Sunday, July 31, 2005

quidsock pattern - now available!

It's taken a while, but the pattern for the Quidsocks striped sports socks ;) is now available! I don't think I really need to talk these up - I've been teasing for too long already. If you'd like a closer look at the end product, check out our gallery page.

whoohoo! :)

Lauren posted at 17.32 on 07.31.05 comments (0)

Friday, July 29, 2005

mini-picspam!

The Quidsock pattern is ridiculously close to being finished. My last gauge swatch is blocking, and pretty much as soon as I have internet at home (supposedly tomorrow afternoon, but we'll see), I can put the freaking thing up.

In the meantime, I have proper sock pictures!

The Gryffindor ones are Adrienne's; Ravenclaw are, of course, mine.

whoooooo boy!

Lauren posted at 10.45 on 07.29.05 comments (0)

Thursday, July 28, 2005

but hey, at least dumbledore likes knitting!

Hey, so I hear some book came out a few weeks ago? With, like, magic and snogging in it?

I can't say I was blown away by Half-Blood Prince. (I'll keep this spoiler-free, since there's no way to hide spoilers in an RSS feed.) I can say, though, that I read it so quickly (roughly 14 hours start to finish) and when I was so tired (I'd been up 21 hours when I started reading, do that math for yourself), that I don't really trust my first reaction to it. I got bored toward the middle; I was strangely underwhelmed by the ending. But we're well set up for book 7, and I can't wait.

But who cares about the book when there are costumes to talk about! I'm afraid that I dropped the ball (as always) on getting nice dignified costume pictures, but fortunately my friends and I wound up in the freaking NY Times (zoomed version here), so you can see our costumes decently there. I took some bad pictures of my Quidsocks, and in this one you can see my Quidditch sweater pretty well. I wound up not wearing my sweater sleeves at all - it was stiflingly humid, as July in NYC is apt to be, and I was sweating enough in just the sweater-vest. In case anyone's interested in more pictures from Union Square, all my pictures from the day are hosted here. Most of them are vaguely embarassing, but such is life.

As soon I'd recovered from HBP, I was knee-deep in preparations for moving to my new apartment in Brooklyn, which I did last Wednesday and Thursday. I'm fairly settled in, though not completely unpacked, and I still don't have internet access at home. Nor have I been at work, because on Saturday, in a show of spectacular klutziness, I slipped on wet tile and pulled a muscle in my back. So, instead of being productive, I've spent the last four days holed up in my room, propped up in a loveseat with little mobility from my waist, reading (I finished Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume and am most of the way through The Hobbit; I can only deal with Tolkien when it's my only course of amusement). I only just picked up my knitting yesterday, to turn the heel of the second candy sock (I finished the first one while waiting for HBP and am wearing it here). I'm still waddling around with a grimace on my face, but between my PT (yes, I need physical therapy 'cause I fell three feet; how lame am I?) and the excellent care provided by my mom, I'm at least back in the office today, and much less grouchy to boot.

The one bit of good news I can report is that in the few days that I was internetless and uninjured, I finally got the Quidditch sock pictures off my camera (which, you might recall, broke in a most untimely fashion). They're now color-balanced and set into the pattern, which will officially be finished once I confirm my gauge. Once I have internet at home, I'll fiiiiinally be able to get the pattern online. About freaking time. :p

It's also cooling down a bit in the city, so I'm hoping that this weekend I can pop in my PoA DVD and take a couple last notes to get started in earnest on the animal cracker hat. I think I can deal with bulky-weight wool when the high is 76°, at least.

Lauren posted at 13.02 on 07.28.05 comments (0)

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

lauren: 1. quidsocks: 0.

