Blogging in my Head

Yes, I've been blogging in my head again. Maybe I should invest in that Dragon program that types while you talk. That would be so much easier than my constant typo-fixing. Anyway...
My Christmas gift socks are done. I forgot to take pictures, unfortunately, but they look good. The pair for my brother are big. He's got biggish feet and wears boots most of the time so I made the leg 10". That's a bunch of stockinette! It didn't take long, though, because partway through I hit a good groove and the needles just flew. I made his and Dad's from a cone of undyed wool/bamboo blend that I'd gotten for the etsy shop and have decided that when my stash goes down I'd like to get more yarn on cones. It's so much easier. For example, I didn't have to think about if I had a good color for my brother or if the skein was big enough - I could just knit and dye it when done. I'd like to have cones of both fingering weight and something heavier for sweaters. I'll have to do some saving, of course, because the initial expense is bigger than a single skein, but the price balances out quite nicely in the end.
I had to take Kerry to an orthodontist last week - he needs braces - and decided to stop at Home Depot while we were close. Why? So I could get the paint chips for the colors of the Doctor Who scarf as listed on the http://www.wittyLittleKnitter.com website. I'll be getting a little money for my birthday and am going to get the yarn for a scarf. My plan is to use Vanna's Choice, but with the colors in my purse I'll be ready if another type catches my eye. I'd like to get the colors in fingering weight, too (I don't trust my dyeing skills to match them) so I can knit up some socks and maybe a couple of ties for some favorite podcasters. I thought a long skinny fingering weight scarf might be nice as a belt or headband, too. We'll see how things go. I may wind up having to order what I need.
On to some podcasts! One of my favorites, Smart Mouths, is ending. The hosts have had increasingly harder times getting together to record. I'm going to miss listening to them. I have found some new Doctor Who podcasts to listen to. I absolutely love Hoo on Who. They are a father/son team who talk mostly about older episodes. The older episodes were just the father and guests, and I'm going back to listen to some of those as well. I also love The Happiness Patrol. I found this one because of my cyber-crush on Tardis Tara, the genius behind the Witty Little Knitter site. This show has four regular hosts and is hilarious. They all have lots of information about Doctor Who and its history and seem to know everyone in Who fandom. Two of the hosts, Tara and Lela, actually tracked the cast and crew of Doctor Who in Utah and got to meet the cast. It sounded like such a great time.
There's a newer knitting podcast that I really enjoy. It's called Knitting Pipeline. Paula, the host, is from the next county over. It's neat to hear her talk about nearby places. She's a great knitter and has interesting stories both about knitting and bagpiping, her other love.
Khloe has been taking guitar lessons. She's pretty good. She has a knack for music and picks things up rather quickly. I have to remind her to practice, though, becuse she'd rather sit and complain about being bored. Ugh. I hope this "bored" phase ends soon - there's not much that's more annoying than someone complaining of boredom.
Kerry doesn't want to give up wearing my wool socks. I've cast on a pair for him, but I really need to give myself a small-needle break. Of course, being selfish, I want to work on something for me as well. Never fear, the boy will get his socks - and I may just let him keep the ones that he loves so much.
I need to get going - I started watching Buffy on Netflix and now I can't think about anything else. It's quite a show. I've queued up Close Encounters and Jurassic Park 3 as well - two of my gotta-watch all-time favorite movies. It's going to be a television day, can you tell?

Health and House Cup

Things have been a bit chaotic here lately. The kids had a five-day weekend for Thanksgiving and then were sick the whole next week. They're feeling much better now, thank goodness, and so am I - having them home is a bit taxing on my nerves. At least they're old enough now to take a nap when told.
The House Cup has ended another term and Ravenclaw tied with Gryffindor for the win. I personally completed two OWLS and won a Star of Isis award. I'm also among the first group to complete seven "years". We're trying to decide what to call ourselves now that we've "graduated". Next term will have a special new member - Khloe has joined Ravelry and the House Cup. She's had a great time so far getting to know everyone. I monitor what she does, of course, to make sure she's in groups that are not too mature for her.
Since my keyboard is being difficult right now I'm going to get going. Next time I'll talk about my gift knitting and random other stuff. Stay warm!

Pictures!

Just a couple of things to share - my new shawl for the release of HP7 in house colors and Khloe showing off her new hat and the skein of yarn that she dyed with food colors.

And yes, I am the only non-fall person ever.

Am I Really?

