In the Spirit of Giving

I love October!!

It starts with my birthday and ends with my niece's birthday/Halloween. The days in between are usually cool, crisp, gorgeous and filled with football. Leaves change, socks and sweaters reemerge, and we knit for winter with a vengeance. Without a doubt, this is my favorite time of year!

So, I've decided to do something a little different for my birthday this year. Monday I'll be 31 (!!!) and instead of buying myself something I don't really need (yarn does NOT count), I'm going to be donating 20% of all my Etsy sales for the month of October to Habitat for Humanity. Why? Because two years after Katrina, people on the Gulf Coast are still struggling. In some places it *still* looks like Katrina happened yesterday. While this might not affect me personally, it does affect people that I know and love. Habitat is helping to rebuild, and every dollar counts. As a bonus, I intend to match every dollar donated via the Etsy sales. Help me raise a few bucks for a great organization! In addition to some cool yarn (if I do say so myself), you'll get an awesome themed stitch marker from Sunne's Etsy shop!

In fact, I like this idea so much, I might donate to a charity every month. There are certainly plenty out there! I'll have to do some research in order to choose wisely though.

So, I'll be updating a bit this weekend; exactly when is up in the air as I'll be taking my yarn to Knitch, dyeing somethings for Cami's shop, and working on a play. Check the shop on Monday!

I'll probably need a lie down at some point, as Monday means yet another freaking year has passed.

Can't I just sit this one out?


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ETA: Delivered the yarn for Knitch! It should be available to purchase on their website (see the link on the right) and in the store next week! Woot!

BlogHer 08 is Coming to Atlanta!

Ya'll wanna go?


(Scroll down to the Reach Out Tour part.)

I think perhaps the fumes have finally gotten to me.

Interior: My Bedroom. It is early morning (3:30 a.m.) and the husband has finally come to bed after three or so hours of playing Halo 3.

He: (kissing me goodnight) Night, sweetie.

Me: (in a sleep that rivals death) Where are you going?

He: (confused) I'm getting in bed.

Me: (very insistent) Where are you going with all the yarn?!?!

He: Are you dreaming about yarn?

Me: Uh huh....zzzzz

Totally crack addicted

Semisolids have me weak in the knees, folks.

I seriously can't stop dyeing them up. Check it out (click for big!!):



This super dark purple semisolid is custom dyed for Sunne. She runs the Punk Rock Gift Exchange and she pretty much rules. Check out her awesome stitch markers on etsy! I'm naming it Fascination Street, cause The Cure is all dark and purply to me. I love this one so much that it will be in the shop very soon!



This one is called Hydroponic. Feel free to giggle. It's named for a 311 song that totally rocks. I gave some to the Harlot when she was in Atlanta last week and she cracked when she saw the name. I'm sure that says nothing about any of her habits.



Love My Way...what else could I call a baby pink/purple semisolid? I heart the Psychedelic Furs. (This one is dyed on yarn with silver in it. Seriously. See the bling?)



Gray is so multi-hued to me. So many different shades, and it looks amazing on a semisolid. I named it I Wanna Be Sedated, cause everything is kinda gray when you're sedated...so I'm told. Ahem. (More blingy yarn! hehe)



Blue is my favorite color. After pink. Ok, it depends on the day. Anyway, I am head over heels for this denim-y semisolid. I've called it Catch Hell Blues after one my favorite White Stripes songs (honestly they're all my favorites, but I keep replaying this one over and over). Damn, that Jack White can play the hell out of the guitar. I hate that they've cancelled the rest of their tour this year. Poor Meg.

And last but not least, I'm knitting a sock (shocking, I know) in the Dig semisolid/semivariegated yarn. (p.s. I also love brown.)



I'm using a cable from Barbra Walker's Charted Knitting Designs (cause I'm insane). It's lots of fun and includes calf shaping and an eye of partridge heel. More pics to come as I'm finishing the sock this week!

Also, on a non-yarny aside...there are tons of pregnant knit bloggers lately. Cut it out ya'll. You're giving me the baby fever! My hormones are screaming as it is!

Have a great Monday!!

p.s. Yay me! I ran a whole mile today! All at once! In 10 minutes! I haven't done that in almost 10 years. Jeez.

so zoned out right now

Stephanie was awesome, as always. She is such a trooper. I left Knitch at about 11 p.m. and she was still there, signing books with energy and a smile. And if she was faking, bless her, she's a better actress than me.

It was so great to meet so many other bloggers. I would have taken pictures, but I was already tired by about 3 p.m. and a little slow on the uptake.

