Susan knits and writes

Random Updating

2011-07-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated, and I'm sick (again) with a head cold, so this post might just end up being a rambling bit of random nonsense with some pictures thrown in. You are now warned.

In Time for the Second Rapture is done. The pic doesn't do it justice, of course, but when that second Rapture comes, I'll be ready.

This is a picture of the sheep that Lisa and I got from a friend. I got it out one absolutely perfect day and set to sorting and washing.

I decided to wash the brown fleece first, cuz it was pretty. After much sloshing in poopy water, hours of drying in the sun, then working my ass off with the hand carders, I ended up with a bit of fleece to spin, and the realization that while I technically could do this if I wanted to, I don't want to. It's really really fucking messy and dirty, and other people do a much better job of it. And if you really think about it, fleece and roving and all that pretty stuff you get at the harvest festivals and such isn't expensive at all.

So I'm not really sure where the rest of the fuckton of poopy fleece is going to end up, but I'm pretty sure I'm not washing it.

And here's the random cat picture of the day. I made some more stuffed fishy toys for the boys, and here's Mulder guarding his (he's sitting on it the big oaf) from Dexter who is trying to sneak (he's physically incapable of sneaking) up on him to get it.

In Time for the Rapture

2011-05-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

The sweater that I named In Time for the Rapture is done.

I did get to wear it once before the weather went all crazy ninja like and sent tornadoes, rain, and now stupid humidity and heat.

But since the Rapture never came, or did but Jeebus couldn't find any good Christians to take with him, the guy that we trust our end of the world predictions to said there would be another chance for the Rapture in October, so I decided to make another sweater just like this one but in red. She's finished, but there are no pics yet.

You'll just have to get your rapture on with this one for now.

This.is.why.I.knit

2011-05-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

This sweater. Right here. This is the reason that I learned to knit.

A perfect blend of Malabrigo and lace detailing on the hem and button bands.

When I first started this sweater, knit from the bottom up, (oh, it's Talia on Ravelry btw), I started with the lace hem, and was hooked. It's a bit fiddly, but o so purty, and I started having dreams of it.

I know I haven't shared in a while, been super busy loving being off work and playing at Crafty Planet, because, let's face it, working at a yarn and fabric store really isn't working at all. It's playing.

A F*(& ton of acrylic yarn

2011-01-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

I had a mission for this week, to purge the acrylic yarn and organize the stash. Little did I know that this was to be a mission of extraordinary proportions, one which made me ponder just how many grandma's had to pass away for me to acquire this huge amount of acrylic yarn????

The before picture:

I actually thought I would only need this one bin for the acrylic yarn in my stash.

During:

In which I realize I need more containers, and that my yarn addiction has most certainly gone way too far.

Hey! There are some empty containers there!

This is the end result, all of my lovelies that I actually love and use put away all nicely in their bins.

Please note, this picture is only reflective of half of the closet. The other half is just as nice, and just as full of yarn. Please don't judge me.

This is the actual amount of acrylic yarn leaving my house.

Seriously people, how the fuck did I get 4 garbage bags and 1 huge tub FULL OF ACRYLIC YARN!!!!!

Xmas gift preview

2010-12-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

I got on a large Subversive Cross Stitch kick, so everyone gets one this year

Have you looked on top of your fridge lately?

2010-11-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Holy crap guys, how the heck does it get so dirty up there? Honestly, all I do is put stuff on top of it, it's not like I stand on a ladder and cook up there or anything. Even the cats don't go up there (I think).

As you can tell I got on a bit of a cleaning bender today. Since I've been home, I have started to notice things. Like the dust buffaloes roaming the dessert of our home and the cat hair that is collecting into little kittens all over. I don't even mean to spend 3 hours cleaning, it just kinda morphs into this "lets sweep, o crap look at all that dust, lets dust, lets pull everything off the shelves and rearrange, lets mop, o look now this room looks so much cleaner than the other room now I have to do the same to that room" and that gradually escalates into me on a stepladder with 409 cleaning the top of the fridge.

God help us all when I get to the basement.

I leave you with kittehs sleeping through it all as if the mess had nothing at all to do with them

I missed October

2010-11-02T15:01:00.001-07:00

I have no idea what happened, but October just didn't exist in my blogging mind. Oh, lots of things happened, but for some reason the blog didn't get blogged.

I'll try to catch you up now, starting with today. Today I did a very adult thing, I had a physical exam for life insurance screening. Hopefully you're all saying I'm way to young for life insurance, but with this whole I don't have a job except for the lovely work for yarn set up I have over at Crafty Planet, I realized that if something happened to my husband, I would be living in a cardboard box with all of my yarn trying to knit scarves to sell for my Miller Genuine Draft Lite habit. And that just made me sad. So I convinced the hubby we needed life insurance, which also entailed an exam by an extremely young medical assistant. The hubby offered to come home from work to help supervise the exam in case it was "weird", I think he had visions of me propped on the dining room table with my feet in stirrups and Dexter trying to get the lady to play ball. Thankfully, it wasn't that weird. Though it was weird, don't get me wrong. The teenager was way overly made up for the appointment, didn't wear gloves or ask to wash her hands before drawing blood, and the whole urine sample thing was just strange.

But there were no stirrups. Maybe I should tell him there were so he can be freaked out for his own exam?

I've also been in a bit of a stretch of knitting scarves. I love scarves. Really. I love matching them to my outfit or mood or mismatching them depending on what Mulder looks like when I show it to him for his approval.

This one is a neckwarmer that buttons in the front, it's pretty, but it looks a bit odd on. Maybe it will be better with a jacket?

This was done in Noro Silk Garden, cast on 280 sts and knit sideways garter stitch until it was wide enough. I love this one!

This one was a bit of an obsession. Crafty Planet got a bunch of Malabrigo Rasta in that was gorgeous, but a bit expensive and low on the yardage, only 90 yards for $22. But then a coworker worked up this scarf and I instantly had to have my own! It's so lovely and smooooshy!

This last one kinda kicked my ass for a while. There are 24 rows, but only 23 are written out. So naturally, I knit about 2 feet of the scarf knowing the whole time that the cables looked off, but hoping that knitters hope that if I kept on knitting it would look fine magically when I knit the next row or the next row, and eventually I just gave in and looked at the pattern again and lo and freaking behold there was the 24th row. I had knit for 2 feet losing a row every 23 rows. Those cables were off my friends. I'm secretly happy I didn't take a before pic, because it really is stupid how off those cables were and I just kept knitting and hoping and knitting and watching Hawaii 5-0 distracting myself with Alex O'Laughlin's oh so lovely shirtless self. The blame isn't entirely my own.

But it sure is lovely now

The last pic is of what I think is the 2nd part of my Mom's Xmas present. Yep, it's still yarn. Technically it has been 6 different scarves, but I didn't like any of them, so they are all yarn again. Maybe wrap the box of yarn with an IOU for when I finally decide on a scarf pattern I like for it?

Sweater kick

2010-09-27T15:19:00.001-07:00

I am on a serious sweater kick. Maybe it's because I actually got a sweater knitted that fit me, or that it's getting colder, but I just finished another sweater, the Mondo Cable Cardi from Chic Knits, knit in Cascade Eco Duo, a lovely lovely yarn that is 75% alpaca and 25% merino which makes it oh so warm and oh so soft and drapey. I knit a little shorter for the body as called for because alpaca tends to stretch, and I didn't want it down to my knees. The top photo is pre-buttons, and the second is after the buttons were added.
This photo shows the nice color of the yarn better, it does have a very subtle striping effect that isn't too weird.

Now onto the next sweater, you'll have to wait and see!

Just a few things

2010-09-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to update you on the things I've been knitting since leaving my job:
A pair of fingerless mittens: Pattern Endpaper Mitts from Ravelry

A pair of socks, pattern Crevasse on Ravelry

A baby sweater, pattern Baby Yoda on Ravelry

A sweater (yes, THE Sweater) that turned out lovely btw, pattern Cassidy on Ravelry

A blanket, pattern Modern Log Cabin on Ravelry

And a few hats, can't for the life of me remember the pattern name, but they're on Ravelry too.

I've also been working a bit here and there at Crafty Planet on Johnson St. in NE Mpls. Please come by and see me on a Sunday afternoon! I can't tell you how awesome that place is and how much I love working there! Finally, a job that feeds my yarn and fabric addiction!

I quit! & why I can't have a dog

2010-08-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is my neighbor's dog. As you can see he is a very happy, playful dog. Much to my neighbor's dismay, he did not come with an appropriate warning about her yard though.

I have also just finished my last day! More than 9 years with my company and there were some tears but also cake and pizza which always helps, and I'm off!

