NYC bag

tomorrow we leave for New York--i'll be interviewing an artist for my dissertation, mr. boot will be putting up fences and birthing lambs at his best friend's farm in new jersey. i'll be in the city for a day on each end of my trip to and from upstate, so of course I faced the problem of the bag--i need a bag big enough to carry my things for the week but not so big that it won't fit in the teeny space that is purl soho or be to heavy to carry around all day.

Enter this amy butler bag--with the rather embarrassingly domestic name of "betty shopper." it's the perfect size, thin but deep, and it's quite sturdy. it was a quick project, surprisingly quick given the many layers of canvas and interfacing that make it so sturdy. feeding the handles through the grommits was the only challenge, and that was just time-consuming.

here's the lining: a fun sky-blue with red and orange flowers.
one more image before we fly off to the big apple: an interesting shadow from earlier this week.

forecast obsession

although i really should be finishing projects rather than beginning new ones, forecast has reeled me in. the pattern is so elegantly written that it's a joy to knit. it's definitely a knitter's sweater, with clever techniques, unusual constructions, and enough to think about to be interesting while maintaining a good rhythm to each row. an intellectual sweater, you might say. it's convinced me that fitted knits will be a necessary purchase in the near future.

ester is stalled due to blocking barriers. last weekend we moved furniture, finally ditching the lumpy bachelor sofa that mr. boot bought at goodwill several years ago for $15. while this was a much-anticipated event for me, the way that we rearranged furniture means that the only real option for blocking--the futon--is now in the main room, where it's not so convenient for a wet wooly mass to remain for several days. so, i'm considering making one out of homosote.

in the meantime, the brown "crispy rice" treats and the strawberry kanten from this macrobiotic cookbook have fulfilled my no-sugar sweet-treat cravings. and, to echo a nuttnbunny image (without the three-year-old fingers), the chickens have been quite productive:

baby uggs

booties for a friend's new baby:

i found the "suede" and "plush" yarns really bizarre to work with --i think i'm used to natural fibers and these felt too squishy. also, they turned out rather large for 3-6 mos, despite getting the right gauge. overall, though, i think they'll be a cute gift.

works in progress

the circle tote, my first foray into intarsia, is coming along, despite an ugly mess of strands on the back that offends my sense of order:


ester is ready to be blocked:

and the garter stitch bolero only needs the sleeves seamed:


i knit a few swatches for flicca using lamb's pride bulky--this is in moss, but i'd like to use a cherry red. the pattern calls for 7mm needles, but since that's the english system, i tried a size 10, a size 10.5, and a size 11. they still need blocking, and i'd like to see if the yarn pills much under pressure:

and here's my yarn for stephanie japel's forecast sweater. i'm planning to use guavaseed's modifications.

i think that's enough for the moment...

in which mod vinyl chairs are purchased, brunch guests are forgotten, and one of us eats a hot dog

yesterday, at the university surplus store’s tent sale, we found the coolest blue vinyl retro chairs and a file cabinet. having struggled last year with fitting a four-drawer file cabinet into the back of the volvo, with much damage to the car, the file cabinet, and ourselves, we decided to go in with a friend for a few hours of a u-haul van. so this morning we get up early, pick up our friend, and move our stuff and hers with no trouble.

however.

as we are unloading the chairs into the house, i catch a glimpse, through the windshield of the van, of our friends d. and h. what are they doing here? i wonder to myself, and then…i remember that in fact, we invited them to come over for brunch this morning. they are 45 minutes late—not unusual, but quite fortunate this time, as we have only just arrived back at the house and would have been out if they come on time. much embarrassed smiling and stuttering ensues, but resourceful mr. boot saves the moment by enlisting poor d., only recently recovered from being hit by a dump truck (really), to help carry the file cabinet into the house, which he limpingly but good-naturedly does.

now, forgetting guests is not the worst of my dinner-party faux pas. it’s not nearly as bad as my very first dinner party, in which i poisoned my guests with a not-quite-cooked hambone in the red beans. or the time the gourd-candles set fire to the mantelpiece during an autumn-themed buffet dinner (i failed to follow martha stewart’s final instruction: peel away the gourds' flesh after hollowing them out and filling them with wax. evidently it’s a fire hazard). this wasn’t even as stressful as the time my unflappable roommate the ruminating slav burned the salmon during her first dinner party (i’m really not sure why this was so stressful for me, since it was her party. but still.).

anyway, this wasn’t so bad: d. and h. went with us to return the van and we went out to brunch. it turned out to be a rather fun day. we showed our support for the seeds fundraiser festival (a local organic gardening program for inner-city kids), where we were quite impressed with displays of double dutch skill; and mr. boot ate a hot dog. kind of departing from our (my) new experiments with macrobiotics, and not nearly as…exciting…as fairly odd mother's hot dog experience, but nevertheless much enjoyed.