Two FOs

"One good husband is worth two good wives; for the scarcer things are, the more they are valued." -Benjamin Franklin

The first FO is actually my brother's wedding, which is really a finished event rather than an object. I didn't really have a lot to do with its actual completion, but it was a very happy event. My new sister-in-law is a wonderful person that we are exceedingly happy to now call family, and she and my brother seem very happy together (I should apologize to him for the quote, but he loves Ben Franklin quotes and this one was too funny). It doesn't get much better than that! Here is a photo of me at the beautiful outdoor wedding at Red Rock Canyon this past weekend. It was a bit chilly, so I kept on my jacket for the ceremony and then took it off later for photos. Since this is a side view, you can sort of see my growing belly. I was my brother's Best Woman, and even got to hold the rings. I have to say the ceremony was very touching and I was so happy to be a part of it.

The second FO is actual knitting. I am willing to admit that my progress on even the simplest of projects has been pretty pathetic these past few months (one could argue that this has been the case since the beginning of this blog, but things have worsened to an even more atrociously slow state recently). There are numerous reasons for this, including a neck and shoulder injury brought on by too much time spent hunched over grading (I should have known that grading was dangerous for one's health; it sure feels unhealthy when you're doing it). Also, the yarn for Le Slouch was so old (12 years and moved more times than a failing TV series) that it really upset my dust allergy. I think I have enough yarn left to make matching fingerless gloves, but I plan to wash the it first.

Yarn: Lorena DK (40% wool/60% acrylic) in burgundy
Pattern: Le Slouch by Wendy Bernard
Changes: None, I basically knit the pattern as written
Yardage: 1 skein (200 yards)
Needle: US 7 dpns
Time: Started July 2007 and finished January 2008
Notes: The seed stitch was a little tedious and I kept dropping stitches from the dpns, but these were really minor negatives. Overall, the pattern was easy and fun and the result is a very flattering yet practical hat. Below are a couple photos of the finished hat and an actual action shot.





Shockingly, I have more FOs to post, but don't want to splurge on putting all of them in one post. It may be awhile before I finish anything else afterall.

A Project Stalemate

Lately I've had the opposite of startitus. I haven't wanted to start anything. I think part of the problem is that several of the projects that I think I should start are fairly intimidating. For example, to really start the body of the Schachenmayr sweater (at the bottom of the page) I would have to swatch the lace pattern, which would require reading the chart and, you know, paying attention to what I'm doing. I just don't want to do something that requires that much thought. I think I may have to find a more mindless project for the time being. To be fair, part of why I didn't do anything complext is that this past week I was on vacation here:

Yes, it's San Francisco and that's a photo of the Bay Bridge. The hubby and I spent so much time enjoying the city that I was too tired to knit in the hotel room. I know, rough, huh? I did start one new project, a baby kimona from Mason-Dixon Knitting in a nice gender neutral yellow cotton-ease.



I am also thinking of swatching for Knit and Tonic's flair. It looks good for the SoCal climate and has no complicated lace or anything.

Riding the Bus

"Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you need someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." - Oprah Winfrey

I confess, I am a bad Californian. I don't have a car, and I often ride the bus. I only live a couple miles from work and using the bus system is free with my University ID, so I figure it makes sense to take advantage of public transportation. When I tell people that I use public transit the usual reaction is shock and dismay with a smattering of pity, particularly in this California car culture. They are particularly flustered when I tell them I actually LIKE riding the bus. As a psychologist public transit provides an opportunity for naturalistic observation of my fellow humans. Rarely does the bus disappoint. Just the other day, as I walked on the bus a fellow in the front flashed a handmade sign that read "Impeach President Bush." I'm not sure that he will get much traction in his crusade on the local bus system, but you never know. I have to admit that the seriousness of his message was somewhat hampered by his attire. He was wearing what appeared to my keen eye to be a handknit, orange fun-fur hat, complete with earflaps, worn in 75 degree weather no less. As I said, the bus rarely disappoints.

This past weekend, the husband and I availed ourselves of public transit and took the metrolink into LA. Our destination? It depends on who you ask. The hubby wanted to see the tourist sites of the city and wander around a bit. I wanted to hit a fancy schmancy LA yarn shop. Anne facilitated this by giving me detailed information about which trains to take to get to a couple shops near Union Station. Then she told me that Black Sheep Knittery was having a 50% off sale. What could be better?

We had a great day in the city. We went to the Grand Central Market, Angels Flight park, walked around the fountains in the financial district, and browsed Olvera Street. Here are some photos:




More importantly (for knitting blog purposes, anyway), I got some lovely new yarn and patterns at Black Sheep:



What you see here is 8 balls of Cashsoft DK in a silvery sage (sorry about the bad photo), the new issue of Rebecca, and some sock needles. I also got a new bottle of Kookaburra wool wash and a book on how to remove stains. Actually my husband picked out the last two items (I guess we know who does the laundry in our house!). Frankly, this shows a remarkable amount of restraint on my part. Almost no one left the shop with under $100 worth of yarn, some spending as much as $300. My spending was slowed by the realization that I don't really have room for any of it, and I might actually have to turn the yarn into bedpillows to make a place for it (do you think it would be too lumpy? could I leave the ball bands on?). Now I've just found out that Suzoo's is having an April Fool's Day sale. What's a yarn addict to do? (do you think anyone would notice if I replaced the futon mattress with yarn?)