monkey see, monkey do (2)

pattern: based on the Monkey sock pattern

designer: modification of Cookie A.'s work
yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rock mediumweight in Storeytime
needles: Clover size US#3 16 inch circs
modifications: I cast on 144 stitches, k1p1 for 6 rounds, worked the pattern 9 times over the stitches, knit 9 pattern repeats total, k1p1 for 6 more rows, then bound off in k1p1.

Just a few months ago, I made a cowl for Megan using the Monkey sock pattern. I liked it so much, that I had to knit one for myself. So while watching the Olympics and Season 2 of Deadwood, I whipped up this copycat cowl. You know, it's funny because I didn't join the Knitting Olympics because I thought there was just no way I would be able to finish a project in the allotted time, but here I go knitting across that finish line. Woohoo! Speaking of crossing finish lines, how awesome is Kyle Bennett of the US BMX team for getting back on his bike after a nasty crash and crossing that finish line despite the fact that he was clearly coming in dead last waaaaaaaayyy after everyone else had already crossed the line and, more importantly, that he had dislocated his shoulder? I am especially excited about BMX finally being included in the Olympics because I LOVE BMX. As a pre-teen, it was the only sport I was good at. Even on my crappy used AMF that my dad and I fixed up and threw dirt bike tires on, I was still faster than my cousin and my friend Rob and the other boys at the park, and I used to get serious air when I would jump over things and pop wheelies. I was totally unafraid to ride over what we used to call "our terrain," which was a ripped up, unpaved hilly street strewn with garbage that we used to love to ride on because a) it was unpaved, b) we could ride downhill, and c) the used toasters and tires were "obstacles" for us to leap over or otherwise avoid. Sadly, I gave it up once I hit 13 and my mother decided that she was going to make my life (and my dad's) a living hell if I didn't, but I do miss it. Now I am way too scared of dealing with a broken arm to even attempt those tricks again, but when I see boys and girls shredding on their bikes, it makes my heart so very happy.

he is such a good sport

Matt is truly one of my favorite people ever, and to spare you the sap, I will leave it at this: I'm lucky to be married to my best friend. He is my favorite person to travel with, and when we're not collaborating on little projects, we're playing badminton or playing our new game "Say it like Al Swearengen," in which one of us will say something and the other person will "correct" the other person and rephrase what has just been said in the Deadwood baddie's profanity-peppered way of speaking. When I saw this husband me-me over at Danielle's blog, I wondered if I could get Matt to play along. And play along he did! Here is my interview with a very candid and succinct (well, at least until the end) Matt:

What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Matt: You knit things that are beautiful.

What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
I don't know.... Picking you up from your knitting groups.
(Fine, I'll ride my bike next time. I just hate getting there all sweaty....)

What is something I have knitted that you recall as being good?
Oh, so many things! Let's see.... I especially love the hats that you've made me.

Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
About the same as smoking weed probably. Maybe a little more.

(I am now afraid to ask the next question, but here goes.) Do you have any hobbies?
Yes. Gardening, capoeira.

Has my knitting in public ever embarrassed you?
No.

Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Koigu?
(Not really a kind of yarn so much as a brand, but I'll take it!)

Can you name another knit blog?
The Yarn Harlot 'cause it has the word "harlot" in it.

Do you mind that I want to check out yarn stores everywhere we go?
It's annoying sometimes, but marriage is about compromise so it's not that bad.
(Now I feel bad that I don't go to more capoeira events.)

Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
No.
(That's okay because I can't even recall the last time that I swatched for something.)

Do you read knotty bits?
Sometimes?

Have you ever left a comment?
I think so.
(I think you did in its previous incarnation, but not so far. Not that I'm checking or anything.)

Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Probably not.

Anything you'd like to add?
I'm happy that you enjoy knitting so much and I think it's pretty cool that you are carrying on this obsolete technology and handcraft.
(Obsolete technology???)
You know what I mean.... Tradition.
(Ummm, okay???)
You know, anyone can go to Target and pick up a machine knit scarf, but you would rather make this beautiful thing by hand. I like that.

Thanks, Matt, for being a good sport and playing along, albeit in a fashion that would make Saul Silver and Dale Denton proud. Also, huge thanks to Matt for going to Rhinebeck with me three years in a row, and for planning on our fourth trip there this October, for all the fiber festivals and knitty encounters, for driving me to yarn shops to look for more yarn with which to finish a project, for curling up on the couch with me to play video games while I knit, for encouraging me to go to knit nights and meet other local knitters, and for picking me up from those knit nights, even if he grumbles a bit about it. I will not even speak of how he encouraged me to buy more at the NH Sheep & Wool than I had originally intended, what with all the cashmere petting and, "Ooooooh, you should totally get this. It's JJ colored." Matt, you rock.

waaaaaaaay off-topic but oh-so-good

top: Matt's tomatoes, which he has carefully and lovingly looked after all summer
bottom: home-made pizza that Matt made using one of these (and others not pictured)

Although I have been a total slacker about our garden this summer, what with all the rain and yuck, Matt has been super-diligent about caring for his many varieties of tomato. I have a feeling I will be making my special marinara sauce soon. Cannot wait!

you know you're distracted when...

