Narnia dropped by...

If you have never lived in the midwest, then you don't realize that yes, it's humid in the summer and yes, we don't get good snow in the winter. All I ever knew of Kansas before I moved here was that it was the beginning setting of The Wizard of Oz and I didn't like that movie.

But Kansas is like me in many ways. Brutal, soft, harsh, and somehow even more appreciably beautiful after something ugly.



It was the first day of sun for almost two weeks. I was still recovering from a stomach thing but the sunlight was such a draw that Daisy and I couldn't be held back (indeed, the darling nearly bullied me right out the door. If she could have opened the door herself and left me in the proverbial dust, she would have).



There was an interesting sound as we walked out. Crashing that made Daisy jump frequently. But it was pretty self-explanatory, at least to me. The sun was melting the ice right off the limbs and it was falling and crashing to the ground. But how do you explain this to a dog?



The ice was on everything and the trees were heavy with it, I knew that I would only have a brief moment to capture this glass-like fairyland.



It's like lace made with ice.


Not that it wasn't without its hazards, as noted by the falling ice in the upper right corner. I did get some in the eye but I'm okay. A little bruised but I can see just fine.

But the best part of the day was getting back inside, back in the warmth and out of the way of hazards from above.

Merry Christmas...if that's okay

Because everyone's been getting their panties in a knot once again this holiday season, I think I will let MST3K say it all (if you are subscribing via Bloglines, you'll have to just click over to the blog to see the video).

Holiday Music

I am working on a Christmas Mix for people on the Lime & Violet MB and in search of a blank CD, I found another CD mix. Unmarked so I had no idea it was full of music I hadn't heard for ages. VAST, Ivoux, Afro-Celt, various things I'd collected here and there. It brought vague impressions of lots of driving since I made most of my CD mixes while in LPN school in a desperate attempt to not have to listen to 45 minutes of radio twice a day.

Funny how memories always shine brighter and look better after a dusting of time.

For instance, last year, mom was hit with breast cancer and we spent Christmas Day at a friend's because mom had no strength to do much, sick with an infection from her lumpectomy. But it was a good Christmas, leaning on the friendship of others as we recovered from the shock of it all. And I remember not getting quite all I wanted for Christmas but not caring. What I really wanted was for my mom to get better. Thank goodness the wish was granted, my mother's recovered and she still wears the socks I knit her in fond memory of the care of everyone as she went through dark times.

No Christmas is perfect, pine needles fall, the constant ringing of those stupid bells in front of every business is enough to make me want to hit them repeatedly with their own bucket, and I'm tired of Silent Night and whether it's Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, but there is always peaceful silence somewhere, even if it's deep down inside, miracles still happen and there are still bells that even I don't mind hearing, tolling out their messages.

Not messing around.

I felt kind of ooky on Thanksgiving, felt like a fevered jelly lump on Friday, felt somewhat better on the drive home from Utah on Saturday and on Sunday, I decided I wasn't going to screw around anymore. I called for antibiotics and got me a Z-pack. Yeah, when your immune system is being held at bay, you really don't want to mess around with trying to muddle through a whatever-it-is. And I feel better for the most part. There's a bit of a cough and my right ear has not quite decided to unplug and there's still mucus but it's clear (yeah, you wanted to hear about my snot, didn't you? Mmm) and I'm doing far better. I even went to work on Wednesday, which was nice. Somehow a chilled salad bar prep area did more good than laying around for ages.

I love Thanksgiving though. It's the one holiday that does not really give into the hype. No one pays attention to Thanksgiving. After Halloween, it's all Christmas all the time. So there aren't obnoxious punch-out Thanksgiving cards, no specialty cranberry-flavored Hershey Kisses, no Hallmark Movies about believing in The Turkey. Just a day of gathering together with family and friends, making and eating more food in a day than you would reasonably make and eat in a year (unless you have a huge family like I do and then it's an assigned potluck and you don't end up with much in the way of leftovers) and just realizing how good you have it, even if it's not all that great for some. Still.

