Tradition!

Without a whole lot of planning, I found myself at the opening of Fiddler on the Roof last night. Now, I am very familiar with this show, not because I have seen it performed many times or performed in it. No. The only live performance I saw of it beforelast night was in my high school. And that was remarkably not Jewish. My father used to play the music from the show on the piano when I was younger. I also saw the movie a few times. Nonetheless, I sang along with the entire show.

It was a very interesting evening. It started out with a big todo on the opposite side of the orchestra. I had no idea what happened until this morning when I found out that a woman had a heart attack before the show started. There were sitings of Bebe Neuwirth (looking beautiful as always), Lynn Redgrave, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Savion Glover. Jeff Goldblum was sitting about 2 or 3 rows in front of me with a VERY amaciated woman on his arm. It added to the irony when Tevye sang If I Were A Rich Man and chimed in with the line "I see my wife, my Golde, looking like a rich man's wife
With a proper double-chin." The woman in the audience was so thin that I could see not only her ribs, but the separate bones in her upper arm. She clearly was not poverty stricken, in her designer dress. How times change.

Well, after the show, Nolan and I started a new game of "Musical Timeline" at dinner. This is when you put the time of the musical in a timeline to make them part of a continuum. For example. Fiddler would fit somewhere between Music Man and Titanic. Perhaps nearer to Mary Poppins. Not that there is any specific year mentioned, this is of course a guess.

Oh, how was the show, you ask? It was quite nice. I enjoyed it. I did think that there was not a whole lot of enthusiasm in the First Act. The actor who played Motel, John Cariani, seemed to hold onto a moment a shade too long for a laugh. Other than that, I think it was a pretty good production.

S-N-B

Talk about an ordeal for a handful of knitters to gather in public. Let me tell you, sometimes, it's not so easy.

About a week ago, Debbie contacted a bunch of longtime S-n-Bers to meet in Brooklyn for a special edition of S-n-B that would be on the local news. I managed to have my schedule changed so I planned to go. Around 5PM last night, an e-mail went out saying the news thing was cancelledbut we were still meeting. Okay, I don't mind, since I was planning on going anyway.

I found the spot in Brooklyn only to find out that as we were gathering at 7PM, the cafe was closing at 7PM. Our fearless leader had not managed to arrive yet and we didn't want to abandon the organizer, so we convinced the staff to let us hang around until she arrived.

After sorting out the mass confusion, Debbie invited us to her apartment for an intimate S-n-B. Of course, she is in the middle of packing up her place to move next week, so there was a bit of rearranging as we arrived. Nonetheless, with the 8 of us that stuck around, I think we had a wonderful time stitching and bitching next to a fire in the fireplace. What a wonderful evening. Thanks again to Debbie for her hospitality!

Also, it was cold enough today for me to have to bundle up in my new peacefleece sweater on my way to work. It may not be the ideal wearing, but I got it in!

Redeemed

It looks like I'm not the only one that wanted a higher existance for Sex in the City girls. Let's hear it for single girls that are fulfilled without men!!!

The machine is at it again

That's right. The Peace Fleece sweater is totally finished, well, aside from the couple of woven ends. But I finished the neckline last night. Yeah. Of course, it's supposed to be warming up this week. The good (!?!) news is it is currently snowing so I may get a chance to wear this thing this week!



I found out that I don't have to work tonight. That means that I can go to a special edition of S-n-B in Brooklyn. I may have to run home to pick up another skein of yarn, to be safe. Because I already started working on Audrey in the lovely Rowan Calmer in Zeal...



It is so soft. There is a definite springiness/sponginess to the yarn; easy to pull too tight. It is really a joy to work with. And I'm sure it will be wonderful to wear.

Weekends are made for Knitting

I was a very busy knitter this weekend. With temeratures in the low 50s, I felt an emense amount of pressure to finish the Peace Fleece sweater. I have to get it done soon.

So, look what I did...



All that's left is the neckline and blocking. I tried it on last night and it fits! I'll try to get a picture of me in it, but that may turn out to be a challenge.

