Back from Rhinebeck

So, this is just my initial "Back from Rhinebeck" post, in which I tell you about my new stash, but not my experiences at Rhinebeck. I'll also update you guys on the latest project work.

Well, let's start with my acquired goods.


It is definitely quite clear that I was in love with red yarn. I found this slightly mystifying since I've been in love with buying green yarns for the last few months and I had thought I was entering an orange phase. I picked up and fondled both orange and green sock yarns at Rhinebeck, but all that I purchased were red. As red as my love for them.

So, did I buy a ton of indie yarns? No, sadly. I fell in love with quite a few, but, stupidly, I didn't buy any on Saturday. By the time I came back around on Sunday, most of that which I loved was gone. I did decide that my favorite combination of fibers was wool and silk, though I did find one wool/silk/bamboo that was decidedly delicious. Christy and I stopped at Decadent Fibers fairly early on. The last time I visited one of their booths, I got my mother-in-law a nice felted pumpkin kit. This time, I couldn't be bothered buying anything. I think I'm over the crazy variegated yarns. They still had great prices, but they didn't tempt me at all.

Oh, damn, I'm getting into the experience rather than the stash. Back to the stash! I bought some pretty red wool that is kind of mysterious. It has no name on its label. It's apparently a chunky superwash wool. I got two skeins at a little cash only booth near the back of building 22. If anyone knows what booth I'm talking about, please tell me! They gave me a nice pattern and I promptly lost it and my heart is breaking about that now. Sigh.


This yarn's destiny is a hat/scarf combo for my darlingest darling, Nathan. As I told Christy, "I'm looking for the softest, warmest, most beautiful red yarn in existence for him. Also, faeries must have spun the yarn." She mocked me resoundingly for this, but I held firm. Near the end of Sunday, I had mostly given up hope for finding my fantastic yarn. (Indies do beautiful dye jobs, but they mostly fail when it comes to red yarn from my experience at Rhinebeck.) When I came to this booth and saw this yarn, my heart rose in hope. Then... I felt it. It was so soft. So smooooooshy. It was gorgeous. It was one hundred percent wool. It was perfect.

I also bought two skeins of sock yarn that I could probably buy on the internet, but I don't even care. I had never felt them before, nor seen them in person, so I willingly plunked down some cash for them. What do you see down there?



Schaeffer Anne, in a gorgeous red/brown colorway. I was afraid that the mohair would make this yarn 'icky', but I liked the feel of it better than I liked the feel of Heather (which contains silk instead of mohair). This is why one visits as many yarn stores as possible.

Folks, I also found a place selling Socks that Rock. At first, I was saying to myself, "But I hate photos of their yarn knit up. And I can buy this online." Then I found a Rare Gem colorway that only used one color.


Next thing you know, I'm at a counter paying for stuff.

Christy and I had a lovely drive up to New York. The autumnal leaf colors were out in full force. We got to chat. We got to stop at the world's largest rest stop (two floors, FTW!) and get some Starbucks. We listened to my music and I introduced Christy to several singers and bands I loved. We got to sit in traffic at Rhinebeck. I received several messages with photos of Nathan from Paul. I had ordered Paul to do this.

My next post will not come soon, probably. I need to get some photos from Christy as I stupidly forgot my camera. What will that post include? My experience with a snotty bitch of a stall owner, my meeting with Somebunnyslove from Ravelry in which she ended up believing she had a stalker, the approximately eight billion Clapotis (what is the plural of Clapotis?) and Ravelry buttons seen, how I completely fucked up my damned Slytherin Scarf, and, last, but not least, meeting Kate Gilbert! EEEEE! Seriously. I totally met the creator of the Clapotis.

Peace out, my friends. I end with a picture of the ubiquitous Ballband Dishcloth pattern knit out of my Sugar'n'Cream.

Months Three and Four

Baby, I'm not going to say much about your third month. It was not my finest month. I was a weeping mess for some of it. So were you.




Since month two, you've gotten a lot of firsts in. You started to giggle a tiny bit. You got your hundred day party, which Koreans like to do.



You were totally saved from sin. I got your soul baptized, sucker.



And you outgrew some awesome outfits. Your butt will never fit into this again:



But... let's skip to month four. Woah! Since month three, all kinds of crazy stuff has happened. You decided that holding up your head was no longer the worst chore on Earth. If I put you into a Bumbo substitute, you decided to give it a try.



