Friday, April 30, 2004
Spendies & Kendercrafts.
Man, I've had the Spendies BAD for the past few days. I think that it's just the natural reaction of going from making $100 a month to spend as you will, to making well... much more than that. I rediscovered e-bay, as mentioned before...and Amazon, and on-line shopping in general.
I think this has also come from brainstorming for new projects. I don't really feel like it's ok to knit wintry stuff when the weather is so GORGEOUS out. Even fatigue has languished. The upstairs at home is SO HOT from all the windows, I can just feel myself sweating into the superwash wool. Yeah, wool retains heat, who knew? So I've also been getting the Kendercrafts. Any gamer gonna guess what that means? Yeah, I've been wandering around, desperately seeking to start as many new projects as humanly possible.
I got some new yarn off of e-bay that I have no clue what I'm going to do with. (Click the up close picture, it'll give you a good idea of colors, etc.)
And I've decided that it's time to learn how to knit socks. This is because I took a look at the bottom of a pair of socks of mine the other day...
that's right worn almost all the way through. So I bought some sock yarn, and the needles to go with it and I'm patiently awaiting their arrival.
There's something about spring. I love the warming up, the nice weather. But I HATE what it does to me. I've been eating sweets out of control, spending money out of control. Does anyone else experience this? Is it cabin fever FINALLY taking over? I always seem to have these problems at this time of the year. I can't focus on any one thing, can't discipline myself with what I eat.
Yeah, so it's been a good day. :-)
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Dry on wit.
This is really hard to do. Keeping up this whole blogging thing. I think the men and women who do it have very little life indeed. Or...they just don't like TV as much as I do.
TV has been a problem in my life for awhile now. Justin marvels at the crap I can watch on TV. I find a lot of different things interesting. Like that guy on PBS who makes furniture using only handtools...fascinating! Or some cheesy Hallmark presentation on CBS. I'm drawn in by anything and everything. But that means that there's little time to do stuff like this.
I think I could commit to doing "quick-loading" blog entries. The problem is the pictures. Do you know how much of a hassle it is to set up pics, take them, download them into the computer, then upload them to the site... I don't want to spend the entire time complaining.
I just wanted to make you all aware of several cool things going on for me right now.
The first is that I've dropped the ban on knitting baby stuff. Apparently, we're past the point where Geana lost the triplets. Oh...long story short, Sammy was originally supposed to be triplets, but the set of identical twins he was snuggled with died very early on in utero. But we're past that point with the quadruplets.
I discovered that Lion Microspun is the best ever yarn for knitting these tiny baby hats. I changed the needle size from the umbilical cord baby hat pattern in Stitch 'N Bitch down from a size 8 to a size 4 and I'm finally really happy with a size of hat!
Looks like sunshine. I hope it doesn't make the baby look jaundiced.
Another great thing is that I saw "Bertha" (see few days ago) or rather Bertha's cousin on E-bay the other night...$30.00 after a dozen bids! Who woulda thought? This hideous thing that I got at a rummage sale is worth big bucks!
So how'd the sermon go? Well, it went as well as could be expected. I don't like reading sermons and I look forward to the day that I can just wing it. But right now, I'm too scared to do that. I was told I spoke too fast and that the oldest couple in the church couldn't hear me. Oh well. If there was going to be someone who couldn't, I'm glad it was them and not the young'ns.
I bought some stuff on E-bay that I'm really looking forward to. 4 Skeins of mohair blend which I'm hoping to get a picture of when I receive the stuff. Also some of the cutest stitch markers you've ever seen. The ones from Bertha's loins are alright, but they're thick, and an ugly offwhite plastic. These are much skinnier and cuter. I can't wait! :-)
Hope y'all have a good day.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
My weekend & the future.
I got a lot done over the weekend at Justin's grandparent's place. He warned me that there would be a lot of sitting around doing nothing, so I was prepped and ready.
Fatigue got another inch or two, but is still true to his name. Do you think that I could jazz up the stitch a little bit without sacrificing the gauge too much? I just need something to make my life more interesting.
I also was able to work on Fatigue's competition and come pretty darn near close to finishing it...except I didn't bring along a tapestry needle. Damn. Well, I didn't have stuffing or contrasting yarn either. But I finished him up last night.
I'n't he cuuuute? Any name suggestions? I don't know. I think with his ample hips, he looks more like a he than a she, donchu think?
I'm taking a break for another couple of days. The sermon is coming along just fine...I have several more days...but there's the whole car drama that needs to be worked out.
Oh yeah, I haven't clued some of you in yet.
Last week (a week ago today, actually) I was in a fairly large accident. I rear-ended an SUV with my tiny Honda Civic. His rear bumper moved in 2 inches, my entire front end got smashed in and pushed up, fluids leaked, the whole 9 yards. My airbag didn't go off, but my wrath for SUV's that was merely a lip service before has become truly genuine. Granted, it was my fault, granted, the roads were slick. But if I had hit another Honda Civic without enough force to set off the airbag, the damage would have been much less substantial.
