Breakfast of Champions

This morning I was up and dressed and out of the apartment early enough to it up McDonald's for breakfast.  Yes, McDonald's is gross and yes I know I'm gross for going there, but if you could see the love and devotion in my soul for the miraculous creation that is the McGriddle you'd forgive me this one teeny tiny indulgence.

 It's a thing of beauty really.  First, it's scrambled eggs, but not really.  Scrambled eggs but better because they are all together in a blanket hugging two strips of bacon and covered with melted American cheese.  I think it's American, could be any bright orange processed cheese.  Sound god?  Yes?  It gets better!  Just when you think all you have to do is grab the bun and take a bite, there is no bun.  Instead it's two silver dollar pancakes injected with pancake syrup.  Sweet flavor explosion.  There's truly nothing better in the world.

In the book I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max, he talks about a friend of his who is obsessed with McGriddles and goes into a monologue about how good they are.  If you've read the book, those delicious little breakfast sandwiches - that's what I'm talking about. 

So yeah, I was up and out early enough to get the breakfast of champions (McDonald's stops serving breakfast at 10:30am) and I'm not really going anywhere with this other than to say hot damn it was good.  I do have some yarn that's the color of the McGriddle bacon, and from here on out whenever I wear the scarf I'm currently making from this yarn I'm going to crave the succulent disgustingness of bacon flavored, syrup infused mini-pancakes.

Debbie Bliss Fez in colorway "chocolate".  It's a camel and merino blend of yarn.  It's so soft and squishy.  I've never worked with camel before, but I can already tell I'm going to a lot from here on out.  The stitch definition is beautiful.  You can see everything beautifully, and though right now the infinity scarf I'm working on is really just your basic knits and purls, I'm sure this would cable like a dream and I'm for sure going to do something with cables next. 

I'm not even kidding you, if McDonald's served breakfast past 10:30AM I'd be back there right now getting another McGriddle for lunch.  Don't judge me. 

warm brain

hThat stupid little groundhog was wrong about an early spring, but the weather seems to be finally warming up.  Nothing is more boring that talking (or reading about) the weather, but hey, I knit and it's relevant.  You ever try holding a camel/merino blend in your hands when it's over 65 degrees out?  Sweaty Palms City.

So yeah, it's been warm for a couple of days.  I went out and got some sun (the esthetician in me HAS to tell you always always always enjoy the sun with SPF 15!!) and drank in all the pretty colors of spring.  Lots of pinks and whites and blues out there.  Not too much green yet, but that may be a matter of geography rather than temperature.  You live in the desert and you accept the fact that grass just isn't a natural occurrence.

It's still cool at night so I decided it would be in my best interest to knit myself another hat, to keep my brain warm and all of that.  Warm brain = happy Rosa.  Bought myself a skein of Malabrigo Rios specifically for this purpose, and I'm pretty happy with it.  The pattern itself was super easy and I was done in a couple of hours of watching Back To The Future.

"You built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?!?"

Does he also say "Great Scott" a lot, or am I thinking of the Rocky Horror Picture Show?  Guess I didn't pay as much attention to the movie as I thought.

I could gush and gush about Malabrigo for days on end.  It really is luscious yarn.  Sex in a skein.  Honey in a hank.  Need on needles.  Squishy and warm and buttery soft and... just perfect.  Makes good hats and While the stitches bloom up slightly after some wear, I've never noticed pilling or any other annoying occurrences.

I'm calling it my Oceans Hat, because it's pretty like the oceans and also this weather makes me want to go to the beach and soak up the sun.  With SPF 15 and aloe vera, of course.  :)

Adventures in Babysitting

I caught one of the most awesome 80's movies ever, Adventures in Babysitting, on TV yesterday.  It was already about halfway through so I missed Elisabeth Shue dancing her heart out to "And Then He Kissed Me".  (Yes, I checked.  Yes, it's Elisabeth with an s.)  Never mind that she was a 24 who totally looked her age year old playing a 17 year old.  It's still a great movie.

