bonnie tahki

just came across this tahki stacy charles pattern that is verrrrry close to the gorgeous bonnie sweater i have been in love with since i first spotted it over at eunny's and stitch in my side. this would be a great fall sweater knit up in a yummy, soft merino or this, a beautiful new yarn that looks and feels like cashmere, but at a fraction of the cost. i'm picturing it in a rich fall color paired with a slim pencil skirt, tights and these grey suede booties just to shake things up.

(now, where i am going in this get-up, i have no idea. since i spend most of my days hunched over a keyboard in bermudas, t-shirt, and a tendonitis brace. just to shake things up, you see.)

yawn.

so, they aufed mister ro--er, robert.

laura is expecting her seventh child. or as she likes to think of it, "throwing another one on the pile." i love this girl. apparently her proclivity toward exposing vast areas of unattractive flesh is an inherited trait. did you note the UADD on her freakin mother?! no fear of sleeveless attire there. thank god she chose not to go topless as her daughter is so fond of doing.

michael kors's mother sounds an awful lot like isaac mizrahi's mother who sounds an awful lot like harvey fierstein. just saying.

fleurchon levels last night were thankfully set below the normal terror alert of orange.

MK on michael's horrid reversible dress: "i love that he thinks about it." word to you budding designers out there: don't forget to think, 'kay?

overall, i loved the part where they brought the moms out and all the designers promptly burst into tears. was it joy or relief? (as in: thank god, it's my mom. can you imagine if we actually had to touch real fat people off the street?) and it was good to see that while he doesn't have a brain, vincent does indeed have a heart. other than that, this challenge sucked. and not just the part where they exploited these peoples' mothers. (i am no fan of angela, and i think her mother is just as whiny as she is. still, that is no reason for scary, chinless, junkie jeff to go all assholey on her.) the clothes were just bo-ring. there wasn't one good outfit. due, i'm sure to the designers' overall squeamishness and disdain for the plus-size figure. this was so obvious, it was uncomfortable to watch. i mean, these are people who think this woman is "zaftig."

the only watchable part of the whole hour was this brilliant nike spot.

hoping for better next week. as for this week, let's just throw it on the pile with the rest of them, shall we?

rowan anna: the cure for SSS

DESPITE the bunchy ankles. DESPITE the awkward bit of directions in the pattern. DESPITE the overly long length. i heart anna. and i will not. repeat NOT. suffer from the dreaded second sock syndrome. i went closet diving and found these cute 1940s shoes and this vintage DKNY wrap skirt that will be perfect when. i repeat WHEN. i finish anna numero duo.

a note to those thinking about making anna: don't make the same mistake i did and forget how s t r e t c h y lace is! (hello, can you say "butterfly?" you'd think i'd have learned my lesson.) i neglected to check gauge and ended up with a very loosey goosey stocking. blocking and the velvet ribbon ties will help some...but beware of your gauge! i plan to go down a needle size or two for my next pair.

a few more details: yarn is rowan 4-ply soft in color "sooty." (love sooty.) i used US3 dpns, but will def downsize to US2 or US1 for my next pair. there is no ankle shaping at all in these stockings. so you might consider adding some or downsizing needles once you get past the top bit. the patt calls for FOUR balls. i am a pretty relaxed knitter and even though i'm still working on my second sock, ain't no way i'm gonna use all four. three balls should be plenty.

and finally: there is a pattern notation about cutting the yarn once you're done with the instep. this is completely unnecessary IMHO.

postcards from the island

Anna
Originally uploaded by hitbyabus.

anna is quite happy on her own little island off the coast of spruce head, maine. it took a little futzing around to get the hang of the pattern, but now we're sailing through the 4-round pattern rep. came ashore for a few brief errands. we're headed back shortly. wish you were here! xo

i'm in love

anna from the new fall rowan knitting are TDF. i am not really much of a sock girl, but these are sooo cute. there's another shot in the book of the designer wearing them kind of scrunched down over textured tights and they look almost like boots. very cool. what's your fave from the new rowan?

oh, angela

i have not a word to say about last night's episode. well, maybe just one:

fleurchon.

(it's not a rosette, people. it's a mother-effin' fleurchon.)

out of circulation

i thought it was bad when the doc told me i have tendonitis and can't do anything to strain my arm for one week--including all of my faves: knitting, riding a bike and typing (just a few more words and i'll be done, doc). i thought those would be hard to curtail--particularly the last one as i make my living writing. as it turns out, it's much easier than i thought to follow doctor's orders.

my laptop was stolen on saturday night. while we were home. having a party. we were all outside on our front porch. some guy walked right in our back door and helped himself to my laptop. apparently, that's all he wanted, cuz he walked right by my purse and cellphone (thank god). my friend and i actually saw him as he calmly exited via my back door.

there was a neighborhood festival going on and lots of house parties on my street. so i wasn't sure if maybe the guy was from a party next door. my friend said something to him and the guy suddenly ran like hell through our neighbor's backyard and into a waiting SUV (damn SUVs) and sped off into the night. the worst part is, i pretty much lost everything. i had backed up some of my digital pics, but pretty much everything else is gone. i've already talked to my IT guy about getting a backup hard drive...wish i had thought of that sooner.

A NOTE TO THOSE WANTING A FAKE-A-GAMO PATTERN: as soon as i'm up and running on a new laptop, i'll be in touch.

knitter's elbow?

the row upon row upon row upon row of stockinette stitch, multilayerd tube shawl from alterknits probably wasn't a good idea for a gal on the brink of a nasty case of tendonitis (or at least that's what i think it is.) i got through about 30 stitches last night before i started to feel like i had a golf ball wedged inside my forearm. the thought of not being able to knit is, well, unthinkable. prior to last night, i hadn't knit for three or four days, figuring a little rest would help. but, as i discovered last night, it wasn't enough. actually, come to think of it, blogging probably isn't a great idea either. though since i write for a living, it's not like i can stop keyboarding altogether. can a pad and pencil be far behind?

check this out

i. freakin'. love. how cute to hold all your knitting schtuff. made by the hip and adorable peeps at madebyrachel. coming soon to a vogue knitting near you!