So the world didn't end on the 21st. I wonder how many people crawled out of their underground bunkers on the 22nd only to realize that they are now in major debt. Poor bastards. My sister and I in the meantime spent the "end of the world" playing Skyrim; a ridiculously addictive fantasy video game where you have special powers that let you absorb the souls of dragons.What I especially like about the game is that while there is a central story line that you follow, you can always tell people to f- right off, walk in the other direction, and do side quest for the next week that have absolutely nothing to do with the main story. It's great. So that is how my little sister and I would have perished if the world would have ended; fighting video game dragons.
Look on the bright side, with all the end of the world dooms day prophesies that haven't passed we can all turn to our children and grandchildren one day and go "You know...I survived the end of the world..TWICE!" They'll either think we are the coolest people in the whole WORLD (only to then realize that everyone "survived" and that we're not actually special and awesome), or they'll think we have gone completely mental. Either way I'll get to hit people with my cane when I'm older and no one will think anything of it 'cause I'm crazy grandma. It's a win-win situation.
School will start on the 2nd, which I am terribly excited for but dread at the same time. One of my online classes already has the "classroom" open, with an early assignment already posted. Being the go-getter that I am, I already did the assignment and leisurely read through the other responses. My conclusion thus far? half my classmates are idiots that need to revisit middle school grammar. =.= It simply never ceases to amaze me that people who have only used English for their whole lives still can't spell properly, or form a coherent sentence.
This of course makes me wonder if my traditional classes (sitting in a classroom) are going to be any different. Gods I hope so. Otherwise I might have to throw books at people. I simply don't have time or the patience for any more Courtney's in my studies....that reference will only mean something to like 5 people, who have heard the story of Courtney. And I'm sure those people don't even read this blog.
Oh! here's a random thought.
When you look at Mayan calendars, they were usually carved into stone, right? Could you guys imagine being the poor soul that screws one of those calenders up right before he's done? Like one chisel stroke too far to the right? one notch too many in the tree looking thing? Would you tell someone? "Sorry High Priest, I sorta messed up our calender." Or do you just leave it and then move to a different city? start living off the jungle and never return...make friend with a jaguar...integrate yourself into their society and become King of the Jaguars...
I need to stop reading fantasy novels.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Le spinning update
Honestly though, it's more of Le-I'm-bored-and-need-something-to-do-while-the-alpaca-washes post. But that's a long title.
I got a surprise day off from work today, and spend the majority of it doing absolutely nothing. Didn't even bother calling my future college to check on something. Whoops. I can always do it tomorrow. Might make the husband take me up to the school to find some stuff out...after all, he's gotta be good for something.
I'm doing far more spinning these days then knitting. Mostly because I have nothing of interest to knit while I'm at work and Thing 2 is napping. And I'm getting kind of tired of knitting fingerless gloves and socks; imagine that. The stole I'm testing for mom is interesting and keeps me entertained for a while, but because it's lace in every row, and there are 205 stitches (or something like that), it's not a project I can put down easily.
But all the spinning is making me even better at what I'm doing. It's made me turn out things like the pictures below here. "Soot" was a "I wonder what it will look like if" kind of yarn. I held two chunks of roving together and drafted them out together. The beaded one was pretty much the same thing, with the added element of "how will it look with beads?". Mom liked it so much I'm making her her own skein; out of merino =D. There are a little over 950 beads in the yarn. No, I did not count, I used the tiny bit of math skills I actually picked up from the last class. Math...who'd have thought, right? The pink/orange/yellow yarn is what was left of the Targhee/Silk blend I purchased. I wanted to play around with some of Mom's dyes, and that is what I got. It was also an attempt at making longer color sections in a yarn...I'm hoping it actually turned out that way. But since I won't be knitting it up, and have in fact put it into my Etsy shop *cough*shamelessadvertisment*cough*, I can only wonder and hope that it did what I wanted it to.
I'm not sure what I'll work on next. I have enough roving from ParadiseFibers to keep me going for at least a little while. I might focus on knitting for a little bit too. Give Buggy a bit of a break...poor wheel. But I really wan to work on some of the alpaca fleece first. I've never spun alpaca before, so it should be interesting. Especially since it's still in lock form. =3 I also want to make the beaded yarn again in shades of blue with blue and clear beads. Maybe I'll flip a coin.
I got a surprise day off from work today, and spend the majority of it doing absolutely nothing. Didn't even bother calling my future college to check on something. Whoops. I can always do it tomorrow. Might make the husband take me up to the school to find some stuff out...after all, he's gotta be good for something.
I'm doing far more spinning these days then knitting. Mostly because I have nothing of interest to knit while I'm at work and Thing 2 is napping. And I'm getting kind of tired of knitting fingerless gloves and socks; imagine that. The stole I'm testing for mom is interesting and keeps me entertained for a while, but because it's lace in every row, and there are 205 stitches (or something like that), it's not a project I can put down easily.
But all the spinning is making me even better at what I'm doing. It's made me turn out things like the pictures below here. "Soot" was a "I wonder what it will look like if" kind of yarn. I held two chunks of roving together and drafted them out together. The beaded one was pretty much the same thing, with the added element of "how will it look with beads?". Mom liked it so much I'm making her her own skein; out of merino =D. There are a little over 950 beads in the yarn. No, I did not count, I used the tiny bit of math skills I actually picked up from the last class. Math...who'd have thought, right? The pink/orange/yellow yarn is what was left of the Targhee/Silk blend I purchased. I wanted to play around with some of Mom's dyes, and that is what I got. It was also an attempt at making longer color sections in a yarn...I'm hoping it actually turned out that way. But since I won't be knitting it up, and have in fact put it into my Etsy shop *cough*shamelessadvertisment*cough*, I can only wonder and hope that it did what I wanted it to.
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| 'Desert Diamond' 2-ply with cotton thread |
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| 'Soot' 3-ply fingering weight |
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| 'Sun set' 3-ply fingering weight |
Saturday, October 13, 2012
What's with all the lace?
I can't spin anything other then lace. Seriously.
It takes real effort to make a fingering weight single now. And you know what? It sucks.
It started as a personal challenge with my spindles: How thin can I draft out before the weight of the spindle will be too much. Turn out, with the BFL (blue face leister) that I used, pretty darn thin. I made a 3 ply lace out of the first half. 3-ply, using the chain method. For those of you who don't spin, that means I took my single strand of hand spun yarn, turn it into 3 strands, and then twisted them together.
