I started an Etsy site! w00t! So far, I just have some stitch markers listed, but hopefully at some point I’ll start adding other crafty items. I have a button over on my sidebar ->
go click it and BUY SOMETHING, MOTHAH-KNITTAH!
Archive for the 'craftiness' Category
the endless scarf is done!
it is hugely long and I love it. I did end up having a little yarn leftover, so…
NO! it’s NOT a cock muzzle! ya dirty bird!
it’s a nose warmer!
my nose gets cold. what of it? pattern from knitty. you will note I didn’t add the tassel at the tip, because geez, THAT would be just silly!
and finally, the naughty bit…
along with yarn shopping on friday, we stopped at my favorite little novelty store. Mollie made a good purchase, but she’ll have to share that story. I already have an order on the way from JT’s (story coming soon), so I was just there to browse. Until I saw one of these, and HAD to pick it up for a couple of bucks:
what is it? like flavored chapstick for your nips, and meant to be…mmmmm…tasty. like Kev NEEDS any further encouragement, but hey, it’s all in fun!
review: very strong raspberry scent, but flavor is more of a kind of minty eukalyptis, which is what causes it to be also very TINGLY. Oooo…tingly nips!
overall: kind of overpriced, but still fun. 1 thumb up.
This weekend’s knitting goal is to finish this:
the endless scarf. I want to use the rest of the yarn up, which will make it a very loooonnnnng scarf.
Why the rush?
Today I went yarn shopping with my newish local knitting friend Mollie. I went with a purpose: to revive my knitting mojo by making myself a laptop sleeve! My mojo has been suffering. Probably because I’ve been doing projects that seemingly endless - scarf, shawl, the second sock…
So I splurged and bought ALL THIS:
in addition, I will be learning a new skill! needle felting! The sleeve will be the blue, and I’ll washing machine felt it. The pink and green will be needle felted (see the kit behind the pile?) on to the sleeve, making lots of curly leaves and flowers. hooray!
The more color astute of you will notice a blue theme. Maybe I’m in a blue phase right now. What of it?
Sundays are for hot socks
Remember those socks I bought from sockdreams.com a while back? I bought a different kind then, too.
I wore them with my brown courderoy miniskirt. At least what I used to think of as a miniskirt, though it would not fit today’s definition of a miniskirt because my vagina was not hanging out. This skirt ends just above my knees, and I seriously hope that it is still somewhat fashionable and that I’m still allowed to wear skirts that show off a slight bit of thigh.
Oh, and I LOVE those shoes. They look kind of conservative, but they also somehow look sexy. And the bottom is a very hard material, which makes a very satisfying *click-click* noise when I walk on hard surfaces. I call them my “naughty schoolteacher” shoes. 
Roses are pink
Don’t get all excited - I bought these for myself. But with Kev’s credit card, so he says it “counts.” Ha ha
They were $6.50 at Kroger, I couldn’t help myself! I’ve been in a funk lately, and I required flowers.
Obligatory knitting update
I did most of this while watching “V for Vendetta ” saturday night. Good movie.
Sadie, keeping guard - it WAS warm enough here to have the windows open. Now…not so much.
meeeeeatballs!
I made meatballs last night! To my endless frustration, it is damn difficult to find ground veal in the south. So I substituted ground turkey into the mix. It came out surprisingly good! I baked them to avoid excess fat (HA! there’s a pound of ground pork in there!). We had meatball sandwiches for dinner, and the rest were frozen for another day.
This all came about when I went to buy frozen meatballs, and found out they were $7 for a bag of 32 “mini” meatballs! fuck that! For about $7, I made just under 50 “GIANT” meatballs! My italian ancestors are pleased.
Knitta, PUH-LEASE!
this is the sock yarn I got on ebay, wound into a giant ball. My cell phone is there to give size perspective - it’s friggin’ HUGE!
Instead of trying to make something amazingly scary and complicated, I decided to make a simpler lace.
close-up:
it looks like a jumbled mess now. I’m hoping when I am done (at this rate, around April, ) the “magic of lace blocking” will make it all pretty and stuff.
Hope you enjoyed the pics!
I’ve realized lately that I’m getting ALOT of site traffic from knitters. Especially since I was mentioned on JenLa’s blog as the “TMI blog award” winner. I check out the site of each and every new person who leaves a comment here (I am sorely behind in updating my links page), so a lot of these new people have knitting blogs. Where the main focus of their blog is their knitting, which is usually hard core and gorgeous. Like “oh I just finished the sweater I’ve been working on, and check out these 3 pair of socks I made last night!” Followed by a post containing a picture of their cat(s) laying on their wool stash.
I am completely humbled by these blogs. First off, because my dog Sadie has NEVER shown any interesting in lounging on my yarn, which is probably a good thing. But most of all because I have a feeling they are being led here under false pretenses: this is not a knitting blog. It’s a blog, of course, and I do occasionally show things I knit. But it’s not nearly the impressive amount of knitting displayed on these other blogs.
It’s a little like that time I was linked on erosblog…the…uhh…”infamous” post - you know the one I’m talking about. I got HUGE amounts of traffic and new readers, all expecting juicy details. But of course, my life is not one big orgy, and though we do try to keep things spicy and interesting, our sex life is pretty vanilla when compared to most sex blogs out there. This is not a sex blog (though I am listed under the genre of “adult” in just about every blog tracking site out there. tuh!). So I think I quickly lost a lot of readers because of that.
screw them.
however, I have realized that I haven’t posted anything knitty in a while. And I have plenty of stuff to show off! Well, not plenty. But some!
This is knitty’s tychus, similar the one I made my dad, but knitted on smaller needles so it actually fits (note: if you use andean silk to make this instead of red heart, find the gauge, and then go one needle smaller. My dad’s hat turned out beautifully, but I’m told when he opened it, my parents wondered out loud if it was a “basketball cozy.” ouch. I hope it shrinks)
made using knitpick’s andean silk in cinnamon and olive.
a panta for me! made using malabrigo. what the hell is up with my facial expression?
also please note: I’m wearing the nightshirt my grandma got me for christmas. it’s actually very comfy.
some works in progress:
knitty’s edgar scarf, also in malabrigo. I like how it shows off the variation in the hand dyed wool.
it’s about 6ft long now, and I have a lot of yarn left (see the ball on the right aside there?). I don’t know when to stop…and then what to do with the leftover yarn. maybe I’ll have enough to make wristwarmers?
future work:
just won this little beauty off ebay:
840yds of hand dyed merino sock yarn. With shipping: $25. Oh yeah, baby. I won’t be making socks out of it, though. Oh no. Something this pretty is too good to be hidden on my feet. I would LOVE to make something lacy and gorgeous - a shawl or a wrap. Something like this.
Stop laughing. Yes, I know my previous lace projects have been a dismal failure. But I can explain! The shawl for my mom was an endless sea of garter stitch! And branching out…well, the yarn was too fuzzy. It kept snarling. I did make an easy lace scarf for mom! So I know that somewhere, I have the capability of doing this!
Or I’ll just…I don’t know…do that dropped stitch wrap that everyone and their mother has done already.
So there is my knitting porn for my new cool knit blog readers. I promise to post more as I finish.
1. sleep in -check!
2. sweaty monkey sex -check!
3. eggs and potato pancakes -check!
4. finish mom’s panta and block with scarf -check!
5. wrap Kev’s christmas gifts while he naps -check!
note that his are the only gifts under the tree and in the stockings. Uh huh. Still waiting for mine to show up.
now I shall take a shower and wake up Kev’s ass in preparation for dinner at a friend’s house tonight.
BONUS SADIE PICTURES!
Sadie got an early gift - a new bed! Kev called her away while I made the switch, and when I called her back, did she pause? Sniff around? Cautiously explore? Examine with curiosity?
No. She just hopped on it and lay down, and was all “what? go away, I need a nap!”
the savvy among you will note that now her bed matches our new bedding.
uh huh. that’s right. I’m THAT GOOD.
I have Messiah on the brain. Tomorrow is our service of music, and we’re singing the first half of Messiah. We rehearsed today with the strings - it went well..mostly. I’m a little nervous about “He will purify.”
And then I went into the lab and did a 3-hour fluctuation experiment (3 hours! I am so streamlined). On a saturday. Which sucked ass. BUT had to be done.
Anyway, since all that is kind of boring, I present you with my christmas gift knit FO pictorial review!
Shut up. You are thrilled.
panta!
this is a pattern that is a big hit over at the knitting forum over at Crafster. Now I know why - it is ridiculously easy and super cute. I used some gorgeous Malabrigo yarn (hand spun and dyed merino). I’m pairing the panta with:
flora!
pattern from knitty, also out of malabrigo. it’s a little difficult to see - it’s a neck wrap with a fun flower buttoned on the front (not so fun to make - the last six rows of that flower took me about 3 hours total to do - SO VERY PAINFUL!)
This pair was originally going to my mom, but it’s a little bright and cutesy for her, I think. So it’s going to a friend who occasionally reads this blog, so I’m not going to say WHO!
For my father, knitty’s tychus. Ably modeled by Kevin.
Also ridiculously easy. But not made from nasty-ass red heart yarn like the pattern calls for. No way. I did andean silk from knitpicks. In STEELER colors, of course. My only complaint is that even though my gauge was SPOT ON, it came out a little big. Fortunately, my dad has a big head, so I’m hoping this will work out. I plan on making one for Kev, too, so I’ll probably use a smaller needle size for him.
Fingerless gloves (also from knitty, I think they’re called “voodoo”)
for my brother, made from Lion Brand’s cashmerino. Black, of course. I tried to pick a manly pattern. I’m hoping that I wasn’t too drunk the night I heard him mention that he’d like a pair of fingerless gloves. Maybe he said he’d like a pair of circumcised doves. Oh well, he’s getting these.
And I know I swore I wasn’t going to make any scarves this year (flora doesn’t count. that’s a “neckwarmer.” plus it’s short), I need SOMETHING for my mom. And i have all this superfine alpaca laying around I bought on ebay last year.
it’s lace! Kind of. SIMPLE lace, which is important. And if I can find some worsted weight yarn in the same color, she’ll get a panta, too.
And then I’ll make myself one.
So that’s what I’ve been doing in between writing and head vs. wall bangings. I’d still like to make one more thing for my grandma, but I don’t know if I’ll have time. Word to the wise: if you are ordering a pattern and yarn from knitpicks for a project, check AHEAD of time if you have the needles for the project. because if you don’t, you can conveniently order them AT THE SAME TIME, instead of realizing weeks later and spending too much money at the yarn store to buy what you need.
D’OH!
