i can't wait to see all the utterly witty titles pertaining to dragons that i can come up with while i'm knitting the HBDS....i appologize in advance!  lots of interest in keeping you all updated on the progress, trials, and tribulations of the HBDS, so i will do my best to oblige.  i've decided to post WIP pics when i complete a chart set (the pattern has the charts broken into 4 sections).  in that vein, here's the pics of Chart 1 (82 rows down!) completed: as of right now, i'm loving the pattern.  it is a great deal more involved that a lot of the knitting that i have been doing, and i'm tinking back a lot.  since there aren't really vertical pattern repeats (or horizontal, for that matter) i'm not using any life lines (that and i don't really use them all that much anyhow).  the pattern is worked on both right and wrong sides, so there isn't even a purl-respite every other row.  that's where a lot of the tinking has come into play.  there is a stitch used called the Horizontal stitch that i was not familiar with, and the instructions as written in the pattern were a bit unclear (imho).  i did some searching and sussed it all out, and now i'm enamoured of that particular stitch.  here's a detail picture that shows how the dragon form is made in a twisted latice type stich and how the horizontal stitches come into play.  now to print off chart two!

i've been very unproductive as far as knitting goes this past week.  the friend that i'd made the Skully Vest for moved, and i helped out.  oh...my....god.  it really really sucked, but at least it's done with!  i failed to get pictures of her wearing the vest (i forgot the camera) but i'll get around to it sometime!  i also made another buddy of mine an alpaca hat--there was absolutely nothing excitting about it that's why no pics--but he loved it.  the 2 for 2 on knitted gifts this past weekend got me thinking about the Yule season and gift giving.  and also the fact that the majority of my friends have their birthdays within the next 6 months or so.  i think that i might start giving bigger knitted gifts for birthdays, and smaller ones at holiday time.  that way, i don't go insane trying to make 20 sweaters or shawls in the next 95 days.  it seems logical to me.
upcoming WIP's are as follows:

i have four birthdays to try and get ready for this month....gah.  it's almost as bad as christmas (which is only 110 days off, btw--eeek!).  the skully deep v-neck for b-day 1 is coming along alright.  i've finished up one repeat of the pattern, and i'm fairly certain that the gauge is going to be just dandy.  i'm love love loving how this looks so far.  this will be the first large scale piece that i've given as a gift--well, one that has to fit (not like a shawl), and i'm sooo nervous about it.  either way, it'll look good, i suppose!
the gift for b-day #2 will be the boring and grey alpaca hat.  i made one already, but i wasn't really happy with how it turned out (i think that i'm going to use a swirling decrease pattern).  i'm not overly worried about timing on this one, cause seriously, a little hat doesn't take hardly anytime at all.
my sister-in-law's birthday is on Mexican Independance day, and i picked up some more delicious Malabrigo to make her some felted lovelies.  i also grabbed up another skien of the autumny colorway that i used for the felted mobius basket for a bag for me...cause i tend to get a little antsy just knitting gifts.  is anyone else like this?  i think that it has to do with being nervous about how the gift will be received.  i know that i'll be thrilled when i finish somthing for myself so i usually don't have to worry.  gahh..
i also need to think up something to make my mama (who has birthday 4 at the end of the month).  any thought? 

my 100th post--holy crap.  the 1 year Blogiversary came and went without fanfare, but somehow, the 100th post feels like a huge milestone.  in honor of it, this will be a GIGANTIC post.  yippee!!!!
this weekend involed running around to 3 different LYS.  mmmmm.  G and i finally got to check out Sheep Street Fibers.  It's a lovely shop, and i really wish that my wheel wasn't being a shithead, cause there was soooo many different spinning fibers there!  silk hankies, merino top dyed lovely jewel tones, cashmere, merino/silk blends...oh, it made me dizzy!  i resited temptation, listened to the reasonable voice in my head saying "um...your wheels all janky.  maybe you should just get some yarn..."  and i did that.  i picked up 2 skiens of Nature Spun Worsted in Coffee Bean and Garland for mittens (more on those in a second). 
then, we went to Stitches & Scones.  oh, i love that store.  we picked up one of their bags--and what a great bag it is--zipper pockets, big enough for a sweater in progress--that gives us a 10% discount every time we shop there.  how cool is that?  i also picked up a set of Bryspun DPN's (i love the Bryspun needles and their scoopy little tips) and a pair of 9 mm, 47" long Addis to use with mobius strip things.  i finally broke down and bought a skien of Malabrigo merino.  the colorway i picked at first confused me--it's not really of colors i normally would chose--then i looked at it all wound into a ball and it hit me:  it lookes exactly like autumn leaves!  autumn is my most favorite season, and i'm hard-core gunning for it to get here!  i think the yarn was my plea to mother nature to hurry it up!  i'm planning on making a felted bowl or bag or something with this.  it's really lovely yarn, and i sorta want to buy enough to make a little nest out of...*sigh*
i got some new beadworking tools, and i made up a few stitch markers on Sunday.  i love the subversive set on the bottom--they make me giggle so. 
i really needed a break from Eris, so i decided to make these awsome squirrel & oak mittens from Hello Yarn.  i got some Dale Falk at Mass Ave on Friday, cast on and finished mitten 1 in about 3.5 hours (whoot!) green and chocolate brown (their gonna be "thin minttnes" hahaha).  blocked it out and all that, and CRAP!!!  i don't make mittens, so i'm not terribly firmilar with the sizing and what not.  and, as small as i am, i have freakishly long fingers (i normally can't wear store bought gloves and such cause the fingers are always waaaayyy too short).  these factors combined to make a tiny weeny mitten that doesn't fit me at all!  and it looked so good!  i picked up some worsted weight yarn (above mentioned Nature Spun) and some 3.5 mm DPN's, and i think that that will make a mitten that i'll actually be able to wear.  i'm also going to change the pattern to make the thumb with a gore.
my Lace Swap pal let me know that my package is in the post!  it's coming from Australia!  how cool is that????  i'm super jazzed!

