Show Us Your Tit(bit)s!

Just a quick reminder, the first drawing for the Knit-Tit-Along is this weekend, so sign up on the Flickr site and show us your tits! Tit bits with "donation" on them somewhere get double entries, so don't forget to tag them.

Kyoto

When I say that the HusBoy and I planned our honeymoon in San Francisco last year, planned may be too strong of a word. I did book flights, and a room in a lovely, historic b&b. I even arranged for a CityPass (totally worth it if just for access to the bus and cable cars) for the two of us. Past that, we didn't have any idea what we wanted to do or where we wanted to go. This lack-of-plan actually turned out splendidly. We ended up passing on the most popular destinations (the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz) and spent a lot of time walking around the Pacific Heights area.

Actually there was one planned excursion, one must-do on our my list: Souviner Yarn Shopping. I did quite a bit of research on the yarn shops in San Francisco, signed up for their email announcements, and came up with my must-see shop: ArtFibers. Nothing against any of the other yarn shops, but ArtFibers only has ArtFibers yarn, so I was sure to get something I couldn't get at home. Little did I know that I would fall in love...

... with Kyoto, a silk, mohair, wool blend that is the softest, most luminous yarn I've ever blown my entire honeymoon yarn budget on (once again, totally worth it). Clara does a better job of describing it than I ever could, but this yarn is worth every penny, and not that expensive for what you are getting. I got an entire cone plus 100 grams for under a hundred dollars, enough to make myself the sweater that the lovely woman in the shop custom-designed for me. It actually turned out to be enough for a nice-sized Clapotis,

and two large tit bits,

and I'm not sure what else just yet. I have a nice-sized ball left as well as a bit of blue that I scrounged off the only person on Ravelry willing to trade this lovely stuff.

The only issue I've had with this yarn is that I can't seem to get a decent photo of it:


I think this will be another one of those yarns that will make me sad once I've used it all up, but tis better to have knit and loved than to have never knit at all.

Becka Debuts

I've had a big family day today with lots of visiting and driving around, but I really wanted to keep the good blogging times rolling, so meet Becka, now in near-wearable squeee form:

Vog On Socks, Ruby Sapphire Yarns Sapphire Sock in Becka (exclusive colorway)

When Lauri said I could have my own colorway, I asked for shades of peacock blue and green with some dark burgundy thrown in. It's a tad hard to tell from these pictures, but that's exactly what I got, and it works beautifully in this simple lace pattern.

Doesn't look too shabby from the sole either. I cannot recommend Ruby Sapphire enough; they were enthusiastic, wonderful to work with, and I actually got what I wanted. (By the by, they're having a sale on bulky yarns in cute colorways, go look).

I wish I was spending more time on them, but when I'm able to do lace I've been trying to work on the Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl, also known as The Project In The Stitch N Pitch bag that I have been hiding from for months. I'm thinking that this impressive little bit of knitting might be county fair material, but only if I get it done before the needles rust around the yarn. In any case I'd like it done in time to send to my aunt for the holidays (hey, it will match her bitchin' socks).

Fun Summer Boobs

I made the decision long ago to work every summer. It keeps me in corporate-sponsored air-conditioning and away from your children (both very good things, trust me). This also keeps me close to the radio, and last year one of the featured commercials was for a breast augmentation service. Imagine a youthful, perhaps slightly intoxicated, female voice asking you to consider costly and possibly dangerous surgery:

"Really think about it, how would your life change with fun, new summer breasts?"

We made fun of this commercial well into the winter, and as swimsuit season (yeah, y'all heard me) approaches faster than we'd all like, the question of new boobs comes to mind again. I'm going to end up with at least one new breast anyway. Don't I want a fun, new summer breast?

And really, what's more fun than rhinestone nipples?

Tit Bits (C & D, respectively). ArtFibers Kyoto #30 & #44, little pink and rhinestone buttons from Etsy.

I am going to keep the C and donate the D. I could (and may just) sing the praises of Kyoto from the rooftops, but it may be a little warm and fuzzy for my everyday titty. So I went on Ravelry and asked someone to trade me some Rowan Calmer for some sock yarn so I'd have a few more utilitarian boobs. Wouldn't you know it, the wonderful woman just sent it to me?

Tit Bits (C). Rowan Calmer #474 Khaki.

I am time and time again flabbergasted by the generosity of all the fabulous people I've met since joining this online knitting community... I can only hope that I'm that person for someone else.

I have lots to talk about, but I'm trying to avoid the tell-you-everything-at-once-and-have-no-personality posting, so I'm going to go nap some more. I'm also trying to use some of these pictures that are lying around in my camera:

The Reptilian Lace Sock and I waiting in line for Astro Blasters at Disneyland before my ick-ening. I am trying to decide which I miss more: being able to go out for a day of fun or being able to knit lace while mildly distracted...