I told Julie I’d help her with her knitting woes by teaching her how to knit continental style. My theory being that it would put less strain on her arms and not aggravate her carpel tunnel.
To teach her long distance, I made a video! It turned out rather unintentionally hilarious, so I’ll post it here for all to enjoy, even if you’re not a knitter.
adjust your volume appropriately.
do not be afraid of the HUGE HANDS!
speaking of my mental health, if you’ll remember from way back, I am currently adjusting my brain chemistry with various, legally obtained, prescription drugs. The combination of said drugs was only half working. So instead of replacing one I’ve actually ADDED one: lexapro.
She’s keeping me on the wellbutrin, with the thinking that it would tame some of the more unpleasant side effects of the lexapro. Namely, the sexual side effects.
it’s a little distressing to have to go on yet ANOTHER drug, but honestly, I had to do something. While my anxiety is curbed, the depression DEFINITELY is hanging on with both claws. Not good.
So I just started the new drug this morning. We’re hoping that since I’ve already been taking the wellbutrin, the lexapro will kick in a little quicker. Keeping my fingers crossed, because seriously folks, this CANNOT GO ON!
OK…happy thoughts…
***added fun!***
Someone from real life found me! Kind of. The younger sister of someone I went to high school with…who’s now married to someone I was in band with…so I’m hoping the odds of my family finding my blog are still very very small. Unless she mentions it to her parents, and then they mention it to my grandmother, who goes to their church (errr..unless they moved? I seem to remember grandma saying something about that) who manages to understand what exactly a blog is, and then reports to my parents that I have one.
unlikely.
also possible she doesn’t realize who I am and just found me through knitting websites (have I posted anything knitting lately? I’ve flickered them).
I think she might be going to seminary, so uhh…you know..skip over the dirty bits, OK?
Just spent about $90 on yarn.
what?
how do you do YOUR christmas shopping???
I’m sticking with small, manageable gift projects this year.
STOP LAUGHING! I AM!
I’m even done with one already…
what? YES one! YES I KNOW THE DATE! Just SHUT UP, OK?
*sigh*
it’s very cold in this office.
I’m sick, peeps. Chills. Body aches. Voice not all there. Nauseous (yet hungry at the same time. ANNOYING!)
I read Julie’s meme last night, and got all kinds of annoyed - first, something was wrong with her blog, and it just CUT OFF right after she “tagged” me…and second, she tagged me and I hate memes.
But then she fixed her blog (something about a wysiwyg editor - pft…whatever!) and I read the rest of the post and she said all kinds of nice things about me. Making me feel really bad that I was annoyed about the taggation. Plus I’m sick, and in my weakened condition, I can’t really fight off these meme attacks.
Cruel, Julie. very cruel.
I shall do this blessedly short meme, and then go make myself a cup of tea. and another blanket. and some excedrin.
1. How and when did you learn how to knit/crochet? Who taught you?
No one taught me, bitch! I am a self learning. The inspiration suddenly hit me about…a year and a half ago? two years? how long have I been at this, anyway? I wanted to learn to do something. With yarn. And make things. I mentioned this to a woman at church, whom I saw carrying a bag containing yarn and a project of some kind, that I wanted to learn to either knit or crochet. “Oh, learn to knit. it’s much more flexible and you can do more with it.” Then she offered to teach me - I just had to go get some yarn and needles. yay!
I went to the local yarn/all your sewing needs shop and announced my intentions. I wanted to learn to knit. Someone was going to teach me. I needed a good beginner yarn and needles. Please help.
They were all to eager to help, and before long, I had an armful of lime green super chunky wool yarn and size 13 needles. And a knitting magazine. And wow…my first knitting sticker shock.
But the woman who offered to teach me got called away on business to, I kid you not…Kuwait. And I have a patience problem. I don’t have any. And while flipping through the knitting magazine (I think it was actually called “Knitting”), I found in the back instructions on how to knit! How to make a slip knot. how to cast on by knitting into that knot and placing the loop back on the needle (this made for some very very tight cast ons for me, until I learned the long tail method). I learned the knit stitch. I learned the purl. I did not learn that purls were supposed to be annoying and that no one liked them. I cast on and ripped back a scarf many many times, because there was nothing in those instructions about knitting a “swatch,” so my scarf ended up too wide. and because I had learned both knit and purl, I used them both to make what I learned later was a stockinette stitch scarf. Which wasn’t the wisest thing to do, as stockinette stitch tends to roll in on itself. I worked on it on and off for the next couple of months. I used the “jam the right needle into my armpit and wrap the yarn with my right hand” method of knitting. It was slow going. And at the Kansas City blogger meetup, Aimee was kind enough to let me in on the big secret of how you’re supposed to take a hank of yarn and roll it into a ball, not just knit from the hank and let it get all tangly.
Ohhhh…
Then I knit almost constantly.
2. How has this craft impacted your life? (besides financially!)
I have a hobby again! I used to read almost constantly. But somehow, when I got to grad school, my reading fell by the wayside. I couldn’t find another genre I liked, and all my favorite sci/fi fantasy authors were starting to trickle off. And I couldn’t find any other authors I liked…so…I stopped. mostly. I will still devour a terry pratchett when one comes out.
So then TV became my hobby, and that wasn’t very rewarding. Though addictive.
Knitting has given me a hobby that occupies my hands and brain. And gives me a serious break from thinking and worrying about my research. And…it’s productive! I have a finished object that I can take around and show people! Look! It’s…a…ummm…another scarf! (I got better - now I can knit socks and everything). I like being productive. I like how my efforts produce things that are tangible and useful. No offense, but I never understood the crossword puzzlers and the soduku fanatics out there. yeah…you finished one. great. Now what? Do another one. And…frame it?
Plus I LOVE making things for other people. In my mind, there is nothing like giving someone a handmade gift. For those of you who are lucky enough to receive a knitted/crocheted gift from someone, please do NOT take it for granted. Please realize that while your friend or loved one made this item, he/she was thinking of you…the WHOLE TIME. Hours. Days. thinking of you with this item. Wearing it. Loving it. Keeping you warm and safe. Giving someone a knitted item is like giving them big bear hugs that last forever - or at least for a very long time. It is a powerful expression of love. Knitting is very powerful for me. Even though I haven’t become the amazing talent of some knitters out there, who have delicate lace shawls flow off their needles with seeming ease. I like my projects, and they give me a lot of pleasure, whether I keep them for myself or give them away. I don’t need to be the best. I just need to be happy.
3. Pick at least one person to talk about who you have met through the knit-world and why you are thankful to have met them. Feel free to get all mushy.
Dammit. The hard one. And Julie took my only other really good choice. I would tag my new knitting friend Mollie, but she doesn’t have a blog. YET (I’m working on her). So I throw this out there to anyone out there who has ANY kind of crafty talent. Beading (ahem *cough* nanner *cough*), sewing, making cool funky bags (*cough*Randi*cough*). Apply these question to YOUR craft. Or just leave comments about how much you like what you do, or if you have a desire to learn a craft.
OK. getting some tea now.
Sunday morning Kev and I woke up late and hung over. Well, I was hung over. I felt like SHIT, which wasn’t at all fair, since my dad had WAY more drinks than I did and he was downright CHIPPER that morning.
Fortunately, I was able to wander around the house in a stunned stupor that morning until the relatives showed up and it got a little embarrassing walking around in my panda pjs. We had brunch reservations at the Grand Concourse for 1:30. Mmmm…I’ve never had brunch there before but I’ll BET it’s good.
fun trivia: in the movie Dogma, after the Last Scion, the Apostle, and Jay and Silent Bob get off the train, and are shivering in the woods, and then the Angel shows up and reveals what the Last Scion means, and then *clicks* his fingers and they’re all transported to a big fancy restaurant? (”dude, I think this shit just kicked in”). That’s the Grand Concourse.
We get there, meet my brother and his gf, and enjoy a FABULOUS brunch, complete with fresh out of the oven bagels (topped with smoked salmon, cream cheese, red onions, and capers) cinnamon raisin french toast, prime rib…damn. I’m getting hungry just remembering it.
After we had our fill (bananas foster for dessert!), I had a brief discussion with bro - can I get my tattoo today? Sure. Sweet. In spite of the 6 cups of coffee I had downed, I was still feeling rough and hungover. What a great time for a tattoo!
Kev tagged along as the photographer of the momentous event.
Let me just say that my brother’s shop is SWEET. Before, under the previous (jackass) ownership, the place was a dump. Dirty, smoky, and gross. Bro has the outside painted, all new signage (new name), new display cases, new flooring, newly painted walls, and a renovated upstairs. Piercing downstairs, and tattoos upstairs.
For kicks, I perused the list of things you could get pierced. I was familiar with some of the terms (Prince Albert!) but some were a mystery.
“Bro, what’s this one?” *points to “Guiche” on list*
“Uhh…piercing the perineum”
“the WHAT?”
“The taint”
*look of horror on my face*
“Yeah. Only gay guys get that”
piercing display cases
There are also chinchillas. There is a weak explanation for this, but I think the real reason is that bro’s gf has converted him completely to the love of small, furry rodents.
Bro spent the next half hour setting up as Kev and I explored the shop. The tattoo design was my own, though my brother had it all drawn out for me. He scanned it to the computer, made a few tweaks, printed it out, and then copied it on a machine that I guess is very similar to those old ditto machines. The ink is transferable, so after he cut out the design, he pasted it to my leg and peeled it off, leaving a blue outline of the design!
then i got to awkwardly lay down on a dentist-like chair, pulling up the oh so fly tropical shorts my brother loaned me for the occasion (it was either that or proudly display my underwear to my brother. uh…no).
“I’m just going to do a short line first, to get you used to the sensation”
“uhh..OK.”
*tttzzzzzzzzt!*
“you OK?”
“yeah…yeah, that wasn’t so bad!”
OK, it’s not that it doesn’t hurt. It does…but just a little. Take a sewing needle, push it gently on your skin, and then drag it across. Not a GREAT feeling, but nothing that will make you run crying to your mama. Now drag that needle across some more sensitive areas. Like close to your inner thigh. Now it’s a little more irritating. It may make you look something like this:
So we got through the outline, 
and then he went back over the lines again to give them more depth.
And then he started on the color, and then I realized something you don’t see much of watching “miami ink.” Dude, getting a tattoo is BORING!
You just lay there at an awkward angle for HOURS. You can’t nap, because of the annoying needle on your leg (also, my brother is chatty, and likes to voice his rage about how stupid “miami ink” is, how many things they just do WRONG, and how lame Kat whatsername’s black and white work is - which is is - looks like airbrushed tshirts from the 80s), and you can’t read or knit because of the awkward angle.
