave me a lump of coal for x-mas 2005!

Duhnkey!

It actually looks good in the pictures. A lot better than I thought it did when knitpicking all the little flaws in person. It pumped me up to want to complete more projects, and start more!



The ear seaming isn't perfect:
(They look uneven and crooked, but it's a flaw in my photography. I didn't realize it until it was blown up on the screen right now. It was taken on an angle. (I'm actually tempted to take this photo down).



A better angle perhaps?

Since I was using two different colors, I knew that in the seaming process it wouldn't be hidden too well. I don't mind it too much, it's hidden on the inside lining and on the cuffs.



I think I might make a pair of Saartje's bootees in Lion's Brand Cotton-Ease TerraCotta. A good friend of mine had her baby girl early this morning. I was getting text messaged updates all night long. She likes girly stuff, but not overly pink. Everything she bought for her room is red or sage/mint green. She's a non-knitter and I think Cotton-Ease would be easy to just throw in the washer if she needs to. Now off to Michael's!

Congrats Connie!

Sunday's are for Seaming

The best picture I could come up with in such short notice. I literally seamed the ears on within 15 minutes from the beginning of this post.
*Thanks iMac Photo Booth!*



I don't know what happend. I woke up around 8 and the baby slept in until 9:30 (!). I went on Ravelry and admired patterns, then realized I needed to get my ass in gear. I've had this whole sweater done since June! I had all the pieces knit up, and just sitting there! It even got so bad that I started to lose pieces, which really irritated me since they were times that I had planned on seaming them together. (Hence, how I realized pieces were missing). Well, no more excuese, the thing is D-O-N-E.

The knitting part was easy, but as someone who has very little experience in seaming, it looks kind of terrible. I'll take pictures when I have my camera handy. I guess I'm a masochist that way. I'll show you my failures. I really don't think I'm just being hard on myself. It should look better. But I AM happy I finished something. It still looks cute. Seamy looks adorable, but I will be very paranoid of knitters hissing at my seaming skills.

Ravelry has been doin' me some good! If only I could figure out why my flickr ID is working on Raverly...

Ravelry

I signed up for Ravelry a few months ago, not quite clear on what it was. The other night I got an invitation in. Crazy huh? Thanks frecklegirl!

I haven't had a chance to really check out the site, Rick and me were feeling naseus and queezy all of yesterday and could barely move. I don't know if it was a bug that we'd picked up from Seamus, or something we ate. Whatever it was, I'm glad it's gone!

I'm on the very last five rows of sleeve #1 for SweetHeart. I'd completed it, then realized I had no idea what a psso was, and totally f*cked it up! I had to rip down five rows and was too sick to even mess with it yesterday. I was going to show in progress photos but decided I'll wait until I have more of it done.



*I've been on Ravelry all day, it's pretty cool! Am I the last person to get accepted or what!?!

Strung Out On Chai

I'm strung oout on a venti Chai Latte and have been scouring the internet for inspiration for Demi. I found this and am temporarily in love, not just with her Demi, but ALL of her projects! I originally wanted a coffee brown colored Demi, but didn't realize that Yorkshire Tweed Aran is discontinued. Now I know why people have a "stash". I can't find it anywhere. I have seen an ugly beige for $15 a skein. No way! Scottish Tweed Aran it must be, but no brown either... How annoying.

Two SweetHearts

#1: Last night was a long one. Seamus got sick for the first time ever, and has been throwing up continuosly all night long. He did sleep through the night, rolled over once and puked in his sleep, and puked once right around 8 am when he woke up. Our bed is covered in fresh towels to cover the pukey areas. Lazy first-time parents that would rather sleep a few hours than change sheets all night right? Well, Seamus has only nursed, so it wasn't gross. Or maybe it wasn't since it was our kid.