Jammie Days

If you're looking for the Knit-Tit-Along: click here!

Due to some pretty low blood counts, there has been a family decision that I am to stay in bed for a few in-my-jammies days (Stinker had the deciding vote). Please forgive me if it takes a while to respond; I will be on my feet (well, butt) and posting/answering boob-related questions in no time.

Hey look:

Random Lamb!

Extending the Campaign

For anyone who frets about this sort of thing (Yarn Yenta), I have been up since 3:30, but I can assure you that it wasn't my idea.

First of all, I'd like to welcome the Malabrigo Junkies Ravelry group to the Knit-Tit-Along and thank them for taking up the cause for their May Charity project.

To allow them (and anyone else who'd like to join in) I have made the executive decision to extend the KAL until May 31st. This date will be right after my last chemo treatment, so the prizes may have a hard time leaving the house, but I am hoping to have everything squared away and ready for the postman to haul off when the time comes.

To give credit to everyone who whipped out their completed boobies early, the "Save Second Base" shirt and my own personal copy of Museum of Kitschy Stitches: A Gallery of Notorious Knits by Stitchy McYarnpants (along with whatever else I can find toss in) will be awarded on the original May 4th date. Everyone who participates will be eligible for both drawings.

If there are any other groups who'd like to join in, please send them along to the flickr group and sign up. I am also looking for donations for prizes (more prizes=more fun), so any suggestions in that area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone who has been participating in the various forums! I look forward to showing off my first pair of tit-bits, just as soon as my nipples arrive from Etsy.

Investing In Myself

This will be a painfully picture-bereft post; it is far too early to be snapping pictures, and I cannot wait because, while there is no sleep the day before chemo there is plenty of sleep afterwards.

I don't know if it's the blooming of spring outside my little house, or if it is the fact that I am on the downhill slope of these damn chemo treatments, but I have been on an improvement kick. I was exhausted tonight, but I drove to pick up the HusBoy from work because I NEEDED us to have matching silverware in the worst way (Swirl Sand from Target, hoping the reviews are wrong). I then wandered into the lamp area and insisted that the Husboy choose a smaller lamp and shade to replace his ugly unstable nightstand light. I also picked up a lampshade for my bed lamp, which is both stable and beautiful as well as rewired by your's truly, but was cursed by a poor choice of shade made while I was trying to be a funky college student. The new shade is beautiful and dark enough to limit the golden light to my side of the bed so I can read or knit comfortably when insomnia only hits my side of the mattress.

I also went to my LYS's Tax Relief sale and did a bit to replace the stash yarns that I've been donating to the Knit-Tit-Along (BTW - Congrats to Peanuts Mommy for winning a leetle prize for posting the first completed boob). I seem to be craving deep, fun reds lately, so I picked up a skein gorgeous red Jitterbug as well as an armful of 50% off PaintBox in Tourmaline for some sort of future felting. (Don't you wish I'd taken some damn pictures?) The woman ahead of me in line make a crack about how she needs to take in a few knitters to make a dent in her stash. I made a crack about how I was buying more yarn to dare myself to outlive my stash. Thankfully they took it in the dark-humor spirit it was intended and I did not rain on their fiber-parade.

As of late I've been bemoaning my lack of a proper dedicated knitting bag; my other bags are more suitable for large projects as they have no pockets and tend to become a catch-all as I take my knitting all over the damn place. A few days ago I noticed that The Loopy Ewe finally had the chocolate Namaste Messenger Bag in stock (already gone again, suckers!), so I grabbed one of those along with two skeins of Panda Cotton to (also finally) make my Hawaiian grandmother some socks and push me over the free shipping threshold.

A few days before that, I decided after much deliberation to join The Knitting Guild Association (at least for the year) and attempt the first level of the Hand Knitting Master's Program. Do I think I'll actually complete it? Who knows, but the burning urge to do things better, including my knitting, seems to require a little investment in myself.

After spending so much of my time eye-to-eye with Death, the mismatched silverware and yarns, clumsy lampshades and stitches that I've lived with for years and years are simply not acceptable anymore. It is not "good enough isn't" so much as that I have spent so much of my life denying myself the better thing; giving my little brother the bigger pork chop, dropping out of college to care for sick relatives, offering my coworker the last parking spot in the management parking lot. If this program pushes me to learn how to do things "properly", then I'm all for it, but until I take a good look at it, I'm not sure if I'm going to push myself to finish; it might just be a nice tool for me. In any case, it will make me a happy knitter and I's worth it. If I'm going to be around long enough to knit up my stash I may as well do it right, yeah?

she sheds *a lot*

A while back I took Stinker for a "day of beauty" at the local LaunderPet because she had somehow contracted itchy bugs (we blame the HusBoy). As I'm picking her up the "stylist" mentioned that another customer brought in a cat of the same breed for biweekly desheddings. I, excited to learn anything about my little orphan kitty, asked if she knew what the breed was. "No," was her reply. "I just know that they shed a lot."