So the movie was on, and I was in the process of ripping out an infinity scarf that I decided needed to be longer, when I looked up and realized that Elisabeth She is wearing a really sweet, really long rainbow scarf through most of the movie.  It's amazing.  Observe:

 

I searched through Ravelry and did some Google-fu, but came up with nothing in the way of a pattern for it.  Looks easy enough, probably stockinette knit in the round.  The problem will be finding the right weight yarn in the right colors.  I'm thinking of using Knit Picks Shine Sport cotton yarn, since it's sport weight and the colors seem right, but blerggggggahhhh.... it's cotton and that's so not my favorite thing. 

Naturally Caron will probably have the right colors, but having used it before I'm thinking it'll be way too shiny to be a proper Adventures in babysitting scarf.  There's always Vanna's Choice, which really should be called Last Choice because it makes my fingers cry.  My favorite yarn ever ever EVER Malabrigo definitely has all the colors, but it may be more than I'm willing to spend and they are kettle dyed, so not true solids like I need.

I actually have some of everything mentioned, so a small sample is going on my needles so I can get to work writing up the stitch numbers for the pattern.  I can worry about the colors later.   Maybe I'll make it to WonderCon as Chris Parker this year.  Where does one find a nice 80's style beige trench coat like that anyway?

Halter Part 2

Just in time to wear for an unplanned trip to Las Vegas during an especially sunny couple of days, I finished the halter top I was working on.  I truly am in love with it.  So in love with it that I'll probably make it in another color with just a couple of very slight modifications from this one.

It was mindless tv knitting (meaning I could knit and watch tv and not really pay much attention and still get it right) until I got to the increases.  Then I got slightly confused on the increase here, knit in pattern, increase there simply because in my head it's all counting in rhythm and the increases (and subsequent decreases) messed with the sing-song quality of my count rhythm and slowed me down.  A lot.  That's my bad though, the pattern in no way should try to anticipate how much of an airhead I can be.

It's very comfortable, makes me look thin (yay!) and more top heavy than I actually am (double yay!) and after living with it for about a week now, the color couldn't be prettier.  The actual fabric of it is a little thicker then I'd like for a summer top, but it's only a slight complaint and isn't really that big of a deal.

Now onto the next project.

Halter Part 1

Having just moved to Bakersfield from the very mild climate of San Francisco, I am anticipating a very warm spring/summer season.  I grew up in the Inland Empire so I'm used to hot summers, and honestly I can't wait.  My new place has a huge living room window and I have a little patio with a door and a window to my bedroom, all in shade.  It'll be nice to get a breeze going through here when things get into the triple digits.

In antici... pation of this, I'm making myself a few tops.  Found the pattern for a halter and it looks so cute.  I ordered the yarn right away.  Totally disappointed that the color in the pattern, Aegean Sea, wasn't available.  I ended up getting Cape Cod Blue instead.  It's pretty, reminiscent of blue jeans.  I have a few pairs of shorts in a light tan color, beigeish, whatever color that is.  Neutral.  I figured this blue would look good with those.

Cotton yarn is not my favorite.  It feels, for lack of a better word, gross on my fingers while I'm working with it.  I'm probably spoiled by working with yarns like Malabrigo (Merino wool) and Noro Kogarashi (wool and silk).  This cotton, however, isn't so bad because there is just a touch of elastic in it.  It's very springy and doesn't feel so, blah, sluggish or whatever it is that bugs me about other cotton yarn.

While it feels ok, it is just weird to knit with, because it is springy.  There isn't much stitch definition.  It probably won't block much, if at all, because of the elastic.  However, for such a tiny little skein there seems to be a ton of yarn in it.  I bought 4 for the top, not sure I'll need all of them.

Though I usually wear a size small in everything, and knitting patterns tend to be even bigger than regular clothes on me resulting in me needing an extra-small, I'm not quite getting gauge on this one.  I started to knit the size small while watching the Oscars last night.  Tried it on after getting about 4 inches done and it was tight as a mo'fo.  Skin tight!  not wanting to look like a street walker, I ripped it all out and cast on for the size medium.  Haven't tried it on yet, but I'm about 3 inches in and it already looks a lot bigger around.  I'm going to knit to the end of this skein and try it then.  I'm using size 4 needles.  My hands are mad at me for this, and my next project you better believe is going to be with bulky yarn on size 11's just to give my poor hands a break.  It's exhausting holding those tiny things.

Seems nuts that I'm worried about a halter top when it is 55° out, but I was here last summer so I know how hot it gets.  Super excited.  I love the heat! 

