pepperknit

So far four people have named me in the little lovey meme that’s going around. Thanks so much, Sulafaye, Jennie, and Specs–and I just heard from Jenny Girl, who has never once commented! I think you guys are great, too. With Valentine’s Day, my most favoritest holiday, right around the corner, I’m eager to spread the love as well.

Here, then, the blogs that always make me smile and happy when they go boldface in my Google Reader.

Lickety Knit. I went away for a weekend in the woods in New Hampshire with Rachel, her husband, and her husband’s sister, and none of them snuck into my room in the middle of the night to slit my throat or otherwise harm me!

Flint Knits. I’d been reading this blog for 2 days when Pam posted that she was coming to New York. I was the only person to agree to a get-together, I discovered with dismay–no one else wanted to meet this girl? Sigh, what kind of misfit would she turn out to be? But she was actually kinda cool!

Dogged. What can I say that hasn’t been said already? (And she sent me one of her owls, so I’m legally obliged to say she’s one of my favorites. It was in the contract of acceptance of the gift.)

The Knitting Philistine. If only we’d known each other before I moved from Philly, because we would totally have been knitting together all the time.

Twin Knit. Another gal who went through similar life changes as me–and then moved back to Philly–again, after I’d moved away.

Lolly. Now, this girl posts too often, which makes it hard for me to keep up, and she is certainly not lacking for fans, but she’s become a really great friend over these blogging years. She’s even hung out with my mom, and my mom adores her, so she’s like part of my family now.

Bag ‘n’ Trash. Maryse and I actually have a mutual real-life friend, which is how I even first started reading her blog, but her photos alone keep me coming back.

And So the Days Are Filled. I feel as if Meg and I would have been great real-life friends if she didn’t live all the heck way over in Australia.

Joce. Jocelyn’s the queen of crafty women, easily distracted, always funny, and generally a delightfully supportive friend.

Annie Knits. Anne-Marie is another real-life friend, and not only do I admire her knitting, but the girl has a loom.

And an 11th, just because I can: Specs! How did I not put her in the main list!? When I first saw her blog, I immediately subscribed–you just know, you know, when you’ve found a kindred spirit?

I’m loving all these lists around the blogosphere, because it’s also introducing me to some amazing blogs that I wonder why I haven’t been reading all this time. Just what I need, even more in my Google Reader!

Left Unfinished #1

Many of you asked about the many many lovely small skeins of yarn I got as a birthday present. They’re Koigu, sample sizes. A friend had received them but she’s not as much of a knitter as I am. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with them, but keen observers noticed that I’d arranged them in a deliberate sequence of progressing colors . . . because I’ve got entrelac on the brain. Note that I’ve never done entrelac before, but how hard can it be? For now, though, the yarn is marinating in a box under the couch. First I need to wait for a night when all I’m in the mood to do is wind yarn on the ball winder. (You can’t force nights like that.)

Left Unfinished #2

I had a contest! Remember? I asked for advice for my newly 30 self. The responses were quite varied, and ranged from the mollifying to the enthusiastic. Personally, I preferred the enthusiastic–no way should anyone be worried about turning 30! I had two prizes to give out–a copy of Folk Socks and a skein of Neighborhood Fiber Company sock yarn (I know I didn’t tell you that that was what it was going to be, but that’s what I have to give). My father was regularly checking the comments, and he couldn’t help weighing in on who should win. I had intended to go with some kind of random number, but he was partially impartial enough for me! (That is, it’s not like he knows one of your from another and could have been playing some kind of preconceived favorites. Plus, my blog, my rules.) I’m happy to announce the winner of the book is Nell, and the yarn goes to Serenknitity! (The book/yarn designation was totally random–it’s not as if he said “I think the yarn is best for her” or anything, and to me they’re equally wonderful gifts. I hope you feel the same way.) Congrats, and thanks everyone for playing! I’ve emailed the winners to ask for addresses, but here’s a reminder to get in touch.

