Here knitty, knitty!

SP8

I signed up for Secret Pal 8 today. Woohoo!

posted by KackieC @ 10:22 PM 0 Comments   

found it!

Here's the picture of best friend.



Well, it's more or less Best Friend. It has a slightly different cable (I only used one twist) and different yarn (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino- I liked the chunkier look of it, which, fwiw, made the double twist on the cable look a little heavy). I am pretty much incapable of following a pattern precisely, or even vaguely, for that matter. Actually, directions in general are something I tend to quickly scan and then immediately disregard, which is causing me much pain an anguish with Starsky.

I did actually end up using the hardware recommended in the pattern, although to be honest I only did so because I accidentally ended up knitting to the pattern's gauge (this NEVER happens to me- Starsky is the only other time in recent memory where I've nailed it) and it was the only hardware on the entire internet that came in the right size.

posted by KackieC @ 5:18 PM 0 Comments   

Amazing fabric store

Ya'll, I went to Britex Fabrics in San Francisco this morning. That place is awesome! They've got the nicest fabrics I have ever seen. Golly gee whiz, but there was some not quite grey, not quite black wool and lycra blend fabric that would make the most amazing skirt for work. Absolutely amazing. It's $145 a yard though, so it's not something I'm going to add to my stash till such time as I find the perfect skirt pattern. However, you can bet that I'll be making a whole slew of skirts this summer trying out various cuts and styles of skirts with the express purpose of finding the perfect skirt pattern for it.

I'm slogging along with Starsky still, but I tell you what, this pattern is definitely something that requires every single solitary ounce of concentration that I have. I can't just whip it out and squeeze in 5 or six stitches here and there like I could with some other projects I've done.

Oh- did I ever tell ya'll I made Best Friend for my Secret Pal? I took a really lame picture of it with my camera phone before I mailed it to her in February, because my real camera was out of commission for some reason. However, at the moment I can't find it. Shesh. You;d think I'd keep up with this stuff, wouldn't you?

posted by KackieC @ 2:38 PM 0 Comments   

gagging noises

This morning I took Yoshi and Elvis (the dogs I am sitting with while I am up in San Francisco this week) to go potty. It's raining, so naturally we were all in a hurry to get things wrapped up, if you know what I mean. So while I'm bagging up Elvis's poop as fast as I can, Yoshi decided to go on ahead and run to the house. Since he was still physically connected to me by a leash though, he didn't get as far as he'd like. He is however about 85 pounds and managed to give me a big yank that knocked the poop I was trying to clean up right out of the bag and into the palm of my hand. Ya'll I thought I was going to throw up right there on the spot. I won't bore you with additional details of the quantity, consistency, aroma, or other physical properties of the poop. Let's just leave it at " a big bowl of really stinky oatmeal." I blacked out after that and don't really remember anything. blech. ick. yuck. The worst part was the smell. I can stand almost anything as long as it doesn't smell.

Ok, anyway, enough of that trauma. Today's rain postpones my trip over to Golden Gate park. In it's place I'll be substituting a trip over to the California Academy of Sciences and doing a little more knitting at the Metreon I think. I've made some good progress on Starsky (for me, the slowest knitter of all time, it's good progress. For someone else it's probably a couple hour's work). I also discovered I really gimped up the first few rows of the bottom most row of cables in the back. Know what? I don't care. It's not that noticeable anyway. Plus it is right in the "it's gonna felt from me sitting on that exact spot, anyway" zone, so I'm leaving it. If anyone does notice it, they are spending waaaay to much time checking out my backside. And if anyone points it out, well, that's just plain mean. Besides, who wants a sweater that is the genetic identical twin to everyone else's sweater ;)?

posted by KackieC @ 8:21 AM 0 Comments   

Walking and knitting

Over the last two days I've walked about 15 miles around San Francisco.
Literally. I've had a great time doing it, and I carried starsky every
step of the way. I pulled it out and worked on it over coffee at some
little place in the Mission yesterday, but otherwise I haven't really
done anything with the needles. That's about the change though. It
started raining just a bit ago, and it's supposed to rain till
Wednesday. Walking in the rain is not fun for me, but knitting in my
PJs by a fire while it's raining is. Woohoo!

