I'm 13 again!

I want to marry Alanis Morisette. Seriously. I saw her tonight and she was incredible. STILL. She still harnesses the same energy that made her so amazing 10-15 years ago. I've seen her a a handful of times, and you'll just have to believe that the woman keeps getting better.

My angsty little heart could have exploded tonight, and that would have been just fine. For a couple of hours, I was back in high school belting out some of my favorite anthems at the top of my lungs.

It was perfect.

Sunday Instagram Round-up!

Row 1: Adrienne (our oldest kitty) waking me up, A big box of yarn from my favorite online shop: Jimmy Beans Wool, Pumpkin (our baby kitty)

Row 2: An unhealthy obsession with Dunkin Donuts, Lentil Soup (one of my fave dinners), and Prep work for a mint decoction.

Row 3: Local nectarines, A walk to the grocery store, and a sushi lunch.

Tonight, I've been stiitng on the couch knitting and catching up on some new shows. It s turns out that I LOVE Suburgatory and Cougar Town, and I hated Modern Family. I was worried that  I was running out of things to watch on Hulu, but now I think I'll be just fine. I have a TON of work to do before October, and I'm going to be watching a lot of TV in tandem with it. Not the worst thing, huh?

I really need to figure out what we're going to eat for dinner! What did you have?

MUSEUM OF AWKWARD KNITS; a retrospective.

Dave is going to take some things to aunt's yard sale tomorrow, so I was digging through my studio/hoarding room and I came across some of my very first (very ugly) knits. Earlier in the week, I was reading a post at Untangling Knots about blog envy and it inspired me to show off some of most awkward FOs. There was a short piece about only seeing what the blogger wants to show you, and how for every good project there's probably a hidden basket of dreadful ones.



This scarf was the VERY FIRST thing I ever knitted. I bought the "Stitch N' Bitch" book by Debbie Stoller, and rushed to JoAnn's immediately to buy supplies. I really thought variegated yarn was the coolest thing ever, and the Jiffy Thick and Quick had me wrapping up my first project in a day or two. Unfortunately, I didn't know when to stop. this scarf is around 8 inches wide and 10 feet long. Obviously, I have never worn it anywhere and it's been sitting in the same basket for 8 years.



Excited by new hobby, I wanted everyone to have a hand-knit scarf right away! I went back to JoAnn's and picked up a skein of Homespun. For quite a while I had a disgusting love affair with this stuff. It was nubbly enough to hide mistakes and still thick enough to finish projects quickly. After knitting 2 1/2 - 3 feet in garter stitch, I was kind of over the whole scarf thing. I gave up and made four really awful tassels to class the thing up (or so I thought). I knew it was bad, but I tried to give it to Dave anyway. In a sort of Tim-Gunn-esque fashion, he said something about questioning my taste level. We both giggled and this scarf found a cozy place next to the other one in the basket of doom.



Shortly after moving through all of the small projects in Debbie's book, I thought I was ready to take on a sweater. I didn't really understand gauge and I had no idea what my measurements were but I sat on the floor in my new craft room for three days and knitted my little heart out. With two balls of Red Heart Super Saver and size 10.5 needles, I was going to make a sweater. I was so excited to finally have something more than a hat to wear. I didn't think anything of it when carefully mattress stitching the seams closed. The sleeves seemed perfect. I finally "blocked" it (I had no idea that you couldn't block acrylic), waited anxiously for it to dry and finally tried it on. OH MY GOD! What a mess! I have given this sweater away three times. I swear. For some reason, it was in the basket, too.



Finally, I figured out that I should be using better yarn and paying attention to all of the pattern's logistics. I decided that I was good enough to knit a gift for a friend who was having a baby. I ordered some Lamb's Pride online (that's what they used throughout the book, it had to be good) and picked out a pattern for a little teddy bear. Let me tell you, when it was all finished I was so proud! I had learned so much new stuff and finally got some "fancy" yarn; I was on my way. Eventually, someone pointed out the the wool was insanely itchy and that it would probably rip a baby's face off; so this went into the basket too. Even though this project was doomed, I did find one of my favorite yarns ever (for things that don't go against skin). Lamb's Pride has such good colors and the little bit of mohair makes it so magical looking.

And there you have it; some of my worst projects ever! I think I may send them all to the yard sale and if no one buys them, they're off to Goodwill. I have pictures and now, this post, to remember them by. I even uploaded a few pictures to Ravelry to finally take pride in my previously faceless UGH! projects.

So, how do we feel about this little dose of reality? Wanna share one of your worst projects in the comments?

FRED FLARE SAMPLE SALE!!!!

Omigod! I may actually have to make the pilgrimage out to BK for this. The boys (and girls) from FredFlare have been so good to me, that it's only fair I return the favor. I am forever indebted to them all. I wonder how many employees they have?  Should I make them each a little gift? Anyone with a large van wanna take a road trip?

Seriously, tell me if you plan on going because I'm sending you with a list!

Vinyl Monday; (More) Cat Stevens.

I revamped the VINYL MONDAY header! Do you love it?
It rained all day yesterday, so I didn't have a chance to take pictures outside. I took these at about 11:00 pm in the hallway between my bathroom and bedroom, I didn't shave or do my hair, so looking down kinda masked all that nasty. Enough about the pictures! It's VINYL MONDAY.

Did you know that I love Cat Stevens? BECAUSE I LOVE CAT STEVENS! His albums make up about 90% of my record collection and I'm totally not embarrassed by it. The first time I heard him, I was moved to tears; powerful stuff. As he gets older, he just keeps getting better. I hope that in some ways, I'm like him.

Does that make sense? Like, maybe some of his luminosity will brush off onto to me if I listen close enough?
I'm ready to shake the stardust out my hair but, first I'm going to go flip the record over.

What have you been listening to?

Sunday Instagram Round-Up!

Row 1: My Little Garden; Marigolds, Portulacas and Alyssum
Row 2: My Week in Food; Chocorooms, Choclate Pudding and Potato Soup with Popcorn Croutons.
Row 3: Stuff; WIW today, A Reckless Purchase, and MY NEW iPHONE!!!!

Before this week, I was using my iPad to Instagram. All of the pictures were limited to things inside of my house and whatever awkward angle I could manage.

Get ready, kids! We're going mobile!

Follow Me!: @knitxcore

Leave your username in the comments and we can all follow each other.

YAY!!!!

PERFECT HAIR FOREVER: My first hair dryer.

There's been a lot of talk on Facebook and Instagram about my hair lately; talk I haven't initiated. I swear. To keep it as simple as possible, I intend to grow it out. How long? No idea. I figure eventually it's going to turn grey of start falling out, so I want to have one last hurrah before the day I have to start cleaning out the drain in the bath tub.

I started thinking about it, and all of the men's hair information on the web is geared towards either really sharp, clean cuts or overly styled editorial stuff. Only a very small number of the tutorials I came across were actually reasonable and so I've decided to explain what I took away from them along with what I learned through trial and error.

First things first.... A BLOW DRYER IS THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER. Before I bought a blow dryer, I left good hair days up to fate. Sometimes it looked okay, others were not okay at all. Now, just about everyday is the best hair day ever. Most of the ladies out there probably know how awesome hair dryers can be, but us boys are still in the dark ages of towel-dried hair and cheap Dep hair gel.

In experimenting with my new blow dryer and it's little box of attachments, I found that each one provides a sort of different look. When I use the diffuser, I get really fluffy almost curly locks and when I use the concentrator things look a little more refined. See?




And so,this is the first lesson for the boys:
Don't be afraid of the blowdryer, use it.; it's a tool, after all. The first couple of times, it's gonna be awkward but you'll get the hang of it. I promise.

Take control of your look!

What I Wore: 8/17/12

"Happy Birthday" Tee- vintage (thrifted)
Jeans-American Apparel Regular 100s
Shoes (not pictured)- (crusty) Vans X JCrew
Bracelet- By Eli
Glittered Holga

Sometimes, I feel like like just kickin' up my feet, watching TV or doing the laundry. Obviously, those things don't warrant pulling out any fancy vintage sweaters or delicate hand-embroidered western shirts.

Sometimes I just wanna be a jeans and tee shirt guy. Y'know?