$5500 worth of damage as a matter of fact. The car's 6 years old and the debate at this point is whether or not to junk it (it's not quite totalled according the insurance company) or to get it fixed. It's my take that when I go to trade it in in another four or five years, I won't get $5000 for it. I'll get less than that. Plus, the body shop isn't fixing a lot of stuff that I was planning on having checked out and fixed anyway...brakes, tires, transmission. That's going to be more money put into this car that has had huge problems the last two inspections.
My thinking is to replace the Honda with some kind of hybrid. I've never liked the Civic's lack of power, so I'm focusing on the Prius right now. You get a nice tax deduction, plus I'd spend much less money in gas (which we would all like to do at this point!) -- 55 MPG, can't beat that with a stick. With my future commutes into Greensburg for work and to/from field education in Chi-town, I'm thinking it would be a wise investment at this point. Here's hoping.
So yeah, that's my focus for the next few days other than work & it was my focus yesterday. I'm sorry if the blog flounders for awhile, but as my friend Sarah says. "Damn, Melissa do you NEED more drama in your life! Some people are just overly dramatic about EVERYTHING, but you really have some stuff to talk about!"
Saturday, April 17, 2004
WIPS on milk cartons.
Fatigue went missing this morning. I have NEVER misplaced a project before. Alright, maybe I've lost a needle here or there which has always turned up. Maybe I've missplaced a quilt block only to have it turn up after the whole quilt has been put together. But I've never lost an entire project all at once.
Then there's this morning...here I am, rushing around to get out of here for a last minute trip to Clearfield to visit Justin's family. I thought, great! Six hours in the car and countless hours of visiting! I can take a project or two and really get some stuff done. Well, alas, I think Fatigue saw me working on The Bear yesterday. So he went and hid himself knowing FULL WELL I'm on a strict time schedule!
I cursed him under my breath, I called him, I tempted him with the brand new point protectors I got ESPECIALLY so he wouldn't poke through my bag on this trip...nothing. nada. Nowhere to be found.
Finally, I used the trick so often used by parents everywhere. "Fine, I'm leaving without you. You won't get touched for three whole days. Just sitting there...alone...with no one to even walk by you to notice you."
Suddenly he appeared on a bookshelf in the playroom, squished ON TOP of the row of books on the top shelf. I NEVER would have put him there. It was a good hiding place, though, I must admit.
No picture today. Sorry, no time. Have a good weekend!
Friday, April 16, 2004
Bertha
Meet Bertha.
Bertha is, ironically, my inspiration to knit. She is also about to be the visual focus for an upcoming children's sermon. There's a verse in the Bible that says God uses us to show God's goodness because we are jars of clay. No one would expect good things from the likes of US! Unless we are filled up with something really great, like God's grace and goodness. When people look at us, if they see goodness, it must come from God, because we're only humans, and humans are really screwed up people. Anyway, I see Bertha as the modern day equivalent to an ugly clay jar.
A visual of Bertha in all her 70's splendor (which is quite charming once you get used to her)is not quite enough to get the essence of Bertha quite down-pat. Have you ever laid down on a couch that has been in the house of a smoker for 75 odd years, but hasn't been around a fresh cigarette for the past 20? Have you ever taken a big whiff of that upholstery? That is the chosen eau de parfume of Bertha, that scent that comes off sticky on your hands, that can only come from prolonged exposure (not just one night in a bar) to a 5 pack a day smoker.
I found Bertha at the church flea market at the very end of the day and nobody wanted her or her accompanying yarn. While on the outside she is truly garish and stinky, on the inside, she had half a dozen sets of needles ranging from size 5 to 9, cable stitch holders, regular stitch holders, place markers, a yellow plastic fringe maker, two sets of 70's circular needles, and a pack of tapestry needles. I got Bertha, her wealth of contents, and 5 balls of Bertha yarn for $2.00 2 years ago with the idea that SOMEONE would teach me how to knit. And look where she's got me. *sigh*
Unfortunately I had to throw most of the yarn away. It all smelled like Bertha, left the same sticky residue on your hands, and, being 100% scratchy acrylic, wasn't worth keeping. I did keep 3 hanks of a linen/acrylic mix that I have set aside for washcloths, hoping the stench will wash out with being submerged in water most of the time.
Onto to project news. I don't think I've officially introduced all of you (there are about 3 of you so far) to Fatigue.
That's the only way you can get Fatique to look interesting, shooting him from a weird angle. You have to get a close up to really get the full effect.