But with that cold and watching Hogfather on ION (talk about your secular bull but eh, it's Terry Pratchett, he's worth a laugh), things feel more acceptably Christmas-y. It's time for Good Eats Fudge, Cinnamon Popcorn, Highlander Radio's Streaming Celtic Christmas and knitting. Oh no no no, I have sworn off knitting for Christmas. Even my best friend is getting yarn and needles, I'm not making her anything (oh alright, I did make a Jayne hat for a friend but that was in October).

I don't mind Christmas. I miss the old times, though, back when I lived in Germany. There was the Christmas Market full of hand-crafted things and food that I would snatch up in a moment if I were back there. There weren't a lot of bell ringers, the music was not overwhelming and because there was no cable, television was not on so frequently and I wasn't bombarded with movies asking where My Faith In Santa Claus was. Dear New-Media, I hate to break it to you but SANTA CLAUS AIN'T REAL. Really, it's like the New God these days. Baaah. If I want something on my wish list, I ask my parents and what isn't under the tree I budget for or pray about.

Anyways, I have about 1000 words left before I win at the NaNoWriMo and it feels as willing to come out as a healthy adult molar. Which is why I'm posting now.

I'm procrastinating.

Dear Bloglines, Kit went outside today.

Image heavy.










Daisy came too, of course.







I love Autumn. Can you tell?

It's all I seem to do...

I've been severely absent on my knitting blog. My apologies, there's a good reason, though.

For one, I'm NaNoWriMo-ing. Again. It's a pirate story and if you're super mega interested and I can trust you not to totally rip off my story and post it on a Norwegian site that is funded by that country and getting prizes for it (oh yes, it's happened, grr!) or something shifty like that, you could email me. tobutakai at the gmail.com site.

For another:


Yup, my clinical skills practice kit came in. That there is a rubber wound. The label on the package says "Humerus" but what I find funny is how shiny it is. Eww, it's all squishy and damp and stuff, grody! Well, not really, it's just shiny. But that's exactly the same wound they'll be using at my clinical exam and it seemed worth the cash. I also got some IV stuff so I can water my Lucky Bamboo by drip. Well, maybe not, I don't think Lucky Bamboo likes normal saline. Whatever.

And finally, I have no knitting. Everything I start seems to slip from my fingers and straight into that frog pond. Everything. It's really frustrating at times. Ah well, that's how it goes sometimes. I'm working with some Misti Alpaca Sport and turning it into a scarf. I haven't frogged it in disgust yet, so hopefully that's a good thing. Pictures when I get to them. :P

Charity!Heroes

Tina Turner said it best when she said "We don't need another hero". I have a friend out in Lancaster and as nasty as the fires are, they are not as bad as they seem on television. And as lovely and sweet and marvelous as blankets are, it's not necessary to make one for every disaster that occurs.

What we do need is a moment to send our prayers over there. We need to open our homes and hearts and wallets. If you want to send money, send these people essentials. Money for clean food and water. Offer your friends and family a place to stay. Offer prayers.

Just my two-cents. Keep your yarn for your Christmas knitting.

I might get sick of this song fast

But for now, I love it like crazy. I first heard it while on my own, cleaning up the salad bar prep room and I was shaking my money maker as if it were actually making me real money (well, it kind of was, I was on the clock). I need to be careful about that, I've been caught getting my groove on by a store manager showing some new hires around. Oooops. But hey, you try to sit still while you listen to this YouTube video (I don't recommend watching it, it kind of skews the song, at least for me. But you can browse other tabs and listen and try not to tap your feet):




Eh oh eh oh ehhh ohhh eh...

You may want to look away

One of the incomplete projects that I had sitting around were some unequal socks. In that, I had to bind off the second sock far shorter than the first. Thank goodness the pattern was toe-up. But there were a few steps I had to go through to fix.


Here are the socks. As you can see, the one's far larger than the other.