Left Unfinished #3

Jenn tagged me for a meme. I’m a month late and a dollar short, but I figured, hey, I’ll play! I’ve done these kinds of things before, but I’ll try to come up with new and interesting things. “Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.”

1. When I’m waiting to meet a friend, I always fear that I won’t recognize him or her. It’s been pointed out to me that I have no experience of having not recognized someone (also: for some reason I think the sole responsibility for recognizing falls on my shoulders), but the worry comes up nonetheless. This happens no matter how long I’ve known someone–20 years or 2 months–and I inevitably recognize my friend from more than a block away by gait alone.
2. Speaking of gait, I am generally very good at identifying someone by just the sound of their footfalls. This skill was first developed in college, when you hear people walking up and down the hall at all times, and it has been since honed in office settings.
3. You know how a strand of your own hair will come unattached from your head and fall to the floor? Only it almost never falls right to the floor–it settles on your shirt and tickles the back of your arm? This annoys me so much that I am constantly reaching around and grabbing at my arm/shirt to hopefully grasp any stray hairs to get rid of them. I don’t know if I’m particularly sensitive to this, but the slightest end of a strand of hair out of place drives me crazy.
4. I’m one of those people who can smell the asparagus in my pee. Apparently–I read this in a book once–the agent that causes the smell is always there, it’s just that some people can smell it and others can’t.
5. I believe that certain artificial flavors–notably “grape” and anything that uses the word “blue” or crazy blue packaging–don’t taste like anything but that color. That is, things labeled “grape” actually just taste purple, and “Sharkelberry Fin” Kool-Aid (which is raucously blue) just tastes like blue. This theory is particularly convenient when it comes to orange things. (ha!)

So there are my 5 weird facts. In case you didn’t notice, they’re all about the senses.

~

OK! With unfinished business out of the way, I can happily move onto finished business. And then some new unfinished business, which will eventually turn into finished business, and–hey!–I seem to have discovered the trick to this knitblogging thing!

Many thanks to Brenda for being the first to let me know of my idiotic mistake, in which I completely shut my own blog down due to financial issues. That is, I forgot to update my credit card info with the various agencies that I needed to pay upon the anniversary of purchasing the domain name and server space. She instant messaged me with a “what happened?” and I was like “huh? . . . oh, SHIT!” [smacks head]

So I quickly paid up, and fretted about the potential loss of everything, but it seems we are unharmed. All that time away gave me some time for this, though . . .

Not a final final swatch, but definitely an informative tool for slight tweaks from here.

Guess what I discovered? My blogiversary was, um, back in May. May 30. I had it in my head that the anniversary was in July! The purchase of pepperknit.com does date to July, but I didn’t even debut the new blog until August. So . . . no excuses, I missed my blogiversary, plain and simple. It’s now been two-plus years. In some ways it doesn’t seem like that long, and yet it feels as if I’ve been at it forever–can’t imagine my life without it.

Knitting, however. . . . I have not been knitting. Is it because it’s summer? Or something else? I don’t know, but though I tote unfinished socks around in my bag every day, I don’t add to the number of stitches. I’ve been busy, and that definitely gets in the way, and I’ve been Flickring, which is a time-suck beyond all others. Oh, and I’ve been fantasizing about these . . .

But I have no timeframe for unbundling these little lovelies. I need an FO, though, and fast! Will revisit some single socks and see what I can pull together. It’d be a pickmeup for me, and it would actually give me something to talk to you guys about!

“What!” Sydelle Pulaski cried.

I repeat: Wrong! All answers are wrong! Partnerships are canceled; you are on your own. Alone.

Erm . . . wait, this isn’t The Westing Game (the best book ever written–and if you’re a fan, as all those who’ve read it are, you must click on that link). But that’s what I always think when something is wrong. Amazingly, despite 75 entries, no one hit on the number of knitting books I own exactly. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

The average was 40.5.

