Inspired

The link below totally inspired me to actually write an entry about... me. Not about my knitting but about me, my home, my life, etc. (I'll update the post with some photos later... as I'm at work right now)

http://crazyauntpurl.com/

So here goes...

Me
My name is Amber and I'm 28 years old. I've lived this first 28 years in the San Francisco Bay area. And I've lived in the North Bay (San Rafael), the South Bay (Mountain View... I didn't like the south bay much. Everything is beige, tan, or cream colored there.) And currently live in the East Bay (Berkeley). This is definitely home... I love where I live. I live in a great little 2 bedroom house that was built in 1929. But I think I'll have to live in a different state or country at some point...

We (me, my boyfriend, our 3 cats, and our lizard) have lived in this house for the past 5 years or so. Being that it's such an old house and we own it... there is a huge list of repairs/remodels that we either need to or want to do. It can be a bit overwhelming at times (we gutted and remodeled our kitchen several years ago... it's still not quite done as there is no trim around one of the doors and one of the windows... also need to finish the tile on part of the counter and paint said trim). We also ripped up most of the carpet in the house last summer and re-finished the hardwood floors. And when I say we... I mean me and my boyfriend... we did it ourselves and it was a TON of work. I know people who can afford to pay people to do this kind of work and I am seriously jealous. So like I said the house situation can be a bit overwhelming :)

Me and the boyfriend have our 10 year anniversary coming up in September of this year. The 29th. This is a bit scary because about a year ago I threw down the gauntlet and said he'd better marry me as I didn't want to "date" him for a decade. In essence I told him that I either wanted for him to make that commitment to me or I was going to leave him. And gave the 10 year cutoff. And this sucks because I really don't want to leave him... I love him and think he's a great guy... I just want the type of commitment that marriage symbolizes to me. To me marriage is for always, truly "in sickness and in health till death do we part". I realize that most people end up divorced.. I swear I live in reality. But for one... my parents are still married and happy. They've had some ups and downs but they are mostly happy. Alas my boyfriend's parents divorced when he was an infant and he's never met his father... and then he had a crappy step dad to boot. So I know we see marriage differently. But I still want him to look me in the eye and tell me that he wants me and only me forever... now is that really too much to ask? ;)

Well that covers the home and boyfriend. So here's some more stuff. I make a living as a commercial artist of sorts... I do 2D digital painting on CG movies. So far I've worked on Shrek2 and Madagascar (comes out 5/27 so go see it). I love where I work and the people I work with. My only gripe about work is location... It's about 45 miles from my house in the dreaded South Bay. Bay area traffic is a bitch... today it took an hour and a half to get here. People freak out when it rains.. it's like their brains fall out their ass.. it's truly amazing. Most days (no rain) my morning commute is about an hour and my evening is about the same. So 2 hours for travel and a 10 hour work day sure do eat up a lot of time. Thank god I love it there because from 8am till 8pm that is where I am. But I do get to paint and listen to my ipod all day long... not a bad gig really.

Well I'm getting a bit bored typing about myself so I'll assume that you (all 2 of you) who are reading this are getting bored too. So I'll just talk about my pets for a moment and call it good.
So the pets. Jack and Jill are my/our 2 8 year old brown tabbys with white markings. They are litter mates and so damn cute. About a year after I met my boyfriend we moved in together and I really wanted a cat. I was almost 20 at the time and had never really had a pet of my own and I've always been a HUGE animal fan. I actually like animals more than I like most people. So we found a kitten rescue in Marin County and checked it out. Of course it was the wrong time of year ( I think it was January or February) for kittens so I had to wait till March. then they got a brother and sister pair that they wanted to place in a home together. Since we were both students and not home a lot we figured it's be good for them to have each other for company and took them home. Jack was a pound and a half and Jill was a pound. He is now 17 pounds (just big not really fat) and Jill is 11 pounds (she's a bit fat and runty but sooo sweet). They are great. Then last April a coworker took in a stray cat (read a pregnant stray) and he found himself with 5 kittens in need of homes.... well that's how we got Seamus (Shay-mis). My coworker sent me kitten pictures every week until he was old enough to take home in June. I was told he was an orange tabby so I gave my redhead an Irish name... well he was and still is beige. So the name is a bit funny but I still like it. So our 1 year old stalks and tortures the older cats and gets swatted on the nose now and again. But we sometimes catch them all sleeping on the bed together so I know that all is well.



