Last Day to Vote

Remember to vote for the All-Star Game! Voting ends today. Make sure that, among others, lovely Mr. Lo Duca, ultra-happy Mr. Reyes and of course, my adorable boyfriend Mr. Wright are all out there representing the National League!

LETS GO METS!

Better Be Enough

Seduction Sock 1 = DONE!


Lovely Seduction Sock was cast on while flying across the pond and was completed the other night. I cast on the second sock this morning so hopefully I'll have a lovely pair of socks to keep me warm on these cold New York City summer nights. I'm sweating just thinking about it.

Think I can actually get Sock 2 out of that little ball?

Mind the Gap [in Intelligence]

Back from the other side of the pond and let me say, I'm glad to be back. Some ideas I came away with:

- Bear left and don't get hit by a car.
- Refrain from using expressions like "Pip pip, cheerio."
- The Tube is too far underground.
- Guinness tastes better across the pond.
- Smuggling DPNs onto a Heathrow-JFK flight is easy but throw your water bottles away.


But certain quirks and scenarios got my blood boiling.

Service
Like in other European cities, service is included in British food and drinking establishments which means no tipping. Without a tip, however, servers don't "need" to work harder which means, in my experiences, mediocre service at best. No stitch-hitter stamp of approval.

Technology - workwise
As my company is in transition in our London office, our computer servers and bells and whistles are as well. This means that we are using our New York artillery to keep us going. So, not only were we already working in temporary spaces that resombled a World War II-style bunker, our computers were running slower thank a 56k dial-up from 1996. They would time out, bump you off, freeze, you name it. Horrible experience. Appreciate your internet.

Back to Land o' Knitting!

I went to Loop in Islington [northern London]. Wonderful! Such a great selection of yummy yarns at good prices. This being my third trip to the UK in a year and a half, I had to buy yarn! The lovely owner [I think?] was informative and made me feel right at home. I was on the prowl for yarn you can't buy in the states, but that was a lot harder [and more expensive] than I thought. Those yarns were hand-dyed cashmere yarns. I might have been treating myself for my birthday [last friday!], but I wasn't feeling THAT generous.


I'm thinking this Pear Tree yarn will make an adorable cardigan or lacy sweater. I immediately fell in love with the sky-like color and its softness.


Standing by the register, after I picked up the Pear Tree, some darning needles and a yarn cutter [finally, I have one!], this Colinette Jitterbug caught my eye. Delish! At 200+ meters, I'll be making enough socks to keep everyone warm! I might need to start using sock yarn for something else.

To the Plane Station!

My lovely sister-in-law and fellow knitting/blogger Debbie refers to the airport as a "plane station." How painfully adorable.

Skipping across the pond I go. Look, I packed and with only 3.25 hours before my flight.


I even squeezed in some more work on my Bergamo shrug. Coming along rather well. Had to fudge some decreases here and there. Don't tell the knitting police. Just the left side and the side bands remain!


I decided to not take this project with me since it requires attention and not the treatment of a red-headed stepchild. Instead, I'm taking some Claudia Hand Painted sock yarn I bought back in Colorado and taking a crack at the Seduction Socks from Interweave. We shall see what unravels [ha! I kill me!]


Now, some of you might have noticed that me, a die-hard Mets fan, has been rather quiet regarding baseball. Unfortunately, my beloved Metropolitans have not been playing very well. Pitching not hard/fast/anything enough. Batspeed and swing leaving something to be desired. Therefore, I had to take a Ross-and-Rachel break from thinking/talking about baseball. I was still following the games but... crying on my Debbie Bliss cashmerino Aran.

Now off to London.

Slow and Steady...

After my breakdown realization that committing to one project was not going to work [and Hila's wonderful explanation of why it's better for you as a knitter], I have been enjoying my Bergamo pattern. The Debbie Bliss yarn doesn't make it half-bad either!



The pattern is a purl-dot pattern that's rather simple but elegant. I'm rather intriguing on this provisional cast-on and how it all will come together.