This t-shirt is the perfect amount of threadbare cozy. I like that the neck is stretched out a little. I hate when tees cling to my throat. TOTES UNCOMFORTABLE!!!!

These jeans are the ONLY ones I wear. I hate every other pair I own now. If I put on a pair of skinny jeans, I feel ridiculous. The fit is just perfect; no creepy low-rise issues, just really clean simple/classic lines. I refuse to wear anything else.

I NEVER take off my bracelet that Eli Made. Ever. I lost one in a pottery class, and he immediately sent me a new one; one that hasn't left my wrist since the day it came in my mail. Such an awesome kid! Go check out his Star Wars quilt! It's INCREDIBLE!

That's it. Keeping it simple. I have a ton to do this weekend!

What do you wear on a comfy-cozy days?

INSTAX PARTY!!!!

I took my Instax to work yesterday to help break up the monotony of folding t-shirts, and i'm so glad I did.  I'm so grateful to work in such an exciting and creative environment with such AHHHHH-MAZING people. I may not become a millionaire doing it, but I truly enjoy every single day. I actually look forward to going to work.

Go figure, right?

If anyone wants to know who the mysterious red-haired vixen is, CLICK HERE!

Vinyl Monday: Mama Cass

Hey kittens!!!!

I have been so incredibly busy with some deadline knitting that I completely neglected my blog all of last week! So sorry!  It will all be worth it in the end, trust me. HUGE things are happening at La Casa de Knitxcore. It seems like there is yarn in the mailbox every day. There is, actually. If I disappear, the authorities will find me under a mountain of brightly colored wool. I guarantee it.

In addition to knitting and making my eyes real big while listening to Mama Cass, I've watched just about everything single thing Hulu has to offer; if you have any TV series suggestions PLEASE leave a comment. I'm almost finished the Mary Tyler Moore show. The other night while I was waiting for pizza dough to rise, I actually watched an episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood; things are getting serious. Actually, it did end up making me cry somehow. Whatever.

OMIGOD. I forgot to put on the pasta sauce for dinner. I'm making it from scratch and I haven't even started yet!

Have a fun night!

painting and stuff.

Yesterday I helped my friend, Kellyn, paint a toy box for her dog. Considering how incredibly bad I am at painting, things went pretty smoothly. It took 4 hours AND we didn't finish, but it does look good so far. We had tons of fun, too!

On side note, I'm kind of obsessed with making animated GIFs. There's something magical, sort of Harry-Poter-ish about them; no?

Intended to write a long post, but I really want to get the longest bubble bath ever before I start my day. It's impossible to get spray paint off of your fingers!

What are you up to? Do you know any tricks to help get spray paint off of your skin?

Etsy Shopping Spreeee!

I had a little Etsy shopping spree this week! More and more often, I've been turning to Etsy for my DAILY needs (soap, cologne, tea, etc). I really do want to make an effort to support handmade as much as possible and I think that incorporating small handmade things into my daily routines make them that much more special.

I talk ad infinitum about Good4You on my blog and other social networking accounts, but I really can't begin to explain just how important it is to me. Every night before bed, I have a cup of herbal tea. When I pick things up at Target or the grocery store, they just don't pack the same punch; this tea is high quality stuff. Dave had a creepy little summer cold last week and I swear that the "Cheer Up" tea cured him overnight. He felt better the next. He doesn't believe it's as magical as I do, but what works, WORKS! Right?



On another note, I usually buy pretty expensive John Varvatos cologne and I go through it really quickly (2-3 months a bottle). In an effort to save a little money AND to find a more distinctive signature scent; I typed scents that I like into the Etsy search bar and it returned "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground" from Paintbox Soap Company. It came today, and OH MY GOD, it's perfect, Exactly what I was looking for; woodsy, smoky, and mysterious. It doesn't hurt that the fragrance pays homage to the White Stripes, either.

 

So, I'm proposing that the next time you need deodorant or moisturizer that you should audition something handmade first. If you can't afford to pick out dream products on Etsy, why don't you try making the things you need yourself? I promise that I will make every effort to support handmade whenever a situation warrants. It may require a little more planning and little less impulse shopping, but it is definitely worth it.

Do you use any handmade products regularly? TELL ME ABOUT THEM!!!!!