I'm not going to lie, I was excited. Like really excited. It meant I was good enough at spinning that I could make a super fine single. Need something to floss with? done!
Now, I thought it would take me a little to get such fine spinning done on Buggy (the wheel). After all, my feet are now controlling how fast my fibers are being twisted, and that can take some getting used to. Yeah....no. The first yarn I spun on my wheel was lace.
Now why would I be complaining about that? because making art yarn with lace is flipping hard!You try to shove beads and flowers and texture onto yarn that's as thin as a needle and see how well you do.
So instead of working at making yarn thin, I have to work at making yarn thick And frankly it feels strange. I hate letting a lot of fiber slip through my fingers. Which might just be my frugal mind going "you're wasting money!" Who knows.
Currently I'm working on a fingering weight single that I'll ply together with thread and beads. And it's taking some serious effort to make the single fingering weight...there are far more lace section in it then I would like, but oh well.
Tomorrow I'll also be dying some roving of mine that I have. It's 4 oz of wonderful Targhee/Silk that has been in my stash since February. It used to be 8oz, but I spun half of it for Mom. Lace of course. xD Since the fibers were natural, she'll be using her own dyes later on. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.
For the other half I've picked out some yellow, orange, and red colors from her, and will figure out how I want to dye the fibers tomorrow; and even want colors I want to use. Pictures will be posted for sure.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some yarn to argue with.
It takes real effort to make a fingering weight single now. And you know what? It sucks.
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| BFL challenge |
I'm not going to lie, I was excited. Like really excited. It meant I was good enough at spinning that I could make a super fine single. Need something to floss with? done!
Now, I thought it would take me a little to get such fine spinning done on Buggy (the wheel). After all, my feet are now controlling how fast my fibers are being twisted, and that can take some getting used to. Yeah....no. The first yarn I spun on my wheel was lace.
Now why would I be complaining about that? because making art yarn with lace is flipping hard!You try to shove beads and flowers and texture onto yarn that's as thin as a needle and see how well you do.
So instead of working at making yarn thin, I have to work at making yarn thick And frankly it feels strange. I hate letting a lot of fiber slip through my fingers. Which might just be my frugal mind going "you're wasting money!" Who knows.
Currently I'm working on a fingering weight single that I'll ply together with thread and beads. And it's taking some serious effort to make the single fingering weight...there are far more lace section in it then I would like, but oh well.
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| Mom's Targhee/Silk |
For the other half I've picked out some yellow, orange, and red colors from her, and will figure out how I want to dye the fibers tomorrow; and even want colors I want to use. Pictures will be posted for sure.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have some yarn to argue with.
Friday, September 28, 2012
How far I've come
My first attempt at spinning was a disaster.
It all started when one of the ladies from my old knitting group schlepped her folding spinning wheel to the group. Mind you, we met on Thursday evenings in the cafe portion of a Barnes&Noble book store at the time. And if we weren't strange enough already to other patrons, playing with our sticks and yarn, we certainly became strange then. But she sat there, unfolded the wheel, grabbed some pretty blue roving (at the time I only knew it as wool) and happily spun away while she chatted with the others.
....While everyone else had lost interest in watching what she was doing, I was hooked. At this point I had become good enough at knitting that I didn't need to look at my fingers anymore while working a plain sock, so my eye were glued to her actions. I watched with rapt attention as her hands did this pulling thing, and her feet quickly treadled the peddles in front of her. The roving in her hand was sucked onto the bobbin and soon she had to grab more from her bag.
....Eventually I started asking her questions, like how did it work, what was she doing, how did she stop the yarn from untwisting when it was all done, what was the fiber she was working with? And then she said those 5 magic words "Do you want to try?"
....At first I just giggled and shook my head like most people do when you offer them something. You know what I mean, I'm sure. Someone asks you if you want something and you politely shake your head and tell them "no no, that's alright." when in fact you are so intrigued by the idea that you're practically buzzing with wanting to try. But Lise insisted, removed her bobbin of pretty roving, slapped on a new one and told me to get my butt over. She showed me what to do, then moved over and had me sit down. At this point our group had stopped working and watched me with amusement.
....I sat down, and with Lise's instruction began spinning. It was a disaster from the get go. First I didn't treadle enough, so when I'd draft out the fibers they would break. Rejoining them took forever and usually the wheel would suck in the yarn when it broke off so we had to go fishing for it. Then I treadled too fast and the yarn began kinking back on itself...badly. My feet and hand's just couldn't get a rhythm going. Lise said there was nothing wrong with stopping the wheel and drafting out a bit to get the twist out. And that is what I did. Now here is where it get's really bad.
.... Lise didn't mention that I could turn the wheel a little by hand to let the spun up yarn wind onto the bobbin; I quickly ran out of arm length but not twist. So in my head (and I'm not sure what neurons didn't fire together that day), the longer the distance between my hands and the wheel, the more over-twist I can let into my roving. So I asked my friend to hold a bit of the single to the side. Then I asked her to pass it on to my sister. Then I asked my sister to pass it on to the lady sitting next to her who had stopped knitting at this point to hold her sides as she laughed hysterically. Then I stood up. Then I held the yarn really high above my head. Then I stood on a chair. I can still draft out yarn and get over-kink out. I'm 5'5" if that helps you visualize it any better.
....At this point the yarn is going from my hand (held above my head again) to the lady sitting three chairs away, to the wheel. Not only is my knitting group laughing hysterically (I think my Mom stopped breathing for a moment), but the other patrons of B&N are also chuckling and laughing. Lise is laughing so hard she's crying and has taken several staggering steps away. And finally, just when I think we'll have to cut the yarn off, she turns the wheel slowly by hand and it winds the yarn slowly onto bobbin. I was able to climb down from the chair, and stopped messing around with the wheel.
....By the next group she had brought a spindle along with some roving, showed me how to use it, and it turned out to be a much better experience. Mostly because I could spin the spindle, and then hold it between my legs while I drafted out the fiber (known as park and draft).
So as I sit there, lovingly petting my new Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel every 5 minutes (yes, I'm one of those people) and contemplating what I should spin up next, I can't help but think of that first experience from 2009. I still have that first skein sitting in a bin around here; the thing looking more like a super thick dreadlock then a skein of handspun yarn.
