A Day Trip and Contest Question #2

Happy Monday! Hope your weekend was great. My Saturday was spent in gorgeous Helen, GA.


The weather was perfect and the photographic opportunities were numerous. I met my brother, sister-in-law and some friends, and we hiked up to Anna Ruby Falls to do a photography assignment for their class. I tagged along hoping to learn something. What I learned is that I need a photography class. And a tripod. I added a bunch of stuff to my Amazon wishlist today!

They were working on shutter speed and taught me a few tricks.

Here is my original picture:


And here's the same location after messing with my shutter speed. Pretty! (Don't ask about settings, I haven't the first clue.)


There were lots of folks around, but I was able to get a few shots with no one in them. This is the overlook bridge.

And this is the path leading up to the falls. So lovely.

And you can't have the mountains in fall without some gorgeous leaves.

Anna Ruby Falls and some more shutter speed action. Woo! If you click on the link above, you'll see what the falls *should* look like. At least there's some water, but this is so sad.

But still pretty.

Now, on to the knitting content! I've been working on Nate's Cobblestone sweater off and on and I'm just now on the 3rd ball of yarn. There isn't really much to photograph, so I haven't taken pics of it yet. Maybe when it grows some more. I have until his birthday, 2 days before Christmas, to finish and I think I'll make it. Nate loves it already and is practically standing over me while I'm knitting hoping it will be done soon. I update him on how many balls of yarn are left (13) and he gets a sort of sad face and walks away. Eventually, my love.

Unfortunately there are a few other projects demanding to be knit, and even more I'd love to cast on for in the middle of the night, totally exhausted and bound to screw it up, but that's how bad I want them on my needles. Some of them are a little intimidating though. By now I shouldn't ever be intimidated by knitting, but some projects make me drool and hesitate at the same time. I love a challenge and I want to try new things, but I'm also aware of my frustration level and my tendency to put a project into the basket o' shame when I reach my limit with a new technique (or sometimes just the pattern in general).

I've added two projects to my queue in Ravelry in the last few days in an attempt to try new things. The Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole is one of them. (Link goes to the fig and plum blog, since her photos are gorgeous.) I know I could totally rock some Entrelac (and rhyme in the process), but it freaks me out for some reason. I can't seem to wrap my brain around it. I know I could do it if I tried. But eek! All that picking up and sideways knitting!

Another is the Hanami Stole. I'd love to cast on for that thing right this second, provided I had the yarn, and knit just the Cherry Blossom section, but...I don't know what's stopping me. It's not that I can't or won't knit lace. It's a stunning pattern and I've bought, downloaded and printed it. I think it's my fear that I have no use for a stole/shawl/wrap sort of thing. And maybe that keeps me from starting Lady E also, except that I really don't have the yarn for either project. Oh darn, must go out to the LYS and fill up the stash again. Poo.

So my contest question this week is this:

Do you have any "dream" projects that you have trepidations about casting on? Does a new technique keep you from trying a pattern you love? Or do you just try everything, no matter what? Give an example!

Ok, leave a comment with your answer to enter to win this week's skein of yarn. You have until Thursday night at midnight! If you post about it on your blog you get an extra entry, and you get another every time you refer someone who mentions you.

This week's hint...it's a semisolid.

Good luck, and thanks for playing!

We Have a Winner!

***ETA: Seven Nation is now up in the shop!***

First, thanks to everyone who entered the contest! It was a lot of fun reading your answers. There are so many gauge rebels out there! Who knew?

(also, thanks for all the well wishes. i'm looking for a new doc along with a chiropractor and massage therapist...i need lots of work, lol.)

I'll have a new question posted on Monday, so get ready for another fun contest and a new colorway!




Now, down to business. Using random.org's list randomizer, I plugged everyone in, plus their extra chances and the winner is....

Anna of Knitting Up a Storm!

Congrats, Anna! You've won a skein of Seven Nation Army! Email me your address and I'll send it right out!

This is a brand new colorway (props to Cher), and I'll have it up in the shop later today!

Also, I've fallen in love with my lightbox again. I got frustrated when I first made it, but I'm learning more about my camera (finally) and now it's a lot more fun! I'm going to go take pics of all the yarn I have dyed up and post the new pictures in the shop. Whee!

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be in Helen, GA taking pictures with some friends and checking out the fall foliage! Oh...maybe I should cast on for my Foliage hat on the way...

Moving Forward, Awake

***Thanks everyone who has entered so far! You have until Thursday at midnight to enter if you haven't yet!*****

There are no pictures or knitting in this post, sorry. I've been debating posting about this for over a month now, but I figured I'd feel better if I just got it out.

The last year or so has been kinda rough for me physically. The past 3-4 months have been especially difficult. I've been sick at least once a month, sometimes more often, and I've used all my sick days at all my jobs for the last 2 years, even going over into my vacation time. Lately I've been dragging so bad that even though I have the motivation to work out I can barely make it to the treadmill, much less walk on it. It's affected every part of my life, and it sucks.

Generally, I'm tired. All the time. I feel damn near narcoleptic. I also have severe allergy symptoms so I get upper respiratory infections pretty regularly. I'm prone to vicious colds and the flu. I tell Nate that if I had been a pioneer woman I wouldn't have lasted very long. And the 16th century, with all the plagues? No way I'd have made it to 30.

But I've been doing pretty well this month, and I'm glad for it. I get so tired of being sick. I worry that people think I'm making it up or it's all in my head. I wish. I've been keeping very good notes about *when* I'm sick and in what ways and I've got a pretty good little chart going. I took it to my regular doctor and he says things like "oh well, you have allergies, so you're going to be weaker sometimes and get sick often". Um, ok, but surely there's more? It isn't *just* a cold or an upper respiratory infection, often it's other strange occurrences (I might go into those later, but for now they're not relevant). He keeps prescribing allergy meds, but I'm immune to all of them. Shots don't do anything either.

I've had blood work done in the last 3 months and I'm not anemic, diabetic, or hypoglycemic. I get a decent amount of sleep every night, but I could easily nap for 2-3 hours every day. I'm tired a LOT. And while yes, there's a certain element of laziness to me, I'm rarely too lazy to dye yarn or knit. When you find me on the couch passively watching TV with NO KNITTING in my hands, something is VERY wrong.

The last time I felt like a normal person I had taken two huge vitamins, 3 omega fats pills, 2 green tea pills (caffeine!), a sudafed, an allergy pill (just in case), and had a nice cold 32 oz diet coke (more caffeine!!). That was breakfast. By lunch I felt like a million bucks. Sure my pee was neon green, but hey, I felt amazing! Well, awake at least, which was an improvement.

A few weeks ago I saw my obgyn for another opinion. I guessed that it's hormonal. She said that a hormone test would be inconclusive since they fluctuate all day long, and I'm on a pill so it would be very unusual for it not to be working properly. So they siphoned off some of my precious blood to do a few tests (I'm kinda protective of it, cause the evil needles wantses it all!).

Heard back from her in the last two weeks. I'm officially diagnosed with PMS (ok, there's a hint at those other symptoms). HAR! Who knew there was an actual diagnosis?!? And possibly PMDD. Oh dear god, I'm not that girl. I'm just sleepy! And a little grumpy sometimes.

There's also a severe B12 deficiency. B12?!?! That's it? A freaking vitamin? Um. Yes. But the deficiency can lead to anemia and it looks like my iron was on the low side this time. She also mentioned that maybe my body isn't absorbing the B12 I get regularly and it could be an intestinal issue. Yay. So she put me on a new BC pill for the crazies and a pretty serious vitamin dosage for the fatigue. I go back in 8 weeks to see if I'm making progress. If not, there may be scans of whatever variety on my intestines, and prozac for the wackiness. Sweet.

While it's good to have a better idea of what's going on with me, I'm so glad that thanks to my mega dose of vitamins and new BCP I'm starting to feel like a normal person again. It's like coming out of a 3 month long coma. I know I did things, like go to work and be somewhat social, and sometimes I could even get in a run or two, but man I feel like I slept through most of it.

I still want a nap some days, but I'd like to think that's normal. On Sunday I actually worked in the yard. I haven't done that since March! Then I exercised. I shocked myself with how much energy I had! Of course I took a nap later, but it was good while it lasted.