So I lined 'em up.


Gave the big 'un a good snippity snip.


Picked out all the little bits and pieces and threw the extra all in the trash (oh, what was I going to do with it, keep it as a swatch? Get over it).


Then I start unravelling. Aww, me and my stumpy hands.


And, of course, kept unraveling until it was as short as I wanted.


And with one last row unraveled, stitch-by-stitch so I can put it on needles, I am set to finish up the sock for the right size.

Fun stuff! And it's not the only sock I'm working on. After realizing that my collection of nice warm socks is--well--rather small, I have started a new pair of Pomatomus with some STR Puck's Mischief.


It may end up being a little bit too muddy, we'll see.

Mom and I went swimming again for the first time in about a year. I've missed it because it was a time to bond and exercise at the same time. I'm really excited to start doing it again. I've forgotten, however, how much it really requires you to use those deltoids and pectorals. Phew!

I finished the Breton Jacket but I have to knit/crochet the belt that goes with it and that may take a little time because I don't have the right crochet hook, nor do I want to mess with it either. I think knitting a belt using the linen stitch will be more effective, though it requires you to use a buckle. Pfft, I don't need no stinkin' buckle. I'll tie it like I tied all my Tae Kwon Do belts, the same ones that stayed in place just fine while I was taking the class.

But that does mean pictures will be delayed.

However, when pictures ARE forthcoming, I will show you something truly horrifying and suitable for Halloween.

WooOOOoooo!

A few things

So, how was the Ren Fest part 2?

Fantastic! (For those on Bloglines, I have some videos here you might want to click over to my post to see.)






And then some! All the walking around and so on has helped me drop an extra pound which I definitely did not mind.

I've been knitting, trust me. But I've also been doing many other things. My new job at the grocery store is pretty nice, it's great to go in and not have to get pills ready and there's that pressure that wow, if I screw up, someone might get really sick or really dead. The worst that will happen is that I forget to put garbanzo beans on the palate for tomorrow's salad. Oooops! At least it's not like someone's very important cardiac med! And everyone's been really tolerant of my mad-capped behavior (like pretending to vomit when throwing out the cream of potato soup. Though I've worn out that joke. After two times no one thinks it's funny anymore) and highly friendly.

I've also discovered Knitmap.com and added my own comments as well as a yarn store that I particularly disliked (the ones I did like were already on the map). I think it's a fantastic resource, though I hope more people comment because otherwise it's no different from searching for yarn stores in a certain area on Google Maps.

Kansas is still holding firmly onto summer around here. The high is about 90+ today and I am dying for some cooler weather to motivate me to finish this sweater. After two more inches of yoke knitting, I will only have to sew in the sleeves and crochet a belt. Yes, I can crochet, no problem. It'll probably take me another week.

As for school, I'm about to call and see where my application went because they have been sitting on it for far too long. I know they got it, though, because they took the money out of the credit card already (expensive, whew!) and now I am waiting for an appointment.

And for some final news, I am now officially a columnist on Lime & Violet's Daily Chum. I'm very excited about this, I have some interesting ideas coming up. I'll be posting Saturday so keep your eyes open!

Ninjas in Kilts?

I went to the Renaissance Festival the other day with Mary and her niece and nephew, two kids who are almost as cute as my own niece and nephews (what can I say? I'm slightly biased) and made the Ren Fest quite amusing. It was the Kilt-ic weekend but strangely enough, I didn't see a whole lot in the way of kilts. What I did see? Ninjas. Ninjas wearing Naruto Headbands. Talk about your double-takes, Anime Banzai was haunting me all the way from Salt Lake City!

Anyways, I didn't buy any yarn, do any knitting, or craft at all. But if you'd like, my best bud, Briana sent me a link to a fun little dragon you could put together for yourself: 3D Dragon Guy. Warning, it opens to a .pdf file!

I did, however, buy a copy of Tartanic's UnStoppable CD. Listen to some of those files, they're definitely outrageous. And they're also still together despite rumors to the contrary (Marc, you are in so much trouble).