If you want a closer look at the stripes, here goes:



I am not entirely happy with the blue and green combination, but I love the green and burgandy together.

So, like many of the 20-30 somethings out there, I found myself at a Sex and the City party last night to watch the final episode. I have not been a follower of this series, as I don't have HBO, but I have seen it on a few occasions. I enjoy the frankness of the characters as well as the type of concerns that they all have. In many way, they are like me, my friends and a generation of women that are trying to appreciate themselves without relying on a man, family or other "norms of society." (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) That being said, I have to say that I am a little bit saddened by the fact that in the final episode, all four of the women are paired up. Not a single one of them walked away outside of the traditional they-live-happily-ever-after structure. I think it would have said a lot more about this new era of single women if there was some sort of freedom and happiness about being single. Life is not always about ending up with a man or a baby or whatever your wildest fantasies are. Many times, you never get what you want, or you have what you want taken away from you for no apparent reason. In my humble opinon, this show should have come to a close with the strength that it showed for the last 6 years and have at least one of them walking out the proverbial door with her head held high and no man on her arm. That is very much what it's like to be a single girl in the city.

I Am Out Of Control!

I gave it a shot. I really tried. I wanted to seem open to a snooty place that sells yarn. After all, if they sell yarn, they can't be all that bad, right? Well, my goal was merely to get size 7 DPNs. Not complicated. I walk over to the needle rack and find the DPNs. Size 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9...wait a minute. No, that's right. So I ask the sales lady (who was much nicer than the person I spoke to the last time I was there) if there were any other DPNs as there were clearly no 7s on the rack. Of course not.

Dejected, sad and a little bit justified in my lack of appreciation, I walked out of the shop. It was then that I remembered that The Yarn Connection was open late on Thursdays. And yesterday was, in deed, Thursday. With a spring in my step, I walked a mile downtown. Not only did they have the needles that I was looking for in both bamboo and metal, they had yarn sales. Since Rowan has a habit of discontinuing colors, I managed to pick up this:



Lovely Rowan Calmer in Zeal. Now, I was warned that there is no more of this color available. But, Audrey only needs about 7 skeins. That leaves me 3 to play around with later. Hey, it was on sale. I can do that. I never promised I wouldn't suppliment my stash. (I don't know how people do that - go on yarn diets.)

So with new projects on the brain, I went home to work on my final wool sweater of the season. Look how far I got!



I have started the decrease for the arm holes. Now I just need the sleeves so I can work on up. well, lucky for me, look what magically appeared on my new needles.


Sorry it's so blurry.

I am racing the weather on this one. All of a sudden, we are hitting 40+ degree days regularly. I better get going quickly or it will have to wait for next November.

Answer Key

For anyone that is curious and didn't check out the rowan site, here are the matches for the colors and the names:

1) Purple = Temptation
2) Blue = Lunar
3) Lime Green = Hansel
4) Orange = Ginger Bread
5) Red = Siren
6) Burgandy = Blood

In other news, I am very close to starting my stripes on the new sweater. That means that I need to get me some size 7 double pointed needles today so I can start the sleeves. Sadly, I think that means I have to make a trip to the closest shop to my office, Stitches East. I try to avoid that place as a rule. I don't like to be ignored because I don't have my prada bag hanging on a mink covered arm, if you catch my drift. But they are close and needles are needles.

Anyway, once I get to the sleeves, I should be home free. If the main part of the body was done in 3 days, I think I should be able to get at least one wearing in before the weather gets warm. I think this will be my last wool project for the season. Time to switch to cotton, linen and silk for a while. I think I can handle that, especially with the new Rowan magazine as such a naughty influence.

Oh, one more thing. If you notice that I have a new fancy button on the right. That is for the Knitting Secret Pals Program. If you want to be a secret pal to a fellow cyber knitter, you can find all of the info here.

