fos – Page 6 – Behind the Smile

June 22, 2009June 24, 2010

Things I Make When You’re Not Looking

I totally knitted an Ishbel shawlette while nobody was looking.

(Least of all myself – this was a fast knit.)

I have turned into a chart knitter without noticing – if a pattern doesn’t have a chart, I won’t use it. The charts on Ishbel are great; easy to read and interpret. I will definitely be making this shawl again, probably in the bigger size.

I knit it in Malabrigo Sock in the Terracotta colorway, and this thing weighs nothing. I will have to show a pic of it modeled because wowza, this yarn feels so nice against your skin, soft and wonderful.

I knit this on an Addi Turbo lace needle in size US 6 that I picked up at Cottage Yarns in South San Fran a few weeks ago. These needles are great, and I really think that helped with how fast I knit this sucker up.

I also had an urge to crochet on my Babette squares, which comes and goes in fits and starts. But I’m almost done with the 49 4-round squares.

(Aren’t they purdy?)

Yesterday I cast on for an Aeolian shawl, also out of Malabrigo sock, plus beads. Pretty awesome!

And finally, I made sushi for the first time and it was great:

I am too chickenshit to deal with raw fish, so there was none of that, but I did use a variety of fillings, including avocado, cucumber, crab (fake), tuna, green onions, and tempura shrimp. Above you will see my practice sushi; I forgot to take pictures of the “real” sushi that I made for when my friends came over on Saturday to sample it.

Above all, my favorite was the spicy tuna roll, which was a mixture of canned tuna, mayonnaise, and sriracha sauce, plus green onion I think. I am not sure how my friends liked that one, but they did enjoy all of the different varieties and I was complemented specifically on the California roll, and also how “nice” they looked, which I thought was funny, but apparently some people don’t roll them very well.

Anyway, super easy to make, and now I’m going to have to keep tuna on hand for when I want a spicy tuna roll. WTF! I never eat tuna. UNTIL NOW, apparently!

…And I thought I was sick of sushi but I guess not because now I want a spicy tuna roll again. Go figure.

***

This weekend is my ten-year eleven-year high school reunion, which should be interesting. I am going to bring my camera to document the event. I am looking forward to it, but I’m going to be bummed if a couple people with whom I would specifically like to chat with don’t show up.

May 10, 2009June 24, 2010

Superbizzy

Yow, this year is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, huh?

Last week my friend Julie came to visit from Biloxi, MS and it rained pretty much the whole time she was here, so we weren’t able to do everything that I was planning. But we did make it up to Sacramento and the Jelly Belly Factory and saw Wolverine which we liked. It was a little strange – Julie met Malvina and Sam, and none of my Texas friends have met any of my California friends until now. But they seemed to get along, so that was nice!

For Mother’s Day I took my mom to see the new Star Trek and it was soooo good!

We really liked it, and I think everyone should see it on the big screen if they have a chance. Though I do think it’s funny that in all the articles I’ve read about it, people are talking about the cast being a cast of “unknowns” which I wouldn’t agree with – I mean, Karl Urban! (Eomer on Lord of the Rings) Zachary Quinto! (Sylar on Heroes) SIMON PEGG!! (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)… Anyway, I’d heard of everybody in the cast, and even spotted some JJ Abrams regulars popping up here and there.

I finished a couple of pairs of socks:

Pattern: Lacunae Socks by Anne Hanson of Knitspot
Yarn: Valley Franklin Yarn /dyed by the Kangaroo Dyer from Webs
Mods: Not a single one!

Pattern: Kai-Mei from Sock Innovation (Cookie A)
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock 2/6 in Pixie
Mods: None!

I like both pairs. The green ones were made for Abby, but the purple ones are for me. I really liked working with the Fleece Artist yarn, and I apparently have another skein in my stash, so that’s pretty cool.

My current problem is what to knit next because I don’t know what to do, or what to knit it out of. Phooey! I think it will probably be another Anne Hanson pattern – I really liked knitting the Lacunae socks, and I have a couple other patterns by her in my pattern collection.

I do have a couple other projects planned – some more Hearts Afire socks for Malvina, finish Abby’s rainbow Monkey socks, etc. But I want to start something else, too, and that’s where I’m coming up empty. Wah.

I’ve been so busy lately, but I hope to start updating a little more. *hopes*

April 16, 2009June 24, 2010

Hearts Afire or I Love These Socks!

I almost always think that the latest pair of socks I make is my favorite. And I do, certainly, have favorites. Last year’s Lizzie is definitely a fave, and the Popsicle socks I completed recently.