And I'm still hacking away on Breton's sleeves, trying to get them done before I have to linger too long in the over-cold salad department at HyVee, my new place of employ. I'm trying to get over my embarrassment of working there but sometimes I am very glad that I'm going to be in the back most of the time where I don't have to risk being spotted by nursing colleagues, shh.

Ah, sweater weather. Wait...

Well, we had a couple of days where there was a chill in the wind. I spent yesterday snuggling in my stole after I got home from church but Kansas summer has said "Ha, suckers, I'm not done YET!" and thrown us all a curve ball. Huh, thaaanks.

But that hasn't stopped me! I am determined to have at least ONE handmade wooly garment ready for when Kansas autumn defeats Kansas summer in one mighty blow of rain and cold. So I pulled up my Ravelry, did a little perusing through some sweaters and jackets, added a few things to my queue and realized that one jacket in particular stood out and was already in my grasp:

Interweave Knit Fall 2006's Breton Jacket.



I'm not sure if anyone will recognize the purple yarn there, but it's had other incarnations as a Rogue and as a Nantucket Jacket. Sometimes a yarn needs several tries before it finally feels comfortable as something and as for me, well, it's all about the process, isn't it Margene? Heh. I don't mind knitting and re-knitting something, though I was impatient for a lovely purple sweater. Now, it seems, I'll be getting one!

So, I finished the back in four days:


Now, I don't know how sharp your eyes are, but do you notice something, well, wrong with the back?

While you mull that one over, I have a blog meme I picked up from Mary:

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Now who is surprised at that one?

Yes. Okay. I get it.

It seems that the older I get, the more people feel it necessary to point out the fact that I'm still single. I already have issues with crowds of people but if I go into crowds of people who know me, be it church, family reunions, office parties or the like, I always get one or two people who think they Really Know Stuff telling me "You know, if you _____, I'm sure you'd find someone!". Oh really now. Because, you see, short of signing myself up for the slaughter online dating services, I've DONE all x, y, z and I've asked guys out and I've been social (which I dislike, I'm just socially awkward) and as you can see, I'm still single. Sorry.

I'm not depressed about being single. It doesn't hurt. I don't sit all day and think "Gee, my life would be perfect if I only had a boyfriend". I've learned to be just fine with having my own time to do my own things, watch my own shows, knit my own stuff, and basically enjoy my own company.

So to all who read this, know that I'm okay. I'm happy enough being single. I have friends, really good friends. I'm not lonely and I don't even think about it. So thank you for the concern, I'm alright.

Except for the shingles, that's not alright. Ow. Though I do like to flout about that I have herpes, har har.

FO: Mystery Stole 3

Well, I finally have another finished object to show off, The Mystery Stole. Those of you who have read my LJ will have seen this already and will see it yet again. *ahem*




I didn't see very many people actually doing this but I added an extra repeat because I love long stoles.

And now a little time line of the stole in progress:



Yarn: Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Iris Heather.
Needles: Clover Bamboo US #3s.
Beads: Hobby Lobby brand #6 white pearl applied with #14 crochet hook.
Time took: Finished about two weeks after the last clue was released.

Some things that I did to make this knitting easier:

1. A magnet board with little magnet strips. I always laid down the magnet strip above the line I was working on. This way I could see the line below and see what I was to knit into, whether it was a yarn over or a k2tog. This kept me from going too far off and if I dropped a stitch, I knew how to pick it up. I could also see if I missed a yarn over the line before, throwing off my count. It happened occasionally.

2. Life lines. Every ten rows I would put about three feet of waste sock yarn through the loops of my purl row. This saved me when I had some extreme stitch dropping. And though it took time, it was worth it every single time.

3. Blocking wires. It kept the edges of my stole nice and neat. This has nothing to do with knitting the thing but hey, T-pins don't always give one a nice and neat edge.