Non-Knitting News
Panda [lovely Amanda] and I decided, on a whim while eating Indian food watching the Sopranos series finale, to finally go to the ballet. To our sheer luck, we caught one of Alessandra Ferri's final performances with ABT in Manon at the Met last night. Magical. Delicious. Impeccable. If you have the chance, see her before she says good-bye forever on June 23rd. Tickets aren't that expensive [our cheapo seats were only $35!] and well worth the beauty on stage.

I just might start dancing again...

I Cheated

I tried to be monogamous, really I did. I didn't look at any other yarn. I didn't read pattern books and barely read blogs in the hopes that I wouldn't be tempted. Because of this, I have barely picked up the needles on my pink tank top. Oh that poor tank.

Now, I have this:


The beginnings of the Cache-Coeur Bergamo in Weekend Knitting. Maybe this [and the potential of a pair of socks and a few baby garments!] will show me that the tank top is not the devil incarnate. And now that auction season is almost over, I can focus on my lovely stash.

So, forget being a monogamous knitter. I'd rather be a knitting slut!

Annie Wants 7 Things

But first:

I need to knit.
I need to Knit.
I NEED TO KNIT.

Here are your 7 things.

1. Yes, I adore baseball, that everyone knows. Specifically, I saw game 2 of the 2000 World Series [Mets v. Yankees]. Unbelievable.

2. Obsessed with Law & Order: SVU. I have messed up many-a stitch because of this wonderful drama.

3. I have a [disgusting] nervous habit of chewing on my lip. I'll gnaw and gnaw creating rather large canker sores. Because of this, you should all believe me when I saw that Campho-Phenique is the best remedy. Yum.

4. Summer camp circa 1994, I was named "Craziest Camper" by all of the counselors. Surprised? Within a few years, I was one of those counselors.

5. I'm allergic to nothing, never have been admitted to the hospital, never broken a bone or had an operation. Super Woman!

6. My first concert was in 1986, I was 5, at FDU [Farleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ] with my mother and older brother. I saw Tiffany. The following year the three of us saw Debbie Gibson. And yes, I was a member of DGIF - Debbie Gibson International Fan Club.

7. Excluding espresso [which is not "coffeed"], I have never had a cup of coffee. Ever.

NOW I shall knit.

Let's Go Mets!

You've Got the (W)Right Stuff...

Baby
Love the way you turn me on.

Ah, new kids on the block. Gotta love em. And those Mets. Oh, those Mets! Loved the game with my mom and her fellow library crazypants. Great way to prep myself for what was to be an insane week at work.

About 70 hour work week, worked til 2:30am on Thursday. That's all I have to say. And no knitting.

No knitting at all!

And now, as I lay on my bed watching the Mets beat the Yankees, I look at all my lovely yarn and think, "I'm just too tired."

Someone wake me up!

Baseball is Simpler than Knitting

Why?
Why?
WHY?!

Pattern calls for me to knit another 4 inches of the armholes/shoulders/"sleeves" of my pink tank top.


I tried it on and realized, "I look ridiculous!" These are only 15 stitches wide [on each side] and the base of the v-neck is at the base of my bust. Now, maybe I should have thought this through more, but I thought, "The pattern is smarter than me," and "The picture looks right."

Grr... I'll go with it and if I need/want to, I will host a frogging party since this "pattern" has the potential of being a strange vertical lace strip breast cover.

In other News
1. Went to a winning Mets Game with Mom for Mother's Day. Yeah! So wonderful. So yummy. So Dy-No-Wright!
2. Saw The Avett Brothers on Friday night with Kate via a "I have an extra ticket to a concert" text message. They rock! Or, shall I say, they bluegrass! Thanks Kate, you adorable knitter-meets-coworker you!
2. Bought 3 awesome books today:

So, You Want to Join the Peace Corps...

Crimes Against Nature

Bush Versus the Environment

I'm on a "Let's Learn about the Environment, how the government has messed it up and how we can change it" kick.

Peace Corps Update
Awaiting my medical packet to arrive.
Met a former Volunteer - awesome!
Trying to keep mouth shut at work.