Last but not least we have Lydia the Bearded Dragon. She's about 3 and a half now. Very cool pet but a lot of work as she eats live food. She has to have king meal worms and adult crickets every other day. So it sounds like camping in our living room because that is where she and the crickets live. Someday when I'm not gone 12 hours a day I really want a dog... a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Here are some cute photos.

ok that's enough about me :)

mother load

I've placed a couple yarn/knitting related orders in the past couple weeks... and they all showed up today!

Some highlights:

Loop-d-Loop knitting book
GORGEOUS!

handpaintedyarn.com super bulky wool in rhodesian-


Catalina yarn from handpaintedyarn.com in velvet grapes-

And a "couple" trial balls of knitpicks yarns... Elegance (cornflower & daisy), Andrean Silk (sangria & lettuce). and the stripy sock yarn (vineyard & autumn colors).

Hmmm no room at home... where the hell am I going to put this beautiful yarn?

Cascade Pima Tencel

I just got my order of this yarn in a soft sky blue (well a little more of a soft sky blue/grey). I had no idea this yarn was so soft. I can't wait to start the premiere pullover from the IK summer 05 (I posted a photo of the yarn and sweater pattern in my May 5th entry).

I was going to finish my hourglass sweater before starting this... but I think I'm going to swatch when I get home tonight!

It's such yummy yarn... and at 20% off from yarn.com it was a good deal too.

I LOVE yarn :)

Misty Garden from Scarf Style

I've done it again....



bought yarn for a project that I can't start for a very long time ;-) It's Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair... elann had a good price on it today. I bought it for the Misty Garden Scarf from Scarf Style. Oh well, I got off light... today was cheap. 3 balls of the mohair and a pattern for a neckdown short sleeve cardigan. It's so cute :)

New Blog Templates

Every 5 or 6 months I feel the need to change the background of my blog... so I've done it again and I think I have my links and everything put back the way they were. Hmmm every few years I feel the need to repaint the walls in our house a different color too... this is so much easier :)

my finished projects got a facelift as well http://yarnjunkie2.blogspot.com/

Some finished scarves

These have been done for a few days... but I'm just getting around to washing them and taking photos. For yarn and pattern details see here.

Here is my Here and There Cable scarf:


And my Twin Leaf Scarf:

better photo

of my short rib scarf:


And what is a knitting blog without photos of kitties too?



top to bottom Seamus, Jill, & Jack. Funny, they are never all in the same place like that.

Almost forgot about this one

Someone on Craftster started a knit-along for this sweater (months ago) and I just stumbled across the post. It's from the Vogue Knitting Winter 04/05 issue. Great pattern and I'm feeling inspired to work on this too. Perhaps once I finish my hourglass sweater and the sweater with flames on the sleeves for my dad, and make the premiere pullover I posted about a couple days ago... then I can make this too. I have some rowan kid classic in imp green that would work well for this pattern. (the beauty of a large stash... I almost always have yarn that works for patterns I want to make. And here is the Shawl Collared Pullover:

Your Inner European

Your Inner European is Italian!



Passionate and colorful.
You show the world what culture really is.

http://www.blogthings.com/whosyourinnereuropeanquiz/
Who's Your Inner European?

two finished scarves

both were made from the Short Row Rib pattern from Mag Knits. For yarn details and whatnot see my finished projects page.

my next project to start

Premier Pullover



It's in the Summer 05 issue of Interweave Knits. The yarn used in the pattern is Classic Elite Premiere which is kinda expensive. The ladies on the Knitters Review Forum swear that Cascade Pima Tencel is the same yarn. So I picked up some to make this sweater even though I never use the suggested yarn. I just really don't have a cotton or cotton blend in my stash to use.... I'm generally a wool and alpaca girl.

Cascade Pima Tencel blue/grey:


I have to finish up my hourglass sweater before I start though :-)

ebay strikes again

So my last yarn purchase showed up yesterday. I hadn't made any yarn purchases for a little less than a month and then managed to go way overboard on an ebay binge. So here's the loot (And of course I'm really happy with my purchases):

Rowan All Seasons Cotton in Safari Green:


Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in A dark orange:


And Jeager Luxery Tweed in China Pink:


Yikes! yarn for 3 more sweaters in one swoop. It's been 9 days since I actually made this purchase and I'm going to try and use up some stash for a bit :-)

What I've been working on...