I'm beginning to think that I'm the only person who doesn't love autumn. All around me I hear people talk about the weather, the pretty colors, etc, but I just don't get it. I look out the window and the neon yellow-orange trees across the street hurt my eyes. In the morning it's 40 degrees and in the afternoon it's 70 and the kids leave their jackets at school so they freeze again in the morning because they don't listen. Our allergies are back with a passion from something and I've developed a sinus infection from it. There are some people around here who think they can burn their leaves whenever they want so the neighborhood stinks. We can't decorate the yard with pumpkins because the disrespectful brats around here think it's funny to destroy them. It's not a good season. I miss summer. I know that in summer it's going to be hot. In winter I know it's going to be cold. There's no kids arguing about if they need a coat or not. Sometimes I like winter - warm socks and sweaters and blankets are so nice. I don't much care for spring, though, either - it's mud everywhere, including in my house. There are a couple of things that I enjoy about fall, though. I can't get enough caramel apples and pumpkin pie.
I'm listening to Coggie and the Savvy Girls talk about their adventures at Rhinebeck with envy. I want to go! Eric said he'd help me save up so I can go to some knitting events and party with my podcasters. It would be so much fun to laugh and be silly with Coggie, Deborah, and Melanie, don't you think? I hope that when I go all of the podcasters will be there so that I can meet them all. I think the best part of any festival would be meeting people. When Khloe gets a bit bigger I could take her with me if she wants. Of course, she'd probably want to run away with Melanie to be a gerbil mom.
Speaking of Khloe, I just went to a parent-teacher conference. My girl is a straight-A, above average, excellent reader. She loves math. Unfortunately, though, she gets a bit chatty in class. She's had the same classmates and teacher for the past two years so she's very comfortable with everyone. I'd like to make her teacher a shawl as a thank you gift - Khloe loves her and really listens to her. It will be for the end of school, so there's time to plan. Maybe by then the perfect pattern and I will find each other.
More Kerry news - I tookhim to the doctor because he's got a big bump on his leg. It turned out that it's not a bruise - it's a cartilage and bone growth called osteochondroma. He had an MRI last week and did really well - no freaking out or getting scared. The result from that is good news - it's not cancer. We will go back and discuss options with the doctor in a week. Most likely he'll need surgery.
I'll finish up here with a request - if any of you know of some Steampunk or Victorian waistcoat/vest patterns or where to buy one affordably, please let me know. I'd like to add to my wardrobe and a snazzy vest with a chain would be great. Thanks!
Pictures soon, I promise!

Almost Caught Up

We had another computer crash recently which is why I've been absent. Apparently our Windows had a virus and everything had to be moved to a backup while the tech guy reinstalled Windows for us. Then comes the fun part of putting everything back where it's supposed to be. I got the pleasure of reinstalling itunes and finding that it wasn't the current list of my podcasts so that took an hour or so. I'm still putting my bookmarks back to the "favorites" tab - and finding new favorite places, of course. I had about 250 emails to sort through even after going to the library once to check it. Eric has his user account done - but then, he only has his internet browser and nothing else. The girls haven't been over to see that they need to redo all of their accounts. Thank goodness we have an external hard drive for our pictures and such - I'm paranoid about losing my pay patterns so they're stored there - and in a flash drive and some are on my kindle. Actually, I filled up my flash drive and need a new one. That's alot of patterns!
I spent most of September knitting a cardigan for myself in some great pink wool. I got it all done, put it on, and it's WAY TOO BIG! My gauge swatch lied! I get to frog the whole thing and do it all over. I love the cardi - it's the Birthstone Cardigan in the latest KnitScene. It looks so good in the baby pink I'm using. I can almost feel myself wearing it - being warm and cozy while watching snow fall outside. I'll have to do some gauge work, though, so it's perfect this time.
This month, so far, I've been hat crazy. I've made four hats out of handspun that are very thick and squishy. Khloe has claimed one to wear all winter. I've got a few more hats that I want to make - and I'm obsessed with getting the Wolly Wormhead collection of sideways-knit patterns - as soon as I get the cash saved up. What's the exchange rate for pounds, anyway?
Speaking of Khloe, she got bored one afternoon. After much internal struggling I gave her a big skein of superwash merino to dye with food coloring. It's gorgeous and colorful - she used all of the neon green and most of the other colors. Now we need to find a pattern for about a thousand yards of fingering weight that's not a shawl. She's tiny, though, so maybe we can pick a sweater or something.
Let's see, what else...Oh! My friend Jenny is selling her spinning wheel....to Me! (donations for the payments will be accepted ;)). I've been doing some practicing with it and it's very, crap - I can't think of the right word. It's like my hands and feet know instinctively what to do - it's strange. I really enjoy it. Of course, so far it's all bulky but I like bulky - great for warm hats!
I've had the great pleasure of introducing my son to Doctor Who. He's very taken with it. He's gone through the seasons with Rose and Martha and is now watching Donna. I, on the other hand, have been watching the classic seasons on Netflix. I can't get enough! I'm aching for a scarf, too. I thought about asking for the yarn for Christmas but Eric thought it was a bad idea. I plan to get the paint chips suggested by Tara Wheeler and write the yardages for each color on the back so I'm prepared for any situation. I'll link Tara's site on the side. She's my new cyber crush - she even met David Tennant! She's like the ultimate Doctor Who fan.
I'd better run - I can hear the girl child calling for me and I need to get some pictures uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