Speaking of weather, I want it to be summer. I need a beach fix
desperately. I haven't been to santa cruz in ages because of all the
other vacation stuff I've been up to. I can't remember when the last
time I was- before I went to Carpinteria I guess. Maybe this Sunday
after I get back from
San Francisco I wil go for the day. Hmm, that sounds swell, actually.
Maybe the weather will cooperate....
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 2:23 PM 0 Comments   

The Libertine is GREAT!!

This movie rocks. Johnny Depp deserves an Oscar. I was absolutely
blown away by his performance.

+kac

posted by KackieC @ 9:42 PM 0 Comments   

Knitting at the Metreon

I'm knitting at the Metreon right now. I feel like I am in the biggest
food court in the world. in about an hour I'm going to see The
Libertine. I don't really know anything about it other than it's a
costume drama with Johnny Depp and Francesca Annis. I figure it can't
be bad with those three things going for it.

I knitted till late last night and I am about 2 inches back into
Starsky. I kinda wish I'd decided to just knit tonight and skip the
movie, but I don't want my wrist to start acting up again. It'd be nice
to actually finish Starsky sometime this spring...
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 6:00 PM 0 Comments   

I'm knitting again!!!

Today I got back to knitting. I am so happy. My wrist feels good. So
good that I didn't even mind when I frogged starsky back to nothing. I
discovered I did P3 K3 ribbing, not K3 P3 like tha pattern says. Then I
also decided that my gauge wasn't even, so rip rip rip. Perfection is a
lofty goal, one I'll never get, but I'd like to get as close as I
can...

I'm up in San Francisco now, till April 1. I am house sitting for
friends and playing tourist all next week , for my last week of my
vacation. I'm pretty excited about it- I've lived in the San Francisco
Bay Area for 6 years, and actually worked in San Francisco for over 2
years and really never done a single touristy thing. I'm going to go to
museums and walk through neighborhoods, and have coffee and knit in some
grovy places I hope.

I have a picture of my secret pal loot to post, but I don't have
internet access except by cell phone at the moment. Pally was so great
though- Socks! 5 skeins of yarn! Skacel dpns! A giant Hershey Bar
(which I already ate)! Coconut soap and lotion! A great red vintage
box! A pretty blank book for making notes! Mints! A cool "clothesline"
for hanging cards and things! And all of it was wrapped up so cute with
pink, white, green, and polka dotted tissue. (We call those POHkee dots
back in Arkansas) it was such a treat, I love it all!!! Thanks Pal!!!
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 11:17 PM 0 Comments   

Such Loot!

My secret pal just sent me the biggest box of treats in the world! The batteries in my camera are recharging at the moment, but as soon as they are done I will post up a pic of all the goodies. And in addition to all the candy, yarn, needles, etc in the box, my Pally knitted me socks! My very own socks. No one has everknitted socks for me before! This is so exciting, I can hardly sit still. Three cheers for my Secret Pal!

posted by KackieC @ 3:47 PM 0 Comments   

Pretty in pink

Here's today's sewing project. I need to put the button holes in and hem it up, but I figured I'd take a picture while I had it on. I was marking where the buttons should be positioned.



I cut the pattern down a bit, because it had about an inch and a half more ease in it than I wanted. I was a little worried I might have cut it down too much, but it turns out I nailed it exactly where I wanted it. That's one thing about knitting that I don't like- if you size it wrong, you probably have to rip it out and start again. Although, there is that rare occasion where I have been able to just machine-stitch 4 lines up the side, cut between the middle two lines, and reseam the knitted garment in a size better for me. I'm not ashamed to admit that. In fact, I am pretty proud of that fact. If I hadn't done it that way, there are a half dozen items that would still be sitting in my WIPs box...

posted by KackieC @ 10:09 PM 0 Comments   

More sewing and less knitting

Still no knitting today, my wrist continues to give me hell. This is not good for my soul. However, I did get another top cutout today, and I will have it stitched up in no time. I'm making pretty good headway through this giant stack of fabric in my closet.