I want to make it perfectly clear that my decision to leave had NOTHING to do with any bad feelings for the company or any job problems. Despite the normal crap that happens over 9 years, my job was the best I could have asked for at the best time in my life with the best coworkers and boss ever. Seriously. I didn't always love it, but that comes with the job. I left because it is the right time for me to move on.

Stay tuned for epic doing nothingness to come!

Houston, we've got sleeves!

2010-07-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

These are the sleeves to my Cassidy cardigan, blocking. They will look better when they dry and are on the sweater, I swear.
This sweater is a serious deal for me, as I knew it would be. Not only am I knitting from a chart, but I learned the proper way to do a mattress seam on a sweater, and *gosh* does that ever make a difference! I am actually pretty excited about the finished product!

In other news, we got an automatic cat feeder. It is set to go off and dump out a specified amount of food 3 times a day, so now we don't have to worry quite so much about being home to meet the cats needs.
This is what they all look like when they hear it dump the food. Dexter gets there first, cuz he's a big bully, Mulder usually moves in, and Itchy gets it last. We were worried that they weren't all getting enough, so we upped the amount a bit. Now it seems just perfect.

We hoped this would help to alleviate the problem of herd of kitties running to food bowl because they're starving. And it has. A bit.

Wanna freak out a knitter?

2010-06-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Best way to freak out a knitter is to have a creepy squirmy brown bug appear in her yarn.
I promise it is the fastest way to get said knitter to scream, grab yarn and bust into husband in the bathroom and shake out all the yarn in the tub.
The yarn is now in the freezer, just in case, and all surrounding yarn has been checked.
Googled, and it didn't look like anything other than a small baby centipede that probably crawled in the window.

Snot bubbles

2010-06-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Itchy has a cold. This is him at the vet this morning. He had been wheezing and making sounds like he had a squeeky toy in his throat, sneezing violently and not eating. Not even hissing when I picked him up. So you know that he feels yucky if he's not hissing. So I took him to the vet, the lovely vet that sees Mulder, and he promptly had a violent sneezing attack that made him look like Elvis while blowing snot bubbles. Definately a cold she said. She's so nice.
He got fluids sub-q (under his skin) and some stuff I got to try to make him take. Luckily, he's not feeling well, so instead of landing me in the ER with another tetanus shot and antibiotics, he just blew more snot bubbles at me.

And yes, I did take my camera to the vet for the sole purpose of taking his picture and blogging about it. So??????

Moving right along

2010-06-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

Now that I figured out the chart pattern with the help of the lovely Angela from The Knitter's Palette, I am moving right along. I am about 2 inches away from being done with the back!
I believe it is turning out quite lovely. I am using the same yarn I used in the Fiddlehead mittens for my mom, Berrocco Ultra Alpaca worsted weight in Blueberry mix, which is my new passion. Thank goodness my new passion is reasonably priced and available at the Knitter's Palette!

The Sweater Theory

2010-06-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

I have always had in my mind that no matter what or how much I knit, I am not a "real" knitter until I can make myself a cozy sweater that I want to wear every day of my life. This theory does not apply to anyone but myself. But until I can make myself "THE" sweater, I have not yet arrived.
Enter sweater class 2010. I have made sweaters, but in my mind, not a single one is 'THE" sweater. None of them can be thrown on without a bit of coordination. So until this year, I was still on the hunt. Knitter's Palette decided to host a make a sweater of your choice type class, and I was in.
First mistake was in the choosing of the pattern. I couldn't just choose one with shaping and seaming, no no no. I had to go for cables, and CHARTED cables nonetheless. I have never worked from a cable chart ever, but shoot, LET'S GO!
Picked favorite yarn. Ordered, bought, wound in a delightful little ball. Get pattern, look over. Decide it's confusing, but decide to wait until class to have a full on freak out.
Go to class. Gosh, this is confusing, but I got some good guidance from lovely Angela, and onward we go.
Second mistake. I went home fully confident I could make the back all by my lonesome. Never should have left the store. Should have sat there and knit until I finished the back because I have now re-knit the same piece 4 times. Partly because I failed to read, partly because Itchy thinks alpaca is awesome, partly because I can no longer count, and finally because I thought I would get fancy and write out the charted instructions so I could read them but still couldn't count so I ended up knitting for an hour and had one less row and one less stitch after ripping it all out.
Put the fucking knitting down...take a step back....
Picked up those needles, pulled out the fucking pattern, threw out my notes, and read from the chart...very very very very slowly.
Mother-f-ing success.
Only 2 hours spent to get 2 rows in.
If I don't get the best sweater out of this I quit knitting.

2010-05-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

This little girl was hanging out at work this morning when I got there. She was hungry, shaking, cold, wet, and hurt badly on her back foot. She was also the cutest and sweetest thing on the face of the planet

As you can see, her foot is about 3 times the size of her other foot. Some asshole put a tourniquet on her and almost cost her the whole foot. Her entire paw was sliced open on the pads.

I think there is a special place in Hell for people that neglect or abuse animals.

We called Animal Control, and a very nice officer came and took her along with a coworker to the animal hospital. They won't have to amputate her foot, which they were afraid of, and she might not need stitches if they can help it. The coworker wants to adopt her, but is afraid of the expense. She did hear from the officer (who has rescued and kept 3 of his own dogs) that said the station could impound her for 10 days, then she could come get her at a lesser expense than having to pay all the vet bills out of pocket.

Medium

2010-05-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else watch the season finale of "Medium"? I kept thinking to myself, she gets to spend her whole afterlife in her pajamas! Yay!

Kill me now

2010-05-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

All I have to say about this week is that I actually had to complain to my boss that my coworker was clipping his toenails at his desk. And she's threatening to call HR in to mediate the situation. What in the name of everything is there to mediate? How do you mediate NOT clipping your toenails at your desk?
A better idea would be to mediate me NOT waiting in the parking lot for him to come out and ramming my car into him over and over and over back and forth until his toes become severed from the rest of his body.
THAT would be a better idea.

Shepherd's Harvest pics

2010-05-11T13:19:00.001-07:00

Just for kicks, I got a picture of all 3 boys together. I was playing on the Wii fit and they were all rapt, as they should be. Of course Mulder is in his king position on the pillow, Itchy on the arm, and Dexter on the cushion.
This is the sheep dog demo I got to watch a bit of. I was pausing to drink some hot coffee, it was freezing. The dogs were pretty cool, and fun to watch.

This is a knitted wedding dress I saw. The woman that knit it wore it for her wedding, as well she should. I would wear it every day, and end up 50 years later covered in cobwebs in a dilapidated mansion.

Those were the best photos. I had a blast, came home with enough fiber and yarn to spin and knit for at least another year.

Whatcha eating?

2010-05-06T15:15:00.001-07:00

I really suck at feeding myself. This has become more apparent this week on vacation as I try to fend for myself and not rely on my daily frozen lunch in the microwave for my main meal of the day.
Today out of desperation for normal-ish food and something new, I made hard-boiled eggs for the first time ever in my life. Really. It was a feat to behold. I even had to look up how to do it on the Internet. Seriously. I paced for the whole 10 minutes they were "simmering" which I'm not really even sure I know what that means, thinking the whole time they would explode on the stove just like the time my Mom put them in the microwave and they blew the door off.
When they were done, I ate them with trepidation. They smelled good, they tasted good, but for about 2 hours I was beset with the idea that I would have food poisoning because I didn't do it right. Which I don't by the way. I'm fine. I think.
So I've realized I'm probably going to starve to death by this time next week if I don't get some ideas soon. I HATE TO COOK. Seriously. When I lived by myself I was so freaking proud of myself for making a spaghetti dinner that I thought I was queen of the world. I do that about once a year. Macaroni & cheese from the box is my cooking. And I only do that once a week or so. A plate of bacon used to and still can be a nice dinner. Add an egg if you have them, but they're easier to cook when you float them in the bacon grease so you can flip them. Rice-a-roni is not a side but a well thought out meal.
So what do you make? Is there anything in a box I can make other than pasta? A can of something other than ravioli? No. I willnotmakeramen.

2010-05-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Found:
One incredibly cute burgundy corduroy jacket hanging out in the basement along with 2 sweatshirts and a cardigan I thought I had lost. Discovered while on the hunt for winter jackets to donate.
Done: Donation of 4 garbage bags of clothing. Absolutely none of which came from my closet. They were all leftovers from last years purge.
But hey, gotta start somewhere right?

Something weird

2010-05-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

There is something weird that happens when you decide to do ALL of the laundry that's been sitting around. You suddenly realize a lot of odd things all at once.
1 You have a crapton of clothes
2 You still have nothing to wear and you hate it all
3 Except for the super cute burgundy corduroy jacket that yes indeed is missing.
4 You do not have enough hangers
5 Someone came and stole all of your underwear except the crappy stuff.

