Geeks rule

Over at SearchNetworking.com, we just launched an editorial blog, which has been consuming massive amounts of my mental space this week. You can read my first "real" blog post about geeks or check out the latest IT Guy cartoon.

Bee-otch

After hearing that bees are disappearing from the planet, a condition that may ultimately spell our doom, I was inspired to create this happy little bee hat. C'mon, bees... time to rally! I have some Honey Nut Cheerios here...

Cable pillow

This is a pillow I designed as a present for a friend (pictured in its new home). The yarn is Malabrigo in Pearl Ten; the cable stitch pattern is called "arm in arm" and is found in the Vogue Stitchionary Volume Two.

For knitters out there: I discovered a neat way to join the front and back sides of the pillow, since I hate seaming. I used a crocheted chain stitch, inserting the hook into a stitch from both sides on each stitch. I did this with wrong sides facing, so the resulting crochet chain makes a pretty trim.

Cutest baby ever!

Introducing Evie, "Cutest Baby On Earth." That's her Uncle Jason in the background. Oh, yeah, and she is wearing a pixie hat I knitted for her from Knit Wit by Amy Singer.

More or less Martha Stewart

I made these fancy canapes from "Martha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres Handbook" for a yacht club-themed birthday party thrown by the excellent Dana Brundage. (We weren't really on a yacht; we were in JP, and I can only imagine what the neighbors thought of our outfits.)

Anyway, what's more yacht club than Martha Stewart? And since this is the only time I've dared attempt anything from this book (most recipes require a Japanese mandoline, caviar or a lot of technique), I just had to show off.
Top: Roasted red pepper hummus
Bottom: Tapenade and goat cheese

New cartoon posted

Here's the latest "IT Guy" cartoon link: IP addressing cartoon

animal hats

Yes, more hats. Well, what did you expect? These two were a hit at the Millennium craft fair, where I sold some knit and jewelry items back in December. The panda (100% wool) is still available!

More geeky stuff

"The IT Guy" now has four cartoons online. I think these show a lot of progress in my cartooning abilities, although it is a challenge to be funny and appropriate for corporate use at the same time. If you look at the links on the page, unfortunately, the cartoons appear very small because of TechTarget's format with the large ad column. To view a larger version of the cartoon, you can download the PDF version (which includes a checklist for earning networking certifications, and although that may not thrill everyone out there, I'm sort of proud that I formatted all the content for this PDF. Maybe not very interesting graphic design, but at least it is something different to do at work.)

Super models

I recently took advantage of the fall colors (and my coworkers, Tessa and Mike) to get some pictures of my knit stuff on actual models...

New hats

Two of my favorite new hats with embroidered stuff on them...

Cartoons for geeks

I recently added a fun element to my day job: Drawing a monthly IT-themed cartoon for publication in our PDF calendar download feature. Check out the October edition. November's calendar is in production now, and I think that cartoon looks a lot more professional. I'll post a link when it becomes available.

Cable hat

Side and top views of cabled hat

baby stuff

I'm not really into babies, but I love knitting baby stuff. Here's a hat modified from the "umbilical cord hat" in the Stitch 'N Bitch book and a Debbie Bliss sweater. The Debbie Bliss pattern book and yarn were freaking expensive, so it's a good thing this one turned out pretty well.

Bunny hat for Max

A hat for Jeff Corwin!

I am such a dork. Chris and I went to see Jeff Corwin in Plymouth last weekend, and the night before I decided that I should knit Jeff one of my animal hats. The hat was really cool in my opinion -- a soft, warm navy silk, cashmere, wool blend (I think?), with a lighter blue snake winding across the front. At the event, lots of kids got to go up on stage and hold big snakes, porcupines, etc. Afterwards, we stood in line to have our book signed and give him the hat. He seemed exhausted after the almost two-hour talk, and unfortunately, way too hot to put on a wool hat. But he did say he will wear it when he goes jogging...

Somerville open studios

On May 7 & 8, I sold some knit things and jewelry at "Cafe Crista" (Christina & Ed's house) during the Somerville open studios. Here are photos of my tiny table with hats, earrings (yup, that's an IKEA wine rack being used as the display), wristwarmers, scarves and a little pouch with a cat button on it. Christina was kind enough to model one of the scarves for me. There are also close-ups of the cat pouch and one pair of earrings.

More jewelry

These probably won't impress experienced jewelry makers, but I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out.

The necklace is made with beads I got by cannibalizing an old strand of wooden beads and some clay and bamboo beads I bought in Providence, RI. Also, there are some seed beads from somewhere in Colorado.

The amethyst glass stuff was a gift for my mom.

Jewelry

Recently, I have been experimenting with some beaded jewelry. I like how these flat bronze beads look somewhat like pebbles. The necklace turned out to be more pretty than functional, however, because the two strands keep twisting together. I haven't figured out how to fix it... although one bead shop employee suggested that "more beads!" was the solution.

Jason's rune hat

The traditional knit argyle shape also forms the 33rd rune of the Anglo-Saxon Futhark. Called "Gar,"which stands for all and none of the other runes, is sometimes called the "spear of Odin," and sometimes associated with the tree of the world, Yggdrasil. I created this hat at the request of my friend Jason, who knows a lot more about the runes than I do, and who claims to feel empowered by wearing the 33rd rune of the Anglo-Saxon Futhark on his head. On the knitting side, this was a fun experiment in using intarsia in the round, which really made a mess of loose ends on the inside but turned out nicely on the front.

Christina's bird hat

A Malabrigo merino wool hat for my friend Christina...