Yarn Bombing, part I

Through google alerts I've been following the work of yarn bombers lately. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yarn-bombing-knit-graffiti They are doing some pretty cool work and so I've attached a link to an article with some pictures. As I've mentioned, I recently bought H's bug and I've been trying to decide what to do with the flower vase. I'm thinking that bombing my own car is the way to go, plus the general consensus on the flower is to bag it. Here is the VW issued daisy:

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html

Since I have more of the silver Louisa Harding Mulberry (100% silk - only the best for my new bug) than I need to finish my Jubilee Scarf, this is what I chose.

I measured the little vase, and based on suggested gauge, I cast on using sz 6 dpns. Once I finished the ribbing, it was clear that size six was way too big, so I switched to sz 3 for the remainder of the sheath.


Clearly not a big project, I knit it while watching a couple films. I've been sick, so I'm catching up on movies. Last night was a Kathy Bates film fest on HBO: Revolutionary Road and The Blind Side. Ready for my review? Revolutionary Road...Wow. (Just so you know, I have edited my own comments here so as not to alienate the vast heterosexual male readership. Now I'm cracking myself up.)

So back to my car... I was worried that it wasn't going to fit, but I've got to hand it to myself, it's perfect.


Keep in mind that this is only Part I, so it's not finished. The other components are a work in progress, so I should get them done today and take photos tomorrow in the daylight.



I'd also like to point out one of my favorite features of my new car. It came pre-decorated with liberal propaganda, so I didn't have to go to the trouble of doing it myself.



So I'm going to wrap up. I'm trying to decide whether or not to drag my ass into the walk-in clinic. The doc on call in my office said that as long as I can breathe between coughing episodes, I can wait until tomorrow and see my PCP if I'm still sick. Translation: I can still breathe, so I don't have pneumonia. I'm already trying to figure out what I need to do to be well enough to go to work tomorrow, which is how I got so sick in the first place. The whole point is that I need to rest or I WILL end up with pneumonia and then I WON'T be going away on Friday. Conundrum... Bye.

I Disappeared for Five Days I Guess...

I'm sick again, but this time I'm really sick. People come to work when they're sick, and then the next thing you know, the entire office is sick. It is SO annoying. I knew I was in trouble on Tuesday, and by Thursday, I was the one that needed to be home. I didn't go in today, and that rarely happens. I think the last time I stayed out was with the Norovirus back in March or there abouts. (I thought that was a funny entry, if I do say so myself. Go back for a re-read http://hollypots.blogspot.com/2010/03/hat-to-match-my-sweater-and-how-to-make.html if you're so inclined) I guess there is some respiratory virus going around, and I can't stop coughing, so I think I caught it. The only good thing is that I had the time to go get my new car registered and I switched my plates. I don't know about other states, but the Massachusetts RMV is a delight that has to be experienced to be believed. Although, to be fair, today was only fifty five minutes: 15 in line to get my number, 30 waiting and 10 with the customer service rep. Plus, I met someone to talk to for the 45 minutes (a shock for me, I know) to pass the time. He is a 35 year old eight-year serviceman; a bomb technician who just got back from two years in Kuwait and Iraq, with some interesting insights on the war. One thing he said that stuck with me is this: if we continue to fight in Afghanistan in the manner we are fighting now, we will be there for another 15 years. Yikes.

Enough on that. I haven't knit anything in an age; it's been probably more than a week. I'm going on a knitting retreat next week for four days, so it'll be all knitting - all the time. Kidding. We'll do other stuff. I DO have to find the projects I want to take though. The fall issue of knitty came out this week - did you see it? http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/index.php A couple things I really like are Eleanor, Bound by the Beauty and Pretty Maids. Although I love lace I've never made a shawl, but I might give Pretty Maids a whirl. There was something in this issue that frightened me - I hate to say it. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEdf10/PATTchow.php What is up with this? It's a teeth and tongue puppet, and it's kinda scary. I think I'd be okay to not see anymore of the knitted anatomical items. Yeah, I've seen all of them - from the boobs, to the dick and balls to the uterus and fallopian tubes. Why?? Am I missing something?
Alright, enough of that. I'm starting to cough again, and once I start I'll go on for 20 minutes, so I'm signing off. Hack, hack.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I've been insanely busy again. I had planned to go to a two day seminar on internet marketing and search engine & video optimization Friday night and all day Saturday. But then I thought my weekend wouldn't be busy enough, so I skipped out of the seminar early, raced home, caught a flight to DC and drove back to Boston today. What would cause me to do that you ask? Well, my sister H bought a new car. http://miniusa.com/#/MINIUSA.COM-m She bought the Mini Clubman, which is technically the Mini Maxi. (Next year they are coming out with an SUV. No joke. Henceforth I will refer to that model as the Mini Oxymoron.) Anyway, my Civic and her old car are the same year, but her old car has 70,000 less miles than mine. It seems I live in my car, and she never drives hers. When she asked if I wanted to buy her old one, it only made sense to do so. It stunk to miss three hours of the seminar (especially since I'm starting a business and these are incredibly important topics) and it REALLY stunk to be in the car from 9:30A until 8:10P today, but I have a new car! It's a Bug. Same color as my old Element; I really like a silver car. Here is a picture of happy Holly before leaving DC this morning. There was no one here to snap a pic of cranky Holly when she arrived home...probably for the best.
Soooo. No knitting today, but tomorrow I'm going to talk about where "hollypots" came from and how I'm going to get back there...
Now: Laundry, Boardwalk Empire, Sleep. Bye.

Super Quick Boy Meets Girl Hats

Yesterday, on a whim, I cast on Spud & Chloe's Boy Meets Girl Hats - the girl version. http://www.spudandchloe.com/patterns/boy-meets-girl-hats/ I thought it would go quickly, but I swear you could do the whole hat in two hours max. I've got about an hour and a half invested, and I'm on the crown shaping. I'm on size 11 needles using Cleckheaton Gusto 10, which (drumroll please...) was in my stash! If I make another one, I'll use size 12s and yarn that is softer. This is a mohair blend, and it's kind of itchy. (I might also add one squiggle repeat which would in turn make the ear flaps bigger. Or, I might just bag the pattern and design a new hat myself.) I picked up a set of bamboo circulars yesterday to make this, and the dull points are bumming me out. I generally sharpen the points, so I'll do it as soon as the hat moves from the circular to the dpns. I was looking for some immediate gratification yesterday, as I have three big things going with no gratification in sight. I needed to bang something out on big needles using chunky yarn. If I'm being picky, my right leaning make ones are looking kind of lame, aren't they? They're one stitch in from the edge of the flap, but kind of distorting the edge row. I'm just noticing it now. Hmm. I won't frog it - I'll just keep it for myself, which I hadn't planned to do.

Wow. Did everyone see Boardwalk Empire last night on HBO? http://www.hbo.com/#/boardwalk-empire Fab-O. I thought it was just great, but I'm a fan of Steve Buscemi from way back. Immediately after it ended, I was going to watch it again, but I fell asleep during the opening credits. What a thrilling life I lead...

So I'm listening to an awesome book on Social Media Marketing called Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. I've been spending a lot of time lately learning about Social Media and branding, and this book is a wealth of information. Plus it's narrated by the author and he's cool and enthusiastic.

Not too much else. I'll post pictures of the hat when I finish it. I know my size 11 double pointed needles are around here somewhere...

Project Status and We'll See Where That Leads...

Long week. I've considered sitting down to post once or twice since Tuesday, but the issue foremost in my life would be my debilitating hot flashes, and who wants to read about that? Anyway, at this point it's a stretch to make them funny. This morning my friend S told me I reminded her of a fundraising thermometer (as the red crept up my neck and face), and said..."I think you've reached your goal." Next Thurs: Doctor. This is completely unacceptable. It's hard enough to accept the coming of age with dignity and grace without adding insult to injury.
I want to send a special get well wish to Takoda pictured here at left. I spent a lot of quality time with him last week, and now he's very sick. Here's hoping he just got into something toxic that can be flushed out of his system quickly, and he's on the road to recovery soon. He's such a good dog.

The last time I posted, I was on my way to rip out my Jubilee Scarf shown here. I haven't worked on it since mid-May, didn't really remember too much about it, and when I went to frog it I couldn't even find it. Well, the strangest thing happened when I DID find it; turns out I really like it. I have 19 1/4" done (way more than I thought), there's a row counter on the needle so I know exactly where I am in the pattern, AND the yarn is really yummy. I've decided to reintroduce.

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html Norah Gaughan is the designer and I'm using Louisa Harding Mulberry. It's nice. It looks pretty crappy in the picture, but that's because it's been sitting in a baggie since the third week of May.

So I only have an inch or two to go on the sleeves for the cable & lace pullover I'm working on. I knew the back was done and I thought I still had to finish the front.

Check this out...I actually finished the back and the front before I put it away in the spring. That makes it easy. Once I get the sleeves done I can get everything on a circular and finish it up. The only thing remaining is the ribbed yoke and the seaming. That will leave me with four WIPs: Janis, the Stay Put Wrap, Jubilee and Cinquefoil which has been snoozing since May and will continue to do so.

So that's it for today. B and I are going on an adventure tomorrow, so we'll see if that turns into anything worth mentioning. Bye for now.

Tuesday Night is Knitting Night...

...but not tonight. I didn't mention that I caught a cold when I was on my trip, and now my friend D is sick. She thought I was returning on Sunday, so she came in to feed the cats on Saturday morning first thing. I was crashed on the sofa and I think we scared each other - me not expecting anyone to walk into my house and yell, "I'm Here!" and her not expecting me to growl back, "Awesome" or whatever else I said. She stayed to chat for a bit and then she and B went for an adventure of some sort. She didn't necessarily catch a cold from me by the way - one of her clients has a cold and they might be the culprit. Anyway, instead of going to knit-night I'll stay home for unpack-my-stuff-and-do-laundry-night. But first, I'll do this. Actually, I'm hungry. Maybe I'll do that. Here's what I'm having:

Those red things are beets, which are a complete failure. The largest one is the size of a cherry tomato. I just couldn't grow them - there must be a trick to it, but I don't really care. I don't even like beets that much. I'll eat those three puny things, but clearly the greens will be a larger component of my meal. Then next year, the beets will not be invited back.

Okay. The first thing I want to do today is give a shout out and a big thanks to K, who sent me a lovely bag today in the mail. K is actually my sister H's very good friend, which is how I know her. (H in DC, not H in Tahoe, and not to be confused with my brother H or...me.) This bag is great (and blue), and coincidentally I was with my sister H this summer when she bought the identical one. Thanks K!

So tonight I was looking around at all my current projects. I have six going, but the teal cable & lace sweater for my friend J will be done in the next couple weeks definitely. These are 3/4 of the remain WIPs.

The first is that big doily thing that is actually starting to bug me. I had to go to the trouble of buying the double pointed needles and then the HiyaHiyas pictured here. This is my first HiyaHiya circular needle. Maybe it's my imagination, but it doesn't seem as slick as my addi turbos. I might give them a quick buff with some waxed paper. Yes. I have waxed paper downstairs. Anyway, the doily thing is really easy, so I'm not watching it while I knit, or keeping track of my rows. Any wonder it's screwed up? I've ripped it out twice already and I'm currently tinking back seven rows. I'll give it one more chance and then it's going the way of the frog. And speaking frogging, we have the Jubilee Scarf here on the left. Technically, I would call it more of a UFO than a WIP. I loved that pattern and the yarn when I started it, but now I have no interest. B gave me two 50g balls of Louisa Harding Mulberry so that I could finish it, but maybe I'll give them back. This scarf could be three cables - maybe even two, so maybe I'll re-do. Say good bye... Hey HG - I'll think of you while I'm unraveling it onto the winder!

