Domestically Challenged

Infected!

My computer at work has been slow lately so I thought I should do run all of the system tools to find out what is going on.  Trojan Horse is what's going on!  I am utterly shocked.  How is it that I could have, not one, but TWO different Trojan Horse viruses galloping wild on my hard drive?  Giddy-up!  They are currently "quarantined", whatever that means.  Why can't they just be deleted?  Will this be like living with a chronic illness?  Will I start saying things like: "I can't write up my thesis today, my Trojan is acting up?".  I will definitely have to talk to the computer people about this tomorrow.

My Hourglass Sweater is progressing slowly.  I am about to start the increases but it is slow going.  The thesis keeps getting priority.  I have extended the length so that I can wear it with my low-rise jeans.  This may mean that I need to run out to get another ball of yarn.  Let's hope the knit cafe has one in the same dye lot!

                             

El Convento Rico!

Last week was a very interesting week for me - I was home alone.  This is very rare and is usually short-lived, but this time, it lasted a full 7 days.  Being alone, I could run on my own schedule.  I was free to wake up at 6 am (yes, Costin is the one with the non-type A sleep cycle) at go to sleep early.  I could also knit obsessively without getting that look from him that says: "Go outside and do something!  You are knitting obsessively!".  Although I couldn't indulge completely due to school commitments, I did spend ALL day Saturday knitting and reading The Way the Crow Flies.  I used to be sad that knitting was taking up all of my reading time.  That was until I learned to do both at the same time!  Boring stockinette is now premium reading knitting. 

The worst part about being home alone is that my imagination runs wild...in a bad way.  I have definitely watched too much crime TV and read too many horror novels because somehow, I have convinced myself that by mire virtue of being in my home alone, my apartment has a beacon on it for rapists and murders.  I know - too much TV!

Eden, who knows I get a bit freaky at night, invited me out to El Convento Rico for their 14th Anniversary Party.  It was so much fun.  The music and dancing were great and the drag show was phenomenal.  I am always in awe at how hot these women are.  I am also in awe of the fact that straight men would come to this bar to pick up chicks, in a slimy, LimeLight (is this still a bar?) kinda way.  Being curious, I asked one guy whether or not he hoped I was in drag.  Another man at the bar was convinced I was and advised his straight friend against hitting on me.  I think it was a compliment.

Costin is now home (murders and rapists take note) and something strange must have happened in NYC because my knitting is now not only an acceptable past-time, but has been deemed "cool".  I wonder how long this will last - I better take advantage of this attitude shift.

Ease(y)?

Today I finished the body of the hourglass sweater up to the armpits.  To celebrate, I tried it on:

                

It makes a much nicer skirt.

I have always been very apprehensive about knitting myself a sweater.  I knew that no matter what precautions I took, it would be the wrong size.  So I did some research and learned about ease.  You see, I was of the impression that one measures one's body and knits the size that most closely matches or alters the pattern completely to accommodate their proportions.  The article on ease taught me that this isn't necessarily true and that I should measure a sweater I own (and like), made out of approximately the same yarn, to see how much ease is appropriate.  The measurements from my body and my sweater were wildly different.  I decided to trust the article and cast on the 41" bust to match the existing sweater.  Although the photo shows the bust of the sweater around my waist, I can assure you that I am not voluptuous enough to fill it out.

For now I'm contemplating ripping out the increases and making it a really long sweater by continuing the deceases until I'm close to my body's actual measurements and continuing the pattern from there. 

I can't believe that after all that, it is still the wrong size!

45

I just came back from stuffing my face with cookies.  Every Wednesday, the Trainee Affairs Committee provides coffee and cookies for graduate student and today I took full advantage.  As I was shoveling in the cookies though, I was reminded of a joke my friend told me over the weekend.  The first part goes:

What’s the difference between a wife and a girlfriend?

45 pounds.

Is it possible that since settling comfortably into my relationship I’ve let myself go?  Two weeks ago I went to the doctor for a physical.  Of course they weighed me and a peek at my chart revealed that since last year, I’ve gained 4 kilos…4 KILOS!  I was devastated (surprisingly my doctor didn't seem concerned).  So, while I was at the gym later that day, I began to reflect on what exactly had changed in my life over the past year.  The answer was glaring but I really didn’t want to acknowledge it.  Who’d have thought one would gain weight if they substituted long distance running with obsessive knitting?  Damn seductive, sedentary knitting.  Maybe the weigh gain can be attributed to newly formed muscle mass in my fingers?  Muscle is heavier than fat you know.  Unfortunately the fact that it’s my pants that no longer fit and not my gloves squashes that delusion.  Reluctant to lose any knitting time or give up the occasional cookie binge, I started doing squats while knitting.  I tried to get my friends to do them with me but when I brought it up they just gave me a look that told me there is something inherently wrong with this idea. So I’m back on the running train.  Hopefully I can split my obsessive nature equally between the gym and the knitting.

The second part of the joke?  It goes like this:

What’s the difference between a husband and a boyfriend?

45 minutes.

Square Peg, Round Hole

This weekend was the first ever Jess, Lill and Al sn'b (hopefully repeating weekly; next time with pictures).  I finished the sleeves for Paige's cardigan in time and I was determined to seam the sweater at Lill's.  Simple, right?  I was so wrong.

I think the disaster started when I was calculating the pattern for the sleeves. I decided that even though I had thrown row gauge to the wind when I made my calculations for the body and the front pieces, that now was the time to be anal about it.  I ended up with this:

                     

How am I going to get these sleeves into these holes?  Obviously I am going to have to them rip back and engineer some way for them to fit snuggly with the body.  Argh!  This discovery made me envy my friends' projects.  Lill's second project ever is a gorgeous baby blanket and Jess is making the pillow covers she promised her boyfriend before she left for Australia in October.  Lovely, yummy squares with no calculating, fitting or seaming.  I guess I'll just have to cast on my hourglass sweater to make myself feel better.

Should I Finish It?

I am about 3/4 of the way done the cardigan for my niece's birthday and even though I changed the needle size to make it drape more nicely and did all of the math to accommodate this change, I hate it.  I have an inkling my hatred for this sweater has something to do with a miscalculation of the row gauge, but I only have the sleeves and the button band left to go before it's finished (and potentially hideously mishapen).

I think my main problem is that I have been seduced by this:

Oh Fair Isle - it would be...my first time (yes, I'm a fair ilse virgin).  I could use up the left-over army green on the details (I love army green and using up ALL the left-over yarn).  I am so tempted to just tear the whole cardigan out and start over.  Luckily I have a lot of this yarn, so I think what I'll do is start on the T-shirt and then decide whether or not to finish this cardigan or to make the one that matches the T-shirt.  So many options!  What would you do?

Birthday Blog

What a beautiful day in Toronto - perfect for my birthday.  Too bad I am feeling under the weather!  Luckily I got all of my celebrating in over the weekend.  Friday night, the Sudbury Ladies arrived.  It was so good to see them.  They brought some lovely presents but nothing can top the cake they made:

               

It is a little hard to tell what it is exactly from the picture, but it's a person with various ailments that I had to diagnose and label with the toothpicks corresponding to the ailment.  Some of them were pretty unfortunate, but definitely hilarious when seen in their icing representation.

Saturday we went yarn shopping and I bought some black cascade 220 to make the hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

                        

I am very excited - it will be my very first person-sized sweater!After the yarn binge, I had a party.  Some lovely people came to my place and more lovely people showed up at Shallow Groove.  Thanks to everyone for coming out and for sending me such lovely birthday wishes!

Star Struck

Wednesday, I was minding my own business when I got Lettuce Knit's April newsletter.  I read through it, slowly fantasizing about all the new yarn when my breath caught in my throat: The Yarn Harlot's book was at LK.  Suddenly I couldn't breathe: The Yarn Harlot would be signing it that night at the sn'b!  Most people don't know this, but I am a huge Harlot fan.  I've even gotten people who don't knit a stitch to read her blog religiously.  But since I've mentally elevated her to star status, I have been very nervous about meeting her.  What if I completely embarrassed myself by doing or saying something crazy?

Luckily, before the sn'b, I was meeting up with Eden to have a few drinks to celebrate the completion of her biochem student seminar.  She could coach me on the proper etiquette and encourage me to drink a few pints to calm my nerves.  On my way to meet her, I bought the book in case it sold out before I got to the sn'b.  I read it all the way to the bar and I am thankful I wasn't run over.  A few pints later, I had the liquid courage necessary to go to LK.

As I approached the shop, I could see the Harlot through the window.  She was wearing her flower basket shawl and it was lovely.  When I walked in Laura asked me, "Did you bring your knitting?".  "No," I said, "I'm here for the author".  That's when the Harlot turned around completely amazed that someone, a stranger, was here to meet her.  She was so nice and funny.  She even showed me just how small the sock was.  Then she signed my book, with my name and everything.  I almost lost it when she hugged me.

Yesterday, she sent me a shout-out on her blog.  I had to go lie down.