Mind you, you do slump over pretty quickly in it and then kind of fall to the side. You decided to laugh at me. That was the best ever. EVER.



One day soon, when I die of exhaustion, I will not blame you, and only because of the way you laughed at me when we played Peek-a-boo. You're lucky you have the best laugh in the universe.

You started a sleep schedule! It's amazing because you do not appear to hate it. We give you a small amount of food, a bath, a book, and we sing to you, and then you go to bed. Since we started a week and a half ago, you've only flipped out once. Most of the time, you go to bed approximately five minutes after we first put you into the crib. You just roll to your side, get a small backrub, and zonk out. Most nights, we don't even have to pick you up out of the crib. You're amazing at night.

During the day? Well, at some point in the past, you've started associating naps with torture. If I miss your nap, or if I don't, around two hours after you wake up, I started to hear this noise. "EHHNNNN! EHHHHHHH! WWWWWHHHHHEEEHHHHH!" It doesn't matter if you're in the car, or if you're in the crib, or if you're in the living room, or if you're taking a walk, it's always the same, "EEEEEEHHHHHH!" Then, about five to ten minutes later, you start to give it your all. The tongue starts to show and it's all downhill from there. You start to scream like I, or your daddy, or your grandmom, or whoever is in the vicinity, is tearing your little baby toenails out. Sometimes, when we are lucky, you then take a pacifier and fall into a deep sleep. Other times, you continue to cry until anyone near you is exhausted, including yourself.

You're also shoving your hands into your mouth like crazy and you're also trying to shove my hands into your mouth. It's like you want to determine if they could possibly taste as good as you think they taste. Sometimes, you grab my hand, shove it into your mouth, and then shove it away, and then repeat. You also like to rub your feet together as if you were a cricket or grasshopper.

You're babbling a ton nowadays too. I like to answer you. We coo or grumble at each other a lot. Our conversations are a lot like "Agoo! Agoo!" "Agoo? Agoo?" "GOO-AAAHHH!" "Goo-ahh?" "Aggoooooo!" Daddy joins us in the conversation too. Other people don't know that you're telling us that you love us. A lot!

You got even cuter, if possible.



We dance a fair bit around the house. Your favorite song is still "You Are My Sunshine" but that's a bedtime favorite. During the day, you like "Shake That Booty" and "Hey-Ya", but you only like them if you're being shaken. I know I promised that hospital I wouldn't shake you, but you love bopping along to music. You smile and giggle and play shy when I shake your booty for you.

Your second favorite song of all time is "Hey There, Delilah." Wow, I'm glad I like that song. If I didn't love that song prior to your birth, I'd hate it now. See, sometimes, when we are in the car, and you're cranky, I can play that song, and you shut up. Only, it doesn't work with other songs. When we're returning from a day out and you're cranky, and we're five minutes into a long ride, I turn on the song, and you quiet down. I then proceed to a Weezer song or Ben Folds, and you're all, "WWWAAAAAAHHHHH! What is this lousy song?!!!!!!" So I return to "Hey There, Delilah." And you shut up again. I keep trying new songs, you keep crying. I return to our favorite tune, and you quiet down. Sometimes, you and me, we listen to that song TWENTY times in a row in the car. I could sing that song in my sleep now. I barely even like it anymore. When you have children, Nathan, make sure that you play them music you only love to the extreme. God help me if you had become attached to some country music song. I might have killed myself four or five repetitions in.

We got a big month ahead of us, Nathan. Halloween is coming up. You're probably going to roll over fully anytime now. We are probably going to start you on rice cereal sometime soon. I promise I'll love you during this next month. You just continue to smile at me like I'm the most awesome person who has ever existed.

Okami -- Dreams Come True

As some of you who read might know, my ultimate dream in life is for Paul to discover a deep and abiding love for Japanese RPGs such as Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. Then I shall be able to knit or cross-stitch or whatnot while he plays the game for me. I get the story and the crafting! Sadly, Paul shows little to no interest in spending several weeks leveling up characters so that they can upgrade their cute clothing, pets, or hair to do more massive damage. Oh, Paul... Nowadays, when Paul gets home, however, we often put Nathan down to bed, and then I veg out on the computer.

Paul loves to spend time with me after he gets home, and I've been greedy. He'll ask me if I want to watch old episodes of Friday Night Lights or Buffy, and I'm all, "Nah... I'm just going to read my blogs." Well, this weekend, Paul pulled out all the tricks. He asked, "Do you want to sit and knit and I'll play a Japanese RPG?"