Sexy Man

2010-04-26T18:40:00.001-07:00

Mulder got a bath last night, and just wanted to show off how sexy and sleek he looks now that he is de-dandruffed.
Mulder is a bit of an "older" gent. He's having more laziness with the cleaning part of his routine, choosing to favor the sleeping over the cleaning. So he needs a bit of help especially with the de-oiling of his fur. At one point I swear the little bugger was actually liking the shower, he sat back with his head up so we could spray his chest with the nice warm water from the fancy shower head we got just for him.
But then he growled.
Bugger.

Pictures Schmictures

2010-04-22T15:28:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know I promised landscaping pics a while ago.
YOU try living my life for 28.2 seconds and see if that's on the top of your to do list.
Just sayin...

This is the after shot of the pond. LOVE IT! They took out all the grossness and added goodies like real pretty rocks and redid the water bowls so they don't get so yucky.

This is the backyard. They pulled EVERYTHING OUT and redid with cedar mulch, that smells like freaking heaven, and planted cute little evergreens everywhere.

That's the front. The bushes are a gorgeous bluish hue, and they should get about 5 feet around. Let me tell you, I'm watering those things like I've never watered in my life. Well... I haven't...

Anyhooo....

There ya go.

One week to go until my 2 week vacation. I'm going to Shepherd's Harvest in Lake Elmo and that's it. NADA. Well, I threatened the DH that I would clean the basement, so I might follow thru on that. Other than that, NOPE, NADA! Plan to get my knit on, my spin on, and my beer drinking on. Not in that order.

1st sale down, 1 to go

2010-04-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

I know I owe you pics of the landcaping, but all you get right now is the loot I got from the MN Textile center's garage sale. Lets just say it was worth it as always!

2010-04-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Can't tell you what it is, but these buttons are going on Mom's Mother's Day present. I got out the whole button box (old wine box) and went thru all of the buttons, and these are what I came up with.
I cut the tulips from my yard today because the landscapers come on Wed and are gutting all of our plants around the whole yard. And the squirrrels eat the tulips as soon as they bloom anyway, so I grabbed what I could:

This is the front yard. They are digging out everything and planting nice clean easy to maintain evergreens. No flowers for the squirrels, no crap to have to weed. Nice low maintenance evergreens

This is the pond. I love the pond. I don't even really mind cleaning out the pond and refilling it. But Eric hates it. So this year, the landscapers are going to clean it and re-do the rocks and such so that we get nice water flow. They are also pruning the lilac bush around and over it so it gets more sun and less crap in it.

The metal cow from our friend Mike stays though.

This is the side and back yard. They are also getting rid of all this crap that the previous owners thought was great and giving us more evergreens!

That is all for now.

I will hopefully get some nice "after" photos when it's all done!

Stupid Slippers

2010-04-09T17:15:00.001-07:00

I joined the Ravelry bandwagon and got the French Press slipper pattern. This is my first attempt:

I made the medium size, I have a size 7.5 foot. Totally turned out too big. Felted for over an hour and now they are in the dryer trying to shrink them down. They are so big that putting them on makes me look like a Xmas elf without the bells on the toes.

So far the pattern was easy, the seaming is a pain in the ass, and I agree with other Ravelers on a few things:

1:7$ is too much for one pattern

2:Not specifying the type of make one that works best is a negative. I used the m1 by lifting the bar below, which caused a hole, which shows on only 1 of the slippers and not the other.

3: The sides are too short. I may try to mod by not decreasing as much for that middle part.

Things I like:

1: Easy peasy pattern.

2: Even if you are a beginner knitter, if you think about the construction of the slipper, you can modify the pattern to fit you better.

3: It uses up scrap-wool stash. Even if using the scrap wool stash is purely an attempt to perfect the $&#! thing.

Yarn dyeing for Easter

2010-04-04T13:23:00.001-07:00

We don't celebrate Easter. So today we installed another ceiling fan, put in a new shower head, and I dyed some more yarn.
I soaked the bare yarn in some water and vinegar while we shopped at Home depot, came home and spread out the yarn in the backyard over some plastic and mixed my dyes. Today I used the Neon food colors you can get at the food store. I put the color into separate squeeze bottles and played with the colors.
Here the yarn is soaking up the sun rays in the backyard to heat the color into it:

Here is the yarn before I wrapped it in the saran wrap:

I haven't got the faintest idea if this will work at all or be a miserable failure, but I spent part of the day outside in the lovely sun with a beer and yarn.

That's success any day in my book.

No time to write, must spin, or is it knit?

2010-03-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite events are coming up very sooooooon, so soon in fact I can't spend any time blogging. I have to spin. Knit. spin. knit. spin. or is it knit????
The first is the MN Textile center garage sale in April. I blogged last year. Hence the reason behind the must knit. I always buy toooooo much there. It's not really my fault though. It's the yarn. It calls to me. It just feels so lonely and unloved, it needs a home and friends.
The second is the Shepherd's harvest festival in May. This is a spinners dream, and the first year I went which was 2 years ago was right before I got the wheel from my Mom and I still bought too much. Fiber is way cheaper than yarn, and has so many wonderful possibilities that aren't being held back by being yarn already that it's just way too much fun to buy too much.
So sorry for the short post, but you knitters/spinners understand right? Gotta make room!

Post blocking

2010-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is a DROPS sweater that I made. It took a long time because it is knit and seamed (remind me to modify for in the round next time!) So while this is being blocked because the bottom hem in the back rides up a bit it is on the floor in my sewing room on a towel like this:

And then I put another towel on top of it and a book on top of that to hold it down. I DO NOT WANT Itchy to get his little sharp claws into this and claim it as his own chewy toy.

Thanks Gwen for the comment, yes, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

I'm posting a pic of the post blocked bag. the corner is curled up a bit on the flap, and the back has a spot where the yarn is chewed, but it's not so bad. :(

When you block at my house

2010-03-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

When you knit a bag and felt it and then try to block it at my house, Itchy claims it as his. He licks it and licks it and growls and bites when you try to get him off it.
The mystery of why things never look as good as they should after blocking is now solved.

Wicked in Malabrigo

2010-03-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the sweater "Wicked" from Ravelry for the last few days. I found enough Malabrigo for sale by a fellow Raveler for the sweater, so I had to wait to cast on which actually was a bit painful. I haven't knit anything in Malabrigo for a few months now, so I was itching!

The colorway is "Applewood" I'm on skein #2 and just getting to the bust line. I tried it on with some lifelines, and she actually fits!

Top down seamless sweater to the rescue!

And a hat too!

2010-03-07T17:42:00.001-08:00

I had so much fun knitting the mittens that I found a hat pattern that went well with it.

It's the Flora hat from Ravelry, and it's a free pattern. I used the leftovers I had from the mittens, and only used about 1/2 skein of each color.

If you look close the white parts are small leaves coming off of a small vine. The vine isn't "popping" quite like it should, but I can't find anything to block the stupid thing on other than my head. And I don't want to wear a wet hat around blocking it until it dries. Any volunteers?

Finished!

2010-02-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

The Fiddlehead mittens are finished! The white you see on the bottom is the lining that tucks inside for extra warmth. I must say I am sooooooooooooooooooooo pleased with myself! Clearly the most intricate knitting work I have ever done, and I pulled it off! Thank you to the wonderful knitters that not only taught the class at Knitter's Pallette, but also were part of the group! I've not had so much fun in a long time!

Yes, Tracie, I will try to remember to bring them on Saturday. Looking forward to it!

More fun

2010-02-26T14:05:00.001-08:00

I did some more dyeing last night. This photo is the closest to the true color.

1/4 tsp scarlet and 1/4 tsp blue with 3 tbs vinegar.

I am in love with dyeing yarn.

Now just to stop dyeing it and actually knit something with it!

Sunday projects

2010-02-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

I got out the sewing machine today and spent about an hour digging thru the fabric stash. I came up with this lovely upholstery fabric and made a circular needle holder for all of my random circulars to hang in the closet. They had been just thrown in a drawer and I hated trying to find a size I needed. Now they are all there and there is a pocket for a needle sizer at the bottom.

This is how the blue yarn I dyed turned out. I call it (for now) Denim blue, because it reminds me of blue jeans. I was going to over dye it, but it's kinda grown on me.

Color is cool

2010-02-11T15:56:00.001-08:00

Bare yarn soaking to get out air bubbles

Jaquard acid dyes, add with vinegar to water, throw in yarn,

Microwave until yarn takes up all dye or it looks good to you

Hang to dry!

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I have good reason. Someone at work decided to go batshit crazy and deliver a shit storm upon me, so I've been busy and not feeling like engaging in anything social.

I digress.

I got some bare yarn and decided to play with colors. Tonight I got it out! The yarn is superwash sock weight merino from KnitPicks.com along with the Jacquard acid dye. I got a few other colors, just trying out this one tonight. Also have some food color to see what happens.