It was a interesting shove into a whole new wooly world, and I'm glad I took the plunge.
It all started when one of the ladies from my old knitting group schlepped her folding spinning wheel to the group. Mind you, we met on Thursday evenings in the cafe portion of a Barnes&Noble book store at the time. And if we weren't strange enough already to other patrons, playing with our sticks and yarn, we certainly became strange then. But she sat there, unfolded the wheel, grabbed some pretty blue roving (at the time I only knew it as wool) and happily spun away while she chatted with the others.
....While everyone else had lost interest in watching what she was doing, I was hooked. At this point I had become good enough at knitting that I didn't need to look at my fingers anymore while working a plain sock, so my eye were glued to her actions. I watched with rapt attention as her hands did this pulling thing, and her feet quickly treadled the peddles in front of her. The roving in her hand was sucked onto the bobbin and soon she had to grab more from her bag.
....Eventually I started asking her questions, like how did it work, what was she doing, how did she stop the yarn from untwisting when it was all done, what was the fiber she was working with? And then she said those 5 magic words "Do you want to try?"
....At first I just giggled and shook my head like most people do when you offer them something. You know what I mean, I'm sure. Someone asks you if you want something and you politely shake your head and tell them "no no, that's alright." when in fact you are so intrigued by the idea that you're practically buzzing with wanting to try. But Lise insisted, removed her bobbin of pretty roving, slapped on a new one and told me to get my butt over. She showed me what to do, then moved over and had me sit down. At this point our group had stopped working and watched me with amusement.
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| First try at a wheel |
.... Lise didn't mention that I could turn the wheel a little by hand to let the spun up yarn wind onto the bobbin; I quickly ran out of arm length but not twist. So in my head (and I'm not sure what neurons didn't fire together that day), the longer the distance between my hands and the wheel, the more over-twist I can let into my roving. So I asked my friend to hold a bit of the single to the side. Then I asked her to pass it on to my sister. Then I asked my sister to pass it on to the lady sitting next to her who had stopped knitting at this point to hold her sides as she laughed hysterically. Then I stood up. Then I held the yarn really high above my head. Then I stood on a chair. I can still draft out yarn and get over-kink out. I'm 5'5" if that helps you visualize it any better.
....At this point the yarn is going from my hand (held above my head again) to the lady sitting three chairs away, to the wheel. Not only is my knitting group laughing hysterically (I think my Mom stopped breathing for a moment), but the other patrons of B&N are also chuckling and laughing. Lise is laughing so hard she's crying and has taken several staggering steps away. And finally, just when I think we'll have to cut the yarn off, she turns the wheel slowly by hand and it winds the yarn slowly onto bobbin. I was able to climb down from the chair, and stopped messing around with the wheel.
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| First spindle handspun |
So as I sit there, lovingly petting my new Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel every 5 minutes (yes, I'm one of those people) and contemplating what I should spin up next, I can't help but think of that first experience from 2009. I still have that first skein sitting in a bin around here; the thing looking more like a super thick dreadlock then a skein of handspun yarn.
It was a interesting shove into a whole new wooly world, and I'm glad I took the plunge.
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| Current wheel project |
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Oregon Fail
Yesterday my Mom, sister, sisters friend, and I made a little road trip down to Oregon for the Flock and Fiber Festival. We were going to pick up my Schacht Ladybug wheel. I was so excited that the night before I was contemplating going to bed at 8pm just so that Saturday would come sooner. Instead I made it all the way until 10pm. xD But I digress.
A trip that should have taken 2.5 hours each way, took more like 7.
At 9am on Saturday we gassed up the car and headed out to the freeway. We made very good time (in my opinion at least) because there weren't that many car on the road. I don't blame them, who the heck wants to be driving around at 9am on a Saturday?
We went a little bit past Chehalis when the tire pressure light came on. So we pulled into the nearest gas station, put air into the tire, Maggie and Lucia got some snacks and coffee and we tried to set off again. But the tire pressure light was still on. Mom thought one of the tires might have a leak in it, and didn't want to drive on the freeway. So we took back roads to the nearest Les Schwab...which was 22miles back the way we'd come. =.= Guy at Les Schwab said that if too much air is put into a tire it can make the gauge act up. So he let some air out, and put us back on the road.
We hit the freeway again, and were probably 10 miles past the gas station we had stopped at when the light came back on. And then turned back off. And then came on again. And this time it stayed on. Mom panicked again, so we got off the freeway and drove 15miles to the left to yet another Les Schwab.
They people there were going to replace the tire that had presumably a hole, but it would take an hour because there were 7 other people before us. At this point it was 12:55pm.
We sat around the tire center for an hour and of course I didn't have anything to knit...or to spin. The ONE day when I looked at my simple sock project and though "Naw, I won't need that because I'll be busy running all over the Fiber Fest" we get stuck for an hour at a tire center. It was horrible.
But the guy looked at all four tires and couldn't find anything wrong with them. So he looked at the cars computer, and there was the problem. The computer was making the tire pressure gauge act up. So he reset it and send us on our way.
An entire 2 hours of my life and time wasted for something as simple as a computer reset! =.=;; Story of my flippen life.
We suck at this road trip thing.
But we got to the Festival, I paid the remaining balance on my wheel and it was being assembled for me as I was shopping around. I got to see some of the sheep, and my resolve to own one or two is even stronger now. They are just so cute! And some only come up to your knee!! It would be like owning a medium sized dog. A dog that doesn't bark and eats grass and grain and gives you fleece.
With the fest closing soon we made it back to the hall where my wheel was, and bought it; right from under someones nose. The guy was looking to buy it too, but I was there first and I had made arrangements already, darn it. >=D Mwahaha.
The trip home as much better with no incidents. I even got to drive back about halfway through; it was nice being able to go 70 mph =).
We might go again next year, and hopefully this time the car isn't going to act up and rob us of 2 hours. Stupid car.
A trip that should have taken 2.5 hours each way, took more like 7.
At 9am on Saturday we gassed up the car and headed out to the freeway. We made very good time (in my opinion at least) because there weren't that many car on the road. I don't blame them, who the heck wants to be driving around at 9am on a Saturday?
We went a little bit past Chehalis when the tire pressure light came on. So we pulled into the nearest gas station, put air into the tire, Maggie and Lucia got some snacks and coffee and we tried to set off again. But the tire pressure light was still on. Mom thought one of the tires might have a leak in it, and didn't want to drive on the freeway. So we took back roads to the nearest Les Schwab...which was 22miles back the way we'd come. =.= Guy at Les Schwab said that if too much air is put into a tire it can make the gauge act up. So he let some air out, and put us back on the road.
We hit the freeway again, and were probably 10 miles past the gas station we had stopped at when the light came back on. And then turned back off. And then came on again. And this time it stayed on. Mom panicked again, so we got off the freeway and drove 15miles to the left to yet another Les Schwab.
They people there were going to replace the tire that had presumably a hole, but it would take an hour because there were 7 other people before us. At this point it was 12:55pm.
We sat around the tire center for an hour and of course I didn't have anything to knit...or to spin. The ONE day when I looked at my simple sock project and though "Naw, I won't need that because I'll be busy running all over the Fiber Fest" we get stuck for an hour at a tire center. It was horrible.
But the guy looked at all four tires and couldn't find anything wrong with them. So he looked at the cars computer, and there was the problem. The computer was making the tire pressure gauge act up. So he reset it and send us on our way.
An entire 2 hours of my life and time wasted for something as simple as a computer reset! =.=;; Story of my flippen life.
We suck at this road trip thing.
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| My Ladybug |
With the fest closing soon we made it back to the hall where my wheel was, and bought it; right from under someones nose. The guy was looking to buy it too, but I was there first and I had made arrangements already, darn it. >=D Mwahaha.
The trip home as much better with no incidents. I even got to drive back about halfway through; it was nice being able to go 70 mph =).
We might go again next year, and hopefully this time the car isn't going to act up and rob us of 2 hours. Stupid car.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
A bag of skittles is more organized!
Yesterday was the first day of school for most kids here in the state of Washington, so I took Thing 1 to school; it was her first day of kindergarten.
We arrived at 8:30, and hurried inside. A staff member directed us to the cafeteria, but since Thing 1 had already eaten at home I didn't see the point in sitting there so I asked the staff member if we could just go to the classroom. The lady very nicely explained to us that teachers don't really want students to go to the classrooms yet because they are getting ready; fair enough. So we waited in the cafeteria until a lady with a microphone said that K-2 should go to the Gym where the teachers would pick them up. The names were hung up on the walls and Thing 1 went to stand under her teachers name.
There were 6 other classes in the gym, and a ton of parents and younger siblings. It was a bit crazy. I assumed that all the teachers would come in, that someone with a microphone would ask for silence, then the teachers would stand at the start of the lines, and one by one every class would leave the gym and go to their classrooms. Nope! 'cause that would make sense and why would we want that?!
Instead, the first 4 kids in Thing 1's line vanished and a parent waved his hand in my general direction and said, "The class is going this way!" If it hadn't been for that man, I would still be standing in the gym with the girls.
The hallway was chaotic. There were parents and students and teachers everywhere. We finally got to the classroom and had to then stand in the hallways for like 10 minutes while the teacher stood by the door and said hello to every single flippin' child and spoke to the parent briefly. She said hi to Thing 1, confirmed who I was, checked a sheet next to her, then told me a few things and it was done with. Then I walked back through the chaos with Thing 2 and we went home.
Now why the hell couldn't the teacher open up the classroom and let kids sit there? That's what they did with my sister when she was in elementary school. If you were hungry you went to the cafeteria to eat, if you weren't you sat in the classroom until the day started. Simple. Easy-peasy. Buuuuut no. We're going to make the kids go all kinds of ways and confuse the hell out of them; I'm 24 and even I was confused!!
There was no organization what so ever...like I said, a bag of skittles is more organized then that school.
It's going to be a fun year. =.=
We arrived at 8:30, and hurried inside. A staff member directed us to the cafeteria, but since Thing 1 had already eaten at home I didn't see the point in sitting there so I asked the staff member if we could just go to the classroom. The lady very nicely explained to us that teachers don't really want students to go to the classrooms yet because they are getting ready; fair enough. So we waited in the cafeteria until a lady with a microphone said that K-2 should go to the Gym where the teachers would pick them up. The names were hung up on the walls and Thing 1 went to stand under her teachers name.
There were 6 other classes in the gym, and a ton of parents and younger siblings. It was a bit crazy. I assumed that all the teachers would come in, that someone with a microphone would ask for silence, then the teachers would stand at the start of the lines, and one by one every class would leave the gym and go to their classrooms. Nope! 'cause that would make sense and why would we want that?!
Instead, the first 4 kids in Thing 1's line vanished and a parent waved his hand in my general direction and said, "The class is going this way!" If it hadn't been for that man, I would still be standing in the gym with the girls.
The hallway was chaotic. There were parents and students and teachers everywhere. We finally got to the classroom and had to then stand in the hallways for like 10 minutes while the teacher stood by the door and said hello to every single flippin' child and spoke to the parent briefly. She said hi to Thing 1, confirmed who I was, checked a sheet next to her, then told me a few things and it was done with. Then I walked back through the chaos with Thing 2 and we went home.
Now why the hell couldn't the teacher open up the classroom and let kids sit there? That's what they did with my sister when she was in elementary school. If you were hungry you went to the cafeteria to eat, if you weren't you sat in the classroom until the day started. Simple. Easy-peasy. Buuuuut no. We're going to make the kids go all kinds of ways and confuse the hell out of them; I'm 24 and even I was confused!!
There was no organization what so ever...like I said, a bag of skittles is more organized then that school.
It's going to be a fun year. =.=
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Friggen pissin' me off....(and art yarn)
Fastest way to loose me as a customer forever? Don't follow through with stuff.
As you guys may know I'm making payments on a spinning wheel. When the youngest of the two girls I watch, Thing 2, threw away my piece of paper where we'd been keeping track of our payments (I couldn't fault the 2yr old for wanting to help me with cleaning out my purse...who could get mad at a 2yr old holding a hand full of trashed papers asking "Ga'bage?") I sent an e-mail to the shop owner. On July 3rd I received an e-mail saying that her tracking sheet was somewhere on her desk and that she was hoping she'd have everything cleaned up that weekend. By August 20th I still hadn't gotten a reply. How flipping big is her desk?! So I sent her another friendly e-mail. Another excuse, and still nothing. I am becoming incredibly cross with this lady. It should not be that difficult to hunt down a piece of paper and tell me how much I still have left on a $656 spinning wheel. That's a lot of money to spend at once...especially when I don't make a whole lot to begin with. To say that I am displeases would be like saying the sun is only a little bit warm. And I certainly will not be doing business with this shop again.