The median (middle) number was 42.

The mode (most common) were 27, 33, 42, and 44 (three each).

The highest offered, by Robin, was 112 (egads!).

The lowest offered was a tie, MeBeth and Elinor, at 17.

How many books do I have? I’m practically embarrassed to reveal it now. Let’s take a look at my bookshelf.

That’s it. I swear. 16 books. See, what you guys don’t seem to know about me is that I am cheap. My stash is rather small too, though the way I talk about it you might not realize it. I mean, what all do I knit? Hats that I make up myself, mittens that I modify for myself, sweaters from magazines, and socks. Small things. Free Internet pattern things.

The bookshelf is not usually this “organized,” but for the photo I moved the Interweaves and other magazines to one side. My most-used books are, of course, the Barbara Walkers–both stolen from my mom. Some were gifts, but as I’ve said before, no one really gives me knitting stuff as gifts. It’s not as if I don’t love knitting books, and not that I don’t find inspiration from them. The collection is growing–I’ve added a bit in the last few months–and I expect to see it grow. There is, however, one more book that I could put on this shelf, but it’s not a reference so I don’t, but I can’t deny that it’s got knitting content. It’s also the most hysterical book I own, and I’m proud to say I worked on it.

That brings the total up to 17, so I’m going to award the contest to both MeBeth and Elinor. (How could I pick just one or the other?) I meant to get to a knitting shop this weekend to see what I could get for the prizes, but I was crazy busy and didn’t get around to it. Both of you guys email me your mailing addresses, and I promise to come through soon. MeBeth, maybe we meet at The Point and I send you on a (small) shopping spree! We’ll get another of whatever you get (or something of equal value) for Elinor.

Now for the other winner. My 2000th comment came from Liz K. from Crossroad Knits! And I couldn’t be more thrilled that she hit the number exactly, because she’s such a delightful and loving person, who I’m so happy to count as one of my friends. A long while back we discovered a shared love of great cheese, and we would email with Philly restaurant recommendations and reviews. Since I moved to New York, she’s been an enormous source of support, sharing her own stories and just being there for me if I needed someone. Her blog (which she shares with two other amazing women) is a great read, too! So Liz, please email me your mailing address, and I’ll get something (again, a mystery–bad contest runner, Minty! [slaps hand]) to you soon.

Thanks to everyone for playing! I have a lot more blogs to add to my out-of-control blogroll, and I hope to see you more often in the comments section! And since I’ve revealed my pathetic knitting book collection: What’s the book I should own that I don’t? Recommendations?

So that picture from the last post, of me knitting at the post office? I took it myself. Really! I used the self-timer, and I set the camera down on a woman’s package that she had propped on a small pylon. It’s totally staged–I set the camera up, set the timer, and got my hands into position. (For those who asked: the yarn is in my purse, over my right shoulder.) The self-timer is pretty long (10 seconds?), so I had plenty of time.

I’ve been using this feature and playing with my camera a lot so far this year. Why? Well, maybe partly because I live alone and if I don’t take them myself, who will? (Don’t you always wish you had a staff photographer, who would follow you around and document your life, the way presidents have?) But I’m bonded with my camera–and have no qualms about taking it out to set up a self portrait in public–because I’ve undertaken a project for the year.

I’m taking one self portrait a day. 365 days, 365 self portraits. I figure, it’s 2007: The Year of Erin, I should have a solid visual record. The photos above are just a sampling of the ones I did using the self-timer, including one on the subway, one running down the hall, and the one today, celebrating the first lunch outside of the year. I’ve taken more while holding the camera in my hand, because it’s easier–check out my Flickr set to see the rest. Edited to add: I’m participating in the 365 Days Flickr group, with nearly 3,500 other folks–some of whom started on Jan 1, but plenty of others who started on a random Tuesday. It’s just 365 Days, not necessarily 2007, so if you’re interested in participating, don’t wait!

