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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Danger: Pictures Ahead

One of the items I purchased in Lexington at Magpie Yarns was Rowan's #35. I knew it was an older Rowan mag, but when I turned to the Roman Holiday section, I drooled and couldn't put it down. The garments I find myself gravitating toward are very classic, so that I can wear them for much longer than something trendy. I do that with my clothing purchases too (love me some Ann Taylor), and my favorite jeans and tshirts go a long way as well.

The tops I think I might have to knit once my yarn diet is over (ha, I'll probably just have to settle for drooling):

Audrey:



High Society:



Agnes:



I wish I was this good a dresser. Oh well, jeans and tshirts will have to do. I also wish I was that tiny, but I digress.

Audrey and Agnes are by Kim Hargreaves, so it's not surprising at all that I like them. I love her classy designs; the lines and fit both rock. One of my favorites this year from her is Blithe. Y.U.M.

I think it's a shame that she doesn't just sell the pattern, and only sells the kit. I have some denim in my stash that would totally rock for Blithe, so I have an issue with buying the whole darned kit. I'd rather pay $5 or even $10 for a pattern I would use than $50 or $60 for the kit with the yarn included. I'd rather make my own yarn choice, thanks. And p.s. those of us on a budget (ok, probably just me) can't afford an entire sweater's worth of Rowan.

On the dyeing front, yarn is coming up all kinds of fun colors! I interspersed writing my final papers and dyeing. Needless to say, I dyed more than I wrote. I also added some yarn info on the sidebar! Yay!

This is Tulips that I dyed for Liz over at KnittingHawkeye. I bet she makes some Project Spectrum socks...



Liz also asked for some Ohio State colors for her mom, so here is OSU! They gray is a bit darker, but I was glad for some sunlight today.



Madge ordered some fun colors, and she named this one Belinda/Vacation for Belinda Carlisle. Sweet, eh?



And Eri over at Pixie Punk Knits ordered up some truly funky yarn for a pair of elbow length armwarmers. They are so gonna rock. She named this one Headfirst for Halos, for her fav MCR song. Woo!



(Ladies, your yarn will go out to you Monday via Priority Mail!)


And this is what my dear sweetie did for me this weekend, even though he was sick, even though just walking around Lowe's wore him out.

My very own ghetto warping board.



Look out ya'll, I feel some mad stripes coming on...

Friday, April 27, 2007

I can't believe it's Thursday...

Well ok, NOW it's Friday, but still...what a week!

Monday's post by the Harlot prompted a firestorm in my email inbox. You should have been a fly on the proverbial wall; it was kinda scary. So instead of waiting to launch my line of sock yarns, I realized that I had better just do it!

I had Pete create a label for me, and here is his lovely handiwork. This will go out with all the yarn I dye. Isn't it pretty? He swears I could do this myself, since I know Photoshop, but I really just don't have time. I'm lucky that he's so awesome to me! Thanks Pete!!



Tuesday's concert was amazazing (yes I typed ama-za-zing, don't tell me you didn't see Benchwarmers). I was impressed with MCR, mostly because they really care about their fans, and also they don't suck live (yes, I had my fears). They stopped the whole damn show for this one girl who passed out, waited for her to get medical attention, made sure she was ok, and then resumed. They performed almost all of the Black Parade album (in the BP uniform), then changed clothes and did about 6 songs from Three Cheers. Gerard also did a little PSA about violence, in regards to the Virginia Tech thing, and I gotta say, I was a little moved. Also, there were pyrotechnics. Whee! Fire! We could actually feel the heat when the flames came on. Their poor drummer must get really really hot...

Muse absolutely stole the show though. Their guitarist/singer totally blew us away. His ability is unbelievable.

Wednesday I got the DVD of Scout's KG show (thanks Robyn!), and inside was this sweet little gift! Robyn, they're perfect!!



Then today I went to class and realized just how much work I still have left to do, and I have less than a week left! Eeek! This grad school thing is, uh...intense.

This weekend I'll be writing the last of the papers for these two classes, dyeing like a madwoman (thanks for all your orders, I can't wait to work on them!), and...if you know me well, you know that I have a long list. A monstrosity of a list. Lists within lists. It's a sickness really.

Have a great Friday, ya'll! I'll have some yummy pics posted this weekend!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

avert your eyes, stephanie...