I paused. I tried to be nice and protested, "But you don't like Japanese RPGs." He said, "What is this Okami?"

I had to think about it. Where did I get Okami? I had wanted it. I knew that, but I had not felt justified in purchasing. Then, it hit me. "Bryan let me borrow it when I got the blood clot, only I sucked and never returned it. Oh, well, he's too busy nowadays anyway. No time for him to play video games." (Sorry, Bryan, I'll return it. I promise.) I paused and added, "It's supposed to be a critical favorite."

So, Paul started to play the game for me while I knit next to him. Helen's socks, which had been languishing and never growing, have now been knit to the first of the toes. Only, I'm stuck.



I ran out of my first ball of yarn at the toe. I had been all prepared to buy a new skein of the sock yarn since I thought I would need a third to complete the sock, but to buy a skein to get two toes basically? That's a bit much. Do I try to find someone else online who has one fourth of a skein of Lorna's Laces in Douglas Fir? Do I simply buy a cheaper Knit Picks yarn in a coordinating color and finish the toes with that yarn? Do I buy another Lorna's Laces in a coordinating color and finish the toes with that yarn and then knit either Nathan or myself some socks with the remainder? Any opinions, guys? I really need to pick one of these options, only I am not sure which to pick. Until I pick one, I'm not making any headway on these socks, either. Sigh. Do you think this yarn would look good with a dark brown, an ecru, a sage green, or a pink? Either way, I've shelved this project until I get that yarn and that might not occur until Rhinebeck or beyond.

I also shelved my Slytherin scarf (ravelry) for now, perhaps. I think I want to work on it in the car on the way to Rhinebeck, if Christy drives.

What am I doing, then? Well, I bought some lovely dishcloth cotton.



I'd like to make some Ballband Dishcloths. (Dishclothes?) I love knit dishcloths, as they do a fantastic job for wiping counters and cleaning floors, but I don't normally have the patience to knit them. I find knitting socks and scarves and tanks more rewarding. However, when I went to Joann's Fabric today, I felt like a total failure due to my fear of sewing. To bolster myself, I bought some yarn which I know I can bend to my will.

Lastly, check out my awesomely awesome (ie, crappy) sewing skills!



It's the headband cover I made for myself. Folks, I'm going to take some sewing classes. I think I might need to.

Erk. Podcast Good. Casted Bad.

I love listening to all my knitting podcasts, but if I hear or read one more person use 'casted on' or 'casted off', I'm going to throw my iPod or shove my monitor off my desk.

The past tense of cast is cast. In other words, yesterday, I cast on for my Slytherin Scarf. I did not casted on.

(Also annoying, when people switch the words waste and waist in a blog post. It sounds disgusting and wrong when I read, 'Then I casted on yarn for the waste.')

Not that I'm judgmental. So, Podcast update!

I gave Doubleknit a try. I'm keeping it on my list for now, but I'm not too positive it'll stay in my subscribed section. It's a dialogue between two ladies. Both work at a yarn store if I'm listening correctly. They discuss knitting, books, and movies. Unfortunately, I'm not very interested in their book and movie discussions which is souring me on the podcast, as I find their knitting discussion very interesting. I don't get involved with knitting podcasts for movie reviews. If I find my taste overlap with the podcasters', I can forgive this. I do not have overlapping opinions with these podcasters.

Speaking of overlapping hobbies, opinions, and whatnot... SockTart! I spent a lot of time listening to Socks in the City several months ago, and I was loathe to let it go. The combination of that podcaster's overly enthusiastic voice and her very slow output of podcasts recently, however, encouraged me to drop it. I was fairly sad about the whole thing as I love to knit socks. Luckily, SockTart filled it's spot in my heart and then some. Maire plays World of Warcraft, quotes Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Discworld) on her site, and has a nice calm voice. Win! Best of all, she highlights sock patterns I've never heard of and informs me about Sock Knitting News I'm interested in. Thanks to her, I joined Sock Knitters Anonymous on Ravelry. As I plan to buy massive amounts of sock yarn at Rhinebeck (what I consider massive anyway), I hope to compete in future Sock Knitters Anonymous events. With all that said, I did not like her only dialogue episode, but that was due to how off-track it got and the quality of the sound.