I'll post pics of the dried yarn when it's dry!

The Fiddlehead mittens are coming along nicely. I finished the first one, on to the 2nd.

Color me obsessed

2010-01-31T17:06:00.001-08:00

The picture is crappy, but that is the start of my Fiddlehead mittens from the class I am taking, and even though this 2 color thing makes me want to vomit a bit with the difficulty of trying to hold yarn in both hands at a time, I'm loving it. Just started working on the thumb gusset, and I have to say that working from a chart makes it way easier to say "one more row" especially when you see the neato pattern you are making WITH COLORS!

I do feel a bit like I'm learning to knit all over again. Darcy is teaching us to use the colors with one in each hand at the same time, and I am not all that coordinated to begin with, so this is quite a bit more of a challenge for me than the others in the group. I left the class yesterday with a knot in my stomach and my teeth hurting from clenching them because I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing with my fingers. Today was better, I didn't want to stomp on the mitt in the snow, so we'll see if this is a trend toward the better.

If it is, I'm loving the crap out of it. Lookout Visa, knitting just got more expensive.

Stash Diving

2010-01-18T14:51:00.001-08:00

I am taking a class to make the above mittens. Nice huh? It's fancy colorwork that I need someone to show me how to do. So I did some stash diving to find some yarn for the mittens. I really didn't think this would be a problem. I have STASH. I own way beyond the necessary amount of yarn needed for a lifetime of knitting. I THOUGHT I had a lot of Cascade 220, but turns out the Cascade I have isn't the right weight. I know that I have other yarn. Turns out....

This is all I came up with. Out of all of the freaking yarn I have, this is what I have that is appropriate for the pattern.

For those of you without a stash, or non-knitters, Stash Diving is when you rummage thru your yarn to come up with what you are looking for. It can be for a pattern, because you are bored, because you KNOW you have that one skein somewhere that would be perfect for blah....

I have now learned there are more pitfalls than necessary when stash diving. First, I ran across a lot of yarn I forgot I have and I now have 17 more projects that need to be done now because I have the perfect yarn for it. I have also realized the enormity of my habit. I have a lot of fucking yarn. This leads to...I don't have enough room for all of my yarn. If only we could take out that wall... shit...that's the bathroom. I think we need that room.

The worst of it though? Through all of those revelations I realized (I am positive and will bet $24 that I am not the only one that has done this) that I have to actually go out and buy more yarn for this project.

Yarn from Hawaii

2010-01-05T15:15:00.001-08:00

Crystal Palace Mini Mochi

Plymouth Yarns Mushishi

I did manage to do some yarn shopping in Hawaii. Before we left, I looked up what store might be close on Ravelry, and found Yarn and Friends right there. No problemo! I wrote down the address, and went to Hawaii, thinking, no big deal. How hard can it be to find a yarn shop?

Well, turns out it was a bit of a day long adventure. We left in the morning, with my little address in hand, to do some sightseeing. The trolley would take us right by the street the yarn shop was on! Yay! Just get off on one of the stops and find it!

Well, turns out Mom isn't as "just walk and see" as I am, and (rightly so) insisted I call and get directions after 1/2 day of trolley and not being close. After I get directions, the trolley guy says we can get on a bus after his stop and ride down there, but heck, it's only 5 blocks right? Hawaii blocks are waaaayyy longer. It's ok though, because we get off the trolley, and the bus we could've taken ends up being pulled over by about 8 police cars and they get on trying to get 1 person off. Tell me I can't escape mental health even on vacation!

We did find the yarn store, little closet of a store, not a lot of yarn, and it turns out those Hawaiian knitters sure like their novelty yarn! Fun fur, boucle, etc, not a lot of regular yarny goodness. I did manage to pick up a few though, thank goodness. I did have to sit thru an instruction by the owner of the store on her particular pattern (a shrug-I'm not into shrugs) that she insisted I take with. Gosh, I sure do hope by now I know ribbing. She was nice though.

Turns out the yarn is great. Just have no idea what to use it for. (Definitely not a shrug)

Who stole the sun?

2009-12-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

We sat here for a few hours on our last day.

The stall where I bought my knock-off Coach bag for super cheap. They don't do the knock-offs the illegal way. They have no illegal labels on the bags, so it's all legal for them. But the vendors are doing horrible business right now, no one is really buying anything, and there aren't enough tourists, so they are discounting even more than they usually would thru bargaining. Needless to say I got an even cheaper deal on a cheap deal.

Look close, Santa and Mrs in the yard. With palm trees. And a Xmas tree done up.

Some stalls in China Town. We only took the trolley thru, (trolleys were everywhere and an awesome deal for tourist riding) because they were recently infested with rats. This was disappointing because we had wanted to go thru, but we were afraid to be stuck with no where to eat at because of the rats, so we just drove thru.

Worlds largest Hawaiian shirt. Really.

Me and Obama!

One of many sunsets. Sunsets only last about 5 min, so be quick!

The street outside our hotel. The hotel was fantastic, the Hawaii Prince, I highly recommend. A lot of business people, and because it was a 2 block walk to the beach, not a lot of kids. Some other hotels were literally swarming with kids, so this was good for us.

WTF! It's soooo cold here! Why do I live in MN?

Just a few pics of the trip to tide you all over until I get my mojo back from the trip. The flight back was complete hell. We spent 9 hours in the airport for a delayed flight, then another 8 hours on the plane home. I almost hurt a small child for kicking my seat relentlessly, which I don't think I would have felt too badly about.

Found

2009-12-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

I found the phone charger. Now if I could just remember to keep the phone charged, we're in business.

I leave for Hawaii on Saturday. YAY! I have nothing packed, but I do "think" I know what knitting I'm bringing. Probably my entrelac and something else. Not sure what the "else" is. But I'm sure I'll find something other than the huge Monster afghan I'm still working on. Every time I get out the afghan, Eric says, "that's BIG". Yep. And we're only 1/2 thru baby. Not sure this sucker is going to be given to anyone.

Eric says he bought my present weeks ago. Well, then why the hell isn't it wrapped and under the tree so I can shake it and guess? I freely admit I am completely obnoxious when it comes to Christmas. I don't believe in any of the churchy stuff, but I love giving and getting presents. So much it makes me stupid. I have to open all of my presents on Xmas eve, and then I look for more on Xmas day like when I was a kid and on Xmas day my mom put the "Santa" gifts under the tree. Every year since I left home I've felt like I should still get "Santa" presents under the tree on Xmas day.

Now I feel old.

Phone charger?

2009-12-16T14:08:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen a phone charger? It will be the second one lost to Dexter. I had it yesterday, unplugged to plug something else in. Now it's gone. GONE I TELL YOU!
Stupid cat. Or smart cat. Whichever

Cold!!!!

2009-12-15T16:10:00.001-08:00

I keep forgetting to set the thermostat, so I came home today and cranked the heat and found Dexter here:

He's the one on the floor. If you look close you can see his head is tucked under the shelf right by the floor vent.
He was chilly!

Photo of my photo

2009-12-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

I got the photo I ordered from Etsy. I couldn't be happier!

Officially Off Duty

2009-12-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

I am off. No more Mrs. Nicey nicey. I am not "on" for anyone anymore. Not today, and probably not for the rest of the weekend. I am done being "correct" and saying the "correct worky work" thing. If you bitch at me I will give it back to you from now until 7am Monday. I will not placate you or try to smooth things over. I will not hold your hand and explain that you need Adobe to open a file even though you should have had Adobe installed 17 years ago. I will not spend 45 min on the phone discussing a contract that doesn't exist yet. No special favors. No direct phone calls. No skipping lunch for meetings to discuss shit no one has any answers for.
I am officially off duty. I am listening to KMFDM and any other bad ass loud ass music that fits my fancy and has as many swear words as possible, hopefully including the really nasty ones. I am going to sleep until 11 or 12, and if you call me asking for a donation to such and such, I will tell you to fuck right the fuck off and not feel bad at all.
Yes. I need a vacation.

2009-12-08T15:12:00.001-08:00

New cat furniture, only took 1/2 hour and 2 beers to put together.

I think they might like it!

I have to admit, I was a bit scared though when I saw the box. We got it from http://www.mycatsheaven.com/, and it shipped really fast. Very happy!

I hope my husband doesn't mind....

2009-12-04T14:53:00.001-08:00

But I bought a photo print from another artist.
I had to. It was calling to me. A fellow Ravelry person also does photography, and she has some really nice stuff that I like. I am not a critic like Eric. I don't know if he's going to think it sucks. But I really love it.
I'll post a pic when I get it here!

Entrelac Success!

2009-11-29T15:30:00.000-08:00

Entrelac

Dexter with catnip fishey

I spent Friday afternoon at the Knitter's Palette in Lakeville with the incredibly awesome group of knitters there, and got some expert advice on my entrelac, thank goodness. I had printed out some of the directions I got links to, but still needed help at a few spots. I have to say I am now trucking along with my entrelac. No idea what it is going to be, but it's sure fun anyway!