My school is also ticking me off a little bit. Their degree just became far more complicated and headachy for me so I'm transferring to a different college. I'll be starting with them at the beginning of January which is winter quarter. That means I'm taking a bit of a break from school, but only 3 months worth. I could have probably scrambled around to get into Fall Quarter, which starts on the 24th of Sept. but honestly, that was way more scrambling then I'm willing to do. Especially when it means that I'd have to quit working so I could get to one of my classes in the afternoon. I'd rather work for a little bit longer and then start school full-time again.
On a completely unrelated note: I'm making art yarn. Now this might not seem strange to some people, but I don't art yarn (well, most of it anyways). There are some skeins that people make that make me think "wow, that is so pretty!" and then there are skeins that people make that makes me think "Did you even try to make this into something resembling yarn?" These skeins usually look really horrible, in my opinion, and I don't understand how someone can call it "art" yarn. Thing 2 is more artistic with a pixie stick.
But after seeing a tutorial on how to incorporate hand made angora flowers into art yarn I figured I'd give it a try too....with felt. xD bought myself some felt sheets in red, yellow, and white and made little red and yellow flowers. Pulled some sewing thread through the middle, leaving 2 longs ends, and then incorporated the ends into the roving as I was spinning it. And the flowers stay in place pretty well. Now of course I'm not recommending that people yank on them, but just knitting or crocheting something with them won't make the flowers all out.
Of course I'm also thinking of other yarns that I could make with this method, where there is just enough cute to make it "artsy" but not too much crazy to make it unusable ('cause I'm sorry, but some of the art yarns out there should not be used to knit something...ever). I'm thinking of stars or snowflakes in blue roving. Or ducks. xD
As you guys may know I'm making payments on a spinning wheel. When the youngest of the two girls I watch, Thing 2, threw away my piece of paper where we'd been keeping track of our payments (I couldn't fault the 2yr old for wanting to help me with cleaning out my purse...who could get mad at a 2yr old holding a hand full of trashed papers asking "Ga'bage?") I sent an e-mail to the shop owner. On July 3rd I received an e-mail saying that her tracking sheet was somewhere on her desk and that she was hoping she'd have everything cleaned up that weekend. By August 20th I still hadn't gotten a reply. How flipping big is her desk?! So I sent her another friendly e-mail. Another excuse, and still nothing. I am becoming incredibly cross with this lady. It should not be that difficult to hunt down a piece of paper and tell me how much I still have left on a $656 spinning wheel. That's a lot of money to spend at once...especially when I don't make a whole lot to begin with. To say that I am displeases would be like saying the sun is only a little bit warm. And I certainly will not be doing business with this shop again.
My school is also ticking me off a little bit. Their degree just became far more complicated and headachy for me so I'm transferring to a different college. I'll be starting with them at the beginning of January which is winter quarter. That means I'm taking a bit of a break from school, but only 3 months worth. I could have probably scrambled around to get into Fall Quarter, which starts on the 24th of Sept. but honestly, that was way more scrambling then I'm willing to do. Especially when it means that I'd have to quit working so I could get to one of my classes in the afternoon. I'd rather work for a little bit longer and then start school full-time again.
On a completely unrelated note: I'm making art yarn. Now this might not seem strange to some people, but I don't art yarn (well, most of it anyways). There are some skeins that people make that make me think "wow, that is so pretty!" and then there are skeins that people make that makes me think "Did you even try to make this into something resembling yarn?" These skeins usually look really horrible, in my opinion, and I don't understand how someone can call it "art" yarn. Thing 2 is more artistic with a pixie stick.
Of course I'm also thinking of other yarns that I could make with this method, where there is just enough cute to make it "artsy" but not too much crazy to make it unusable ('cause I'm sorry, but some of the art yarns out there should not be used to knit something...ever). I'm thinking of stars or snowflakes in blue roving. Or ducks. xD
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sheldon the Tampurtle (and the Ravellenic results)
I was knitting away furiously on Sheldon 2, trying to get him finished before the Ravellenic Games deadline of 3:59pm. It was already 1am but I was determined to finish as much as I could of the little bastard. I would NOT be defeated by a piece of knitting. I finished his body and though it would be a genius move if I put the eyes on before stuffing him (I realize that pattern also suggests that, but shut up). So with thread and needle in hand I wormed my fingers down this throat so I could give him the gift of sight...on his butt. Oh yes, in my haste to finish Sheldon 2 I had put his eyes on his butt. With a sigh I glared at him but pressed on. I could always take the eyes out later. I finished the body, finished a leg, jammed it on his body and took a picture to proudly show off my progress to my mother. Her reply was "ROFL he looks like a dumbbell with a tampon attachment!! LOL" "Great, I have a tampon turtle...a tampurtle..." I replied. The name Tampurtle kind of stuck so now he's Sheldon the Tampurtle. I also ended up knitting 5 legs instead of 4 (so I could have either made him male or given him a unicorn horn...Sheldon the UniTampurtle...oh gosh), and the back of his attachment panel is ended up a bit lose, so it looks like he has a saggy butt.
Overall I'm really happy with Sheldon 2 though; now I just have to find him a good home. I'm thinking I'll add him to some knitted hats I'll be giving to our gym owner who just had a baby boy. I was going to give it to Cierra for Leah, but honestly I don't feel like it anymore...I have yet to see her really use any of the other things I've made that child so why should I bother
During the Ravellenic game I managed to finish 4 projects. And Sheldon surprisingly took me only a day (if you don't take into account the times I had to stop for nutrients, exercise so I wouldn't be rooted to my chair, sleep, and bathroom breaks; which is a personal best for me.
I'm really happy with everything I managed to finish. The orange socks fit light a glove even though I had to fudge them a little around the heel and toe. The gray gloves came out great too, I just wish the motif on the top of the hand would have come out better; I might have to seriously block them. And I can't wait to wear that white hat. For being an acrylic/nylon blend it blocked really well too. I stretched it over a plate, which really confused the in-laws. But one would think that by now they'd be used to this kind of behavior. The only things I didn't get done were a shawl and some handspun. But I'm okay with that. Next year, I'm aiming for 5 FO's.
