beautiful things

Oooh, pretty, shiny!

So, my "downstream" KTE partner, June was kind enough to send me a beautiful pattern book from Filatura Di Crosa. Thanks June! Several patterns caught my eye right away... I sense some more yarn purchases soon!

In other news, I am very spoilt. My husband got me an Apple gift certificate for my birthday (which was in March) so that I could get an iPhone. At the time, he implored me to wait for the second version for G3 compatability, but as the launch date drew near, even he accepted that maybe I would not be waiting.

So yeah. I stopped by a local AT&T store tonight to check it out. The line wasn't that bad, surprisingly, but there were quite a few people waiting to try out the one demo, so I didn't get to play with it that much. I did get to play with it though! I didn't buy one, as I couldn't use my gift certificate there, even though my ever understanding husband said I could, and we'd use the gift certificate for something else. But I showed maturity and restraint and decided to wait until I can get to an Apple store next week, or, if they've run out, I'll order it online. I do want to wait and see if there are any major glitches from the rollout.

But, needless to say, I'm pretty excited about ditching my ancient Palm and my current cell phone with horrible software interface. I guess I'll be ditching my Nano also which is the only thing that is a shame. But maybe I'll finally have a cooler device than my 13 and 8 year old nephews, both of whom have VIDEO ipods.

One thing I've been trying to figure out is how to sync with my calendar and contacts on my PC at work, as well as my iTunes and photos on my mac at home. I'm experimenting with Plaxo, a free, web-based syncing software. The only thing about that is that I think I'll only be able to sync from home.

So, those are today's pretty shiny things!

Gisha ruffle scarf

The highly highly observant of you will have noticed from the category list that the project formerly known as the "Gisha skinny scarf" became an FO earlier this week. It is still a skinny scarf but I have renamed it to the more accurate ruffle scarf.

Gisha ruffle scarf

Date:
May 12th - May 14th, 2007
Yarn:
Just under 2 skeins of Noro Gisha color 103 from my KTE partner Deb
Needles:
32" US #13 Addi Turbos

Pattern:
Customized version of a pattern I got from Gotta Knit - cast on 75 stitches, knit 2 rows, knit by increasing on every stitch for 1 row (150 stitches), knit 1 row, increase 1 row (300 stitches) , knit 1 row, increase 1 row (600 stitches), knit 2 rows, bind off. At least I'm pretty sure that's what I did. The pattern calls for increasing every other row, but you can add rows to make the scarf a bit wider.

The story:
This was a super-fast, super-fun knit. I cast on at a family barbecue and everyone was amazed at how quickly it went - the advantage of large needles! It probably took me about 5 or 6 hours total, and I wore it the day I finished it - definitely an instant gratification knit, and very satisfying. I love the end result (I'm really into brown these days) and I'm not sure how I will bring myself to knit a "normal" scarf again...!

Because it knit up so fast, I didn't really feel inclined to stop to take in progress shots, but what was kind of exciting is that until I bound off, I really couldn't tell how it was going to come out as it couldn't "ruffle" properly on the needles. I also wasn't sure how to pace myself in terms of extra rows but not running out of yarn. In the end, I had enough for the extra row at the end and I have a tiny bit of yarn left.

The photos at the end were taken by my sister in Central Park on Monday.

Thanks Deb for a fabulous yarn and for thinking of what I might knit with it!

Finished shots:

Full set here.

KTE success!!!

Today was a very exciting day. First of all, the Knitters Treat Exchange package I sent reached its destination! I must say, it's pretty cool to see something you put together appear on someone else's blog... someone you've never met before. And I have to say, I really enjoyed putting the package together. It was a good excuse to shop for cute stuff and I have to confess, I ended up buying the same yarn for myself, as well as the same magazine (I tend to cook desserts but the entrees look really good) and some artwork from the artist who made the ceramic magnets (Mandy Gerth). Oh yeah, I bought some magnets for myself too...!

I also received my KTE package! Actually, it arrived yesterday but I picked it up from the post office today. Look!

Deb, my treater, put together a beautiful package that smelled absolutely divine because of the lemon soap she included. Each item was individual wrapped in tissue and tied with a bow. I also got a little tin of Bergamot and Vanilla body butter (Deb pointed out the tin can be used later for stitch markers or needles), a slab of Lindt "orange intense" chocolate (dark chocolate - my favorite - with pices of orange and almond slivers), a small notebook, "Knit It!" magazine, and Noro Gisha yarn in color 103.