My latest listen is Knitter's Wading Pool. This is a cute podcast, from a single podcaster. Again, I reiterate, it's terribly cute. I'm just not sure it is for me. I feel that the questions she has and answers are fairly basic. I think this is the podcast I should have listened to when I started to knit. Those first few years when I feared knitting, this would have been ideal for me. I'm going to give it several more listens, but if you're a new knitter? Please check it out. This podcast will help explain things to you, and the podcaster has a lovely calm voice.

Lastly, Craft Mentality. I wanted to like this podcast, as I need a good sewing podcast to listen to now. This was not it. I, in fact, got angry while listening to the first podcast. This does not happen that often. It's a dialogue podcast between two individuals. I gave up on it almost immediately, and I don't regret this. This was partially a cooking podcast too, which helped me to drop it more quickly. While I love to bake and would listen to a baking or cupcake podcast, I have no time for cooking, that most hated of activities. To put it bluntly, I'd rather sweep the whole house and do all the laundry and clean the bathroom than make any dinner more complicated than "I followed the two steps on this easy mix meal box. Added water and brought it to a boil. Voila! Instant meal!"

So, what am I still listening to that is not mentioned above? Knit Picks Podcast (though it is on my shit list with all the damnable interviews), Stash and Burn (LOVE!), Knittingatnight, Manic Purl (LOVE ALSO!), and Pixie Purls. You might think to yourself, how can she listen to so many podcasts? I drive a LOT. I also listen to podcasts while I feed my baby. And while I clean. People, I'm listening to podcasts of D&D games that are being played. I listen to podcasts at least three hours a day.

BTW

If you are wondering why I'm posting about my baby and announcing my love for him all over the place today? It's because today is the day we discovered peekaboo and all of its glories. I need to get that video of peekaboo up on Flickr. Nathan thinks his mommy is the most hysterically funny mommy that has ever and we played peekaboo for about half an hour today. Most of the time, Nathan and I spent the time laughing somewhat maniacally. He would shriek with laughter which would cause me to shriek with laughter and then we'd just be laughing with each other.

After this rousing game of peekaboo, Nathan took a bath, got read a bedtime story, listened to a few nice rounds of "You Are My Sunshine", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Hey There, Delilah" (sing what you know), and then he got put into his crib instead of his Pak'n'Play. He whined a tiny bit, got his pacifier, turned onto his side, and fell asleep.

He's old enough to fall asleep on his side. Nathan, you totally promised me you'd never get too big and you are getting too big. How are you going to stay my itty-bittiest baby if you keep growing like this? You are growing so fast that I feel like you'll be in high school tomorrow, and you'll be sulky and angry and hate me. (Paul thinks I'm crazy for thinking this as he had no emotional problems in high school, but I hated my parents in high school like most normal teenagers.) Now I am paranoid there's going to be a day that comes when I can't nuzzle my nose into your neck, or that there's going to be a day when I can't kiss your checks until my lips hurt, and that day is going to be, like, tomorrow.

This is totally why some woman keep pumping out the babies, I think. I want a never ending string of baby necks to nuzzle, and I hated pregnancy. If I were a glower, Paul and I would eventually have fifty babies or something, and I'd never sleep again.

four months old. already.

Remember that this was once a knitting blog? Back in the day? Oh man, those days changed. Then this was my blog blog, where I blogged stuff. When I was funny, I'd type stuff here. When I wasn't funny, I also typed stuff here. Now, I type stuff here about my child.

If you want to read my funny stuff, you can visit my future to be blogged at space: The Dialogue Project! That is where I will hopefully be funny in the near future. If you want to read about crafts (and I craft way more than I joke apparently), you can go to: Ninja Kitten Knits. Join my on my voyage to blog about knitting, sewing, and cardmaking, but mostly knitting!

If you want to read about my baby, you gotta check out this blog, though. See, I'm going to blog about my perfect baby here.



What? You didn't know I had a perfect baby? Sadly, I didn't blog all of my child's beginning moments, so one day, when Nathan asks me what I thought during his first three months, I'll simply respond that I was thinking, "I hope this baby sleeps soon so I can get some rest." Maybe I should do a recap.


Week One:

I wonder if anyone knows I have the cutest baby on Earth? Will they try to steal him? I had better take all the anti-theft baby advice they give me in the hospital so that no one ever steals him. I love him too much. I love him more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I think I might die for love for this little being. I wonder what I should name him? All these people coming here better think this is a cute baby. What if all my friends think I have an ugly baby and are lying to me? How can they think this baby is ugly? Maybe they're blind. Damn, I really really love him. More than Paul loves him. I'll tell him that one day. Baby, whose name I do not yet know, I love you more than your dad does. If he tells you he loves you more, he's a liar. Who lies.