I also spent part of today making more catnip fishes for the boys. I planned on making 10 or so, but only got 4 out before my sewing machine ticked me off. It has the bobbin that opens underneath with the 4 or so parts to it that seem to continuously jam on me. It's a Singer model I got about 6 or more years ago, so I asked for an upgrade for Xmas. I picked out a nice Brother machine that had great reviews on Amazon, a drop in bobbin with auto winder, 1 step button hole, and a few other extras I now want. I have fabric and everything for a nice curtain for the mudroom, but the machine frustrates me so much, and cleaning and taking it apart doesn't help.

Dexter and Itchy both love the fishes though, so I will certainly be finishing off the rest of them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Another thanksgiving chicken with Eric and the cats, only one more cat to add to the thankfullness this year.
I am thankful for Malabrigo, Knit Picks Options, wool winders, swifts, stitch markers, needle caps, Jordanna Paige knitting bags, rosewood needles, and boxes that close so that cats can't make away with your sheep covered tape measure.

I am not alone

2009-11-25T15:31:00.001-08:00

Even though I don't get the regular comments that other bloggers of note do, it would seem that I am not alone in the world of knitting/cat/whatever bloggers and people DO read me. Case in point, blog about needing help, and you get wonderful people replying to you. Suzygirl & Holly have both given me wonderful links to explore for the world of entrelac.
If only I could count to 7 now, I will be on my way.

Ahem.. help?

2009-11-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

I know someone out there has tried entrelac. I know I am not the first person to rip it out 4 times, throw it aside, and say "uh.... crap..". It can't be that freaking hard. What the freak am I missing?
Actually, I think it's that I can't count. And that I have never seen what it's supposed to look like, just the finished piece. If someone could just tell me about that first part where you think it's wrong, it's probably wrong, but might be right, I would appreciate it.

Is it my bumper sticker?

2009-11-20T14:05:00.001-08:00

Lantern Moon project bag

Yarn for entrelac scarf

Dream in color "starry"

Doohickey

Today I had the day off from work and decided to head down to Lakeville to pick up the doohickey (Scotch tension knob) that had come in for me. While on 35 south, I ran into traffic of the kind that makes you wonder if you had just been teleported to LA or New York city or something. And of course every time I get on that particular stretch of highway I forget that my exit is on the left, not the right. So I have to merge. 2 whole lanes. in traffic. Standstill traffic. No one lets me in. (Well, no one ever lets anyone merge in MN, but I take it personally). It dawns on me as I sit stalling my lane from moving the 4 inches a minute with my blinker on watching driver after driver not even look at me while not letting me in, that it could be my OH so leftist bumper sticker. Eh, oh well.....Maybe as retribution I'll let EVERYONE IN FRONT OF ME IN to get back at those jerks.

I did eventually get to the Knitter's Pallette though. While there I got my doohickey, some lovely Dream in Color Starry that has actual silver flecks in it (ooooooh sparkly socks are coming!) and some other yarn to try entrelac with. Oh, and I picked up a project bag/cube that Lantern Moon just came out with. A bit of a splurge, but I love everything that Lantern Moon makes, I feel like all of their products are little luxuries, (like the rosewood needles I love) so I got one.

All in all a very lovely day. Especially when 4 people in the store exclaimed "Your'e Mulderknitter!". That was fun.

Is Mulder's diabetes a big deal?

2009-11-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

I was at knitting night tonight, and again, I got a reaction to having to leave to give Mulder his shot that I'm not used to. People seemed amazed that I have a diabetic cat that I give shots to twice a day, and that it's ok with both me and Mulder.
I've had this reaction before, but secondhand, from coworkers of Eric's, so not usually am I confronted with someone that thinks it's unusual for me to devote so much to my cat. According to him, a lot of them would have put him down, which is ridiculous to me.
Really, it's been 2 years. And while it kinda sucks to have to make sure I'm home around his shot time (it doesn't have to be specific) it's not so bad really. And he's my guy. How could I not?
So is this really weird, or are other people making a big deal out of normal cat ownership behavior? Do you do something special for your cat?

Cat butt alert!

2009-11-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

I've been spinning for the last few days and got out yesterday this lovely BFL that I got on my trip to my Moms for her birthday. Never tried BFL, and if I could get my tension knob to work right I'm sure it would be great.

You know how you spin and sometimes some of the fiber doesn't want to spin, so you just take that small piece and set it aside and keep going? Well, I was doing that, didn't realize Dexter was watching alertly, looked next to me and saw the last of the purple fuzz going down the throat. It wasn't much, and it wasn't spun so I don't think it will hurt him, but I did alert the DH that if he sees purple fuzz coming out of Dexter's butt it's just some wool. No worries.

More stupid amounts of fun!

2009-11-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

A member of Ravelry posted a few days ago that she had found a spinning wheel on Craigslist, but because she has never spun on a wheel, she wanted someone to go with her to look at it to make sure it was in working order. I took a look and it was the exact model as the one I own, and looked pretty decent to me. LALALALALALA of COURSE I will go on a trip to see a wheel and enable you in buying it! I don't know you, but you knit and use Ravelry, so you must be a friend I just haven't met yet!
Turned out to be the most lovely day to do so! Not all of you know, but I hate driving (especially on the freeway) with a sincere passion and will usually avoid it if I can. But since buying the VW it's gotten a bit better, and it was sunny and about 65 here today, and it was for fiber!
Turns out the wheel was an absolute bargain! The darn girl got out of her van and I thought, she needs this wheel. Right. NOW. The excitement was dripping off of her. The woman selling the wheel was moving and just didn't use it enough, and had never gotten any extras for it, so she was selling it for a great price. Read, if I were more evil I would've snatched that darn thing so fast no one would know it was me. I brought some wheel oil and she spun like mine never did in the beginning. Read, jealously seeping off of me. She took the fiber without even needing to draft, that's how lovely she was.
Why is the wheel a she? I don't know. Probably because she'll be temperamental and never spin that nicely again unless you oil her and speak softly.
The woman that I was actually testing the wheel for wanted to buy me lunch or something, but I really think that would've been like robbery. I can't have that much fun and ask for something in return!

I'm under attack

2009-11-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

I finally got out some yarn to start another oddball pet blanket. Got about 3 inches in, set it down and walked away. Came back to yarn across the whole living room, in the water bowl (Mulder) and chewed in half (Dexter).
Good thing it was only my orange acrylic. Hold ur horses on the next blanket, it may be a while.

Paranormal Fun

2009-10-31T20:17:00.001-07:00

If you know me even a bit, you know I love horror movies. I abhor the chic flick, I can't do comedy unless it's stand up, romance makes me want to crawl in a hole and die, but I do love horror. Any horror. I can usually find the good in most any horror flick. But the best are the ones that actually can scare me. Cuz it takes a bit to scare me, but when it does, I love it. So when I heard that people were actually being scared by the new movie Paranormal Activity, my heart went "thud" and I wanted to see it like a boy wants to see his new crush.
All I can say is it doesn't disappoint. I soooooooo don't want to give away the scariness, because that's the best part of the whole movie, but if you really like a genuine creepy scare, the kind that will have you leaving the hall light on at night, this is for you. There are parts that have me so creeped out I'm not sure I'll sleep thru the night without at least waking up and turning on the light to make sure. If I hear a sound for the next week, I'll think of this movie. The movie worked because it got into my brain and creeped me out in a real life kinda oh shit what if this really is how it is when I'm not looking kinda way.
My disclaimer... if you are not into scary shit, the kinda scary that makes you scared for a week when you get home.. movie not for you. If you like to feel creeped out for a week, rock on.

I DO NOT WANT TO BE SICK ANYMORE!

2009-10-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

That is all for this post.
Move along now.

A bit behind

2009-10-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

I am a bit behind on the xmas knitting. In fact, I forgot all about it until this week. oops. Luckily, I have a few things started. The pic is Aunt Dana's Russian Boots Pattern from the knitting calander my Mom gave me a few years back. They are being knit in Queensland Khatmandu Aran, which I thought I loved but I don't. It's not that I don't LIKE it, I just don't love it. The color is awesome, but the texture is kinda cottony and a bit stiff to knit with. I do have just enough to finish the slippers, and they are going to my Grandma. They are too small for me, which is how I measure feet. Too small for me is Grandma, just right is Mom, too big is Eric or other men. I dare ya to call me a perfectionist.

In other news, I think Dexter is part pony.

Heaven in my oven

2009-10-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling better today, I've stopped convulsively sneezing at least. But I'm super tired. And want some comfort food. So I'm making an apple pie. Pure heaven! Can't wait till it's done!

I am not a good sick person

2009-10-23T13:15:00.001-07:00

Ok, I can totally deal with being sick for a day, maybe 2. But this cold from hell that has been with me for 7 days now is really ticking me off. And not in the "oh, I feel miserable" sort of ticked off. Ticked off to the point of swearing like a sailor every time I sneeze (every 15 seconds or so), completely giving up on acting like a sick person and trying my level best to do normal healthy person things like the laundry and sweeping up the cat litter, then getting pissed because it exhausts me and sitting and bitching out loud to myself and the cats about how much I hate this. Today I managed the post office, the movie store, and the liquor store. I threw in some laundry, cleaned the poop boxes, and then sat. And sat.

Hard cider qualifies as Vitamin C, right?

At least the Scrunchable scarf is coming along nicely.

The plague....

2009-10-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have it.. the plague. If I die please distribute my yarn amongst my knitting friends. They will know the value and what to do with it.

In lighter news, the Malabrigo has been swatched 5 times and is now the Scrunchable Scarf from Ravelry. It was a Chevron pattern, 2x2 rib, slip stitch, then 2x2 rib again. The colors didn't look good on any of those swatches. It is much better now. I think. The fever may have deluded me.

New coat means more knitting

2009-10-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

I was at Marshalls on Saturday and found myself and absolutely lovely new winter coat in a lovely chocolate brown color, so I have a new coat, which means new scarf, hat and mitten knitting time! As it turns out, that booooootiful skein of Malabrigo in Stonechat that Tracie gave me is the PERFECT match for the coat, with nice hints of pink but not too much pink. Luckily, I loved the colorway so much I picked up 2 more skeins of it when I was at Crafty Planet last time (such an enabler that Tracie is!) so I have enough for my new winter set. I will let you know what it is soon!

The little things

2009-10-12T15:25:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's the very small things that make me happy. Getting a higher score on Bejeweled than my aunt Julie. Enough gas in the car. Beer in the fridge. Clean litter boxes. Clean undies.
Today, the little thing is that Eric gets to take Itchy to the vet on Monday for his annual check up and shots. He finally gets to see and experience the drama that is Itchy AT THE VET. Good luck, and don't forget to have the tech do his nails!

Cowls.. the new obsession

2009-10-11T14:17:00.001-07:00

That is the progress on my Log Cabin Blanket. 1/2 the way thru the 4th block, almost 1/3rd of the way done I think.

I sat down on Saturday and watched a few hours of TV and whipped out that lovely cowl. It's the Cherry Garcia pattern from Ravelry, made in .75 skeins of Cascade hand dyed Jewel.

I think the next one I make will be in the lovely Malabrigo in Stonechat that Tracie gave me as a gift!

Bees gone?

2009-10-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

I think the bees might be gone. I shut the storm window that I think they were coming in from and none today. There was also a frost last night, so that might be it too.

Eric brought me home flowers last night, I haven't seen him since Monday, so the flowers were a lovely thing. He's been doing disgusting hours, working until 2 or 3 am, but I saw him this morning, but only for a few min. The clutch went out on his new car, so we have to get that fixed this weekend.

My yarn diet will be busted tomorrow, I have errands to run and Crafty Planet gave me another gift certificate for spending a hideous amount of $ there, and they have a coupon to celebrate their new baby, so how can I resist!

That's all the news for now, Dexter has new sparkly balls, so I got to type for a few secs.

Anyone know how to get rid of bees?

2009-10-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

Because I haven't quite had enough, somehow bees are getting in the house. I'm doing a hunt, but I can't seem to figure out where they are coming from. Upstairs sewing room. Somewhere. I kill about 6 a day. Thankfully, they are small, somewhat stunned bees, so no stings yet. But I just know....

The good news is...

2009-10-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

My Spring socks are turning out lovely.

Enough Already!

2009-10-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Still sick. Went to bed at 8:30, didn't even try to stay up for Grey's. Get a call at 6:15 this am from a coworker, she's locked out of the building at work and has gone home and isn't coming back. Get another call from another coworker. Yes, I know, I'm on my way. No problem, she's gone to get coffee. I get there and have to spend 1/2 hr on the phone with the security company to no avail, they can't unlock our doors. We get in thru another part of the building. Yay! But since coworker is gone, and I'm still sick, the day sucked like you wouldn't believe. I had 14 freaking voice mails when I got in, and it didn't stop. Maybe the weather is making everyone cranky.
Because I am sick, I rescheduled my psych appt, but the office didn't tell the dr. So I get home to a voice mail from her asking where I was. Great, go to call her, the phones don't work. Even better. Get on cell phone, call Qwest, phone won't get fixed till Saturday.
Meanwhile, cats have decided to be ultra needy because E hasn't been home. Can't keep any 1 off me at any given time. And because I'm not feeling good (read shitty) this sucks. I slept like crap last night because sick sleep isn't the best and I had weird sick person dreams all night.
I don't care if I'm sick anymore, I'm drinking beer, watching TV, and drinking more beer. I freaking earned it.

When I'm over the flu...

2009-10-01T16:47:00.001-07:00

When I'm over the flu remind me to tell you about the window salesman that came over. I thought he was coming for an insulation estimate....
I caught whatever the heck is going around. Running a temp of some sort off an on, chills, achy, generally quite on the miserable side. So miserable in fact that knitting cannot hold me. That's pretty miserable I tell ya
At least E is out in Vegas for the weekend, so he doesn't have to bear my miserable crabbiness that is me when sick. When I'm sick I want to be alone. I sleep, get up, wander around because I don't know what to do with myself, whine, then sleep more. then I whine because I can't sleep.
I haven't heard anything on the Big Insurance Company taking over our jobs, but will post if/when I do.

Possible Big Insurance Smackdown

2009-09-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

So, the whole mess of my job is a big long complicated Corporate Saga, so I won't go into the minutia. Essentially certain people at Big Insurance Company that we've partnered with for 15 or so years tried to steal all of our providers from under our noses. CEO of said Insurance Company, and CEO of our company had no idea this was going on until someone called us and told us that this had happened. CEO of Big Insurance, CEO and CFO of our company and others held an emergency meeting yesterday of which the results are still unknown. I do know that CEO of Big Insurance company is quite pissed that these certain people did this, and I do know that our CEO is furious. Millions of dollars are on the table here, including the jobs of everyone in my company and the mental health care of each person that has said Big Insurance as their health insurance. And all because a few certain people decided to try to steal our company's business from us.

Any ideas?

2009-09-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

If anyone has any ideas on what someone does when the last 8 1/2 years of their career are being trashed by a Big Insurance Company, let me know. Until then, I'll be quietly or not so quietly freaking out.

A call for Outlander books!

2009-09-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm about halfway thru the Outlander book #1, so today I went on a hunt for the rest of the series. Because I can see that stopping after the first is not going to be an option. Turns out the B & N in Brooklyn Park is closed, so I hit the Half price books in crystal, which only had book #5. They gave me the # to the St Louis park store, which had book #2. I drove out there, which by the way is a big "yay me" because I never just get on the highway and drive to a place I don't know how to get to, and they had the book with minimal spine damage that they gave me for FREE!
So if you have books 3 or 4, let me know, I would love to borrow them. And don't try to explain the book to your husband. You just sound dumb.

I got nuthin and I like it

2009-09-25T16:23:00.001-07:00

Nuthin going on this weekend here. I like it. Might spin a bit, got some lovely stuff to work with. Might not. I am not pressuring me. I might just drink some beer and knit and watch some TV.
Speaking of TV, I heard some people say they weren't so impressed with Thursday's Grey's Anatomy premerie, but I was totally impressed. I liked how they made everything seem normal, but not-so-normal at the same time. I am so in love with that show.

Almost time to relax

2009-09-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Just one more day, and we can all hang out like this

I haven't been doing much of anything really, still working on my Oddball Leader blanket, the ginourmous log cabin blanket that might just take until I die to complete, a simple 2x2 scarf, and I added some socks for fun. The socks are actually pretty great, it's the Spring Forward pattern that the Yarn Harlot just posted about, SpringForward it was in my list on Ravelry, and I have this great yarn from Knit Picks, Essential sock yarn in Glacial which is of course discontinued because I got it in their last sale. It's a nice pale green, kinda like what ice/snow looks like in dim light. I had been holding onto the yarn waiting for a good pattern, and this is it!

What I want for xmas

2009-09-19T16:07:00.001-07:00

Coolest cat tree ever

I finally love a sweater!

2009-09-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

I finally made a sweater that I love to pieces! It is the Waterford Cardigan (free on Ravelry) from Lion Brand. You are supposed to use super chunky yarn, but I decided to make it with bulky yarn, but make a size medium instead of small. I also made the arms a size small so they wouldn't hang too much. Voila! wonderful knit! I used Knit Picks WOTA chunky in navy, about 5 balls, but not sure really because it was from a frogged sweater. It just needs a few buttons and she's done! I already have the yarn out for the next one!