Today is day 73, and I see no signs of flagging. I really like it. Most days, I try to think of what that day was all about, and I try to find a way to capture it. Like the post-yoga bliss after my first class since moving to New York, or my first burger at Le Parker Meridian, or heading to a potluck brunch at a friend’s. Of course, that’s not the case every day–it would be impossible–but looking back at the photos so far recalls specific memories, and I’m so happy to have them. It’s also a way to be honest with myself about where I am, what I’m feeling, how I look, who I am on this journey into my new life.

• • •

Shifting gears: We’re about to cross a milestone comment number here at Pepperknit. The 2000th commenter is going to win a prize. And because I like for contests to have a, you know, contest element, there will be two prizes. To win the second prize, guess how many books on knitting I own. (This does not include Interweave Knits issues, which are not books, but does include Rowan Magazine, because it’s so booklike.) If more than one person guesses correctly, I will do one of those random number generators to pick a single winner. (The 2000th commenter will be exempt from winning the second prize.) I haven’t decided yet what these prizes will be, but I’ll think of something. Besides, you don’t really care what it is, right? It’s all about winning, not the prize! (Or is that just how I play these games?) Anyway, it’ll be yarn or something knitterly. And if you’re a nonknitter (I know there are some of you), I’ll think of something else suitably appropriate. Contest closes on Sunday, March 18, at 8pm EST.

2006. The most tumultuous year of my adult life. I started it in a stable relationship of nearly 10 years, at a good job of nearly 7 years, in a comfy apartment where I’d lived for nearly 3 years, in my adopted city of nearly 7 years. I’m ending 2006 in no relationship, in a new job of 2 months, in a comfy apartment where I’ve lived for 2 months, in a completely new city. I couldn’t have predicted the sheer amount of change I’d go through.

As an aside, I’ve learned of this astrological thing called Saturn Return. Did you guys know about this? Now, I’m quite a skeptic, but sometimes this astrology stuff gets me very intrigued. This phenomemon apparently occurs over the course of time from when you are 28 to 30 years old. It describes a time of “challenge, fear, doubt, confusion, difficulty, seriousness, heaviness, and hard lessons, among other more positive things such as structure, significance, accomplishment, reflection, power, prestige, maturity, and order” (from Wikipedia) and another site quotes an astrologer who describes it as “one of the most important times in your life. . . a time of endings and new beginnings.” Is this uncanny or what? Because, uh, I turned 29 on Thanksgiving this year.

My dad has declared “2007: The year of Erin,” and I’m going to live by this mantra. Only positive changes from here on out, right?

But this is really a knitting blog, though there’s no strict rules or anything, and as for the knitting retrospective, let’s take a look back.

I finished 17 of the things that I started in 2006. Six pairs of socks, four toys, and a lot of gifts. The only things for myself were the first pair of Pomatomus (orange), the headband, and the Kiri shawl. The second pair of Pomatomus (blue) has been regifted to me, actually, so I did score one other thing for myself. I hadn’t really looked at the sum of the year’s knitting in one place before, and I hadn’t realized just how little I knit for myself. That is all going to change in the coming year, let me tell you. I’m also a little frustrated by the number of FOs total. (Oh, wait! I also designed a baby sweater, but I still have the idea that I will write up the pattern and submit it somewhere for publication, which is why I don’t show it here.) It seems high–17 things over the course of 12 months–but so many of these things were impossibly small (a headband, two small toys, a hat). All over the blogosphere, people are finishing things left and right; it makes me insanely jealous. It’s so silly to be jealous, but the emotion is there. How to resolve this burning emotion? Uh, knit more, stay more focused, and complete the things you start.

Because I started quite a few things that haven’t been finished. Several pairs of socks crowd my knitting basket and are occupying perfectly good sock needles, and someday I’ll get back to them, I swear. For most of them I hit a stumbling block–not enough yarn, or the need to decrease before doing the heel and an inability to decide how to do it–and it sidelined the project entirely. Must sit down and resolve these remaining issues, and get some things off the needles.