Too Much

It's been a long time since my last post. So many things have happened and I've blogged in my brain a hundred times but stuff has been moving along too fast. Here's the rundown -
My email was hacked and someone sent I-don't-know-how-many people a sob story about me being trapped in London with no money so could they please wire a bunch so I can come home? It was awful - I mean, I may really never get to London even though I want to. It took a good chunk of time to find and fix the problem and regain control of my email - and set up my account through here - msbobbilicious(at)gmail(dot)com if you're interested. Ugh. If you got the message and are mad at me for wanting cash and I didn't talk to you I'm very sorry. It was some other bad child, not this one.
My happy place is falling apart. There's a problem in the staff and I'm imploding about it. See, I'm staff now - meet this term's second potions TA. So - I'm all new in the staff forum and I'm trying to keep up with potions and keep up with the rest of the Cup and work on my projects and take care of my kids and school and all and NOW all of this is happening with the staff (and I don't even know what's really going on for sure). I've been trying to catch up all morning and oce I finish this post I have more threads and posts to read and see what I can do to help. My brain hurts and I want to cry. The House Cup is my second home, the beginning of so many of my projects, the place where many dear friends are, and my main reason for being on ravelry.
My parents have had various illnesses this summer. It's tough to try to talk through things with them and not say anything to the kids that will upset them because they're way too emotional when it comes to grandma and grandpa. Have I mentioned that the sun rises and sets for grandpa in Khloe's eyes?
One bright spot, however, has been something that I've learned about my son. Kerry has behavior problems and is in a class for the learning-disabled kids at school. I've been to the class- my first day subbing was there. Some of the kids are very disabled. My son, however, doesn't notice their problems or disabilities. He sees them as his friends. He signs up to take lunch with them, he races around the track with one girl in her wheelchair just because she likes it, and he really is friends with them. I've spent alot of time worried that he had no friends - there are few kids in our neighborhood that he plays with and spent most of the summer with me and Khloe, not out playing football or kickball. In fact, a couple of the kids around here are mean to him for reasons unknown (although it is a bit of a crappy neighborhood when it comes to friends and acceptance of others). My Kerry makes me proud. Now, if he would only be nice to his sister...

Tour Cardi

This is the finished cardi from my Tour de Fleece knitting. I had a bit of a problem with the Verena pattern - the waist yoke wasn't looking like the picture so I emailed for assistance and haven't heard back. I'm pleased with this new cardi. It's the Spring Fling pattern from knitty. I used Cotton Fleece and really like this yarn. It's a bit splitty but it's so soft. It only took two weeks to knit up, too, and I worked on other things at the same time. Oh, and Coggie talked about it on her High Fiber Diet podcast! Isn't that cool?
Speaking of Coggie, she's asked for people to knit hats for the soldiers who are serving with her husband. The details are on her show notes page, so check it out if you're interested. I've stash-dived to find brown yarns to make a couple of hats. Since I've been out of the Random Acts of Kindness group I haven't had an outlet for my need to give so I'm adding this to the kidney cozies and animal shelter blankets that I'm working on this fall.
I'm not trying to make anyone think I'm trying to make myself sound all big and wonderful. I have a big yarn stash and really need to do something with it - and although I love to crochet afghans we have quite enough blankets around the house.
In other news, I have a Kindle! It's so cool. I've read two books on it so far and have put about twenty on it - some free ones and some that I bought. I also put several patterns on it, both to keep them safe if our computer dies and to knit from when they come up on my personal to-knit list. It's a gift from my family, a very early Christmas and birthday gift. I really enjoy it. Mom had me order one for her, too. I put about ten books on hers. She likes mysteries and thrillers, so our Kindles have very different content. I'd like to learn how to put some audio on it, too, but I'd hate for my ipod, Pinky, to get jealous.
It's been a great summer for the pool. I'm in it several times each week. When the water got warm it stayed that way and I'm loving it. The kids don't get in it much. I'm not sure why, though. Perfect water, sunshine, floating noodles, and music sound like a perfect to me!
Well, there's a project calling my name, so I'll be going for now. See ya later!

I'm A Winner...Most of the Time

In my last post I talked about my water bottle cozies. Well, I entered them in the repurpose-along on the Spin Control podcast and won - okay, it was a random drawing but I still won. You can't imagine how tickled I was to hear my name! I got a handmade shopping bag and a copy of Knitting Green. I love both. The book has several nice patterns and articles about natural and sustainable fibers.
I've also finished my OWL sweater. It looks great. My cables are even and it's all seamed together nicely.
I'll bet you're wondering - where are the pictures? Well, apparently I've broken the ability to get pictures from the camera to the computer. I'm not sure exactly what happened. Maybe if I'm pathetic enough Jenny will come help me - she's smart with stuff like that. If only I had smarticles instead of great hair...

