Episode 12: Back from the South

Off the Needles:

I completed the Monkey Socks! 


Now that I have finished my first Cookie A pattern, I'm looking to start another of the free patterns that also re-appear in knit.sock.love - which pair of cookie a socks should I knit next? Any suggestions? 

On the Needles


The Castle Pullover is scarily entering a state of hibernation...in the glove compartment of my parents' car. 


I also began my first Ysolda project: Ripley. 

Knitting Finds

The new Knitscene is out - great first summer issue! Love the Amy Christoffers section the best. Still puzzled over the French Creek skirt and the Clipper Mitts.

Knitting Travels

Went to South Carolina with side trips to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC and to Savannah. MEt up with my friend Mary Beth and had Chick-fil-A and went to Hobby Lobby. AMAZING. Petted an angora bunny at the Biltmore Estate. Picked up Twisted Sisters Petite Voodoo in Grean Teas(e) and Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in Kiwi from Wild Fibre in Savannah. Knitted in the golf cart while Mel played golf (I refuse to play since I stink at it and I'm left-handed; no left-handed set of clubs to be had in his family). Drank alot of Arnold Palmers.

Confirmed that my Travelling Woman shawl is indeed cursed (horrible car karma) as we got a stuck in traffic for 3 hours on I-95, got caught in the 62 tornadoes along the VA/NC border, got a nail in the tire and discovered it in Asheville, the gas gauge broke AND stuck in traffic for another three hours heading into Staten Island. In that order.

Events and Knit-A-Longs

Ravelry Meet-up at Knitty City was two weeks ago. 

Maryland Sheep and Wool vendors are UP! I have started my preparation by making a list of what I want to get yarn for and taking stock of what I have.

Beginning a Knit-A-Long for the Rose Lace Stole from Interweave Knits, Spring 2011 with Kristin of the Yarngasm podcast. Here are the rules (taken from Kristin's blog, as she wrote them out wonderfully):

• The KAL officially begins May 1st.

• On that day, Kristin and I will post a thread in our Ravelry groups for participating listeners to discuss the KAL and share their progress, etc.

• Choose a group (Team YarnGasm or Team Subway Knits-- it really doesn't matter, this is just for fun)

• KAL ends June 30th. On that date, Maria and I will pick 1 winner from each group using a random number generator.

• Each winner will receive a set of stitch markers from Velvet Hippo.

ABCs of Me

Everyone is doing it, so why not me? A little bit of A-Z to help you guys get to know me better!

A. Age: 26
B. Bed size: Queen. Feasibly, I could fit a king in my bedroom. For an NYC apartment its pretty darn big.
C. Chore you hate: Cleaning the cat house.
D. Dogs: I want a Shiba Inu SO badly. Did you know they are the Japanese version of the golden retriever in terms of popularity as family pets in Japan? There were so many in my neighborhood, I'd be able to squee all the time.
E. Essential start to your day: COFFEE.
F. Favorite color: Kelly green, coral, navy, gold. Oh wait. That was the color scheme of my outift yesterday. Can we say preppy?
G. Gold or silver: Gold mostly for costume jewelry. Silver for the good stuff.
H. Height: 5’9. I wish I were 5'11.
I. Instruments you play:  Flute and picollo. I could make those suckers scream.
J. Job title: Adjunct Assistant Professor and soon to be Public School Special Education Teacher.
K. Kids: HA! Not till I'm 30. In the meantime, I am a feline mama to Oliver.
L. Live: Currently: New York City. Previously: London, Kyoto, and Philadelphia. Future? Maybe Australia or Canada.
M. Mom’s name: Helen (of Sparta. No. Seriously. My mom's family is from there. She asked me not to name my future children after her).
N. Nicknames: Ri in Science Club in high school. Mazza while I lived in London.
O. Overnight hospital stays: No, thank goodness. But had a very long ER stay because I had an abcess on my left tonsil (TMI I know) two weeks before I left to study abroad.
P. Pet peeve: Students constantly asking me to repeat WHAT I HAD JUST SAID. Trying to be less high strung these days. Yoga helps.
Q. Quote from a movie: Erm...I am not really good at the movie stuff.
R. Right or left handed: LEFTY!
S. Siblings: Leah - 23. Then there are the Siblings-in-law: Kerry: 24, Art - 23 and Rochelle - 18. Mel is from a BIG family.
U. Underwear: Fun cotton bikini panties from Vicky's Secret.
V. Vegetables you dislike: Shiitake mushrooms. Hmm, thats more of a fungus. But they taste slimy.
W. What makes you run late: The NYC subway.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: When I was 2 1/2. Had a concussion on a marble floor of a church right before my sister's baptism.
Y. Yummy food you make: Greek Mac and Cheese. You will have to ask me for the recipe.
Z. Zoo – Definitely make the schlep on the 6 train to check out the Bronx Zoo. It's free on Wednesdays.

In the Conductor's Booth: An Interview With Kate Oates

I am currently working on Episode 12 - had to chuck the recording I did so far because I did a rush job (120 papers graded in a week plus taking 2 New York State Teaching Certification Exams in one day - yikes!) and wasn't satisfied with it. So in honor of my Spring Break trip to South Carolina, an interview!

A few weeks ago, I had the honor to interview Kate Oates of Tot Toppers and When I Grow Up, who is from Lexington, South Carolina.

It was my first interview via Skype so that was really interesting and alot of fun!

Here are some the things that Kate mentioned in the interview:

Knit Collage
Tot Toppers Etsy Shop
Sugar Bear Hooded Cardi
Gramps Cardigan and Adult Version
Master Charles Sweater
Sweet and Sour Apple Hat
Mary Swanson Cardi-Vest
Sweet Tea Shrug
Math For Hats
O-wool yarn: Balance
Anzula Yarn

Closing Song: "Unbreakable" from Real Life, by Evermore