That's right, those are size 3's, so sharp, by the way, that I can't find a canvas bag they won't poke through. That's right, it's ALL garter stitch. Knit every stitch, every row...for 28 inches. Damn knitting for kids book. They say Stockinette is boring. Ha! You see that it's not just his army green color that gives him his name. But for now, Fatigue is the only project on my horizon, he's the only thing that I can see knitting in the spring, when scarves and hats are deemed unneccessary and foolish.
Or IS he?
Muhahaha!!!!!!!
Monday, April 12, 2004
New Lessons
My apologies for letting this slide for the last week or so. Work has gotten too busy for me to check my email, let alone type a few lines here and there. We also had 20 odd people in for Easter dinner, plus Kurt, Geana and Sammy all weekend.
I like having company around. It means that you can sit and knit while maintaining the required relative visitation rituals. Therefore, I got a lot accomplished.
The baby says, "this lacy hat doesn't threaten my masculinity at all!" And also, it's a doll. I'm not pulling a Michael Jackson by placing near the edge of the kitchen table. For a newborn, he can sit up quite well.
Then there's the teenie one...
I showed Geana this one and her jaw dropped. I don't think she can conceive (neither can I!) of something small enough to fit into that hat! Sorry, bad pun. In order to get a 3-D idea of circumference, I had to put the hat on a salt shaker at home the size of your average Granny Smith apple, just to give you an idea of how small we're talking here.
However, I've determined, after a bit of a Geana "emergency" that turned out to be nothing at 5 AM this morning, that I am THROUGH tempting fate with these baby hats! No more baby hats til we know the babies are going to be OK.
Geana is determined to learn how to knit, thinking it can't be much harder than learning how to crochet, which she learned in high school. She brought a kit with her over the weekend and asked me to teach her. Well, the kit is designed by a Swede named Suss, so the stitching is all Continental style. I told her just to get a good book.
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
"We came, we saw, we KICKED ITS ASS!"
Here she is! All bound off and complete. :-D I actually finished her Sunday, but things at work have been so hectic, I haven’t been able to post til now. I totally kicked this scarf’s ass over the weekend. And I’d like to thank the Fellowship of the Ring extended cut appendices for keeping me going pretty constantly on Saturday.
Saturday, April 3, 2004
Heather
This is Heather, my current magnum opus.
She's my first foray into the world of Lamb's Pride wool from the Brown Sheep Company. I think I'm hooked. I really wish you could all feel this scarf. It's got weight to it, and it's very squishy. It almost makes me wish it was October so that I would be able to wear it soon.
Here, I'll include a close up so you can rub your face against the computer screen and "pretend" that you can feel the perfect combination of soft and scratchy, squishy and heavy.
Heather's a "key hole" scarf which is a pattern I took from Stitch and Bitch (great book, go get it.) which means that the big hole at the bottom is intentional. It will ensure that my scarf doesn't come flying off in the high winds of Chicago next year.
When I started working on her while watching a movie early this morning, I estimated that Heather only had 7 inches left of k1 p1 ribbing. Just as the movie drew to a close, I discovered the little hole about 5 rows above the skein I had added about a week ago, about 5 inches from the top. I was NOT going to have my glorious squishy baby ruined by a little accidental yarn over. I worked another two rows hoping that I could work past my discovery. But no dice, all I could see was this hole close to the edge that started out about the size of a pencil eraser, then it appeared to grow before my eyes to the size of a nickel, then a quarter, then a baseball (completely passing up the size of a golfball). Suddenly, all I could see was this...hole.
Alas, the only way out was to bite the bullet as the credits rolled. I frogged all 5 inches. Hence the pile of yarn nesting at the top of the picture. Heather, who has been facing fierce competition for my affection from the seductive preemie bonnets, is now in my dog house. I was hours away from completing her. Now I'm days away again. :-(
I have told myself that I am not allowed to start on the preemie bonnets until I've finished at least two other projects. Heather is one. I haven't picked the other. That's a problem.
Thursday, April 1, 2004
My cheatin heart
I have this problem. I've eluded to it before and I think you all know what I mean by it. Today I was at work allowing the constant flow of thoughts in the background of my mind to burble like a brook around my cerebellum (or is that at the front of the brain?). Anyway, I think I was sparked by YarnHarlot's entry today. She has been asked by her nieces to knit doll clothes for them for their birthday. Somehow my brain made the connection between these doll clothes and the four babies who may be appearing in our world out in Philadelphia around August. They're going to be gosh darn small. I already have two baby caps (knit for no one in particular nudge nudge) completed, but they're both HUGE for newborns who have been crammed into one space for 7 or 8 months. So I started looking online for preemie hat patterns. Gone are the thoughts of Heather, the purple keywhole scarf, and Fatigue, my bookbag being knit on size 3's. Banished are the ideas of grey homespun slippers that I just bought yarn for. Forget the two scarves that are so far in the background that they don't even have names.
But aren't they ADORABLE??
Look how teenie!
[Archives]
Search entries:
