Fidgety Knitting

No Time To Blog

Look Ma I am going to Sicily, no not seeing Cecily. SICILY the island.

Promise not to do any of the silly tourist mafioso stuff. If you see pictures on Flickr with lots of steam you'll know that I gave the Rain God a nice love tap on the ass straight into a lava bath :)

Oh and everyone of you who spared a thought. You rock. You, you tip the boat, in such a good way. I got the work situation settled out and am in the group for consideration. There are more steps but people we take things ONE AT A TIME over here.

Now to run and catch a plane!

Think Positive Thoughts

First smile there is a photo:

Ok now on to the hyperventilation. So I did something very stupid (look I am illiterate, that should get me bonus points!) and missed an important work deadline. Something that might make my life livable again and give me some hope for the 40+ hours a week I spend here... I am fudging around to try and get in for consideration by the skin of my chinny-chin-chin. So a group pray-a-long for the agnostic is seeming like a good idea.

Between that and the weather for the holiday, I feel like I could use some vibes going around. I am sure there are worse things and others that need the vibes too, but if you have a spare thought around that you can send my way that would be great too.

I will try to blog tomorrow but if not, I won't be online for at least the next 12 days (except to downloand photos so I can take more) so there won't be any updates until after May 9th. I am going to Sicily to drink wine, snorkel in the rain and sacrifce a god to the Volanoes. It is one hell of an itinerary I tell you. But if you want to ride along on the coat tails, you can see if I put anything up on Flickr :) So no need to email wondering if I am dead or not. Unless I fall into the volcano...

P.S. Unfortunately neither Cutaway nor Tivoli will be with me in Sicily. And in the end I am ok with that (too much of a perfectionist for my own good and a perfectionist with not enough time or focus)- though I haven't decided what the hell I will do about the orangutang arms on Cutaway... must have been the blocking!

Tuesday It's The New Monday

It is official, I have pissed off the Karma Goddess... ROYALLY

First, and most importantly is the vacation weather. What the FUCK I am going South to be in the SUN. I wanted to take this nice photo of a sock on a beach or something. Snorkeling in the refuge does not have the same appeal if it is drizzling on you. And trekking around a volcano with an umbrella doesn't exactly exude allure. THIS... IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. I swear to yee Gods... if it is raining while I am there- I am sacrificing one of your asses to a volcano (there are two live ones I am supposed to visit and I WILL trek up to the crate's edge just to get a good spiteful shove in the rain to you); in the hopes that it will bring the sun, or at least make me feel better when I am stuck trying to find a museum.

Next we come to the knitting. After some strategic shopping for the vacation weather (well strategic for what I want the weather to be) I found an adorable dress.

I dare you to try and tell me that doesn't scream Sicilian holiday. It does. And I thought since evenings might be a bit chilly... I could finish a perfect knit. That is right I could finish Cutaway. WHAT AN IDEA!!

So I threw Tivoli aside (haven't even ripped yet...) and started piecing things together. I hooked the shoulders together and seamed half of the set in on the sleeve last night. Today after I got home from work I forced myself to follow up and finish setting in the sleeve...

Yeah ummm not what I was expecting. BUGGER. So it is official I know not what I am doing and my knitting is punishing me for that mercilessly. We have demonstrated how to make sleeves long enough for an Orangutang. Actually Orangutangs were my favorite Zoo animal as a kid (besides the "exotic" bird I had as a pet that the zoo had too... yeah trump that at the next "show and tell" Billy!) but while I may scratch the armpit on occasion I don't have long arms. Now what to do... restart the sleeves?? Ignore and continue on?? Remain in holding pattern and go buy self a black cardigan cause this one aint gonna be done in time (not with work, a dinner, packing, and shoe shopping to do, plus getting that cardigan)...

And don't even get me started on the crap job. Ass bleed is here and my job it sucks CLOWNS ASS like a magnum powered Hoover. At least this poppy did make the walk home a bit cheerier. Pure fluke, but the photo I took turned out neat if I say so myself and that is my saving grace for the day.