Overall I'm really happy with Sheldon 2 though; now I just have to find him a good home. I'm thinking I'll add him to some knitted hats I'll be giving to our gym owner who just had a baby boy. I was going to give it to Cierra for Leah, but honestly I don't feel like it anymore...I have yet to see her really use any of the other things I've made that child so why should I bother
I'm really happy with everything I managed to finish. The orange socks fit light a glove even though I had to fudge them a little around the heel and toe. The gray gloves came out great too, I just wish the motif on the top of the hand would have come out better; I might have to seriously block them. And I can't wait to wear that white hat. For being an acrylic/nylon blend it blocked really well too. I stretched it over a plate, which really confused the in-laws. But one would think that by now they'd be used to this kind of behavior. The only things I didn't get done were a shawl and some handspun. But I'm okay with that. Next year, I'm aiming for 5 FO's.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
I wonder what he's thinking...
...my frog Fred that is, when I change his water out completely. I usually put him in a cup with his old water, swish out the rocks at the bottom of his cube, wash the sides of the cube really good, add new water, and then plop him back in. He usually freaks out for a while but then settles down. I wonder what that is like for him.
Imagine being suddenly lifted out of your home, placed into a tiny but tall room that is only wide enough for you to stand in, and when you are plopped back into your home everything has been rearranged.
I keep wanting to buy him another buddy (his old cube mate died after about a year) and a bigger bowl, but I'm worried that he'd die of shock, or that the two frogs would fight each other. ...Can they fight each other? Fred is one of those tiny African pygmy frogs that stays under water his whole life. He only comes up for air every now and again when he needs it.
If anyone knows the answer (and if my stats are right I apparently have more then one reader) leave me a comment. It would be super appreciated.
Imagine being suddenly lifted out of your home, placed into a tiny but tall room that is only wide enough for you to stand in, and when you are plopped back into your home everything has been rearranged.
I keep wanting to buy him another buddy (his old cube mate died after about a year) and a bigger bowl, but I'm worried that he'd die of shock, or that the two frogs would fight each other. ...Can they fight each other? Fred is one of those tiny African pygmy frogs that stays under water his whole life. He only comes up for air every now and again when he needs it.
If anyone knows the answer (and if my stats are right I apparently have more then one reader) leave me a comment. It would be super appreciated.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Still alive, still frazzled
Yeah, that's me...still alive, still frazzled
Not a whole lot has changed on mine end. I'm a Nanny again for a person friend. I'm watching her two granddaughters (it's a looong story) while she's at work. Oldest is 5 and a talker (the girl will not shut up!) and loves to craft, something that is largely my fault, mwahahah. The youngest is 2, loves to draw with crayons...on everything, and still only communicates with single words and broken sentences; thank god. But they're both good girls and I rather enjoy my work...most days. My friend Cierra (who is the girl's aunt) is staying with them for the time being, along with Baby Leah, and her two dogs...so this should be interesting.
School is going well. Taking two classes at the same time -- BusLaw1 and Math -- which makes time management interesting. Thankfully I can pop a movie in for the girls in the morning to get some reading done, and work on assignments when they are both napping. And then there is all the time in the evening I have open. It's times like these that I'm glad that I don't have an actual 9-5 job, or a huge amount of things to do after I get home. There wouldn't be enough hours in the day.
I'm also sorta working at my LYS. The ladies there needed someone to be on-call if one of the regular employees can't make it in, or if they are going on vacation, or whatever. So far I haven't been called in. But at least I'm on the map, which is more then I can say for my husband. But let's not get into that.
I've also published another fingerless glove knitting pattern. Fun times. =) I still want to make a hat, and those darn breast cancer socks, not that the pattern for either of them is doing what I want it to do. *grumbles*
And when I'm not knitting (sorta), or running after small humans, or doing school work, I'm drooling over pictures of my Ladybug spinning wheel. Mom and I are making payments on one right now, and hopefully we'll have it all paid off by the beginning of August. That is at least the time frame I'm shooting for. Then we just have to figure out a way to get it; be it by the shop shipping it, or by us driving down and getting it. Did I mention the shop is in California? Lol. Yeah...about that. But I guess the ladies that run the shop travel all over the place to be at fiber shows and conventions, so hopefully they'll come close to us...which would be awesome. I want me wheel dam it! I almost licked it at Madrona Fiber Festival so that I could claim it as mine. Hey! if it works for animals and peeing on stuff, why can't it work for humans and licking things?
Not a whole lot has changed on mine end. I'm a Nanny again for a person friend. I'm watching her two granddaughters (it's a looong story) while she's at work. Oldest is 5 and a talker (the girl will not shut up!) and loves to craft, something that is largely my fault, mwahahah. The youngest is 2, loves to draw with crayons...on everything, and still only communicates with single words and broken sentences; thank god. But they're both good girls and I rather enjoy my work...most days. My friend Cierra (who is the girl's aunt) is staying with them for the time being, along with Baby Leah, and her two dogs...so this should be interesting.
School is going well. Taking two classes at the same time -- BusLaw1 and Math -- which makes time management interesting. Thankfully I can pop a movie in for the girls in the morning to get some reading done, and work on assignments when they are both napping. And then there is all the time in the evening I have open. It's times like these that I'm glad that I don't have an actual 9-5 job, or a huge amount of things to do after I get home. There wouldn't be enough hours in the day.
I'm also sorta working at my LYS. The ladies there needed someone to be on-call if one of the regular employees can't make it in, or if they are going on vacation, or whatever. So far I haven't been called in. But at least I'm on the map, which is more then I can say for my husband. But let's not get into that.
I've also published another fingerless glove knitting pattern. Fun times. =) I still want to make a hat, and those darn breast cancer socks, not that the pattern for either of them is doing what I want it to do. *grumbles*
And when I'm not knitting (sorta), or running after small humans, or doing school work, I'm drooling over pictures of my Ladybug spinning wheel. Mom and I are making payments on one right now, and hopefully we'll have it all paid off by the beginning of August. That is at least the time frame I'm shooting for. Then we just have to figure out a way to get it; be it by the shop shipping it, or by us driving down and getting it. Did I mention the shop is in California? Lol. Yeah...about that. But I guess the ladies that run the shop travel all over the place to be at fiber shows and conventions, so hopefully they'll come close to us...which would be awesome. I want me wheel dam it! I almost licked it at Madrona Fiber Festival so that I could claim it as mine. Hey! if it works for animals and peeing on stuff, why can't it work for humans and licking things?
