Bunny. Swatch. iPod cozy.

Pics are not the best - I lost sunlight in the nick of time and oh well.. flash just destroys the teeny shadows of the stitches, doesn't it? I'll post better pictures but I just could not resist:
baby bunny complete with googly eyes..

and bushy tail.

See the tail peeking from behind?

The project started as a swatch. When the 2 rectangles were ready, I felt the compulsive need to stitch up 3 edges and lookie - here's the cutest iPod cozy ever!

Thanks awfully to my friends at Eweforia - AuntieAnn and Carin who not just sent me better photos of the sweater(scroll down the entry) but also a pattern writeup to help me along.

This project uses knitting techniques to achieve a sculpted look and feel. That's new for me. The bunny has a distinct 3-d look about her. Cables, stockinette and reverse stockinette are used most cleverly brilliantly to achieve the effect.

Tagged '20 Somethings'

I stop shy of talking about myself on this blog but here I am - tagged! You've to thank Janani for getting me write this post!! The title '20 somethings' does not seem to connect to anything but I do not question the Tag. :)

Three other names i go by: Deepu, Dee, tech-support (I hold an MS in computer networking - hehe)

Three screen-names: Now this is wishful thinking! :) Jokes apart, I suspect this has to do with usernames (on myspace for example) that hide my identity. Nopes.. too old for that sorta thing.

Things i like about myself:
My paranoia that influences almost all decisions I make. It's the reasonable kind and keeps me from stagnating.

Things i don't like about myself:
I know better listeners than me.

Things that scare me:
Spur-of-the-moment changes to plans.

Scared about: charging bulls. Where I grew up, the neighbors had cows (for the milk). The breeding season would be a nightmarish time for us kids. Not fun.

Hobby: My dominant hobbies at the moment are knitting and blogging. But I do switch every so often between painting, reading, and sewing. I'm quite quite drawn to polymer clay but am holding back from launching on it. Scrapbooking is beckoning me as well but oh well.. there're only so many things a girl can do.

I catch myself stealing: optical cables and connectors from other engineers' setups in my lab at work - to help my own setup. shhh! Can't blame me if I'm running deadlines and not able to pull up my testbed (of network routing/switching devices) for a dire lack of cables, can you?

Something that gives me the creeps: arachnids

About me: I am a firm believer in planning. Have you heard the quote that goes "In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable"? I like the sciences and especially mathematics for the predictability in them. I enjoy knitting for the same reason. That would explain why stochastics and queuing theory are the dearest to me. These are studies that attempt predictions in the real world. In contrast, the pure sciences work using a multitude of assumptions.

I have never understood the value of 'vague' art (the kind that's vaguer than abstract) and nude art. The latter, IMHO, is porn endowed with the halo of artistic expresssion. Wouldn't mind a bit if it were categorized plain and simply as what it really is! But that's my opinion. I'm sure quite a few would disagree.

Bungee jumped? Don't care for it.

Food: Love seafood. Specifically the Konkan and Kerala styles - which sadly are absent from the Indian cuisine offered in restaurants in the US. I also dig Thai Chicken Rice Soup. It is quite literally 'chicken soup for the soul'.

I like to read: well written material. I'm not particularly biased towards any category of books. If I've to recommend a book though, I'd ask you to read 'Never Eat Alone'.

Emotional: Watching fine excellence in action exhilerates/inspires/awes me. In any field of expertise. Be it the way a good manager tackles a difficult situation with elegance or a classically trained artist perform his/her piece on the stage. Often, when I'm reading an exceptionally written book, I slip into observing the craft of writing rather than merely following the tale. These are things that draw emotions from me but may not necessarily have me emotional over them.

I strongly detest: having to use a 'white' kitchen. All the cleaning and scrubbing to keep it that way takes the fun out of cooking. Give me granite countertops and steel appliances anyday. Add a floor with the look of stone and it completes the picture. I'm currently paying premium rent just for this luxury.

I regret: I wished I could skate when at university (USC) to take the effort off of my tired feet. I had to walk across campus between classes, to my oncampus job, to the labs, the library, the bank and the apartment I rented. Wheels under my feet would've been SO much more efficient.

I love: appreciation. ;) And caricatures. And funky clocks. And maps (for their artistic value as well as utilitarian). And 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles.