This morning as I was using her Holiday prezzie to remove a cubic ton of fur from her little cat person, it occurred to me that, try as I might, I cannot guarantee that the stash is fur-free. Hell, I can't even guarantee that the jar of pickles in the pantry is fur-free. That being said, if I'm sending you something (like a prize or a trade or what-not) and kitty is one of your allergies, please for the love of Benedryl let me know. I'd rather figure out a new plan of action than be the cause of anyone turning blue and falling over.



Stinker also would like to avoid making anyone turn blue and fall over, but she likes knowing that she can.

Holy Crap It's Noro!

Wow, you guys really like chicken! The Random Chicken had the same effect on me when I first saw it crossing a rather busy street (which was experiencing a lull, thank goodness).


Remember my quilting aunt that I talked about just a few days ago? She sent me a package while I was out of town, and the post office had decided to hold it hostage until I came down and picked it up. I bring this big envelope full of bulky I-dunno-what home, break out the scissors, open up the Tyvek and exclaim: "Holy crap, she sent me Noro".



My auntie loves me more than yours does. She sent me more stuff too:



And a copy of One Skein. Booyah!


I also got my yarn and stitch markers from See Jayne Knit Yarns:



Stinker became slightly more famous today:


moar funny pictures

Prizes!

I did mention prizes a while back, didn't I? (If you still want to get in on the Knit-Tit-Along action, you still have plenty of time! Details are on this post.)

Well, here are the prizes lined up so far:

One "Save Second Base" T-Shirt in your choice of style and size from Carmel Turtle (the HusBoy and I absolutely love ours).

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Brights, a taster skein of Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet in Raspberry Sorbet, a set of Red-Hot Hooters stitch markers from Dragonlady Designs, and a handmade porcelain pin from GinPins.

Collinette Jitterbug in Sahara, a taster skein of Hill Country Yarns Sweet Feet in Raspberry Sorbet, a set of Bright-Eyed Hooters stitch markers from Dragonlady Designs, and a handmade porcelain pin from GinPins.

The ever-wonderful Yarn Yenta has donated a copy of Knitting Circles Around Socks.

And the elusive CableNeedle (only on Ravelry) has offered up a set of her handmade stitch markers.

There's still plenty of time to join in and knit a tit with us! Check out Peanut's Mommy's Tit-Bit; it's eerily lifelike!

And, just because I can:

Random Chicken.

Peer Review

I got the cutest email from my quilting auntie, recipient of the Reptilian Lace Socks, and had to share (names changed to protect, well, everyone):

Hi Becka,

How's it going?

I was in the fabric shop in Arcata the other day and the lady, D,
behind the counter was knitting lime green socks. I told her about the
socks you had made for S and me and told her that mine had beads in them....she was dumbfounded. So, I took them in yesterday and left them for her to see with a note on them about who they belonged to . Then, this morning, I went in to pick them up. Every lady in the place, it's half fabric, half yarn, was oohing and awwing over them. They all want you to be their niece and if you came up, they would probably try to get you to teach a class. They loved the yarn and pattern you used for S's also, the orange and yellow variegated. Then they all, these women are dangerous in mass, got on be about having to wear them. Even though I feel so unworthy, they insist that I put them on my somewhat football shaped feet. Ha-ha. so now, I'm looking for an occasion, other than work, that I can wear them for. Special something.

I just wanted to let you know, they don't even know you and
everybody up here in the fabric shop loves you. Bye for now sweetie,
love aunt q

Nothing like a room full of knitters to make you feel appreciated, even from hundreds of miles away. Now I have to get the matching Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl done and really wow them!

Sweater Math

I've cast on the Threepenny Pullover by Veronik Avery. I know working a pattern this delightfully complicated is probably a disaster waiting to happen, but I am hoping that I will have the common sense only to work on it when my faculties are at their peak. I actually have very high hopes for this sweater, I even knit a full-sized gauge swatch instead of my usual two inches (don't ask if I washed it, there's only so much one can expect).