Rowan

I got my new Rowan magazine on Monday along with my Kaffe Fasset cushion kit. I would like to point out that Rowan is a pain in the behind for listing the NAMES OF THE COLORS of their yarn on the patterns but not listing NAME OF THE COLOR on the skein of yarn. I was sent Rowanspun 4ply in 1) purple, 2) blue, 3) lime green, 4) orange, 5) red and 6) burgandy. The pattern called for a) Temptation, b) Ginger Bread, c) Siren, d) Lunar, e) Hansel and f) Blood. Let the games begin. Let's see if any of you can figure out which name goes with which color, without cheating by going to the Rowan website. I'll give the correct answers tomorrow.

On the bright side, there are TON of patterns that I would love to make in the new Rowan. I love China, Audrey, Rosa (but I have doubts about all of those beads), and Iris. There are another 5 or 6 that I wouldn't mind getting onto needles, either. It's nice to know that I won't have a shortage of inspiration for the summer!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

I gave the Alpaca sweater away today. I originally made it for Nolan only to insite the curse and have our year long relationship come to an end. So much for beating the curse!

Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to stop making that sweater, as you all know. So I decided that my three months of work would still go to the original end. As you can see, I think it came out just the way I hoped it would. It's a little dark, but I think you can tell that it actually fits and looks pretty good. I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back for this.

New Project

Okay, so my eyes were bigger than my weekend. I didn't do the yarn crawl because a) it got cold this wekend, b) I decided to do some stuff around the apartment, c) I started making the sweater with my peace fleece and d) I was lazy.

This is how far I got.



Well, actually, I got this far - twice. The first time around, I realized that I was making the sweater WAY too big, so I frogged and started again. After one skein, I am about 6 1/2 inches into the sweater. Soooooooo much better than those miniature stitches. I think the recovery has begun.

And with the kind of help I got this weekend, it's pretty amazing that I got this far.



Koshka is such a helper! He reads all of my patterns for me. You know, so I don't get any of the instructions wrong. I think he approves of this sweater. Meanwhile, Nekko was drooling all over my skeins as she nosed them out of my bag. Soggy wool is always a joy to work with.

Yeah!!!

Look what came in the mail today!!!



It's my Peace Fleece! Now I can start a new colorful project.

Will this stop me from my journey downtown tomorrow? Probably not.

Downtown Yarn Crawl 2004

Well, I think I came up with a general plan for this weekend. I am all about finding new and familiar yarn stores downtown. It is time for me to really get my fingers into some skeins and feel the love.

So here is what I came up with (with the help of Rand McNally in the mapping department and Liz's crafty resource page in finding addresses):



Now I know that there are some of these shops that may or may not be open during the weekend and others may not be just for shopping.

So, I think I'll start with Knit New York on 14th Street between First and Second. Maybe grab a bite for lunch since there is a cafe. Then I can walk down to Magry Knits on East 7th Street. I think this is a small shop with hand spun and dyed yarns. Next will be a walk over to Downtown Yarns. We all know my love affain with this shop. MAKE workshop interests me as a place to take all kinds of classes. They don't really have too much to offer in the way of a store since their business is really geared toward their classes. But since I'll be in the neighborhood, I might as well check it out. Then I can head across town to Purl at Sullivan and Houston. Not only do they carry the alpaca I just used on the sweater, but they have a few other yarns that I have been looking at for possible projects. Can you smell the excitement? P&S Fabrics is probably not in the cards for this trip since I am thinking about a Saturday journey and they are closed on Saturday. But, for the sake of my map, I kept it in. Finally, Seaport Yarn is all the way downtown at William and Fulton. They always have a ton of sales - or so I have heard. In fact, if you bring them a Valentine card anytime through this Sunday, they'll give you 10% off you yarn purchase. Isn't that adorable?

So, five stores in an afternoon (with a possible sixth just for looking). Too ambitious or just crazy? I guess I'll let you know next week!

Waiting is not Easy

I realized that even though I have projects that are waiting for me to pay attention to them, I am just not feeling these old projects. I don't want to work on stuff that I already started. Mostly because they are big projects that don't have an end in sight. I want to start something new and fun. I want it to go pretty fast and be for me. No more projects that take a ton of time for someone else. No more projects that are just redundant. I need something that will have a bit of a flare. Something that will bring color and texture to my life. Is that asking too much? Maybe I need to do another LYS-crawl.