#2: While Seamus slept next to me, I knit a bit on a sleeve on SweetHeart with the most lovely yarn I've ever dealt with. Filatura di Crosa Zara is so delicious. Even when I'm tired and want to put it down, my hands say no, and I continue to fondle (knit). I've knit with Rowan since I restarted knitting in 2003/2004. I've expanded my horizons and can't wait to wear this sweater. I've only purchased tha black, for the main part of the sweater and am still hemming and hawing over what color to make the bow, if at all. I was attracted to the bow immediately, but have since had trouble finding a color I wanted. I had envisioned red, then after not finding the PERFECT red, I thought of white. Whit goes with everything, right? Then I found nicer pinks, like in the original design...but I don't wear much pink. It's just not me. So, for now I'm just going to knit the sleeves, then buy a larger circular for the body (back first), then once I find the bow color will work on that. I'm really getting my knitting groove back. Groove?

Wedding Inspiration?

I'm in a wedding rut. I can easily find inspiration in things, but none of them blend with what we had kind of already planned. Basically, anything sounds great all of a sudden. Channel surfing, suddenly a wedding by candlelight and just a champagne toast sounds lovely (and so simple!). Elope! (something I never planned on doing, but sounds so stress free!)...but I'm going to stick to my original plans, because I know that I will regret it otherwise. You're supposed to get married (hopefully) only once, so why not do the whole shabang if you can afford it. Right? As I'm begiining to see prices and also realize I have to walk down an aisle with a bunch of people staring at me, just me, Rick and Seamus fleeing for something much smaller sounds great. But I fear I may regret it one day, so I will just go with the flow.

A much nicer version (if not the original), of the cheapy dress I bought, or another that looks very similar that a seamstress will make me. I like the hair and the flower in the back, it would probally be red though, and a little red lipstick ofcourse!



Cakes with black ribbons, suggested by my cake chef, a cousin-in-law of Rick's who is an AMAZING pastry chef. Along with, FREE!





A picture of random girls I found on the internet with red roses and black dresses...


Time to look at Save The Date Cards and Invitations!


I have a feeling that time is really going to start creeping up on us.

A pic of the completed front or back of Raspy. I've found two more skeins of denim in the correct lot while sorting through my stash. Yipee!

Cuteness

It's hard to get mad at a face like this,



Even when he does things like this.



Look how he creeps up on his prey...



Atleast the piece was knotted and complete. Seamus is a yarn afficionado. He loves to play with skeins of yarn. Nothing thrills him more than the "kill" of a nice skein of yarn. Tangling himself in it so bad that there is nothing left to do with the jumbled mess around him other than toss it in the trash. (sigh.) Many times he also pulled the work off the needles or played with the skein currently in use.

Knitting with a toddler around is a bitch.

Knitting TrainWreck

I'm a knitting trainwreck. I will knit something, and if it needs to be seamed, I will NEVER finish it. Small thing like beanies and dishclothes aren't a problem. It's the stuff that should be swatched. The stuff I buy too little yarn for. I'm freaking myself out. I completed the front/ or back piece to Raspy and then realized that I used 3 1/2 skeins or close to 4. How many do I have left? Well...I originally bought 10, but have tried to knit pieces, then got bored or tired and set them down. I have located 7. 7! That won't fit my off gauge Raspy! What should I do?!! I've spentthis much timeon it, away from my child, without sleep, without cleaning my house, etc. I obviously need to order more yarn, but should i have knit the 34 instead, seeing that I usually wear 34 shirts, just tight? I'm a ost little knitting trainwreck who has no confidence in my knitting abilities. I can't even figure out how much to order. I was thinking about using the piece I finished for the back, then ordering a bunch of a new lot for the front and sleeves, and hopefully it won't look too goofy from the back. What'd you think? Any comments?

Raspy: Part One

After knitting so many dishcloths I think I am finally ready to take on something more lengthy. I've always loved Raspy. I've always started it, then put it down out of boredom or laziness. Unlike many projects that I had once liked, then wondered what the hell I was thinking, I still love how Raspy looks. I love the dropped stitches, I love that it looks old and dilapidated. So within mere hours, I'd finished one skein (ball) and had about four inches done. My new plan is to do a ball a day. I think I can handle that, and in no time it should be done. I didn't bother checking my gauge. It seems like such a waist of time, and I always want to jump right in. I have no patience for swatching. I'm knitting the sz.36, I was probally aiming for the 34 when I initaially bought the yarn about two years ago, but my boobs are a bit bigger now after baby and I think that this sweater will look good a little bit baggy if that's the way it turns out. I'm not worried. I may need more yarn, but I'll worry about that IF I get to that point. So far I've finished two balls, but realized my mistake last night, and will have to frog about 20 rows. Ick. But not too bad. I'll survive. Get over it. Whatever. Usually by this point I would get irritated and put it down for months, but maybe I'm maturing. Mature knitting? Doesn't all knitting seem mature, even if it is pasties or a whip? I'm getting off track aren't I? I tend to ramble...