Also, my small opinion on Alpaca Cloud for those who are curious: It's a little slippery and likes to drop off my needles and run down, but it's not extreme. I also find it just a little ticklish because of the guard hairs left in. I wouldn't wear this next to my neck because the skin is more sensitive. But it's not itchy at all, on the contrary, it's very very soft.

Well is a very deep subject.

Sometimes you realize that the harder you try to catch up with yourself, the more yourself becomes extremely elusive. I can barely see myself on the horizon at this rate!

In the world of knitting, I only have about four more rows to knit on my Mystery Stole. But that's 8 rows of knit and purl and with every row, I gain another two stitches and it has gotten so that it takes over an hour to knit and another to purl back and I feel a little like Sisyphus, pushing that big rock up the hill, only to have to chase it as it rolls back down again. Gyah, and there it goes again! It's enough to make me cry!

And then going to Utah. How do I manage to have more and more stuff to bring with every trip? And in an attempt to keep healthy, I have cut up about five pounds of fruit and realized that this will probably give us all massive diarrhea. Well, I guess I got some more pills to pack.

Anyways, I have a few more links to share with the rest of you:

Chore Wars: The premise is to get us off our lazy tushes, abandon our wireless and push a mop around for 'XP' and gold that can be traded in. This works well if you're a World of Warcraft junkie (like about 10% of the people in my ward, though I think a few of 'em are keeping mum on that). I signed up for Lime & Violet's Knit Wars so that with everything I knit, I get points. It, uh, doesn't always work for me, though. I knit alright but I don't remember to document. Heh.

bubble.us: If you're a writer and you prefer to brainstorm, this is fantastic. It keeps track of all the meanderings that your mind takes that you bother to write down. I actually prefer to work in the form of an outline if I'm doing an official paper but this is good for story-writing.

Bloglines: There might be one or two of you who don't use this tool. If you have lots of friends who own blogs but don't want to check all your bookmarks to see who has updated and who hasn't, this keeps track. Well, most of the time it keeps track. Google Reader does the same thing but I kind of got used to Bloglines.

Well, have an awesome weekend and send me some good travel karma. I'm praying for low traffic, particularly through the mountains (we've missed most of the back-to-school/home-from-vacation rush but there might be some left), overcast but storm-free skies, and happy visits from inspired muses like Writos, Knitous, and Drawrius.

I'm still busy!

It's just not necessarily knitting. And, uh, they'll be wearing clothes soon. Maybe. I don't draw smut anyways so don't worry.

What can I say? I go where my muses take me.

Why do you do what you do?

Why does the Kit knit?

It started with LPN school. My hands were constantly busy writing, inserting catheters, typing out notes, scrubbing up, donning gloves and so on. But things got a little overwhelming, I needed something that kept my hands in motion as they had gotten used to but gave my brain just a little break.

Now, I still knit. It's no longer simple stockinette, true, but it is still something nice to keep my brain moving but without overwhelming it. I love cables and lace, I love trying something new and the interesting people I meet through it.

Of course, I don't only knit, I'm not so two-dimensional. Those who know me may know that I also write. For the past few months, my goal has been to be 875 words a day, which isn't that bad until you start getting behind and it ends up being 1750 words a day or more. And sometimes my brain is not so imaginative but that's fine.

I also used to draw. Well, I still draw from time to time (like Gambit and his prize-winning crotch*, er, it's not as bad as it sounds, listen to Lime & Violet, episode #42), which I have done since I was really young but I haven't kept up with. *shrug*

So how about you guys? What else do you do besides knit? And why?


*yes, he has terrible anatomy, I'm not great at drawing guys yet, okay? tchah!

Will not be trained

In my college days (halcyon days), I took a few Psychology classes. Quite a few, to be exact, a nurse needs to understand crazy and trust me, I do. But there was a story from one of those classes about a certain professor. And as all professors do, he did a bit of pacing as he taught his class. Now, the further he paced from the exit, the students in a particular class lapsed in attention. They pulled out papers, fell asleep, played with the cellphones, etc. But the closer he moved to the door, the more the students paid attention. They sat upright, made eye-contact, and interacted more. By the end of the semester, that professor was lecturing from outside the classroom.

