Sorry to not be blogging. I'm dodging so many nasty arrows right now, I'll get back to this when I have good news or pretty things to show.

Cirilia =/

A mandala made of sand...

Two studies in edging. These are both for the edges of the alpaca/silk sweater I'm working on. I only have one ball of this new Valley Yarn's Deerfield to work with, so I've been knitting and unravelling all night. These are two favorites, both from Barbara Walker #2.

Cobweb frill:

Fan:

I think I'm leaning toward Cobweb Frill, but it might be a little too...gothic?

I've got another knitting related modeling job, Top Secret affair ;)

This has been such a hilariously unexpected year off...if the letter finally gets here and contains good news, I think I might be sad to leave it all.

I've been with Bonnie in Lowell for the past day. Her new dwelling is adorable, we gorged on soul food and girl talk. Look at these trees from her front yard:

They remind me of us!

Much love,

Cirilia

P.S.: I forgot to mention that my subject line is a reference to a NEW Ben Lee (who else?) song. Podcaster pinkBeltRAGE has posted a video clip of this beautiful tune that's been stuck in my head since last week. I also forgot to mention that I totally want to make this dress:



Maybe if I locked myself in a room with a bag of Dewberry Kidsilk Haze I could do it!

Frantic puppy=me!

Back from Burlington! The show was really nice, but I'm partial to seeing Ben and Lara at the Iron Horse, it's just so creaky and comfortable. He played lots of old songs, a Don Henley cover ("Forgiveness") and some amazing new songs, all very exciting for an old fan. "Grandpaw Would" was really the album that made me a huge fan, so hearing him play"How Can That Be?" was a thrill.

I was just starting to think that I should maybe give the Huge Groupie act a rest, for poor Eric's sake, but after the show I was totally up for going to the New York show at Irving Plaza. When I went to the blog to get tickets I noticed that new dates had been added, INCLUDING one at Smith College! So basically, I'll leave work and be in heaven shortly after. It's May 2nd, the day after all of my designs are due at work, so hopefully I'll have some success to celebrate.

This year's (quarter's, really since I see him so often) school portrait:


Not quite as good as last year's!

I spoke with Lara after the show, who was so entirely lovely (Hi Lara!). I always bungle my words when I talk to Ben but Lara puts a nervous fan right at ease. I was thrilled to hear that she is a knitter, and she was wearing a very cute beaded scarf-ette that a friend had knit her. Apparently, Ben sent her a link to my little blog! I had a dream after the show that Ben unwrapped my present to find a pillow with no stuffing, just a limp sack like object. I was really embarrassed...I think this has to do with how flustered I get when I say hello. I actually asked him what channel the Commonwealth Games were going to be on in the States (in real life, not my dream, unfortunately). Sigh.

We spent the next morning at the Magic Hat Brewery and Kaleidescope Yarns. The brewery tour included a talk that traced the tastes of Americans. "Mass production was the mark of postwar progress," they said but the pendulum is swinging the other way, and their success affirms this. Did I mention we got to taste many lovely ales? It was fun, and free. We also stopped by the Ben and Jerry's factory, but I didn't see any exhibits about the triple bypass...

I really didn't want to get any yarn at all but this skein of Canadian-made Koigu (color #800) was calling to me. It looks like an African Violet under a black light, it's too beautiful. Eric says this doesn't capture the color well, I have to agree. A cute lady jokingly called me a "yarn slut", she wasn't off base at all.

Time for a Sunday.

Cirilia

C'est Magnifique!

Saw Stereolab last night at Pearl Street. Very beautiful and reminded me of the bossa nova Drummer Dad is so into. They had projections going, mostly nature films, old newsreels, and geometric psychadelic shapes. Kim Gordon walked by Eric and I a few times, she was instantly recognizable and wearing a very cute hat. I really love that I pass so many farms on my way to work, and so many favorite musicans on my way home. The tour buses park right on the road I take to get to my (non-tour) bus.

This year's Ben Lee present is a doozy. I really love the pillow I made him, and I will be making more for myself and friends. You can read all about it on Craftster.

The back, a Kaffe Fassett print (I think) from Valley Fabrics, our sister craft supply store (there is also a bead store in Craftheaven, I mean Northampton).


Eric's sweater is cruising along. He is going to Wisconsin on Monday and said he is sad that it isn't finished because he was looking forward to showing off what I made him--!!

He thinks the cables look like ribs, I think they look like wishbones, birds taking flight, the Y chromosome, so many things. I love cables!