I'm up at my mom's house outside of Syracuse, have been since Sunday. Before that, I was in Philadelphia with my mom and the aptly named Philly Dave of the SW Line for Live 8, which I won't bother soapboxing about because you've all heard it by now. Besides playing host to the Kaiser Chiefs, an excellent million-person concert, and also to the first live performance by Linkin Park and Jay-Z (normally I wouldn't care, but it's a first, and brilliant marketing to boot), Philly saw another momentous occasion last Saturday:

I.
Finished.
My.
Quidditch Socks.
!!!!!!!!!

I knitted all through the concert (much to the amusement of the many people who could not identify the sock hanging from my needles despite its obvious sock-like shape), a good five inches or so, and finished it off at Dave's house that night. I am pleased beyond words to have finally conquered these f*$%ing socks after 14 months of blood, sweat, and tears. I haven't yet worn both socks together because I think I might just die from the joy of it. What a freaking relief!

I also finished my first Quidsweater sleeve and am about halfway done with what was left on the second one. I'm not even sure I'll get to wear these on the 15th - not if Barnes & Noble make us line up outside, god forbid - so they're not so crucial. Still, it would be awesome to have a fully finished costume. whooooo, go me!

Gotten quite a bit of knitting done on non-blue things, too, owing to the fact that I got a particuarly stubborn sunburn at Live 8 and haven't done much besides wear as little clothing as possible and knit. Byron's PoA Gryff scarf is 3 stripe sets from being done, and I washed two scarves (though they've been refusing to dry on the carpeted floor, the bastards). I panicked at my lack of sock yarn on Monday and, since it was a national holiday and the LYS (a lovely little place called Elegant Needles, definitely stop by if you're ever in the Fingerlakes region) was closed, wound up with a skein of candy-colored LB Magic Stripes from Hancock Fabrics. It's certainly not what I'm used to </snob>, but I was in withdrawal and it's tiding me over nicely 'til I'm back in the city communing with my already-wound balls of Koigu.

Also got some cornflower blue Cotton-Ease at 25% off to make a tank top, probably a slightly modified Soleil, for the maternal unit. So much for not knitting in blue yarn.

And, to top things off, I've officially gone down another pants size. Go me indeed!

Lauren posted at 2.59 on 07.06.05 comments (0)

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

point and counterpoint

As though in answer to my last post...

I was on the subway Saturday night, headed out to Prospect Park for their Canada Day concert (which was very very awesome - as though I could be disappointed by any bill which featured both the New Pornographers and Stars). The trains were running a bit strangely, in such a way that people bound for both the poshest and (ahem) less savory parts of Brooklyn were all smushed, rather tightly, onto the same train. I'd managed to weasel a seat for myself, whipped out my Quidsock, and started knitting.

A few stops before mine, a woman sitting across from me, whom I'd noticed goggling at me, stood up, came over, and tapped me on the shoulder. I was wary but I didn't really have a way to make like I'd not noticed her, so I took off my headphones.

"Are you American?" she asked.

Huh?

"I don't usually see American women knit the way you do, throwing the yarn. They usually catch it with the needle. I knit the same way you do, but I thought maybe you were European."

Hmm, okay.

"And that yarn is so fine - you must really be dedicated."

Well, I'm replicating a design from a movie, so I wanted to be accurate.

"That's so nice of you. Good luck with it." And she got off.

Win some, lose some, I guess.

(And the sock? I'm nearly up to the leg stripes. Sucker is so gonna be finished for HBP. w00ters.)

Lauren posted at 9.02 on 06.28.05 comments (0)

Thursday, June 23, 2005

a little good, a little bad

Okay, so. For once, I actually made good on my promise of FO pictures and dutifully brought the Quidditch sock and camera with me when I went to Long Island last week for the Pixies/Interpol show at Jones Beach. (The concert was amazing, for anyone who's interested.) Took plenty of pictures in Adrienne's yard, got back into the city... and my camera LCD had uncermoniously ceased to function. So, as it stands, I have an unfinalized mini-CD of socks pictures just waiting to be processed and inserted into an otherwise finished pattern, and now that I've upgraded my computer to XP it can't read unfinalized discs.