Tonight at dinner I wore the long sleeved top I made Friday and it looked good. Really good. And can I say that this is the best darn zipper work I have ever done? I used an invisible zipper and my workmanship really looks store bought. The principal thing I hated about stuff I made in the past has been the zipper. It doesn't take much to get one of those things waving the "Hey! Look at me! I'm homemade!" flag. I have decided that invisible zippers are worth the extra trouble and I will ONLY use invisible zippers from now on.

posted by KackieC @ 10:31 PM 0 Comments   

Two more tops

Here's the knit top I made from the same pattern as the floral top I did last week. Um, it looks kind of like a maternity top, or sort of matronly. It is the EXACT same pattern, the only difference is the shape of the neckline and the fact that this one has no sleeves. I think it is just because it is made of a knit fabric, and the pattern just has too much ease since it was designed for a woven fabric. It's really just too maw-maw looking for me to wear out of the house. It's kind of comfy though, so I think I will make a pair of little knit capri pants to wear with it and call it "lounge wear."



Here's the little camisole I made today- I just need to tack the straps on the top and I'm done. It looks really cute on!



It has a little lapped front on the top, which is hard to see in the picture above, so I pointed it out here.



My sewing machine is a real bastard if the spool of thread or the bobbin is too light. I've had to stuff the center holes of both with bits of cardboard to keep the tension even in the stitching, and even taped a penny to the top of a spool of thread at one point. So, now that I have the weights and balances down on the current thread and bobbin, I am going to take full advantage of it and make something else pink. In fact I think I will make as many pink threaded things as I have thread for. I swear it takes nearly as long to futz with the weight as it does to make something. Sheesh.

My wrist is still bugging me, so no Starsky work tonight. Probably tomorrow though. Yeah!

posted by KackieC @ 8:14 PM 0 Comments   

Handknit Holidays

I finally got around to cracking the cover on Handknit Holidays. I ordered it about 2 weeks ago, but didn't have a chance to look at it till today. This book is yummy, ya'll! I want to make a whole bunch of the stuff in there. And most incredibly, I finally found something to make from all that green ribbon yarn I have in my stash- Christmas stockings! I totally recommend this book, for whatever that's worth.

In Starsky news, I've knitted till my wrist is sore again, which means I will have to take a couple of days off from the needles to let it rest. How sad is that? My wrist and my eyes are going to hell in a handbasket. Everything falls apart after 35. I did get a good tip from the Starsky knitalong I am doing though- color coding the cable stitches in the chart. I did that and it is SOOOO much easier to see what I am supposed to be doing. It pretty much halves the amount of concentration I need to use on it, which means once my wrist is back in good health again I can work on Starsky AND watch TV at the same time. Woohoo!

posted by KackieC @ 4:00 PM 0 Comments   

My top is done

I finished my top yesterday. It is New Look pattern 6515, view B. It was really a fast sew, and really easy. Here's the finished product:



It has a little wrap effect at the top, and I put bands of the same fabric along the edge of the top and under the bust. I thought about doing some navy blue trim or something else contrasting, but it was really too much with the scale of the print on the main fabric. I like this though, the bands are subtle, but give the top some much needed structure.



It is very flattering on me, although it is hard to tell from the picture. It makes the things that are supposed to look big look big, and the things that are supposed to look small look small, if you know what I mean. I think it will look even better once the sizing is washed out of the fabric and it has a bit more drape and a little less body.

This is fabric I had in my stash. I got it at Beverly's in Santa Cruz last summer (July-ish), but I believe I saw some still there about a month ago, FWIW. This pattern has a sleeveless version too, and a slightly different neckline
(sort of like a tunic looking thing) option as well. I think I may make that option out of a knit fabric, and skip the zipper on the side.

Ok, I gotta run. Starsky is calling my name!

posted by KackieC @ 1:15 PM 0 Comments   

Ta-Dah!

Here's the finished skirt. It needs to have a hook and eye put on the waistband, and it needs to be washed to get out all the 9 tons of fabric sizing in it. It floats out like a crinoline skirt right now with all the stiffener in it.



No, I didn't wash the fabric before I sewed it. Bad habit I know, but I always wash with cold water, and hang everything to dry, so I'm not really worried I will get a major amount of shrinkage. In fact, only once has that not-washing-first practice ever been a problem, and that was with a bathrobe I made out of some ungodly red terry cloth in 1987. The fabric didn't shrink, but there was so much exess red dye i nthe the fabric that the beige enamel on the arm of my sewing maching was permanently stained pink.

