it's been awhile

i've had a couple of really long, difficult weeks. not hugely, disastrously difficult. just steadily hard and frustrating. and last weekend so many little bad things kept happening, i decided to take the weekend off from blogging. this weekend's better except for the first-degree burn i gave myself on my face last night. yeah, i'm special.

so i've been knitting a bit.


last weekend i tried to take a break from the minimalist cardigan and start a new project since my KAL-buddy, malaraky, recently moved and started a whole new chapter in her life which is keeping her very busy. that was one of my mistakes last weekend - attempting to split my attention and start a new project. all gauge swatches were just plain bad. i also managed to finish sewing the zipper in my olive branch yoga hoodie - and then realized that it's the wrong type of zipper - a pants zipper - and i can't unzip the hoodie. gahhh! so i apologize, malaraky - i need to knit on this sweater!

this weekend's also been made a bit better because of this:


i love surprise packages! this one's from k, a sort of surrogate sister of mine. my high school had a boarding program, and kids from all over the world ended up in our classes. k was one of them. she actually became part of my family when i was in college; my parents being the cool people they are would intermittently host a boarding student or two during holidays if the kids were unable to go home. my parents and sister loved k so much that she started spending every holiday with them when she couldn't go back to south korea - which tended to be the same time i was home from uni. k's since graduated from an undergrad program, entered the work force, and is now pursuing an advanced degree here in the states. and somehow she timed this package so that it would show up in california the day she'd arrive at my parents' to visit for a couple of days. which means i'm off to call them in a moment and thank her!

this weekend's also better because we finally bought a comfy armchair.


which maeve has claimed as her own.

and next weekend will be even better. i'll be in florida visiting my sister with my mum, and i can't imagine a better weekend trip than one spent with my favorite girls.

yep, i have a problem

book coma

i should have known better; i should have known i'd be in trouble. malarky was the first to suggest it when i visited her over the summer. then my female coworkers all started buzzing around the halls chatting about it. so i had to give it a try. boy, am i really in trouble.


it all started innocently enough: a little breakfast, a little light reading... five hours and five hundred pages later i ran off to the bookstore. i needed more.


i spent most of the day today on the beach reading #2. one thousand pages in all, folks. so far.

good thing i can knit while reading!


the february baby sweater is done, and i think adorable - and the baby shower's in two weeks so i finished early! i can't wait to give this to my friend. it was a really fun and easy knit. love that EZ!


i also finished a second hat for our friends who moved to colorado. i love the marsan watchcap pattern - this is the third i've knit - and the lorna's laces superwash is amazingly squishy and soft for 100% wool. highly recommend.

now i'm off to swatch for a minimalist cardi mini-KAL with malarky. i think i need to hold off on the third massive novel in this series or else i'm going to be restless at work tomorrow when i have to focus on, well, work! do i have the self-control?

ez streak

i've been on an ez streak, and now i know why so many love the pithy lady: she's brilliant! exhibit A:


the february baby sweater blocking. knit on straights and all in one piece, with just a couple of short sleeve seams to finish 'er up. brilliant, i tell you! and too cute! b and i went to the button store in beverly (yes, it's really called that, and yes, it's awesome) where i picked up some shiny pink buttons. i can't wait until the sweater's dry and i can give it to my friend!

on to exhibit B:


this is called the ganomy hat (both patterns are from ez's knitter's almanac) and, just like everyone says, it really is gnome-tastic! another couple of friends are bailing on us - i.e., leaving los angeles before we do - and heading to colorado. so i'm knitting them nice, warm hats with ear flaps. this one's in debbie bliss alpaca silk from my stash and it is so soft. i have enough left to make another for me! here it is on my head model:


i decreased faster for a shorter point on the top and added a tassel like i'd seen in some other versions on ravelry. again the construction is brilliant (mitres, people!). love love love it!

today i'm hoping to cast on for yet a third ez project. stay tuned and i'll leave you with your weekly shot of my backyard. seems sunday was sailing day, and it was nice and overcast, just the way i like it.

flex fridays

i'm down to my last few flex fridays - our department is part of an 'experiment' for the summer where we can elect to work four ten-hour days. it doesn't always happen - there are weeks where i just need to go in on friday - but for the most part i've been happy with the program. today i really needed the extra day off and i knew just what would fit the bill.


yarns unlimited is a fabulous yarn store just a couple miles away from my house - a good walk or an easy bike ride. i'd only been there once before, when miss limerick and i did a west side yarn crawl - this is the place i bought my denise interchangable needles kit. while they may not carry super-chic yarns (like rowan), they have all of the workhorse stuff in tons of different colors and that's just what i needed!


i picked up some cascade 220 heathers for an upcoming KAL with malarky - the minimalist cardigan that she oh-so-craftily noticed we both had queued in ravelry. i'm not 100% certain that i'll use this yarn for that project but it was a good price and a lovely color, so it'll get knit up into some sweater at any rate!

i also bought some pretty light blue cascade pastaza for the estes vest. i don't love the rolly i-cord on the bottom but otherwise i adore this knit!