In short? Until I get the LCD fixed, I'm SOL. And given that I'm moving in the not-so-distant future, I have no clue when I'll have more disposable cash to throw at this camera. I love it to pieces, but it sure can be a pain in the arse.

In the meantime, I'm about a third of the way up the leg of the second sock. Thank you, too-hot-for-scarfknitting weather! I've been toting the sock with me everywhere I go, knitting on the bus, on the train, while walking, while my boss is gone. (Naturally the moment I typed that, my boss walks in. La dee da...) I'm very proud of myself, for a multitude of reasons:

1) I've mastered the fine art of working 4x2 ribbing without looking. Maybe this is easy for you, but until recently I had to glance down occasionally while purling. This is a huge step forward in my quest to knit 24-7.

2) I've never successfully met a costume deadline before, and it really seems like I might this time. (Actually, that's a bit of a lie. I finished my SS/CoS Ravenclaw sweater in time for the OotP release, except that I meant to go back and fix a *cough* slight dyelot problem across the yoke, so I didn't consider the sweater completed at the time. Needless to say, it's been two years and I haven't touched the sweater except to wear it.)

3) Quidditch socks are really damn cool, and I'm psyched beyond words to finally have a pair. I 100% intend to wear them during the HP off-season, especially in the winter. I live for kneesocks in the winter.

I washed the first of those many scarves this week. Naturally it was the only machine washable one, but I think I made up for the lack of effort there by spending three hours duplicate-stitching a rampant lion at one end. I refused to realize it at the time, but the lion looks much more like a rampaging monkey. The scarf is for my coworker's sister and he's going home this weekend. Oops.

I have to clean the bathroom sink before I can wash any more scarves. I predict that this (simple, you would assume) task will hold me up for at least a week. I'm not lazy, I'm busy. Honest.

I was at P&S yesterday buying more scarf yarn and made the fatal mistake of wandering through the fancy fabric section. What did I find, you ask? The perfect white silk for Padmé's lavender dress from Episode 3. Sonofabitch. It was exactly the right weight and texture on both sides (since both sides show), just gorgeous stuff. I died right there in the store. It wouldn't come cheap, though - it was $15/yd and I can't imagine I'd need less than 10 yards since all the pieces are on the bias. Plus the thought of dyeing $150 worth of fabric myself is scary enough to give me palpitations just thinking about it. I'm such a spazz.

Lauren posted at 11.52 on 06.23.05 comments (0)

Monday, June 13, 2005

it's a minor victory or, uh, something

Three guesses which blue and silver striped sock I finally finished tonight, and the first two don't count.

YAAAAAAAAY!!!

Of course, it took me 14 months, and now I get to go straight on to my least favorite thing evvvver about socknitting - starting the toe of the second sock. I officially prefer turning heels to starting toes, and at least with the first toe, you have the excitement of new yarn to pull you through. The second sock, though - that shit is a drag, and especially this time. I'd been knitting the leg of the first sock on two Addi circs, and now to go back to my birch dpns? It's waaaaay too grippy, and I'm terrified I'll break another needle (it'd be my third in this set).

Good thing, though, is that I figured out how to use an i-cord bind-off as a casing for elastic, so droopy sock syndrome shouldn't be a problem like it was with Adrienne's. I am quite pleased with myself, and more pleased with my new kneesock.

Maybe I'll do some FO picspam instead of working on that next toe... O:)

Lauren posted at 23.43 on 06.13.05 comments (0)

Friday, June 03, 2005

unlimited... knitting!

Busy? No, I haven't been busy at all. Why would I be busy? It's not as though I lived on the sidewalk outside the Ziegfeld Theatre for nineteen days, or spent entirely too much money seeing Revenge of the Sith (which, for the record, I adore), or have since been engrossed in a myriad of real-life issues. No, not in the slightest.