Sometimes Gluing Helps

This past month has been a bit moody for me. Some days I'm great and happy and then the next day I'm sad. Last week I was having a particularly down day and I decided to make something to cheer myself up a bit. In the corner of my eye I saw our stainless water bottles sitting naked on the counter and thought that cozies would be great. I gathered up some batting (the kind for hot pads and lunch sacks), a pair of Eric's old jeans, some glue, needle and thread, and assorted decorations. A couple of hours later I had these:

Kerry's isn't in the picture because he was personalizing his with a Pokemon battle scene. I kind of made it up as I went - cut, sew, glue, cut some more, and so on. I was in a better mood when I got done, too - and I had a great cozy for my beverage while I'm in the pool. It works really well, too. I'm thinking of adding glitter.

I'm really eager to start the Tour de Fleece. I've been swatching yesterday and today - good thing I did, too. I need to go up a couple of needle sizes. Reading the Verena pattern is alot easier than I thought it would be. It looked intimidating but I figured it out in no time. I've heard that Drops patterns are hard to read, so I guess I'll have to try one of theirs, too.

Until next time, my friends!

In Honor of Grandmas

I fell in love with the vintage sweater patterns in the spring issue of Verena. They're glamorous and stylish and cool. As I browsed through the pictures again I realized that two of the sweaters reminded me of my grandmas, so I'm going to knit them the colors that were their favorites and wear them with style. This cardigan is called Stanwick. It's shape and style remind me of my Grandma Bette. I have the perfect yarn for it in my stash - Knit Pick's CotLin in Moroccan Red - a rich winey red that will be gorgeous with the stitch pattern. Grandma Bette loved red. She had pale skin and silvery white hair and red looked so nice on her. I can see her in this sweater with white slacks and a polka-dot blouse under it. I'll be wearing jeans and a tee, most likely, but she'll be with me in my mind.
This one is called Rodgers. To me it's the kind of casual dressy that Grandma D would wear to church or bingo. I'm on the lookout for the perfect yarn for it. It must be blue - something in the sapphire to midnight range, maybe with a shine. It will be great for days when I'm called to work with a skirt and plain shirt under it.

I've started listening to The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I chose it because it's read by Brenda Dayne of Cast On. I love her voice. The podcast is good but I have to fast-forward through the songs. I really like the story so far. The book is in my library but hasn't been opened - when I'm in the mood to read I tend to go toward young adult fantasy-type books like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson - things that are easy to read and take me to a different world. I'm glad that librivox exists so that I can get to enjoy the classics while knitting.

Dress Quest

There's a new book out called Sweater Quest that several podcasters have talked about. It's written by a women who documents her year long knitting of an intricate colorwork sweater. I don't have a knitting quest like that. For years now I have been desiring a vintage '70's Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress. I must have seen it as a child because I really don't remember a time when I didn't want one. The problem is that they go for a ton of money when they're for sale. She began selling new ones a few years ago but I haven't had much luck with those, either. In fact, even the patterns are hot and hard to get. They're great dresses. I suppose that I should be stashing appropriate fabrics - just in case the stars align and I manage to become the sqeeing, jumping-up-and-down owner of a pattern. If I ever manage to get a dress, well, I'd probably pass out.
Last year I considered the idea of joining the Tour de Fleece. It starts up again in July and the Knitmores are doing training in the new podcasts - but the idea of even touching fiber in gross, muggy July is icky. Gigi, however, has started a Tour for handcyclists - knitting. I found a great pattern in the summer issue of Verena - it's a little top called Amaryllis. After diving deep in the stash I found enough sport weight to make it, but there's a small problem. The top says "hot, seductive, able to make men wilt with a glance"while the yarn is "I'm a good girl" shade of pale lavender. I did a bit of browsing on the Webs site and found a few yarns that would work. If any of you have used one or more of these yarns please let me know what you thought of them - Tahki Cotton Classic Lite, Kollage Corntastic, Rowan Lenpur Linen, Dale of Norway Svale, or Berroco Comfort DK. Don't get me wrong, the lavender cotton will be nice but it will change the effect of the top completely.
If I get the top done before the Tour is done I plan to start working on Spring Fling from Knitty. It didn't appeal to me until I saw some finished ones on ravelry. I have some Cotton Fleece for that - enough to make it a bit longer. It looks like a pretty simple knit - if I concentrate on it alone it will probably only take a few days to make.
There's another pattern that didn't appeal to me when it came out but now it's calling to me. Citron on Knitty didn't even get a second glance - but ravelry has so many pretty ones that I just must make one. I recently experimented with dyeing up some self-striping yarn and I think it will work great. It's going to have to wait for a bit, though. Right now I'm knitting a kidney kozy - the first of what I hope will be many to send to Holly.