Kev was a trooper and took pictures. Played with the chinchillas (I call him…the Chinchilla Whisperer)
perused my brother’s interesting book collection, played on the computer, and generally kept himself entertained…for FOUR HOURS.
at least 4 hours. Might have been five hours. Because it was 9:30 before we ended up with this:
(ew. check out those stretch marks) I didn’t even get RED on the edges. My brother is THAT GOOD.
There was only a tiny bit of blood, mostly just clear fluid (”that’s sebaceous fluid” “what?” “it’s sebaceous fluid - nothing to worry about” “I know what sebaceous fluid is, I’m just shocked that YOU know”)
What they DON’T tell you in the aftercare pamphlet (”Tattoo aftercare: Protecting Your Investment” and I am not making that up) is that the sebaceous fluid also draws out some of the ink that didn’t make it all the way to the correct bottom layer of skin. So I was leaving imprints of my tattoo everywhere: on my mom’s sheets, on the inside of my jeans, on our couch…
The painful part of the tattoo is afterwards. Basically, you have this big open wound, and you have to prevent it from form a scab, because scabbing is bad. I bought some foam wash and lotion from my brother (along with money for him and gf to have dinner - I had to give him SOMETHING for giving me what’s probably a $400 tattoo for free) and I have to keep it well moisturized. But it’s sore. And now that it’s stopped “leaking” and kind of toughened up a little, any stretching of the area hurts. And since it goes all the way up to where my leg meets my hip…it has to stretch alot.
Ow.
I get no sympathy from Kev, of course. He’s OK with the tattoo, just as long as I’m happy. His only request was that I get it somewhere that would not be visible to potential employers. And unless I have an interview that goes…hehehehe…REALLY WELL, no one in the process of hiring me should be seeing it.
In spite of the chilly weather and rain, I’ve been wearing shorts to minimize the rubbing of the tattoo against fabric. because OH that hurts. It also allows me to easily lift my shorts and go HEY LOOK, I GOT A TATTOO to everyone I meet, because that is WAY more interesting that telling them how the reception went.
Additional funny story: the aftercare brochure lists thing to avoid while your tattoo heals: sunlight, saltwater, soaking in a bathtub, scrubbing with soap, oral contact…
Oral contact?
Where would you be…uhhh…how….yeah. ouch.
No licking my leg, Kev.
you are so totally jealous of my awesome pirate hat
picture taken mad myspace style
and double chin inducing style
and I couldn’t forget Sadie!
she got the cutest collar ever and some treats from a fancy pet boutique in Apalachicola. Uhhh…and please ignore the complete mess in the background.
In honor of “talk like a pirate day”
****now updated with picture goodness..err…ARRRR!****
arrrrrs and ahoys
arrrrr…the Steelers lost, cursed be the land of the swamp gators
arrrr…I broke one of me fancy nails on a can opener last night. hurt like fuck
arrrrr…me cells weren’t ready to spin down this morning, I could have slept in
arrrr…the sandwich shop was out of pickles, SCURVY KNAVES!
arrrrr…I am now afeared of diet coke
****
ahoy! me cabinets (oops! sorry!) are almost done!
ahoy! me hair color be looking FABULOUS!
ahoy! I spent the morning doing wedding tasks and such
ahoy! we now have limo service for the wedding…uhh…arrrr!!!
ahoy! I drank sweet tea instead, the sweetness tis makin’ me drunk
ahoy! I’m going to make a pirate hat for halloween, help me decide which colors
AHOY! I got my nails filled in, and a little length cut off - now I can type somewhat normally! Here is a pic. With gratuitous gemstone view. It’s hard to see, but the nail tips are silvery.
While I was there, I decided to go for the eyebrow wax. I didn’t have furry man-brows, or anything, but I wanted to clean up the edges, and I’ve never had them waxed before.
YEEOUCH! The little vietnamese woman kept laughing at me. Sadistic bitch.
Arrrr…me eyebrows are on FIRE!
Don’t mind me, I’m just STARING DIRECTLY INTO YOUR SOUL!!!
I started a pair of socks for myself. I mentioned this on the knitting site - the yarn turned out to be something called “self striping” yarn, which just means that you get very cool stripes without changing yarns - the stripes are built into the dyed yarn. So I decided to use a pattern out of sensational knitted socks, which has become my SOCK BIBLE that’s specifically designed for self-striping yarn.
The only issue is that I’ve only done toe up socks before - that is, start knitting at the toe end, and then moving up to the leg and cuff. The chevron self-striping sock pattern starts at the cuff and leg, and then moves down to the toe. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it is when it comes to the heel. There are all kinds of ways to turn a heel, and they’re all a bit complicated. With the toe first socks, I used a short row heel. OK, I did start at the cuff for the baby socks I made a while back, and I used a flap heel. But they were tiny and easy.
This pattern uses something called an “afterthought” heel. I believe this is a way of doing the heel so that the stripes will match up perfectly. Maybe other methods would do the same, I’m not sure. Whatever, I’ll deal with it when I get there, right? I happily knit away at the cuff and leg of the sock.
Now I’m at the part where I should start the heel. I have to use another needle and do a provisional cast on (blah blah blah, to the non-knitters), OK, done…
And I read this:
Take yarn from other side of skein. Locate part of painted pattern you’re currently working in, and start using that.
What’s the problem? you ask. Just pull the yarn from the other side of the skein!
THIS IS THE PROBLEM!!!
Do you see a skein???? NO. It’s a ball. I wind EVERY skein into a ball, because inevitably, if I use a skein as is, halfway through I pull out some god-awful knot of satan that is PAIN to straighten out. So I wind everything into balls.
Leaving the yarn from the “other end” quite inaccessible.
OK, 3 choices, and I ask the knitters out there.
1. Unwind the ball into another ball to get to the other end, and then REWIND it back when the heel is finished.
2. Cut the yarn and try to match up color patterns when all joining occurs.
3. try another heel method that works with self-striping yarns.
any ideas?
and OH MY GOD, if a pattern is going to call for using BOTH ends of the yarn, they SHOULD WARN YOU ABOUT THAT AHEAD OF TIME, BEFORE YOU WIND IT INTO A FUCKING BALL!!!!
The school added a new shuttle route that stops very close to where I live. Basically, you can park at the ghetto mall, and catch the shuttle right from the parking lot. Sweet. We’ve been getting emails about it all damn summer.
The shuttle will run from 7:30am to 7pm, every 20 minutes. It will make several stops: law school, hospital, C hall, and W circle. OK, I can get off at C hall and walk a couple of minutes to work, and if the weather is terrible, I can get off at the hospital and take the B shuttle right to my building.
Also, I should add that my decision to do this was not based on some desire to help the environment (although that is a nice side bonus) but because parking fees went up another $100, and I don’t plan on being here a full year anyway. Free shuttle? Thank you, yes.
I decide to try it out today, even though I can still drive for another two weeks on my current parking pass. We JUST GOT an email yesterday with shuttle updates, relisting the times and stops for all the shuttles. So I’m golden.
For a variety of reasons (power went out, couldn’t sleep in stuffy, no A/C room, took antihistimines to knock me out) I slept in later than I really wanted to. But hey, no problem. Every 20 minutes, right?
I get to the mall around 10am. There are people already waiting, and the one guy says he’s been there 15 minutes already, so a shuttle should be coming shortly. So we wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And I sit on the curb and finish knitting the second sock for my mom.
And wait some more.
Now it’s 10:45, and I’m thinking SCREW THIS, I am going to drive. That’s when a shuttle shows up, with OUT OF SERVICE on the messageboard. Crapola. He picks us up anyway.
Then we find out the scoop, from the driver, and from the well dressed man on the cellphone on the shuttle, who apparently works for the shuttle service.
Oh, so by the way? Shuttle service is going to stop at 9:30am, and then start up again at 3.
Oh, and also? It’s only making two campus stops: law school and W circle.
So let me get this straight…classes are about to start for fall semester, and they are CUTTING BACK TIMES AND STOPS FOR THIS SHUTTLE???
Holy fuck. And wouldn’t have been nice to have this information ahead of time, like MAYBE IN THAT LAST EMAIL WE GOT YESTERDAY?
“well…they said it should be on the website…”
OH NO, MOTHERFUCKER! I checked that website LAST NIGHT. 7:30am to 7pm, every damned 20 minutes.
Fortunately, W circle isn’t so much further from C Hall, so I don’t have that far a walk. But I’m definately going to have to make sure I drag my ass out of bed in time to catch the shuttle (ohhh…poor me!) except that remember, I plan on doing much writing, and originally intended to write in the mornings at home, eat lunch, then head in to do lab work. This seriously craps out that plan.
Dammit.
First day of double medication? yeah. not going so smoothly.
(but the socks are done! and before I thought to wait to take a picture…they’re off in the US mail, on their way to my mother. Oh, and by the way, if you plan on finishing a knitting project on your way to work in order to mail it somewhere, and you get to work and realize you forgot to bring a needle to help you weave in your loose ends, a straightened out paperclip with a bent loop on one end works beautifully)
You wish you were Kevin right now. Because if you WERE Kevin, you’d be enjoying a big piece of this:
Blackberry-lemon swirl cheesecake. My own creation. So…it turned out not QUITE as set as I’d hoped…it still was yummy. mmmmm….
Knitta alert:
Socks for mom are almost done. The more astute of you will notice two things: they no longer look like elf condoms, and that’s not the same pattern. Exactly. I finished the entire elf condom sock, and I couldn’t even get my hand into it. My worst fear had come true: WAY too small. I had to frog the WHOLE THING! At least starting over allowed me to change the pattern. I wasn’t liking the yarn-over-cable pattern - the yarn is too fuzzy to really let the pattern show. This one is just the beaded rib, and I think it’s turning out much nicer.
And if you think 2nd sock malaise is bad…let me tell you about 3RD SOCK MALAISE!!!
As promised: the wedding dress update
I went to the shop today to pick up the dress. The woman I had been working with wasn’t there, but I talked to another nice lady, who confirmed that yes, my dress was in.
My dress, and the underthingy, right?
What do you mean, the underthingy isn’t on the slip?
I NEED THE UNDERTHINGY! MUCH SUCKING IN OF FAT MUST OCCUR UNDER MY DRESS!!!
Fortunately, they had the correct underthingy in stock. A very “push up the girls and HEY how ya doing!!!” kind of underthingy.
And the dress fit. And I looked good.
And then she said…would you like to try it on again with a Squeem?
A what?
A squeem. Essentially, a hugely wide extra strong piece of elastic that manages to take every lump of fat in the lower belly and squeeze it into…somewhere. Narnia. I don’t know and I DON’T CARE! And…it’s COMFORTABLE! I can BREATHE in it. With the underthingy + squeem, it looked as if I had a waist and hips. Something which, in reality, I don’t have.
