tool!!!

so here's a bit of a long story

when i was in high school i LOVED tool. loved them. best band ever. when they were touring for their album lateralus i managed to score 4th row tickets! my dad said i couldn't go because they were "sick" (and i also was never allowed to do anything because they were just heinously strict in general). I didn't push the issue because i knew i couldn't change his mind and hoped he'd forget so i could more easily sneak to it. it ended up that my family was going to be in nh the night of the show but i still had a plan. i had just landed my first ever job, and i told my parents i couldn't get the day off even though we were going to nh. my dad really was all about work ethic and whatnot and drove home from nh 3 hours so i could work for four at minimum wage. i was going to sneak out that night and go to the show but my plan was foiled! my dad was more insane about making me work than i thought because when my shift was over he picked me up and we drove straight back up to nh. i thought 6 hours of driving in one day so i could work for four was not even a possibility, but alas, there was no sneaking out of the car window. i wasn't about to cry about it because then he'd know what i was planning, but i was internally inconsolable. i didn't speak to anyone for the rest of the night, which says a lot because most of my extended family was up there. i sat on the porch with a needle and thread silently embroidering tool on my pants in the lateralus font until 1am. if i couldn't be there i was going to do something tool related, damnit!

those pants were beyond famous and i wore them until they were literally see through. i still have them.

WELL, db (and basically every single person i know) knows this story. not being able to see tool live was like my one huge life regret even though it wasn't my fault. so when db heard they were touring he got me tickets to the boston show for my birthday! 9 1/2 years later i FINALLY got to see them live!!!!!

honestly, my mind was blown. lateralus is the most monstrous thing i've ever heard in my life and they played ONLY great songs, seriously. musically they have it down, i was totally impressed. WORTH THE WAIT! we got to go and have beers and delicious vegetarian food at one of my fave restaurants, too.

it was awesome. i can't even believe i actually got to see them still. i was either screaming or had a gigantic grin on my face the whole time. it was seriously the sweetest birthday gift i've ever gotten :)

tent fort

the thought of making a semi permanent tent fort as an adult hadn't occurred to me until right now. what a shame, all this wasted time.

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not quite Roary

no big thang, just shampooing my lion.

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the gold medal

I FINISHED.

so this has been a project in the works that almost spanned 3 calendar years, almost. this pattern is Lauren by Kim Hargreaves, and it has got to be the singular most time consuming project of my life to date, ZERO exaggeration. if you have a ravelry account and want to see and read all the bloody details feel free. it didn't take forever because i didn't work on it or made constant mistakes i ripped out, it's because it's knit with sock yarn. that's like one step above dental floss as far as i'm concerned. i started it on june 27, 2010 and finished on december 31, 2011 by the skin of my teeth. i was sewing buttons on until 5 minutes before we walked out the door for new years eve fun.

besides the fact that i ended up with a sweater that i consider totally awesome and by far the nicest garment i own, my complete unwillingness to give up on this project also lead me to make my "daily rows" rule for all my projects so every single day no matter what i'd have to knit at least 2 rows so it would be moving forwards. i also learned a lot of cool tricks for making knitting not look like shit AND that i shouldn't buy buttons until i know for sure what size i need (seriously bought 5 sets for this thing before finding these). so although this project cost me weeks solid of my life and many sore handed nights, i can still call it a total success. i mean look at it! i can't even believe i made it and i've stared at it for hours at a time for over a year and a half!

i love this thing

sneak peeeeeeek

so here is my fabulous wiksten tank! this is really kind of just a sneak peek because my wonderful photographer db is at work all the light hours of the day, there are only so many self timer balance a camera on a stool on a box on another box pictures i can handle and that's like 3. i'm so excited it was done so i could wear something new and sunny on my always horribly drab weathered birthday :)

i can't believe i already finished something honestly, and for my birthday my lovely db bought me two yards of rose herringbone wool to make this skirt!

rad.

lego taxidermy, obv.

i love fake taxidermy heads. i can easily say this is the funniest most awesome one ever, because i also happen to love legos almost as much as a 5 year old boy does. you can buy it at the David Cole gift shop. feel free to buy an extra for me, it could keep my hedgehog nail brush company in my studio.

bunny

who doesn't like a cute bunny? i had a bunny when i was little, my uncle brought it over and gave it to me in the hallway of my Vavo's house before my parents could see and stop him. she was SO CUTE. she was tiny and white so i named her Snowflake. seriously, being a 3 year old girl given a tiny white baby bunny on easter in secret was probably the most magical experience of my life. i can't even think of anything that could top it. i remember every part of it so clearly too. i hope if i ever have a kid someone does something like that for them.