PS. Breast-feeding is totally hard and impossible and people who say otherwise are lying liars as well.


Week Two:

This having a baby thing is way way easier than anyone ever told me with the exception of feeding. I'm going to knock this out of the park, and I didn't even like babies before. I really wish Jade and Inigo liked Nathan more, but they'll eventually deal with it. All this baby does is sleep while we go places like Barnes and Noble or Dairy Queen. I wonder why I'm not losing any more weight. Breast-feeding is still impossible and now I kind of want to give it up. Why won't my Nathan bond with me? I don't understand it. Maybe he doesn't actually like me. I hope he likes me. Is it normal for his head to be at that angle in the car seat? That really can't be comfortable. I can't believe he's supposed to fit into this clothing. It's huge on him.


Week Three:

This is still the smallest thing on Earth. I cannot believe he is this tiny. Why is he so red and why are his eyes still gray? Paul and I are both pale pale people with brown eyes. What if this isn't really my son and he got switched at the hospital? I kind of love this one now. I don't think I'd give him back even if he weren't my real son. I hope he passes his hearing test. I want my baby to go through life with no problems. Clearly I have to protect him from everything. He sleeps so much still. Only, he kind of cries a lot when he's awake for those five minutes now.




One month:

He's still so tiny tiny. Why isn't his belly button healing right yet? It was supposed to be 14 days, but it is still kind of oozing, rather disgustingly. I'm glad Paul cleans it and I don't. It's yucky. I have to be so careful with his head nowadays. This whole taking care of baby stuff is kind of harder than I thought it'd be now that Paul has gone back to work and Nathan wants to be awake more. I still love him a lot though. Man, he's super awesome. I wish I wasn't basically wearing pajamas every day and all day long. I wonder if I should call my mother so I can get a two hour nap. Oh man, two uninterrupted hours of sleep. SWEET. Oh, damn, he just smiled at me. He smiled at ME. ME. He thinks I am awesome when he's awesome!


Month Two:

Okay, so babies aren't supposed to be up so long as I've been keeping him up. Babies get tired roughly two hours after they wake up. I wonder why that's not in a manual somewhere? I wonder why they don't make baby manuals that include stuff like, "Wiggle baby's legs to get rid of gas" and "Baby will try to step in his own poop during diaper changes" and "Spit up will often be explosively hurled over your shoulder during a burping? That would have been useful rather than that stupid "Don't shake your baby" information. I still love Nathan more than I thought humanly possible. LOVE HIM.

(Next post: Month three and four thoughts. This post will occur AFTER his fourth month birthday!)

Lousy Blogger

So, it's been like a week since I last blogged. To be fair, I didn't have much to blog about. I have knit, but barely. I haven't really sewn. I've fake crafted.

What have I done? Well, I finished a pretty nice pair of Koigu anklets.



Aren't they cute? All it takes is one skein of Koigu to make anklets like these. Well, that's true if you have six feet anyway. It's not like one of those skeins is going to cover Paul's feet, even in anklet form. I'm ashamed to admit it, but my legs are really that white, by the way. I'm the palest person you know. It's as if the sun has never touched my skin. If you're thinking to yourself, "Go out and tan" right now -- STOP. I could sit out in the midday sun in the middle of July for about four hours without suntan lotion, and the odds of me getting any darker or burnt are very low. I've got really odd skin.

Now, you might think from the fact that I've got my feet into these anklets that I am keeping them. No, I'm not. My cousin Talena is very pregnant and she deserves a nice pair of warm anklets for the hospital or for the house in winter, if she'd like. My own knit anklets were the nicest thing to wear in the hospital after delivery. They were almost like slippers, but I could wear them comfortably in bed as well. I loved them. Plus, I like to knit for others and I do not really love the color of these socks as much as I should. Maybe if they had more green in them...

I've been thinking of making some cards because I've got some fairly pretty paper sitting around in my house from a card making kit.



I'm still not on it though. I know I need just one or two more items to make cards, but I don't have the energy right now.