Some Memories of Grandma

Yesterday morning, very early, my grandma passed away. She'd been in the hospital for almost a week and was starting to get better - she even had gotten some coffee. I didn't go up to visit, though, because she was in intensive care and kids aren't allowed - not me as a kid, but my kids. she's been on my mind alot this past week, of course, and I'd like to talk about her for awhile. Grandma was in her 90's. She played bingo almost every week with my parents and my other relatives. She liked chocolate and told me once that if she was thin she'd look old since the fat on her face filled out the wrinkles. My grandma was divorced and Catholic - not normally two things that go together. In fact, she was a single mom in the 50's with three boys and a girl. She had a good job in the office at Caterpillar and did work in the house at night to keep everyone fed and such - of course my grandpa didn't pay child support since it wasn't invented and he had another wife and kids. (He's a whole other story, I tell ya.) I can't imagine raising my dad and his brothers - they're rowdy now and they're old. It's amazing that Grandma didn't drink. That's probably part of why she lived so long. I have five great-aunts (correct me if I'm wrong and forgot someone, mom) and Grandma told me that when they were little they used to play "Movie Star". Grandma pretended to be Jean Harlow. I still am surprised at that - I love Harlow and long for an occasion to wear a slinky bias-cut gown and be sassy and gorgeous. I should have talked about her with Grandma to see movies and stars from her point of view - actually watching classics when they were new and current. Grandma was a Cubs fan - baseball is a line in the family, Cubs or Cardinals, no other team exists. (I'm a Yankees fan, so I keep out of the conversations.) We used to have holidays at her house but the family has exploded into more people than I can remember sometimes - since she lived so long there are four generations under her. I don't think there's a wide-angle lens big enough to fit all of us in one shot. I didn't spend as much time with her as I could have - I live an hour away and have mentioned that I hate driving - but she did come here once to see my home and meet all of Eric's kids. I'm really glad that my kids knew her. They're both very upset right now, of course, but they'll have memories of spending time talking with her. I know there's more but it's escaping me right now. (My trip to Wal-Mart and usual bad experience there has damaged my thought process this afternoon.)
As I leave, please remember to call your grandma if she's still around. Be safe this weekend.

Images of My Week

Forum Failure

Lately I haven't been saying anything in the forums that I'm in. I don't know what the problem is, really. I haven't done much in the Ravenclaw room anyway - there are about two hundred posts a day there and I just can't keep up with it all. Usually I would comment on finished projects but I haven't even felt like doing that. Maybe all of this rainy weather has made me antisocial. All I want to do lately is sleep. I'm sure this mood will be over soon. A couple of good sunshiney days should get me back to normal.
In other news, I finished Mom's top but forgot to take a picture of it. It turned out nice, though, and fits her. I've cast on for my OWL sweater but only have a few rows done so far. I've knit some on the Evenstar shawl, too. I want to knit a pair of socks but the mojo is still gone. In the meantime I'll just finish what I've started and spend some time with the charity stuff.

Late Night Television

I tend to stay up late to watch That 70's show on Teen Nick - it's nice to end each day laughing, especially after any sort of dramas that the girl child may have brought home from school. I've become very familiar with the ads that are run - a preview of the next episode of Degrassi, an acne medication, a female product, and....Your Baby Can Read. It makes me wonder what kind of target audience for a baby product is watching television at midnight - teenage moms on a feeding break? It's really strange - of course, my babies didn't read at two, either, so maybe I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong - Khloe could swear like a sailer at two. Not many kids can do that, you know. I guess I get occupied on the goofiest thoughts.
What have I been working on? Well, Mom's Mother's Day present is almost done - just a few more rows. I know it's late. She doesn't mind.
I also spun some art yarn inspired by my friend Jenny's alter ego. I can't post a picture because she hasn't seen it yet. I think it turned out really neat. My spinning mojo is back. I'm working on some superskinny black merino on one spindle and some sparkly blue on the other. I browsed the beautiful batts on etsy earlier and will be saving up to get a couple. The new fiber sellers are really good - lots of color and fiber combinations to choose from. It all looks like candy.
School gets out in seven days. This school year has gone by so fast! I'm happy for warm weather, though. We've had quite enough cold, crappy days.
Pictures next time!

Gifting

Since I've left the Random Acts of Kindness group I've felt a bit of a withdrawal. I really like sending people gifts. Now, a couple of weeks ago I got a truly gorgeous box from Holly that made me tear up a bit - it was full of yarn, books, and assorted other goodies and really made up for the months of being ignored. She's great. It made me want to pay it forward in some way. I've made a couple of decisions. First, I'm going to get back into the charity knitting and crocheting. Holly is involved with a group that makes shawls and lapghans for kidney patients. I plan on using some stash to warm up some people who are in the hospital. If you remember, my dad had a kidney removed a few years ago. Thankfully he didn't need any further treatment. I'd like to make things for people who do need treatment. I'm also going to make more snuggles - little blankets for animals in shelters. Khloe is a big fan of caring for animals and has been urging me to do something - she wants to adopt a pet but making a snuggle will be a much better option. I can use stash for that, too.
The other idea I came up with is a newish feature on ravelry - the gifting of patterns. I can browse some queues, see what some people would like to have, and gift it to them. I think I'll start with people who are friends (of course, Holly has no wish list, darn it) and move on to those people who are in the same groups as me - maybe a Ravenclaw housemate or someone else who loves the Savvy Girls, for example. Unfortunately it can't be done anonymously so the giftees will know it's me but I think it will make them smile - and that, after all, is what I really want to do - make someone smile.