Le Fil

Came across this video by French singer Camille.  The idea of a full sleeved, floor length knitted dress in that color blue kind of makes my teeth hurt, but the video is awesome with the idea of Le Fil (the thread) encompassing her.  The visuals of the yarn knitting itself are cool too, though it's obviously just being pulled out and run in reverse.  I really like the static in her hair too.  Ooh la la.

Finished the swirled tank top that I was working on and can't wait for it to be warm enough for me to wear out.  I did wear it, but had a sweatshirt on over all day and no one saw it, so that doesn't count.  I do think I made the straps just a touch too short, but in all honesty I'm probably the only person who will ever notice.  Lesson learned from this top - learn to sew better!  All I had to do was attach the straps in the back, 6 stitches across each, and man it was just straight up difficult. 

I have more of this yarn in a heather green, but it's 100% wool, not a cotton/wool mix.  I can't imagine it'd make a good tank top, being wool and all, so maybe I'll just make a hat out of it.  I do love me a brand new knitted hat.

Here is a link to the pattern if you'd like to make one yourself.  It took me about a week knitting for just an hour or so each day.  More dedicated and it's a two-day project, no problem.

Do You Know The Way To San Jose

Really, really wish I had planned ahead and was able to attend Stitches West (a big ole nerdy convention for people who like to knit/crochet/play with yarn) in San Jose this weekend.  Because LOOK AT THIS FLOORPLAN!  All my favorites are there, including Malabrigo and Cascade, Imagiknit yarn studio from San Francisco, Maryjane's Attic from San Francisco and Jimmy Beans Wool out of Reno.  If Noro and Manos del Uruguay had a booth believe me when I say I'd crash that party so hard they'd change my name to Hey Kool-Aid!

In lieu of attending Stitches West (next year my pretties, next year) I'm working on a few tops to wear.  I really like how one in particular is coming out, and as soon as it's dry from blocking I'll post all about it.   

I wasn't too sure about the yarn, as it's 75% cotton and 25% wool and I HATE knitting with cotton, but in the end the drape and the feel of the top are worth it.  Well, so far... as I mentioned it's still blocking.  I used Cestari yarn in the colorway Spring Meadow.  It's a chameleon.  Up close there are specks of mint green and lavender but from as little as 3 feet away it looks totally grey.  When wet the whole thing is almost technicolor bright, but dry it really lightens up and flattens out.  It's so much prettier up close.

I cannot for the life of me figure out the wet smell of this... truly reminds me of going to my great-grandma's house as a kid.  She crocheted a lot, her sofas had plastic covers on them, she had a bowl of fake grapes on her totally unused dining room table.  And something in her house smelled exactly like this yarn when it's wet.  It's overwhelming and not necessarily a good smell,  it's just a grandma-house smell and I'm not sure what makes it happen.  Lanolin maybe?

I've got 4 more skeins of this to use up - one more in the Spring Meadow and 3 in heather green.  A vest may be in order.  It's probably a good thing I couldn't make it to San Jose this weekend.  I'd have come home with more yarn than I knew what to do with.

Fog Delay Hat

Today was such a beautiful day!  Had the really big living room window open for the first time in months and I probably won't need the heater on tonight.  It was just so pretty and so nice, I hope it stays this way. 

  

Just last week, the mornings were crazy foggy.  And I do mean crazy foggy!  I went for a Mcgriddle (aka Breakfast of the Gods™) (aka I'd Gladly Pay Double If McDonalds Would Sell Them All Day And Not Just Until 10:30) one morning and drove at idle speed, which is , what, 3 miles per hour I think, because I could barely see 5 feet from the hood of my car.

I thought I knew fog having lived in San Francisco, but this central valley fog ain't no joke!  And omg is it cold.  It's entirely possible I'm just a big baby, but this fog just sets in and never lets you warm up, especially since here, unlike San Francisco, the fog doesn't recede but stays around just as thick and cold all day long.  So I thought "screw this" and made myself a new hat.

This was my first attempt at writing my own pattern and not following one from somewhere else, so it was a little slow going.  I knew I wanted to use the Lion Brand Amazing yarn that I bought and I knew I wanted cables.  I bought the yarn in the colorway Arcadia, which is a brownish green, maroon, orange wool and acrylic blend.   Warm, washable, pretty.  I like it a lot.

