Big Sister

Winningly played

My wonderful sister-in-law was in the NYTimes today:

His tap numbers brashly aim for the extravagance of old, too. The best is winningly led by Eddie Korbich and Mylinda Hull, playing a dance team of mismatched dimensions and mismatched intentions. The adorably gangly Ms. Hull lobs her wisecracks a foot over Mr. Korbich’s head and grouses in song: “I Don’t Wanna Be Married (I Just Wanna Be Friends).”

The full review and a photo of her workin' it (the old fashioned way) can be found here.

Knitted Uterus in the NY Times

Actress Jackie Hoffman knit a uterus and it was in the NYT this week. Unfortunately, credit was not given where credit was due. Certainly, Ms. Hoffman used MK Carroll's Womb pattern from Knitty.

Damn fine piece of pie

Originally uploaded by Kellan.

We finally found Mission Pie this weekend. We took two mini pies  (banana cream and raspberry pear) home. The crust was buttery and flaky. The fillings were fresh and delicious. I was partial to the raspberry pear. Plus you can't beat the mission of Mission Pie. And if that were not enough Joe, the owner of the amazing Destination Baking Company in Glen Park, is the maestro of pie at this store.

I made my second visit last night with Emily. Our first stop was La Tacqueria for tacos (hers in a hard shell, mine in tortillas) and beer. I left still a tad hungry, which was perfect for the filler of pie and coffee. This may be the most perfect weeknight, casual dining option ever. It might have to be a regular date. What do you say, ET?

Tulips

Tulip detail
Originally uploaded by Big Sister.

Voila! Last weekend, I finished the first of my recently stated knitting goals: Tulips. I have made significant progress on the second item on my list, I have done some on the third item, and nothing has been done with number four. Aah, but this is about the good news!

Specs
Pattern: Tulips by Kat Coyle from the Fall 2006 Knitscene
Yarn: K1C2 Angora Soft (45 Nylon/40 viscose/15 angora), ~7 balls
Size: Small
Modifications: The primary modification to this sweater is that I machine knit the fronts and back of this sweater. I even tried to machine knit the sleeves up to the point where the lace started. I attempted to pick up the stitches, put them on the machine and knit the sleeve onto the work. That was not meant to be, so I frogged back and knit the sleeves by hand.

The other modification was that I did not trim the cardigan opening with icord. Instead I picked up stitches and knit a garter stitch border. Ultimately, I think this worked better with the sweater since the sleeves and bottom were already in garter.

I wore this to work today and received many lovely compliments. I like it, however I am at a loss for what to wear with it except for white. Any ideas about what goes with haloed mossy green?

The yarn turned out to be a winner in the end, but working with it was a little challenging. First of all a few of the balls were so ridden with knots that I would have to frog every couple of rows to get rid of some errant ends. It was also dry and smelled vaguely of cardboard. However, once I overcame the knots and then washed the sweater the fabric turned out beautifullly.

Goals

I am having a fit of startitis, but I am doing my best to not start up anything new. The same goes for my thesis. I am now setting weekly goals. Forward movement. That's what I am about these days. In that spirit, here is what I need to do before I start my next (knitting) project:

1. Finish Tulips. I started this project in January by knitting the fronts and back on the Bond. Around the beginning of February I knit on the first sleeve and sewed that side of the top. I just finished the other side and knit a few rows of garter stitch on the bottom. All that remains is yards of iCord.
2. Finish SRC. Enough said, for now.
3. Pick up and work on the Hippy Crunchy socks.
4. Start the fronts of Dad's sweater.

After that I think I am going to try a version of Carolyn using the Bond. I have two colors of Elann Peruvian Highland Wool that I started to make a raglan, zippered sweater (also with the Bond), but I think that Carolyn is much cuter. I also want to make a long, wide scarf with the gorgeous Lisa Souza BFL that I got at Stitches. I have also been dreaming about making a sweater with the red Classic Elite Lush that has been haunting my stash for about 9 months.

Even though no one asked, my goal this week for the thesis is to finish reviewing all my database records by Thursday (a.k.a. thesis day) so I can start outlining. I have at least 6 hours of work this weekend to stay on pace. I am hoping to work Tulips into this plan.

E is for Ellie

E is for Ellie
Originally uploaded by Big Sister.

11: Random striped baby blanket

I have been remiss in blogging these days. I have been a little distracted these days. I have been plugging away on a few projects and actually managed to finish one the other day. I had knit up the pieces for the knit side of the blanket on Jenny's machine in August. In early February, I sewed the pieces together. Then finally last week I made the backing you see above. It's 100% flannel and 100% snuggly!

The Specs
Pattern: Random stripes generated by the random stripe generator at Kiss Your Shadow
Materials: Knitpicks Shine leftovers from Jenny for the knit side and flannel for the fabric side

This was sent off to my friend, Amy, for her 4+ month old daughter in Colorado. From what I have heard the spring vacillates wildly between snow and sun, so hopefully this will keep her warm.