Spring Fever

The beautiful weather and cheerful flowers that have appeared everywhere really have inspired me.

Now I not only have nature on my mind but on my head as well! It's all croched with beads for sparkle. I feel like a woodland fairy or elf when I wear it - maybe I need wings. Hmmmm...

Not Much Kindness After All

I've been in the Random Acts Of Kindness group on ravelry since I've been on ravelry - and I always try to get at least one package sent out every month, even if it's a scrape to pay the postage. Most of the time I don't get anything from anyone. It's been two months since I've gotten the last RAK, so I posted my list on the thread that I thought was a reminder to other members that my list hasn't gotten any bites. Well, apparently that's not how it works anymore. Someone in the group got crabby with me about reposting my list. You know, I don't ask for Malabrigo and Wollmeise. I usually only ask for a pattern or two and maybe some tea. Well, screw it. I'll send the package to New Zealand tomorrow and that will be it - I'll leave the group and not ask for another thing. You can't imagine how pissed I am.
I was already upset at Lime and Violet - they spent the last episode badmouthing stay at home moms, people who live in trailers, men who buy beer....all sorts of people in my life and me as well. I spent two days talking myself out of leaving a very bad review on itunes - does anyone else get sick of hearing about Violet's plague and how "busy" she is or how much smarter Lime is than anyone else in town? I'd calmed myself down from their attack on my life and loved ones - and now a ravelry group starts in on me.
At least spring break is over and I can have some privacy again.

I Found a New Skill - Sorta

So, you know that I knit, crochet, sew a bit, all kinds of other things - but until recently I've never felted. It's kind of fun! Of course, I did something incredibly easy but still it was neat. Yes - it's a purple top hat. I made it in homor of Order of the Phoenix member Dedalus Diggle. For now it's got the pins on it for decoration, but I'm planning on making some interchangeable bands and pins - I have a great idea for ostrich plumes, tulle, and lily petals. As soon as it was pulled out of the washer, though, the weather got very springlike and warm so I won't be wearing it for awhile. That's okay. I think the girl child wants one, too.

I've been knitting on the Evenstar shawl. It's turning out great. I've finished clue one and am starting clue two - but it's on hold for a couple of days while I knit on a pair of mitts for Cylon War with my Battlestar Galactica group. The pattern came out today and a couple of people are already done with the first one. I need to get myself in gear or I'll get toasted by a toaster! It's a great pattern - I'm glad I'll be getting a pair! They'll have to wait until cooler weather, too, though.

This week the kids are on spring break. I hope the weather stays nice so they can play outside and I can work in the yard a bit. It will be a very long vacation if we're stuck inside together!

A Little Something

I've had something bothering me for a little while now - I just need to vent a bit. It is absolutely never appropriate to make fun of another person's interests. Teasing, taunting, whatever does nothing but kill self esteem. (Ask me how I know.) Yesterday Eric showed me a very upsetting video on youtube of a little girl crying hysterically and her mom, holding the camera, and her siblings teasing her and making it worse. Why the hell would a mother - or anyone - vidoetape that, let alone post it to the internet? I'm so upset with myself for watching it, but I'm more upset with a world that thinks it's acceptable. New interests should be encouraged, whether in a child or an adult. If everyone did the same things as everyone else all the time, well, use your imagination.
I'll let that be enough. You know what I'm saying and where I'm going - I need to get back to my creative mind and the anger was killing it. I'll be back in a day or two with a new project that I'm tickled with.

Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!!!

I just met another knitter in town! I'm just so excited. I told her about ravelry and she told me about a fiber guild that's kind of close. I got her email so I can let her know when the group meets again. She also told me that she spins alpaca from a local farm - how cool is that? Know how we met? I was wearing one of my shawls! We exchanged some information while we could - she's a cashier at Kmart so I had to go when people got in line. I'm just so excited, though. I had to tak about before my head exploded from happiness. Squee!

Technological Frustration

Last week I was helping some kids with their vocabulary words at a grade school in town. They were working along so I looked out the window because the sun had come out - it had been raining like crazy all morning - and there, sitting on the ground, was a gorgeous blue jay. He was spectacular. His colorings put an idea in my head to make a colorway and knit a sweater for myself in those blues and grays. Unfortunately, however, we don't have cell phones anymore. Even when we did the camera on mine was crappy. At that moment I would have loved to have been able to take a picture and email it to myself. I suppose it will be a little while before we get phones again, too. I'd really like to get an iphone, though, because of frustration number two - many podcasts now have apps for iphones with special content and features. It's very frustrating for me, and I'm sure other listeners, because not everyone is Apple-crazy. Maybe I'd like to look at an android phone - but the apps probably don't work for that. I don't have an ipod touch, either - my little pink buddy is a first-generation nano, no bells or whistles, just audio pleasure. I won't stop listening to the podcasts that have decided to add app features, but I will be pouty about it.
I guess if any of you want to buy me an iphone, or another app-friendly smart phone, so that I can keep up, I would love you forever and sing your praises daily. Just sayin'.