I'm actually looking forward to fixing my knitting mistakes. Knitting therapy maybe?

RIck's been going lobster fishing a lot lately. He went last week with a friend and they caught 4, a few days ago 7! I tried lobster for the first time last night too. I've never been much of a fish person, and the whole process with lobster is so barberic. I made him take the meat out of the shell if he wanted me to try it, it just seemed so wrong to eat it right out of it's body. But surprisingly, I actually like it! It tasted somewhere between chicken and string cheese. Weird description right?

I'm also feeling like I might try knitting a pair of socks. Never ever felt like it before, but I feel like I've been bit by the knitting bug again. I want to order teh yarn for Demi, but will wait until I figure out how many extra balls of denim yarn I need to finish Raspy. I know it's bad that I'm probally going to end up with two different dye lots, but since it's denim and will fade over time, I'm not as worried. I've just decided that in my future I will always buy atleast one extra ball of yarn. Maybe if I checked my gauge, I wouldn't have a problem. I also can'y wait to buy the yarn for Thermal. None of KnitPicks colors are to my liking so I will be buying the "dye your own" once it becomes available. I really want to jump right into that one. I've also just bought the yarn for SweetHeart on ebay. I haven't received the package yet and hopefully I'm not getting screwed on that one:) I've got no message and no yarn yet.

P.S.

Rest In Peace Rene

Penelope Kwikspell

I found a random sight that gave me a Harry Potter nickname that I actually like. I'm Penelope Kwikspell and Rick is Accio Black. I wonder if he's related to Sirius. I'm not some freaky fan, but I've read the books and thought they were good.

Want your own Harry Potter nickname? Go here.

The Most Beautiful Purse Ever!

It wasn't supposed to be done for atleast 3 more weeks, but I guess I got lucky. This is a kustom-made Trophy Queen bag. Red metal flake with mexican blanket (sarape) tuck n' roll. I f*ckin' love it! Now all it needs is to be pinstriped by Rick's pinstriper who works on his cars. He's awesome, too. I've had my black on black one for years and it's held up wonderfully. They're a bit pricey, but I use them all the time. Year round, out to dinner, out to a concert, club, you name it. I don't have a billion different purses either. That's how I justify it anyways.



I did buy this Hell's Belle's clutch too, but haven't had the oppurtunity to use yet.

The Pains Of Being My Child

Being forced to hold poses when all you want is a little help:





My son also fell of the "family bed" early this morning. I'll just say that someone in sleep-induced forgetfulness forgot to barracade his side of the bed with a pillow when he went and slept on the couch. Unfortunately this isn't the first time my kid has taken a tumble, but it is the first time he's busted his lip on the way down. There was nothing on the floor, so we've concluded that his tooth hit his lip. And yes, all teeth are intact.

I would post on other happenings that have nothing to do with the above situation, but I feel I'd probally come off as a worse mother than I've already portrayed myself.

Polyester Bride

My (possible) wedding dress arrived last night in the mail. I really love the style and think that it is flattering to an hourglass figure (which I have). The quality of the material leaves little to be desired, and the thread/stitching seems like it may easily fall apart, or needs to be reinforced. The added detail on the top wasn't my favorite in the beginning, but once on, I really liked it.



I would feel silly spending a lot of money on a dress I may only wear for 6 or 7 hours, but when I look at the quality of this less expensive dress, I kind of sigh. It looks cheap, I fear coming off tacky. I don't know if I should look into having a seamstress create a replica, or just stick with this one. I can't imagine wanting to preserve a dress made from polyester...

(I've found that cutting my head out of these pictures has made me less critical of myself and I can be more objective of the dress itself.)