resolution

the yarn connection in manhattan is closing its doors at the end of this month.  my roommate found out about their clearance sale a couple weeks ago so she and i made a special trip to see what they had left.  i was looking for specifically lace-weight yarn to make lace shawls for my mom and aunt.  this is what i found:

mind you, i still haven’t touched a single strand of yarn from my trip to reinbeck, but i vow not to buy another hank, skein, cone, or ball of yarn until i’ve used up everything in my stash.  this is my new year’s resolution. i will make everything that i have in my queue in ravelry from leg warmers to sweater dresses.  i will not spend money on restaurants or bars until this is done.  i will be productive everyday!  (it’ll be interesting to look back on this post in jan 2010)…

happy new year everyone!  hope 2009 brings us everything we wish for…

winter wonderland

This was the view of the backyard (we have no access to) from our kitchen window several weeks ago.  i love it when it snows!  but then a few hours later, it’s mucky slush and ice.  NOT fun.  we’re going to have another deep freeze coming our way.

perfect time for knitting!  i made a hat for my cousin’s son, noah as a christening gift:

made a pair of men’s fingerless gloves:

and i’m working on some sweaters that i’d rather not show until they’re sent to the recipient.

in other news, my cousin and his wife welcomed baby sofia to the world on december 1, 2008!  she’s the first child for my cousin, and the first girl in her generation on my mom’s side.

here’s some pics from christmas with my mom’s side of the family in new jersey starting with the first generation (aunts and uncles):

and i failed to mention before that i got back from a cruise with my parents, sisters, and brother in-law earlier this month.  it was a complete feeding frenzy 24/7!  i’ve never been on a true vacation like this where you’re truly carefree for an entire week and the only thing you have to worry about is making sure to be back on the boat before it sails off to the next destination.  i highly recommend it.  we took the carnival splendor to puerto rico, dominican republic, st. thomas, and bahamas.  snorkeling in the bahamas was our all-time favorite excursion. it’s almost overwhelming how many fish you see swimming right beside you.  here’s some highlights:

if you didn’t notice, my older sister is pregnant!  she’s due in mid-april and i already have my plane ticket to be home for a little over a week to see them.  she’s having a boy!  kinda nervous about that.  we’re a family of girls with no exposure to video games and other gadgets that appeal to boys, so i’m not really sure what will entertain him.  i am going to start on some knit baby goods for him though, which is perfect timing with all the practice i’m getting on my cousin’s kids.  it’s been a busy couple of months!

the craziest night of my life

i have to blog about this night before all the details escape me…

my roommie and i had plans to meet up with friends who were visiting from tx so we decided on verlaine in the lower east side.  we were enjoying our conversation and our lychee martinis when the guy next to me at another table decided it would be funny to take my martini, grab the napkin underneath, and slam the glass back down on the table causing the drink to spill on my (handknit) hat and on my lap.  his friends urged him to apologize to me but he blatantly refused and started getting angry.  with his attitude, i knew it was useless to reason with him and his friends were incapable of  controlling him so i got up and found a staff member to have him removed from the establishment.  he didn’t go quietly and his friends were very embarrassed.  they apologized to me over and over and i was fine by then.  i just wanted to get back to having fun with our friends which is exactly how we spent the rest of our time at the bar.  it was fun to see the texans who i saw last at my farewell party in austin.

it was around 1:30/2:00am by the time we got off the train and started walking the 4 blocks home.  a group of 6-8 high schoolers were walking towards us and we moved over to share the sidewalk.  all of a sudden, a girl yelled ‘BOOM’ and her fist met my mouth.  in my 30 year existence, i’ve never been deliberately struck in the face so i was in complete shock.  i stood there dumbfounded and erline asked what happened.  i told her, ‘that girl just punched me in the face.’  i had one hand on my lower lip and the other at my jaw beneath my ear.  erline wanted to go attack them and one of the kids slowed down and turned around and i yelled, ‘why the fuck did she hit me?’  with her most ghetto ny accent she retorted, ‘because she felt like it.’  i really had no reaction.  i didn’t know if i should laugh or cry, but i just stood there watching them walk away.

we got back to our apartment and thought it would be a good idea to pour ourselves a nice stiff drink and roll a couple cigarettes that my cousin left at my apartment.  we smoked outside our building and reflected on the evening’s events.  our upstairs neighbors showed up and chit-chatted with us for a bit before inviting us up to their apartment.  they offered us an herbal remedy for the end of the night and our conversation commenced.  we talked about our downstairs neighbors and learned that they are friendly, nice, and neighborly to the guys upstairs…not us.  there’s only 3 units in the building and everyone’s been invited to their parties and their fabulous backyard  (which we can only enjoy from our kitchen windows) except for us.  the only thing mentioned was that our a/c window unit drips above their patio door where one of the tenants likes to smoke.  i’m not going to make any extra effort to be hospitable to the downstairs folks.  they look boring anyway.  we also found out that the guys upstairs are both around 24 years old and work for liquor companies which means they’re overstocked.  one works from home and when i mentioned that i ‘work’ from home now, he offered to treat me to lunch since he’s allowed to expense lunch everyday.  the conversation started getting stranger and stranger and erline and i just kept looking at each other like, ‘what the hell are they talking about?’  finally, erline found an out for us and we were able to escape the neverending weirdness.  we got back down to our place and for a couple minutes tried to unlock and door that was already unlocked.  we were giggling on our living room floor for a good 15 minutes and decided it was a good idea to drunk dial a friend who would appreciate this crazy story.  he actually did pick up the phone and was kind enough to listen to my long crazy story.  we went to bed and i woke up this afternoon with a sore jaw and luckily no battle scars on my mouth.