My Favorite Podcasts

Well, I warned you all awhile ago that I would share my favorite podcasts with you. These are not all of the ones that I subscribe to, just the ones that excite me the most when there's a new episode.
Let's talk about the non-knitting ones first. I only listen to one Doctor Who podcast and that's the big one - Doctor Who:Podshock. I think they were the first on the subject and they're amazing. The hosts are very knowledgeable on the episodes, audiobooks, actors, and everything else about the show. I love the interviews they've done with former Doctors and companions and the episode reviews. The latest episodes have been from the biggest and oldest Doctor Who convention - Gallifrey One. Yes, someday I will be there having cocktails with Louis, James, Ken, Tara, and all of the people who make it sound like the best place to be in February.
I listen to two main Harry Potter podcasts - MuggleCast and PotterCast. Both have several hosts and cover the same stories and news, but they each have unique features. For example, PotterCast has a segment called Potter Pundits which explores the Harry Potter books in relation to other types of literature. MuggleCast has a segment called Chapter by Chapter - you know what that is. I like listening to the hosts talk about each chapter in detail in regards to both what's happened in previous books and what's still to come. Both podcasts are usually an hour long and have fun, interesting hosts - they all know each other, too, so once in awhile one show will reference the other. I've linked to the main webpage for each, instead of straight to the podcast, so you can see the other fun things each site has.
The last podcast I enjoy that's not about knitting is Smart Mouths. It's news, politics, entertainment, and a variety of things. The hosts, some of whom are from MuggleCast, are young and educated but also not afraid to be silly. It's not something for the mild - they use very adult language. I must confess, most of what I know about the world's politics I've learned from these guys.
Okay, on to knitting! It's a big list so prepare yourselves. Of course, since many of you are knitters you probably already listen to them all!
We'll start with Brass Needles. Miss Kalendar, the hostess, has such a sweet voice ad not only talks about her knitting and spinning but sci-fi and steampunk. I have a huge online girl crush on her - how can I not? Yarn, Star Trek, steampunk conventions....she's amazing. Oh, and she's beautiful and brilliant, too. Of course!
Electric Sheep is so funny. She's English, so there's the great accent - but she has great essays and the absolute best reviews of knitting magazines ever. Once in awhile she gets upset and lets off some steam but it's never trivial. One of her episodes has a story she wrote about her knitting group robbing the Victoria and Albert Museum - cracked me up to the point of not being able to stand.
Double Knit is two women who knit, watch lots of movies, and read tons of books. I don't know how they have time! There's also a baby who contributes the occasional adorable noises and giggles.
The High Fiber Diet is all kinds of content - knitting, crochet, spinning, gadgets, even recipes! Coggie has alot of tips and tricks to share. She's had several different cohosts, including her husband, Sarge, and her daughter, Boo. There's alot of laughter with Coggie.
I believe I've already talked about how much I love the Knitmore Girls. How can I not? Both Jasmine and Gigi are amazing knitters. They have segments in the show called Mother Knows Best and When Knitting Attacks - both full of helpful information to make one's knitting better. I could go on for days about them.
Chrissy from Manic Purl has, I must say, the greatest opening music for her show. I dance every time. She's in Vancouver and I loved hearing her excitement about the Olympics this year. She podcasts like she's talking on the phone to her best friend - full of enthusiasm.
Stash and Burn is two girls from San Francisco. They've been podcasting for a long time together. They use yarns I've never heard of before and talk about them so that it's easy to visualize. They also led me to check out patterns in my early days - to look at knitwear beyond what I saw on Craftster.
Does anyone not listen to David on Sticks and String? His accent alone is worth the half hour of his show - but his essays are so good and thought-provoking. I think it's adorable how he kind of talks to himself in a rambly way sometimes, too. He knits very complicated things - but seems to only work on one thing at a time. He's a sci-fi lover, too.
Meghan and Stitch It - well, I really don't know where to start. I learned so much about spinning from her. She's so much more than fibery, though - she's a make-it-from-scratch and grow-it-yourself powerhouse of supermomness. I need to learn how to be motivated from her. She seems to do more in a day than I get done in three.
So those are my must-listen-to podcasts. Please check them out. A search on itunes will find them all and many, many more. You don't even need an ipod - just speakers on your computer.
I want to confess, though - alot of these podcasters are good friends with each other. I'm so jealous of that. I'm in their groups on ravelry but never know what to say - I'm very shy in forums for some reason and don't know how to become friends with online acquaintances - well, except for Jenny, of course, but that was a different situation. If you could offer any advice or suggestions I would love it.
I hope the links work for you - please let me know of any problems or if you have any podcasts I should check out.