And then…then I looked not just good, but FABULOUS in the dress! Honestly. I wanted to cry. Very little altering needs to be done. A little tuck in around the armpits and a bustle. The length is perfect.
I practiced walking around the shop in my dress and shoes. I twirled. I danced. The nice ladies said I could do that as long as I wanted. I felt like a princess.
The only catch was that they didn’t actually have any squeems to sell left in the shop - what I had on was the demo model. More are coming next week. So next week, I will pick up the dress, the underthingy and the marvelous Squeem and THEN go in for alterations.
I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT!!!
Last weekend, our washing machine betrayed us, and we haven’t trusted it since. But we had to do something, quickly, or else both Kev and I would be wearing dirty underwear very very soon.
Fortunately, this is a cheap and easy fix. We have a “spare” washer and dryer in storage. They’re Kev’s. He bought them cheap at a pawn shop a few years back - and they’re in pretty good shape. MUCH newer and nicer than the ones my condo came with. The original plan was to take them with us when we moved.
New plan: donate old washer and dryer to salvation army (after all the washer still works…just every 100th wash or so, overflows water all over the floor) and move the storage set in.
The hitch: they’re in the back corner of the storage unit. We had to unload half of the unit just to get to them.
Oh, and it’s hot. And very very humid. And my legs were a smorgasbord for mosquitos (they never touched Kev. he must taste sour. “now you know why I don’t always swallow!” “HEYYYY! THAT WAS MEEEEAN!!!”)
But! after huffing and puffing…and removing one laundry room door, we got them in. And…after vacuuming out some mouse turds from the dryer exhaust (ew ew EW!! No lingering furry roommates left, though) we have clean laundrage!
Ummm…IMAGINE SOME KIND OF TRANSITION HERE!
So I started on the socks for my mom’s present, using the expensive nice sock yarn.
I was paranoid I wouldn’t get two socks out of one skank, so I wound it into one ball…then unwound to get two.
I started on a sock pattern similar to what I’ve done before - a great two up sock, so that I can take full advantage of all my expensive yarn - only with a different stitch pattern (”yarn over cable”). My mom is a size smaller than me…but with very narrow feet. I did what I was supposed to do…knit a swatch (6st/inch), consult the chart in my book, figure out how many stiches around I would need. But then I went DOWN one size, because I wanted the socks to fit snugly (I made mine the exact size of my foot, so they’re a little loose on).
So…I started knitting, and the pattern looks great, but the sock…the sock looks….
weird.
It’s narrow. really narrow. It looks like…a knit condom. It does stretch ALOT, though. I can stick my hand it and stretch out my fingers well beyond the circumference of her foot.
But still…it looks REALLY weird. Here’s a side view, after I turned the heel:
Looks like an elf sock.
I figured out part of the problem. Apparently I knit tighter in round on dpns than I do knitting strait. So instead of getting 6 st/inch, I’m getting 7. I should have gone for 50 stiches around instead of 40.
I’m afraid it won’t fit. In spite of the fact that it will stretch. And it SHOULD fit. It just LOOKS awful.
Any other knitters out there have any advice? Should I rip it apart and start all over? *weep*
Or should I trust in the stretchyness of the rib and keep going?
I am frustrated.
What is it about the yarn store (aka: Local Yarn Store, or LYS, to all savvy knitters) that makes me lose all sense of money and budget?
My mom’s birthday is in a few weeks. I thought maybe I’d knit her some socks, because even though my sock experience is limited, what I have done, I’ve done fast. I am a fast socker.
It’s too late to order something online (I’m not THAT fast), so I decide to head to LYS to see if I can pick up some fun sock yarn. I’m pointed to the shelves behind the counter, on the bottom, so I plop myself down on the floor and start examining my choices.
Hmmmm…I like this stuff, but it’s stretchy…I knit tightly, can I do stretchy? and it’s $6, and I’d need two…THIS stuff is nice, and I can get a pair or more from one ball, and it’s $9!
Just when I’d made up my mind for one of the $9 balls, one of the super friendly salesladies wheeled up to me, a hank of yarn in her hand.
“If you’d like some REALLY luxurious sock yarn, you should look at this!”
It was a soft, beautiful variagated superwash wool/cotton/nylon blend. Handpainted rich deep colors. Super soft feel.
$22
This is when the yarnsanity took over my brain. $22 is a lot…but…it’s for my mom! It’s a gift! Yes! That’s the ticket!
Plus, I can’t say no to a woman in a wheelchair. She showed me where the rest of the colors were, and I picked up a hank of a beautiful blue/green/gold colored yarn. yessss…my….preeccccioussssss….
But I really liked the $9 ball, too.
*sigh*
So I bought both. Plus a set of #2 double pointed needles to make the socks with.
See my head? See it? Right there…across the forehead?
S-U-C-K-E-R
It’s no secret that I spent June and most of this month a seething ball of stress. During that time, I would try to relax on the couch, and as I was relaxing, my insides felt like they were planning a revolt and were intending to jump out of my body.
And also, I could not eat. This was NOT because I was pregnant, because I’M NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! But because that much stress takes my stomach and smooshes it way down to the bottom of my abdomen and then beats it up. Hard to even look at food when your stomach gets beat up every day.
However, as is my pattern, when the stress is LIFTED, the appetite returns, and I look at food like a starving man looks at…uhh…food….
OK, no more metaphors.
Anyway, I’m hungry again, AND I’m working hard - in the library every morning spewing scientific super-babble into my laptop, and in the lab in the afternoons. Plus I just came from a very stressful time. Therefor, the little “I DESERVE A REWARD” center of my brain lights up. So I not only want food, I want GOOD FOOD!!!
I’m back in the kitchen, baby.
Now, I hate to post too much about what I make, because I know it only makes some people jealous and hungry. I’m looking at Julie, with her cereal and olive dinner. Ew.
Sunday: Grilled juicy steak salad, with big chunks of veggies, and an avacado ranch dressing. Served with grilled polenta.
Monday: Grilled Salmon served with a wilted spinach salad topped with bacon and bleu cheese. Also more grilled polenta (used up the tube)
(shut up, I know I can make my own polenta, the tube was on sale)
(OK, it wasn’t on sale. I just felt like being a little bit lazy, OK? Is that a crime? Get off my back)
Tuesday: mini meatloafs, garlic smashed red potatos, and a cucumber, tomato, and feta salad.
While not exactly low in fat…and extremely indulgent…I am just glad I have my food mojo back.
Look what other mojo I got back: I give you…
Procrastinella the Pig
Her butt’s a little lopsided, I’m pretty sure that one leg isn’t supposed to stick out sideways like that…but she’s my first attempt at a knit toy. I shall keep her by my side as I write.
When I wasn’t painting or scraping wallpaper this weekend, I SHOULD have been writing. Writing writing writing…it’s what I’m doing now…I mean, before I started typing this post as a method of procrastination.
aside: Writing…what’s another word for “nascent,” because I think I’m using it WAY too much.
Anyway…I didn’t write this weekend. Instead I decided to do something I haven’t done since the temperature got above 70F…I picked up the knitting needles. I have all this pink soft acrylic yarn leftover from the baby blanket…I really needed to use it up. really! I swear! driving me NUTS, here!
So I started the project featured on the cover of this book. Cute, huh? It’s not going to look EXACTLY like that picture - I’m not using boucle yarn (uhh…the “fuzzish” yarn, for the unyarniated)
I got much of it done in just two days - just working on the little multicolored parts, and then piece it together and stuff it..and I’ll be done!
So much more satisfying than writing, really.
also, “conferred.” I use “conferred” way too much.
Seriously, once the weather gets warm, the needles go DOWN. I don’t know why. Same thing happened last year. I’m just not in the MOOD to right now.
However, real life stepped in to remind me that my good friend and bridesmaid is 8 months pregnant, and oh yeah, isn’t her baby shower coming up? So saturday I stayed up utnil 3 in the morning to finish the lace border, after the project lay dormant in my bag for a few months.
Big thanks to Aimee for the lace pattern, which works BEAUTIFULLY with the pinwheel baby blanket. It’s made with Caron simply soft - my first real attempt at knitting with pure acrylic. It’s not as nice to work with as natural fibers - no stretch to it - but’s it’s SUPER soft, won’t give the little one allergies, and MOST importantly, machine washable.
Isn’t so girly girly? I used to be so set against pinky frilly things for baby girls. Now my friend is pregnant with one, and I went all pink overboard with it - 4 SHADES OF PINK! STOP ME NOW! And I have so much extra yarn leftover. Maybe I’ll make a stuffed animal of some sort.
Anyway, the shower was Sunday, and after everyone shoved their faces full of Italian food and the most sinfully delicious, buttery, garlicky rolls ever, everyone got to “oooo” and “ahhh” over all the cutsey girly clothes. My gift was last to open, and I’m happy to report that it was VERY well received.
I was feeling a little guilty, because so many people brought bags full of multiple gifts - outfits and bottles and washcloths and the tiniest pink bathing suit with matching sunglasses! oh my god…my uterus!!!
uhhh…anyway…
so many people brought multiple gifts I started to feel uncomfortable that I only brought one. I had to mentally kick myself a few times. JUST one? Yeah, just one that I spent hours and hours working on! Plus, that blanket is kind of huge - I should have included something to indicate scale in the picture - but it’s about 34 inches across. If it doesn’t fall apart in the washing machine, she should be able to get many years of warm blankie snuggling out of it.
Maybe I’ll pick up some cotton yarn and work on washcloths and things this summer. I don’t want to get out of practice!
I’m most of the way through the “phase I” week of my diet, and I’m happy to report I’m down 3 pounds!
Yeah yeah, I KNOW! MOST OF THAT IS WATER WEIGHT!
Shut up and let me enjoy it, OK? Plus I got to have steak and shrimp for dinner, and I’m just enjoying the fact that I can eat STEAK and SHRIMP on a 12oo calories a day diet.
Speaking of steak….
There is a mall across the street from me. It is a ghetto mall - where punk ass kids in baggy clothes and expensive cell phones hang out and bother people. I don’t go there.
Anyway, in the corner of the parking lot, near the road, there is a white tent set up. On the side of this tent is a big banner, with BIG red and black lettering proclaiming “20 RIBEYE $20,” and underneath is what I presume to be pictures of said ribeye, along with a smaller “seafood!” proclamation.
I see people going in and out of this tent. Buying meat. MEAT! CHEAP MEAT! FROM A TENT! IN A GHETTO MALL PARKING LOT!!!
Am I the only one disturbed by this? Parking lot meat!