Intuition is: tad overrated. Instinct is more powerful than intuition. The basic defect in the intuition hypothesis is that it gets confirmed only in hindsight - when infact it ceases to hold value anymore.

Three essentials:
Granite kitchen countertops, steel kitchen appliances (including sink) and a sexy stand mixer. :D Oh, and spray that kills mildew.

I believe:
Jack Bauer is a hypocrite.

Funny thing you read today: ..we say "There are 300 knitters coming to your bookstore on Friday. " and they say "Sure...sure honey. Hundreds of knitters. Uh-huh. Why don't you go knit on your cute little sock over there while we PREPARE TO SCREW YOU OVER BECAUSE WE ARE SUFFERING FROM A TERMINAL STEREOTYPE." - Yarn Harlot

Thing I want to do badly now:
Knit a pair of wrist warmers using my sage green microfiber-cotton blend scrap yarn.

Dream Career:
Writer

I want to go on vacation to:
Peru and Scandinavia/Norway

I want to visit:
handloom weavers of India and study the skill.

Three girl names i like:
1) Anoushka
2) Janani
3) Aurna

A Song you sing a lot lately: Into the Ocean - Blue October
(A feb 17 update: this track moved to the top of the VH1 top 20 charts today - aha!)

Are you happy this ended: Loaded question! ;)

Me tagging:
(and this is optional for you folks coz we've knitsy blogs and this tag is quite generic in nature).
AuntieAnn
MrsFife

Thanks Janani, for tagging me. This was fun. Hope it's as interesting reading my responses as it was penning (err.. typing) them.

Whoa!!!!

Ofcourse I'm subscribed to Yarn Harlot's blog! (For the benefit of non-knitters in my life who might read this, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee writes humour of the knitting world. Psst: search her name on Amazon.)

Her post of Feb 16, 2007, 'Represent' had me sit up. If you want to hear from the celebrated author about the size and purchase-power of the knitting world, read that post. It overwhelmed me, despite having been to knitting conventions and keeping myself tuned into the various blogs, podcasts, KALs (knit-alongs), meetups, yarn swaps, charities and online magazines.

And isn't it nice that she is attempting to change the world? Very impressive how she's planned an event and only then proceeded to complain about the issue she wants to take a shot at resolving. The skeptic in me does consider the possibility of this being a clever marketing ploy for her new book but in matters like these, the skeptic has to take a backseat because the change, if impacted, will be welcome. Never mind any possible ulterior motives. That's my opinion and I wish her luck in the endeavor.

Piggles

More caps! :) They're quick, easy, and utilitarian. Oh, and addictive owing to the instant gratification. Also, they're awesome projects to try out new techniques on - perhaps stitch patterns, colour stranding, mosaic knitting, and double knitting. The piggle is charged guilty of tempting me into the realm of knitting caps.

Psst: does anyone know the technical difference between a cap and a hat? I thought I knew but that was before I came to this country. Out here it's understood differently - I can sense it but not put my finger on it.

Getting back to my new products, the little yellow one has the port-holes for pony tails. I ran out of the lovely coloured yarn and had to compensate for the height of the piggle with a pom-pom. Thank you L. Chatterjee B. for suggesting the contrasting shade *and* the pompom for effect!


Here it is, perched on my speaker:


And below is the larger one with no port-holes. This does seem a touch bigger than my niece's head-circumference (I won't know exactly yet though) but I'll go with the pattern's claim that it is designed to fit all sizes, from toddler to adult.


I used worsted weight 'affordable' yarn. I tried, the caps are comfy against the skin despite one being 100% acrylic and the other about 70% or so.

I cast on 65 stitches for the yellow cap and 90 for the blue. My stitch gauge (5 stitches and 6 rows per square inch) was considerably different than the one in the pattern.

So finally the postal package will be mailed out to my sis. It'll carry 2 caps, 2 tops (all handknit) and some scrapbooking paper for the grrlz.

A note on lace - folks with tendinitis and CT will do better with lace knitting eliminated from their projects. Mine was slightly aggravated by these stitch pattern repeats and I can only imagine the impact full-fledged lace can have.

All I need is a windfall

http://www.puchkaperu.com/index.shtml
http://www.interweave.com/knit/events/scandinavia/default.asp

I rest my sorry case!