I'm looking forward to getting a run in today, and then dyeing massive amounts of yarn!

An FO and Contest Question #1

And a very happy Monday to all of you! I tend to dislike Mondays, so I'll usually grab something caffeinated on the way in to work, read some email and blogs to wake myself up, and then get moving on to the actual work part of work. Today is different because I'll be in meetings all morning, and then I have to jaunt off to the lovely DMV to get my license renewed. Yay.

Before all that though, I have an FO to share. I finally finished my Socktoberfest project, though I'm a few days late.

Meet Tyrolean Stockings. These are my favorite socks EVER.


Forgive the blur. In my excitement I didn't really care about picture quality. Also, one sock is not actually taller than the other. Posing is not so important to me either.


The closeup is better!

These socks are wonderful. I still can't believe I made them. They just look so very cool. And the Swish Superwash is WARM.

Details:
Pattern: Tyrolean Stocking, Interweave Knits, Fall 2007.
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash (worsted) in Camel Heather, 3.5 skeins
Needles: Knit Picks Classic Circulars, US2.
Gauge: eh, whatever
Result: Super happy!

And now to the part you're really here for.

Here's the first question of the month. Leave a comment answering the question to be entered into Friday's drawing for a free skein of Lotus Yarn! Per your request, the prize will be a surprise until Friday! I'll give you a hint though...it's a new colorway. Feel free to post about the contest on your own blog. The more folks you send over, the more chances you get to win.

Question: You can see by my project details above that I don't always pay that much attention to gauge. How often do you knit a gauge swatch? Be honest now. Every time you plan a project? Do you wash and block too? Maybe you check your gauge on the fly. Cast on, knit for a while, then check and see how close you are, and rip out when you're way off. Or are you a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kind of knitter who never checks gauge. It will fit someone right?

Leave a comment with your answer!

good grief

I'm having a very Charlie Brown sort of day, and I'm beginning to wonder if Lucy will let me pay a nickle for her services. If only all shrinks were so cheap. You get what you pay for though...

Yesterday Nate got his annual "Happy Birthday, pay your taxes" bill from the tag office, which made me realize that I never got one in September. So I raced out to my car to discover that indeed my tag is expired as of Halloween. Shit.

So today I get in my car to drive out to the dreaded tag office to relieve myself of $200. They ask for my license and insurance. Right. Those would be important. Managed to find my license. It too is expired. My insurance card is nowhere to be found. Dear gods, someone get me off the streets, I'm clearly an insane person who can't keep up with anything. Thankfully I don't have kids. They'd be jumping on a trampoline with scissors and eating candy with razorblades.

Paying better attention to my life might be a good course of action here. Ahem.

I'll start on Monday.

Positive Karma and a Contest

First, I want to thank all of you who contributed to my Habitat for Humanity fund! Together we raised over $300!! You guys are great! Thank you so much!

November represents a time for us to be thankful. I'm thankful for so many things in my life, not the least of which is you guys! I've made so many great friends through this blog and Ravlery, and it's such a pleasure to get to know all of you. You enrich my life in ways you'll never know!

To honor your greatness, I'm going to hold a month-long contest. Each week of November (that's FOUR whole chances) I'm going to give away a skein of yarn! I'll ask a question on each Monday, you reply in the comments and I'll draw a winner on the following Friday. Easy enough, right?

The first week's contest question goes up on the 5th!

However, I have a question before we get started: Do you want to see what's up for grabs each week or would you like it to be a surprise?

Also, these were delivered to me at work today, because I'm awesome. And because a student made a very big mistake and this is the very expensive apology. Mostly cause I'm awesome though.

Enjoy your virtual flowers! Have a great Thursday!

MERRY HALLOWEEN!

(grrrr. argh.)

I can't believe it's freaking Halloween already. This is my favorite time of year, but for some reason we didn't decorate or buy candy. I am going downtown tonight with some lovely ladies for drinks and costume watching. I'll probably be dressed as myself, as usual, cause I'm just that scary all on my own.

Last night I sat around after dyeing a ridiculous amount of yarn and watched Resident Evil in hopes of scaring myself. If I hadn't seen it 10 times it might have worked. Then I chose Wes Craven's Dracula. Also decidedly not scary. So I added some creepy stuff to my Netflix queue for when Nate is out of town next week. He hates scary movies, so I'll watch them in the dark by myself while he's gone. Or maybe with a friend. And lots of kitties.

I like Emily's movie suggestions here, but I always love to hear what other people like! I really enjoyed the Scream series, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I was about the same age as the actors at the time and everything they were doing was relevant to that time in my life. Except for the nutty serial killer.

What are your favorite scary movies? Gimme some Netflix fodder!

under construction

pay no attention to the little html behind the curtain.

*ETA: Ok that's all I can handle for today. I'll add more blog links tomorrow. If you'd like me to link to your blog, leave me a comment.

Oh, and I had to share...



I was walking back to work from lunch when I saw this little accident. Looks like they tried to lift too much with the crane and the entire back end of the truck is off the ground. Smart.

SAFF You!

Oh my, did we have a good time at SAFF! Anita, Steve and I cruised over to Asheville on Saturday morning and enjoyed the gorgeous day and glorious yarn! Some of it seriously tried to jump in my bag. I unfortunately had to return it to its booth. Next time I'll go with more money in hand!



As a SAFF virgin, I was a little stunned. And when I'm stunned I rarely act. It was all could do to walk around and drool while not running over anyone. Indeed, there was lots of drool. I didn't have much money to burn anyway, but I managed to purchase a Trekking colorway that immediately made me swoon and Cat Bordhi's new book. I'm kicking myself for not getting some Brooks Farm, but hey, a girl's gotta eat.

In addition to yarn, there were bun-buns (so soft you could barely feel the coat)...



llamas and alpacas (you talkin' to me?)...




and sheeps for the shearing...



And LOTS of Ravelers! I didn't catch everyone's name, mostly because in a crowd my inner hermit is trying to run for the hills and I become a little socially awkward (in my head at least), but this is Trillian42 on the floor in the shawl, ZKnitter in the corner chair, MeanGirl in the blue chair, SGeddes in green, and KnittingBetty in all black. (Thanks Jen, for filling in my gaps!)



Spinning ladies include funfairiegirl and turtlegirl, with a side order of bavgirl on the right.


And Jen was wearing her socks made in Lotus Yarns! I'm such a dork that I forgot to take a picture...figures.

It was great to meet so many familiar faces and I don't know that a meetup like this could have happened without Ravelry and the girls who organized. Thanks ya'll!

Now I must sleep. So tired.

Bubble Wrapped Hot Chicks (on a stick)*

What an eventful weekend! On Saturday and Sunday, I got to be a lesbian pizza girl in a silent film. Cause, you know, every silent film needs its lesbian pizza girl. Then I got killed by bubble wrap! Whee!


Brooke on the left, me on the right. Resting in peace (and popping bubbles when no one's looking).

If you'd like to see the short film in it's entirety, click here. It's part of the National 48 Hour Film Festival. We were given the Silent Movie genre, and everyone had to use the Celebrity Impersonator character, bubblewrap, and the line "it's hard not to look". We are super goofy, and also tons of fun.

On Monday, I took a personal day and went to see the Dalai Lama speak at Centennial Olympic Park. I think I love him. He was so inspiring. He spoke of the path to inner peace, finding happiness through being compassionate and helping others, and how such deeds lead to exterior/international peace.



I kept giggling though, cause I'm soooo mature, and his cute little robes and cute little face made me think of Pooh Bear, which made me think of Pushing Daisies last week and the whole "Kick, Pooh, Kick!" scene.


In other news, this is the last full week for you to purchase yarn at my etsy store and contribute to the Habitat for Humanity fund! Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. I hope to have a nice big check to send come November 1! (I'll be adding a few more skeins later tonight when I get the energy!)


*not really "on a stick" per se, but congrats if you get the reference! yes i watched a lot of stand-up comedy as a teenager. also, i wonder how many google hits i'll get from that title? hehe.