i totally could have broken my neck getting this picture for you to see the 1st finished sleeve of the Eris sweater!!  (i had to hop up on a 18" tall stool at the last moments of timer beepage, and i almost went into the shelving behind me...cause i'm graceful as a ballerina).  so, here's the sleeve in its lumpy, unblocked glory.  i didn't work it as long as instructed, which is good cause look how long it ended up anyhow!  i like the length of it, and i'm glad i checked the length when i did.  i basically like how the Main Line feels knit up (i am crossing my fingers that a good washing will loosen up the fabric just a titch, but if not, it'll be alright), but i freakin' hate how it's making my wrists/hands feel!  for a little bit, i was considering going all asymmetrical with one short sleeve and one long, but i think that has passed.  i'm being really good for me, and, though i have approximately 27 projects i'd like to cast on for, i'm trudging through this sweater.  you know about my chronic PI, so this is quite an achievement for me!

in swap news, my Lace Swap pal package was sent out yesterday, and is heading northernly from where i am (see, it's a little clue since the revealing is soooo close!).  i hope it gets there all unscathed and whatnot.  and i read about a new swap/secret thing on Dani's blog, and because she is an Eee-vile Swap Temptress (as well as the bee's knees) i decided to join the Sockret Pal swap.  it does sound pretty fun, and i think i'm turning into a swap junkie.  head on over there and sign up.....do it!  ya know you want to!

i'm getting dangerously close to finishing up Eris.  i've gotten the front bottom cable details completed.  the picture is a bit dark, but you get the idea, i hope.  i like the edging on the bottom of this: Rogue called for a hem, which can be a really nice touch, but in worsted weight yarn, the double thickness was just too much.  the bottom of my sweater always flairs out a bit, no matter how crazily i block the damn thing.  the edge treatment for Eris is a knit-on border that takes advantage of slipped stitch to cause the very edge of St st to curl under, making a nice clean line.  it's very neat and clean looking, but i've not got it finished and it would be a damned boring picture!

i'm a crazy lover of the old time radio programs, and i used to be able to catch them on the NPR station that was out of Xavier university.  i think that they must have not been a big draw at pledge time 'cause they stopped.  and i was very dissapointed.  but today, the clouds parted and the sun streamed down onto me!!!  the fella sent me the link for OTR.Network Library, and i have a steady stream of radio programs available at a mouse click--for free.  i am beside myself with glee.  Inner Sactum, Suspense, and X minus 1  have been speeding me through work on Eris.

i've learned of a new knitting group that's just a block from my apartment.  i think that i'm going to check it out on wednesday--i'll let ya know how it goes if i do.

and now, cause i know you've all been anxiously waiting for it, the cooked purple and green cauliflower.  see???  it stayed pretty colored!!!  whoot.  i roasted it, and it was deeeelish.  if you'd like to try it, toss cauliflower florets with enough olive oil to lightly coat, some crushed garlic, a bit o' lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.  bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15-25 minutes or desired level of doneness.  my favorite type of recipe--simple, tasty, and beautiful!

i make no secret about the fact that i suffer from PI (project infidelity).  but, after reorganizing my knitting space, i realized just how bad it's gotten.  sure, there are the projects that i started, hated, and just haven't got around to frogging yet (oh, i hatehatehate you, MANLY SWEATER of SUCK).  there are the ones that i still love and work on, all be it in little spurts--most often, shawls fall into this category.  these aren't suprising, and i'm not a bit ashamed of the PI.  atleast i wasn't.  that all changed when i stumbled upon a new category of WIP's--the FWIP's or Forgotten Works in Progress.  i completely spaced that these were on needles.  (in one case, i even spaced the needles!)  Exhibit A:  the modified DNA/Calla hybrid.  i was so jazzed about this when i started.  i love the yarn, the pattern is geeky on at least 2 levels, and it's not that hard of a knit.  yep, totally slipped my mind.  i didn't even remember that i owned the size 5 circs that this baby is on, that's how far removed from thought it was.

