The Sweatshop of Love Blog

The Lot

Top Row, Left to Right:

1. Wine Cozy for PT’s Mom

2. Elephants for Grandma, three total

3. Three Pairs of Granny Square Slippers, one for Tara, Grandma, and Mom

4. Three Cabled Jar Covers for Rachel

Middle Row, Left to Right:

1. Crocheted Bib Necklace for Tara, my Sweatshop Secret Santa

2. Knitting Needle Knitting Bag for Mom

3. Lace Hand Warmers for Rachel

4. U of M Toilet Lid Cover for my brother Adam

Bottom Row, Left to Right:

1. Eric Man-Beanie for my brother Matthew

2. Glorified Necklace for Mom

3. Eric Man-Stocking Cap for Dad

Not Pictured:

1. Knitting Needle Knitting Bag for my friend Colleen, already gifted

2. PT’s Modified Cambridge Jacket, wrapped and under the tree

3. Two Slouchy Berets for Blog Giveaway Winners, in Green and Pink, shipped off

I don’t know whether to think that is a lot or a little. I have been knitting since September for the holidays. I did knit myself a sweater in there somewhere, too. And wrote a few patterns. And taught a lot of classes.

But with it all laid out there like that, it is weird to think I did all that in just over three months.

Just Pudge being Pudge

I wrapped it all up, no thanks to Pudge Rodriguez,  and most of it is ready for the trip up to Michigan.

I hope you got all your holiday knitting done in time! Is there something you will be giving half finished?

First of all, thank you so much for all your kind words. It’s good to know that there are so many animal lovers out there, and that they are all my friends. I couldn’t even write those two sentences without getting a little teary!

All of your facebook, twitter, and blog comments meant a lot to me. Thank you so much. I keep spontaneously hugging poor Velma and Pudge Rodriguez, and I know they are sick of it because they have started hiding under chairs and tables, but they will get the brunt of my Oliver missing from now on.

Mommy's Shawl

What better time to finish my mom’s Glorified Necklace! Mommy, I hope it makes you feel better! It’s really pretty. Pre-blocked it looked like a big mess, but post-block it looks fabulous. You will get it in about two months, and then we can be twins.

Body Finished!

And since I’m not even ashamed anymore, the body of my Girl Friday sweater is finished! I was about to finish the back when I last check in, and now both fronts are done. I didn’t bind off the tops because I feel the need to pick up stitches in my future. I’m just leaving them all live until I figure otherwise.

Sleeeeeeeves...

And now. I’m working. On these. Sleeves. I’ve hit a wall with the sleeves! I don’t know why. I feel like I’ve been knitting them forever! And I’m pretty sure I started them Tuesday.

Girl Friday might take a back seat this weekend, though. I’ve got my sights set on my sewing machine.

Blue Room Wall Organizer

So yes, the blue room is done and we love it and I’ve got my work table up and functioning and it’s great.

But I need this wall organizer!

A couple years ago I bought this easy sewing book, Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing, for a friend’s birthday, but then I got sick, and then I didn’t see her for two years, and now the book is mine!

And it’s got this great pattern in it for this walk hanging organizer. So I’m going to attempt it.

...um?

Even though there are like 4 pages of directions and this chart with lots of numbers on it that I’m going to ignore.

But, it is going to be a rainy weekend, and I’ve got the blue room to spread out in. I’m guessing it’s going to be a smashing success! (nervous laughter)

I also want to make a message board, kind of like this, but, you know, not really ugly.

So I’ve got my hands full! First up, though, I’m having a couple girlfriends over for dinner. I’ve got a pumpkin in the oven, bread rising on the stove, and a bottle of cheap wine in my purse.

Any menu guesses?!

I finished knitting my mom’s Glorified Necklace! It’s not officially done; I’ve got to hide the tails and block it, but I’ve never knit two of the exact thing before, so I wanted to use this opportunity to show you just how amazing blocking is.

Before and After at the Same Time!

The bottom shawl is mine and the top shawl will soon be my mom’s, pre blocking. You can see that the edges are curling up, the top is curling. It’s a good three inches smaller height wise and probably eight or ten inches shorter width wise.

The texture is completely different, too. You can see the top fabric is crinkly and rough looking, whereas the shawl I blocked is smooth.

I’m going to get soaking this baby and get it looking just like mine. Especially now that I have so much room for it to lay out and block properly!

Terror Kitties Strike Again

It has been a slow recovery from the weekend. PT and I got back into Chicago around 5 Sunday afternoon and we were both out for the count. We had sad tummies from all the eating/drinking and we were tired from all the lack of sleeping.

We had a little vacuuming to do before we could relax, however! Somehow Pudge Rodriguez and Velma found a bag of instant oatmeal, ripped the crap out of it, and framed that poor bear.

But, now it’s Wednesday.

And despite how it looks, I have been knitting!

… for myself.

Auto-Seam

Back and Sides

I feel very passionately that you need to be a selfish knitter to really love knitting. Knitters get a lot of shit for being selfish, but non knitters have NO IDEA how much time goes into knitting something.