And just for the record, I want you to get an idea how many folks show up when Steph comes to the south. She will return to Atlanta. Oh yes, she will. (Sorry for darkish pics, click for big!)

If you book it, they will come...

Ground floor of the theater:



Mezzanine level (about 3 rows):



Upper floor (3 rows, about 40 chairs each):



The place was packed. Knitch allowed up to 700 or so invites. I estimate the final head count to be between 500 and 600 folks. It was knitter's nirvana.



The goddess herself, posing with the holy knitting grail.



Me, Steph, and Renee, my mom-in-law. We make Steph look tall.

Ok ya'll, more etsy updates to come. After I take another nap.

p.s. I met Jen of JenLa and didn't even realize it. I have a difficult time matching pictures of folks with their real faces. Duh.

New Fall Yarns!

I'll be updating more on Thursday, but some of the new stuff is up on my etsy store!

I'm off to see the Harlot tomorrow (where's my yellow brick road, eh?), so catch you guys later!

:D

(p.s. I officially have Love My Way stuck in my head for the remainder of the day. Whee.)

Perfect Day

Hope you guys have had a great weekend!! It's been an absolutely stunning day here. The temperature has been in the low 70s with a gentle little cool breeze that's been reinvigorating me. I've had the windows open all day, and it's just a lovely feeling. I'm finally doing better energetically and my nasty eye infection is tapering off. My immune system really seems to be in the toilet, so I'm going to visit a new doctor and see if we can figure out what's up.

I got up at 8 this morning (not much choice with the kitties, they're demanding) and went for a nice brisk walk with the hubby. We had a little breakfast and afterwards I started dyeing. And I didn't stop. I was having too much fun!

I'll have the new colorways up on Etsy Tuesday night or Wednesday! I really love the colorways I've worked up and I can't wait to hear what you think about them. I won't have them available in all the yarns yet, as I'm still waiting on one big shipment, but hopefully it will be in soon.


So I need to tell you guys about a secret obsession of mine...

There's a special little place in my heart for paintings (along with an unrelenting and unrequited love for Alan Rickman, but that's neither here nor there). Now that I have a house to decorate (slow going, it's a work in progress), I feel this huge longing to buy lots of gorgeous, masterful, abstract, ironic paintings. Maybe not all those adjectives in one piece though.

One of my current favorites is Emily over at the Black Apple. Go look at her work. Granted these are prints of the paintings, but they are divine. She's having a little sale (buy 2 get 1 free!) starting at midnight tonight (Sunday/Monday a.m.) and ending Tuesday at noon. I'll try to make sure I buy before you do!

My favorites are Ofelia (love Pan's Labyrinth!), X Girl, and Smiths Girl.

Ok, just gotta wait until midnight and then I can buy some! Whee!

Have a wonderful Monday! I'm going to wear a sweater, have a hot cider, and pretend it's fall! (Then later I'll strip down to my tshirt and complain that it's still 80. But it's the thought that counts.)

Coming out of the closet

I got a relatively wild hair (or fiber perhaps?) yesterday and decided that per Tim Gunn and his new show, I would clean out my closet and get rid of things I don't wear anymore and/or items that don't look good on my frame. It's not odd of me to cull the old closet. I get bored with my clothes fairly quickly and I tend to clean out every year or so. It *is* odd of me to pull out everything (yes, everything!), try it on and then sort into four piles of Throw Away, Give Away, Keep, and Try On Again in 3 Months.

The Give Away pile includes a lot of nice things. It's almost heartbreaking to be giving away a ton of Ann Taylor Loft, but the tops are too tight on the bust (hello boobies) or just don't fit right, and the pants are just cut wrong for my short, curvy bootay. Anyone out there 5'2 and a size 6 or 8? Do I have a jackpot for you!

The sad but true Try On Again in 3 Months pile also has many nice things that would look fantastic if I would get back into a regular running and lifting routine. I'm giving myself 3 months. If the clothes don't fit in that time frame, they have to be given away. And I will be devastated. I don't have that much to lose, a total of about 3 inches, so I know it's a totally reachable goal. And there's at least one HOT pair of pants that I really don't wanna give away!


My keep pile includes one pair of black pants, one pair of brown, some jeans, polo tees, sleeve less tops, LOTS of cute skirts (hee), two long sleeve oxfords, and sweaters. About 15 total items, minus the sweaters (there are about 20 of those).