I was about to post this, and then the emails started hitting my inbox, so I'll answer the biggest question first:

YES! My colorways are for sale, and you can buy them via paypal by sending me an email to let me know what you'd like to order (email addy is on the sidebar). I'm currently working on a gallery and I have a few new colorways floating in my head to round out a nice batch of about 10 to begin with, and I will also gladly do custom dyeing for you (I'm dyeing 2 custom colors this week, so pictures soon!). I am still working on pricing, but the colorways will likely be between $23-27 depending on the yarn you choose, and a custom project will be just a tad more. Please email me with further questions, and forgive me...I didn't realize I'd have so much traffic (p.s. thanks for the link Stephanie!)! And a big welcome to all the new visitors! Thanks for stopping by!

And now on with our regularly scheduled posting:

I don't know about ya'll but it was a loooooong weekend. The drive to Lexington took 7 hours, but it was so very worth it. Denise and I got to meet Stephanie...

shown here with her traveling sock, and Denise's 'fetus sock' in Punk Rock Girl...



and Stefanie, who is seen here with her lovely editor, Jessica, signing my copy of Fitted Knits. Whee! I didn't know le Glampyre herself would be at the signing (embarrassingly enough, I didn't read about all the authors, just le Harlot...ahem), so I felt the air sucked out of my lungs when I saw her. I know I babbled, and I'm sure I made an ass of myself. Meeting her and sitting in on her panel was so awesome. Highly recommended! And I'm soooo in love with the jacket she has on...



Deedee and I met a lot of authors and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We also ate lots of yummies and drank a tad too much coffee. Mochas rule, man.

The Harlot's talk was hilarious, as expected, and we got to meet several super cool knitters. Afterwards, Stephanie joined us for a little knit-in, hosted by the nice ladies of Magpie Yarns (sadly no website). She showed us her unique knitting technique and how she can knit behind her head. Denise watches in awe.



And a shot of the Bohus in action. It is truly a sight to behold. This woman has no fear of tiny yarn and needles on a big project.



Afterwards, we went to Magpie Yarns, cause Denise won a gift certificate. Their shop was very cute! All the yarn is organized by color, and the ladies are so very nice. We also went to ReBelle, another yarn shop with a different vibe. That store sooo belongs in downtown Athens. Lots of cool gear, yarn, pins, stickers (mine says 'geek girl', Denise's says 'knit one, fuck you' hahahaha!), and an awesome section in the back with feminine/baby products. I could have spent way too much money there. Glad I'm on a budget.


Ok, my big ass paper is finished and emailed off to the professor (I am thisclose to being finished with my first semester, thank the gods!), and now, I must go shower and get myself ready for the MCR concert.

So. Excited.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

wearing nothing is divine

and it feels alright...


In the midst of being sick all weekend and furiously writing that paper, I got inspired. By an Ipod accessory box, of all things.

Naked Eye is the result:



This might be my new favorite. A light blue/aqua, gray and white. So divine.

With my naked eye I saw the falling rain, coming down on me...

(I loved Luscious Jackson!)

I also did a teensy test skein to see if these color mixtures looked like fun:



Doesn't that just look like spring? I kinda wanna roll around it, except that it's very tiny and I would look more than a tad absurd. Not that rolling around in a bigger skein of yarn looks more sane...I'm just sayin'.

And last night Nate helped me with some of my lighting woes. All of our lights make colors look too yellow, so he pulled out my Ott light, which I had for quilting way back when, and voila! Let there be well-lit yarn and a true reflection of color!

So I reshot Ruby Soho, and this is a lot more accurate. The other pic was way too dark.



This was so much fun, I can't wait to do some more semi-solids!!

Tomorrow, Denise and I are driving forever and a few hours to Lexington to see le Harlot. I'm so excited. I have books to be signed, socks to be knit, and um...clothes to be packed. What? It can be done quickly. I think.

When I return, I shall have Harloty pictures for you, and possibly some from the MCR concert (omg, so freaking excited...two awesome events in 3 days! woo!).

Sunday, April 15, 2007

trials and tribulations

I think I've stumbled upon a problem with my school work habits.

Thing is, I can sit at my computer for several nights, staring at the same paper and get nowhere. (Sure I was sick too, but this is a running theme since college.) BUT! If I get up, grab my thumb drive and my laptop and hit a coffee joint...I can bang that 10 pager out in about 4 hours. And unless you can get caffeine by osmosis, it's not the coffee, cause I drink tea. Chamomile and lavender tea, which I highly recommend.

Isn't that weird though? My thoughts coalesce over the hum of an espresso machine, but not in my own home. I have to put the finishing touches on it today, so you can bet your ass I'm going to be at the Jittery Joe's this afternoon (east side if you please).

