Only in the US

I can be "alternative" - LOL



You scored as alternative. You're partially respected for being an individual in a conformist world yet others take you as a radical. You have no place in society because you choose not to belong there - you're the luckiest of them all, even if your parents are completely ashamed of you. Just don't take drugs ok?


What Social Status are you?
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Nothin' but a T-shirt

Yes, look at the side bar, I have joined the knit-along, like I needed another one. What? You notice that my yarn diet counter says "0 days"? Well, today I have bought one ball of yarn, for $6 including shipping, so I can make Nothin' but a T-shirt, so my yarn diet is back to square one.
And no, I have not gone completely mad for lack of yarn purchases: I just needed one ball for the contrast yarn, the remaining 1,050 yards of yarn needed are from my stash!
All began when I bought this - that price and free shipping! - to make this - can you see a pattern of substituting Rowan Calmer with Jo Sharp Desert Garden here? - a while ago. But since I am already knitting a cotton cardigan with Jaeger Trinity Indigo, I have decided to make Nothin' but a T-shirt first with the Jo Sharp and worry about the Classical Cardi later. So I needed one ball of contrast yarn. I was so strong and I resisted the urge of spending $25 and get free shipping from Herrschners and I bought from Ewe'll Love It Yarns instead - just one ball.

Back to Mariah, I really do not like how it is turning out with the Jaeger Trinity Indigo. Just now the right drape. Ah ah! I'll go back to the original plan of making Mariah with Cascade 220 (and since it will take me forever, I'll have it ready for next fall) and I can use the Jaeger for the Classical Cardi.

Making plans for my stash is almost as fun as knitting!

Buona Pasquetta

"Pasquetta" = "Little Easter" in Italian, the Monday after Easter and it is a holiday in many countries but here. So I am working but it is not so bad because the mailman is working as well so I got:



from Nyxxie - my needles and I are so much happier now that I can find
them!

Then Susan sent me this:



because I won a contest on her blog. I thought I was supposed to get a ball of sock yarn instead she not only sent me the adorable quilted tote that is just perfect
for my small knitting projects (like socks!) but look what was inside:



Four (4!) balls of yarn!

Third package:



from a swap on Knitty Coffeeshop - possum wool!

And look what is coming:
Interweave IK Summer 05 Preview

I can't wait to get my issue! I like all the socks, the Lacy Kerchief Scarf (it's cotton, can you say California?), the Buffalo Girl Neck & Wrist Warmers, and the Better-Than-Booties Baby Socks (1 skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock will make 3 pairs of socks!).

New projects, yarn diet, how can it work?

Well, I am very happy to report that all my "good" yarn is in the cherry chest (and no, I did not jump on it to make it flatter), so I am pondering if I should call it off. With secret pals and friends sending me yarns, it has been very easy, so maybe I could stretch it out some more? 30 days? 40? But the reality of it is that with both HoJo and Kristine opening their new online stores, my yarn diet will end soon.

I did not get to play much with my ball winder, but Juls was right, it did change my life, because Paperino has been so busy winding balls. He just loves the thing, and he is so proud of himself because "I don't make any nodi" - nodi=knots. I need to attach the ball winder to a chair so it right an his height and there he goes, can play with the things for hours and he is quite good at it. He has very strong opinions on when the ball is just right, so I do have very large balls and very small ball (this is a baby ball, mamma!), but as long as he does not try to set the house on fire, he can wind away!

Phoebe is done

Details:
Phoebe Capelet (by Norah Gaughan) from the Spring 2005 issue of Interweave Knits.
Yarn: Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca from Elann (2 skeins)
Needles: US 10.5

I enjoyed so much making this capelet that I am going to make another one soon, with more Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca from Elann I have in my stash. But not right, as soon I finished Phoebe I casted for Misty Garden by Jo Sharp using the Elsebeth Lavond Silky Wool my SP sent me:



And on the subject, finishing one, casting one, here is my Ribby Cardi missing only the zipper:



and I casted for Mariah:



Yes, I casted and that's it. It was Thursday night and I can't read charts watching ER.

Did I mention my Orange Scarf?



I am using some Frizz I bought from HoJo and Scarabeo. I am making it just for fun and it will probably be a present.

Paperino's toe-up socks have become striped:



And that's it with what I have done this week.

Relay for life

HoJo has organized a knitting Relay for Life and I have just joined. Click here if you would like to join too, or support me!

SP4 strikes again

Look what my SP4 sent me:



Not one, not two, not three, but four (4!) hanks of Noro Gemstones, a yarn that is simply unbelievable. I cannot stop looking at it, all those little gemstones embedded in the yarn. It is so beautiful I think I should just wear the hank as a necklace. In her note, she says that since I enjoyed the Shinano so much, she wanted to introduce me to another favorite yarns of hers - she definitely has excellent taste in yarns!

Thank you, SP of mine!

And she sent me a much needed small black tote to carry my projects around.
Yesterday I went to my first Peninsula Knitter meeting and it was really nice to just sit, knit and chat for almost three hours. I am half way my Phoebe and I finished the back of the SnB Little Top.

Phoebe again

I casted for Phoebe again last night and I think I got it this time:



My little mnemonic to check I am doing it right: yo always before p2tog, second stitch of the p2tog is always a yo from previous row.

I am almost done with the back of the SnB Little Top:



This pattern is as easy as it can be, but I think the final result will be really cute.

And last but not least, I got my ball winder. Going to play now!

Sunday morning

This is my kitchen table right now: I am sewing the cardi (still, I take frequent breaks from it), I made another afghan square with a stitch called "grana di riso doppia" (that would be "double seed"?), I started one using a stitch called "punto semina" and I have no idea what has to do with the harvest sowing, and I am staring at the not one but two socks pattern my KRSP sent me.

I love both of them, the Fancy Footies by Cathy Campbell and the Peacock Socks by Judy Alexander. I even have one the yarn for the Fancy Footies, Cristal Palace Splash, but I won't buy the other ...... 16 days and counting!

Yesterday was St. Joseph Day, father day in Italy, so we decided to make "zeppole di San Giuseppe". That and the handmade pasta my mom made, we decided to invite friends over to share the calories. The rest of the day will be about food.

Grana di riso

Phoebe is a challenging pattern and "challenging" means "You cannot watch the Manchurian candidate and knit Phoebe at the same time". The thing about this pattern is that if I make a mistake, I am dead in the water, I can't fix it. So I frogged on Thursday night and I casted for an afghan square to have something simple to knit while watching the movie



I am too lazy to look up the name of the pattern in English, it is called "Grana di riso" in Italian and it's the simple k1, p1 on the fist row, p1, k1 on the second row on a even number of stitches. I think it makes such a nice square because the result is thick and stiff. So now I am at 7 squares done, way behind. I reorganize my stash today and I realized that "my" stash almost all fit in the chest - it's the charity stash that is out of control. In addition to the blue top bin, I have the red mesh cube and another box filled. Need to knit more squares, more blankets, more hats .....

And then I have amazing news, look!



Yes, those are all the pieces of my Ribby Cardi on my kitchen and I am actually sewing them together. I tried to leave them in the basket for a couple of days and see if they would spontaneously join, but something tells me it is not going to happen, even if reading about this gave me hope for a while. I even received the zipper I ordered online so I have no excuse anymore. And once the cardi is out of the basket I can cast for Mariah, a big pack of yarn out of the chest (even if some yarn is going back in because I have three whole balls plus some of leftover yarn from the cardi).

Oh, and I am still wearing the fabulous sock Angela made for me - this is the first pair of handknitted sock I own and I now firmly believe that nobody should go through life without at least one pair. Guess what everybody in my family is getting for Christmas?

I got my socks baby!

And I love them, I am wearing them right now. Angela made them for me and we live in the same town - right now I am 4 minutes away from her house. I left a couple of comments on her blog asking her to contact me and now I watching my email, hitting "refresh" every 2 seconds. Well, maybe I should not publish that, she may think I am nuts. I am not, beside buying way too much yarn I completely normal, it's just that I find hilarious that I sent my socks across the globe and Angela could have dropped hers to my office on her way to grocery shopping.
And speaking of buying yarn, 14 days and counting!

Phoebe

Yes, Juls is right and the SnB top is due on Saturday, but since I realized I would make make it, I decided to cast Phoebe. It does makes sense, doesn't it?



with Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca from Elann - I just love this yarn, it's incredibly soft and almost silky. The pattern is unusual and a little challenging, but I love it so far.

I can't believe it!

Remember this? I got the yarn today and it's a big box of it. But that is not the thing I can't believe. Look at this.

I swear, I do not rig these things!

So much yarn so little time

Do I get a medal or a ribbon to be at day 10 of my yarn diet? It was yesterday.

Well, since the loop hole is that I am allowed to buy yarn for my pals, I rewarded myself placing an order online on KnitPicks.

To answer Gracie's question, the diet will be over when all my stash will fit into the cherry chest and the blue top box. I am working really hard on the cherry chest, but I am nowhere near fitting all my yarn for charity in the blue top box - I probably need two of them. That says nothing good about me, doesn't it? I am not making enough afghan squares.

But I still receiving packages from orders placed pre-diet, so look:



my order from Knitwerx. I just love the green package, and the beautiful card. They even send me a card sample:



So, here is it, my latest stash enhancement:



enough to make two of Made with love layette.

On to knitting news, I am at the cap of the Ribby Cardi sleeves:



and even if I am done this week (I still have to order the zipper, I keep forgetting it), I won't wear until October, maybe. Look at the weather girl.

I already knitted the first ball of Sonata for the SnB Little Top for my sister, so that means that I am 20$ done:

But I am Italian!

You're Brigitte Bardot!


What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
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Sock, socks, socks

The Cashmerino socks are done:



and I still have enough yarn to make another pair in dark blue, but yesterday Paperino had one of his famous jealousy fit and he made me cast for socks for him. I am using Cascade Fixation Lapis and while I am knitting he comes every five minute, shoves his foot under my nose and says "Let's try them!". I knitting them toe-up, casted 8 stitches and here I go, no pattern, flying solo! Plain stockinette for the foot, maybe some pattern for the leg.

But my plan for today is to finish the sleeves of my Ribbi Cardi - I really want to get over with it so that I can cast for Mariah.

The alpaca for Phoebe keeps staring at me ........

As of today, I am at day #9 of my yarn diet. Does anybody know how do I get one of those day counter things for my blog?

English As Second Language

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The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid

Toe up!

Look at that, it's a toe-up toddler sock, with the Cashmerino that does not seem to end:



Yes, toe-up, baby! And that means no finishing, at all. Sock-a-pal-ooza created a monster, I am socks socks socks and more socks these days. And that's no good because I do have other projects I need to finish, or even start, like the Little Black Top from SnB for my sister that needs to be done by Saturday?

Anyway, some bump in the row of my toe-up sock. First, the toe:



This does not look exactly right. I follow the instruction and I did a parallel needles cast and either I did it wrong or I should use another method because I do not like it. But I can live with it. What I can't live with is this:



Holes!

Those #$%^& yarn wrap drove me crazy until 1:30 a.m., when I seriously considered to look up some sock knitter's phone number and call them in the middle of the night. But reason had the best of me so I went to sleep, I woke up, I took photos of my holes to document them and blog a cry for help and then ...... I googled "toe up sock knitting tutorial" and I found Simple Toe Up Socks in Four Sizes and .....



No holes!

I really wonder how I use to live before Google. I do know that I used to because I remember when I first heard the word "Google", friend from Stanford telling us that these guys from CS had started this company, so if I remember hearing about Google before Google actually existed, that means that there was life before Google. But I do not remember it. It must have been a difficult life.

Besides almost one sock, I made another Dulaan hat yesterday, 8 to go!

It's summer

Really, look at the weather girl. Once again, California cheated me out of winter and spring. I should be used to it by now, but I am not. I like spring and a like a mild (very mild, just enough to actually wear my scarves and my sweaters) winter. Here, I get only fall and summer. And I am told I can't complain because I do not get snow storms.

Ok, let's not dwell on weather, it's a knitting blog after all. So, two more FO's:



One sock does count as a FO, right? The hat is from the leftover of the leftover of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, for a friend's child. I still have leftover and so I am making the boy socks too: I am in full socks frenzy!

This is a still shot of my first Dulaan hat, the running hat:



Yesterday I met with Juls, we had lunch downtown Palo Alto and we chatted about our common obsession. It is very nice to meet fellow knitters, first HoJo and then her, and find out I am not the only one who can talk about knitting, yarn, yarn stores and needles for an hour (only one hour because we had only one hour). I do that at home too, talk about yarn all the time, but it is hardly a conversation when it goes:

Me: I love this yarn, but I cannot get the gauge I want
Him: What's for dinner?
Me: maybe I should give up and use another one
Him: Pasta maybe?
Me: I think I need to buy something else
Him: Dinner?
Me: No, yarn, I think cotton is a better choice
Him: Buy more yarn?
Paperino: May I have a cookie?
Me: No
Him: Oh, ok, because there is yarn everywhere
Me: What are you talking about?
Him: You are not buying more yarn
Me: Yes, I am, I just said so
Him: You said no
Me: I did not
Paperino: So I can have a cookie?

