Sjáumst á eftir

I'm going to work and then off I go to the airport. I've been reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell, and it's starting to get fun, but it's 800-ish pages and isn't really a good travelling book, so I'm leaving that home and bringing Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters instead.

And for knitting? Jaywalkers for mum, and the wrap sweater I started last summer.

The weather is just as unpredictable there as it is here, so far it looks like more rain for me. Not like I'm not used to that. So I am bringing a wide assortment of clothes.

By the way, I was at Morgunblaðið checking the weather for when I come (like it really matters what they say now) and saw this funny article. (For English, there must be an AP article, try googling "paper dress Marion Macedo".) The funny thing about this was when I went to the Boston Museum of Science the other week, there was a display that said "fad or flop". It would list things (say "hula hoop") and you are supposed to guess which it was, and then lift the flap for more details. One was paper dress. Well, I never heard of such a thing, so I figured "flop". But there was a real thing, I think in the 60s. And here it comes up again, weird.

See you all when I get back!

Another FO in the Summer of Babies

So as I mentioned, my neighbour is pregnant. On the way home from work, I stopped at the Expensive Yarn Store (since that one is on my way home from work). Mostly, they cater to people who can pay $35 for a skein of yarn. They don't stock many yarns I consider staple yarns (like basic wool yarn). They have things like novelty handpainted yarn. Sometimes we go for coffee near there, and we go and look at the cashmeres and silk blends and all these wonderful soft things that normal people like us can never afford. I do buy my needles there, since they are nicer than the Snobby Yarn Store which is the other store on my way home. But I figured I could find some decent cotton yarn there for a summer baby gift, so there I went.

I settled on some Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. I have to say, this is a really nice yarn, and I bet it would make a really cute sweater. It's a bumpy, textured yarn, so it's a little annoying to work with (it doesn't knit up quite as smoothly) but it comes out with a pretty fabric texture. One lady at the store was really helpful and even went to look for some scrap black yarn for my seeds in the back. (I ended up just buying a skein, maybe I'll have to make more of these hats). The other lady, however, made some comment to me when I said I was making a watermelon hat, "Oh those have been around for ages." (Still better than that shoplady who said to Ingi in front of me, "I hear Icelandic women are beautiful" but still kind of wrong nonetheless.) What if I thought I had this really cool novel idea (which I didn't, but I was still thinking it was fun)? Was she trying to prove she had been knitting longer than I? She probably has, because she is twice my age or so, but maybe not. Anyway, I still like the other lady in that shop and the guy who works there, they are both really friendly and nice.

Anyway, here is the hat, I'm afraid it's a bit big, but she's having a boy and she's starting to really show so I am thinking he might be a big baby. So I was afraid to make it too small.


I also sewed the lopapeysa zipper in (which was no small feat as it's been really hot here) and tried it on for a quick minute (as long as I could stand to wear it) and was told by the 13 year old that "It's kind of small but it actually looks OK." And since she wears clothes that are too big for Ingi, I think I'll take her word for it. So it's in my suitcase, along with gifts for the new baby I get to visit, and some of my clothes that I packed.

And finally, more visa news, I got that new form that they came up with in response to the news article I posted, I filled it out, sent it back, and got an email last night saying it had been processed. So I still have no idea how long a wait it is, but my fingers are crossed.

Jeans are done!

Well, I finished the jeans, and a good thing too, because the baby for whom they are intended was born. So I get to see him when I give his mom the gift!!!



These jeans weren't too bad knitting-wise, but they were definitely one of the most challenging projects I've done from a finishing level (and I hate finishing too!) My embroidery skills are rusty, so the embroidery didn't come out so great, but it was still fun, I stayed up late last night sewing bits of orange stitching on. There were lots of complicated details in terms of what to sew where and pants always confuse me when sewing because it just looks wrong, and there was the elastic (which luckily I had, since I had forgotten to check) to sew in and it was all just sort of tricky. Hopefully she likes them and they aren't too amateur looking.

A friend gave me some flowers. I have no idea what kind of lilies these are, but they smell amazing. I have never smelled anything more wonderful, they are different from every other lily I have ever seen. They are apparently from a really old plant (like they belonged to the mother of a guy who is in his 70s or something.)

My Poor Cat

One of the perils of being a longhaired cat is that you sometimes get mats so bad that even your owner or the groomer can't get them out. So then you get shaved and you can't show your face in public around your other cat friends (especially the kitten next door).

On knitting news, after purchasing a second shorter zipper (which was too short) I discovered that I had just pinned the original zipper on the lopapeysa wrong, and that indeed it was the right length. So now I've got to find a sewing needle. And all my pieces for the baby jeans are washed and ready to assemble (I just have to look for an elastic).

(If my website goes out tomorrow, it's because my hosting provider who was supposed to renew my domain forgot. grrr.)

What to pack...

Wow, I am leaving for Iceland NEXT WEEK. (OK, so it's more than 7 days, but it's still NEXT WEEK). They had nice weather today, but it has been quite cold lately so I am going to have to dig out the warm clothes and hurry up and sew that zipper on my lopapeysa. Seems like I am always finishing things up before I go, last year it was the leather jacket (which broke again BTW but I just can't sew it before I go this time, I'll have to look at that shop that sells last year's fashions and see if I can't find me a decent jacket). And I have both legs of the baby jeans knit so off they go into the washer to shrink tomorrow and then I've got to sew all THAT together. Before next Friday.

So I know I am bringing the baby jeans and the green pea sweater and his Smiths shirt and a bathing suit and then I've got to figure out what the weather seems like it wants to do. But as I worked on Hálfskák it occurred to me, I'm doing a lace-along with it and I want it to last the summer, so maybe I don't want to knit the whole time on it or I might finish it. And I've got a couple of plane trips and a 5 hour drive to Djúpavík (and I might do some car knitting, I don't think we will hold hands straight for 5 hours but who knows after not seeing each other since Easter ;)). So, what other knitting to bring? I was thinking about maybe one of the summer projects I stopped last summer, like the wrap cardigan or "yellow" sweater from Rebecca magazine. Or I want to make socks for my mum for a Christmas gift, so maybe I should start that. Or my neighbour is pregnant and I owe them a favour so I was thinking of making a variant on the Yarn Harlot watermelon hat.

Any suggestions? Any pretty sock patterns with picot edging that handle self-striping yarn for my mum?

Amazing Lace Challenge #2: Xtreme Lacing

Hálfskák was ready for some scary thrills.

First, we watched Buffy:


Then, Hálfskák dangled perilously over a Little League game bleacher (too horrifying to show picture).

We were then ready for the Ultimate Challenge. The most frightening thing ever. The horror of all horrors.....
We were going to The Mall.

Hálfskák drove.

It was an important undertaking: to find Hálfskák a partner.

Rebecca: How is this dress?
Hálfskák: Hann er of stuttur. (She's an Icelandic shawl, she speaks Icelandic.) He's too short
Rebecca: Well, how about this one?
Hálfskák: Þessi er of ljótur. He's too ugly
Rebecca: He's kind of nice...
Hálfskák: Nei ég get ekki verið með þessum kjól, þetta er Liberace, hann myndi hlaupast á brott með öðrum kjól úr fataskápnum þínum. No, I can't be paired with this dress, he's Liberace. He'd run off with another dress in your closet.
Rebecca: *sighing* (Did I mention I hate shopping?) Is THIS one OK?
Hálfskák: Það er ást! Hann er fullkominn! MJÖÖÖÖÖG fallegur! It's love! He's perfect! SOOOOO beautiful!
Rebecca: Well, that's a relief. Too bad he's at least one size too big for your wearer.

After some heated discussions with the shop staff (talk about Xtreme return policy), it was agreed to allow me to order a smaller size dress to try on that I would actually be allowed to not buy if it didn't fit. Of course, somehow this couldn't be taken care of on the weekend, so I had to call back and go through this whole conversation again on Monday.

Warning: click link at own peril! (And if you're not supposed to click it, you know who you are, elskan mín!)
So this is the dress.

And Hálfskák and I should be able to avoid the mall until Christmas.

News is no good news

Well, I wonder how long we will be waiting now. Ironically, he and I were just having a conversation on how these men (Icelandic ones too) will marry these women from third-world countries and oppress them. It's nice that we want to protect them but it's an example of beaurocracy gone horribly wrong. (And sadly I wonder just how many of these poor women this is going to help.)

Anyway, there is SOME good news. I did the finishing on the baby sweater that I am bringing to Iceland.

Happy mail day

So today I received the official notice that we have a case number for the visa processing. I guess that doesn't sound that exciting, it's hurry up and wait. But to me it's exciting, it means things are going through the channels, and now I have a case number to look up its status with (and see that it is still pending.)

I also meant to post this picture of the blocking lopapeysa when my site was down:

Washing it was kind of like washing my dog (except it didn't move around as much), I ended up with my hands covered in little black hairs.

I learned an important lesson too, which is measure for your zipper AFTER you block. I kind of held the sweater up to a zipper in the store, which is not very scientific and I ended up with a zipper that was too long. So I've got to go back out to the store to get the correct one.

I'm watching Sweden play Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup right now. It's still 0 to 0 but this has been a really exciting match to watch. I watched part of the England game and part of this one while doing some housework. I don't really care much for watching sports on TV but this is a rare exception. We're going to have to leave the house for Little League before this match is done so if anyone scores any goals I'll have to miss it. :(

Back after technical difficulties

The server where my site is hosted had some problems, which amounted to being out of space and my main page getting eaten. So here I am, back. In the meantime, I had knitting technical difficulties. The baby sweater I had knit, intending as a gift for baby#1, was in the 2nd to smallest size, "6 months". So the jeans come in 3 sizes: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months. Which one would go with the 6 months size sweater? I opted for the 3rd largest size. Then, when I was nearing the end of the first leg, I looked at my first ball of yarn and saw that there was not much left. Consulting the pattern again, that size called for 3 balls of yarn. Úps. So I ripped the whole thing out, and started again with the second size. Worst case, the baby will wear the jeans and the sweater at different times.

Then I got confused by the "fake seam" instructions, but I think I got it sorted out:


Now I am forgetting all the post ideas I had when I had no access to my website, so I will just briefly talk about the movie I just finished watching: The Governess, which is several years old but I had only recently heard about. It was a really entertaining love story drama sort of movie, starring Minnie Driver. It's in the same vein as Girl With A Pearl Earring.