The frustrating part is that I can't just sit in my jammies and nasty hair, oh no, I have to put on proper clothes (read: bra) and dig out some cash cause I know I'm going to need a drink and a snack, which is not something I can't really afford all willy-nilly right now. Guess that's the price of deciding that your self esteem is more important than money.

When I finished and my brain was completely fried and wrung clean of all useful knowledge, I decided to do something fun.

So I whipped out the dyes and made a big mess. Seriously. My first attempt was so bad I didn't even take a picture. I had dyed a tiny test skein and didn't like it, so I attempted to overdye it a nice periwinkle. Well, turns out my stove gets VERY hot, very fast and now that tiny skein is an incredibly dark purple/navy color. Overdyed, indeed. Oops.

I gathered my wits and stopped cursing, and chose red instead.

World, meet Ruby. Ruby Soho. Destination, unknown.



She's slightly variegated, but really more semi-solid. This yarn just makes me giggle, and I can't believe how well it turned out. It's exactly what I wanted...not a solid red, just a little dark here and a little lighter there. Perfect.




Then I realized it was time to get down to business, and I whipped up some Punk Rock Girl for Robyn over at Knit & Purl Mama! The skein on the left is hanked up as it was dyed, and the one on the right is skeined up with a niddy noddy. R - these will go out to you tomorrow via USPS.



And now, I must polish up my paper and the mega-assignment for my assessment class, both of which total a whopping 90% of my grade for this semester.

But no pressure.



(On a very, very unrelated note: As a TV/radio/film major in my undergrad, i have to wonder....wtf is NBC doing?!?! First they put Studio 60 on 'hiatus' (BS, they'll finish airing the episodes they paid for and cancel it, which sucks because it's a really great show), then they give us the phenomenally produced Black Donnellys' and now they're yanking that with no notice? For MORE "reality" shows? What the hell? What am I supposed to watch on Thursday, aside from freaking GA reruns and recaps? I'm so over all these 'hiatuses' and extended breaks. In the 3 months I've had cable again, I've been able to watch about 4 or 5 new episodes of my shows. Where the hell is Heros? When is GA coming back? TV did not used to be like this. I'm on the verge of canceling everything but Discovery, DIY, and HBO.)

Friday, April 13, 2007

superstition

I'm not much on superstition, but I'm pretty sure this particular Friday the 13th conspired against me.

1. I was feeling pretty icky yesterday, but today I woke up with a 100 degree fever. And I couldn't get a sub for my class. No one even called me back. So I had to go to work.

2. I lost my voice about half way through the day. This is not good in a place where you have to shout over screaming one year olds to be heard.

3. Today was payday. The accountant made the check out to Michelle. Even though she knows my name and has met me several times. The bank wouldn't take the check obviously.

4. When I got home, I tried to take some pictures. My camera died for no known reason.

5. And in the mail was a bill for my summer tuition. Which I won't be paying because I've applied for financial aide. But not according to my school. Gah.

Regardless of all this seeming bad luck, as the day progressed little windows of opportunity opened to negate all the ickiness.

1a. I got to leave early. And sneaked into my doc's office just before they closed. He diagnosed me and wrote me a prescription. I was in and out in 10 minutes. And he wasn't even supposed to be there that late. They locked the door behind me.

2a. I coughed up some nasty phlegm and got my voice back. How gross is that though? Bleh. But now I have a gravelly voice and I can properly do justice to Smelly Cat.

3a. I called the accountant and I can pick up my new check tomorrow.

4a. My camera is revived, and there are pics below. Woo!

5a. I called Piedmont and got all my silly tuition crap situated. I have to resubmit all my financial aid junk, but I can fax it in tomorrow while seeing the accountant.

What luck, eh?

This is some yummy strawberry field-esque yarn I worked on earlier this week. I can't think of a fun punk name for it though. Any thoughts?



And just to add to the testament that knitters rule, Madge sent me a super sweet package of cool stitch markers and a card with lotuses (loti? lotes?) on it!! What a nice surprise!

Thanks girl!!



Clearly I need to make some adjustments to my camera now. These are not fuzzy in real life, promise.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Finger crossing

Ya'll are so great. My interview went pretty well, and I managed to not drop anything. It seems like it would be a fun job with a lot of independence and flexibility. I should know something Monday!

It's not that I don't enjoy working with the kids I'm with now. But I am a little tired of going to class covered in boogers, slobber, and various other baby mess. I'm sure I smell just great. Bleh.


Warning: The rest of this post is kinda picture heavy. Feel free to drool if necessary.

I've been working on several things during class and in my "free" time.

First up is Knitty.com's RPM sock in STR's Lucy colorway:



Next is Retro Rib from Interweave's Favorite Socks book, using my Letter to Elise colorway:



I liked it so much that I couldn't just let it languish in my stash!


This is a swatch in the round for Blue Orchid. The camera is still not getting the color nuances of this skein, but it's better than the last time I tried. Wish it was sunny today!



I just got some new yarn! This is the Blue Faced Leicester I ordered a week or so ago so that I could try something really, really scrumptious. And oh my is it. Just look at that spin! And it's superwash and sooooo soft. I can't wait to get started with it.



This is the 100% merino that I also have, just to compare. The spin is a little looser, but it's just as soft and also superwash. I really just want to pet them both all day.



If there is a colorway any of you like so far, I can dye some up for you in either yarn. And I'm continuing to work on more color combinations as I have the time. Pesky old grad school keeps getting in the way.

These were a gift from my mother-in-law! She got them from our local yarn store, but the girl who makes them has an Etsy shop here. Aren't they cute?! She has some really cute markers on the site. I'm going to order some to look like each of my cats.



Have a nice Hump Day everyone! I'm gonna go dye!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Question!

How is it that most people carry off that put-together look? I just don't get it.

No matter how prepared I am, something always happens. I drop my keys. Lean over to get them and my sunglasses fall off my head. Then my purse flings itself to the ground in a desperate attempt to get as far away from me as possible. Which means the cell phone now has the opportunity to escape as well.

All this chaos frustrates me, and then my clothes are all wrinkled and suddenly nothing on my body fits right and I'm extremely uncomfortable, and quite put out about it. Why?!?!

I just don't get it. I have plenty of confidence. It's the little things that kill.

(And seriously for a moment...how the hell do moms do it? Holy burp stains, Batman. This town has a lot of put-together-looking moms. I have a pretty freaking good idea what I am going to look like...)

I have a real, professional interview tomorrow...can you tell?

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

New yarn and a very sad yard

Thanks for the well wishes; I think they worked. In fact, I feel like a whole new person!

Though my allergies are still kicking my ass, and they will continue the onslaught until...well, forever really. Allergy shots never did much good and I'm immune to everything on the market, prescription or no. And since I'm allergic to 80 of the 120 things they tested me for (that was a fun day), I just kinda have to suffer through. I can't possibly avoid all the allergens. Dust, dirt, and cardboard are everywhere. As are my cats and dog.

Anyway. I did some dyeing yesterday with my new rockin' sock yarn, and here are some of the products:



Some Punk Rock Girl, and Blue Orchid, which is a teal-y blue, darker blue, purple and black. This photo isn't doing it much justice. I'll try to get a better one soon.

This pic is the inspiration for Blue Orchid:



Well, that and the awesome White Stripes song of the same name.

This is something Pete asked for, called Toxicity (woo System of a Down!). I want to bring down the orange a tad, as it's very dark, but I love the limey green and bright yellow. Or should I just leave the orange?



And oh my gawd, I have to share. I saw this shirt downtown the other day and almost spewed diet coke everywhere!!



Hahahahahhahahaha! Whew. Me too, man, me too.

(Insert disclaimer about how I don't condone cutting, blah blah, I grew up doing it myself, blah blah, just laugh at the joke kthx)

Sunday, April 01, 2007

the weekend of eternal sickness

I've been sick all stinking weekend, and it's wearing on me. I guess the pollen caught up with me and maybe I ate something that disagreed with me, since it's a combination of ills. Thank god it's raining today so this pollen will get out of the air and off my car.

I had a nice long post all written out, and then Blogger got hungry and ate it, so this is the short sweet version since I'm too tired to rewrite the whole thing.

New things this weekend:

The yarn arrived. Yay! And I got an Ashford swift today as a get well present from the hubby. He's so smart that one. Dyeing to commence very soon!



The Buffy comic arrived. And was quickly devoured. I'm ready for the next one please, Joss.



MCR/Muse tickets. Oh yeah baby. I can hardly wait!



Old things becoming new again:

This is some Lorna's Laces in Chino that has been in my stash for a while. It was previously earmarked for a design I was working on, but after a while I'm now bored with the design, so I ripped it. I need a pattern so I have something to work on. I currently have NOTHING on the needles, ya'll. It's disconcerting and I feel like something is missing in my life.

Must. Cast. On.

But what?