What have I sewn? Sweet Jesus, all! In my efforts to imitate my new hero, Blair Waldorf, I've decided to wear more headbands. At first, I was like, 'This is brilliant', but then I remembered that headbands cost money. Even the cheap-o ones from my local supermarket. However, if I'm buying cloth anyway... I sewed a simple tube of green fabric tonight, turned it inside out and stuck it over the cheap black headband. Now, it is SUPER cute and green. I can do this with any leftover fabric I have too. I'm basically just making headband covers I can change out. Next step: wearing my hair down more. Next next step: losing weight so that I can comfortably wear dresses or skirts all the damned time. Paul would totally get behind this step and change in clothing style, I bet.

Lastly, back to knitting, I'm most of the way down a foot for Helen's socks (ravelry). Whee! They are taking forever, but will probably be one of my all-time best looking projects when completed.

In great news, I discovered my size seven 16-inch Addi Turbo circulars too. That means I can happily cast on my Slytherin scarf whenever I have a free moment (ie, never).

Ghost of Projects Past, Part I

Oh man, guys. Do you remember when I said I'd try to blog three times a week? I'm a TOTAL liar. My pants? They might possibly be on fire.

For those of you who are curious, Beth, the fashion designer, recommended the book New Complete Guide to Sewing by Reader's Digest. Apparently most fashion programs in Philly use this book as a text. That's a good enough rec for me and I plan to buy a copy sometime. I also bought a fat quarters of fabric, but I have no current plans for them. If I manage not to screw up completely, I've got one or two ideas, though.

Now, what is this post all about? I'd thought I'd talk about my knitting history and update you guys on my projects. It turns out that I think I've managed to convert my cousin Talena (the sweetest person on Earth) into a knitter. Since I plan to hang with her once a week now, that means I have a knitting friend! We got together last week and she worked on a really cute scarf made from Lion Brand's Nature's Choice Organic Yarn in a simple two by two rib. I have a feeling that it is going to be her first wearable finished project as she had previously tried to make two stockinette scarves, which you all know just curls and doesn't look nice, out of acrylic yarn. My bad, as I apparently totally did not warn her about that, nor did I teach her to cast off, nor have I explained how to weave in ends. I'm going over next week with tapestry needles and I'm going to show her how to weave in some ends. Luckily, I also got to work on my own anklets a bit since they're simple stockinette and can be chucked to the side every time Nathan decides to put up a major fuss.

I've also been working on Helen's socks quite a bit. Since they're knee high socks, they are slow going, but I'm finally working on the heel flap of the first sock. It's been so long since I've done a heel flap as opposed to a short row heel that I'm kind of intimidated. I've done it before, though, and I can do it again. I did temporarily take them off the needles when I got to the flap to make sure they fit my leg. They looked decent, but my legs are kind of fat (honestly a lot of that is calf muscle) so I'm hoping they look better on Helen. The pattern is gorgeous.

So, what's this about the ghost of projects past?




Do you see those? Those are three of my first projects, folks! The bottom one that Nathan is modeling up close and personal is my first ever projects. It's a basketweave scarf done for my mom. As no one warned me, I decided when first knitting to simply forge ahead and do a scarf of ten feet in length. As you can imagine, my knitting tension slowly started to relax from new tight knitter to relaxed looser knitter during the scarf's first three feet. When I examined my scarf, rather than just going with it when I realized this was happening, I tightened my knitting. This means that I made a scarf with a hourglass shape at one part of it. Yeah, that was smooth. Also, the scarf is acrylic and scratchy. Delightful!

The second project is a lacey scarf in blue. Mmm, it was short, it curls, and I knew nothing about the wonders of blocking. It's itchy, too. I hate to look at this scarf though the picture does not make it look as horrible as it really is.

The third is a horrible horrible horrible scarf done with a drop stitch and some fun fur on the ends. Oh man, that is one hideous scarf, and my mom likes it and wears it. I try to pretend she isn't wearing it when I see it on her.

I'm going to leave those projects as my projects past for now. Expect to see some a top and some older socks in the near future, folks!

FEAR!

As you read in my last post, I got myself a sewing machine. It is pretty. It's shiny. It has lots of different types of stitches or whatnot.



I'm frightened of it. I... I just don't know what to do with it. I've gotten some cloth to play with. I've played with stitches. I'm going to take a small class in it at the place where Paul bought it. However, it still scares me. I look at it and feel like I'll never know how to use it well, no matter how much I want to.

I've read some Craftster threads about using sewing machines, but it's not taking the edge off. I want to do stuff now, and it's basically telling me -- wait, look, play with the machine's different functions, and then read about it some more.