Anyway, isn't it cute? It kind of reminds me of a 1950's apron. I think it will be just the thing to wear to the beach instead of a grubby old pair of shorts or something. The little pom-poms on the edge were a total bitch to stitch on, BTW. They kept getting caught on the presser foot of my machine.

I was going to make another skirt, but I decided I need a shirt too. Something to wear with jeans, since right now the only things I own to wear with jeans are 4 identical brown tee shirts from Urban Outfitters and a couple of camisoles. So, now I am going to work on a shirt. I'll keep you posted on how it's going...

posted by KackieC @ 4:32 PM 0 Comments   

While I was out

I had hair done this morning, and on the way home I stopped off at Walmart to pick up some toothpaste and stuff. I ran back to the craft department to see what they had and I made such a score! I have been thinking those little striped skirts on the Old Navy TV commercials right now are so cute, but when I saw one in the store I was all "They want $30 for this?!?" Here's the skirt:



Now, take a look at the fabric I found on the sale table at Walmart:



They only had about a yard and a half left. Guess how much it cost? That's right! $1 for the whole thing!!!!



It was actually a suprise to me, because it was marked $2/ yard. Woohoo! It's 100% cotton and really cute. The stripes are all very thin- ranging from pencil lead-width to about 1/8 inch.

The status of my skirt of unknown origin is 90% finished. I ended up making a gathered skirt and I'm putting a little trim on the hem. As soon as I get some lunch in me I will finish that little task and post a picture up here. Here's a random picture from my vacation, BTW. I found it on my camera just now. It's a shot of the spot I surfed last week in Ventura.

posted by KackieC @ 1:25 PM 0 Comments   

Sew sew happy

I did actually get out the sewing machine today and dug through my fabric stash to see what I would make. I found a skirt that I had cut out but hadn't done anything with yet, so I figured that'd be as good a place as any to start. I have no idea what I was doing with this skirt when I cut it out. It's got pieces and parts pinned to it that I do not remember/ recognize. Plus it is waaaaay too big, leading me to believe I had planned to gather it or pleat it or something, but who the heck knows? I didn't leave myself any notes, and I had cut the pattern out of gift wrapping tissue rather than a real pattern so it's anybody's guess at this point. Rather like a Back-Tack swap- a pile of crafty stuff assembled by someone else and sent on to me for finishing. Except in this example I am also the "someone else."

I'm going to go ponder on this some more and see what I can make of it. Literally and figuratively. Wish me luck!

posted by KackieC @ 7:49 PM 1 Comments   

Pay Attention, Please.

Starsky isn't hard, but it does require Attention To Detail. A LOT of Attention To Detail. I had rip out the same row 3 times to catch the same mistake in the same place 3 times. Sheesh. I was trying to watch Office Space at the same time, and it just didn't work for me. I had to put down the needles and step away from the whole thing or risk gimping it up horribly. I had hoped to watch The Princess Bride while working on Starsky tonight, but I just can't do both till I have a half dozen or so banana-leafs under my belt. So instead I'm watching The Princess Bride and fiddling around with cascading style sheets. Someday ya'll will come visit me here and the place will be totally redecorated. It won't be anytime soon, based on my list of things I want to do with my time and my ability to follow through with anything, but there may be a little tweak here and there as we go along.

Anyway, enough of that. Tomorrow I am going to pull out my sewing maching and whip up a skirt or two. I have like, um, no clothes left after my whirlwind spring cleaning session except a bathrobe, jeans, and yoga pants. And maybe a couple of other things, like socks and a nightgown. I need to rebuild my closet!

posted by KackieC @ 9:43 PM 0 Comments   

rolling right along

I've only worked on Starsky for about 30 minutes total but I already have almost finished the back ribbing. I'm not a fast knitter, so that's quite a thrill for me.

Man, this time last year I was slogging away on Kyoto. Talk about your slow projects- I think I seedstitched for two weeks straight on that little tater baby!

posted by KackieC @ 10:56 PM 0 Comments   

BINGO!