Sunday night, already?

Friday
With only 15 hours before Sit n' Knit's Sock Exchange, I feverishly knitted - on the subway, at home and... at happy hour. Yes, weekly drinking shenanigans had to make room for knitting. PBRs and mac-n-cheese at the Hog Pit later, I still wasn't done yet. Back to Brooklyn I went, an episode of The Sopranos, two of Entourage and one watching of Mallrats later, I was FINALLY DONE! Here comes the blocking. At 2am. Washed in my lovely green Ecover laundry detergent [for delicates!], I felt confident and passed out.

Saturday
9am - socks not dry
10am - go to spinning praying socks will dry
11:30am - socks still not dry
noon - shower, get dressed, right nice card, prepare wrapping
12:30pm - sock "dry enough"
1:30pm - arrive in Sheep's Meadow only to call sis-in-law 3 times because I couldn't find my fellow knitters
2:30pm - Aileen gives me these delicious numbers along with NY Mets stickers!! You ROCK!


2:35pm - give Judy-in-Progress her socks; she notices their "dampness;" we all laugh


Now, the rest of Cinco de Mayo, or Cinco de Drinko as my friends and I like to call it, ended on a ... much ... different ... note.

4:30pm - first 50 oz. margarita; Jason and I share
4:45 - 5:30pm - eat, drink, be merry
6pm - second 50 oz margarita; Jason, Amanda and I share
7pm - third 50 oz margarita; Jason, Amanda and I share

Only made it through the 3rd inning of the Mets game.

What
A
Night

Sunday
What happened last night? Those times don't sound right. Well, it was a Cinco de Drinko to remember. And today, I had these goodies to ogle


Check out the new copy of Interweave Knits. And, for all those that care about my "I will never find the right pink" for my cowl pink fuzzy tank top, rest assured I found it! I returned to Purl Soho to return the lonely pink skein that didn't match. One of the salesgirls remembered me and my ill-fated purchasing.

"This wouldn't work?" she said [I hate that I don't know her name], handing me a hank.

"Wait a minute," I said as I pulled out a swatch of my yarn. "It WILL work!"


And speaking of swatches, here's my first real true swatch. And it grew.

2 ½ Days Left

Yell at Nicole
Before my knitting group's Secret Feet Sock Exchange. Someone please light a fire under my arse so that I finish the second sock. Last week, with lots of auctions and other work whosiwhatsits, I worked about 70 hours last week. I then took the weekend to take a voyage of beer [yummy Heartland], drop some dough at Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters, do some much-needed laundry and... sleep. When did I knit? Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

My Mom is Better than Your Mom
The best piece of my weekend? My mom sent me a box of lucious goodies:

- bag of zucchini puffs [like bread only in mini-muffin shapes]
- a mini-loaf of banana bread
- a copy of the Harlot's new Casts Off



I scarfed down those puffs - you can't say no to Mommy's cooking. Mmm... A pic would've shown up but... I was too busy eating them. Thanks Mumu! You rock! Maybe some new socks in your future...?

Must knit
Must knit
MUST KNIT!

I'm Not Like My Brother

See, my brother is colorblind. It serves for enjoyable holiday dinners when everyone asks, "What color is that?" and then snickers when he says "Red" when it's really yellow. "Reddish yellow, I mean." It's side-slipping when things are "dark" or "light" just because he doesn't want to deal with our chuckles at his "disability." Now, of course he can see colors - but it's his 3 million to our 10 million.

But I felt like him over these past two days yarn shopping for a Koigu Premium Merino Wool to match my lucious pink. I can remember the color, right? Here it is...


Try #1: Downtown Yarns


Nope. Kinda dirty pink. And this was after going into Knit New York, seeing the same yarn [that I have realized in hindsight] and trekking down Avenue A to purchase what I THOUGHT was the right yarn.

Try #2: Purl Soho



Wrong again. And I even had the wonderful ladies at Purl wind 2 of my 3 skeins since I was so certain this was the right color.