About a year and a half ago, I took a journey through the Yarn stores of the Upper Eastside. I think I hit about 4 of them in an afternoon. I didn't buy much, but I did get to play with lots of fun yarns. I should plot out another one. That would be a fabulous way to enjoy a long holiday weekend. I don't think there are a whole lot of shops on the Upper Westside or Mid-town. But there are a few stores downtown that I have been meaning to visit like Purl and Seaport Yarn and Knit New York (even though I went for S-n-B, I didn't buy anything). I bet if I put my mind to it, I could have a wonderful adventure in fiber waiting for me.

All I have to say is I am so very lucky to live in Manhattan as a knitter. There are dozens of yarn stores that are only a subway ride away. Okay, if I get a map together, I'll share it with you all. If any locals want to try and get together for such a journey this weekend, let me know!

Thoughts on Cell Phone Users

Not that I am so militant about cell phone users as Ayelet is, but there are a few things that have happened in the past 24 hours that lead me to believe that people are taking these devices a bit too seriously for their own good.

First and most tragically, a woman was killed by a subway train after trying to retrieve her dropped cell phone from the subway tracks. Now, I have to admit that I am not a native over here, but I know that those tracks are a)a long way down, b) the only way a train can get into a station and swerving is not an option and c) slimy and filthy, thus not easy to maneuver. Not to mention, trains do not really have the ability to stop on a dime. That being said, when you see that your cell phone get tossed onto the tracks, would going down to pick up a phone be the best option? Sadly for the 19-year-old Queens girl, not so much.

Second, I was some what of a witness to an assault over a cell phone last night. At the theatre, I saw one of the ushers looking like he was in pain, only to find out that a patron punched him in the chest after the usher told him that he couldn't be on his cell phone in the theatre. Not only is cell phone usage in a theatre illegal and punishable by a $50.00 fine, it is down right rude. The irony of it all was the patron was standing right next to the sign that said he couldn't use cell phones. So, as the curtain was going up, a swarm of cops and an EMS worker showed up to talk to the usher and take the patron away from the theatre. The usher went to the hospital and then went to file a police report.

These are just phones, people. This should not be life or death. This is not something that important. What is wrong with these people?

Now on to my fiber world. Thanks again to Sandy for her inspiration, I found myself at Peace Fleece buying yarn for the Striped Angora Raglan in the current Interweave Knits Magazine. Of course, it wouldn't be angora, and I may be off with gauge, but I can definitely make something like it in
Galooboy Blue with stripes in
Kamchatka Seamoss,
Moldova Burgandy and
Violet Vyehchyeerom.

Can't wait until these all com in!

Pictures

You asked for it...

First I would like to show you the stiches for this sweater.

See the fuzzies that liked to stick together and the tiny stitches that liked to jump off my needles? What did I learn from this project, you may ask. Well, I learned that I am insane for even attempting this project especially since I found myself frequently in poorly lit places.

Now for the blocking of the sweater (not the best picture in the world but...)

The picture is a bit dark. The color is much more of a charcoal than black. Am I happy with it, you betcha! Considering I was winging the pattern (which I had written down in a fit of insanity) and it fits me perfectly (although I don't think I will be keeping this one - but I'll find out soon), I think it was a smashing success.

And finally my adorable babies being all snuggly.

Nekko and Koshka - aren't they adorable with their evil eyes?

FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!

That's right! The alpaca sweater is finished. It is sewn. Ends are woven. It has been blocked. All of the above - pick an order. I am ready to move on from the miniature needles onto something bigger.

Okay, I took a picture of it to post, but in my groggy Monday morning trance, I managed to leave the camera at home. So you will all have to wait until tomorrow to see the beauty that is my finished project.

So, after all of that, I still felt like I needed to get some more quality knitting time in, what did I pick up? The chenille blanket on size 3s. Let me tell you, they felt like tree trunks! I really need to get some chunky knitting in soon, before my whole perspective get thrown out of whack.