*shudder*
annnd one last thing. Julie made me socks! Remember on her blog, all the complaining about teeny tiny needles? Trying to induce guilt in me. HA! It was ALL WORTH IT!
Check out the AWESOME SOCKS!!!
Yeah, you are jealous.But I’m SURE if you asked nicely, Julie would make you a pair! She loved making these SO MUCH, she can’t WAIT to make them again. Especially if you have big feet, like me.
heehee!
I had a big long post, about how I decided on a wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses…how my pastor at church rocks…my feelings on the winter olympics (including the phrase “the summer olympics can go suck a fish”), and my feelings on Michelle Kwan.
all
gone
for some reason, even though blogger SAID it was saving or caching, or whatever…it didn’t. There was no “recover post” for me. Nothin’ happened.
Damn.
I will leave you instead with a view of an almost done sock.
********************
jumping the tax refund gun slightly…But it went on sale, and I had a gift certificate.
My baby should arrive in 3-7 days.
My…my…precccccciousssssssss
So I’ve got my little side business making beaded stitch markers. VERY side…a few orders so far. I’m hoping to expand just a bit - I’m going to make a few sets and see of my local yarn store (or LYS, as they’re known in snobby knitter circles) will keep a few laying around to see if they sell.
In anticipation of this, I bought a shit load of beads, and a bead organizer.
See?
Color coordinated and all in one place. Ahhhh…I love organization. Especially when it’s easy.And then I started staring at the beads and wondering what else I could do with them, and while I KNOW I’ll never have the mad beading skilz of our dear Nanner, I started toying with the idea of making something that’s been rattling around in my head, ever since I got engaged.
See, I’m not USED to wearing rings on my fingers. And I’m a bit paranoid - especially at work. When I work with sketchy chemicals and have to put on gloves…sometimes the ring pokes through, and I don’t want to get any nastiness on it!
Also, because my ring has a carved band, it tends to collect gunk. Like hand lotion and my eczema ointment. Gross.
So I take off the ring off my finger, and paranoia sets in. RING ON THE LOOSE! NOBODY MOVE! NOBODY TOUCH ANYTHING! It’s right…THERE! THERE!! DON’T DROP IT…AWAY FROM THE SINK….GAH! THAT WAS CLOSE!
This is not good for my nerves.
I have an Old Navy lanyard that I use to clip my work keys onto during the day. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something similar, but PRETTY, to clip my ring to? Then it would be safe and secure around my neck, and I could even tuck it inside my shirt when the nasty chemicals come out.
Genius!
So, I give you…
my beaded ring holder!
I used a leather cord, and what a PAIN to string all those beads on it. But it works, and I think it’s pretty.
I’m going to keep my eyes out for a charm that I can clip to it, so that when the ring is on my finger (99% of the time) it will still be a pretty necklace.
so…what do you think?
I’m working on my first sock evah!you are jealous.
tonight I:
1. cut Kevin’s hair.
2. made a button link for knitgeeks:
it’s on my sidebar. anyone who would like to steal it, PLEASE right click, save, and host it on your own hosting service. thank you!
3. redesigned aforementioned knitgeeks. hope the other girls don’t mind! the mind numbingly white template was bugging me.
now I should really get to bed.
wrapped all gifts but one - my father’s. His scarf is drying, pinned down to remove the annoying curl.
“and presents under…the treeeeee” Clicky to see what they are.
Dad’s scarf, blocking.
All baking is finished. I even finally finished the truffles - scraped the refrigerated ganache and rolled it into balls, then roll into cocoa powder. Mmmmm…so good! So I was able to make the treat bags for my lab mates, and a cookie tray for my advisor.
Got all my cards made out and stamped! Everyone will get them late! But that’s not the point!they!
are!
done!
My place is a DISASTER area. I am not packed. But that can be done tomorrow, without worrying about the 30 other things I had to finish.Also, the cranberry vodka is DONE! It was fun to make, and I think I explained it in a previous post, so go there if you’re interested.
I love the smell of transaction in the afternoon. I just sold two sets of stitch markers to MoeThatsMe. Everyone go over there and thank her for supporting my addictive yarn habit. mmmmm…yaaaaarn. You are all jealous, and now want a set. But for the time being TOO BAD…I won’t have time before the new year. I also have fabric to make at least 4 more knitting needle cases, which will also be on hold until next year.Busy day ahead now. I’m skipping out early…EARLY! Like say…20 minutes, to buy two goof gifts for the white elephant gift exchange at our lab party tomorrow night, then get my hair cut (trying a new place…WISH ME LUCK), then go to the monthly stitch and bitch where I will eat junk food for dinner and work on my father’s scarf*, and on my way home from that, pick up fresh rosemary and thyme, so that when I get home, I can make the butternut squash and apple gallette that I’m bringing the the aforementioned party tomorrow.
whew!
And wow, the cut/uncut discussion really got interesting in the comments of the previous post. Feel free to continue to wax poetic about your preferences for male fleshy coverings - it’s just way too entertaining to read.
and whoa…I am almost at 50,000 hits. Nice. I have no idea what I should do when it happens…some nice way to reward my wonderful readers…hmmm…any ideas?
Of course, who I REALLY should be rewarding is Erosblog. Guess which day my site was mentioned AGAIN there?
“So ESC! Now that you’re engaged, do you feel any different?”
ummm…no. Sorry. I do have a smidge too tight wedding band looking ring on my finger. but…that’s about it.
Soooo…well….ummmm…
how about some pictures? Everyone loves pictures!!!
My tree! It’s small…but well dressed.and here’s Sadie watching me decorate…
this is her “what the fuck?” look.
and here is my christmas wreath! It’s live, which means I have pine needles everywhere. EV-ER-Y-WHERE! Good lord, how did they get THERE???
I added the sparkly bits and bow myself!
and what meal do you make for your first dinner as a fianced couple???
butternut squash risotto, of course!
aaaand…that’s it. Kev meets with the ring designer tomorrow, so…to make sure he stays EXTRA HAPPY, I basically let him do bad things to me when I got home from work today. Ouch. Yeah…my ass got spanked. HARD! Dammit. It was my belated birthday spanking. And an extra hard “one to grow on.” *wince* My ass is still red!He made it up to me afterwards, though
…when we go shopping!
(bonus points for whoever knows the reference)
But before I get to the shopping orgy and knitting pics…A FUNNY STORY!
yesterday Kev helped out some friends of mine who are renting out their condo until they can sell it. The faucet in the condo was leaking, and Kev is MUCH cheaper than a plumber. So he went to fix it (an easy fix, he said) and while he was there, struck up a friendly conversation with the guy cleaning the carpets in the building’s hallways. the conversation turned towards Home Depots, and some funny…weirdo things that they’ve heard happened in Home Depot bathrooms (ummm…what? oookaayy). And apparently, the guy got an entirely wrong vibe off Kev… and…
offered to give him a blowjob.
HAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAHAAAAAA!!!!
OK, so maybe you have to have met Kev, but OH MY FUCKING GOD THAT IS HYSTERICAL!
Kev handled it well, politely declining and getting the hell out of there. And the carpet guy got off lucky - how many men can proposition a good ole’ southern boy and get away without a black eye?? Fortunately, Kev is very secure in his manly straightness, and enjoys proving it often
update: So Kev wanted me to add some more to the story. how it all started was that Kev asked carpet cleaner guy where the ace hardware was.
The guy said “oh, yeah, where all the dykes work.”
OK…so then Kev said yeah, he didn’t want to have to drive all the way back to home depot. The guy said “that’s where all the gays work.” and then called it “homo depot.” and then “they all go to the bathroom and ‘toe-tap’ each other.” (as far as we can figure out “toe-tapping” means blowjobs?)
THEN the guy said “I wouldn’t go work there and do that, I’d rather give a PLUMBER a blow job.” then he gave kev a VERY meaningful look.
OK…funny story over. on with the pics! First some knitting stuff and then to the shopping. As usual, the clicking makes them bigger and nicer. Oh yes, yessssss…click them HARD! CLICK THEM HARD! HAARRRDDDEERRRRRRR!!!!
*ahem*
recent yarn acquisitions
very soft wool, which will be a little surprise for Fuzzball, aka Lyric.
yarn made from bamboo! which will be a scarf for my sensitive-skinned father.
sari yarn - my birthday splurge! can’t decide whether to make a purse or shrug with it. I only bought one hank because it was $20 for only 80yds!
finished projects
silk/alpaca black moss stitch scarf for my brother, lovingly modelled by Kev. I kept it sort of short to make it more of a manly scarf. On size 5s, so it took a REALLY LONG TIME! I have exra yarn fragments if anyone wants to make a black fringe. I kept the sizes equal by wrapping the yarn around my Katamari Damacy game box and cutting one end. clever, no?
Scarf for my brother’s girlfriend. I’ve met her once, but I know she likes purple. However…I didn’t want to go overboard on a gift for her. Does that make me a bad person? Watch her be a knitter and figure out that I used cheap novelty yarn on this. I used a faux-furry-feather yarn that I twisted with a yarn that is like a ladder - with little bits of shiny ribbon as the “rungs”. Done on size 15s, so it took me two days.
shopping shopping shopping!!!!I got $$$ for my birthday to buy a new winter coat and and whatever other little goodies caught my eye. I did find a nice winter coat…paid a little more than my mom sent me for it, but…
How cute is my coat? and that’s my finished chullo hat. Don’t they go nicely together? I have yarn to make a matching scarf…whenever I have the time! The coat is suede…so I have to spray it every once in a while. But it’s lined with warm fuzzy faux-fur…which has shed all over my black turtle neck. WHOOPS! I would have preferred a darker brown…maybe I’ll look online and see if I find something I like better. I do really like this coat, though. So waaarm.
So I also wanted to buy a purse…but my dilemma was…do I buy something matching my coat??? Or contrasting?? I don’t know…I worry about stupid things.I went with matching.
what do you think, too much?
I also picked up some things at a new kitchen gadget/wine store than opened in Decatur. DANGEROUS FOR MEEE! I love those kinds of stores. It’s called Cook’s Wearhouse. I went with an all silicone purchase. No, nothing for the boobs. I got another sil-pat, so now I have two, and can have two alternating pans of christmas cookies going all the time when I start baking. Also got one of those silicone oven mits. Rubbery! Extravagent…but it’s birthday money! I had to pull myself away from buying some silicone bakewear. Maybe I can register for it…someday….Kev bought some christmas presents for my parents of the wine variety. Some madeira wine for my dad (when we were in pittsburgh and niagara in July, my dad looked for it everywhere but couldn’t find it. Hopefully he hasn’t yet) and a nice sweet riesling for my mom. Merry Christmas indeed!