Here's Janis which is taking a snooze, but I'm going to finish this one. I'm going on a four day knitting retreat in October with Jill Stover, who designed it. Actually, I bet I'll finish it then. :)

Remember the pink acrylic from the other day? I decided what to do with it. I work with a woman whose daughter is a teacher and she's always looking for crafty stuff for her kids. I thought I'd give it to her, but it gets better. I can't just give her one piddly skein of yarn, so I ventured up to the attic to visit the bin of misfits who are not allowed to live in the yarn room.

What I ought to do is give her the whole bin, but it would take a crane to get it out of the house.

This is what I'll give her tomorrow. It doesn't look like much, but it's a start.

And that's all I've got. Off to do the laundry. Bye for now.

Home Again, Home Again...

The night before my mother and I left for Tahoe, I caught something being very bad in my backyard. Hmm. Let me go back further. I've employed a lawncare service for the last couple years. They cut my grass, throw fertilizer down when necessary and pick up my fifty bags of leaves every fall. This late in the year, they only come about every two weeks or so - it's been a really hot summer so there hasn't been too much growing since about July. That said, the back yard has been looking ESPECIALLY dead lately, and it appears that something has been digging a gazillion holes in the grass as well. Is it the early bird getting the worm, or something more sinister at work here? B, my lawn guy, hasn't made any comments on the yard, and his crew has continued to mow it as if it is actually growing. (I didn't really feel like dealing with it, but it's one thing for the lawn guys to mow the lawn when it doesn't need to be done, and quite another when they fertilize my dead lawn - apparently not noticing or caring that it's dead. It was starting to make me cranky.) So back to the night before my trip. We were out running an errand and got home after dark. We pulled into my driveway, and the headlights hit Pepe LePew digging holes in my backyard. Grubs. I knew it. And a skunk of all things is ripping up my yard looking for them. So Mr. LePew doesn't even look up when I shine the headlights on him. I went in the house and turned on the flood light in back, and still, he doesn't flinch. I go out on the deck - and now I'm less than 10 feet from him, and it's like I'm not even there. (Nice dead lawn, right?) So I go in the house, and call B, my lawn guy who doesn't pick up. Message. Me: "Hello B, it's hollypots on (my address)...Yeah, I'm not sure you've noticed...the last three times you guys have been here...that my lawn is dead?? Well, I've just figured out what killed it...grubs, and I have a skunk out there right now tearing up my yard looking for them. Think you could put some grub killer down? I'll be out of town all week, but feel free to stop by anytime." Seriously?? I guess I should hang a shingle and call myself a lawn guy. This is my backyard after they raked up the dead grass and put down grub killer. It will need to be reseeded, but I'll deal with that next spring. Nightmare. Luckily no one ever comes over or I'd be embarrassed.




So Lake Tahoe. It's beautiful there and we had a wonderful trip. Here are a few pictures. The first on was taken in the middle of the lake - the water is very blue because it's so deep.

Here you can see where the water is shallow close to the shore. The water is much greener - but still so clear.

On the boat ride. Most of the trip H & P were up on deck and I was down below. I was struggling with all the people, so I took my anti-social self below deck to chill in isolation.

This is me & H at a stop coming down from Tahoe National Forest.

The next photo is the valley behind us. It is amazing. Created by a glacier.

I read and knit a lot during my trip. I've almost got my sleeves done for the Cable & Lace Pullover I'm working on. Finishing this is my number one priority. I won't have a ton of time this week, but I think I can get them done by Friday.

And now my vacation is over and I'm back in the office tomorrow. It's probably going to be pretty harsh, so I should get to bed. Bye for now.