...you're crossing Harvard Yard on your way home and only then realize that you forgot to turn the coffeemaker off. This is the same coffeemaker that has been on since 8AM. It is now 4:15, and you have been out for hours. DOH!

You're also a little distracted when you walk in, find said coffeemaker is now off, much to your relief although you can't remember turning it off, and there is also a ribbon on the kitchen floor. "How did that get there?" you think as you open the door to the living room and studio, which the cats are banished from when you are not home lest they do something awful like nap on your WIPs on the worktable. You put down your bag and immediately go to check your email. Only when you hear the cats munching on something do you see the flowers in the photo sitting in a pitcher on your flat files. DOH!

The flowers are from Matt, who swung by during his lunch break, but I missed him. Wednesday was our 3 year wedding anniversary, and we are off to celebrate tonight. At least I remembered that much. DOH!

notes on twilight

Vampires are excessive tippers, which is a great thing. I mean, how terribly fancy-pants that he paid for their meal and four glasses of Coke with a single bill. Oooh la la! He's sparkly and a big spender! Unless he only paid for dinner with a twenty in which case, they are bad tippers and totally suck. (Hah!)

Vampires are irresistible even when they’re being assholes, which makes them irresistible assholes, which in turn means that Jared Leto must be a vampire. (I knew it!)

Apparently dust motes when amassed form a “dust moat.” It’s that or the author and her editor don’t know the difference between a mote and a moat. At least Danielle will be happy to know that they do know that it’s a “moot point” and not a “mute point.” As I guess my gripe here is a moot point being as she has sold how many millions of books and no one cares that she made this mistake. (But I’m a stickler, so I do.)

If Matt were sparkly, I would get absolutely nothing done because I would stare at him all day like a love-struck magpie. What can I say – I like sparkly things. Sparkly = powerful. This is what watching Dynasty as a child has taught me. I told him this, and he said perhaps he would pick up some body glitter at MAC. Either that or he could dress like a figure skater at home. It would be like Blades of Glory in my very own living room. Or not.

While I am not exactly looking forward to seeing the movie that is being made based on this series of books, I would LOVE to see a Japanime series based on it instead. It’s where the cheesy twain meets. I love Japanime because it’s so corny and melodramatic, and this book is most definitely corny and melodramatic. It’s two great tastes that taste great together! The over-the-top ridiculous story would lend itself well to anime. I mean I love anime and all, but even when it’s really good and artfully done, it is still cheesy as all get-out. (I definitely recommend Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Christo to everyone, even people who are not normally anime fans, just because it is so awesomely over-the-top.)

sprung

pattern: Spring forward
designer: Linda Welch
yarn: Koigu KPPPM in P90318
needles: Addi Turbos US size 1 (magic loop!)
modifications: knit a round toe as usual

I’ve been meaning to show you folks these socks for days now, but alas, I have been having some problems getting to you all. Comcast has decided to suck massive ass since Thursday and is barely giving us service. There’s a tiny window of like 5 minutes of service a day it seems. It’s not just us; it’s a problem with service in our entire area. No emails, no blogging, no Flickr. It’s immensely frustrating, but at least I’m not convulsing or experiencing the serious shakes yet, so I’m alright. I am really sorry that I haven’t been able to respond to your emails or communicate with any of you all. I swear I am not being a slacker. However, I also haven’t felt like hunting for internet in any of the local cafés, all of which say they do not provide wifi, but I see people checking their email and such on their laptops as they occupy their tables for hours. I’m lucky that it seems to be working for now and that I don’t have to resort to the café thing. I mean, hey, I do have some pretty neat socks to share with you, so you know….

I have to say, while my lifeline to the internet was interrupted, I actually did fun stuff. I went to the movies with my friend Beba on Saturday and saw The Wackness. It wasn’t hilariously funny, but it managed to keep you smiling the whole time. Afterwards, we had coffee and talked for a couple of hours about how much we both love The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, what an amazing writer Junot Diaz is, other great books we have read recently (we have both been devouring books lately), and of course, the book that ate the internet. Beba hasn’t read it, but her mother, who is a YA novelist herself, has read the whole series so far and is super-into them. I am thoroughly fascinated with how much interest that series has generated in a demographic that most people would never think would be so enthralled by what is essentially bad writing, but more on that later. (Or as they would say the 90s, that kind of writing is “mad corny” and only appeals to “herbs,” but then again, I guess I qualify as a "herb" - definition #7, that is.)

Oh yeah! Back to the socks! I like them. The pattern is one of those blissfully easy lacy patterns that you can almost knit blindfolded, and it’s pretty to boot. It knits up a little slouchy for my tastes. I can predict these won’t be fun to wear with my Wellies in the winter, but they’ll be perfect with other shoes or for just hanging out in the studio. For knitting the toe in the round, the only modification I made, I decreased two stitches in the center of the sole of the foot bringing the stitch total down to 64 before starting the toe decreases. I do so love a round toe. And can I tell you how much I love that Koigu? *swoon* Koigu is totally my go-to yarn. It never does me wrong, and I absolutely love this colorway. I think it works pretty well with the pattern, too.

Hope you guys had a great weekend and that your week is off to a fabulous start. I’ll try to pop by again during the week, conditions permitting.