sports & stitches

I finally finished the shawl I’ve been working on! I was so close to finishing it, and then put it away for a few weeks because I’m lazy. Or because of my fear of commitment. One of those. Maybe both. I had trouble deciding what to do with the edging, until one magical day when I randomly thought ruffles would look nice. And there she was. Zoe.

Zoe

Zoe

I think I hear the TARDIS off in the distance!

There may be a police box in my pocket.

The ruffle was a bit more prominent before I blocked it, which is sort of bumming me out. I’m hoping to get some test knitters to work out my pattern and take some FO pictures pre-blocking to show off the ruffle a bit more, and to maybe lend some insight in how to block it without losing as much curl from the ruffle.

If you are someone interested in test knitting this shawl for me, please get in touch! It will be a free pattern, but I would very much appreciate having a few people work through the pattern before I officially release it.

I can’t wait until it cools off enough to warrant me wearing it. My car told me it was 109ºF today … that’s just evil.

<3 ek

Now available! Download it from Ravelry here (in PDF format).

Zoe

Zoe

Zoe

Queue it on Ravelry!

I remember hearing about the new line of Kidrobot Futurama toys at some point earlier this summer and naturally freaking out about it. They went on sale on the 13th at 10am and I was All Over It. So All Over It that I ordered them while in a meeting with my research assistantship supervisor. I mean, like, we were chatting about whatever I was giving him and at the same time I was discreetly typing in my credit card number and my shipping info. I am a terrible person.

Anyway, they came in the mail today! Time for a picture parade™!

the blind boxes

turanga leela!

bender bending rodriguez!

philip j. fry, delivery boy!

the planet express crew

closeup of leela

closeup of bender, cigar in hand

fry and his pizza for i. c. weiner

with accessories. gotta love pharaoh bender!

this is a work of art, not a toy

Oh yes. <3

Sometimes I feel like crochet is a lost art. I mean, people still crochet, but it has this unshakable association with Grandma’s 70s color preferences, brightly colored sweaters that get stuck on the corners of desks, and flowery afghans you hide away in your closet. I mean, granny squares are called granny squares for a reason.

But I’m determined to not give up on crochet. There are some incredibly beautiful and wonderful patterns out there for crocheters, and not just amigurumi toys. (Of which I’ve made my fair share.) I’ve found that the most intuitive and aesthetically pleasing crochet patterns are Japanese, which may be off-putting to some crafters out there because Japanese patterns are always charted and never written out word-for-word. But charts aren’t that bad! Really! I actually find they make a lot more sense than prose.

This doily is a pattern from the Pierrot yarn company in Japan. I found it randomly on Ravelry and decided to give it a whirl. I totally love it.

Anywhere Mat

Anywhere Mat, detail

Anywhere Mat, detail

I used Gedifra Korella, which is a 53% linen/47% acrylic blend in a light worsted weight, worked up with an E/3.5mm hook. The yarn was a bit splitty, but was the right choice for this doily. I wanted it to be sturdy but washable and pliable. After soaking in some Eucalan and pinning it out to dry it softened up quite a bit and now lays out nice and flat. My only modification was on the sc edging; I did the sc through the back loop instead of through both, which created a nice ridge around the edge. If I did this pattern again I would do the decreases of the petals in between the posts of the stitches rather than through the top like usual. It’s probably not noticeable to anyone other than me, but the petals seem a bit lopsided as they decrease. I’m a bit OCD about symmetry in increases and decreases.

Score: A
Yarn: B+

I may make another one in a different color so that the intended receiver will have a pair that match. We’ll see!

ek

If you’re a Beatles aficionado like myself then you have definitely checked out Love. It’s this crazy CD where various Beatles songs are stripped down, mashed up, and blended together in crazy ways. A lot of the songs are totally trippy if you’re familiar with the majority of their catalog, and this one always gets me good when I listen.

Drive My Car The Word What You’re Doing

For those following along at home, it starts as “Drive My Car” (Rubber Soul, 1965) then goes to the into the main verse of “What You’re Doing” (Beatles For Sale, 1964). And then at the end it’s a free-for-all of with those two tracks mixed with the organ riff and chorus tag from “The Word” (Rubber Soul). It just blows my mind. The tempos weren’t altered. The pitch wasn’t raised or lowered. These three songs just fit together absolutely perfectly. I’m not sure if it’s a testament to the amazing song-writing abilities of Lennon/McCartney or aural proof that they had a specific formula for a percentage of their tracks. Either way it’s a fun listen.

ek