What a wake up call!!! Admittedly, it's shocking to walk into my closet and see very little hanging up. But it's refreshing too, because what is left are the things I actually wear. I don't have to evaluate 100 items every time I go to choose and outfit. I can see exactly what fits and what's clean before me every day.

Trouble is, a lot of this stuff doesn't necessarily work together. So I'm on the hunt for some cute, well fitting new clothes, namely a great pair of khakis. My old favorites were DKNY...I put them on yesterday and gasped! They fit, but were TOO SHORT! How had I never noticed? Jeez. I also need a few great fitting tops, since polos and sleeveless shirts don't work for everything (damn it). I've ordered two items from Land's End, so we'll see how those work out.

Anyone have a great pair of pants you just can't live without? Tell me about them and why they're so great!

Monday is (sometimes) a Warm Coke

You know how sometimes you traipse into work in the morning expecting to have a great day but you just need a *little* caffeine, so you go to your nearest soda machine, dig for some coins, put your money in, all the while salivating and anticipating your much needed and highly desired jolt of cold caffeine, and what comes out at the bottom is the exact opposite?

Hello, Monday. I see you're still kickin'. I asked for a cold diet coke, and got a warm regular one. Well then. So I gave it away and made someone else happy. Meanwhile, I'm out of change.

Regardless, I'm still alive. And no warm coke can take that from me.

I'm still kinda wonky in the head, though probably about 85% normal now. I think it's something hormonal, since this is not the first time this has happened to me (fever, headaches, upset tummy, and energetic wackiness...one moment I'm totally fine, and the next it's all I can do to stay awake or focus on anything. it's very strange.) so I'm going to go have myself checked out soon. Yay for doctor's offices and needles. Excuse me while I pass out. (and of course, the dog is fine...he ate a bug.)

On a brighter note, I got not one, but TWO free hugs today on campus. It was really nice. And totally made my day.

Take that, warm coke!

Cracked out and sick

Thanks for all the sweet comments on Shedir! I would respond to all of you, but it's all I have tonight to post. Perhaps tomorrow.

I went to bed early last night feeling kinda (ok a lot) shitty. My dog woke me up at 2:30 begging to go out. Where he promptly got sick. I grabbed my pillow and a blanket and went to sleep in the living room so I could be close to him. He woke me up again at 4. Sick some more. This time on my living room floor. He seems to be doing better today, and the simple fact that he's eating is improvement. I still feel like shit and am going on less than 4 hours sleep. Mr. Pooh is going to the vet tomorrow if he gets sick again.

I went to work this morning, but as soon as my boss came in she sent me back home. Something about looking like hell and not wanting my germs. She's pretty awesome, so I refrained from giving her any icky poo germs and went home to sleep. Took a nyquil and stayed astonishing awake and cracked out. So I knit.



Meet my Cracked Out Calorimetry. I used what was left of my STR Lucy (from previous RPM socks) and size 2 needles (I think...it's on Ravelry if you're really dying to know).



Hello! I'm on the drugs! And wearing a knit hat thingy in the 90 degree weather! Whee!





Also, thank god for the queue on Ravelry. I'm much too big a dork to be expected to keep all my project desires in one space if not there, and I even have notebooks FULL of printed patterns). I keep seeing patterns I've looked at and loved before (sing along with me now: of all the knits I've loved before....). Then I'll race over to Ravelry and add them to my queue. Only to discover that they're already there. And that I'm a total doofus. I then promptly move those things closer to the top of my queue. If I like them that much, I should probably knit them soon and get them off my mind.

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Random aside:

Real life conversation, as Nate is heating leftovers for dinner:

me: what's that in the microwave?

he: your dinner.

me: (seeing the styrofoam container spinning around, practically grinning at me) NOOO! Chlorofluorocarbons!

he: we have seriously got to burn your pocket protector.

********

FO Weekend

I believe we have a siting folks.

The rare and exotic FO has been discovered in an even more rare and exotic (ok, domestic) location...my dining room.

Behold, Shedir. Finally one for me!



I tried taking pics of myself in our big mirror. Turns out, whipping the camera around works a lot better. This is my 'that figures' face. Hi!



And this is the infamous Tristan, who has discovered his very own yarn addiction. He thinks the Louet is squishy too. He drooled and tried to pound on it! Needless to say, I had to rewash the Amber and Wish You Were Here. Silly kitty. Not be messing up my yarns! (I put him in my lap so he could pound on my belly instead...I don't need to be jealous of the yarn.)



I'll have another FO for you tomorrow (well half of a pair actually), and a touch of progress on a new WIP. Look out, I'm on a roll!