The good thing about the Star Wars line, at least, is that it means lots of knitting time. I finished Cleaves by the third day, five days after I cast on, and I love it. I need to rip out the bind-off and extend the collar a few inches - I bound off early because I was cold and wanted to wear it - but the color is great, the sleeves are nice and long, and it's so cool. The weather hasn't quite been right for it, either too warm or too cold, but I'm looking forward to bringing it to summer concerts to combat venue air conditioning.

Scarves... since I last posted, I've knitted, uh, five or six, I think? I've lost count. Of course, I haven't washed or fringed any of them, so there's a rather intimidating stripey pile on the sofa. Most of them are wool, too, which means handwashing. ughers! I really need to update my scarf pages so people stop emailing me. From here on out, I'm only scarfing for people I know, when I feel like scarfing, and using yarn (namely, Patons Classic Wool - cheapish and the colors are decent) that I can get locally. I'm done with the overachieving.

I also made quite a bit of progress on my Quidditch socks - finally! The first sock is up past the first of two stripes (which I started too early, but whatever) around my calf, so it shouldn't be too much longer now. Once it's finished, I'll do a photo shoot with my sock and Adrienne's and maybe, finally, get the pattern up. Who knows, maybe I'll even show some initiative and finish the second sock for the book release, since a whole new costume is out of the question.

Okay, maybe not.

Cute pictures (1, 2) of Amit and me modeling my Hurry Up Spring wristwarmers during the line. I don't think I ever took proper FO shots of them, so there ya go. I had to re-knit the thumb on the right warmer because it's worn through already (I guess this is a SW line tradition, because in '02 the thumb castoff on my right fingerless glove came undone), and the thumb crotch on both warmers looks to be the next to go. Suck.

Lauren posted at 9.03 on 06.03.05 comments (0)

Thursday, April 28, 2005

I am less than intelligent sometimes.

Two months after I migrated my fandom domains (there are five of them now - how terrifying is that!) to a new webhost, I finally figured out why Movable Type had stopped letting me update. I refuse to admit publicly exactly what I was doing wrong, but suffice it to say that it was an excruciatingly stupid mistake, and after three years of collegiate computer science training at a fairly prestigious university, I'm pretty embarrassed not to have thought of it sooner.

Anyway!

The good news is, I'm back in the knitblogging world. The not so good news is that I haven't had much to report - the never-ending procession of Hogwarts scarves continues, and until today, the only knitting I'd done for myself was a few rounds on my Quidditch socks.

Today, though, I decided to reward myself (I'd just gotten out of an actual productive meeting with my head of advisement) with a wee yarn purchase, made possible by my federal tax refund, which turned up last week. I stopped by Downtown Yarns and bought six skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky in lovely deep purple aubergine to make Cleaves, from the spring Knitty. Turns out I only needed five, but hey, whatever.

I stopped back home, then headed to Lord & Taylor, of all places, for the Yarn Harlot's book talk. Naturally I got all sorts of confused in the elevator, and wound up ten minutes later finally in the right car with two very nice ladies, Joanna and Loretta. We were served sparkling water, white wine, and fancy hors d'ouvres(!) in the half-hour or so before Stephanie took the stage; I helped Joanna join a two-circulars sock and was spotted by no less than three people for knitting a HP scarf (the current one is an SS/CoS Gryffindor, so it's to be expected) before I decided to swatch and start the first sleeve of Cleaves.

Stephanie, of course, was pee-your-pants hilarious in person, just like her blog. She read from her book and took questions from the audience, about 45 minutes in all. It was fantastic to sit in a room of women (and a few men) at least as dedicated to knitting as I, especially after feeling for several months like I'd lost touch with the knitter in me. No worries - she's still there, just been preempted by real-life nonsense.

So... hopefully there'll be more out of me in the coming weeks, whether it's fandom knitting or not. At the very least, I should be able to speed through these last scarves during the NYC Star Wars line-a-thon... and the many, many movie viewings that will follow it. ;)

Lauren posted at 21.16 on 04.28.05 comments (0)