then i spent a couple of hours like this:


ahh, i love being so close to the beach!

for the rest of the afternoon, before we go out to dinner, i'm going to work on my current WIP - a february baby sweater from elizabeth zimmerman's knitter's almanac.


i've been dying to knit this up but didn't have the occasion until my friend jo told me she's due in january! the color is more of a dusty blue-green than it appears here and i'm planning to find some cute pearly pink buttons to give it a touch more femininity.

have a wonderful weekend, 'yall!

coachella

well, she's done! please forgive my squinty pale-ness - i still felt 'off' most of the weekend and i was standing opposite the sun when b took this photo. anyway. the coachella tank fits perfectly and i love it. the only mods i made were to slip the first stitch of each row during the flat-knit bits to get a smooth edge around the armholes and racerback (i should photograph that at some point, eh?), lengthen the waist, and substitute 1.5" of 1x1 twisted ribbing on the bottom for the rolled edge. i LOVE this yarn and the pattern was quick and very easy to follow. all in all a good one!

feeling a bit better today - think i'm finally kicking this thing!

all good things come to an end

pretty, pretty macbook! this is the first new computer i've purchased in ten years... basically since i started uni. that poor laptop kicked the bucket during my final semester. then i went without for a number of years, until b graciously gave me his old macbook when he upgraded. now that one's on its last legs (i need to visit the genius bar tomorrow to figure out how to transfer my files, yikes) so... i bit the bullet! so far, so good. there are a ton of great new features on this operating system that i'm looking forward to playing with!

and lest you think i've been up to no good while sick, please welcome coachella to my WIP pile. the modern lace henley just wasn't doing it for me - i dreaded picking it up, so i knew it was time to put that aside and start something new.


i'm knitting this up with southwest trading co's phoenix, a soy tape yarn. i felt a bit of trepidation casting on, because my only experience with flat yarn (a cascade ribbon) was really intensely no fun. i hated it. but this - this, i love. it was a gift that languished in my stash for a couple of years, and i'm so happy i found the perfect project for it!


i realized as i was photographing coachella that i never posted about my trinity stitch hat. i knit this one up when i was in nashville, waiting for the wireless at my hotel to stop freaking out so i could do some work. it's already gotten a bit of wear and i love it!

and on a final and completely unrelated note, i must leave you with a photo of maeve's favorite new bed. enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

don't speak

i've been sick since wednesday night and i can't stand it. i've missed two half-days of work and i'm working on my first full work day at home. thank goodness for laptops. my doctor somehow managed to prescribe something that doesn't exist anymore and he seems to be ignoring my pharmacy's faxes pleading to approve something else, so - if anyone knows a great general physician in los angeles, would you let me know? i'd be grumbling if i could talk right now.

i did manage to sneak out of the house when i heard the festival of chariots parading across the street on sunday, though.





three beautiful floats, lovely mantra chanting, and vegetarian treats - this city gets better and better! except for this part -



see those signs? now, i don't mean to offend anyone here, but... these guys were following the parade. there was even a guy with a megaphone and a sandwich board around his neck screaming about how the hare krishna monks were going to hell and we were all going with them. i was kind of blown away that people could be so verbally violent against some of the most peaceful people in the world. to each his own but - please, to each his own.

and that's all i'll say about that.

all's well

dove under my desk around 11:45AM today to avoid potentially falling objects from the lovely 5.4 quake. my office is on the 15th floor and the building's on rollers so it was quite a ride! luckily the house, kitty, and bunnies seem totally fine. let's not do that again any time soon!

back to it

having a slow start this morning due to a late (for me!) night spent with two lovely ladies on abbott kinney. have mentioned i love this place?

so. before the whole moving process began, i cast on for pam allen's modern lace henley.


boy. i love me some lace, but the waist shaping decreases in this sucker were driving me crazy! rip, reknit. rip, reknit. the FOs i've seen are so cute, i didn't want to give up entirely. so.


mmm, in the round. much better! (even though ravelry tells me otherwise, i'm nervous that i'm not going to have enough yarn. keep those fingers crossed when not otherwise knitting!)

think i'll bike to malibu today and spend some time on the beach. happy sunday!

glimpses

a whole other planet

for the past four weeks, i've done little besides go to work and prepare for this:


that's a view of the beach early in the morning before the marine layer's burned off. a block and a half from our new house.


and THAT's our new neighborhood. we finally moved on friday. the whole ordeal was less than easy but we're finally here, all the shelves are up, and we now just need to figure out where to hang the pictures. i'm holding back photos of the interior until we've got things just right, but until then, here's a sneak peek at the house next door:


yeah. i think i'm going to like this place.

summer in vermont

1. polly's pancake parlor!, 2. lupin season in vermont, 3. the basin,
4. vermont yarn, 5. pink lady slipper, 6. reese pie at p&h truck stop
it's been a good long time since i've seen summer in vermont. after i moved west i've only returned home during the winter and boy, did i forget how gorgeous this place can be. there's nothing quite like spending leisurely hours with my parents hiking in franconia notch, eating pancakes and pie, and making mine beautiful cormo-blend handspun from a local lupin festival. i had a chance to catch up with malaraky and knit in her adorable apartment. i went to yoga. i got a pedicure and played bocce.

