Eye Candy : A Swatch : A Cheer-Up Link

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Before the weather took a sudden turn, and became really quite nasty here (see the ice photo of the previous post), spring had sprung.

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This meant that on my way to the library each day, I would pass by this amazing "burning bush."



The Southwest is such an interesting region: so hot and dry in many ways, and therefore, without color. But then there are moments--intense sudden bursts of color and life--such as this bush. I'm quite fascinated by this region, really.

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Now, to switch gears, let me just say that NO ONE tried to guess what I was swatching for in this photo. So let me point you in this direction.

What do you think? I'm really uncertain about knitting one of these--thinking about all of the misshapen "bum" fabric that might occur. But then I saw Julia's and have been thinking of making one ever since.

The yarn that I made the swatch out of is Classic Elite Provence. I did get gauge (but I have yet to wash and block it....) but I'm worried that it isn't drapey enough--that it'll be too stiff. And I really do have nightmares that a knitted skirt will stretch and warp and hang like a potato sack off of my bootie. But then again, there's Julia's, and it's just so dang beautiful...

(ETA: I mean Julia's *skirt*, not her "bootie" [though I'm sure Moxie would attest to her having a beautiful bootie!]. But upon reviewing my post of today, I thought I better edit this part so it doesn't seem like I'm lusting after Julia--I'm lusting after her knit skirt!! Ahem. Hope that clears everything up!]

Any feeback? Andy sage words of wisdom or advice?

While you're thinking of those wise words, you might want to go here and watch this video. It'll put a smile on your face, I'm sure, and leave you singing the song all day. As DJ Kodachrome, I send this one out to MellowTrouble who's feeling a bit glum today, it seems.

Amazing: The Softie Awards

This beautiful bird was made by Abby Jane at AsSheNaps. The photo of the beautiful softie was taken from AbbyJane's blog: whileshenaps.typepad.com

I came across "The Softie Awards" through FlintKnits this morning. You must go see it if you, like me, didn't know about it. There are some really amazing softies over there, and I'm always blown away by the talent of people.

My favourite, besides Abby Jane's beautiful bird above, is this one by RubyCrownedKinglette . I really *luv* him...

ETA: Ooooo, so sorry to edit my post but I overlooked the PaperbackWriter. I luv him too. That category will be difficult to decide for voting: Old Man or PaperBack Writer???? Hmmmm.....

No, I Haven't Flown The Coop....Yet....

Yes, I'm still around--no taking off here for a fun Spring Break trip (oooooooo, how I envy Ashley!!) What I am doing is sitting in a library carrel (or I am *supposed* to be sitting in the library carrel), trying to get writing done. With Spring Break, the library is ghastly quiet (but I like it that way...hey, it's a library, right!?). Really, it's just me and this bird, who keeps landing just outside my library carrel window.




And, a la Megan's literary spectrum, here's a shot of some books in my carrel. Typical grad student fare. I'm not actually reading these (I'd be in trouble if at the late dissertation stages, I'm still trying to make my way through the cheat books!)*, but I do like lining some of these up with their colors and their "weighty* names. The Lowell is in there just to give me some poetry breaks from time to time, when the bird isn't around for me to take a break with.

Promising this: that modelled shots of Kiri are on their way. And Forecast? Well, I'm on to the first sleeve, so I'll show you some shots of that too.

And what am I lusting after now? Well, after perusing the B&N bookstore's knitting section (oh right, I'm supposed to be in the library carrel!!), I am wanting to make the crew-neck sweater from Glampyre's Fitted Knits, a jacket/sweater/cardigan from Erika Knight's Classic Knits, many, many things out of Lace Style (see Julia for a great review of this book), these socks, and these socks, and oh so many other things....

And what am I addicted to smelling right now? This....Hmmmm...

*Of course I (we!?) still use these kind of cheat books in the later stages of writing the dissertation-- :)

Post Sans Photos (of My Own Taking...)

Well, I have so many things to show you: a newly knitted beret (inspired by Julia's and Anna's); a finished EZ baby sweater; a rice-bag footwarmer (a la Dogged Knits); amazing shots of snow in a city that never gets snow; funky, fun, charming Japanese china (6 cups and 6 snack trays) that I got for $5.99, and a beautiful Banana Republic tweed coat, $9.99, procured at thrift stores this past week!

I cannot, however, for the life of me, find the cord that plugs my camera into my computer so that la transfer can happen. So, instead, I offer today a photoless post full of links of things that I love or find amusing or find thoughtful in order to entertain y'all whilst I search for that darn camera cord--

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As I said, I love Ashley's foot-warmer and she has graciously offered a tutorial for it so that we all can have warm feet tonight. I also want to make this "stop-the-draft" window-sleeve, as Little Birds has done so marvelously.

I love Olga's thrifty, homemade laptop protector sleeve that she made out of a felted turtleneck.

I also want to make some of Yarnmonster's drawstring bags to beautify my bag lunches and to carry my knitting projects around in.

I love this post, from La Vie En Rose, about starting to explore what sexy means and how one is or isn't, how one gets it or doesn't.

I love that I have found Dooce and am feeling sheepish that I didn't know about Dooce before now.

I was happy to see this exhibition mentioned in The New Yorker.

I love the breakthrough that Crazy Aunt Purl made with her relationship with food and wished that my mother could have made this breakthrough years ago. Or that she could make it now.

I love this idea for recycling paper into an address box by UglyKitty.

I love the new bedroom Twelve22 has created for herself: so pretty--!

I want, someday, to own my own UrbanChicks and, like Yarnstorm, have fresh eggs every day and some fine ladies to keep me company--

And I love the fact that 4 skeins of Cascade 220 are on their way (which I scored for $20 off of Ebay) so that I can hop onto the Forecast KAL bandwagon!

(Oh yeah, and how I wish this would become a reality, and would be, in fact, a true commitment made by our leaders, instead of being just another political ploy/desperate maneuver from an oh-so desperate man...)

** (The Anthropology of Turquoise, by Ellen Melloy, and Graeme Gibson's The Bedside Book of Birds are just two of the many books piled high beside my bed right now. The book I'm most into right now [halfway through] is this one.)