Or so the story goes.

This has a point. I notice that the more frequently I post, the more people I lose per subscribers on Bloglines. I realize there are also a few of you who have me on your Google Readers. You're awesome but I don't know how to keep track of how many of you are out there so cheers. But I am not wholly concerned with readership. This is a knitting (and stuff) blog. I will continue to post about knitting (and stuff) whether people read it or not. In fact, it would tickle me immensely if I lost all readership to this blog. But I'm kind of a mad scientist like that.

I do wonder what it is that makes people stop reading. Is it that I'm about as interesting as a blank screen? Do I have all the appeal of a white wall? Am I boring as all get-out? No idea. I do promise that I bathe so it's not my hygiene anyways.

But enough of that. Yesterday was links day which I didn't do because I was having a welcome-home party for my drawing muse. I'll post the drawing once it's done. But she's still asleep, hung-over from all the effort it took for me to put down my Mystery Stole (done with Clue 6, by the way. Only 39 more eternal rows to go). So, links!

Zen Habits: This guy might be a vegetarian but he's also got his head on pretty straight and has some great insight on life and how to deal with it. Check out his Archive, sign up for his Forum, and Get Involved. He's no religious leader, but he's a guru of Common Sense.

Cute Overload.com: I was having a stressful day at the mental hospital when I came across this website. Within fifteen minutes, the stress was gone and I had the biggest ol' sappy grin on my face. You just can't go wrong with tiny or furry or impish. The only time I ever actually disagreed that something was 'cute' was when they published the tick 'tocks. A tick is a tick and his buttocks hold no appeal to me, mister. Nuh uh.

TV Links: Nothing on TV sound good? Go here and check out their wide selection of movies, tv shows, animes, sport vids and music vids. Not all of it is exactly 'legal' (notice some movies there that are still out in theaters? Yeah.) but you aren't downloading any of it, it's just out there on the internet and you have the choice of not watching if you want. Personally, I like the anime section. Mushishi is perfect for relaxing and if I'm knitting lace, a few of those animes are dubbed so I don't have to read subtitles. Perfect!

Well, I'm in for a semi-busy weekend. It'll be gloriously cool (finally!) and there will be plenty of socializing.

See You Monday!

The Devil Made Texas

...and the rest of the midwest along with it. It has been mad-hot here. For the past two weeks it's been hovering over the 100 mark and top that with humidity and I feel tender-baked. You could cut me with a fork. I go delicious with a red-wine vinaigrette. Or something like that.

However, our under-sized, over-worked air-conditioner has done its best to keep up and it's done quite a decent job. And to help matters, it should drop about ten degrees tomorrow. I was enjoying a nice nor'westerly breeze as I walked Daisy this morning so I feel a change coming.

And with the help of that lovely air-conditioning, I've managed to almost catch up:


The Mystery Stole #3 is coming along nicely and unlike a few people who have whined about the asymmetry of the wing on one side and the design on the end, I have found myself intrigued and delighted by it. Sure, it won't look the same on both sides but why should it? It doesn't have to be, not precisely.

Anyways, short entry but I am behind in a few other chores today. One last peek on how far my stole has come:

Bewbs! Titties! Brestses!

Dear Christina,

I wasn't kidding.

BWAHAHAHA!

-Kit

Where do you go?

Ever come across sites that wow you? Either they're time-sinks or they're incredibly informative but mostly they just grab your attention?

Well, I've found a few.

Hungry Girl
Now, it's no secret that I'm trying to lose weight and this site is an awesome reference for food that is hawt, food that is not, and everything good or bad in between. The Food Fights are really fun (Reddi-Whip or Cool Whip? Skinny Cow or Weight Watchers?), the Q&As are always informative and there tend to be frequent coupons for good food. The recipe alternatives are also really good, too.