I just swatched for Starsky and I nailed gauge on the first try. This has never happened to me before!

posted by KackieC @ 10:04 PM 0 Comments   

Candyswapper pal

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got the name of my candyswapper pal today. I can't wait to go shop for treats to send her. I'll probably do that and get something off in the mail to her tomorrow at the same time I send off my last package to my Secret Pal.

mmmm- candy!

posted by KackieC @ 8:33 PM 0 Comments   

Swatching Starsky

I am just about to start swatching Starsky. Wish me luck- I need it. The Starsky knitalong I'm doing has been having mixed results with getting guage, and I will probably be in the mixed-results category...

posted by KackieC @ 8:26 PM 0 Comments   

there's no place like home

Ya'll I gave it up and came on home today. A day early- it was just time. And I am so glad to be here. I've been gone all but 2 days of the last 2.5 weeks, and I really miss the joint, my friends, my routine. I had a great trip though. And it's not over yet! I still have 3 more weeks to go! The next two will be all crafy related, and then the last week will be spent house/ dog sitting up in San Francisco and pretending to be a tourist the whole time.

The ride home today was great. I saw 4 whales while I was driving along the 101 just south of Gaviota State Beach- how many people can say they say whales while driving today? And I also saw snow in the mountains going through the heart of Monterey County. We are having some WIERD weather here. What's up with that? I don't think it has ever snowed in monterey county before? It was pretty though. Very scenic drive.

And now I am going to watch TV and lay on the couch with the HEAT ON!

posted by KackieC @ 8:48 PM 0 Comments   

Got it!

I got my yarn for Starsky! I picked up some Lamb's Pride Bulky/Chunky
(er, I don't remember which) in a shop in Santa Barbara. It's
aubergine, and it looks kinda brow in some light, and kinda orangy
purple in other light. It's almost exactly the color of a hoodie I got
at Urban Outfitters that I love, so I am quite pleased. I am going to
start it when I get back home, Monday or Tuesday. I haven't decided
which day I will leave yet. Depends on the weather really.

I have been sitting in a coffee shop in downtown santa barbara
practicing the Socks Soar On Two Circulars technique. I just nailed it
I think. Coincidentally the sun just came out, so I think I am going to
pack in the knitting for a while and get outside and enjoy the day.
It's too blustery to knit outside in comfort, but it's not too bad to be
out moving around.

I do have to say I have had a great trip, but I wish it would be
warmer. One day I wore shorts and even put on my bikini and sat in a
beach chair for a few glorious minutes, but the rest of the trip I've
worn my standard uniform of Uggs, down parka, and hat from the time I
get up to the time I go to bed. I don't remember it ever being this
cold for this long before, but I probably say that every year.
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 1:01 PM 0 Comments   

Today's entertainment

I had a cup of coffee over a map of Ventura county this morning and figured out that I could go to the Reagan Presidential Library and hit a yarn store in Simi Valley pretty easily. I made it to the Library just fine, but I had a hell of a time finding the yarn store so I gave up on that idea after I spent 20 minutes and 3 phone calls trying to find it. Here are a couple of pictures of the library. Yeah they are kind of crappy. I took 'em with my camera phone, so that's probably the heart of the problem right there. Anyway:



This is the welcome sign. You aren't allowed to bring in backpacks. Not a problem for most of the people there, I think. The average age of everyone there, including the people working there is 80. I am not exaggerating. The parking lot was full of Buicks and Cadillacs. I watched one geezer in a silver Caddy drive over an orange cone blocking a parking space so he could park there. It was amusing.

Here's the coolest thing about this library:



They have the REAL AIR FORCE 1! Inside. You can even go on it. That's awesome. They also had Reagan's helicopter, some motorcycles, police cars, and a limo that he used too. And a defunct nuclear missile and sections of the Berlin Wall. This was totally awesome. Completely and totally awesome.

Air Force One, people. Sponsored by T Boone Pickens. Nothing against the people back home in Arkansas, but even if they've got the blue dress AND the cigar at the Clinton Library, it's still not even close to as cool as this.

posted by KackieC @ 7:07 PM 0 Comments   

uggh

I did not surf today, and I will not be for the rest of the trip. All the beaches in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties have been CLOSED due to cooties in the water from all the rainwater runoff. This is where I surfed the last two days:



There is another one in a nice bright yellow about 30 feet from my own personal campsite in Carpinteria. Jesus. And I was worried about the sewage plant.