Third time's a charm? I'm not so sure. Next time, I'll not only bring a swatch of the yarn [go ahead, reprimand me], but I'll bring my brother since maybe his colorblind eyes are better than mine.

Insert expletive here

Excuse me, but who invited you, Mr. Toe? I know that I didn't.


Delightful yarn plus wonderful new stitch equals . . . a rip? Not fair! And I don't even know how to darn socks. I never intended to learn - that and dusting. Never a fan of the dusting.

Expletive: Your choice 4-letter word

Easter plus yarn multiplied by lots of knots equals yum!


Left: Malabrigo Kettle Dye Pure Merino in Azul Bolita. Not sure what to do with this. Might need to purchase more skeins for a vest or shrug. Hmm... ideas?
Center: Socks that Rock! Finally, I can cast on.
Right: Claudia Hand Painted Yarn in Jungle. Socks for moi! Gotta love the additional jimmy-rigged kid sister skein, eh?
Shop [left & right]: What's Needling U? in Frisco, CO. Something so heartwarming about buying yarn in a cozy mountain town.

Expletive: hells yeah!

Secret Feet Status
Made the foot too big. Had to frog and tink then reknit THEN tinked some more since still too big. But these must be as close to perfect as possible.

Cowl Status
Ran out of yarn. What?!!? Well, I trekked to Knit New York AND Downtown Yarns to try and match the yarn and nothing. I even purchased yarn at DY thinking that it was the same but it wasn't. I can't even post a pic. Too sad. Need to buy online now. Poor poor knitting. FYI - Knit's new website. Horrendous! Check it out and let me know if you agree. There's no yarn search. Why have a website for a yarn store if I can't even see what you sell?!!

Expletive: grumble grumble

More Yarn to Oggle

For Weekend Knitting's Bergamo - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, lot 610
For who knows what, Cascade Yarns' Bollicine Dolly [sale!]. Hmm... ideas?

Expletive: Creative adjectives using pornographic references

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Mz. Kwooz of "I have no stash or a blog" fame has jumped head-first into the deep end and received her membership card to the knitting blogsophere.

Everyone say it with me, "I told you so!"

Knitters vs. Non-Knitters

Round 1.

DING!

Easter is usually the holiday when I eat too much chocolate and complain that there aren't enough vegetarian options, but not this one! My lovely SIL, cRazy sTitch, brought her ball winder over to my dad's on the Bunny Holiday for us to have some winding fun. Now, this winder has a history... about 25+ year history. I think it started in Long Island, at Debbie's childhood home, and then found it's way to Nanuet, where Debbie and Danny live now. A little before Bunny Holiday, I asked to borrow the winder so that I could finally wind not only my Socks That Rock! yarn but other skeins sitting in my stash. I didn't bring it all over but enough to keep us busy.

No swift.

How are we going to do this, I thought? Well, just stand there with your hands out, holding the hank, tilting and dancing the yarn dance and the retro winder will spin my beloved into a cute little ball/rectangle/thing.

And, some knots.

Debbie and I noticed some annoying knots in the first skein [STR] but were able to pick them out. One skein down, more to go! Bring on the yummy sock yarn from Colorado.

And, more knots.
A bigger one.
Huge knots to scare small children but not... Amanda!
And she's not a knitter!

I got very frustrated since this knot, this morphing of bad yarn, kept getting bigger and badder. I had to stop. Debbie tried. We had to stop. I had to have pie. But not Amanda. She wasn't dissuaded by the evil-knot-that-could. She hunkered down and picked that knot apart.

I had pie, Debbie's plum tart. Gotta love the Fruit of the Month Club!
And Amanda's delicious chocolate chip macaroons.

Knot begon! She fixed it! The non-knitter caused the knitters to "ooh" and "aah" in her wonderment. We decided that she can be taught and she will be taught [again; her grandma taught her back in the day, which, if anyone is counting, was a Tuesday].

Amanda will become a knitter.