So now I’m sprawled out on the couch. We ate too much at Ruby Tuesdays (bison burgers…mmmm…). What I SHOULD be doing is straightening up in preparation for putting up christmas decorations.
Or I can just lie here…ahhhhh….
UPDATE:
No cleaning or decorating got done tonight. I started knitting my father’s scarf. Sad to report that after a few rows, it became painfully obvious that while bamboo yarn is very pretty, it does NOT make a good scarf. The yarn is smooth, but not so soft that you’d want it wrapped around your face. It would make an excellent tank top, so maybe I’ll use it for that someday. I do have…500 YARDS of it!
This of course left me scrambling for something for my father. I decided to take a gamble and use some of the REALLY SOFT yet animal derived yarn I had laying around: some turquoise super merino, the left over alpaca/silk from my brother’s scarf, and some muted red alpaca/merino/silk blend I bought for a project that I changed my mind on. So it will be a turquoise scarf with stripes of black and red on the ends. I only have one ball of the turquoise…I hope I don’t run out!!!!
Here is the chullo hat, pre-shrinking.
Yeah, you can see that it’s a little big. It’s better now. Maybe I’ll get a pic of that tonight.
I managed not to embarass myself last night at choir practice. Actually, I just stayed a little afterwards to go over with the director. He played the piano and I tried to keep up. After a few false starts, I managed to hold my own. I’m amazed that my sound is still good. My chops are still week, so I’m sputtering a bit. I’ll just have to practice…hehehe…my neighbors are going to be PISSED!
For fun, here are some pics from the other night when I got out my trombone to freak out Sadie.
I fooled her a couple of time into coming close, and then letting out a big blast. She caught on quickly, and then REFUSED to come any closer than this.
poke!
She was so happy when I put it away! Please no more, mommy!
OK, I think I scared some people with that last post, because after the initial influx of comments…no one wanted to poke it with a stick.
Point taken.
On to happier topics.
knitting news
I finished my Chullo hat! Um…it’s a little big. With some helpful advice from other knitting bloggers, I attempted to shrink it. which was sort of effective. It’s not as long…but it still slips over my eyes a bit. So when it’s dry I might have to resort to sewing in elastic, which should go SO SMOOTHLY because we all know how easily things go for me the FIRST TIME I TRY THEM. Which is how I ended up with a huge hat IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Pictures up later tonight.
Speaking of yarn, my latest order of yarny goodness arrived in the mail today. Ohhhh…how I love the smell of fresh yarn in the morning. Included is yarn for a hat for Kev. Last year I made him a scarf, and he didnt’ break up with me. I’m hoping that means we’re immune to the “knitting for the boyfriend curse,” but I’m tempting fate again with a hat. It’s neccessary though, because boy does not own a warm hat, and he’ll be in PITTSBURGH for christmas! His kissable shiny head will be cold! I must to action!
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mini rant
If you are waiting at a red light, and you’re maybe the third or forth car back, and the light turns green, and everyone in front of you drives off, and you pull up to the green light, stop, and THEN put on your left turn signal….
you are a complete asshole and I hate you.
that is all.
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writing science sucks
God, it’s like throwing up words no one wants to read, let alone me. I need to get this paper done! Why is it taking me so long??? I SUCK! SUUUUUCK!
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band geek flashbacks
So have I ever mentioned that I was a total band geek? yeah. You’re all shocked, I can tell. I played trombone. Marching, jazz and concert band in high school, and a small concert band in college (where for a year I was the only trombone player). God, that was so much fun. BAND, BABY! And if my friend Jen happens to read this…HEY JEN! OH MY GOD, HOW MUCH FUN DID WE HAVE??? REMEMBER THE DONUT THEORY OF LIFE? AND WHEN THE OLDER GUYS STUCK MAXI PADS ON TOM’S BACK AND LOCKED HIM IN THE GIRLS ROOM? AND FAT ANKLES??? HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Oh shit…those were great times.
I’ve had one or two opportunities to play since moving to Atlanta. I toyed around the idea of playing for the school’s orchestra, but decided against it because I didn’t think I’d have enough time to make the commitment. But you know….back in the DAY…I was pretty good. *cough*
So last week in choir practice we sang a new song that had some instrument accompanyment written in, including a trombone part. Sometimes our director will hire players, but usually only for our big services of music, where we sing the whole service. So I looked over the part, saw if I could remember the slide positions (most of them, I think), and decided to remind our director of my past life.
He seemed enthused about the idea, and told me to bring my trombone to our next rehearsal. That’s tonight. So last night I decided to get out my trombone, clean it up, make sure everything is well lubed (hehehehe) and then proceeded to annoy my neighbors and freak out Sadie by playing a few notes.
It came back to me…slowly. My chops are SO out of shape. I could remember half of an old fight song, some scales. Remembering how tightly I need to “buzz” my lips for certain notes was difficult.
Kev got a kick out of it. I showed him how to hold it and how to “buzz” to make the sounds. He happily played some loud notes and the fun “WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH” down the slide sound that everyone who picks up a trombone for the first time does.
Hopefully I won’t embarass myself tonight. If anything, I’ll come home with sexy swollen lips that Kev won’t be able to resist
Got some new and overdue pics to post…randomly.
Remember my felty mule shoes I talked about the other day? here they are! Clicky clicky to make biggie biggie.
OK Sloth, go change your underwear.
***Look ma! JAZZ HANDS! No silly! it’s just my fingerless mittens, done!
*****this is the cocktail monkey bag from knitty. It’s made from hemp cord, which is a little more difficult to work with than regular yarn. It’s a little darker than it appears in this pic - the flash washed it out a bit. It’s a pain in the BUTT to keep all those needles from falling out!
******My most recent frivolous yarn splurge - baby alpaca. I bought it under the guise of making something from my dad, but as soon as I walked out of the store, I decided it wasn’t masculine enough. DARN! Guess I’ll keep it and make something for ME! Like a nice warm hat!
fun fact: I’m in my pj’s in that pic above. The best sleepwear ever: a Pittsburgh Pirates nightshirt, circa early 90’s. The tshirt material is worn soft after years of wear, and the Pirates logo on the front is almost illegible. Just how old is it? On the front is a pic of a catcher tagging a runner out at home. I’m pretty sure that the catcher is Mike Levallier (sp?). I *heart* this nightshirt!
I want to make this.
I am in craft lust. It’s a river rock door mat. Click to see the thread I found it in. This is why I love Craftster. Projects like THIS! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! Yet…I can see into the future…yes…I can see it…Saturday…Home Depot….garden center….
damn.
Me: so she asked me if the soup was vegetarian.
Kev: HAHAHA! NO WAY!
Me: yeah, I told her it had a ton of bacon in it. Her friend is on her own, I guess. Unless she cheats. I’ve heard when vegetarians cheat, it’s usually with bacon.
Kev: if she eats bacon, she’s not a vegetarian.
Me: well, if she eats it only every once in a while…once in a blue moon.
Kev: doesn’t matter. if you eat meat, you’re not a vegetarian.
Me: you’re a meat eater, yet you eat vegetables.
Kev: but I eat meat and vegetables all the time. If you occasionally eat meat, you are NOT a fucking vegetarian.
Me: you know, it’s not like there are RULES about being vegetarian. Why do you think there are rules? If a someone only eats meat once in a blue moon…
Kev: I’m just fucking SICK of vegetarians. It’s like the whole metrosexual thing. Always in your face about being vegetarian and making a big deal…
Me: WHEN? When have you had a vegetarian in your face about it?
Kev: well…not…no. But that’s not the point. They COULD do it…I’m just anti-vegetarian.
Me: you’re vegetarianist.
Kev: antivegetarianist.
Me: foodist.
Kev: we’re a pair, aren’t we? good thing we love each other.
Me: yeah, otherwise we’d probably kill each other.
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friday night knits
my current project to avoid working on the shawl is KnitPicks fingerless mittens. I realized at some point that I needed to use a couple of stitch markers. I made some a while back…but they’re all on the shawl. I made a quickie pair with some newer beads I got at Wal…ummm…a store of some sort…
Incidently, if anyone LIKES my bead markers, I can make you some for….I dunno…$2 each plus shipping?
Here’s the first mitten so far:
when it’s done, I’ll sew the side edges together to make the mitten.Annnnd…for those of you bored with my knitting pics and updates…a pic of Sadie chewing on a pig ear!
So the crafty readers and friends seem to really like the needle holder I made. So much so, that I just made one for Julie, and now someone in my lab wants one.
This makes for interesting business possibilities…
So! If you are a crafty knitter, or know someone who is, you can ORDER one of these needle holders from me! and I will make one! And send it to you! FANTASTIC!
But…nothing is free. Yeah yeah, I know. SO SELFISH!
$30 plus shipping. either by check or paypal.
It doesn’t have to be kitchy flamingos, like mine. The one I made for Julie is very nice and tasteful, because - get this - SHE DOESN’T LIKE KITCHY FLAMINGO FABRIC! What a kook! Hopefully, she will take a picture of it when she gets it…because I forgot. D’OH!
Just place your order to: evilsciencechick (at) gmail (dot) com, and give me an idea of what kind of colors and patterns you like - let’s stick to two patterns per case - and I will make it as soon as humanly possible.
So why not treat yourself or your favorite knitter to a one-of-a-kind gift today!
(I can PROBABLY make a smaller version for the crocheters out there. If anyone is willing to let me experiment for them!)
and she’s JUST MY TYPE! HA! now you’ll be singing that all day like I have.
Anyway, the craftiness never stops around here. Since I had to drag my sewing machine out to sew the back pad on the rocking chair, I figured I might as well take care of some other projects. My winter comforter has had tears in the seam for a long time now - finally fixed that.
Annnd…the rubber bands I’ve been using to hold my knitting needles just weren’t cutting it any more. So a while back I bought some fabric for a NEW project!
And I KNOW you are all drooling over the fabulous flamingo motiff!
inside
back
can you believe they had both yellow AND green awesome flamingo drapery fabric, and they hadn’t been snatched up yet? ALL MINE! And the purple houndstooth really sets them off.You’re jealous. I know. It’s OK.
I got BIZZ-ZAY! no…not THAT kind. that was earlier today. In the shower. But Friday I got industriously biz-zay.
Remember that chair from my grandparents house that I brought back with me a while back? I FINALLY got around to the reupholstering. I think you’ll agree that the blue looks MUCH better than those nasty orange velour stripes.