Thursday, March 29, 2012
You are not a knitter!!
It happens every year. At least once...sometimes more times. Someone will know that I knit, and tell me they knit too...on a loom.
For example, during last years Curves holiday bazaar, a lady was selling hats. They were plain hats, two colors held together, knitted by her on a loom.
During my best friends second baby shower, the paternal grandmother presented her with half a baby blanket, proclaiming "I ran out of yarn and had to special order more from the store." She then turned to the woman sitting next to her, who must have asked something and said, "Yeah, it's my first knitting project too. I made it on one of those loom thingies." And when Cierra unwrapped the pinwheel cardigan I made for the little one, the paternal grandmother leaned forward and said "Oh right, you're a knitter too." And all I could do was shove a piece of cake into my mouth to stop the words from spewing forth.
Loom knitting, for those of you who don't know what it is, uses a circular (sometimes rectangular) ring of plastic or wood with pegs on it. You loop the yarn over the pegs, then use a strange hook to move the loops over the working yarn, and wrap the working yarn around the peg again....or something like that.
In my opinion, you're not really knitting unless you're using a minimum of two knitting needles. I say minimum because there have been times where I have knitted something using 4 or 5 dpns. Using a loom to "knit" is the equivalent of me going to the grocery store, buying a bunch of pre-packaged things, making them at home, and then calling myself a chef. It doesn't work like that.
You are not a knitter, you are a poser!
Now go pick up some needles and do it the right way. Otherwise stop calling what you're doing knitting. Call it looming, or loomitting, or something.
Knitting...pah!
For example, during last years Curves holiday bazaar, a lady was selling hats. They were plain hats, two colors held together, knitted by her on a loom.
During my best friends second baby shower, the paternal grandmother presented her with half a baby blanket, proclaiming "I ran out of yarn and had to special order more from the store." She then turned to the woman sitting next to her, who must have asked something and said, "Yeah, it's my first knitting project too. I made it on one of those loom thingies." And when Cierra unwrapped the pinwheel cardigan I made for the little one, the paternal grandmother leaned forward and said "Oh right, you're a knitter too." And all I could do was shove a piece of cake into my mouth to stop the words from spewing forth.
Loom knitting, for those of you who don't know what it is, uses a circular (sometimes rectangular) ring of plastic or wood with pegs on it. You loop the yarn over the pegs, then use a strange hook to move the loops over the working yarn, and wrap the working yarn around the peg again....or something like that.
In my opinion, you're not really knitting unless you're using a minimum of two knitting needles. I say minimum because there have been times where I have knitted something using 4 or 5 dpns. Using a loom to "knit" is the equivalent of me going to the grocery store, buying a bunch of pre-packaged things, making them at home, and then calling myself a chef. It doesn't work like that.
You are not a knitter, you are a poser!
Now go pick up some needles and do it the right way. Otherwise stop calling what you're doing knitting. Call it looming, or loomitting, or something.
Knitting...pah!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Unemployed complaining
Still no job. Now it's only been a little over a month since I've been able to legal work, but the fact that I still don't have a job is really bumming me out. Not only is it bumming me out, it's also really grating on my nerves and stressing me out all at the same time.
Oh sure, not having a job isn't so bad when technically you have a roof over your head, internet to get your school work done, and food in your tummy. But it's the principle of the idea. Plus there are certain expenses that in-laws shouldn't have to pay for (like a medical bill, or Netflix) that become harder and harder to find funds for. Seriously, when you have a bill that needs to be paid, and you want to pay it so you don't go into collections, you start looking at objects in your room and wonder how much they are worth. Those books I never read? must be worth at least $20. That guitar that technically isn't mine but is here anyways? Has to be $50. The clothes husband doesn't wear? $3 a shirt, for sure....and there are like 20. Husbands kidney that he doesn't seem to be using, ever? I'm sure I can get at least $1,000 on the black market....at least. But as it turns out I can't sell other people's stuff, nor do I even know where the kidneys are...sooooo.....
But I have a few jobs in my sight, one as a nanny, the other as waitress, and once I talk to my LYS, I can also see if they need any extra help in the shop. Which would be pretty friggen awesome.
In other news, I finally finished Leah's baby blanket. It was only a week
late. I got to meet the little bugger this past Wednesday, and can honesty say that I absolutely love her. She slept through the whole two hour visit, but was the sweetest, cutest thing ever, so I don't even care. Cierra really liked the blanket, and I'm happy she did. The edges were doing this odd curling thing though, and I wanted to stab them for it. How dare they curl up like that? After throwing it into the washer it also became incredibly soft which is awesome.
Now of course I really should get started on Heather's blanket....at least I know what color and patter to use for her, so I'm already a step ahead. HA! yeah right. =.=
Oh sure, not having a job isn't so bad when technically you have a roof over your head, internet to get your school work done, and food in your tummy. But it's the principle of the idea. Plus there are certain expenses that in-laws shouldn't have to pay for (like a medical bill, or Netflix) that become harder and harder to find funds for. Seriously, when you have a bill that needs to be paid, and you want to pay it so you don't go into collections, you start looking at objects in your room and wonder how much they are worth. Those books I never read? must be worth at least $20. That guitar that technically isn't mine but is here anyways? Has to be $50. The clothes husband doesn't wear? $3 a shirt, for sure....and there are like 20. Husbands kidney that he doesn't seem to be using, ever? I'm sure I can get at least $1,000 on the black market....at least. But as it turns out I can't sell other people's stuff, nor do I even know where the kidneys are...sooooo.....
But I have a few jobs in my sight, one as a nanny, the other as waitress, and once I talk to my LYS, I can also see if they need any extra help in the shop. Which would be pretty friggen awesome.
In other news, I finally finished Leah's baby blanket. It was only a weeklate. I got to meet the little bugger this past Wednesday, and can honesty say that I absolutely love her. She slept through the whole two hour visit, but was the sweetest, cutest thing ever, so I don't even care. Cierra really liked the blanket, and I'm happy she did. The edges were doing this odd curling thing though, and I wanted to stab them for it. How dare they curl up like that? After throwing it into the washer it also became incredibly soft which is awesome.