Have you checked out iGoogle yet? It's like Google's version of My Yahoo but for some reason, I like this better. You can add games, comics, news, weather, and you can alter the top theme (mine is set to Tea House because I like the Asian theme and the little fox is way too cute, and it changes ever two hours, corresponding with the time of day...he's eating lunch right now, I ought to do the same).

And speaking of iGoogle, I have added WikiHow to it. From how to taste dark chocolate and give a hickey (I looked it up, I've never done it before, how excitingly delicious!) to more technical and important things like how to get a copy of a birth certificate and prevent your car from being stolen. I could possibly spend hours on this site.

So what sites have caught YOUR attention?

Sorry So Late!

There have been some exciting events here, Bloglines!


Starting off, my brother has come home after being gone for two whole years. He's gotten so thin from one meal a day of rice and beans. He's been drinking milk like mad. Normally we go through a gallon in about ten days but it's gone in two to three days now. At least he's staying away from my soy milk for my oatmeal! That's mine and it's not very tasty on its own anyways, so I'm not too worried. And root beer, the kid's been dying for a taste of root beer. And you just can't tear him away from video games, well, he's left Brazil and jumped right back into the States with both feet.



Then my Sockapalooza package came in!!! My dear new friend Beth has been so generous, she sent me such wonderful pair of socks, a cute little Ugly doll, some chocolate that was attempting a gaseous state so I had to toss it quickly into the fridge, and an awesome card. Very cute, I love love love the socks! So pretty, thank you again, Beth!



And finally I got around to photographing my socks. I had the Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn around for ages, half knit-up. I wasn't happy with the first socks but I grabbed the Monkey Pattern and now they really look like Northern Lights as opposed to a mess of blacks and purples and greens and reds. I'm really quite pleased with these socks. And they feel quite nice, too. I'll definitely look into more CTH yarn as I can get my hands on it.

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill - Northern Lights.
Needles: US #2 24" circulars by Susan Bates
Time: Approximately two weeks, I'm terribly slow.
Mods: I prefer using the short row heels when knitting with the Magic Loop method.



And that's all I got. I'm not even done with Clue 5 for the Mystery Stole #3 so no photos yet!

No Preemptive Shopping Here

Because there's a sale over at Stitch Diva Studios, I finally broke down and bought the two patterns that have been screaming my name ever since I saw them: Sahara and Simple Knitted Bodice. If you want it for cheap, today's the last day.

I've decided that there are two Victorian fashions that I want to come back into popularity.

The first are shawls and stoles. Like someone else once said, it's like carrying a blanket with you everywhere and yet far fancier, prettier, and elegant. Can you imagine being in a room where the air-conditioning is overly aggressive? Just wrap yourself in a lovely alpaca stole like the one I'm working on and voila! Warm!

The second is the shade umbrella. I like to walk the dog but the sun is oppressive by the time I can get out to do it. So I bring a little rice-paper umbrella that I had bought at the Renaissance Festival a while back. It's the perfect thing to keep my fair skin fair (tans are so over-rated) and it even slows down traffic as people rubber-neck the freak novel idea.

I'd like to implement the fold-up fan, too but people don't find those strange so much as highly clever when I bring one out of my purse. Yes, I'm so forward-thinking!

Off hiatus, sort of.

I've been knitting, promise. But sometimes, I just don't feel like talking about it. Who wants to see the extra-long portion of the Mystery Stole? Yes, I added a bit to it since I had an extra week.

The highlight of excitement was when we gave Daisy the remnants of a jar of Jiffy PeanutButter.


Mmm, peanut butter...


Mmm, even the plastic and sticker is tasty...


Can't reach the bottom, woes.

I got the rest out for her with a spoon. Sometimes a dog deserves a gimme. :d

Last night, Mary and I went out for snowcones and we had such a lovely time just talking so I suggested we head out to the Merc just next door and I indulged in some Red Lavender and Fireside Chai. Both are lovely and caffeine-free. Rooibos is really good for you, too. It has your minerals and it's good for digestion problems and it's so very comforting. I love it.