All I can say is…thank GOD for my staple gun! Awesome! Everyone needs one! Made the job go so fast! Just…don’t tell my father. He wanted me to do it the way HE learned…using furniture tacks. Ugh. I’d still be hammering those suckers in.The tricky part was sewing the cover for the back pad. I tried using the old fabric as a pattern…but it ended up being too small. wtf??? So I used the pad itself as a guide, traced it onto newspaper, pinned THAT directly to the fabric, and sewed it up (yes Aimee, I successfully used my sewing machine WITHOUT calling you in a panic!). That time it worked! I can use the too small one for…a pillow? I have extra cotton batting left.It’s so comfy now, definately my new knitting nook. And to make it COMPLETE…
Today at the Scandinavian festival (oh yeah we went!) I bought this handmade woven basket. It’s going to hold all my current projects. YOU. ARE. JEALOUS! The woman who sold it to me told me her whole family makes them. She was African American, so I asked her which Scandinavian country she was from. Yeah..I was apparently the 3rd person to make that joke. At least she laughed!More pics from the festival at my flickr site. Click on Kev lusting after viking weaponry to see them all!
I told him…absolutely not!!!
the shawl to date…
Originally uploaded by evilsciencechick.
…you can hear that Darth Vader theme playing in the backround.
Yes, this is the infamous shawl. After ripping it out 4 times, I think I might have gotten the hang of it. Now having said that, I will screw it up royaly.
Clicky to make biggy.
The endless loop scarf is coming along nicely. It’s my grandmother’s christmas present.
Also, I tried my hand at making some beaded stitch markers. This is my VERY FIRST attempt at beading, and I didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing. I didn’t even buy crimp beads…whoops! So I just threaded the wire back and forth a couple times.
It’s difficult to tell, but the round beads on each one are clear glass with multicolored swirly specs. And also, now I know why beaded stitch markers are expensive. Dude…beads are pricey! I like the ones I got, though. I just made 4, but I can make more if I need to. If I get good at this, it might make a fun side buisness…maybe. Is there a big market for stitch markers? The ones they sell at regular craft stores are UUUUGGGG-LY.
so much pain an anger the past few days! wounds! stolen dairy products! WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END!
how about RIGHT NOW with some nice, calming pictures to share? Lovely!
I know it’s only JUST fall, and you would NEVER KNOW IT with this stupid hot Atlanta weather, but I just couldn’t resist one of my favorite fall temptations, with a little twist: pumpkin banana bread! mmmmm…very dense and tasty. Too lazy to write out the whole recipe, but I found it here
I started my knitty satchel. It’s going VERY quickly! I did most of what you see there tonight - my left hand is ACHING! Not sure if you can make out the colors - the main color is a very light gray and the color stripes are a light lavender.Of course, it never fails…
as soon as I sit down to knit or blog or ANYTHING, Sadie decides she needs some love and attention. Oh well…really…HOW can you ignore that face???
tote bag mosaic
Originally uploaded by evilsciencechick.
Yay! a fun mosaic of my tote bag project.
you can see that the bag DID shrink up quite a bit, but it’s still very wide.
big enough to do some SERIOUS shopping at the farmer’s market (are ya with me, Julie?).
now i’m impatiently tapping my fingers, waiting for my next yarn shipment from knitpicks. I ordered “hush” and “fog” to make this (smaller version) and also “rosegarden” to make this for my mother for christmas.
whew!
pre-felting
Originally uploaded by evilsciencechick.
I am finished with the knitting part. Now comes the felting. I am told it will shrink considerably, but HOLY CRAP WILL YOU LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS THING??? And this was the MID size option! There is a larger one I could have done!
Click on the pic to biggie size it, and to learn fun facts about ESC!
clicky = biggie
seriously, it’s HUGE! and UNGAINLY! and NOT FINISHED!
my evening schedule has become:
1. get home from work
2. make and eat dinner
3. knit and watch tv
4. nookie of some sort (yay nookie! and toys!)
5. knit until my eyes water and my brain turns to mush
6. crawl into bed way too late
knitting
I’ve had to learn continental style knitting for my latest project. I HATED IT…at first.
But now…NOW I…KNIT LIKE THE WIND!!!!
I kick ass. Almost halfway done with the body of the tote bag…in only one weekend.
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science
the other 50% of my 2D gel blot didn’t pan out. DAMMIT! THAT WAS THE 50% I NEEDED! So I spend a good part of this weekend, when I wasn’t knitting, back in the lab, starting another 1st dimension.
We’re also planning to go to Alabama this weekend, which means I won’t be in the lab AND I’m taking labor day off.
I’m going to get “the look” from my advisor again.
*sigh*
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food
I feel a cooking slump coming on. Seriously, I’m just TIRED! I got Kev to take me out on friday (mmmmmm…thai noodle bowls…). Yesterday Kev made a rotisserie chicken, I made some side dishes (mashed taters and sauteed veggies).
Tonight….ugh. I picked up some hot dogs…now…they were QUALITY hot dogs, and we dressed them up with saurkraut and stuff. And HUGE slabs of juicey sweet watermelon. Mmmm…
Then Kev made pudding. mmmm…puddin’.
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sex
We’ve sort of forgotten about the sex toys lately. I don’t know why…we just haven’t used them as much as we used to.
Welll….Saturday night I discovered…via the help of a fun toy and a very enthusiastic Kev…that I could, if I wanted, sing soprano in the church choir instead of alto.
Though the conditions neccessary to repeat the circumstances would probably not be condusive to a prayerful church atmosphere. Technically, though..I was SORT of praying…
Speaking of church, I wore a skirt to church today. Nothing sexy, just a stretchy khaki knee-length thing. I wear a choir robe at church, so it’s almost ridiculous to dress up…YET I STILL DO! CAN I BE ANY MORE PRESBYETERIAN????
Anyway, something about me in a skirt sets Kev off. Seriously. I can be sitting on the couch in nothing but a nightie, and while he’d be appreciative, if he’s preoccupied, I get NOTHING. But me in a skirt (Ok, well, it does show off my newly totally ripped calves nicely. seriously, my legs look FABULOUS!)…and he can’t keep his hands off me.
I’m not even allowed to get undressed! Maybe that’s the thrill for him, the skirt is easy access without the time consuming “removal of clothing” first.
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summary
well, there you are - all 4 of my most common subject in one fun filled post! hope it wasn’t too jarring. unless you LIKE that kind of thing…in which case…come closer…. 
deja vu
Last wednesday, I went around to different labs looking for a specialized nylon mesh to separate blots in a single hyb tube during hybridization.
Everyone I talked to nodded their head..
“oh yeah! the mesh! looks like…mosquito netting!”
“yeah! so…do you have any?”
“oh…nope! don’t think so”
this happened several times. Eventually I gave up and tried another tactic for my hybridization.
Today I drove all the way out to bum fuck lilburn to an upholstry and fabric warehouse, looking for supplies for my chair project. I needed to replace the mesh (mesh! again!) that separates the springs from the padding of the seat. Surely they would have it. I even took the old piece with me, as a reference.
The sales guy I talked to nodded his head…
“Oh, sure! mesh! nooo…we don’t carry that. what you CAN use is a really heavy duty stiff burlap. That’s what they use nowadays.”
“sooo…you have that here?”
“nooo…we dont’ sell that any more. you can walk down the sidewalk to the furniture reupholstering shop. he might sell you some.”
well, I’ll spare you the details…that guy didn’t have anything either.
So off to a regular fabric store to buy some regular old burlap. I decided to just get some cardboard and wrap the burlap around it a few times to use as the divider. Then Aimee calls. She suggests instead of cardboard, I use [some material i can’t remember the name of, but is used to make the brims of baseball hats]. They should definately have it there, just ask…it should be by the [other stuff I can’t remember].
So I ask the clerk for [baseball hat material].
“oh..yeah…someone came in asking for that just last night!”
“do you have it?”
“ummm…let me check in the back………
……no”
so I just bought the burlap and some padding. There are forces conspiring against me reupholstering this chair.
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Special Plea from Kev
Kev wants me to send a request out to blogland for recipes for injectable marinades that are low in fat.
I maintain that any marinade can be injectable, as long as it’s not chunky. But there you go. So if any of you hard core grillers have a super secret recipes for injecting your chicken, send it to me and I’ll post it on the internets.
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Picture pages, Picture pages!
the poncho I finished last week. Not the greatest lighting…but you can see the rich dark colors…and there’s a metalic thread woven through the mohair/acrylic blend.
I was out harvesting some rosemary when I saw that I had a visitor. I hope she stays a long time and eats all the nasty little buggies that eat my plants!
Last night I dreamt I was sitting on a large white couch - like mine, but huuuuge - with lots of other people that I didn’t know. Somehow, a nest small poisonous snakes got loose in the couch. Little nasty baby snakes were hiding all through the cushions. There was a woman who seemed to be “in charge” who said that all the snakes had been taken care of, but I kept seeing more. And you couldn’t kill them by chopping them up, because the little pieces of snake would still come slithering at you.
Finally, someone handed me a can of snake killing spray. As I sat on the couch, several long snakes appeared from behind the cushions. I sprayed one, and it reared up at me, hissing, with it’s fangs expose. I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed, until finally the snake fell over dead. I kept telling people that there were MORE SNAKES and that it was NOT OK!
It never seemed to occur to any of us to get off the damn couch.
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knitter bug
I finished my poncho last night. I tried to take pics of myself wearing it this morning in the mirror, but they didn’t turn out so well. Maybe tonight I’ll get Kev to take some.
Now I just have to wait patiently for my supplies from knitpicks to come in so I can start on the tote bag.
*patiently waiting*
*drums fingers on desk*
*glances at watch*
*patiently waiting*
SCREW IT! I WANT MY YARN NOW BITCHES!!!!
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health update
feeling much better today. I got home last night and just crashed on the (snakeless) couch. I was supposed to go to Curves, but I just felt too crappy. My right side ached - phantom gall bladder pains!
But this morning I felt MUCH better. And I’m happily noshing on a Thai Kitchen soup bowl (pretty good, actually, first time I’ve tried it) and…Doritos. (certain people will laugh when they read that.)
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UPDATE
MY YARN CAME IN!!!
shit, now I have to learn how to knit in the round, knit on double pointed, pick up stitches…and…felt. ack! what made me think I could do this? too many new skills in one project!!!!
No reason to post the cake. Just thought I’d make you drool a bit.
I just got my confirmation emails from Etsy, but when I clicked on the links to confirm, I was informed that my profile was already confirmed.
Great. I had emailed customer service, maybe they took care of it. But SCREW YOU ETSY! I’VE SPENT MONEY ALREADY SOMEWHERE ELSE!
I have been spending money I shouldn’t at KnitPicks, helpfully suggested by Julie. DAMN HER!
I ordered some yarn to make the farmer’s market tote (in fern, carrot, and snickerdoodle colors), and then, because orders over $30 get free shipping, added a cheap pattern and yarn for a beanie hat. Shut up, you know you want one.