ready, able

my recent re-discovery of Grizzly Bear has drastically improved my year (which so far has been full of terrible luck). this video goes so amazingly well with the music too. i've listened to this song at least 5 times today, is that bad? the animation is by Allison Schulnik. her website is pretty rad, i'd check it out if you dig the video.

organized chaos

all of this "i'm getting off my ass and actually making the things i daydream about" has got me using my studio a lot more. it's really exciting! i've already totally reorganized my yarn and put it in gladlocks so i never repeat the great moth fiasco of 2011 ever again AND i can actually see it all! very nice. it's a pretty sweet little corner of the apt. i always like looking at other peoples studios, too. it's cool because they're only there because you made a special spot to do things you like. fairly rad. once i get a sweet little rug for mine and figure out the few bags of fabric i've got left i'll have to post a picture to the internet gods as a thanks for all the inspiration.

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2012 dirty dozen: wiksten

today my Wiksten tank and dress pattern arrived! when i first saw a tank made with this pattern i knew it would have to be one of my dirty dozen knitting/sewing projects of 2012. it would have been impossible to resist so i nabbed the pattern as soon as Jenny restocked, then, i literally went over and stared at my fabric stash to pick out what i'd sew up first. cute tank patterns for wovens aren't easy to find! this is SO perfect for my tons of almost too rad to use fabric. now instead of looking at my neatly folded fabric on it's shelf i can look at it in my closet! way better. i'm totally going to make the dress too, but one step at a time. so far i'm doing pretty well on my 2012 goals, this pattern will help knock out 2 of the 3!

i'm super excited to cut it out, maybe i'll have a chance to work on it on this lovely long weekend.

why hello, pink couch...

well i thought the yellow couches db and i have are rad! i promise myself starting now that i WILL have a bright pink couch in my life someday. i have plans for my future studio (sorry now studio!), big, big plans. there will be a teal ceiling, south facing windows, zero storage for other crap (hi christmas ornaments, that means you) and a likely paint splattered but totally awesome pink couch. seriously, i'll never want to leave that room, it'll be SO COOL. all i can imagine is plopping onto my pink couch next to an open window waiting for my wet layer to dry and listening to the birds.

beyond ideal.

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mountains

oh mountains. it's amazing that no matter the time of year it is the tops of the mountains are always winter. how cool must it be to live at the bottom of one? i've always loved how the mountains don't feel like inanimate things, that they totally have a consciousness. it's no surprise that a majority of the major religions of the world past and present have their gods either living on the mountains or have mountains that are considered special for some other reason. Mt Olympus, Mt Kailash, Mt Ararat are a few, and Everest's name to Tibetans is translated to "the Holy Mother" in english.

it's kind of cool how hunks of rock can make such an impression on the world.

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2012 dirty dozen: the newest endeavor

well then, it didn't take me long to turn yarn lust into an in progress cardigan did it? i can explain my seemingly heinous lack of craft related spending willpower... maybe.

i went to school for art. though i tend to make more abstract art than representational i've always believed that it's wickedly important for every artist to have a solid knowledge of the classics of art history and an even more solid understanding of, and the ability to execute, the basics of art. you have to know the rules and reasons before you can break them without your work looking like an aimless mess. as horribly boring as all those art "excersizes" were, i feel like you can't fuck with things without knowing the basics cold.

i like fucking with things, and i want to be able to do that with knitting. basically, i want to know everything. i have all these ideas for knit garments that i lack the technical knowledge to create and i hate that. so i bought this wicked cool yarn to make a cardigan with a bunch of things i've never done before in the pattern. win win! i'll end up with a rad sweater and a bunch of skillzzz. fair enough right?

my lilies

db always picks me the best flowers.

2012

as is tradition, we walked the length of the beach new year's day. it was perfect winter weather for it and uzo even made it to the end this year, we think his rad new coat had something to do with it. i'm sad the holidays are over but of course, super happy to be able to actually accomplish something again.

this year i will:
- set up my new bike before the 2012 fair-weather riding season starts so i can actually use it.
- start and complete (complete being a very important and often overlooked detail) 12 knitting/sewing endeavors
- get rid of all the clothes i have but don't enjoy wearing. wearing something "eh" feels lame. plus the chance of dying wearing something ugly drastically reduces if i don't own anything i think is ugly. if i get hit by a car and eat it i at least want to be adorable doing it.

i've already started. welcome to the end of the world!