It's summer, so I am going to SnB tonight, for more real conversations.

Yarn diet?

Did I write that? I must be out of my mind.
The only thing crazier than a yarn diet would be to buy more yarn. I know I posted the photo of my cherry chest, but the chest is just the beginning of it. I stored 80% of my "nice yarn" in it, I still have plastic boxes here and there. Then I have a big plastic box and a mesh square cube filled with my "squeaky" yarn, and a big plastic bag. So I do need some rules:

1. No more buying of nice yarn until it is all in my cherry chest - thank for the suggestion of jumping up and down on the yarn to push it down, Gracie, I may do that!

2. No more buying of squeaky yarn until it's all in the blue lid container - and that means that I need to get serious with my afghan squares.

Suzie is right, we should have a support group. As of today, I am on day #5 of my yarn diet.

KR secret pal

Once again, I have to say that I have the best secret pal, look what she sent me:



Two balls Four Season Sabrina in colors that are so me, two balls of Gedifra Verusca (my first Gedrifa, cannot wait to try it), a beautiful necklace that I believe she made for me and a card with a poem by Cynthia E. Gazelle.

I only have one question: do we know each other? Maybe from a previous life? How can a complete stranger get me so much? I am starting to think that all knitters are witches .......

And to complete an already perfect day, my cherry chest arrived!



That is part of my stash - I was hoping all of it could fit in it, but not, I have more (and more) stashed away in various location. So I have decided. Sort of. Should I say it out loud so that I'll actually do it. Yes, I am talking about ........ yarn diet. No more yarn until it all fit in the chest, and then I can only buy if I make room in it.

I am cringing at the idea, but I think I need it. I do have three shipments coming ..... and I always have my secret pals, right?

Socks!

Yes, socks, look, a pair of socks:



Not only is a pair of socks, not only I am not going to be late mailing these out to _country far away_, but they are reasonably equal.

I am done with my sock-a-pal-ooza socks!

Now I can relax and stop obsessing about the socks not be done in time or not being the same and start obsessing about "will my sock pal hate them?".

But for at least one day I shall be just happy that, look!, I finally struck them from the list. List that does not get any shorter even if I strike stuff off. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I finish one object and a start two?

And to follow that tradition, tonight I am going to cast my sissy's little black top, probably start a hat that my husband has requested for the baby of a friend of his and I do know that I won't have a minute of peace until I cast for the cardi my daughter I am going to make with some of the yarn I bought from HoJo.

So, 3 for 1?

And I need to add that now that I have made a pair of socks, I want to make more and more. Alison is right. Isn't she always?
Once I am done with Pricipessa high knee socks, I want to make this and this (with the yarn Deb sent me) and this .....

Sunny Saturday

Look what Agnes has sent me:



Aren't they beautiful? And about stitch markers, I have bought some from Suzie too - she is selling them to start up a small non-profit. Hop over and buy some!

On stash enhancement news, this morning I have met HoJo and bought some of her stash - beautiful yarn! We chatted for a good half hour and I suggest to put her blog in your bloglines because she is planning big things. I am so excited for her!

Knitting news:
The last two days I have gone to SF for the day: Caltrain = 50 minutes of knitting a day. Yes, it's only 25 minutes from PA to SF now, thanks to the baby bullet. If I do appreciate being in the city in such a short time, it's only 25 minutes of knitting.

So I worked on my second sockapalooza sock and I am at the heel - I am so happy I'll be done by tomorrow. I realized that I have started to stress about it - my pal is outside the US so I really want to mail these out Monday or Tuesday.

For a change, I am in "finishing" mode - I do not want to start anything new until I get some of my WIPs out of the way. I have been working on my Ribbi Cardy and on the Wavy Boxes Baby Blanket for Touching Little Lives.

Mystery Kit #4 is now available!

I already ordered mine - go check it out!

Inspirations Yarn.com

One sock!

My first sock!

Pattern from Knitty and Cascade Fixation yarn, I am making these for sockapalooza.