novamade

things i like, the san fran edition

I attended a conference in San Francsico at the end of last month,  aside from being professional, I got a chance to do a lot of things that that I like to do that are fun.  And since I recently found my point and shoot, I can share all these things with you!

I had the oppotunity to meet up with knitbloggers.  Quite possibly the best part of any trip, work or otherwise.

Clockwise from left to right, me and my zaftig self, Lolly, Vanessa, Risa, Steph and Rangsiwan.  The locals really treated me and Lolly to a few days of fantastic fun.

There was shopping, of course.

I bought a lot of fabric and patterns from Stonemountain and Daughter Fabrics.  I truly magical place that that carries tons of fabric, including a good selection of Japanese fabrics (some with bunnies!).

I bought a little yarn, not a lot.  I am not sure if I was being good because I was being mindful of the pre-existing stash, or if I remembered that my one carry-on was getting fuller with every penny I spent.  The Koigu is for Minty's Tapestry Cowl.  Have you not gotten your copy of the pattern yet? Go and get it now!  Risa, Rangsiwan and I all got yarn for said cowl...we all got the same orange with a different contrat color.  Great minds, and all that...

I enjoyed some seriously good food.  Pregnant or not, it is something that I always enjoy (see above reference to zaftigness).

I told Rangsiwan that Tartine had to happen.  She made it so.

And we went to, not one but, two ice cream places.

And lest you think that I didn't do anything conference related, let me assure you, I did.  I went to the crowded sessions.  I learned about how we archivists are revlutionary and all that...I went to the reception at the San Francisco Public Library and fought against all the other archivsits trying to get to their bevereages of choice (mine was seltzer, everyone else was consuming things with some alcohol content...imagine).

And since there was a whole morning where nothing was scheduled, my friend Jess and I walked to Union Square and from there Chinatown to browse and shop.

It was in Chinatown that I discovered my love for all things hooty.  I mean  really, what is cuter than an owl?  Or a bunch of them on a big giving you directions?

And who doesn't want to drink their tea from a mug shaped like an owl?  If you don't, well, I don't want to know you (just kidding, I know some of you might be partial to chickens).

So yeah, that was my trip to San Francisco, in a nutshell.  It was fantastic. Now back to shawl knitting, which I am not really liking so much right now... but more on that later, I don't want to put the kabosh on the happiness in this post.

i know what boys like*

Well, as long as they are babies or toddlers.  I am still nervous about the whole dealing with the boy teenager thing; but, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

It just occurred to me that I never shared the gender of baby Disco.  From the title and the pictures, I am sure you have figured it out.  Baby Disco is a boy.   Elinor is advocating for the name "Little Mister," which I find all kinds of scary because I was considering this for the blog name "if the baby was a boy."

Little Sir is VERY excited about this, a brother means he will have someone to "play trains" with.  Considering that he was introduced to the great world of trains and train-obsession by his friend Caroline, his logic doesn't make any sense, but he is two.  He is excited about having someone to "roll balls" with as well.  After about 10 minutes, the parental units are no fun with the ball rolling.

 

I have to be honest, I was looking forward to the possibility of making dresses and knitting a pink wardrobe for a little mini-me (I even bought a crapload of pink yarn, because I "had a feeling").  But after finding out that Disco has boy parts, I calmed down and remembered that: 1) I don't like the color pink, it makes me want to vomit, 2) I would have no idea what to do with a girl, really (despite the fact that I am one...),  3) Little Sir was hoping for a baby brother (after he accepted that a baby was going to be part of the picture whether he wanted one or not); and, 4) logistically, we are already prepared for a boy (you know, having one in the form of Little Sir, already)--or rather, I know what boys like.

I figure you can't go wrong with things like: planes (or helicopters--"we" have a thing for aircrafts with propellers at the moment),

trains (all makes and models),

and automobiles (these little cars are Little Sir's new thing--it's kind of driving-heh- me crazy).

 

They are just a pair of booties.  But if you want the good word on them, I will put the info in the gallery and ravelry for your perusal.

*And, should you want to relive a piece of your youth...

purple is the new black

Knitters like Ms. Frick have always acknowledged the coolness of purple.  I am late to the game.  It is only recently that I have learned that I actually look good in purple.  So I decided to weave myself a scarf--a purple one.  Knit Picks just came out with the Gloss Lace line, and I was wondering how it would hold up on a loom, so I ordered some and decided to test it out. 

As a warp, it worked out fine, the silk content gives it the strength it needs to hold up on a loom. I encountered problems with the weaving.  When using Gloss as a weft (the horizontal bit), it helps if you have the right heddle in the loom.  I did not.  I forgot to switch my 10-dent heddle for a 12-dent one (which would have still been off, I think, I think I would have needed something to get 20 or 24 epi).  Since I am lazy, I figured that it would be easier to just find another yarn to use as weft.  But I didn't see anything suitable in my stash (which, given the quantity of said stash is amazing) so I spun something up. 

I had a nice naturally dyed wool roving I bought from Stefania at Rhinebeck (last year) that seemed just right for the job.  The yarn was spun to dk-worsted and it seems to have worked out well. 

I like the scarf, but I don't love it.  The problem is the color.  I am more a fan of darker purples, like Aubergine (you can call it eggplant, I just like saying aubergine).  I don't think lilac looks as good on me, and since I am likely to make myself 50 bajillion scarves in the not too distant future, I figure there was someone out there who would love this scarf more than I. 

So in addition to the person who is getting the scarf, I figure I should share the other people I am sending fun stuff too.  Thanks for your suggestions, it was fun going through them and realizing that I am not too off the mark in popular reading, viewing and music (having read, viewed or listened to many of the suggestions).  I couldn't think of a fair way to pick the winners, so I used a random # generator after printing out the comments and assigning each a number based on the desired prize.

The scarf is going to Reluctant Mango.

The fabric scrap bag is going to Oiyi.

The spindle and roving is going to Nell.

And the sock yarn is going to Mari.

I will e-mail the winners soon for your addresseses and for the roving and yarn winners, color preferences.

To answer a few questions:  the rug is indeed from Target.  The red bookcases were purchased from Ikea (as was the couch and the desk in the corner).  The TV is against the wall that the photo was taken from.  I like all genres of reading and movies and would be interested in knowing about any you have opionions on (Kristy).

Thanks for reading, commenting and celebrating.  It's been a great two years of blogging, crafting, commiserating and learning.  And seriously, if I was not a knit/quilt/weaving blogger, I would have no idea about trends like purple being the new black; and, I would have never made so many great new friends. 

Scarf details in the gallery.