Coming up for 2007, I plan several knitting-related things.

• Use up the stash. No yarn buying until the stash is reduced by 1/3.
• Finish the Cambridge Jacket for me.
• Knit Sahara from Stitch Diva for me, using some kind of fabulous yarn. (Still need to buy the pattern, the yarn, etc.)
• Explore the different yarn stores in New York City, getting familiar with them in advance of being allowed to buy yarn.
• Finish more projects!!

I’m also going to make a few nonknitting-related resolutions.

• Get back on track for doctor’s visits, including the dentist, allergist, etc. Perhaps try for allergy shots or acupuncture to control the allergies.
• Get to bed at a decent hour every night. No more procrastinating sleep.
• Eat lunch and dinner every day, at least. It’s pathetic to spell this out as a resolution, but I am prone to not eating big meals. I know everyone says breakfast is the most important, but I will allow that as my expendable meal.
• Generally start saving more money, which means eating in more often and packing my lunch.
• Explore New York City! Make it my own. Do so in the company of my absolutely fabulous friends.

I think all bloggers agree: We live for comments. We would roll around naked in comments if such a thing were physically possible and/or actually pleasurable. We want comments on every post, every sneeze, every stitch, the works. We hope that particular posts will strike a chord, will elicit smiles, or even spark a discussion. We read every last line of our site stats, but when we see a pleasant spike in visitors we merely say, “but you couldn’t leave me a comment!?” We always–always–wish we got more comments.

Until we wish we didn’t.

I’ve been hit with an inordinate amount of spam this evening–stuff my trusty Akismet isn’t picking up. So I’ve had to set all comments to await my approval (though I think if you have an already approved comment, it’ll let you through). According to Akismet, it “learns” what new spam exists and starts to catch on. I wish it were a slightly faster learner! All the spam tonight has been of the same ilk, so I can’t believe it hasn’t figured it out yet. Sigh. Such a pain in the butt.

Back when I was first starting my blog, I contacted a blogger I’d been reading for a while, to ask her a couple of questions. Rachel of Lickety Knit was the first blogger I ever made a comment for, and she was my first non-real-life-friend commenter! And this week I got to meet her in person!

She was in NYC for some meetings, and I was free for lunch, so we had some yummy Thai food with a generous side of great conversation. After the initial shock and novelty of meeting in person faded, we settled into simply catching up–and I felt as if I were with an old friend. My only surprise was her voice, which was lower than I’d expected, though I can’t say why I expected a certain tone at all.

Bad bloggers that we are, neither of us had our camera with us. Neither of us had knitting with us, either! Luckily, I just got a new phone, complete with built-in camera, so I was able to capture the moment. We took some time to be completely silly:

And in more silliness, it took me until today to figure out how the heck to get the photo out of my phone and into my computer. I wanted to do it for free, and I finally did it! It’s not crazy brain science, it’s Verizon’s little “PIX Place” feature. Anyway, it ultimately was easy once I understood how it would operate.

It’s been a long week, or I would try to say more or be more witty. Instead, I will shamefacedly settle for sincerity. Thanks for a great lunch, Rachel–we’ll have to do it again!

Hey, it’s me, Minty, known as Erin in the real world, and I bit the bullet and bought the domain pepperknit.com. I’ll be blogging from here now; please update your bookmarks, blogfeeds, etc.

This is still very much a work in progress, and the site will continue to grow and develop over time. It’s amazing how long it takes to get it all together. Eventually you can expect to click on the left sidebar to find:

• A gallery of photos, and not just finished objects
• A page with info about me, for people who are new to the site
• A page devoted to patterns, both free and (hopefully, soon) worth some money

We’ll see where it goes. I’m tweaking the code and playing around, so please bear with me and feel free to offer suggestions.