I only knit for knitters, my family, and my very very closest friends. No, I’m not going to knit my friend’s boyfriend a pair of socks because that would take me like 16 hours. No, you can’t pay me to make you a pair of socks because if I charged you minimum wage for the time it takes me to knit a pair of socks it would cost you, in Illinois, $128. Yeah, they are sweet socks. But damn!

So, yeah, it’s the holiday knitting season and I’m knitting myself a sweater. What’s it to you?

I’m loving the Girl Friday sweater! The stitch pattern is great, though it did take me quite a while to memorize. The pattern blocks down flatter, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

The pattern calls for making the back and both front pieces, so when I cast on the sweater, which started at the bottom, I just figured out the ribbing and went from there. When I got to the lace pattern I had to do a little adjusting; a decrease there and an increase here, just so the pattern would be even over all three of the pieces and match up. It’s working out! I’m almost done with the back panel.

Glorified Necklas #2

And I haven’t ONLY been knitting that sweater. My mom demanded I knit her a Glorified Necklace, and I can’t blame her. Have you been noticing how much I wear this thing?! I ripped up another sleeve and am a few rows into the lace pattern. I love it! I just wish I had the yarn to make it in a different color. I feel like an OCD freak when I’m wearing the same project I’m working on.

I’m also working on PT’s Christmas Present, but I’ll get to that later.

Roasted Potatoes, Beans, and Veggies

Lentil Soup

We were putting off the grocery shopping because of our trip to Minnesota last weekend, but now we just don’t know what to do. We need to go grocery shopping, but we need a car sized grocery trip. With no car and no real solution to this problem, we are pretending it doesn’t exist! And you know how good I am at pantry eating.

A winter go to meal is roasted potatoes, beans, and veggies. It’s filling, costs like 3 pennies to make, and is delicious. We will recipe this one out soon.

And yesterday I made some lentil soup with pinto beans and carrots. I finished it off for lunch today! How much do I psychotically love lentils?

I stopped by Emilio’s Produce on the way home today for a 1/2 gallon of milk, a bag of onions, broccoli, and an impulse buy – an avocado. That should get us to the weekend.

… SPEAKING OF THE WEEKEND! YARNCON! It’s Saturday! Come say hi to me and my hot sign.

Yesterday was a pretty chill day here in St Paul. We could be no help to the bride or groom, no matter how much we begged, and no one wanted to hang out with us.

PT, Hot Tang

Not So Hot Tang

So we had to amuse ourselves by watching The Biggest Loser and Hell’s Kitchen, and then going to Black Sea Restaurant, the only/finest/first Turkish restaurant in Minnesota.

Veggie Sandwich, Appetizer Platter

I ordered some Turkish Orange Tea, which tasted just like hot Tang in the best way possible. We ordered number 4, the Meza platter, for one to share, and I had an amazing veggie sandwich, number 20, with fries. The eggplant was great it in!

PT LOVED Turkey!

PT ordered the falafel sandwich, number 21, because he needed a day to recover from all the meat he had been eating the last few days.

Turkish Coffee

Black Sea Restaurant is owned by a married couple, and pictures of them hugging are all over the restaurant. They are hugging on every page of the menu. Newspaper clippings about Black Sea Restaurant are posted all over, all with pictures of them hugging. Yelp reviews talk about how sometimes the restaurant is closed unexpectedly, with just a note on the door that says, ‘wife sick’.

The place was packed and was never not packed the entire time we were there. They might be on to something.

After our meal we ordered Turkish coffees and baklava. I have never had baklava, so I can’t compare it to anything, but this was so out of control I must have blacked out while eating it, because I have no pictures.

PT had a secret meeting in the afternoon, so I napped and read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I psychotically loved Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and SS&S isn’t living up. Which is probably why I ended up falling asleep.

Andy Was Cold

:(

After PT’s secret meeting Andy and Katie invited us over to their sweet apartment to play some Mexican Train Dominoes and hang out before yet another party at the Chris Hill residence.

Andy got cold and had to wear my Glorified Necklace. I think I’ll design a boy’s line of lace shawls. They will sweep the nation.

Katie pulled out her hot Tigers shirt that she happened to wear a few weeks ago, at the height of the Twins/Tigers craziness, not because she is a Tigers fan, but just because she likes the shirt. And who wouldn’t? It’s SWEET. She got yelled at by an old man who, when she told people who were heckling her that she doesn’t know anything about baseball, said, ‘You should never say you don’t know anything.’

That is a life lesson.

There are no pictures of the party because I was too busy yelling at fake Yankees fans and trying to cheer PT up after the Twins fell apart and lost in extras in game two last night. It was painful. For them.

Yeah, That is Snow

Painful for me? Waking up to SNOW ON THE GROUND. SNOW. ON THE GROUND. That is PT’s mom’s backyard.

And I’m wearing that tiny dress with tiny shoes (with holes in them, even). I’m glad I brought nylons?

MINNESOTA! Why do you hate me?!

The wedding is in T-4 1/2 hours. I should shower. And find a hot water bottle to hide under my dress.