After ripping out a lacy scarf I started using this homespun angora/silk blend I decided plain stockinette stitch would show off the color and texture of this yarn best... it's probably about 65% done:


And here is my hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I'm using a 100% cotton yarn from Crystal Palace called cotton flamme. IT's a thick thin cotton that knits to right about 5 st per inch. The second photo shows the yarn texture pretty well:



And here is my completed wavy scarf using rowan kidsilk haze and frog tree alpaca. The second photo shows the corkscrew fringe better (but the top photo shows the color better):



And that's what I've been knitting while I haven't been posting :-) Finally slowed down a bit at work so I can come home every once in awhile :-)

away

sorry to have been such a slacker on my blog. I've been working a lot (12 hour days 6 days a week). This is going to continue for the rest of the month at least

But I am getting some knitting in still. I finished a Wavy scarf for my mom and I added some corkscrew fringe from Knitting on the Edge as well. The scarf is awesome to touch. I stranded Frog Tree Alpaca and Rowan Kidsilk Haze together. I'll get a photo posted sometime this week. I'm quite pleased with it.

And now I need to sleep to get ready for another very long day at work.

zippers n stuff

here are the zippers I ordered from http://www.zipperstop.com

I figured I'd get a couple extra since I was ordering. The one on the far right is a perfect match for the dark purple/brown of my ribby cardigan. I'm a bit frightened of sewing it in but I'll give it a go this week.

I finished my hoodie from the last post and it's drying as I type.

See more photos in my finished projects page http://yarnjunkie2.blogspot.com/ The body was a little short but I'm hoping that I blocked it well enough to fix that.

As far as my trying not to buy anymore yarn for a while... not doing so well. Better than I have been but I've been buying more then I should. I've got 2 sweaters worth on order. http://www.littleknits.com/ is having a sale so I got some Cascade Eco and Eco+ (chocolate for the Eco and cinnamon in the Eco+). Well tomorrow is another day... I'll keep resisting as well as I can :-) Soon I'll have to start storing it in the coat closet as well.

WIP photos

I started this hoodie in early December... got the front, back and hood done and then shelved it. So a few weeks back I pulled it out and I now have the sleeves done up to about the elbow. It's made from Malabrigo bulky wool in Pasto green. The yarn is lovely to work with... here it is:




The Flame sweater... color work is a pain. My dad will love it but I have to say these flames are not that fun. So many balls of yarn are involved... I untangle as much as I actually knit. There are a couple boo boo's but I'm happy with the result so far :-)





Ribby almost done. The zipper is on order and will hopefully come next week. But the actual knitting is complete. I'm looking forward to wearing this. The Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran is awesome. Great to knit with and it's so cozy and soft. Yummy:

Jessy's Sweater

I finally started this sweater for my dad. The yarn was for christmas and the sweater is for his birthday (April 23rd). I'll post a photo tomorrow but it's coming along pretty well. Once the flame portion is done this sweater should go pretty quickly.



Flames! This is so cool. I may have to add the flames to other projects as well.

-Amber

Photos up the wazzu

Since I've been slacking on taking photos of my numerous WIP's... here goes:
My Ribby Cardi nearing completion:



A zig zag cable scarf for a friend at work who has been putting in a lot of time helping me:


The top image is actually the front... but I kinda like the back better :-)

Here is the Wavy scarf made with Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Frog Tree Alpaca held together. It's so soft... this will be for my mom:


This is a cable scarf made from some of my Stitches West yarn... Alpaca/Wool blend:

Cables are hard to photograph.

And some more Stitches West yarn... A handspun Angora/Silk yarn. It's decadent:

This is a lace pattern... but the pattern doesn't show well in this photo:


And a couple finished projects:

A Broken Rib scarf in Colinette one-zero (still needs blocking):


And my Ruffle scarf in Noro:


Whew... that should do it :-)

I feel so productive

Last night I finally finished the sleeves for my Ribby Cardigan. The ends are woven in but I need to block and finish it (and knit the collar and button bands). Yippie!