Oh, and yes, I finished The Book. And with relief, I moved back to Wizard's First Rule, except that the characters have all turned into Human Hosepipes, phew. But my friend, Briana, has reassured me that things do improve. But now that it's all over with, I have a few suggestions on what to read next:

The Blue Sword and subsequently The Hero And The Crown, both by Robin McKinley.
Moonheart and Spiritwalk by Charles deLint
The Prydain Chronicles starting with The Book Of Three by Lloyd Alexander (who only recently passed away, sadly).
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (but if you buy it, buy it from Conlan Press).

So, what books are you reading now?

Don't be a whippersnapper

My grandma doesn't knit. Neither does my oma. But they know how. I got a whole tin of knitting needles (straights) from my grandma. She also taught me to crochet (well, teaching in that she showed me real slow how to do a few stitches and after that I was on my own).

But I'm getting tired of people who are offended about them knitting. C'mon, grandmas knit. They're allowed. They've done it longer than you and they can do it better than you. And they know how to screw up and how to fix it and how to make a pair of socks in under two hours and how to keep from stabbing people in the eyes with needles. They were knitting before it was fashionable and before it became unnecessary. They were knitting for the people who kept this country out of the hands of tyrants and monarchs. They were knitting your mom's diaper soakers and mittens and hats. And if you're REAL lucky, she's knit you a sweater or five.

You bet your bippy that it's still your grandma's knitting. And she can kick your can with it, too. So stop your whining and go ask her to teach you how to turn that heel. She knows about twelve ways to do it, five of them she made up on her own.

Guess what I'm not doing

Today I learned a valuable lesson: If your Wacom Tablet (or other object) is plugged into the computer, it is wise NOT to forget it and trip badly and maybe almost kill the tablet, your ankle, and the computer. Ow.

So, like most of America, I went to pick up the last Harry Potter book. I dressed up because, well, it's the last book. I'm not sure if it was more in the spirit of "Thank Goodness It's Over, I Will Dress Up" or "Kit Feels Like Being Weird And Can Get Away With It Today At Least"



And, of course, I came prepared with the proper tools:



And the nice thing was that I ran into some buddies from the knitting group! Dee-Anna and Emily (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong) who did not dress up but DID come earlier than me and got bracelets of earlier-book-picking-up colors. Emily also won a signed poster (whee!). So we all sat among the knitting books where it was less close and met two knitters and hopefully we'll see one at the next knitting group!

Oh but I was up late. I didn't get home until 2am and I took a peek at the last sentence of the book (I did not see 'scar', did Jo lie or did I just get the wrong page? Was it on the Acknowledgments page?) and started reading the first few chapters.

Playing hardball indeed. My characters would definitely hold a revolt if I were ever so careless with them! What does she think this is, X/1999? Um, if you don't get that, don't worry about it.

But today I had a Harry Hangover and once I recovered, I went to see the movie and by then I was to heartily sick of Harry Potter that I haven't read anymore. I just can't bring up the urge to worry about it too much.

So for now, it's finishing up the book I borrowed from the library (Terry Goodkind's Wizards First Rule which is intriguing but it's no soul-sucking attention-holding Robin McKinley) and glossing over any posts that mention it.

By the way, Dee-Anne, I am so sorry for missing the garden party. I'd forgotten and by the time I remembered, I couldn't find the map! I had put it in a safe place but I guess it was so safe that it was even safe from me. ARGH!

At least an old knitting swap partner whom I've become quite good friends with gave me what she felt was a necessary end to an old swap from, well, last year!



Isn't it amazing? It's such a lovely bag, so beautiful and handmade just for me.



The inside is marvelous, too.

Well, for those of you with noses still buried in their books, do enjoy. I'll catch up with you guys later. ;)