Percy!

I'm a bit slow with this post - days are getting away from me again. I took the kids to see Percy Jackson last week and we loved it. It's alot of fun. There was everything I love in a movie - adventure, a quest, eye candy, a good but not sappy ending...all in all a great time. No, it's not exactly like the book - but what "based on" movies are? I liked the changes - movie Grover is hilarious, the Pearls of Persephone made for a really fun way to get to Hades and add some action, and Persephone herself was cool and sassy. I imagine the missing characters will come up in future movies - assuming the rest of the books are made into movies. I want to see it again but the chances of that happening are slim - I'd have to go tonight and I have knitting tonight. I doubt there would be time to knit, feed people, and get to the theater without running into myself. I do know, however, that I will be getting the dvd and watching it many, many times.

Wow!

Did you guys watch the Opening Ceremonies last night? I so want to go to Newfoundland now to hear the music and see the dancing - and those costumes totally rocked! I don't even know what to say about the beautiful boy who flew during the Joni Mitchell prairie part - magical. I love the Olympics.
Before I go, please say a little prayer for the family of the athlete who died yesterday. What a horrible tragedy.
Hugs!

It's Percy Day!

We are so excited to see the Percy Jackson movie that opens tonight! I made Kerry this hat to celebrate.

I'm rather pleased with how it turned out - except

apparently my gauge was a bit off. oops.

So, is everyone tired of the snow yet? I think just about the whole country has gotten at least a little bit. I hope you're all keeping warm and cozy.

That's all - short and sweet! Happy Valentine's Day - hugs!

New Warmers

The assignment for divination was to make something to protect our palms. Well, you all know how I love my mitts! These are made out of the same Handgefaerbt that I made socks out of last year - the skeins are so big that I still have some left!
Right now I'm working on a couple of February assignments - transfiguration and herbology. I have an idea for both charms and DADA, too - and my brother's sweater is still going strong. No, I'm not overdoing it. I'm trying to cut down on nutrasweet and the best way for me to do that is to keep busy. I'm not one to do a ton of big projects, either. I want to make sweaters for myself and have the patterns and stash to do it - I just need to make a plan to get it done.
What else is new? Khloe got straight A's on her report card - again. I don't dare try to pay her for good grades or I'd be broke. She's still not interested in Harry Potter, though. She watches the movies with us but the books just don't grab her. Kerry and I are very excited about the upcoming Percy Jackson movie - the ads look great. I hope it comes here so we can watch it a couple of times - I don't like driving, especially at night, so I don't go to movies that aren't here. (Why don't I like driving? Tiny car, big animals in the road, no cell phone...you understand.)
I'll be going now - more pics as the projects get done!

I Apologize

I know that you come here to see pictures of my kids and projects and to hear stories or to see what kind of rambling I'm doing - but lately there's been alot of personal stuff going on in my life. Oh, I've been knitting - it's amazing how much stockinette in the round can get done when the thoughts are fighting in my head. I'm just not very wordy right now. I'm kind of keeping things in because that's what I do and besides, this is a fiber blog, not a life blog. Once things settle down a bit I'll be back better than ever, I promise. I'll be showing you what I'm making for the House Cup, too, so you can see how my work is getting better. I just need to rock back and forth in the corner for a bit.
Please, if you can, donate to Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross. If you want something for your donation, ravelry has a huge list of designers who are donating their proceeds to charity. You can even gift patterns to other ravelers, too. I don't know if any groups are collecting afghan squares - please let me know so I can crochet some. My heart aches every time I see those sad children.
Hugs to you all.

Ten in '10

The latest episode of Stash and Burn discussed an idea called Ten in '10. The premise is to select the ten projects in your ravelry queue that have been there for awhile but keep getting pushed back for whatever reason and resolve to make them this year. I decided to give it a go - I have a few patterns that have been in my head for awhile. I only have six that I tagged in my queue but I intend to get them done soon. I'm going to apply the concept to other things as well. For example, three podcasters have talked about the book The Outlander. It's now on the list of must-reads. I know there are other books that I've been wanting to enjoy but just haven't for whatever reason. They are now another Ten in '10 list.
I've decided to write to the DIY network about fixing the house. With Eric's hours cut and me not exactly on the top of the hiring list it's going to be impossible to take care of the things that need to be done. Of course, thousands of people try all of the time - but it's worth a shot anyway - unless any of you want to get some roofing experience under your belt! (trade ya some knitwear!)
The new year has been lazy so far - cold and snowy, but lazy. We've been relaxing with Harry Potter and some of the TeenNick shows but mostly just the usual being together. I can't wait to get back to normal - kids at school, knitting group, killing the phone battery talking to Jenny.
Can anyone design a custom avatar for me? I'd like a combination of Ravenclaw and Battlestar Galactica that says "Cosmo" on it - Cosmo being my new call name.
Gotta be going - Legend of the Seeker is on now and, well, Richard is eye candy.