Excitement!

My iPod came in yesterday! It's so pretty and silver. I haven't even turned it on yet... I think I'm going to wait for my new computer to arrive. I haven't bought any stuff like this in so so long -- it feels so luxurious and even embarrassingly excessive. But I keep reminding myself that my current computer is 7 years old and I have been listening to music off of my cell phone for a year. It's going to be such an improvement in my life.

Also, here's a picture of the finished Pea Pod Baby set! I'm giving it away this weekend at a baby shower. I hope it goes over well.


Pattern: Pea Pod Baby Set, Kate Gilbert (free from Interweave Knits), size 6 months.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto, shade #23009, just over 4 balls total. (I did a test wash of this in the washer and dryer, see my post below for results... the main point is you can wash and dry it!)
Needles: Size 5 Denise circulars for the body, Size 5 dpn's for the hat.

What else can I put buttons on?

New favorite animated series: Afro Samurai. I just netflixed it, and seriously, just imagine 300 as an animated movie with samurais instead of Spartans, cross that with blaxploitation films and Quentin Tarantino, and add a dash of Samuel L Jackson kicking ass yet again. It really does not get any better than that. Go add it to your queue. Now. I'm seamed the pea pod sweater together and added some super cute buttons and I'm good to go for this baby shower. I'll post pictures soon. It was my first trip to Windsor Button, and it did not disappoint. Seriously, could purchasing buttons get any more efficient? I really don't think it could. Me: I want some wooden buttons for this sweater. [I produce sweater from my bag.] Windsor Button guy, standing in front of a huge wall of drawers filled with buttons: OK [turns around for half a second and comes up with great wooden buttons] How about these? Me: Those are nice. Do you have them in a lighter color wood? WB guy: [turns around for another half a second] Yes. Here you go. Me: Awesome. How much are they? WB guy: $2.09 each. Me: That's kind of a lot... Do you have some that look like these but are cheaper? WB guy: If you don't mind plastic instead of real wood. Me: Ok let's have a look. Wb guy: [turns around for another half second and appears with perfect buttons that look just like wood but are one third of the price] I actually like those better than the wooden ones, personally. They're shinier and you can use either side. Me: Yes! I'll take them! It took about 1 minute to get this whole thing accomplished and I didn't have to stand there in front of a display of buttons pondering which ones would be best. I have a couple other projects that will require buttons, and I'll definitely be doing it the same way. Who knew it could be so pleasant? I'm also working on a deconstructed hoodie made out of some cheap acrylic. The hood is taking for freaking ever to finish. I had no idea the hood would take longer than a whole sleeve, but it's true. And I ordered a new computer (MacBook. Drool!) so I'm spending my days obsessively tracking the package on the FedEx website. When it gets here I think I'm just going to hug it for a while before I even turn it on. You have to start these things out on the right foot, after all.

Note to self...

Mercerized cotton + aluminum needles + bumpy bus rides = suzy yelling obscenities in front of strangers. Please, suzy, switch to bamboo immediately, even though they're expensive and you'll complain about it. My grandmother kindly gave me a huge supply of knitting needles a couple years ago. I have every size, just about, and most of them are really pretty colors of shiny aluminum. Of course I choose these needles based on the pretty color, rather than their appropriateness for the setting or project. That is, until I feel like my stitches are careening off the tips without warning and the people around me are wondering if I have some kind of psychological disorder. Instead I brought the pea pod hat on the bus today, which was better. But dpn's + my messy bookbag = also another bad combo. So knitting needle shopping I must go. This drop stitch tank is really a perfect commute project because the stich pattern is so easy and there's almost no measuring needed -- just two rectangles. I love finishing things on my commute because it seems almost magical when they are suddenly complete.

Some minor complaints

I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed with Magknits lately. They only have like 5 patterns per issue and most of the time there is nothing that I would wear among them. This month they have one cute 3/4 length sleeve top, but they don't have a decent picture of the sweater with the pattern! Not one picture that shows the entire sweater. How do I know if I want to make this if I can't see where it falls on the hip, how long the sleeves really are, or how the waist shaping looks? What the hell, guys? Can we have some standards, please? Secondly, and on a completely unrelated note, I recently watched an episode of "the pick up artist" on cable, and I can't help but feel sad for these guys on this show because they are being fed total and utter crap. Some dude named Mystery (which should be the first warning right there that it's all bullshit) throws around weird slang that he seems to have invented (e.g., "you have to open up sets and throw out some negs" -- excuse me, WTF are you talking about?) while wearing a furry top hat and eyeliner. This is the best expert they could find? The goal is to pretend you are variously interested and not interested in the woman (whom Mystery refers to as the "target"), and this is supposed to make her want to give you her phone number, from what I understand. I never knew that that's what I wanted in a man, but how could Mystery be wrong? Then the "experts" teach these loser guys about how to tell if women want them. "She's touching her head -- this is a sign women give that they're interested," says Mystery. Um, what is this, a nature program -- like mating signs of the european sparrow or something? And anyway, perhaps the woman just has a headache from your stupid pick up lines and that's why she's touching her head. Thirdly, I remember some dude coming in to the coffee shop that I work at and bragging about how he was going to be on this show, apparently in an effort to pick up some of the girls that work there. I believe the response he encountered was, "Yeah ok great here's your coffee k thnx bye." I don't know why you would want to admit A) that you signed yourself up for reality television, B) that you participated in a show meant for guys who don't know how to behave around women, and C) that all of your embarrassing secrets will be broadcast in the near future. None of these things are promising for your romatic life. You really should keep this stuff under wraps. Worst reality television ever. This whole "having cable" thing, combined with the "wanting to knit a lot" thing has caused me to watch some really bad tv though. I don't regret it. It gives me fuel for appalled rants such as the one you have just witnessed.

Yay! I love finishing things!

Oh wait, I'm not really done yet. But almost! I finished all the pieces of the pea pod sweater today and did a 3-needle bind off on the shoulder seams. Then I knitted on the collar so it's just the sleeves left to sew on. So close! I want to get this done so I can move on to other projects, although it is a really fun little sweater to knit. The color is going to be super cute with the right buttons. I hope this isn't too "girly" for a boy baby.

Off to cook some stirfry and rest my fingers for a bit. Then I will face the dreaded red cotton for a few hours. *cue dramatic music*