And I couldn't pass this one up...


You are Shetland Wool.
You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a
little on the harsh side. Though you look
delicate you are tough as nails and prone to
intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are
widely respected and even revered.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Will this snow ever stop?

By now, the 2 inches that we got over night has already turned to slush as the rain takes the place of its frozen friend. Nevertheless, we have had WAY too much snow this season for anyone's good. It's not like back in school days when classes would be cancelled or parental caution would forbid any excessive travel. No. I'm stuck going to work every day, because I am within walking distance to the office. The reliable subway can take me my two stops if I can't bear to walk. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so dependable. What's wrong with being a bit of a flake?

Well on to progress. I only have about 2 inches of the sleeve left before I shape the cap. If I get in as much time as I think I will tonight, I could have this thing finished in its entirety by tomorrow. Wouldn't that be fabulous!?!?!?

I also got my copy of Interweave Knits Magazine yesterday. I can't say that I am in love with most of the patterns, but the cover pattern (the pink cable sweater) is really cute. There are a couple of other patterns that I could see myself wearing. The one thing that I caught myself doing throughout the magazine is checking needle size and gauge. This sweater has warped my brain!!!

I have also been trying to rearrange my apartment to accommodate my new bookcase and my old stuff. I did get an e-mail about my other bookcase yesterday. According to Ikea, "(b)ecause the item(s) is/are not featured in the 2004 IKEA General Catalog or Virtual Catalog, it is/they are not available to order for home delivery this year." At least I still have the order from the store for the similar bookcase that they are supposed to get in soon.
(in birch)

On another note, I am feeling much better today. After about two or three hours at work, I was feeling much better yesterday. I'm not quite 100%, but I am definitely close enough. Have a great weekend!

One of those days

Do you ever have a morning when you wake up and feel less than wonderful; not really sick enough to call in but close? I have been fighting off a cold all week, so that was me this morning. So I thought, maybe a shower will help. So, I jumped in the shower and didn't really feel any better. Then, I thought maybe getting dressed would help to motivate me into my morning. Not so much. But at this point, I was up, showered and dressed so I might as well give work a try. I can't say it's the best way to make a decision, but I'm here.

Last night, I saw a friend of mine in a show called Subway Train. Maybe it's a bit specific for New York, but I really enjoyed it. It was a combination of music, poetry and theatre. But, I hadn't seen this friend in about 6 years, since he moved back to Ohio. But apparently, he has been keeping busy since he made a film. Don't I just feel like I have been sitting on my laurels.

Getting Antsy

To put it in Sandy's words, I had a bad case of Start-itis last night. After so many months in a 10 stitch per inch (40 per 4 inches) gauge, I have been jonsing for something a little chunkier. I found help in the BottomsUp Bucket Hat from ChicKnits. Not only did I start it, but aside from the actual felting, I finished it last night.

Please excuse the very unphotogenic and blurry shot of me.

There was a football game???

I have once again managed to ignore the whole SuperBowl thing. People are talking about it in the office and I am totally out of the loop. Oh well!

On a much more productive note, I went to IKEA this weekend and actually purchased furniture. I didn't get everything that i wanted, but I did get one of these:


Of course, mine has MUCH more stuff in it. I also wanted to get one of these:

but it was out of stock. So I just ordered it off of the internet.

My friend Roberta accompanied me in this adventure. And getting this monster home was definitely an adventure. My arms and legs are still sore from carrying that HEAVY box from the bus to the cab (well, not the whole way, thanks to a man that put it on his shoulder), from the cab to my building, up the stairs and assembling it. But, the good news is I can finally get rid of those ugly milk crates (and not the kind you get at staples, but the ones that actually carried milk).

Other than that, I am about 1/2 way through my sleeve and the rest of the sweater is totally sewn up. I have some ends to weave in, but the only thing left on this alpaca sweater is 1/2 a sleeve. Well the good news is it's not too late for this season, since the groundhog predicts more winter weather.