my parents recently adopted a new kitten who decided immediately upon my arrival that my handbag made a really nice bed. everyone, say hi to gus!


the last leg of my journey was to franklin, tennessee, just outside nashville. unfortunately, i don't have much to show except my hotel room, which was nice but the wireless kept crashing and finally corrupted the VPN software on my laptop rendering work impossible. fun.


i couldn't take photos with my camera during the scenic portion of my trip to tn so i'll leave you with that. exciting update coming soon - we're moving!

on the road again

just about two-thirds through two weeks of travel and i'm getting ready for the next couple of flights. i started out in new york for business and ended up in vermont visiting my parents and relaxing - knitting, hiking, eating at lovely little restaurants, and generally ignoring email and blogs. next i'm off to nashville for work. i managed to pack two weeks' worth of clothes into a carry-on and i'm quite impressed with myself!


i didn't have too much time for fun in new york - honestly, between presentations and work dinners, i might as well have been in los angeles - but i did manage to meet up with my best new york friend aka. we were roomies in college and she's the sweetest person ever. notice we're both wearing new york black. ahh, some things never change.


aka brought me to the cutest restaurant in the village, cha-an. this sweet little place is well-known for its tea and desserts but their savory dishes were amazing too!

next up - beautiful vermont!

sleepy saturday

this one has been hitting the blogs pretty hard and i just couldn't resist!:

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? (marielle)
2. What is your favorite food? (malai kofta)
3. What high school did you go to? (st. johnsbury academy)
4. What is your favorite color? (green)
5. Who is your celebrity crush? (???)
6. Favorite drink? (gin & tonic)
7. Dream vacation? (greece)
8. Favorite dessert? (bread pudding)
9. What you want to be when you grow up? (???)
10. What do you love most in life? (bunnies!)
11. One Word to describe you. (sleepy - right now, at least!)
12. Your flickr name. (subliminalrabbit)


1. Untitled, 2. Vegetable Kofta, 3. Mayo Center, 4. Green Womble House, 5. teenage daydream, 6. That Cool Refreshing Drink, 7. Karistos - Greece, 8. Bread Pudding, 9. Artists Field Bag, 10. Macro-Bunny, 11. "Being a Duchess is so tiring.... Zzzz" Duchie Day #12 - A Wallpaper, 12. Subliminal Messages 2

it's been a crazy week so i don't really have anything crafty to show, but i'll leave you with some images of my cacti, which i adore:






happy summer!

calling all california residents!

today's the big day! VOTE NO ON PROP 98. i know there's little motivation to hit the polls yet again this year, but if prop 98 passes so many people will be out on the streets. the cost of rent is already so high, and without rent control, who's going to be able to afford to live here anymore?

in need of some tea

whew! it's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, and there are a couple more knocking this month. between trips to las vegas (work) and san francisco (fun), looking for a new home (the suburban experiment has failed), and saying good-bye to my boss (tequila nights, oh boy), i've barely had time to knit a stitch! this hasn't helped either:


bryan received rock bank as an extremely generous thank-you gift for being a very good person. he is quite good at the drums; i, frankly, stink and am sticking to guitar! neither of us has dared pick up the microphone quite yet...




over the past couple of weeks i've been thinking more and more about my impact on this earth. beigeberry's experiments with urban gardening under the tutelage of her very earth-conscious sister has inspired me, as did san francisco in general. i've expanded my indoor garden to include basil and chamomile and am planning to add wheat grass, tomatoes, and lettuce later in the month after i return from a two-week trip. in the meantime, we've switched to cloth napkins and reusable bags for all purchases, not just groceries. i'm trying to find good biodegradable garbage bags for the bunny litter since it's 100% compostable, and we're looking to move somewhere we can walk around more so we don't have to hop in the car every time we need/want to go somewhere.

wish us luck!

and she's done.

lace ribbon scarf by veronik avery from spring '08 knitty. i loved this knit enough that when i dropped a stitch in the airport and realized i was going to run out of yarn anyway, i ripped, frogged, and cast on again. i made this one skinnier than the original pattern but it's more than wide enough for me.


now if only i could keep the cat from sitting on it while it blocks!

a welcome package

i can't even begin to describe how difficult things are becoming 9 to 5 (or should i say 8 to 7?) but lucky for me, a wonderful friend sent me just the remedy to help me forget my worries:


now go read her review of the film and then netflix it - or, if you're a dedicated austen fan, just buy it. trust me. this, and the first five episodes of the latest bbc bleak house, have quite saved me this weekend. and given me a propensity to use words like 'quite'!

and on quite another subject - last weekend i drew up a new design with my mom in mind:


and i promptly sent off the originals! happy mothers' day to all the mothers out there! mom, i miss you, and can't wait to see you in june!