Oh well. It's supposed to start raining tomorrow anyway. I dunno how I will entertain myself for the 48 hours of rain we are supposed to get, since everything there is to do here (besides hang out at starbucks and seeing a movie) is an outdoors event. I will probably lay around in the bus and pout and actively hate my WIPS and wish I had my Starsky yarn. Sunday I am going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, but I still have to entertain myself till then. I'll come up with something I guess.

After I made my daily pilgimage* to the Treasure Chest yarn and fabric shop I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. There was a one-eyed seal that climbed out of the water and came right up to the fence to make burping sounds at me. She seemed really friendly.



I also saw a couple of capybaras that looked like 150 pound guinea pigs. I didn't get any pictures of them, though. They kept running behind a tree. I did get a couple of pictures of elephants and a giraffe.





I also went to the Bubbles and Bean laudromat to do some laundry. I have no idea why it was called that. It was just a plain old laudromat. The only frill I could see was the coke machine. Nothing resembling a bean. I guess the suds in the washer could be the bubbles part though.

* There are some really swell Kaffe Fassett fabrics at the Treasure Chest. They are the reason I keep going there every day. The Round Robin shop in Santa Cruz also carries Kaffe Fassett fabrics, so it is not like these aren't something I can only get here. It's just that they had them so artfully arranged that I kind of got inspired to do something with them. I don't know what though. It sure is fun to visit them every morning after I get my coffee, I have to say. Quite economical too.

posted by KackieC @ 7:35 PM 1 Comments   

sunset

Check out the lovely sunset tonight. Isn't it a beauty?



I went by the LYS right here, and guess what I saw? The cutest sock yarn that knits up into stars and stripes. Now, I am not a sock knitter, and stars and stripes are *not* my thing (no offense to the sock/stars/stripes fans out there), but boy is it cute! I am contemplating getting a skein or two and maybe knitting up a 4th of july themed bikini? Then again, maybe not. As I just said, stars and stripes are not my thing and I would probably not even wear it, making it a total waste of time and $$. I have plenty of other things I would rather knit. It was just a great concept is all.

So, the place I have been surfing the last couple of days is right across the road from a sewage plant. Nice. Really nice. Well, I haven't gotten sick yet, and there are these two old guys (I saw them yesterday and again today, and they are the ones who told me about the sewage plant today) who have been surfing Mondos every day for 40 years and they seem healthy enough. Then again, maybe they have become immune to whatever funk is in the water. Nice guys though. One of them has VENTURA tattooed on his tummy, but I suspect that when it was done in 1965 it was probably a little closer to his ribcage. Gravity does bad things to a person's body, doesn't it?

posted by KackieC @ 7:32 PM 0 Comments   

Posting problem

I'm on vacation in So Cal and posting by phone. I have no clue why this
isn't working, so hang tight, I think all the giant backlog of stuff
will magically appear at somepoint.

I am having a ton of fun, btw. I surfed yesterday and today near Rincon
Point, just off the ventura freeway. There are the biggest pelicans I
have ever seen ther- at least an 8 foot wingspan. HUGE!!!
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 4:43 PM 0 Comments   

Location location location

Today I headed down to Carpinteria and I am camping here for a week.
Guess what? I am 100 yards from the water, I have an ocean view feom
the Santa Maria, and there is the cutest LYS/ craft/ fabric store called
The Treasure Hunt about 2 blocks from here. How awesome is that?

What is not awesome is that rained every stinking one of the 298 miles
down here, and has been raining the whole time I have been here. And
the place I planned to eat a huge piece of olallieberrie pie in San Luis
Obispo is now some other restaurant with no pie. Oh well. I will
survive and get lots of knitting done. I am still looking for Starsky
yarn, but I brought a ton of UFO's with me, so I have plenty to work on,
even without Starsky.

Gosh, I am sleepy all of a sudden. I'm going to bed- I will talk to
ya'll in the morning!
+kac

<>

posted by KackieC @ 8:36 PM 0 Comments   

Candy Swap!