Thus I delve deeply into the world of “patterns.” I will probably fail miserably, and end up curled into a fetal possition in the corner of my living room, crying softly. I know I’m already in trouble because I had to ask our lab goddess to explain to me in the tote pattern, where exactly the bottom of the bag came into play. Ohhh…now I have to learn to pick up stitches.
I also have to head to Michael’s to pick up circular and double pointed needles. MORE MONEY!
I can only dream that one day I will attain the level of skill that the fabulous Illana has - good lord, that girl can knit. I need to stop reading her blog, really, because before I found her (or more accurately, she found me. probably searching for anal sex stories, you dirty dirty girl) I was quite content to sew simple scarves in furry and fun yarns. DAMN HER!
DAMN YOU ALL!!!
I got SO MANY RECIPES sent in! Even some…FROM LURKERS! AND NEW PEOPLE WHO JUST STUMBLED BY!
You guys rock.
Now I have to go about getting the up on the recipe site. HOW COOL IS THAT?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
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Spoons on Sunday
Today I went to church for the first time since June. The choir had July off…soo…I just decided I needed a break. I had rotated off the session, so my responsibilites have dropped considerably. And I had been dangerously approaching burnout.
But I set the alarm to wake up this morning - annnnd…I nearly didn’t make it.
Something about me waking up for church makes Kev so horny. I don’t think it’s the church aspect that’s doing it, I believe it’s the fact that I don’t need to wake at the crack of dawn to go to church, but it’s early enough that we’re not sore and exhausted from doing our sleep-in-waaaaay to late Saturday-type routine (why does sleeping until 11 make you tired ALL DAY???). So my alarm goes off this morning, and on cue, Kev rolls over and snuggles up to me, pulling me tight against him.
Mmmmmm…
Have I mentioned before how much the spooning position relaxes me? It’s the pressure on my back…especially the lower back..that does it for me. And just feeling his body along the whole length of my body…*chills*
Well, it wasn’t long until I felt him hardening against me. Another amazing feeling, and I automatically pushed back slightly to really feel his cock pressing up against my butt and thighs.
Spooning led to rubbing which led to kissing and nibbling…
and all that, of couse led to…ahem…well, you know….
all in all, it’s amazing I got to church on time.
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Weekend Warriors
After church I stopped at an Ace hardware to see if they had any nice mailboxes. I’m getting my mom a new mailbox for her birthday. The one they have now is a painted aluminum that’s pretty beat up and peeling. I’ve seen some nice ones online - copper! for $88! but still it never hurts to check out actual stores. off-line shopping, if you will.
Sooo…they have some nice ones, but nothing I’m looking for. So I wander around because I love hardware stores - so many projects! So much fun! A project that’s waiting to be done is cleaning up and re-upholstering my grandparents rocking chair.
It’s got a horrible orange striped velour like material on it. ugh. My father upholtered it years and years ago for my grandparents. When I decided to take the chair, he recommending a good cleaning, minwax, and reupholstering.
So while I was at Ace’s, I picked up some minwax. Hooray! Project!
And since I was out and thinking about the chair, I decided to head over to a fabric store to pick up the fabric I would use to reupholster. I found some GORGEOUS blue velvety stripes with mulicolored background - bad description…here!
pretty, no? I bought enough for the chair, and maybe a pillow or two…for only $18!
Anyway, when i got home, I remembered I had ANOTHER project waiting for me…the hardware I had gotten from Ikea (IKEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!) for my kitchen cabinets.
I surveyed the landscape. Hmmmmm….ew. Cabinets are greasy. Very greasy. I hate having an oven vent that doesn’t actually vent to the outside. Grease everywhere. I should clean off the cabinets before putting on the hardware.
Ta-da! I have Greased Lightening! So I wipe down the cabinets, pulling off a DISGUSTING AMOUNT OF GRIME OH MY GOD MY KITCHEN IS FILTHY. But I’ve probably taken off a bit of the finish with the greased lightening…
MINWAX!
USEFUL FOR ALL THINGS! WHY DON’T YOU HAVE MINWAX? IT WILL SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!
bankrupcy? MINWAX!
divorce? MINWAX!
constipation? MINWAX!
So I minwax my cabinets and WOW PRESTO! Hey, I have nice cabinets!
Now it’s time for the hardware. Now Kev gets involved, because if you measure wrong the project becomes a complete disaster. UNEVEN HARDWARE! NOT EVEN MINWAX CAN FIX!
Kev takes over the project at this point. I am allowed to drill a few holes, that’s it. So while he’s busy measuring and cutting out cardboard templates, I start on the chair.
I know I need to save the fabric because that will become my template for the new upholstry.
The first part - removing the back pad - is easy. It’s just held on with a few finishing nails. Easy. NEXT!
Now I flip the chair over. Hmmm…the bottom fabric is held on one side with tacks, and then sewed on the other three. I steal Kev’s leatherman tool, and start prying out tacks. And more tacks.
and once i get THAT off, there’s more tacks holding on the main fabric. LOTS OF TACKS! MY DAD WENT TACK CRAZY!!!
My hands are sore from prying out so many tacks.
The springs are in good shape, but the padding is shot - it disintigrates into cottony confettie when I pull the fabric off. So I call Dad - for advice on my next move, and to yell at him for all the tacks.
He tells me that the tacks are neccessary - all of them.
No, I can’t use a staple gun isntead. damn.
Fun fact from my dad: professional upholsterers use “sterile tacks” which they hold in their mouth and use a magnetized hammer to pull on out at a time and nail it in without having to hold it with their hands. Ew. (”you will not be doing this” “yeah, no kidding”)
He tells me to find an upholstery supply store to get the materials I need - or a fabric store if I can’t find one. I need more padding. I need a new “barrier” thing to keep the springs from sticking up through the padding. I need tacks….DAMN!
He says I can call him if I need more help. I level with him.
“dad, I am your true daughter. this chair will stay naked like this for 3 or 4 more months before I get around to working on it again.”
So the chair is stripped, but still dirty and un-minwaxed. Maybe I’ll get to it this week.
In the meantime, Kev finished the cabinets. They look GREAT! I was sick of my hardware-less cabinets. I was always breaking nails - which is painful.
Anyway, wanna see? Click to make them bigger so you can appreciate how clean and shiny they are…MINWAX!
Didn’t he do a nice job? So as a reward, I made grilled sockeye salmon filets with wasabe mashed potatoes and a fresh veggie salad with sesame dressing. Mmmmm! Yeah yeah, mashed potatoes. But we deserved it for working so hard!
Knitting Knidbits
I finally got to the sewing supply store yesterday. I wandered around the yarn room, running my fingers over beautiful and EXPENSIVE yarns. I can’t imagine using the really bulky wool stuff right now, so I was trying to find something lighter. I settled on a 80% cotton, 20% MERINO wool blend - so soft! And such pretty bright colors! And since I can never make up my mind, I bought three skeins in three different colors - turquoise, orange, and purple. I would have bought more of the same colors, but it’s just not in the budget. So now I need some small projects to work on to use up this beautiful yarn!
I also bought a neat little knitting reference flip book. It’s pretty extensive - everything from how to do certain techniques to how to determine your measurements. Now maybe I won’t need to call up my knitting friends in a panic when I don’t know how to do something!
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Headache cures
I had left work early again yesterday, in part because I couldn’t do the experiment I wanted to…AGAIN! and in part because I had a pounding headache. This weather is driving me NUTS! Rainy, cool, and dismal. WHERE IS THE SUN! I am part photosynthetic, and I’M WILTING!
So when I finally got home, I just plopped on the couch. Talked to Kev, and decided that when he got home, we’d head to our favorite little eatery. I called first, though…CRAP! Business was slow and they were closing early. Damn. Hazaards of the indepedently owned restaurant. Did I REALLY feel like cooking?
Well….I suppose…so I just “whipped up” some frozen ravioli with a quick homemade tomato sauce, and my sausage cheese bread, made with Pillsbury french bread dough, cooking italian sausage, and mozzerella. Oh, and a quick salad. Mmmmmm…
I was feeling A LITTLE better after eating, so Kev decided that the best way to make my headache go away for good was to give me several orgasms. Mmmmm….LOVE THAT MAN! Sex during the week has been pretty rare, since we’ve both been working long hours and are usually pretty exhausted. But I guess we’ve both been pretty invigorated this week - hooray! I’m not complaining
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Squeaky clean
Today is our annual Lab Cleaning Day. We’re such a girly lab, I know. No other lab I know of here does this. But it really does help us cut down on media contamination. We’ve cleaned up our benches and desks, and the new summer undergrads have done a bang up job of the common spaces, and everything is going very quicky. We’re on a lunch break, and then we’ll tackle the cold rooms. Ugh. A lot of the mess in there is mine….whooops!
But the important thing now is that my bench and desk are CLEAN! and ORGANIZED! They are beautiful to behold!
Now if I could just keep my CONDO clean…
new hooks, new decorations!
Originally uploaded by evilsciencechick.
Last night, around 1 in the morning, I decided to install the hooks I bought at Target so I can hang some of the goodies I’ve been collecting in my kitchen.
Much drilling and screwing (not the really good kind) and swearing took place.
We’re laying in bed, watching some “ultimate fighting champion” fight on Spike TV
They keep saying that he’s “the world’s most dangerous man.”
uh huh
I don’t know about that.
He’s really good. He’s only lost once.
So he’s not REALLY the “the world’s most dangerous man.”
Well, I don’t think he called himself that back then.
I think there’s more dangerous men out there. Worse men.
He could probably kick anyone in the world’s ass.
Yeah, but what about Osama bin Laden, or, like…other terrorist people?
That’s different, they’re not talking about guns and knives and stuff.
So…in the RING, he’s the most dangerous man in the world.
Yeah.
But they don’t SAY that “the world’s most dangerous man IN THE RING…they just say “the world’s most dangerous man ,” and I don’t think that’s true.
*glare*
What?
later
so if that guy beats him, is he STILL “the world’s most dangerous man?” or does the new guy become “the world’s most dangerous man?”
*glare*
well????
you’re THINKING too much! stop THINKING! JUST WATCH!
Oh, I forgot this is man TV…no thinking allowed with man TV.
like you need a lot of thinking for those medical shows.
Pft!
later. “the world’s most dangerous man” lost
THAT WAS IT??? All that build up for THAT? That was QUICK!
Yep. You get really good guys, it’s either really quick, or really long.
So is he no longer “the world’s most dangerous man?”
SHUT UP!
much kissing and wrestling and rolling around and….ahem. No more discussion of UFC and dangerous men.
