Tea and then some

So I'm going to be clearing out my tea stash of teas I don't drink anymore. I don't know if anyone out there would want an open container of tea, but let me know because I hate to throw it out! I may post pictures and ask for you to express an interest in the comments or email me. Who knows. I'm a little loopy from the coffee and antibiotics today (which really seemed like overkill at the time)

I sadly haven't done much knitting. I have quite a few started projects on the needles but work has been keeping me from making very much progress. And in 10 minutes I'm expecting a phone call about the job I've been trying for, so let's hope that pans out and I can drop the part time job :)

I finished one of the Fiberflix movies - the 1944 version of Gaslight. I had a stronger reaction to this than I thought I would - particularly with respect to the husband and how manipulative he was. Given that I'm still reverberating from the breakup, it's no surprise relationships should strike a chord with me. I got really frustrated with the female lead ("Leave him. Oh you're such an idiot. Don't believe him!") and felt as though the film dragged in the middle. I was, however, amused to find out the cocky maid was Angela Landsbury. A young Angela Landsbury. Maltese Falcon is up next!

Meme

48 Things You Could Care Less About
1. FIRST NAME? Kate

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope. But my middle name is the Americanization of my mom's middle name. That's close, right?

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Sigh. Yesterday. Breakups take forever to get past.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, when I write with a ballpoint pen on college-ruled paper. It looks bad when it gets bigger.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Sadly, lunch meat kind of grosses me out.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Totally. I'm awesome AND modest. Well, 1 out of 2.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Sitting neglected under my TV

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep, but barely.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Definitely no. Heights freak me out (which makes rock climbing an interesting outing)

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky charms :) I wasn't allowed to have sugary cereal as a kid. College dorms were heaven.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope, I wrestle my foot out.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes, but I have trouble believing it sometimes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Pistachio. Because it's getting harder to find. And I like a good challenge.

14. SHOE SIZE? 8 1/2 to 9. Depending on how badly I want the shoes.

5. RED OR PINK? It depends. I'm leaning more towards red now.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? An unwillingness to let go.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Right now? My ex. Which is bad.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Hahaha.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Offwhite shirt, brown slacks, brown shoes (I had an interview today)

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chicken Picatta. Eh.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Someone's meeting.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Hard to get off the wall red.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Hmmm....flowers maybe. People can smell nice too.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Someone at work about missing equipment.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Smile, then eyes, then height (I like my heels)

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Sure :)

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Sake cosmo.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Dance. Dance is a sport, right? To watch - football. Maybe. If there's beer and a college involved.

29. EYE COLOR? Blue

30. HAT SIZE? Medium

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes and they're driving me crazy right now.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Zankou Chicken and the garlic sauce.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. My imagination gets the better of me with scary movies.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. More knitwear.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both please.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Creme brulee.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Hmmm, anyone bored?

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Glass Castle, The World is Flat, Assassination Vacation (I have a short attention span)

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? What mouse pad?

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Gaslight - on DVD.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Rain, thunderstorms.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Germany.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Hmm...I can do a train whistle with my hands. Sometimes I'm really good at being the person who doesn't overthink things in lab (along the lines of "So why can't we just put it on its side like this?"). Neither of those are very exciting special talents :)

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Bartlesville, OK

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I shamelessly stole it from january one.

Soctoberfest, Stash Enhancement, and FOs

Socktoberfest!

In spite of my relative inexperience in knitting socks, I've accumulated quite a stash. My current projects are the leaf socks from an older issue of Interweave Knits (I'm not sure where the pattern is right now, these have been sitting in my basket for quite some time) and some basic toe up socks from Trekking and Regia yarns. I haven't made alot of progress yet!



I gave in to temptation (better known as retail therapy these days) and bought some Socks That Rock and Lorna's Laces (bought from yarn4socks, which is offering a Socktoberfest discount!) - two sock yarns I've been eyeing for quite some time!


I also discovered Jannette's eBay store - where I bought 10 balls of this Rowan tweed to make Intolerable Cruelty. The Cherry Tree Hill came from the yarn crawl with Pasadena SnBers last weekend - you can see I was relatively good to make up for all the online stash enhancement :)



And finally, I haven't just been buying yarn - I've been squeezing in some knitting too. I managed to finish the yoga socks I've been working on, along with a dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting. I really liked the yarn I used for the yoga socks (Katja Danubio?), but its fuzziness does hide the stitch detail. The dishcloth was a very satisfying project and finished in the course of a Harry Potter marathon a few weekends ago (there was much snacking in between - it didn't really take me 4 movies to finish it).


Whew. Sorry for the disjointed feel - I'm starving!

Soctoberfest, part 1

From Lolly, the Socktoberfest questionnaire:

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class? I started making socks a couple of years ago, and made pairs for two friends of mine from college. I taught myself, using the pattern in Weekend Knitting, and just sort of winged it (this is my approach to all knitting really).
• What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time? I'm not sure if they've held up.
• What would you have done differently? I would have learned more about making heels and fitting to feet. I have vague recollections of them not fitting one of the intended recipients.
• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed? I have to say I love Koigu, though I haven't made any socks from it yet. I've only actually made one pair of socks from sock yarn (and those have already been gifted by my ex - apparently there's a sock curse as well as a sweater curse!). I really like the chunky socks I made from some multicolored yarn I got on sale.
• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method? I prefer DPNs, but I've been trying to get back into using 2 circulars. I made one pair that way and was really pleased with the results. I haven't tried the Magic Loop method yet, though I bought an extra long circular needle with my last KnitPicks order to try it out.
• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?) I like the look of a flap heel, but I prefer to knit toe-up (as I have a problem sometimes with running out of yarn). The last 2 socks I've started are destined for experiments in toe-up flaps.
• How many pairs have you made? 6 - and I have 3 more on the needles! Pictures to follow soon.

I really have been knitting...

I promise I have been knitting. But with the new computer and the exploded social life, I haven't sat down to take pictures yet. More to come with pictures of FOs, WIPs, and SE. Oh, and that Socktoberfest questionnaire too!