I talked to Beth, one of our friends from high school who is also a designer, and she recommended a book to me. I really hope she emails the name of it to Paul like she said she would. She also told me that after I'm done making squares and aprons, I should make a pair of pajama pants as my first real project. Is there anyone out there who sews who can talk me through this terror of my own sewing machine?

On the positive side, I went to my mom's house and started going through my mom-mom's (great grandmom on my dad's father's side) old sewing machine (a Singer) looking for various things I could pilfer from my mom. SCORE! I found an excellent pair of pinking shears that probably just need a bit of WD-40, and I found a lot of bias ribbon, zippers, and a seam ripper. Things I'd like to get after more experience include: rotary blade, self-healing cutting mat, several patterns, see-through ruler, and sewing chalk.

Perhaps A New Blog Name

I might have to rename my blog very soon! For my birthday, yesterday, I received a new sewing machine! When you combine that with the fact that I want to try my hand at card-making, and the fact that I already cross-stitch, I'm not sure how accurate "Ninja Kitten Knits" is. Perhaps, "Ninja Kitten Has Too Many Crafting Hobbies" would be better.

Anyway, I'm actually going to start this entry with my plans for future entries, which is weird, but helpful to me. One, Kitten, get pictures of your sewing machine, and your card-making supplies, and post them in Flickr, and in here! Two, find out what a Bernette 66 is capable of and figure out what I need to get started with sewing some pillows. Three, find out what I need to get started with my card-making that I do not already have.

Now, on to my knitting content which shall be fairly lengthy. I am *only* covering two things today, podcast reviews will come later this week. Let's start with the most important thing, what I am knitting and how is it coming along...

I'm still working on socks, socks, socks... My latest pair of short row anklets are still coming along. I'm working on the heel of the second anklet now and it is moving fast. This is the pair of socks I drag around with me everywhere in case I have an extra ten minutes to knit somewhere, so they obviously get worked on as time permits. I have to say that I love the Koigu colorway when I see it in the sunlight, but not so much indoors. Koigu KPPPM knits up much nicer than I recall from my previous venture, and I definitely plan to make some more anklet socks out of it for myself. I'd also consider using it for friends or family if I find out if I can wash it in the washer and dryer. For those who are curious, I test this out by simply tossing the pair of handknit socks into my washer and dryer after I wear them. This has led to some heartbreak in the past, but I have no time in my life for handwash socks normally. It's why I refuse to buy many 100% merino sock yarns.

I'm also working on Helen's Knee Socks. Whew. They take a long time to knit, which makes sense since it is the first time I've ever knit patterned socks and the first time I've ever knit knee socks. I'm only on the seventh repeat of the leg spiral pattern. This sock is being knit with Lorna's Laces, and I'm not loving Lorna's sock yarn as much as I have in the past. I think I'm used to softer sock yarn nowadays, but I'm still going to continue to knit with LL. Why? Because I know that softness matters less to me when I'm actually wearing the socks, and because I know they machine wash and dry beautifully.

So, the second thing I'm going to blog about? I'm going to Rhinebeck!! OH EM GEE, folks! I'm so excited. A few weeks ago, slightly depressed due to the fact that I was giving up work to stay at home with Nathan, I asked Christy if she'd want to go. Christy, who is an awesome awesome awesome friend, said, 'Let's do it.' She managed to get us a place to stay, and now we're headed up for the weekend. I'm excited to be spending time with Christy, to be seeing a lot of the yarns I've only heard or read about, and to see what goes on at this huge fiber festival.

I have no idea what vendors will be there, but some things I'd like to purchase include: US #8 straight needles (Montego Bay), US #10 1/2 double points (Feeling Fuzzy), US #11 straight needles (My So Called Scarf), US #1 sock needles (all kinds of socks!), US #7 16-inch circulars (Harry Potter Scarf), Malabrigo worsted weight yarn (My So-Called Scarf), Handmaiden Fine Yarn Sea Silk (Montego Bay), Dream in Color Smooshy, Shibui Knits Sock Yarn, Schaefer Yarns Heather, and eight billion other sock yarns! I obviously will not be buying all of this, no matter how tempted I am, but I hope to get at least some of it. I might even have to add more to this list so I don't forget what I want when I get there. The worst part is that I plan to make sure that all new needles I buy are Lantern Moon and any new circulars are Addi Turbos. I know... What is up with that?