I hadn't seen the magazine before but in flipping through I saw several items I want to knit (I have a feeling I'll be knitting a few more tank tops this summer). And Deb was so thoughtful as to pick out a yarn that will match my a-line tank and suggested a "cute skinny scarf" to go with it so that I can wear it into the fall. How delightful is that?

Here is the yarn up close:

How beautiful is that?

To top it all off, the card has a baby sweater pattern from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits in Blue Sky Alpaca... my latest favorite yarn! And there really is nothing like receiving a handwritten note.

So thank you Deb, and thanks to the exchange organizers from Tea and Cakes and Tangelled Angel. For my first swap, I thought it was really well organized and went very smoothly as well as being extremely enjoyable!

Knitters Treat Exchange

Other knitting bloggers have started to visit and comment! Hi other knitting bloggers! Thanks for visiting and leaving comments - I would love to hear from anyone who is reading.

I'm still getting up to speed on the mechanics of trackbacks and comments and feeds and all the new-fangled blog stuff so bear with me.

Here's another first - I have signed up for the Knitters Treat Exchange, squeeking in just under the sign-up deadline. Here is my response to the questionnaire:

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?

I haven't really been knitting long enough to have a favorite type, but I'm loving the Manos Cotton Stria and my second favorite has been Noro Silk Garden. I love beautiful colors and textures and am looking forward to trying more and more new yarns.

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?

Um, 100% acrylic. I guess I am already developing a taste for fine yarns.

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?

Touch stuff. As one of the people at knitting group said yesterday, I like to "pet the yarn".

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?

I love to bake desserts, and enjoy photography, which these days means taking digital photographs, posting to flickr, creating photo albums, cards and moo cards (love the moo cards!) I love making stuff in general - I made our wedding invitations, programs, placecards, favors etc. I'm also the designated arts and crafts person - coming up is Easter Egg decorating with our nephews and nieces and I am bringing the supplies!

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?

Architectural Record (I am an architect). Yup, that's it right now. (Well, there's also the Architect's Newspaper but it's not really a magazine). I pared down on magazines when I found I wasn't really getting to read them yet I couldn't bring myself to throw them out and I have yet to get into knitting magazines...

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting / Crochet / Other Craft / Food / Home / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip / Garden

Knitting / Fashion / Food / Garden / Home / Celebrity Gossip / Crochet / Other Craft

(that's in terms of what I'd enjoy someone else picking out for me)

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?

Again, I'm such a new knitter it's hard to say, and I've enjoyed everything I've knit so far. The quick things like hats and handwarmers have been fun, and I can see the allure of baby items (cute and quick!)

8. Are you allergic to anything?

Not that I know of.

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of)

I'm not big into perfume but I chose Clean Provence for my wedding and have been wearing it since. I don't like to wear heavy scents - I feel like I am being followed around! I read a wedding tip that if you pick a new scent for your wedding day, using it will forever remind you of that day. It turns out that the scent is so subtle it took a few days to take hold in my consciousness, so instead it reminds me of the first few days of our honeymoon (specifically, the bathroom at this place). I also love citrus scents.

10. What's your favourite way to relax?

Well lately, by knitting of course! Although I'm so manic, I'm not sure how relaxed I could really say I am! It reminds me of how my mother persuaded my father to take up golf so he would be less stressed, so now he just gets stressed about golf! I also enjoy the usual stuff... going out with friends, dinner, movies, books, park, beach, vacation, biking etc. Spa. I love going to the spa. I also took boxing during a very stressful period of my life and that was great. I would still do it but it's kind of expensive (I had a personal trainer).

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?

That's hard because they all sound great. I think perhaps the Victorian style sweetshop.

12. What do you come out with?

I'm hoping they have butterscotch or something to do with dark chocolate and/or caramel. I am a sucker for anything to do with caramel.

13. Where do you go next?

Do you think the dainty tearoom has sticky toffee pudding or a cream tea? Or cupcakes?

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?

I would love to see anything that you love!

Originally written March 30th, 2007.