a dilema

so i usually meet a friend on thursday nights to knit and last night i was looking for something to work on and pulled out my Leg Cozies. ya, i had to unravel the few inches that were there because i was clueless as to where i was in the pattern (and i'm pretty sure i'd messed up along the way) but i was fine with starting over. then i started thinking - am i really ever going to wear leg warmers? i already have a pair and i hardly wear them...but these would be lighter - maybe perfect for seattle's spring/summer. and i already have all the yarn. hmmm...what else could i make with Lang Yarns Jawoll Color? well, i could try socks. i never thought i'd want to knit socks before - i thought they were boring - but there are some really pretty patterns out there and it seems like a decent project that could actually get finished in a reasonable amount of time. so i started looking on ravelry just to see what was out there and i found Hedera. yes, i've seen the pattern before but like i said, i wasn't into socks before, so i just ignored it. now i don't know what to do? knit something frivolous and fun? or something practical that i know i'll use and probably learn from?

2007 FO's

here they are - the 7 items i finished this year. it doesn't look like much. especially after seeing tentenknits' knits of 07 - there were 8 sweaters! damn. well, at least i have something to work toward.

1. knitted ornaments, 2. knitted ornament, 3. shane's hat, 4. super-easy legwarmers, 5. here and there cables, 6. berroco knitting tote, 7. orangina

i think the ornaments were a hit with my sis and i'm pretty sure my brother-in-law likes his hat (i have seen him wear it more than once). i love my legwarmers but don't wear them as much as i should. i love the scarf i made for my sis and i think she does too - but i'm still not too sure about the color. the knitting tote may be one of my all-time favorite knits that i've made. and orangina - well, hopefully she'll be a FO for another year.

a fun-filled weekend

i finally got to the lace part on the leg cozies and it's sooooo much more fun than the ribbing. actually it's going much faster than i had thought, and i never want to put them down.

yesterday the boy and i went to Cal Anderson Park to see Orkestar Zirkonium, then we headed to West Seattle to see The Blakes at Summerfest, then we went to the Cinema on the Lawn and saw Breakfast at Tiffany's. it was a busy day - but lots of fun. we got to the lawn early, drank some beer and i knitted while waiting for the movie to start. they had a few trivia questions before the movie started and i won! the question was something like, "what did the clerk at Tiffany's offer Holly and Paul for under $10?" do you know?

today we finally went and checked out Ballard's farmers market - it's so much bigger than ours! and it was my first time to use my saturday market bag.




but the man was very happy when we got home

4th of July

yay for getting the 4th off!!! waking up at 5am everyday is hard - but worth it cuz i only work 4 hours....hehehe. so in the past couple of days i've cast-on for the leg cozies (those are size 3 Brittany needles - the smallest i've ever worked with and i feel like i'm going to break them. i have a feeling this project will take a looooooooong time to finish)


and i made the boy's favorite Nature's Burger Primavera Casserole. mmm.....



i took this at the Seattle International Beerfest last weekend. guess we were too buzzed to get any shots of the craziness around us. ;)


tonight we're going to hang out on my sis's roof down in belltown - should be a great view of the fireworks and hopefully not too many crazies. it's going to be a potluck affair so i'm making Miniature Tartlets with Walnuts, Brie and Grape Salsa from Vegetarian Times and Butternut Squash, Corn, and Cilantro Phyllo Rolls from The Real Food Daily cookbook.

i got my yarn on friday! it's 75% new wool, 18% nylon, 7% acrylic and it feels really soft. i think it's going to be really great for the legwarmers. the color is off in these pics by the by.


i still need to get the needles before i can actually start on the legwarmers but it's getting close!

on a side note, i LOVE ravelry. it's still in beta and adding people slowly so hurry up and add your name to the list!

well, there's no turning back now. i just ordered some Lang Jawoll yarn for the Leg Cozies. i searched and searched online to see what others were using for this pattern and finally asked Delana at Memoirs of an Obsessive Compulsive Knitter what she was using - thankfully it's cheaper than the Zarina. now i just have to get the needles before the yarn gets here.

well, after finding that Weaving Works only had 2 colors of Filatura di Crosa Zarina i came home with the intention of just ordering it online. then i started having my doubts about paying about $50 for the yarn plus i still need to get the needles. so i think i found a good substitute for those Leg Cozies - Laines Du Nord Giunco - which i've never heard of before but it's a good price and the right color (#608). so i posted on livejournal to see if i could get some advice cuz substituting yarn gets me kinda itchy.

have i told you before that i love Miranda July? ya she's great. we got to see her do a reading & interview at Neumo's last thursday. she's so real and so talented - i can't wait to start her book - i just bought it yesterday. from what i've heard it's amazing and i love the website for it. i'm not too into Lavender Diamond but Becky Stark was great - she's really funny. Sarah Rudinoff has an amazing voice and her original song was very Fiona Apple-esque.

ok, so i think i know what's going on - with the knitting. i think i've been in a standstill because of my sis's scarf. she left it up to me what pattern to choose and i really want her to like it so i keep changing my mind about which pattern to use. i need to get excited about knitting again and not feel like it's another thing "i have to do". i don't want to spend a lot of time on a scarf that my sis potentially won't even like or use. oh ya, and the fact that's it's almost summer and i'm trying to knit a scarf? maybe that's slowing me down too. i may just force her to choose which pattern she likes so i can be sure it'll work out - now i just have to worry about the yarn i've already purchased working with whatever pattern she may want.

i have to add that while i'm typing this i'm thinking that maybe i'll just go back to the originally planned pattern - the Here and There Cables. maybe i gave up on it too quickly - i was having problems at the beginning. i always want to jump into a project and have it go smoothly from the very beginning - if it doesn't i get really discouraged.

so i'm thinking of jump-starting my knitting by starting a new project i'm excited about - those sexy Leg Cozies from Lace Style that i've mentioned before. i think i'll use the recommended Filatura di Crosa Zarina but in Dark Camel #1730. i'll try to stop by Weaving Works on thursday when i meet my friend for our stitch n bitch.

i finally got some pics from last week when my mom was here. this peacock was showing off at the Chateau Ste. Michelle.


Seattle from the ferry:


Seattle from Pier 66:

yea, ok. so nothing really new here. my mum was in town this last week so i was super busy with fun touristy things and lots of eating out. we went up to the beach in Golden Gardens park and did some wine tasting (my first) up in Woodinville at Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery - yum yum gimmee some. we took the ferry out to Bainbridge Island and right back - just for the views. luckily the weather was better than the forecast - rain off and on the first day but plenty of sunshine after that - at least now my mum believes me when i say how beautiful Seattle really is. i didn't take my digi along so i'll have to wait around for someone else to send pics over before i'll have anything to show.

i did get Lace Style from the library. the knit-worthy are:

Leg Cozies (i know i've mentioned these before)


Lacy Waves Top


Retro Redux Shrug

i've finally found the perfect shoes and they're no longer available. stupid stupid.
i'm also lusting after these legwarmers from Lace Style so they'll probably be next on the needles