Yes, I'm one of them

One of the females that is enamored with David Wright, the Mets third baseman. One that would wear a "Mrs. Wright" t-shirt [I stress the word "would" as those shirts pack a heavy dose of cheddar]. One that when she opened her newest New York Magazine, she slightly melted when she read the Mr. Clean article. Yum. And my boys are undefeated! Now, don't start your yammering about how they've only played 3 games. Those three games [a sweep, oh fair ones!] were against the defending World Champions.

I'm also one of those knitters that loves to cast on. I love to start projects, pick yarn, sift through pattern books, bookmark ideas on webpages, ogle FOs on other blogs. Because of this obsession, perfectionism or just plain silliness, it causes casting on to be rather difficult and, moreover, ritualistic. This ritual occurred a few times over the past 2 weeks in my lovely abode in the big-bad-BK - secret feet socks and a cowl neck tank top. And of course, I have dreams now [and not just David Wright realizing that he's destined to be with me, but I have that dream too].

Dream #1: Socks must fit secretee. Oh socks must fit! But remember, no pictures until the secretee receives them.

Dream #2: My cowl neck tank top isn't TOO pink... is it?

Interview, check. What's next?

Wow. I am wired. I am bouncing off the walls. I had my Peace Corps interview today and am feeling so invigorated. I walked into my old stomping ground of NYU and sat down with a wonderful former volunteer, they're called RPCVs, and immediately... freaked out. I was nervous [since I was 10 minutes late], scared [since I forgot every reason why I wanted to join the Peace Corps in the first place] and excited [since I was finally having my interview].

First question: What is the Peace Corps in your words and why do you want to serve?
My Answer: uhh... um... well... yeah...

That painted a fabulous picture of eloquent Nicole. Thankfully, I was able to remember that I wanted to be part of a community, learn a new language, immerse myself in a different culture and challenge myself on every level. Onto more complex questions surrounding:

1. Leadership experience
2. Conflict and differences with someone and how I resolved it
3. Not having traditional support system available
4. Teaching/Transferring knowledge or a skill set to another
5. Stressful situations and how to handle them
6. Being away from home/family/friends
7. Living conditions and lack of communication
8. Language and cultural barriers
9. Changes in appearance/dress [yes, my tatoo is a factor]
10. Prescribed gender roles
11. Dietary restrictions [I'm a vegetarian!]
12. Ideal placement

Wow. It was a hefty hour and a half, but I kept feeling the energy bubble inside of me. I yammered about passions for knitting and cooking, my love for the planet and how computer savvy I am. I explained my job and how stressful and time-sensitive it is which lends itself to incredible project management skills. She got excited as well.

"I want to find the ideal niche program for you." [I'm paraphrasing]

YES! ROCK ON! FIND IT! That's what I want. I want to use all of these passions and... do! Whatever that "do" is, that's what I want to do. If I'm in a straw hut without running water, so be it. If I'm in a bussling city with millions of people and internet cafes, I'll be great there too.

Next Step: my "nomination" with a general program and general region [no countries listed]

Then: medical, dental and legal review. Doctors, dentists and the FBI will poke and prod me with attempts to find nothing. Now, hopefully my immunizations are all up-to-date. There are no new shots out, are there?

Finally: my "invitation" with a specific program and country.

Wow. I am wired.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Thank you David Bowie for changing a two-syllable word into, well, a long freakin' word. After seeing other blogs changing, particularly the lovely Tina's new template, I decided to add more [granted, non-knitting] stuff to the blog. So for the 4 of you that read this [Hi Mom!], I hope you will enjoy some new reading material. I won't be pushing my green views on you, just exposing you to them!

Knitting Related
1. Baby Afghan: needs ends woven in and blocking
2. Secret Feet: need a set of DPNs, 1s or 2s. Decided against using 3s even though I got gauge. We shall see...
3. Tank/Cowl neck top: delicious yarn! Pics to come. Possibly even a flickr album

Opening day is right around the corner, April 1st vs. St. Louis [away] to be exact, and baseball fun has already began! My "boyfriend," David Wright, is conducting a survey: "What song should David Wright Swing to?" So many choices with the additional option to write in your own. Personally, I chose "That was a Crazy Game of Poker" by O.A.R. What will you choose?