And I finished a rather chunky scarf for a friend. It's Colinette One-Zero yarn knit in a single broken rib pattern. I'll get some photos posted this weekend. It's just nice to finish a couple WIPS :-)

I'm it

I have been tagged by Marisa from One By One with the Knitting Meme:

Do you knit using the English or Continental Method?
I use the Continental method. It's the way I learned and I have no idea how to knit the English way.

Who taught you how?
A coworker taught me. She started a knitting group at work and got me going. I was so excited to find a "cheap" hobby. Photography is my other hobby of choice. Little did I know that knitting is not cheap :-)

What was your first FO?
A garter stitch scarf. Of course I had to make it harder than necessary. It was knit with green and charcoal grey wool (dk weight) on size 6 needles. And I wanted it really wide. So it was about 70 stitches wide. It took me forever to finish it.

Favorite Pattern Source?
I love books, magazines, and the internet. Ann Budd's Handy book of sweater patterns coupled with a good stitch book are great for so many sweaters. Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits are my favorite knitting magazines. And Knitty is an awesome online source for patterns.

Favorite Needles?
I love Addi Turbos for circulars and Lantern Moon or Crystal palace for straight.

Nicest thing you've ever knit?
Probably my "under the Hoodie" sweater. It's knit in Rowan Kid Classic and is just heaven to wear. Although I'm proud of a lot of the scarves and purses I've made as gifts.

Most hated project?
I have a fine gauge ribbed scarf that has been on needles for about a year and a half. It's turning out to be a great scarf... It's just painfully boring to knit. 60 stitches wide 2x2 rib on size 7 needles. I should really just finish it.

Who are you going to pass this on to?
Roxanne and Cyndi

Yummy... but oops

I need to stay away from the Knitters Review Forum. They are always talking about awesome yarn and it makes me want some. So here is what I ordered this morning.

The main color is the burgandy with stripes in the other 3 colors:


And for good measure... a scarf for my boyfriend in:


The sweater yarn is their wool and the scarf is the merino. So I cracked after a week of no yarn... resetting my counter now and going to try to be stronger. I think I'm truly a yarn junkie :-)

SO MUCH YARN!

I was at Stitches West for 5 hours today... 5 hours of yarn shopping!

Wow!

I only bought hand dyed and hand spun yarns... nothing I could get in a yarn store. I even got some cashmere for a scarf. I came home with a large bag of gorgeous yarn. Now I think it time to really stop buying any more yarn for some time... I'm going to shoot for 6 months. So wish me luck!

oops

I need to learn to stay away from ebay. This is the Rowanspun Aran I picked up today :-) It's a great color and the price was awesome... and no shipping fee. So I'm going to just re-set my counter to 0 and start fresh on Moday (after Stitches). Then I will have to be strong... as I've run out of space for my yarn.

TTFN

Stitches West

I've been so good... no yarn bought in the last 2 weeks. Of course Stitches West is happening this Weekend and I'm going. Maybe I should just re-set my counter now. I completely plan on buying yarn. Last year Tess yarns had a booth and I really want some of their Angora/Merino Yarn. It looks like they now have a Cashmere yarn as well... yikes! Their colors are amazing. Last year I got some of their superwash merino in "frog kisses" a verigated green. Very nice stuff.

So in other knitting... I'm done with the back, front and about 1/3 of the sleeves for my Ribby:



I just hope it's not too small. My swatch guage expanded after washing so I am knitting according to that guage. Wish me luck with the blocking :-) I'm also plodding along on my Ruffle and Here & there Cable scarves. I'm close to finishing a bunch of projects... just have to stick with it. There are just so many projects I'm itching to start :-)

here & there, ruffle, tote

These 2 scarves are from Scarf Style. The pink one is the Here and There Cable scarf (fun pattern). The yarn is handpaindedyarn.com 100% merino and feels like butter. The multi color one is Ruffle in Noro Kureyon. I love the colors but the yarn itself isn't that nice. Hopefully it'll soften with washing:






This is a felted tote I finally finished up for my boyfriends mother:

Angora Rocks!

I just got my box of Angora in dark red. I really want to start a sweater with it RIGHT NOW. But I have 3 sweaters on needles at the moment :-) And my next project is a sweater for my dad that needs to be done by late April. Evil.

Well maybe once I finish one of the three on needles I can start this one and the one for my dad. Although the one for my dad will be a fun one. It's the Jessy Sweater from Stitch n Bitch Nation. It has flames on the sleeves!


So much to knit so little time