The schools around here have what's called a Fog Delay.  When it's thick foggy like it was last week, the schools start at 11AM instead of 8.  I think it's strange and kind of pointless since the fog doesn't lift, but hey what do I know.  In any case, this is the Fog Delay Hat that I made. 

The pattern:

gauge = 18 sts/4 inches in stockinette

 CO 96 sts

working with a set of 5 dpns, divide the sts so you have 24 each on four needles

join in the round

rows 1-6: K1, P1 around (1x1 ribbing)
rows 7-8: K
row 9: *C2B, C2F* around
rows 10-13: K
row 14: *C2F, C2B* around
rows 15-18 K
row 19: *C2B, C2F* around
rows 20-23: K
row 24: *C2F, C2B* around
rows 25-28: K
row 29: *C2B, C2F* around
rows 30-33: K
row 34: *C2F, C2B* around
row 35: K

begin crown decreases

row 1: *K2tog, knit to 2 before end of needle, SSK* repeat for all 4 needles
row 2: K all

repeat both rows until there are a total of 8 sts remaining

break yarn, draw closed, weave in ends, block as needed

It's slightly slouchy on me while still being snug, and I wear my hats pulled down pretty significantly over my forehead.  Wearing it further back will increase the slouch.  I'm happy with it.

Men's Handwarmers

I was asked before Christmas sometime to knit a pair of black handwarmers to match a black and red scarf I made, so of course I'm just getting around to it now that it's February.  It's still pretty cold here at night so at least they'll get some use before the triple digit temperature days roll in (which I'm totally looking forward to, but that's another story).

Went exploring and found a craft store that wasn't Michaels.  I think there's another one just down the street but for now this one will do.  The original scarf was made from my absolute favorite yarn of all time, Malabrigo, but the store I went to didn't carry it and I didn't feel like ordering online out of nothing other than pure laziness, so I found the closest I could where I was.

Ended up with Lion Cashmere Blend.  It's not as soft as Malabrigo and doesn't smell as yummy, but it's close I think.  72% merino wool, 14%cashmere, 14% nylon.  It knits up easy.  I wouldn't mind a hat for myself out of this stuff, only in something way more obnoxious like yellow and orange stripes or some sort of earth toned rainbow, if that's possible.  Or maybe just one stripe of every color I can find, like those rugs from the 70's.  Oh 70's, why were you so awesome? 

I've got a pair of fingerless mitts that I wear whenever I get cold, but they are pretty girly, and since these are for a rather manly dude I wanted a different pattern.  This one was simple and easy and went well with the yarn I chose.  They are way too big for me, but since a) I have tiny hands and b) they aren't for me, it's all good.  Finished the one mitt this afternoon while watching Gladiator.  Are you not entertained?!  Went for fast food and lost momentum, but almost done with the second one now.

Here's the Rav link for the mitts so you can make some too!  Easy pattern and quick to knit.

Why I Don't Knit For Babies

I really love yarn, and I really love to knit.  I especially love to knit and give things to people who I know will at least semi-appreciate them.  Mostly scarves, hats and fingerless gloves with the occasional knitted gnome or bookmark thrown in for good measure.  If I know you, chances are you have something I've knit already or I've got something on the needles for you right now.

With the exception of babies.

Babies throw up on things.  That rotten milk, chunky white baby barf.  It's gross.  They also pull their socks off, like, a lot.  They don't like to wear hats, and if they will leave one on their head for longer than 30 seconds, their heads aren't the same size for very long.  They have sensitive skin, picky and opinionated parents, possible allergies that no one has figured out yet and if they are still young enough to enjoy being swaddled, those little cotton/flannel blankets you can get at Target in a 4-pack do a much better job than anything I can knit ever will. 

Plus, I don't really know a whole lot of babies.

Plus, I don't really like holding other people's babies, and if I start knitting for them this seems like an inevitability.

Plus, and this is the MAIN reason here,honestly I just think handknit stuff on kids looks silly.

I'm sure there are counter arguments to every one of my points, but honestly, I don't really care enough.  I just don't knit for babies, simple as that, for the reasons stated.  If it's your thing then that's awesome and I'm happy for you, but my thing is more "stuff I like myself and hope my peers will like as well".   It works for me.