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2003-04-14, 10:47 a.m.
Egads! The felted bag I wanted to make requires four skeins of this yarn--at $14.40 per. That's a $60 bag! That I had to make myself! This is an expensive hobby. I'm going to see if I can find a cheaper wool at Wal-Mart.
Hey! I finished my second beanie last night (black with grey stripe). My first beanie (the pinkish one) was just an experiment--my first time knitting in the round and with double-pointed needles. You can see progress in the first picture (it is inside-out)...although I wouldn't really ever wear a hat that shade of pink. It was made with one of the many skeins of cheap acrylic my mom has been hoarding since the 70s which I now use to practice on. And I hadn't had a chance to buy stitch markers yet, so I just used paperclips, which I don't recommend since they tend to get in the way and snag the yarn.
BTW, I used the Kitty62 hat as a reference and made things up as I went along. For the black hat, I did a 2x2 rib for the first two inches instead seed stitch. I used a different decrease method than on the pink hat and rotated the DPNS every once in a while so I didn't have large holes in the top of the hat and big gaps between stitches. I also found out that my head is slightly larger than J's. What next? Maybe a felted bag from my Hip to Knit book. I'll have to order some wool online, though. And I'm not sure our washing machine actually outputs hot water...I'll need to find a washing machine that has hot water in order to felt the bag...
Oh yes, and I really like this song--Jay-Z featuring Panjabi MC (right-click/save target as). And anyone who enjoyed Better Luck Tomorrow should check out Justin Lin's first movie (UCLA film school project with Quentin Lee) Shopping for Fangs. Its out on DVD--you can see John Cho before he was ever the MILF guy and also the Fountain Valley 99 Ranch mall. Ranch 99? I can never remember which way to say it.
This has been quite a strange week. Oh well, K-1 ppv Friday night. Maybe some absinthe, too. I crave Indian food.
I was going to post pics of the half-finished beanie I'm knitting for J (black w/grey stripe) but I forgot to pack the cable, so I can't upload any pics. A work emergency came up and so I worked this weekend. Oh well, at least they put me up in a nice hotel where someone brings me food and cleans my toilet daily. Its a good vacation from the routine once in a while. I've said this before, but it is very exhausting for me to be nice to people for long periods of time. I'd rather not talk. Its even harder when you really don't know what you're talking about and the only real information you can provide is directions to the bathroom (down the hall to your right...). Downloading MC Panjabi makes me happy. Something about Bollywood productions makes me happy happy happy. Oh yes, final verdict on the Madonna album is thumbs down. She needs to drop that stupid guitar and do what she does well--sing songs and dance. She shouldn't write lyrics either. Terrible! Bring back the pop!!!
I got the new Madonna album last night at Target for $9.99. I need more time to absorb it before I decide what I think of it. I've had some disturbing dreams in the last couple days. The first one was a vividly scary one in which my room was lined with cages full of pigeons and really really fat turkeys--some dead, some alive. Feathers and birdshit were everywhere. The second one, I found out my grandma died on April 30. The third included me self-aborting alien impregnation (four month gestation period). Its like I'm on anti-malarials all over again. I need to spend some more time in the darkroom. I'd also like to sign up for an intermediate photography class.
Last night, I finished knitting my first hat which was also my first attempt at knitting in the round with circulars as well as knitting on double pointed needles. OK, I didn't finish the ears and earflaps...I just finished the beanie portion. But I used crappy pink acrylic from the 70s that I found lying around my mom's house, so it was really just an experiment to see if I could do it. A learning experience so I didn't waste nice yarn. So yeah, it worked! I'll post pictures later. Perhaps I'll pick up some nice yarn this weekend. Too bad its getting too warm to wear beanies, but oh well. We'll all have a nice stash for next year. I drank too much coffee this morning. I stayed up late last night to finish the hat. Me and my favorite bottle of cheap wine (Falesco $8.99 @ Cost Plus). My left arm went numb in the middle of Will & Grace. Ugh. Too much coffee. I bought some gel pens @ Muji while in Paris (read about the store in Lucky, I think)...I LOVE these pens! I want to order more from the Web site, but darnit--those shipping prices are quite prohibitive. If anyone is heading to Japan, Paris, or London anytime soon--pick up some more for me! In the meantime, I will keep a close eye on the three pens I own. Today is Good Friday. It used to be my least favorite day of the year. But now that I live on my own, I can easily avoid the three long boring hours of church that is Good Friday. I hated Easter as a kid--the most church with the least amount of returns, about 6.5 hours of church (during my Spring break) within a four-day span in exchange for some chocolate I had to hunt down. At least Christmas was just an hour of church and I got some presents. Oh, to be raised Catholic...
When asking about my travels, people are often very surprised that I didn't go with J. Really, no matter how much you love someone, I find it very sad when people can't do things on their own. My roommate is a financial planner for Woodbury and last night, we sat down and went over all my finances. Normally, I can only listen to this type of blah-blah for about ten minutes before I start zoning out. But he presented it in such a manner that made me understand, pay attention, and feel much more comfortable with my financial state, both present and future. No more worrying about my money languishing in a savings account...In addition to what I've already done via work, I invested in some more mutual funds. No dog food when I retire--yay! And by not having kids, I can stop working for money and work for "fun" (aka get a job that pays less or nothing) earlier than expected. I hate being clueless, but until now, financial knowledge has eluded me. I don't know everything, but I certainly know more now. It definitely eases fiscal anxieties that I'm doing something wrong. This weekend, I didn't get a chance to see Better Luck Tomorrow. It was crazy sold out on Saturday. Instead, I went to the gym (late) and almost died. Ginger frenzy at Whole Foods: Jamaican ginger ale, gingersnaps, fresh ginger apple juice, and ginger chapstick to go with the ginger Altoids already in my car. I hung out with the dog I'm dog-sitting. I tried the Absinthe I brought home from Barcelona. I went to the Thai New Year celebration at a Thai temple. I visited my aunt who just started her first round of chemo. I hung out with my parents for a bit. Visited my grandma, who is expected to pass peacefully very soon (almost five years after her stroke). She did not deserve the suffering that the last five years has been for her. Stumbled upon the Japantown Cherry Blossom festival and some old friends. Did some knitting. Put together a birthday package for friends in NYC...cleaned my living space thoroughly. To do: New brakes for car, wax car, clean out trunk, vaccuum car. Pick up double-pointed needles for my first attempt at knitting in the round--I've mastered the scarf...on to hats! Currently reading Catch a Fire, the biography of Bob Marley. Haven't been doing well with the reading lately--hope to catch up. I have about four books I've started sitting in my cluttered trunk. Now that its sunny again, I also need to finish that roll of film sitting in my SLR. My cousins built a dark room in Noe Valley which I have yet to take advantage of. |
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