So I'm up to Row Three and looking at the lovely pictures in the copy of The Best of Interweave Knits I picked up on my first trip to a book store in months (yay!), and while I love the cabled-smocked-craziness on the front, I don't want it on my back. I want the back to be a sea of moss stitch, and since I'm the one putting this together, I can have it my way. Problem is, the center pattern sucks up more stitches than moss stitch, so if I knit it with the stitch numbers provided, I will have a sweater suitable for a hunchback. Unless I want to get that job ringing the bells, I'll have make some adjustments (past substituting the yarn, I already did that).

Let's do some math:

22 inches (width of the back) times 5 stitches per inch (gauge) = 110 stitches at maximum width
110 stitches (new total) minus 56 stitches (moss stitch increases) = 54 stitches at cast-on

So far, so good. But, what about the neck shaping? We're gonna need some algebra here:

After following increase and arm decreases as directed we have 76 stitches left.
29/126=x/110
x=25 and some change (just a little change...)
Work 25, bind off 26, work 25 (this leaves 14 stitches to decrease on each side).
Bind off 4 three times, then 2 once. 11 stitches remaining on each side (as directed).

Anyone brave enough to check my work?

Path of Hope

Hey y'all! Just a quick note to let you know that I am doing well. The country air, bacon (protein people!), and someone insisting I quit fighting and go take my nap has been very good for me.

I also wanted to very quickly pimp some sock yarn for my fairy-yarn-mother the Yarn Yenta. She and Sarah of Perfect Day Yarns are taking pre-orders for Path of Hope sock yarn to help her daughter go and serve at an orphanage in Rwanda. Check out her blog for more info here.

I'd better go, I'm supposed to be napping...

Gone Knittin'

Hey everyone! Sorry to KAL and run, but Dad is picking me up in a couple hours to babysit spend some time with me and give the HusBoy a break.




I'll be back in a week; keep playing with your tit-bits while I'm gone!

Knit-Tit-Along 2008

So, this breast-cancer thing has become a cause that's near and dear to my heart lately. In fact, one could say that it is a cause that is currently swelling from my bosom, but not for long. Nope, in a few months my right breast and I will experience a parting of the ways, and this freaks me the hell out. Thankfully, this amputation is one of the few medical procedures where "just knit a new one" is a viable option. Yes folks, I'm knitting myself a new titty. Want to join me?

Beryl Tsang, proprietress of Tit-Bits.ca and designer of the Tit-Bit pattern on Knitty.com, has graciously agreed to let me hold this Tit-Along to coax everyone to knit up some boobies. I have some (selfish) goals in mind for this undertaking:

• Raise Awareness: People, my breast cancer didn't come with lumps. If I had waited for a discernible lump to show up before seeing my doctor the HusBoy would soon be stuck with a stash and no knitter. Self-examinations and mammograms are vital to early detection and make treating and curing breast cancer much easier, but being aware that, yes, this can happen to you can be just as important.
• Support Survivors: I will be knitting my Tit-Bits for myself, but hopefully most folks signing up for the project will never actually need a replacement breast. While having a spare booby around the house could be endlessly entertaining, I am hoping that some of you will consider donating their 'bit to a local breast cancer survivor or support group that could use something perky to perk up their day. If anyone has difficulty donating I would be happy to act as a clearing-house and donate to a group local to me, but I think that most folks would like to keep their efforts close to home.
• I Like Giving Out Prizes: Hell yeah there will be prizes! Every Tit-Bit completed and posted to the Flickr group gets you one entry into the random drawing held May 4th. Pictures tagged with "Donation" get two entries. We will be operating on the honor system, and since we all know that cheaters go to that special part of hell where everyone has to knit with knotted barbed wire that sheds everywhere, we don't have anything to worry about.

I will be supplying at least three goodies (details soon to come) myself; if anyone is interested in contributing a prize for advertising/good karma, please please please email me at lastinsite AT verizon DOT net.

You're enthralled and chomping at the bit to sign up, right? Go ahead and join the Flickr group here. I've set it up so that anyone can sign up, but put some rules in place to try to screen out any non-knitting perverts. Anyone interested in moderating the group please let me know; I will take all the help I can get. I am also setting up a group on Ravelry, but this KAL will be based on Flickr since everyone doesn't have access just yet.

I think that covers everything. Any questions just let me know.


So, go join, grab a button, get the pattern, grab some needles, and let's start making titties!

New Button!

Psst. Hey. Hey you, yeah you! Want a new button?




Yarn is my own poor attempt at hand-spinning, bandage by Band-Aid, font is Tall Paul. I am much happier with this new face for the blog... You likey?

Flying the Geek Flag

Which Firefly Character Are You?

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Give A Little - Get A Little

Look what I got! A wee sock has come to live with me, compliments of Liz. Thank You!