Noro scarf success (almost)

Finally, finally, FINALLY, I went out and bought the rest of that Noro yarn I've been talking about. So my Noro striped scarf is nearing the final stages of its completion.

I knitted a 1x1 rib, like Jared Flood did, and it turned out great. Squishy, no rolling, and it does indeed "plump up" into a stockinette-like fabric, like Jared said. Of course, it's hard to knit a six-foot long strip without some kind of tension issues, so there are a few spots that are wider than the rest, and one edge is perpetually tighter than the other, which I tried to correct as I progressed, but the scarf still has an overall curve to one side. Also, I wish I had chosen colorways with a few brighter and more vivid shades. But on the plus side, I figured out slipped-stitch edging (the trick is to hold the working yarn in front for purlwise and in back for knitwise), and, really, it's a scarf. No one's going to be using it as a ruler down at NASA. A few bumps don't matter, and maybe I can even fix them with a little blocking.

My ongoing projects to-do list

My problem is, I think of great stuff to work on, but it's always while I'm out or away from a notebook or on the bus or whatever. I thought it made sense to make a post with a list of projects I'd like to work on so that the next time I find myself with some free time going "Duuhhhhh, what should I do?", I can find something here.

Knitting

-slipper socks with grey chunky yarn (see pattern in Not Your Mama's Knitting
-Noro scarf
-sweater with white cotton yarn
-iPod sock
-dog blanket

Painting/Collage

-Heartbeat
-Laika
-Supernova/Unfamiliar Sun

Drawing

-Ink drawing (Ghosts, Siobhan Donaghy)

Public art discovery.

One of my favourite things is when I spy some kind of public art while I'm out and about. Last year I started seeing these two stickers on the metro and on lampposts. Recently I found that the two greatest TDs in the history of the universe* were serving as gatekeepers to the park right behind my building. Unfortunately, since then the Ted Danson one (on the right) has been all but ripped off:





They remind me a little bit of those OBEY/Andre the Giant stickers and posters. I like how sneaky they are, and how they just assume a familiarity with pop culture without making any apology for it. In our relationship with pop culture, there is a tendency to offer up a kind of goofy, half-serious veneration and immortalization of icons, especially those that may be well-known but not necessarily widely-hailed. In other words, no one's saying that Ted Danson is Jesus, but there's a kind of affection there that's cheeky and very real. Sometimes you've just got to give props to Who's the Boss, you know?

One of my sources informs me that these are made and put up by a friend of a friend of a friend. Urban legend in the making?

*or at least in the latter half of the twentieth century

Happy belated Dominion Day, ie., moving.

As you may or may not be aware, July 1st is moving day in Quebec. Which means that everybody's lease is up at the same time so you can imagine that it's something like musical chairs for a week or so, if musical chairs involved going down to the liquor commission to score free boxes.

So I've just moved into a new place and have nothing to show you. But this is an entry of things to come! I got a new job and so I'm hoping to get down to the yarn store and pick up some supplies in a few weeks.

Well, I guess I could show you some pictures of the lovely plants I'm growing on my enormous balcony. Seriously, it's huge.

These were all planted about three or four weeks ago, and they were little scrawny plantlings then. I get tons of sun and we've had lots of rain lately, so they look great (except for the basil, which I'm not showing because I believe I am killing it without meaning to. Forecasts call for a high chance of pesto in the next 3-5 days).

Cherry tomatoes and pepper:



Thyme, chives, and mint:



Parsley:



(not pictured: pathetic basil)

A few pictures

I should preface this with a note: I don't, in any way, consider myself a photographer or even a possessor of knowledge about photography, digital or otherwise. Any nice picture I manage to get is pure, blind, luck. I mean, I'm familiar with some concepts about composition, but mainly I go by my aesthetic sense, which may be lacking and undertrained. So by posting photos here, I'm not saying "Wow! These photos r awesum guys, I am going to go do a black and white self-portrait at an interesting angle." They're just pictures that I took and happen to like. Let me put it this way - I know a lot more about knitting than I do about photography, and considering that my greatest woollen achievements so far have been a few scarves and a giant orange square, that's not saying much.

Anyway, these are from the cottage last weekend. The sky was a little overcast, but mostly sunny, so I have no idea how the colouring in these came to be. Maybe I had it accidentally set on sepia or something. I'd like to print these and frame them to hang up, to remind me of the lake even when I have to be in the city.







I particularly like the last one. It's kind of creepy.

Back in action (blanket action, anyway)

I haven't updated in, oh, a few months, but it's been really busy, what with final projects and exams and graduation and all that.

Anyway, I finally finished the orange blanket for the SPCA:



Cat is included once again for scale, and to demonstrate that it's apparently already feline-approved. I guess this means I'll need to wash it before I bring it in so that it doesn't look gently used, what with the cat hairs and all.

So that's one down, ? to go. The next one will probably be white, and I'll probably be knitting on slightly larger needles. This one was done on 4.5mm, I think. I don't want it to be too loose, in case it falls apart more easily or isn't as warm, but I'd like it to go a little faster than the first one did. Once I use up the white stuff, I might have to do some stripes or some patchwork-style, since I won't have enough balls of the same colour to make a whole blanket. There might be one in neon yellow, pink, green, and orange stripes - I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, that's pretty much all that I've done in the last couple of months. Next on the docket, aside from the blanket, is a pair of socks, assuming I can manage to get them started without losing an eye or throwing the whole thing down in a rage (which has already happened once or twice).

Unfinished

This evening I busted out the paints on a whim.



The original idea was something totally different. Lots of oranges and reds and explosions and whatnot. But when I did the sky, I liked the intense blue so much that I left it. It still needs something, though, and I'm not sure what. It strikes me that the horizon should be a little lower if it was to stand on its own the way it is... so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I just know it would be a shame to cover that blue too much. I might end up doing a modification of my original idea. That's the beauty of acrylics. I can leave it for now and come back to it later and no harm done.

I've hung it up in my living room just so I can catch glances of it every now and again and maybe figure how to finish it.