Thanks to Allena for pointing me to the direction of Stitch n' Pitch. This fantastical organization, sponsored by The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA), combines yummy baseball with yummier knitting. August 8th is the event at Shea/Citifield. Who's with me?? Hopefully, I can gather some Sit-n-Knitters to come.

Days til Peace Corps Interview: 1.5

Something entertaining to get you through the day and remind you days of yore

Don't Call the Police

First off, happy baby to Annie! I am so happy for her, her lovely little tyke and her happy hubby. Seeing how quickly she posted post-delivery shows her devotion to knitting and the blogosphere. On to knitting...

ATTEMPT 1
4 St blocks, 29 st each therefore CO 116 stitches for border of baby afghan
K 8 garter st rows
[attempt] to PU BO stitches
Scratch head in disbelief that I could be this silly

ATTEMPT 2
PU BO stiches on WRONG side [both senses of the word]
Slap face repeatedly in shock that I could be this silly ... again
Consider calling Knitting Police to arrest me for fraud

ATTEMPT 3
PU BO stitches on RIGHT side [both senses of the word]
Eureka, it works!
Totally awesome! All right, Hamilton. Sorry, I love quoting Fast Times at Ridgemont High

PLAN OF ATTACK
PU BO stitches on all four sides
K 8-10 rows of garter
Seam corners


See that little tiny green border? Wait, let me get you my magnifying glass.

OTHER ATTEMPTS
Getting gauge on my Secret Feet socks
These need to be perfect!

Speaking of socks, I gave Katie and Margaret their socks last weekend, and they immediately threw them on and paraded around in joy. Look how happy they are [and how short Katie is!]



Countdown to Peace Corps Interview: 7 Days

They Say It's Your Birthday

Well, it's not my birthday too, but it was Margaret's birthday a few weeks ago. And here is my gift.

Yarn: Knitpicks' Sock Memories in Gladiolus
Needles: size 3, DPNs
Pattern: Chevron for self-striping from Sensational Knitted Socks

And that afghan. That poor unloved afghan. It has been sitting pinned [unblocked!] to my towel on my floor for quite some time. All of this procrastination because I don't want to cast on 140-something stitches. So instead I think, "What will I cast on next?!" Of course I will begin my secret feet socks [not sure of the pattern, cables maybe], but I need something else to distract myself from the afghan. And this next project MUST be for me. I do have lovely Socks That Rock! yarn to knit up, but alas, since I don't have a ball winder, that yarn is sitting in knitting basket since I do NOT have the patience to wind almost 400 yards of sock yarn.

Options:

1. Lace Camisole & Cowl from Weekend Knitting - some tasty Koigu Merino and Madil's Kid Seta. Using this tasty yarn combo would be a nice textural change for my fingers.
2. Meee socks - yummy French Yarn Debbie brought back from her honeymoon with my brother
3. Bergamo capelet/shrug also from Weekend Knitting - something else yummy for me with some lucious burgundy Debbie Bliss merino wool

Votes?

Jealous?

Yesterday, after a rather difficult day with auction catalogue drama, a coworker of mine walks up to me and hands me a USPS box. What could be in it? Garden gnomes? French unpasteurized cheese? Fluorescent pipe cleaners? Oh no you Corey Feldman fanatics. It was my first installment of the Rockin' Sock Club! Inside was a hippie-inspired binder with a welcome letter, sock/foot know-how, a fresh pattern and some tasty yarn not yet available. I'm tingly all over.


Now, not that I'm a perfectionist or anything [hee hee] but I was reading the sockaholic's recent entry and wow! She received the yarn AND knit it up already?! What kind of alternate being is she? Now, yes, I'm jealous but I'm also too busy marvelling in the Postal Service gods that brought me these tasty treats. Just look at this Monsoon hand-dyed mediumweight Merino.


*drool*