i can’t wait for 2008 to end.  i’m claiming next year.  2009 IS MINE!

change, all right

for the 4th time in my 6-year career as an architect, i’ve been laid off.  i think someone’s trying to tell me something.  architecture’s like the boyfriend that keeps rejecting me but i go back because i want to make it work and i’ve invested so much of myself in it already.  maybe it’s time to move on.  things to consider: my new life in nyc that i was just starting to really enjoy, the lease on my apartment that ends in may 09, the sucky job market that’s left so many other architects filling out the unemployment questionnaire online, the fact that friends back at home are also getting let go or are in fear of it, my sister who is living at home unemployed as well who wants someone to frolick around town and watch tv with while mom makes lunch, and the other dream of living abroad doing non-architecture related things.  i’m lucky to be able to think so selfishly.  oh yeah, and of course we’ve got a new president who has his work cut out for him.  i’m excited to see what changes will come.  guess i’m glad i don’t have that job…

here’s my latest creation:

it can be worn like a capelet, or as a cowl, or as a hood when buttoned all the way up.  the yarn i used came from a great yarn store called knitch.  it’s shepherd’s wool from stonehenge fiber mill.  the buttons came from m& j trimming here in the city which was a huge mistake because i spent almost as much as i did for the yarn.  i can’t wait to sport this.

fall project progress report

the sweater for sophia is all knit up and just needs the buttons sewn on:

my 4-strand crochet blanket really needs to get done!  it’s freezing in my apartment and it’s getting harder and harder to get warm enough to sleep.  so far, it’s heavy and rough, but i’m loving it.

the cones of yarn are getting a bit smaller…i think!

rhinebeck 08

last saturday, i spent $35 to take a charter bus up to rhinebeck, ny 2 and a half hours away from manhattan for the annual rhinebeck sheep and wool festival with the nyc sit ‘n knit meetup crew.  the number of vendors for yarn was overwhelming.  i played it safe and searched through my patterns for yarn/yardage requirements and made myself a shopping list the night before.  gotta say, it was a wise thing to do otherwise i would’ve bought everything i set my eyes on.  i really enjoyed the experience and met some really interesting people.  here are some snapshots:

and this is what i went home with:

enough for 2 projects on my list, one hank to give as a gift, and one for a miscellaneous hat or scarf.  i’m looking forward to next year, but i made myself a rule: use up all that i bought this year before even thinking about buying the bus ticket.

ravelry

are you part of the ravelry clan?  i can’t get enough of this site.  besides gmail, i’m on ravelry pretty much all day long, all day strong.  each ‘ravel-er’ has their own profile where they can log all their fo’s (finished objects) or wip’s (work in progress)…and even projects that were done and frogged (ripped apart).  this is my project list:

you can keep track of what needles you have in your possession:

what’s available in your stash:

what books/magazines/patterns you already have:

and the best part is that you can see what others are knitting.  everyone has their own take on patterns and projects and there are a lot of original designers out there too.  i spend most of my day picking my favorites and making a list of what i want to do next:

it’s just as addictive as online shopping, but it’s all free!  oh, and i’m ‘highstrung’…add me as a friend if you stop by!

fall projects

the february sweater for sophia due in december:

i’m somewhat nervous about this because it’ll be my first baby garment and i have no idea how size works.  i’m just following the pattern as best i can.  my first attempt was over a year ago for 2 baby girls but i got frustrated with the pattern and the yarn i’d picked.  i’m trying one more time.

here’s the scarf i decided to make instead of the clapotis:

it’s my subway project.  i needed something really simple to do on my commute to work.  the pattern is so simple so there’s little to no chance of totally screwing up while trying to pay attention to subway stops.   it’s extra wide and could possibly be blocked as a shawl.  this one kind of bores me but it makes the ride seem shorter.

here’s my biggest project yet:

a crochet blanket holding 4 strands of new zealand worsted wool together.  the hook is a size Q (16mm) with 16,000 yards of yarn i bought from ebay.  in all honesty, i was really shocked when i opened the box.  the photos on ebay had no scale to them at all and looked like regular sized spools of kitchen cotton.  i had it shipped to my office and i brought each giant spool home one at a time in a tote bag.  my coworkers and roommate think i’m nuts!  i’m afraid i might agree.  i went a little overboard this time.

finished object

i think this might be the first for the year, which is sad because it’s already almost over.  now that i’m back in the swing of things i hope to have a few more before 09.

unblocked foliage from knitty:

and i did a little online shopping on my lunch break.  i’m now pretty much complete with my collection of knitting needles now, thanks to knitpicks.com.  fingerless mitts, baby sweaters, a few sweaters, and a big blanket are on the list.  no more excuses:

dino in ny…again

fashion week sprung up again and so did a visit from dino.  here are the highlights:

friday at the academy of art univ. show (dino got erline and i in – thanks hun!)

nigel barker:

dino at work:

saturday was rained out but sunday was perfect.  from the staten island ferry:

always a great time with mr. dino-ray!  xoxo