Exhibit B:  the second Via Diagonale bag.  this hasn't even been on the needles all that long, and i was retarded for it when i started.  i can't explain it. *ETA* um, yeah, and it's on my progress bar thing...god, i suck.

Exhibit C:  Kilt Hose from the book Folk Socks.  i had such a hard-on to knit these that i went out and bought additional yarn to make sure i had enough.  like, praying the LYS still had the same dyelot and everything. 

what scares me most is that i'd put money on there being other FWIP's lurking about that i just haven't stumbled on.   i'm sure that i can't be the only knitter that this has happened to, and thus i propose adding FWIP to common knitting accronyms.  spread the word!

the fella got off of work early today, so we decided to go check out another LYS that we'd never been to before.  (i'd thought that it was a good drive away, but it's not too far!)  i must say, i think that this store was awsome.  It's called Stitches and Scones, and it may just turn into my favored LYS while we are still in this area.  everyone was super helpful and friendly.  granted, i do have one of the coolest accessories for starting up conversations at LYS--a guy who knits.  it's pretty fabulous when a staff member comes over to G and quietly tells him there are couches if he wants to sit down to wait for me, and he says "oh!  actually, i knit too!"  it's so the best. anyhow, the people were nice, the selection was awsome, and they have a really cool insentive/discount program--the sell a bag with there shop logo to you for $15, and then every time you come in and buy something, if you have the bag, you save 10%.  how cool is that?  and who couldn't use more project bags?

That said, let me offer forth my opinion (and this is just based on my experiances at the named shops--take it with a grain of salt) of the Indianapolis area LYS G and i have been to.  Sure, the now defunct Bo Peep's was super friendly, but they really didn't have all that great a selection.  Mass Ave Knit Shop is just huge, has lots of yarn, and is overall pretty friendly.  it is at times, however, rather lousey with the cliques.  G and i have been going there for close to two years now, so we're pretty well recognized, but it was rather interesting with some of the staff for a while.  the owner, Susan, is a freakin' doll though. The Knit Shop, a fancy botique-style store right on 82nd street, is full of high-end yarns, but some of the staff make me want to pull out my freakin' hair.  it was here that one of the works informed me that i was S.O.L. if i wanted lace weight yarn that wasn't mohair.  HA!  the owner has a couple pomeranians that run all over the shop, too, which for me isn't a problem, but i'm not allergic to dogs.  The Golden Thimble in Broadripple has a lot of yarn in a tiny tiny space, but no one has ever been nice to us when we've gone there.  they eye us suspiciously as we walk around and everything.  also, they have a minimum purchase price for credit cards which is posted NO where that i saw.  i wanted a set of needles and had to buy (oh i know twist my arm) a skien of yarn to meet the price requirement.  not a big deal, but i would have liked some warning.  That's all the shops i've been to around here.  if anyone knows of any i missed, let me know cause i'd like to check them out!

so, you wanna see the yarn i picked up from Stitches and Scones?  they had Rowan Cork on their sale wall--40% off--so i picked up 3 skiens of the "Sour" colorway for a scarf.  more on the scarf as it developes.  i've got a bitchin' design in my head, and we'll see if i can translate it to 3-d real life shit.

i cast on for the Eris Cardi yesterday.  I've completed the neck portion thus far.  here; take a look-see: 
doesn't it look like a fancy toilet seat cover?  i ended up having to use 3.25 mm needles to reach the 8 rows/in gauge called for, and boy did that blow!  i don't think that i would go down that small even if i were to knit socks with the Main Line.  the yarn is 80% cotton and 20% wool, so it's still really inelastic.  i'm really glad to be done with this part.  from what i can tell, the collar size is just right.  i've decided to give adding short-rows to this pattern a try.  that way, i won't have to make a larger size just for the girls.  i prefer my knits to be more on the fitted side of the tracks being a curvy shorty type o' gal.  hugemongus sweaters, while cozy, make me look pretty rediculous i tend to think! 

well, i've decided to go for it.  i spent the bulk of the day putting down on to paper my very first ever designs for a sweater.  this is what my little work table looked like.  i felt like i was back in math class.  i've seen some other bloggers' notes for their own patterns, and they just look so....well, neat.  mine, at a quick glance, resemble calculus (poorly done and messy calc, granted).  it's nothing fancy; just a fitted v-neck cardigan.  i've had a bunch of Noro Lily for almost 2 years, and i'm hoping that this is what it was waiting for.  cause seriously, i don't think this poor yarn can stand a FOURTH froggin'. 

i've been all crazy-like for sweaters lately.  oh how i long for thee, Autumn.  and i've made an executive decision:  SUCKS to the "Manly Sweater".  i'm tearing the bastard apart!  no longer shall it call to me "finish me for the Fella!  finish me!! whooOOOOooooooooOOOO."  no.  i'm going to make the Cambridge Jacket from the summer IK.  here's a picture
i know, i know, nothing any more fancy than the sweater that shall no longer be named, really.  but it's soooo cute.  and i never really liked that other one, it was just there and the yarn was cheap.  and, coinsidently, the right gauge for this zippered hottie.  knitting serendipity, i tell ya!