And these, which I finished maybe three (?) weeks ago but forgot to blog about – Hearts Afire, by a designer on Ravelry. Perhaps I should have chosen a more solid yarn, but I love the yarn, I love the pattern, I have no complaints.

The yarn is Araucania Ranco Multy. I love this yarn, with its rustic feeling and nice colors. I have a couple more skeins (maybe four?) in my stash, which is great! The stitch definition is nice and I just like it in general.

The pattern is well written and very pretty. It is written toe-up and I prefer top-down so I changed the pattern in that way and added two pattern repeats down the heel. If it weren’t for such a well-written pattern I would not have been able to figure it out. So, props!

The weather has been iffy here lately – warm one day, cold the next, and it hailed yesterday! It’s been pretty chilly at night but I heard it’s supposed to get warmer… which I hate. But I have central air now, so this summer should be quite pleasant!

We had Easter at my house this year, and that marked the first social event I have had since I moved in. (I think my friends were over when I first bought the place, but I remember a distinct lack of furniture… so that didn’t count.) Basically I was forced into major cleaning mode, and that kind of boiled down to shoving things in closets and a major clean-up… which ultimately resulted in a clean and fairly organized house!

I don’t know what to think about that!

So, various and assorted things are coming up that I am looking forward to – this weekend a bead show in Oakland, my friend Julie is coming to visit from Biloxi at the end of the month, and the Maker’s Faire is in about a month. I also have some irritating real-life things to take care of, like the broken toilet and taking my car in for scheduled maintenance. I also had to pay taxes this year, and that really pissed me off. Not to mention, I still have dental work to complete! yaargh.

Basically I should be more solvent by the end of the third fiscal quarter 2009. *sigh*

Here is a meme for your reading/stealing pleasure:

Sunday Stealing: Green Meme

1. What is your current obsession? Having/not having money. And turnips on Animal Crossing. (Who has Animal Crossing for the Wii? Let’s be friends! So I can steal your fruit!)

2. What’s a good coffee place? My kitchen. I brew coffee just the way I like it – strong enough to knock your socks off, then doctor it up into delicious honey latte territory. I used to be big into Starbucks, but have totally lost interest; it’s not strong enough for me.

3. Who was the last person that you hugged? My grandma at Easter, I think.

4. Do you nap a lot? I nap whenever I get the chance. I napped yesterday afternoon (knocked out by a combination of a headache, overall tiredness, and a tetnus shot), but as a result was awake until almost 1 a.m. Napping is best done on the weekends.

5. Tonight, what’s for dinner? Some form of macaroni and cheese, and probably chicken. Maybe a vegetable. (maybe.)

6. What was the last thing that you bought? I bought a bunch of books on Tuesday, but today I bought a ham/cheese/egg/english muffin at the downstairs bistro, because I was in need of protein.

7. What is your favorite weather? I hate most weather. I love rainy weather – the type where you stay inside and listen to the rain and are cozy inside. Thunderstorms – love ’em. But I hate being cold, being hot, being neither hot nor cold… I am not easy to please. Probably 74 degrees and no humidity would be perfect weather for me.

8. Tell us something about one blogger who you think will play this week? What?

9. If you were given a free house that was fully furnished, where in the world would you like it to be? Either San Antonio, TX or Boston, Mass.

10. Name three things that you could not live without. My glasses, my (quality of life changing birth control) pills, and comfortable shoes.

11. What would you like in your hands right now? My pillow which means I could be at home and sleeeeeeping.

12. What’s one of your guilty pleasures? I like Mandy Moore.

13. What would you change or eliminate about yourself? I wish I had more (any) patience.

14. As a child, what type of career did you want? I still don’t know. In high school I wanted to be a geologist, but once I started down that path in college I realized I didn’t really like science. I APPRECIATE science, but not enough to do it as a career.

15. What are you missing right now? Money.

16. What are you currently reading? Liberty & Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark Levin.

17. What do you fear the most? I really kinda worry that our country is headed towards socialism.

18. What’s the best movie that you’ve seen recently? Death Race.

19. What’s your favorite book from the past year? From the past year? I don’t know if I can choose. I really enjoyed the last two Jim Butcher books (the latest from each of his two series), and am currently HIGHLY enjoying Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

20. Is there a comfort food from your childhood that you still enjoy? Sure, meatloaf or whatever. I like food.

***

I finished a pair of socks for my sister last night and I started a pair of socks for me out of the new Cookie A book. So, at least I will have blog fodder later in the week. Or next week. Or whenever.