The cats are doing fine. Thanks Yarncharmer for asking! Mulder still doesn't like Dexter, but Dexter really doesn't care. Dex is finally learning to just stay away from Mulder. The only time this is a problem is feeding time. Otherwise Itchy and Dex play and fight and sleep and lick each other and it's incredibly cute and funny. Dex also likes to come in and eat my hair while I'm sleeping. That isn't so cute or funny. One time he attacked my entire head with all 4 ginormous paws. That sucked. I don't know where his paws came from, but they are clearly not of the cat variety. More lion variety. HUGE. Thank goodness his previous owners taught him to not use his claws, that would suck more.

Just waiting on some cooler weather to wear my sweater now!

Weekend Update

2009-09-06T15:43:00.001-07:00

Just an update on my weekend. Had tons of fun with mom in Steven's Point, shopping, champagne and birthday stuff. I took pics of the Doc Marten's I found at a thrift store for 15$ that actually fit me! On the way there I stopped at Color Connection just outside of Hudson, had a fit of fun there, the women were lovely, kind, and sooooo welcoming. I wanted to move into the store. I got a niddy noddy, and lots of other goodies that I shouldn't have but couldn't help myself. Heck, when will I ever get back there? Really, if you are heading out of town to the east, you need to check these girls out. It's just 10 miles east of Hudson, and about 2 more miles to the north-ish. I found them thru a search on Ravelry. The pic of yarn is just one of the goodies I bought there, because I can't leave you without a pic of yarn!

Spinning

2009-08-31T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've been spinning the last 2 days. I felt guilty for having all this lovely fiber and not using it. Spinning so much my right leg hurts, but I got back in the mojo of it. Spun great mauve merino, then pulled out this stuff I've had for about 2 years, turns out the colors are great, but it's a "wool mix" and boy is it ever. Not really put together in any way that makes it easy to pull hanks out of, but I'm doing my best. I've got what's in the pic so far.

So now that I've been spinning, I get to stop by a spinning store on my way to my Mom's on friday. I'm just picking up a niddy noddy. I swear.

Funny Kitty Time

2009-08-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

I caught Dexter doing something that Itchy does to Mulder, laying on the floor by the water bowl drinking with his paw while Mulder is standing there. I thought only Itchy did this, but apparently not so. Any ideas on why????? Is it trying to be friends?

And a nice moment with Itchy and Dexter in the window. I think Dexter looks kinda like the phantom of the opera, with the half mask.

Pink baby sweater rescued

2009-08-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Remember that pink baby sweater I was knitting when I was told it was a boy? and then she didn't want any sweater or anything at all? Well, I didn't rip out the sweater. I stuck it in a bag and saved it. A coworker is having a girl, so I finished it. Yay! Pink sweater is no longer doom filled to the bottom of a bag!

Hawaii!

2009-08-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

I'm taking my mom to Hawaii! We are going Dec 26 - 30th! Honolulu here we come! She's always wanted to go to Hawaii, she turns 50 this year, and Hawaii is the 50th state and turns 50 this year too. We couldn't quite pull off her bday, so we're going later. Now I just have to find some sort of swim type thing to wear. The last time I tried on swimwear I cried and told the lady at Target they had the worst lighting ever in their dressing rooms. I'm hoping to keep it together a bit more this time. No promises.

I've also got a major case of knitting startitis. My new love, the Knitters Palette in Lakeville, was having an anniversary sale last weekend, 20% off all yarns and patterns, so I hit the road by myself and took a trip. So worth it. I could've spent all day there. The ladies were super lovely, and I met some Ravelers that I hadn't known before. Ravelry people are such a different breed of people. We go to Ravelry to connect with other knitters, so when we meet other knitters that are on Rav too, we instantly feel like they are our best friends ever. So much fun. I picked up lots of goodies that you will see in various stages of knitted items soon, I promise, including the fabled silky merino Malabrigo that I had thought only existed in the bowels of Ravelry, but no, it's in person and I'm knitting it! It's just not big enough yet to be pretty enough to photo. Oh, and some lovely Elsebeth Lavold silky wool that I bought 5 balls of and am kicking myself for not buying all of it. Oh, and some Malabrigo sock yarn in a mystical blue color. Oh, and the book Knit one Bead Too, because I'm trying to learn beading with knitting. Way pretty, but not so easy. Oh, and some other yarn too. I promise. Pics of knitted items.

ETA: No body fluids on the floor since Thursday of last week. Not sure if it was the Feliway plug in, the treats to entice to the pooper, or if Mulder got over his anxiety, but I'm taking it. I also have all new litter boxes that are open on the top, no covers. We had noticed no poo in the covered boxes, but now all are fully operational.

Ugh

2009-08-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

We tried double sided tape on the floor where Mulder has been peeing, but nope. He pooped on the tape. Last night I got him to use the litter box by enticing with treats. It worked last night, but not today. So I got the air plug in Feliway, supposed to help, so we'll see.

I also got the 3rd season of Dexter, I plan to sit and not stress. Oh, and the phone is still wonky. Working on that now. I think.

Worse to Worser

2009-08-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well, not quite for me. Mulder's insulin is being upped now. Not a UTI, so thinking is blood sugar was too high and causing too much urine.
What is worser is that a coworker just had a brain tumor removed, and is going to have to go thru chemo and radiation. I've known this girl for 6 or more years, and even though we haven't always been the best of buddies, I feel for her. I put together a learn to knit kit with all the essentials, 3 needle types, stitch n bitch book, 2 yarn choices, and a big fluffy wrap to cozy up in. She remarked once that she would like to learn how to make scarves, so I'm going to her house tomorrow to give her a lesson if she wants.
I don't do flowers for get well soon, I do yarn.

Stronger than beer

2009-08-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

I need something stronger than beer please.
Mulder's peeing escalated. We pulled up the carpet, mopped, scrubbed, and still, this morning I got up to pee across the hardwood floors. Slanted, across, of course because the house is a bit slanted. Worried all day, and finally from the advice of a number of Ravelers, took him to the vet. I got him in the carrier, which he then peed in, he peed on the tech, he peed on the vet, he peed on the ultrasound, he peed in the carrier on the floor which caused pee all over the floor, to which the WONDERFUL vet tech helped me by giving me some towels and walked me to my car and laid towels in the car so I wouldn't get pee all over in the car. LOVE HER! (found out her cat pees too)
So he probably has a UTI, which is commonly a reaction to stress. So he could have just been stressed out when it was the explosive diarrhea, but it then caused the UTI, which caused the peeing, which caused me to break into tears in the vets office.
Thankfully, if it's a UTI (I get the results friday) it's just a pill. And despite his current status, he really is a great pill taker.
In addition, I have had the lovely experience of having the asshole doctor from our neighboring office decide to inappropriately caress my arm and ask how I'm doing so close to my face I could smell his breath. So I filed a harassment complaint. This is not news, this is the same asshole that has already had a sexual harassment complaint against him, and there were witnesses. But seriously, give me a stupid break. Hopefully this will just result in him being banned from wandering into our side of the offices, and that will be the end of it. Because really, I'm not sure I can take much more before I lose it.

Still working on it

2009-08-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

After 5 days with the cats, I can say we are still working on it. Mulder peed yesterday on the rug, right after I sprayed the "no mark" so not sure how much that is actually helping at all. Dexter took a ginourmous human sized poop yesterday, enough that it freaked out Eric, which is hard to do. We got another litter box that is open on the top, so he has his choice, and he's used it, we just think he might not be completely comfortable yet. Which is understandable, it's only been 2 1/2 weeks.
What's fun is the early morning/evening romps between Dexter and Itchy. It's sounds a bit like a herd of cattle running up and down the stairs, and sometimes I think Dexter goes into flight on the stairs. He loves the stairs. We're pretty sure the wrestling and fighting is playing, no blood quite yet. Even so, Mulder has drawn blood on Itchy, so it's not so worrisome. It's actually kinda relaxing seeing them play, because it's why we got Dexter in the first place, or so we tell ourselves.
Back to work tomorrow, but just a 3 day week. I got the tool cupboard cleaned out and found lots of stuff I didn't know we had, like 2 hammers, about 10,000 nails, 8,000 screws, some really huge screw type things, some tent spikes for a tent we don't have, 4 tape measures, 18 screwdrivers, 20 or so s hooks in various sizes, lots of rope don't ask why, and some stuff left over from our fish tank days. It's all pared down, and the tools that were in the junk drawer are now with the tools, and our junk drawer looks sadly empty after the emptying of about 800 various parts to things we no longer own.
Gotta go, Dexter is climbing the printer now

Still good

2009-08-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

We're still good. I think Mulder is beginning to be ok. He drowned another new toy yesterday. about 5 times. It's this dumb snake that you pull the tail and it skitters across the floor. He likes it. Means to keep it as his own by claiming it in his bowl. Can't keep the darn thing dry. Fine by me if it means he's happy.