Yeah so Tuesday... it is the New Monday, can't wait to see what Friday (departure day) brings!

Spring Bada-Bing!

Spring is here.. even if only for one fleeting day!

Saturday was gorgeous and filled with errands. My last weekend before my trip to Sicily!!!! It seems surreal that I am going to go on vacation (really what is a vacation she asks...), that I will go to trek around volcanoes, snorkel blue waters and see historical sites.

Anyways I "finished" up Tivoli.

And beyond the loosey goosey M1L increases and stitches around... I probably need one or two more increases (I initially had the same increases as decreases) to make it a bit longer (no midriff rafting for me) so that it hits a little bit below the hip bone. This also allows me to try and fix up the extra ends to weave in from a CRAP ball of Cotton Cashmere I got (serious 3 knots in less than half a ball!)

Less than one week and counting...

Bring Back the Photos!

So rather than wait for a cord to magically appear, I decided to spend money that could be spent on my upcoming holiday to Sicily and instead... get a multi card usb reader. It will work with my Olympus only XD card, and also the kind of cards the Digital SLRs use when I get the new toy.

What does that mean... it means I can play with photos instead of going to bed. I don't have any remote clue what the hell I am doing, I am just adjusting things around and filtering at hazard...

But I am in love with this photo I took on the way home with the idea of playing with it. I played around on Photoshop until 1am. Note for the smart people (i.e. not me!!) this is not good when you need to wake up for work... You can see the original here.

Oh you thought it meant I could show you Tivoli photos??? Yeah I guess I can do that too :)

I am at the straight knitting part to finish out the hem. I haven't figured out what I will do about the casting off but that is ok... as I am thinking I will be ripping out all the increases. WHAT??? you say... well I really think the M1L have such loose stitches around them, and I don't think they are supposed to look like that. But this way I can, as I am already close enough, chart out what I want and how it will look and if the proportions I think will work do work. In the mean time if anyone has suggestions, feel free to send them my way. I'll try to post a photo later tonight of the increases. I love the top and I want it perfect, and if I can in time for Sicily :) So we shall see how that goes... I may be distracted by Photoshop here soon.

Hopping Right Along

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter, blessed with many many bits of choccies in your basket.

I myself had exactly the kind of weekend I needed. A weekend filled with lounging, midget tossing, knitting, eating, drinking, and good people. You can see some of the photos here.

What you want to see my photos... Well we have a little hiccup here. I left my USB cord with the midgets (am looking at the FNAC to see if I can buy another today though). Ummm so yeah that is a little problem.

Another problem... I am not sure I like the M1L increases look to them (they be a bit loosey goosey). And then there is the killer. The Tivoli she not be done. But she be VERY close. This top-down knitting goes fast, and she should be done tonight (once I finish a few more rounds and can decide what is a nice cast off for the top-down knitting as this I think can be a bit of an issue). For some unfathomable reason I spent time doing other things than JUST knitting. So I came back with two skeins of yarn hand wound up, Tivoli close to completion, a sock not finished and my Cutaway still in a pile of pieces.

I also came home and didn't want to do a damn thing, other than stay up later than I rightfully ought to, doing shit I don't need to instead of useful stuff (intentions are good, follow through bit leaves a bit to be desired). Made for one painful morning when I had to come back to work today...

Good part. Tivoli fits well, and I get to start the planning for my Sicily trip!

First Comes

Nipples... Then comes flabby tummy... and all without a baby in a baby carriage. Or any of those other steps either... I think the two photos below are enough to push me into getting into shape NOW!

That said (hoping against hope that no one will comment on the flabby) I am risking it and posting them because... Knitting top down is not intuitive to me. Not yet. I can say I am liking this (goes fast!) and I can't wait to have Tivoli done! But I can't tell if I think it is fitting well enough. Maybe since it is cotton the blocking and washing/drying will take it down that extra notch??

Any ideas? Bueller????

For those not following along this is Grumperina's brilliant Tivoli, which I started last Saturday. I am knitting it in Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere on my Denise needles (size 5US) and getting 6st per inch gauge. This is the 34" bust size. I want a hugger top... and I want it to look good (cause that flabby tummy NOT SO GOOD!).

I also want to finish it this weekend. I have a long Easter weekend. We get Monday off here for that holiday celebrating the bunny barrens under that cross that the shaggy hair guy hung out on. Also known as the holiday where the French drop acid and believe that BELLS fly in from the Vatican and drop chocolate eggs for the sprogs. The weekend involves a train ride (1.5hr) each way, not to mention any other time snagged away from the midget tossing events of the weekend (there are 4 of them... all fun :)

I would like to have a finished Tivoli (that maybe someone more talented and not ME could take a picture of) and a seamed Cutaway (which HOLY SHIT, you type Chic Knits Cutaway in to Blingo and I am hit #2 and 3!!!) by the time I return. If I am lucky I will get to take photos of the BRILLIANT and ASTONISHING trade gift I got. Let there be (against all odds) LIGHT for it all! I might swatch a bit. I will be trying to learn how to use a Mac, dyeing eggs, and baking cookies. Oh yeah and I have a sock I could finish and a sock I could start too.

So I am calling on any and all of you to tell me ASAP if you think things are off (I have no fear of ripping back if it doesn't work). For now my plan is to do one or two extra waist decreases and continue as prescribed. That I hope will cinch it in (I can't tell if the loosey feel is the extension around the Denise needles or the top itself). And then finish her off...

Wish me luck :) Happy Hopping!

Exhaustion

I am running on empty, like Dead Woman Writing I think. Ironically it has nothing to do with Paris Roller, which was ever so nicer and less foul mouthed this time due to nicer route, LOTS more people, and thus a SLOWER pace! I really enjoyed most of the tour and wish I was comfortable enough rolling over cobble stone on wheels to take pictures. Because blading by the Tour lit up in that lovely bronze hue, with a police escort. That is a memory.

No... the main reason I have been silent recently isn't just that work took over, it is now that I have returned to the every day job... The one that sucks clown's ass in a royal vacuum pumped kind of way. And I just cant find the means to make some of the not so pretty parts going on- at least funny. Not a good sign. Nor is it a good sign to have a friend at the local pub say to you what is wrong with your eyes- they have a hollow look to them.

So I am staring things down, talking out loud to myself about them, which entails having to have the hard discussions and making the hard decisions. Tink wonders if can you wind that internal clock of her's a bit tighter... please? THANKS *drip* *drip*

Regardless of anything else, I know that it is time for change now, and I need to make sure that I do my all to create the conditions and parameters for it. Cause if not well I will loose the right to my whip over there on the wall, the one that I use to say "WHOSE MAH BITCH" with. And I don't know if I want to face up to that possibility in MY life. Nor am I really interested in the bleeding ulcer again. The ass bleed strikes terror in the pants Chez Tink.

So the silence has been an exhaustion, pensive and self-censorship function. The return back to my current job makes me dread the day. Though a ray of hope is peeking through a cloud- in the form of a job I WANT and am going to apply for (4 jobs... little over 1 year... all good... VODKA... even better). The good dead dog knows that I am hoping my ridiculous supersititions will come through. Especially after I spent a chunk of the weekend dealing with them (Ok- here is the belief: I get things in life I want because I clear my Karma, I make payments to the Favor Bank, I Feng Shui my ass and most importantly- my dishes are done. This is what brings bounty into my life... Yes I have had my head checked- why do you ask??)

But on to the knitting... So did I ever talk to you about the TBM? No I didn't because I am a bad Tink (and a Tink who keeps promising that Virtual Tour there too). And a slightly depressed thus photo reduced Tink (maybe that savings she is doing will get her that Digital SLR and that will spark her up- let's hope) So what seems like a month ago, but was only 10 days!, I went in for the treatment. The Videz Votre Compte Treatment. I spent WAY more than I should have and hope that I will use all that yarn (and the sock yarn I bought and want to still buy). Because as of now I am on a yarn diet!

Here is the rundown of what I bought:
Project Purchases:
Enough Alpaca Silk to make Lara
Enough Cotton Cashmere to make a Tivoli
Cheapie Buys:
A 10 pack of Anny Blatt Challenger (in Crepuscule)
A 10 pack of Phildar Aviso (in Olive/Khaki Green)

As for the needles moving round and round... on Saturday I started here...

Top Down construction can sometimes be a treacherous thing...

This was the evidently nipple-tastic end of the weekend. I spent time cleaning instead of knitting... Karma I need it more than I need the knitting or the Tivoli (yes that serious)

and now am here.

With a little of this on the side.

End of Questions and Photos...

I should have a nice family weekend/Easter midget munchkin tossing event in a few days so while I may be quiet I will hopefully have an FO to show next week. When the sun comes back out from where ever I sent it hiding (DAMN me for saying Spring was here)

Laissez Les Bons Temps Roller

Nothing more need be said.
They combine and strike HARD... The Insanity. A Colleague/Friend. Weather Dellusions. EXTREME Weakness. And again THE INSANITY.

Death will be mine. I hope to survive the after life and see you all in another life time.

*Hi Boys and Girls*

Little Bunny Foo Foo Hopping Through The Forest, Scooping Up the Field Mice and BOPPING Them On The Head.

And then the good fairy went and got lost trying to find her way through the protesters and baracades, leaving Bunny Foo Foo (who is not so innocent I might add) to come over to break out a can of whoop ass on my ass and spray a geiser that would make old faithful jealous. Yes, life explosion... JUST as Spring has decided to show up. Whoopie. Those might be year old Peeps (and yet just perfectly stale- the blessed love... oh how I worship thee Peeps!), but they are sooo singing about SPRING. And I am clinging to it baby.

I am going to tempt le fate ignoranti and say I think Spring is here. I haven't fully packed up the winter clothes, but I am wearing the trench and less wool daily. I am even switching to wanting to knit the current project that I will have to rip out and restart (another post people, no time) with a cotton blend. It might be cold like a summabitch but the sun is out, and while that daylight bullshit (I was raised by the intelligent people- the ones that say screw that changing time crap...) screwed up my clock, it means I get home to light. LIGHT PEOPLE.

I realised after getting an email or two that my silence might be causing concern. And if I dont start posting with some photos and stories of crazies in the Metro, there *might* be hell to pay... I decided I'd give the fly by hello from the desk for alcoholics. Yes I work at Lush Central. Where Liquid Vitamins are offered by the Director no less, to those who stay late on Fridays. Ahhhh. And yes that bottle is ALL MINE BITCHES.

If there was any concern, you can blame it all on 60 Ministers whose meeting (in that room, on the same day as the Greve... oh how I love political turmoil, chanting as I walk past the baracades at 7am so I can get to work in time. JUST the way to make my morning... Ok so I smiled a bit, but serious not into that early morning shit) meant I didn't do much more than eat, sleep, shit and work. And then for the weekend you can blame the nice people I went out with on Saturday (and the cute Aussie I pulled) who had me out till 5am... thus upending my whole weekend and its plans.

Regular posting with blocking (the Cutaway in alpaca), maybe seaming (of said Cutaway in alpaca), praises being to the glory known as sleeping (by not with alpaca), TBM purchases (that include a purchase of alpaca), spring knitting (which will most likely not be done with alpaca), maybe some stash discussion (that will flash you alpaca) and a virtual tour of Le Bon Marche (who sells alpaca) will return shortly. After I sleep. Which thanks to the terror of THIS... not so likely. But you can all send buddhist mind cleansing thoughts my way. I'd ever so kindly appreciate it.