little break from weasley for a little bliss

~are you a vest or a sweater?~

I took a little break from Weasley tweediness to work on a bolero that the weather is calling for me to wear. I'm knitting with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky the bolero jacket from Simply Soft and I can tell that there is going to be a small window of winter wear for this one as it is bul...ky (like the yarn name should have clued me in). And seeing that it is bitterly cold (for me on and off lately with this squirrelly weather we are having here), I think I better get to knittin'. I tried to fit the sleeves in, but it was quite an awkward fit as it seems that I have relaxed quite a bit on a gauge and creating a quite puckery fit. So I'm blocking the heck outta that armhole. And coupled with yarn that kept conking out on me (i untwisted the 2 big ply's) and as you can see, I don't recommend doing that. My apologies for that horrible color rep, but that madness didn't deserve a photo retake. Mighty irritating to say the least. But I'm really diggin' the collar and can't wait wait for this sweater to hit the streets.

~keepin' those fingers crossed for those armholes next go 'round~

just not lining up right

When I first started on my Weasley hem it seemed pretty easy (and truly it is), but those tweedy bits in that dark rich color serves up some tedious times when trying to eyeball those cast-on stitches for the pick up and knit together bit and I'm a tad impaired in the vision department. Though the first several inches looked fine, I got off and picked up a stitch or so here and a stitch or so there off and thought "oh i'll just block that out". Well, I don't think that will work and its just driving me batty to see those stiches veer to the left or right of where they are supposed to lie. It was not nearly as noticeable (of course) until I worked many rows above the hem, but then that does make it a bit easier to see just how the tweed would behave on its on.

It even started to flip and skew. I originally had in my head the notion that a provisional cast-on was needed for the perfect hem. The reason is probably because I read Marnie's details on what I will now refer to as the "perfect no sew hem". Big thanks to Marnie for that excellent tutorial. It's truly brilliant indeed.

~check out my provisional cast-on with the hem~

~and here it is just waiting to be knit together~

I just love the look of the neat finished edge. After making progress on the back, I think I'll be using this technique in the future and maybe adding a decorative detail or color too.

fire and ice

~fire and...~
Recently inspired by a photo featuring some absolutely fabulous hair (and glasses AND a stylish and gorgeous bit of lace i might add), I decided to pick up the phone after waaaaay more time than I'm ready to admit and get a hair cut. Now after a long, what seems like permanent relationship with the ponytail, this was quite and ordeal for me. Just to give you a bit of history (the short version), I once went to get my hair highlighted (oops...this may give away how long its actually been since my last do, lol). Well, I asked to slight highlights in a dark, dark, brown that are only really visible in sunlight and certain angles that is extremely...most frankly put....subtle. I showed pictures, followed by much small talk provided only to emphasize my not wanting something that people would even notice right off the bat as I gradually move into the world of hair color.

Oh yeah...short version...anyway I ended up with hair that could be appropriately titled "blond ambition gone bad". It was, in short,ABSOLUTELY AWFULOUS and I insisted on an instant recolor, fix and repair as I (bad timing i know) had a very important presentation the following day at work and refused to show up looking like a bad Madonna wannabe . I didn't realize they were going to bleach my hair (at one point it was mostly white) and then apply highlights and original color (should have asked more questions first...umm yeah!). Too many quick and easy commercials viewed left me thinking they were just going to grab a few strands here and there and it would be "all good". Well they refused to recolor saying that due to the damage caused by the bleach (yaaaah), I would have to wait a few weeks as to not overwork my hair even more(ohhh...now you see that its overworked). I agreed and then left in anger only to return the next morning insisting on a redo as I could not return to work and scare others with what is now "my hair" (yes, i had to reschedule my presentation...luckily without any question of why, but what i assume was received as a request for an extension). Annnnnyway (and this short version is oh...not so short now), they recolored and my hair became what can only be described as a "brassy taupe-like blond highlighted brillo pad". With a pending presentation, I was forced leave and go straight to where?....a barber to take it all off. Now for some reason, at the time I didn't realize that this would be a bit more extreme, but I tell you it was bad and no hair was better...well afterwards...after getting over the buzzing sound and the fact my coworkers may notice this even more than a bad highlighting job, I realized it was better since now I had a chance for heathly hair since the previous do could not be saved though that one day would be in the not so close future.

Oh yeah...now about the fire. Now afraid of anything chemical and permanently altering, I just got a wash, cut, and blowdry. Knowing that my hair has not received any sort of professional maintenance in quite some time, I felt that she would have a lot of fun trimming my hair though I only hoped there was more left afterwards than what you usually see in the bow of a yorkshire terrier. She told me she wouldn't have to take more that an "inch or a half". Umm. heard that before. Well, guess what, I actually love it...her blowdrying skills were like magic and then afterwards she bumped the ends for little wave at the end and I could not stop cheezing. To me, my hair has never looked better. I told her that I have never been so happy with my hair. And even after cutting, I have more than enough length for a ponytail, top knot and various other styles. Oh, and most important, my stylist KNITS and crochets and makes soap among many other crafty ventures. I'm so lucky I found out about her. Thanks woman at Wal-Mart for not being startled by my "Oh please tell me where you get your hair done...you really have to help me stop walking around looking like this, right?" She had the exact highlights I want...maybe next time, lol. But you know I have to mess it up a bit right. Well yesterday morning at computer, situated a bit like the picture above, I was about to blog about some recent book arrivals as well as possible yarns that are currently on my coffee table that may suit some of the patterns. Well, reaching over my computer looking behind the felted tweed without actually having to pick up the yarn (see where this is going), I started to type info from the ball band and smell this weird smell. Thinking that I must check that coffee maker (it has auto shut-off, but what is the problem..it has to be off by now), but i'll finish this and check it out in a minute. Well, it wasn't my coffee maker. It was my hair which was now hanging over the candles doing a dance called "the singe". Now its not that bad and at this point I only notice where I had to chop the ends a bit for the section right over the candle. And though noone that saw my hair claimed they could notice exactly where it happend they could detect the only obvious evidence which was the presence of my new fragrance L'Eau de Hair on Fire. Boy...hair drama never ends...where is that pony tail holder?

~...ice?~
Now the ice. Yesterday while in the city, I thought it was sleeting (though only so slightly). But walking out of Comfort Shoes...boy did I want those Crocs, I noticed that it was really snowing and though it was snowing when I took out the camera, by the time I flicked the on switch and popped off the lens cover followed by a quick flash, there was not a flake in sight resulting in a snowless photo. Oh well, next time I'lll be a bit faster.

Well much knitting coming up. I hope to get lots of pics this weekend. Though I love this sweater weather, grey dark evening skies that are coming a bit earlier each day make it not so easy to get photos that reflect actual fiber colors when I get home.