No body fluids for almost 2 days

2009-08-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly 2 days with no body fluids in inappropriate places. I almost want to do a dance of joy, but the cats are all calm right now, so don't want to disturb the peace.
Mulder seems happier with me shutting the door to let him eat without kitty interuption. Note to self: let Mulder eat in peace.
I have friday, monday and tuesday off. I plan nothing. I plan to be responsible for nothing. After I hit the post office I am a free woman. I apologize to all my knitting friends waiting on packages from me, but the post office has seemed like an insurmountable obstacle the last few days. I will go tomorrow. The car will explode if I don't. After that, if you want me, come find me. I might answer, I might not. Dexter chewed thru the charger for my cell, so don't call that phone. And our house phone is acting like static is the new bread. So maybe not that either. And if you ring the doorbell I'll kick your ass for upsetting the cats, so don't do that either. Never mind, just email me if you need me. But I'm not promising anything.

I do still knit

2009-08-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Even though things have been crazy making, I'm still knitting. Sometimes just one stitch at a time, then running to catch disaster from happening or getting worse, but still knitting nonetheless. Isn't that what knitting is anyway? Just one stitch at a time?

I've finished a few things, a couple basic 2x2 scarves, a hat to match, a xmas sock for this year's charity, and have gotten 1 skein thru my Malabrigo shawl (for myself you can't have it). Not sure what I'm doing with the scarves and hats, the plan really is to make a bunch more and see if I can't sell a few to some coworkers or other's for xmas presents this year.

Yes, Mulder is still pissed at me. Yes, he peed on the floor again last night. Which was great, because he was marking and then Dexter decided he needed to re-mark and pooped the greatest stinkiest poop of all time on top of it. Rock out my house. But Mulder is eating, which is good, I've been closing the door the last few days to give him kitty reprieve while he eats, cuz that really stresses him out.

Tonight is a quiet night though, which makes me so happy you have no idea. The last week or so have been so crazy I haven't been able to think, sleep, eat, or see straight. I really hope to get to bed early.

Let me add

2009-08-03T15:53:00.001-07:00

I just need to add that Mulder is a man and he has been with me for 13+ years, and so he has figured out how to get my nerves in a bundle. Friday night he sat in front of the tv, looked at me, and peed.
I say this gets my nerves in a bundle because of his diabetes. Don't want his insulin/sugar to get whacky.
He does this because he's pissed. Very PISSED. He's realized that Dexter is staying (I think he didn't get it till now) and he's mad as hell. I know he's pissed at me because he looks at me when he pees. If he has an infection he tries to hide the pee, not make sure as shit I see him doing it. So don't tell me to go to the vet. I know my cat. He hates me right now.
He had my nerves so shot by Sunday that I cleaned nearly everything, vacuumed, dusted, and I'm thinking about spending the 2 days I have off next week cleaning out the basement. Oh, and some beer helped.

Crap

2009-08-01T20:28:00.001-07:00

Now not only is there explosive diarrhea, but explosive vomit. Mulder seems to have nerves like me. We're ok for a bit, but then we have a convulsive fit. Denial, denial, denial, then ohcrapthissucksIwanttocrawlintoaholepleaseleavemethefuckalone.
It's my own fault. I let Dexter out too soon. Everything says to re-confine, but that would suck a lot. We're home all this weekend, so hopefully some snugs and new treats and more snugs will help.
On the plus, Dexter could care less.

Cat Poop Contest

2009-07-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of finding out if there is a contest out there for the amount of cat poop accumulated. I think I would win. Seriously, how much do cats need to poop? I don't poop that much, I don't think I know anyone that does. And if they do, gosh, that's a problem.

Take a look at the pic. We are getting there. Mulder is on the table, Dexter is on the chair, and if you look close you can see ears peeking in the window. All 3 in close proximity. Itchy has definitely warmed to Dexter, and Dexter back. Not so much hissy anymore. Mulder, on the other hand, is a question. He's playing it like he doesn't care, laying on the table and such, but the other night he had a wonderful episode of explosive diarrhea that he couldn't make it to the potty in time and left in a trail from the hall to under the bed. The vet said it's nerves. The vet that loves the crap out of Mulder and was actually examining Dexter at the time. She said to give it time. Fine. but no more explosive diarrhea for me please and thank you.

Oh, and if you have any ideas on how to pay attention to 3 attention hogging cats (no stand-offishness for us no sir) at the same time, please leave a post. Dexter is at this moment attacking the cursor on the screen.

I am knitting. I think. I cast on for a shawl 5 times. there are only 5 cast on stitches, but Itchy and Dexter thought it was great fun to chase the Malabrigo.

Yes, I bought more Malabrigo. Me and Crafty Planet have the understanding that if they buy Malabrigo, I will bring it home. And they had a new colorway. And I had a gift certificate for buying (not telling how much) a certain amount at their store. Not that I used that on yarn or anything. I bought the store t-shirt. Because I already own the sweatshirt. And the sweatshirt was worn 3 days this week and is dirty.

Gotta have SOMETHING to wear

Proof of Playing

2009-07-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Itchy and Dexter decided to play last night! What a relief that these 2 might get along together!

Just for clarification, it's Dexter on the outside, and Itchy inside the bag, you can see his tail!

And I just caught them hanging out together at the window!

More Dexter

2009-07-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Itchy doesn't really understand yet that Dexter would be a great playmate, so he's still avoiding him. things are getting better though. The first night, Itchy sat under the bed and hissed and growled at everything. We put Dex in the back room for the night and Itchy forgave us and snuggled in bed. Saturday was better, Itchy was curious but still not letting Dex get near. Today is even better, Itchy hasn't hissed tooo much, and Dex has decided that he lives here and we are his peoples and that darn hissing thing is just annoying and to be ignored. Dexter is playing like he's been here forever, loves to chase toys and run down the stairs 17 at a time. He had a good romp this morning, crashing into things and making a racket. He's understandably exhausted from his weekend adventure, and is completely konked out in the middle of the bed. This cat wasted no time making himself at home.

We had a great time at the shooting range on Sat for E's bday, I shot some but really just watched. It was loud and a lot of people, so a bit sensory overloading for me, but the guys brought their own 1, 2, or 3 guns apiece and had a grand time.

Meet Dexter

2009-07-24T16:16:00.001-07:00

This is our new housemate, Dexter. He is 11 months old, came from the humane society where he was brought after a kid developed allergies to him. He's having a grand time eating and peeing in his new room for the night. He's already purring and telling me he wants to come out and meet Mulder and Itchy. Very gregarious already. He had a kitty brother in his last home, so I think this will work out well for Itchy. Heck, they match!

Ransom

2009-07-20T18:25:00.001-07:00

There is a ransom out for Izzie. Any neighbor kid that finds her and brings her to me gets $5.

Almost

2009-07-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

We almost adopted another cat. A neighbor trapped a stray kitten last night, and we took her into our front porch, gave her some love, food and a litter box. She snarfed the food, used the litter box, and managed to escape perhaps with the aid of some outside helper kitties that were seen around our house last night.
Neighbors are now on the lookout for "Izzie". Or "Six" depending on if you ask me or my husband.

Knot a Problem

2009-07-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

There's a group on Ravelry, Knot a Problem, that apparently houses a bunch of people that find untangling yarn to be therapeutic. Far be it for me to judge, I immediately contacted them when I found them and sent my blue satin yarn that "someone" played with to a girl in Boston. Weird, I know, but darn it all if the girl hasn't gotten back to me already and has untangled the stuff. I threw it against the wall and called it names. Like I said, I don't judge. I wouldn't have minded the tangle so much if I wasn't particularly fond of this ribbon "yarn." but I am. It goes nicely double stranded as an edge to a cardigan or sleeve. No, no charge, just a small present in exchange.

That's what I love love love about Ravelry and Knittinghelp.com. You can TRUST these people. Well, 95% of them at least. These aren't rogue fiber website searchers looking to steal your ribbon yarn. They don't ask for money or a cashier's check. they don't want to meet you at their house, unless it's for knitting. they don't spam the crap out of you when they get your email address. I've met with Tracie and some other knitters that I had never met before just online without a hint of apprehension. Cuz, seriously, if one of these people was pretending to be a knitter and met you at a coffee shop, and they weren't a knitter, you'd know. RIGHT AWAY. They'd be knitting with plastic straights a 5 stitch garter stitch scarf.

Oh, and go to ittybittykittycommittee.com if you haven't yet and donate!

Oopsies again

2009-07-11T13:41:00.001-07:00

What to do with all this now.