What else--oh! I highly recommend "Something To Pet the Cat About" by Elizabeth Belliveau, for craft inspiration and quarterlife crisis situations. I leafed through it at Food for Thought books, bought The Blue Pages instead, and upon returning home ordered this online. I can't wait for it to arrive. She is learning how to tattoo which is on my list of Possible (ad)Ventures in Life. I'm finding that my art tastes these days have been toward the illustration-y (Kurt Halsey, Seonna Hong, Elizabeth, etc.). Wonder if that means I'm regressing to childhood?


Criminy, I have to get ready for my vacation (read: overnight road trip to Burlington)!

Love,

Cirilia

P.S. I'm officially doing some designs for work, which I'm trying not to do a backflip over. Blogging will probably take a backburner to work I'm doing for the store.

P.P.S. Eric found a sweet apartment listing which has hardwood floors, lower rent, is next to The Book Mill/Lady Killigrew, allows kitties and most importantly of all, the possibility of me having a craft STUDIO. Fingers crossed!

What to do?

Eric has a bit of break from his studies starting on St. Patrick's Day. We've been wanting to shake off the hibernation habit we fell into by taking a little trip. The cold of winter is somewhat bad for homebodies with quiet hobbies...we love sitting absorbed in our little endeavors, but we both get the sense that there is a lot we're missing.

There are two road trip options. One is New York City, the other Burlington, VT. I'm pulling for Burlington because you-know-who and new blogger Lara will be playing there...

But I'm just happy at the thought of travel, and of something new. I'm much too singular in my interests these days, and that has to end.

CR

I've been a project monogamist lately, which is very good. The focus helps me avoid collecting new projects (and the yarn for them) at my usual spaz rate. This was for the store, it's a Plymouth Pattern (S451) for their Bella Color yarn. Cute and easy to knit.

Now that I've finished that I can get started on Eric' birthday sweater, the very cool Cycling Aran from Hello Yarn. Not only does he cycle, but he has extra long arms, which the pattern is written to accomodate, bonus. The gauge is much bigger than I anticipated, 3.25 to the inch and I'll be using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Bulldog Blue. You can line the collar which a contrast color of a finer yarn, I picked Stockbridge in Kiwi. He's quite a guy, as you can see from this picture of him sidled up to the mixer. His cookies put mine to shame, and I almost resent him for it.


Other knitting thoughts I've had recently center on socks. I have started many of them but only finished a few pairs, they were given away as gifts. I've been pretty angry lately at how quickly I go through store-bought socks. I think it is because I wear pretty heavy boots and walk more than the average person because A. I'm carless and B. have a job at a HUGE retail store. I love knee highs because they keep me toasty and look adorable, but one hole in the toe and there goes a whole pair. Tres infuriating.

Anyhow, I hope to start knitting my way through my sock yarn, and trust me, I've amassed plenty of it, as it is relatively cheap and I'm addicted to all things German and stripey. I have many good books on the subject, and a coworker who teaches classes on Cat Bordhi's two-circs method. I also happened upon this cute little pattern which might save my socks when I slide around the house "Risky Business"-style.

I got the urge to spin last night and found this gift fleece from my co-worker Jenni. It is wrapped up so beautifully that I'm afraid to ruin it with my lumpy spinning. I think I'm going to felt it into a cloche, but I had a good time impersonating a Gustav Klimt model.




Over and out,

C-Ro

Slightly ashamed.

I didn't finish my Olympic sweater, but I totally could have. Knitting at 2 sts/inch makes it quick even for me, World's Most A.D.D. Knitter. The weird thing is, when I returned from Stitches, I didn't feel like knitting a single stitch. I was exhausted and totally yarn-ed out. I did manage to pick up some lovely, lovely yarn.

Aren't these cute? They look like little candies! They are kid mohair and silk, and there is enough yardage to make a couple of lacy scarves.

THIS was the highlight of the yarn feast! Brooks Farm Yarn, which everyone raved about from Rhinebeck was totally stunning. I got a skein a day, and for 500 beautifully dyed yards of kid mohair, 30-something dollars didn't feel like a lot at all. These will probably all end up as big dramatic scarf/wraps, I've been combing the BW's for nice lace patterns.


To be quite honest, I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed by the volume of patterns I unearth and want to knit. I'm a slow and distractable knitter and it's really difficult to be surrounding my the latest and greatest all the time.

In addition to all that, I'm feeling like I need to be devoting WAY more time to reading up for graduate school. All of those books are collecting dust and I really don't want any cobwebs to form in the academic part of my brain while I'm busy playing around with fiber.

This post is uber-lame because I'm getting sucked into the Project Runway finale. I'd better get back to this later...

CR ;)