Hey kids! I just signed up for a candyswap. Signups close on the 10th, so get on in there today if you want to join the fun! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/candyswappers/

posted by KackieC @ 4:49 PM 0 Comments   

I'm dreaming of a white...

There's a nice snowy holiday feel around the Double K Ranch (aka my house) today. This is due in no small part to the heavy dusting of white lint all over my dark clothes. It seems I left a kleenex in my pocket when I threw my jeans in the wash. Sigh.

I just ordered Handknit Holidays : Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice by Melanie Falick from Amazon today too. Woohoo. That's making it seem like the holidays too.

Ok, what else is making it seem like a white Christmas? Well, there is snow on Mount Hamilton today, and I can see it from my driveway (I live in a 99.999% frost and snow free area, so this is a novelty that can't be beat). I am also spring cleaning my holiday decorations and getting rid of assorted items. I am taking the advice of some magazine article I read recently- take pictures of the stuff you want to remember but don't want to actually keep in your possession. And that's what I am doing. I don't really need to keep every single handmade-by-me-as-a-preschooler ornament and drawing. My mom didn't want to keep them either- she pawned them off on me about 6 years ago when she was decluttering her attic. I figure if she doesn't want them, and I don't want them, then there is no need to keep them.

The last holiday thing I have on my plate (no pun intended) is brussels sprouts. I love these things, and I always think they would make such a great holiday dish, but in the family I grew up in, brussels sprouts are not eaten by humans. I made some for dinner last night and they rocked. I just ate the last of them for a mid morning snack, and I think they were even better today. I just cut them in half, tossed them in a frying pan with a little olive oil, salt, chopped white onion, safeway-brand italian seasoning, cooked them till the sprouts were a little brown here and there and voila!

posted by KackieC @ 10:47 AM 0 Comments   

Starsky

I am completely obsessed with Starsky. I went to 4 yarn stores today to
find something to make it with. No luck. I am going to Santa Barbara
on Monday so maybe I will hit the jackpot down that way. I joined a
Starsky knitalong today, fwiw.

My secret pal sent me an email with lots of luscious links to yummy
stuff. Thanks pally! I LOVE all the links!!!
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 8:44 PM 0 Comments   

Guess where I am?

I took the Santa Maria to get her sqweeky brakes fixed today. I am
hanging out at the bowling alley now, kitting and waiting for the
mechanic to finish. Wish you were here!
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 3:18 PM 0 Comments   

Home

I just walked in the door and I am about to collapse from exhaustion. I
have been en route forever I think. I got to the airport in new orleans
12 hours ago. Only 6.5 hours of that was flying time. I spent 4 hours
in NOLA waiting for a delayed flight, but that was not all that bad.
They had an internet cafe in the airport and I spent that time looking
at the new Starsky sweater up on knitty and trying to decide what color
I want it in.

Ok, I gotta go to bed. I am exhausted and I have a ton of sleep to
catch up on!
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 11:52 PM 0 Comments   

Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday

Hey ya'll. I'm blogging via my phone and it looks like my posts for the
last few days are all goofed up. I will fix it when I get home, since I
can't do it from here. Anyway...

So mardi gras was great. It was great weather, great fun, and not the
least bit crowded or rowdy. Just my kind of thing. Today I have been
hanging around on Magazine street. It used to be just a cute little
place to get coffee and shop for antiques. Now it is Main Street New
Orleans. I can't even begin to tell you how different it is. Sheesh.
The yarn stor is still open, but they only have 3 balls of any given
yarn, and no plans to get any more. The coffee shop is out of iced
coffee because they have no ice and have no idea when they will get more
(tomorrow or Friday?). No one takes credit cards, it's all cash only.
The walgreens is more like a walmart than a drug store, and everyone
does all their shopping there. Its hard to explain, you just have to be
here to see what I mean. It is seriously like a whole other country.

I haven't knitted since Monday because I was busy with carnival and
stuff. Today I am just lazy. Maybe tonight I will.

I go home tomorrow afternoon, just for a few days, then I head back out
to Santa Barbara and Carpinteria for a week or so. Maybe longer. I was
thinking a trip to disneyland would be fun. I am babbling- I'm gonna go
and check out the scenery in another part of the street.
+kac

posted by KackieC @ 2:36 PM 0 Comments