I like brown. (aka WIP update)

Or so my recent knitting would have you believe. Also, say hello to all my Christmas knitting. There will be no more. I have spoken, knitting goddess, here me now. There will be no more Christmas knitting other than these projects. The End. Amen. Etc. (ack! except for the hat for pete. i haven't forgotten, p. i swear. stop peering at me.)

Nate's Cobblestone. Round 2. First attempt had to be frogged because I can't read simple directions. And also because I should have swatched, apparently. This attempt will prove successful or I will burn 15 balls of Skye Tweed in effigy. Or shame it back into the stash for another project. One of those.



My step-dad's Irish Hiking Scarf in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed. To sort-of-match the brown tweed hat he got last year. Oh shit, just remembered I have to make my mom a red one too. Guess I better revise the above "I have spoken" statement.



This is the enchanting and lovely Tyrolean Stocking in Knitpicks Swish. For me. It will probably take me until Christmas to finish these darn socks. And you can guess what's getting most of my attention. YUM.



And today I got this for my birthday from my boss, along with a gift card to Borders (woo!).
The sheep is from bossysfeltworks. She even has a cute little sheep bum, which I declined to photograph for the protection of the innocent. (p.s. iPhone camera is not too shabby!)



BBSHIP!!

Call Me a Convert

Nate and I had a small fit of retail therapy on Saturday. We had been saving up to buy him a scooter for those days he needs to work late, and since it's finally decided to get cooler, we figured we'd wait until spring and reconsider.

We've been in a serious love/hate relationship with our Razr phones since we bought them a while back. They're too slim. They get dropped a LOT (especially mine). And I have a hard time hearing through the ear piece way too often.

So we indulged and bought iPhones.



They are super fun (a little *too* fun)! My only fear is crackberry-itis. I don't want to be addicted to my little black-screened friend here. There's no way I'll fill this thing up with music, movies, and podcasts, but Nate probably will fill his. I like to change my music out a lot, lest I get bored. And I still have my little blue shuffle for running. There's no way I could have this huge phone apparatus attached to me during a run. Sticking to my cute little clippy ipod for that chore.

I'm officially a gadget geek. As if there was any doubt.

Tomorrow there may be a little WIP Wednesday action around here...stay tuned!

Greenspeak for Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day. That means lots of bloggers are going to be talking about the environment today, which is awesome.

As Georgia is having some pretty serious drought problems, I'm going to limit my focus to some local issues. While this may not interest everyone since it's "local," do read on anyway, as our problems are not unique.

This month our governor declared that October is "Take A Shorter Shower" month. This in addition to the *complete* ban on any outdoor watering might give you a taste of what we're dealing with. As I type, we're 36 days from "forced rationing" of water in this county. Just last week Atlanta made ABC News with the fact that within a year the city could be out of drinking water. Watch that video would you? It's eye-opening.

Part of the problem is excessive lawn watering. Few things could anger me faster. I'd much rather have water to drink and a nice, hot (quick) shower than a green yard. Let the grass go, people. It grows back.

Another issue specific to Athens and other college towns is the number of students and football fans taxing the ecosystem. Ever wonder why College Station Rd. stinks the day before a football game? The waste water sanitation plant is flushing the poo tanks to make room for 90k extra "contributions". Nice, eh? Not that I have anything against college students or football games in general, but the influx of so many extra people is hard on the system. More resources are necessary and more trash and pollution are generated.

The vast majority of students and fans I've run across in my years dealing directly with them (at this particular school, mind you) are wasteful, neglectful, and generally couldn't give a shit about this town. Some have a very different mindset, of course, but after you've worked in a very large complex and have to deal with $300 water bills, you come to realize that most of them either don't care or don't think it's important to conserve or recycle. And why should they care? They're here for their own personal adventure and then they're out in 4 years and only return for football games and nostalgia, leaving a trail of trash behind them. I know; I was that student.

Thankfully there's an on-campus organization that's doing some recycling after games, though I have doubts about what percentage of trash they're able to recycle. Compared to the amount of trash tossed aside on the way to the game, I don't see that they can really collect any where near the majority of it.

To get some idea of the volume of trash we're talking about, check out this article from the University of Tennessee's student newspaper regarding the UT/UGA game last week and the volume of trash generated. 12 tons is the average. In one day.

Some students are taking up the proverbial torch, however, by launching "8 Days to Go Green" (Oct 14-21) in recognition of National Energy Awareness Month (Go Green Alliance). Yay! Students who care!

So what do Nate and I do to be more green? Lots of things!

Shorter showers and turning off the faucet when it's not necessary. Drinking all the water I pour myself or watering plants with anything left over. Not flushing every time (using the "if it's pee, let it be; if it's brown, flush it down" rule. Switching to Swheat Scoop for our cat litter, which caused a short rebellion that was quickly squashed. We use big reusable bags when grocery shopping. We carpool, in the hybrid naturally. We recycle everything possible (including junk mail and cataloges, and even going through the trash to dig out anything we threw out by mistake). We have water and energy efficient appliances, especially the washer and dryer. We've replaced almost all of our lightbulbs and we unplug things not in use (mostly). We use cloth instead of paper napkins when possible. We regulate the thermostat (and I wear more clothes).

I know there are more things we could be doing, and we'll be adding to our list. The next big thing we'll do is get rid of our carpet (donating it if possible) and put down bamboo floors. So excited. Must save money.

And maybe our next house will be green all over like Chris's Green House.

If you're interested in some more green blogs, check out Green as a Thistle, No Impact Man, Treehugger, and Eco Chick. All of these have great links to other blogs, companies and products.

What are you doing to be greener, if anything? Got any suggestions of things I can add easily?

Ravelholic

If you didn't already know, I'm pretty much obsessed with Ravelry. I didn't expect to be. But you know that when you stalk *your own* projects, you have a problem. What are they gonna do, knit themselves?

As I also stalk my bloggy friends' notebooks (via friend activity, woo!), I've come to realize that there are many features lots of you aren't taking advantage of yet. Maybe you are overwhelmed. Intimidated. Afraid to look at your own stash of knitting related items and admit that maybe, just maybe, you have a problem (it's not your fault, blame the stash.). Nevertheless. Only in knowing what we lay claim to can we tackle the beast. Or at least create a cool spreadsheet to compare with other folks' and see that we're not so nuts after all. There is righteous justification in being able to say to one's significant other, "at least *I* don't have as much stash as she does..."

Without further ado, I present:

"What you might be missing on Ravelry"

(aka, little things they keep adding to enable your addiction)

The Needles/Hooks page:


(as ever, click for bigger!)

Located in the "my notebook" section, this is one of my closet favorite features of Ravelry. Not only can you enter how many of each needle type you own, a little box pops up and asks for more information. I plug in what brand and sometimes where I bought them. You can see here that it would appear that I don't have many needles. I use my Denise set a LOT, though I don't see the point of adding them to the spreadsheet. I don't use straights any more, nor do I use DPNs (please don't stab me). So I basically catalog my circulars for socks and what not. Then I reference this page in my notebook when I'm ordering more online (hi KnitPicks, love you), or I can click the Print a Little Card button and have a reference to take along to the LYS. So cute.

Ravel It! Bookmark button:
This button can be found at the bottom of the main patterns page.



See? I'm also super crafty with my arrows. Anyway, drag this nifty little button to your bookmark bar, and when you run across a pattern that geeks you out, clicky and the ravelry page with that pattern comes racing to a tab near you. Awesome for addicts like me.


Custom Search Features:




Wanna know what baby items have been made with purple DB Baby Cash? Voila. How cool. You can now search yarns to see not only what people have made with them, but by category and color. Nifty!

Favorite Yarnies:
(p.s. ahem...hint hint)




Now you can add yarnies and commerical yarn to your favorites! That Casey and Jess are so smart.


What are your favorite features?

In which I make the news...

Knitch News, that is!


Whee!

The Fall Season So Far...

I love TV.

I even went so far as to major in it. Well that and film. And radio. And then acting. I'm so diverse and junk.

Though I'm not working in the field, I have some pretty strong opinions on the fodder they chuck on the air to try and sell to us. Some of it sticks, most of it oozes down the screen. Many shows just. keep. going. (Ghost Whisperer? Smallville???? for gods sakes!) I don't do full-on reviews since I can summarize why I do or don't like something pretty quickly in my head, and folks who get paid for that sort of thing do a better job than I would anyway.

But here's the quick and dirty of what I've seen so far (thank the gods for Tivo):

(I've only linked brand new shows...)

Heroes - Love it. Though I'm waiting for NBC to fuck it up. The over hyping gets old fast for me. The "MYSTERY OF THE BOX!!!!"?!?! Seriously? We're already sucked in; you don't even have to advertise for it anymore, mkay?

Dexter - I love this show with a sick fascination. Michael C. Hall is just perfect in this role. I'm on the edge of my seat with every episode. Very well done. Writing - excellent. Premise - brilliant. More, please.

Gray's Anatomy - Ok, I sucked it up and watched the first episode. Honestly, the only characters I have any sympathy for anymore are Callie and the new girl, Lexie. But if she's related to Meredith, that probably won't last very long. I'm sick of the bullshit story lines, so I doubt I'll watch for long, unless it's with disgust/fascination at the oncoming train wreck.

Pushing Daisies - Lovely. Perfect. Well written, interesting, witty, and funny. Might be too stylistic. Possibly doomed for cancellation (especially since I like it.) Jim Dale of Harry Potter audio book fame narrates. He's awesome.

Bionic Woman - I love that this remake isn't campy. Will be interesting to see how long it lasts. Love that Katee Sackhoff is in it. Go Starbuck! (i should probably dial down the nerdometer now...)

Journeyman - Quantum Leap meets The Time Travelers Wife (book, not tv). I like it so far. The whole thing with Olivia following him is enough mystery to keep me watching. For now.

The Office - I bought sticky notes yesterday that say "I <3 Jim". Enough said.

Earl - Har. I'm so glad Jamie Pressley won an Emmy for this show. She's a hoot! And Jason Lee is not so bad either.

Desperate Housewives - Bored. Over it. Move along.

Reaper - Somewhat campy, but very well written and funny. I snort laughed at least twice, which is always a good sign. And when you have Kevin Smith directing on occasion, you know it's going to do well. Bret Harrison has this Affleck/Biggs quality that makes him cute and quirky at the same time. And what knitter can argue with a sidekick named Sock?


What are your favorite new shows and why? Am I missing something good?

Socktoberfest is HERE!

First: Thank you all so much for the comments, emails, chats, phone calls, and Ravelry messages wishing me a happy birthday! You guys really went all out to make a girl feel special! I took the day off, did silly stuff, had a nice long nap, went to dinner, then had friends over to watch Heroes. It was a really great day.

Plus, I got some great knitting presents! Sunne sent me some stitch markers!

Hello Mr. Buddha, I'll be rubbing your belly now.


Some Punk Rock polka dots and rhinestone skulls.


Skulls...and crystals! (Girl must know I like Halloween or something!)


Buddhas, knitting balls (har), and a cute little sunshine!


Angela, my PRGE pal sent me a protozoa that she made, with funky blue hair, some punk knitting books and pattern yarn, some cool punk buttons, and Glow In The Dark Yarn. Ya'll. I can't wait to see what this stuff looks like knit up! Thanks Angela!


The hubby bought me the Heroes Season 1 DVD set. Woo! And Socks on Two Circs book. I can't wait to master that! Love me some magic loop!


And of all things to do on my birthday, I cast on a project for SOMEONE ELSE. It's amazing. I never knit for anyone else anymore, as my mad skills seem to go unappreciated, but Nate saw a sweater he loved and I finally put aside all my procrastination excuses and got on with it. This is the incredibly humble beginnings of Cobblestone in Skye Tweed's Heath colorway that I snagged from Webs. (The link goes to Jared's flickr pics...cause really, no one shows it off better than Jared. Rawr.)


Moving along. As you all know, with October comes Socktoberfest. Love. It. I have so many sock patterns that I want to knit right now!

Tyrolean Stockings. Rainbow Socks. Bellatrix. Nevermind the two pairs I have on the needles now.

Best get crackin'.

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?


***
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.

*************
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!