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Archive for July, 2007

A Cardigan for Staci

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

I don’t think I mentioned this while it was in-progress, but I recently finished A Cardigan for Arwen.

The story – well, if you’ve been reading verypink over the last few weeks, you know there are big and unexpected changes going on in my life right now. This has been The Knitting that has seen me through it so far. This is the sweater with a ton of stockinette that I didn’t mind doing, and just enough cable pattern to keep me alert. It has, in fact, been the perfect pattern for the last few weeks.

I kind of wish I wasn’t finished already.

	Pattern: A Cardigan for Arwen, Interweave Knits Magazine Winter 2006 Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca The results: I love it. It is just so…wearable. Even though I used this sweater as mindless knitting, it ended up being a great fit. I even got the extra length on the sleeves that I love! I purposely pulled my hair from my face to please the folks who prefer it that way. I got emails about it. I understand.
	The thing that I like best about this sweater has to be the cable border. It’s reversible, so when the hood pulls the front open a little, it becomes a shawl collar – the same on both sides. Brilliant.
	Here is a close up of the cable, in progress. It’s really pretty and intricate. I can’t wait for it to get cold.
	This is half of what was going on at my feet while I was doing the self-portrait photo shoot in the sweater. Lou and Abe were SO EXCITED for some reason. They actually tore their way through a make-shift baby gate to get to me. I don’t understand them, either.
	Now on the needles – this top. (You actually have to click on the link to find out why I’m calling it a top.) It is actually a scarf named “Eve” from Twisted Sisters. I’m knitting it with the Mountain Colors Twizzle I got as a gift from my friend Melissa.
	This cable pattern is again – reversible. I do love me some reversible cables. It’s nice when scarves don’t have a wrong side. This looks crazy and busy from close up, but as you can see in the photo above, it isn’t. I like how the pattern and the yarn are cooperating.
	Doggie yoga.

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Right Before Your Eyes

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

Okay, my friend. You stay right here at the top of this page until the bazillion photos have a chance to load below.

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.

This post is different from what I normally do (but “normal” is a very fluid concept for me right now). Here is a photo series I’ve been working on since September of last year. I had the rare opportunity (and hassle) of watching construction across the street, and I took over 100 photos of the progress. I’ve picked the best photos to tell the story.

A couple of things to keep in mind while you look – this is ten months of construction. Also, land in Central Houston is at a premium, so the trend is to build two (or more) homes on a plot that was originally designed to hold one. All of the new homes around here are big, but with small footprints.

	Day 1: September 12, 2006.
	Goodbye, tree!
	Dirt.
	Prepping for the foundation…
	…and foundation.
	Wood!
	Second story…
	Starting the third story…
	Goodbye, view of downtown!
	Second house is underway…
	Framed out.
	Solid structures. Solid, yes – but they appear to be leaning backwards in this photo, don’t they?
	Tyvek paper on one…
	This is the houses looking their worst – covered in Tyvek with the driveway frame out front. The porta-potty isn’t helping them look any better.
	Scaffolding and black paper… This part was really noisy. There were several guys with pneumatic staplers…bam! bam! bam! bam!
	The outside is covered in cement (or whatever it is)…
	…and the dudes put in the decorative stone.
	Just about there!
	Aaaaaaand done. July 15, 2007. Landscaping, glass garage doors, etc. I can’t say that I love the final look of the houses, but it was fun to watch the progress.
	Since this post is already photo-heavy, hows about two more? I count my dogs, oh, 50 times a day. Just to be sure that everyone is inside whenever I close a door. On this day I couldn’t find Ike. Was he upstairs? Downstairs? Outside? Shooting pool in a smoky bar somewhere?
	No. Just sleepin’. Shhhh. You can actually see an ear in the first photo if you look really closely.

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Zigazig Ha

Friday, July 20th, 2007

Someone please tell me that you “get” the title to this post. I think I’m hilarious.

Can I do a fast-topic-changing Friday, in the middle of the most chaos I’ve ever experienced in my life?

Yes.

Just watch…

	So, I did it. I mentioned on Wednesday that I wanted to get a “Pob” (not my term), and I rushed right out and broke the news to my hairdresser. He was cool with it. It was his second “Pob” this week, in fact. In these photos, I’m sportin’ my best Victoria-Beckham-miserable-look, complete with huge sunglasses.
	Don’t you smile, Staci! It was really hard to stay miserable looking. Every time I snapped a photo and saw it on the screen, my lack of a smile actually made me laugh. My hairdresser did a fantastic job. He even gave me some new “hoochie blonde streaks” (his term). Next…!
	One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn’t belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song? Ah, I was ready to cut my nails, anyway. Most of my time typing was spent backspacing over mistakes. Next…!
	Remember this baby sweater? (My own design, free pattern available here.) I sent it off to my pal Craig for a little jazzing up…
	And he did such a great job! This sweater is already in Alaska, waiting for Molly Renee to grow into it. She just needs to be born first. Next…!
	The boys are very upset with me today, since I made it rain and all. They are determined to “hold it” until the rain stops, which isn’t supposed to be until tomorrow. Could make for an interesting day. Have a great weekend!