Saturday, March 29, 2008

Guide to the Knitting Listmaker Papers

Today I got the urge to put all the bills in order. Last time I had done it was sometime in Sept. 2006 - all neatly organised before then, messy piles after that. I continued the process to bring it up to date, and at the same time I pretended that I was wondering about the people (me) who paid those bills as if they were some collection at work, and I was trying to guess. It certainly helped the time pass quicker!

The difference is that at home I had help. It is a well-known fact that anything occupying my attention fully, especially if spread on the floor, is a target for rolling and sitting stubbornly on. Although of course I was very grateful for the help, I do understand why archives don't have 'house cats'! Unfortunately, I was on a roll and didn't even stop to take pictures.

Meanwhile, here's a nostalgic, parting shot of Assistant Archivist Skid during a study break in her early youth. She speaks many languages: kitty (first language), human Greek, human English. This was during the time she was taking human French lessons.


Crafting news coming soon.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Thinking ahead (and back)

Catching up with a bunch of little things that didn't get mentioned or photographed recently. I really can't figure out why I am so very, very lazy with locating these camera wires.

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering in SOHO and indulged on some green yarn. I can't resist green yarn. I am thinking of making a hat with it, but it will have to wait for next year. As mentioned, I 'm done with hats for this winter.

The irresistible rise of Green Yarn

This is one of the two last hats of the year that I mentioned earlier. It is for L, who likes them to sit small on top of his head, and it is also his own design.

L's hat. Designer: L.S.

I have been thinking of making a yoga platform for myself, something to spread on the carpet underneath my yoga mat. The best place in the house is right in front of one of the entrance doors, the one we have got to use most of the time lately. It is quite dirty as a result, as even if you take your shoes off inside the house, this part is inevitably stepped on with shoes. At the moment I am using a nice woven rug, but I decided to make a thin quilt for the purpose. I know it will take quite a while, especially as this will be my first quilt, but it doesn't really matter. In fact, I am looking forward to the time and effort I will need to put in for it.

During my impromptu trip down South last week (more on this later), I did my usual pilgrimage to JoAnn's fabrics and bought the fabric I will need. I will aim for the What A Bunch of Squares pattern from this book. I say 'aim for' because I seem to find it impossible to follow directions faithfully, despite the fact that I know it would be for my own good. The colors in my browser look much more grey than they are in the reality, and there is a dark blue piece of fabric that isn't included here, but you can tell the general idea.


On the long drive down South, the flight back and during a sick day yesterday I worked and finished the first of the Lorna's Laces wristwarmers. Unfortunately, Skid liked it so much that she wouldn't let me try it on to photograph. That's the best I could do - messy, I know. It is a modified version of the Monkey socks lace pattern, shrunk to a 14-stitch repeat to fit my preferred number of stitches (56).


The decision to drive was very impulsive and unexpected, and I had about 20 min. to get everything together. When I grabbed my camera I didn't think to check the battery level, which was very low. Not too many photos, therefore, of the beautiful ride. I seem to have been fascinated with roads and paths, though, because this is pretty much all I took.

I love road trips as much as I hate road movies!

There may, or may not be a subconscious symbolism in my theme choices, but I 'll spare you the vineyard philosophy (I literally translated αμπελοφιλοσοφία!) .

We had a lovely time taking a walk down the rail tracks,
covered in dead leaves that squeaked under our feet.


Home stretch. The back window of our apartment looks
straight onto the white, blooming tree.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Behind the scenes

It has been all hard, diligent work and no glamour the last two weeks. I had a severe case of 'finishitis' and decided to focus on making some progress on all kinds of basic tasks that are essential for a finished project to happen. In the meantime, I finished the last two hats of the year, but since I 've by now made so many hats I almost don't count them as projects. It feels very frivolous to say so, but it is the case. Hats are more like eating snacks - not a real, nutricious meal that will fill you up for a while.

One hard decision that had been made a while ago was the demise of the second Hourglass sweater. The yarn, Knitpicks Andean Silk, just didn't fit the final project in my mind. Lucky for me I had forgotten how far I had got into the sweater before I pulled it out of its hiding place for unraveling: only half a sleeve and the yoke was left to be done. Eeeek! But unravel I did, followed by a soak, dry, and with the help of my faithful swift I rewound it into 6-7 shiny yarn-bombs. In fact, I made a few more yarn-bombs with different yarns, while I was at it. Once you get started, it's kind of fun!

Yarn previously known as The Red Barn Sweater

Other projects that have been progressing with finishing determination include the Beachcomber Tunic, that is approaching its first birthday, and the Granny Square blanket, that I am guessing should be approaching adolescence by now... Will March be the month when I post one of them as a finished object?

All that basic work, however, does not yield fancy photographs. But a post without photographs is boring, even for me, so here are some more pictures from my last (and sadly not-so-recent-anymore) trip down South.

My shadow gained at least 50 lbs!


The fireplace was hardly effective to keep the room warm,
but it sure looked pretty!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

A weekend of sewing

It has been a while since I spent any serious time sewing. Knitting felt more wintry and relaxing. Meanwhile, however, projects have been pilling up in my list and inspiration. So I decided to focus on fabric rather than yarn this weekend.

customised pins

It must certainly have to do with spring approaching - the cooler, brighter colours and texture of fabric are suddenly very appealing.

quick bookmark

My levels of decisiveness are also given a boost. Especially in domestic matters. Among other things, I am getting in the mood to fix all the little things around the house that I have been thinking of fixing for ages and never did anything about it.

table napkins

Oddly enough, this creativity boost was encouraged by one of my character flaws. My ability to procrastinate is monumental. There are things on my list from 6-7 years ago.

coaster sets

Hard to top the instant gratification of small sewing projects. Especially when one has tons of already cut fabric pieces to the right dimensions, purchased ages ago on e-bay for the exact purpose of playing around with them.

more coasters

Today this worked well together with yet another character flaw of mine (obviously, I have more than one). I can get obsessed with some thing and want to keep making it. Like these super-quick coasters.


even more coasters

All this burst of colour and activity, however, has left me drained. Craft-wise at least. I am now ready to return to my knitting projects. Loyal, slow, steady, grounding knitting projects.

this one is for me

I also kind of feel like watching some t.v. and I can't really do that while sewing.


here it is, in action

For those who may be skeptical about the arrival of spring as yet, here is proof that (at least in the South) spring was already there last weekend.

Exhibit A


Exhibit B
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