Frogtoberfest

Ah, my fellow knitters - I have been bad. I technically did join Socktoberfest, but... Well, it's been more of a sweateroberfest here this month, and then there was crochetoberfest, and then - there was today.


This here, my friends, is a tragedy called "Frogtoberfest". And if you recognize the yarn involved - you might appreciate the magnitude and the importance of this event. Yep, I frogged both the neverending jaywalkers and pomatamos. Well... Let's just say there was a reason why both were UFOs for so long. Jaywalker (in case you're new to the saga) beat me for the second time, not on quality but quantity. In short - I was running out of yarn. There go many an hour of critical studies occupational therapy. Pomatamos sleeps with the fishes because I made the stupid mistake of convincing myself that the otherwise lovely Opal Uni works on the #2 needles the pattern calls for. I might have been able to pull it off if it wasn't for the YOs. They made the socks look like a moth was knitting them, and that was unacceptable.
I'm well knowing for frogging everything I ever knit at least once, and for a good reason: one of knitting rules I adopted when I got out of the Lion Brand phase was that if I go and spend my time and money buying nice yarn and knitting it into something - I'd darn better wear it. Freaky - I know, but I really can't bring myself to create another one of those scarves I made in the beginning of my knitting career that will be sent to the Goodwill store sometime this month. Just ain't gonna happen, baby. So, in my mind, it's better to re-knit an almost finished pair of socks (and this time - toe up and short row heel, thank you very much) than hold it hostage to laziness and self delusion ("sure there is enough yarn!").
So much of a socktoberfest wasn't here, but thankfully, I now feel a little lighter. Kind of like when you finish a particularly atrocious chore. Or decide that you're just not going to do it, that is...

P.S.
There are also leftovers from the Branching Out scarf and Suki's Kitty Pi yarns that said cat managed to entangle completely with each other to create the biggest mess ever. And see how one pack of needles have only two in it? That's her too. She can open the cupboard, that's why.

What do you think?

I have a question to you knitter folk:
Since I don't seem to be doing too horribly on the sweater front, my mind is currently buzzing with ideas of wardrobe items to make. The problem - I'm so broke that it's not even remotely funny. I can afford zilch yarn unless I make careful planning, saving, looking for deals and researching a lot. And here comes, like out of a dream - comes KnitPicks.
I've known about KnitPicks for a while and even bought yarn for a swap pal once, but I never got to knitting with anything they make yet. And now they have some cool new lines like Swish and Telemark with an amazing color selection and a lovely price tag. However... At the same time I keep hearing about problems with KnitPicks' products. Some yarns are said to be leaching dye, some shrink a whole row after washing (so is it the dryer's fault or not? Anyone?), some turn less soft and nice after washing - these are just the recent ones.
Now, I am broke, but I'm also patient (well, sometimes... I'm working on it). I want my future knitted items to last and be happily worn for a number of years, so really - I have no problem waiting and searching and saving to buy fancier, brand yarn. However, is KnitPicks' yarn really equal? We all know some brand yarn is overpriced (or some good people would be out of ebay-business), but is it really (as someone put it) "you get what you pay for" with KnitPicks?
Question is - what do you think? What would you do in my situation?
Thank you!

Belated weekend report and WIP

I'm so late reporting about my weekend shenanigans, but I have a good reason. Between the car making troubles again and Suki getting her stitches infected, it's been on the move non-stop these day. But all is settled down no, thank goodness.
The image above is what I've been doing for most of this past week and weekend. All I can say is that it's crocheted and is a part of a b-day present for someone I dearly care about. If you know what that is - SHHHHHHHHHHH! When she gets it, I'll post photos (because it's no longer a WIP really...).
The weekend was fun: catching up on some badly needed Zs, watching Suki bouncing all over the place again, meeting up good friends from up north, watching "The Prestige" (pretty good, you should go watch it, if only to drool over Christian Bale), got my rear kicked by the new cycle class instructor, went to Chinatown to stock on some herbal supplaments and shoes (pink brocade, purple and red silk, and luckily I stopped there), knitted a bit and in general - had a good time.
And now it's mid-week and I'm behind on everything. Well, not on my posting. Check!

Things that make you feel better

Suki went in for a spay yesterday, and I was so depressed (feeling guilty, alone in the house, worried sick, like any good parent). She came back home doing good (though grumpy and in pain), but neither of us got much sleep. And when we woke up, we couldn't find her anywhere, and we spent fifteen minutes running around in panic, wondering where the hell could she hide in our small one bedroom apartment. She was under the bad, clearly not happy to see us.

But then we got back from the gym, and she was just sitting there, looking at us. And she played with her feather wand a bit. And things started looking better.

And then I saw this on my bloglines (from one of my favorite, Isabelle Maroger). I think I'm ok now.


(I actually am knitting and sewing these days, but it's either nothing fancy or the teal thing which I refuse to mention lest it inspires another devilish round of frogging. I don't think the yarn will survive another one).

Going to da zoo

I know it's already wednsday, but for the lack of knitting content (I am knitting, but don't ask. Please), I'll just talk about another one of my favorite subjects:

Animals. I love them. I don't understand how some people don't (and I'm not making a vegetarian statement here, just plain love animals). It took a while for me to go visit a zoo after our 1996 safari trip to Kenya, but since it's my only opportunity to see some of my favorites (armadillos, koalas and capibaras) - off to the zoo I go. This weekend it was the LA Zoo.
The LA Zoo is not half as good as the San Diego Zoo, which is amazing with a capital A, and is under construction, but it's better than nothing. Please excuse the lame photos. We don't have a fancy lens and it was grey on sunday. More photos here.

Oooh!

I've been tagged! I've been tagged by Tamar to do the "4 Things" meme. I never really did a meme (I don't count this one because I didn't really think of it as one, so there) and never been officially tagged, so I'm kind of hyped. Funny, ah?

4 jobs I've had
1. Secretary
2. Soldier
3. Webmaster/designer/programmer
4. Illustrator/designer/animator

4 movies I can watch over and over
(Inspired by Tamar, let's see if you can figure it out from the quotes, and if I can remember the good ones)
1. "They f***ing did it. They killed my f***ing car."
2. "I don't think it means what you think it means."
3. "And for what? A little bit of money."
4. "Eee!"
(Answers: 1. The Big Lebowsky, shame on you if you can't think of at least three more quotes; 2. The Princess Bride, see note about number 1; 3. Fargo, can you tell I'm a Coen fan?; 4. Lilo and Stitch, what?)

4 places I've lived
1. Haifa, Israel
2. Petach Tiqva, Israel
3. Kfar Sava, Israel
4. Los Angeles, CA, USA

4 television shows I love to watch
1. Veronica Mars
2. Myth Busters
3. Law and Order, CI
4. Eureka
(And notice that I'm saying nothing about Project Blah-way 3. Let that punishment be over!)

4 places I've been on vacation
1. France
2. Spain
3. Kenya
4. The Seychelles

4 of my favorite dishes
1. Grilled marinated peppers
2. Fries
3. Brownies
4. Trader Joe's veggy "chicken" nuggets

4 websites I visit daily
1. Bloglines
2. Mabat online
3. Cute Overload
4. Flickr

4 places I would rather be right now
1. San Francisco, CA, USA
2. The San Diego Zoo
3. Paris, France
4. Anywhere, as long as it's with my love

4 bloggers I am tagging
1. Meirav (Cheer up! It was a mighty effort! I'm still proud of you!)
2. Tanya
3. Dorothy
4. Dawn

There! You like?

A little love story

I just finished these two little hand sewn stuffies I really like. Introducing Mark Raccoon and Helen Meow in: A Simple Little Love Story (click forward on the photo stream).



I had a blast with these guys. They're the second and third stuffies I designed myself (The first, Peter, has got some stuff in the works. Hopefully he'll let me tell you all about it soon). They were fun to imagine, fun to sew and fun to take pictures of. It's like a free association exercise, posing them and letting them tell a story. First they told me their names, than they told me they were each secretly very fond of the other - and I didn't even know! That's what I like the most about making things up. The joy of discovery. Hooray!
And if everything in life would really be as easy as finding out the cat or the raccoon that you are fond of, is fond of you too, wouldn't that be just grand?

Pass me the veggy gefilte-fish, please!

In the spirit of the Jewish holiday season:
I just saw this book on the Vegetarian Times' website this morning, and I have to say I'm intrigued. Could I find here truly vegetarian recipes for my once favorite stuffed cabbage, gefilte-fish and chopped liver (well, I never really liked that one, but don't tell my gran, please)? Without getting into the controversy of animal rights activists vs. Kosher slaughter, Jewish cuisine does have a lot of vegetable dishes when you think about it. But I think I'd really like to see a veggy version of some more traditional holiday dishes. I mean, they make faux turkey, so why not gefilte-fish?
Happy holidays everyone!