Now of course I really should get started on Heather's blanket....at least I know what color and patter to use for her, so I'm already a step ahead. HA! yeah right. =.=
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Giving it the ol' College try
On Jan 11th, 2012 I had an interview with immigration and am now a Permanent Resident of the United States. I am a German citizen, so until now a lot of things were denied me, mostly higher education and of course a job. So on the 11th I was told that my application for permanent residency would be approved (I now have a spiffeh looking green card too. =D ), on the 16th I looked into going back to school, on the 25th I enrolled at South University with one of their online programs, and on the 30th I started classes. After 6yrs of not being able to go to school, I enrolled and started classes all in less then 2 weeks. Crazy.
My mom and sister are proud I think that I'm going back.The in-laws are all skeptical. FIL and BIL don't really care I think. MIL said it was a lot of money, and is just generally negative about anything anyone does. If you ever want to be talked out of doing anything talk to my SIL and MIL. Seriously. They'd find a way to talk you out of being an organ donor I'm sure.
It's only day two of classes and so far I rather like it. The course work is relatively easy for now, but I think that is mainly so that the class can get used to how an online classroom works. Although it's largely like any other forum based website with threads and sub-forums, so it's really not that hard to navigate...well, if you know what you're doing. xD My admissions rep called me on the first day of class to walk me through how to do everything and I interrupted her before she could even get started, and told her I had already done a,b,and c. "Well," came her reply. "You pretty much figured it all out it looks like, so I don't really have anything to do now." And then she laughed.
Besides the classes being easy so far, I've also noticed that just about everyone in my first class (the University gives the first three to you one at a time so you're not overwhelmed) is going in for psychology. Or Phsycology, or Phycology, or psycology, or psycolohgy as some of the people have spelled it. I've also noticed that quite a few of them don't know how to use proper grammar or spelling. honestly if u spell stuff like this then u wanna rethink becoming a phsycologist im jus sayin cause ur not gonna be real good at your job.Yes, that is how a few people have posted in the discussion threads. Me thinks someone needs to reevaluate either their major or their English comprehension. I'm just sayin'.
An update on the baby blanket is anyone cares: I have one square to go. Decided to add a simple boarder around the whole thing to give it a more finished look. Leah in the meantime was born on the 28th. *sigh* I suck at this.
My mom and sister are proud I think that I'm going back.The in-laws are all skeptical. FIL and BIL don't really care I think. MIL said it was a lot of money, and is just generally negative about anything anyone does. If you ever want to be talked out of doing anything talk to my SIL and MIL. Seriously. They'd find a way to talk you out of being an organ donor I'm sure.
It's only day two of classes and so far I rather like it. The course work is relatively easy for now, but I think that is mainly so that the class can get used to how an online classroom works. Although it's largely like any other forum based website with threads and sub-forums, so it's really not that hard to navigate...well, if you know what you're doing. xD My admissions rep called me on the first day of class to walk me through how to do everything and I interrupted her before she could even get started, and told her I had already done a,b,and c. "Well," came her reply. "You pretty much figured it all out it looks like, so I don't really have anything to do now." And then she laughed.
Besides the classes being easy so far, I've also noticed that just about everyone in my first class (the University gives the first three to you one at a time so you're not overwhelmed) is going in for psychology. Or Phsycology, or Phycology, or psycology, or psycolohgy as some of the people have spelled it. I've also noticed that quite a few of them don't know how to use proper grammar or spelling. honestly if u spell stuff like this then u wanna rethink becoming a phsycologist im jus sayin cause ur not gonna be real good at your job.Yes, that is how a few people have posted in the discussion threads. Me thinks someone needs to reevaluate either their major or their English comprehension. I'm just sayin'.
An update on the baby blanket is anyone cares: I have one square to go. Decided to add a simple boarder around the whole thing to give it a more finished look. Leah in the meantime was born on the 28th. *sigh* I suck at this.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Someone make this!
That's usually what I think when I have a design idea pop into my head and I think to myself "oh that would be cute!" but I have no idea how I'll knit it up, or even how well it will look once finished. I wish I could just draw the general idea of a pattern up for someone that said someone would then be able to knit it up and write up the pattern and I can just stick my name on it and call it a day. Alas...
So far there is a hat pattern, a fingerless glove pattern (might turn into a half-fingered pattern or something), and a sock pattern all floating around in my head. And only the sock's are sorta being worked on right now. I say sorta because I feel like I should unravel them a little bit so I can change the design around a little. But that's work and I'm lazy and don't want to undo 12 rounds of knitting to do a simple adjustment. Screw that.
I'm also working on a blanket right now. No, it's not Leah's blanket (who is supposed to grace us with her presence sometime in the next 17 days...son of a betch... =.= ). Instead it's a scrap blanket for my worsted weight yarn. I have quite a few balls left over and nothing I could knit that wouldn't look like a colorblind homeless woman threw together a winter set. So I'm making a blanket instead. But I'm not into blocks (this baby blanket is proving that), so instead I'll be knitting until I run out of a color, cast off, pick up random number of stitches on random side of said knitted piece, and continue with a new color. Repeat. I'm not sure what the blanket will end up looking like, or even when it will be finished. All I know is that I'll have some mindless knitting to fall back on when I'm avoiding other projects...kinda like I am doing now.
Actually, I'm not working on Leah's blanket because I conveniently left my bag with it at my mother's house. Yes, I did it on purpose. Do I feel bad about it? Not.one.tiny.bit. I'm just not happy wit the damned thing...and when I'm not happy with something I tend to put it off instead of confronting it head on...which would explain my strange relationship with my MIL. But I digress.
I did however sew three panels together, said screw it to the way two were knitted up and decided to improvise, cast on a 6th panel, and rectangle the whole thing out a bit more.Maybe I won't hate it as much once the damned thing is done...yeah....
So far there is a hat pattern, a fingerless glove pattern (might turn into a half-fingered pattern or something), and a sock pattern all floating around in my head. And only the sock's are sorta being worked on right now. I say sorta because I feel like I should unravel them a little bit so I can change the design around a little. But that's work and I'm lazy and don't want to undo 12 rounds of knitting to do a simple adjustment. Screw that.
I'm also working on a blanket right now. No, it's not Leah's blanket (who is supposed to grace us with her presence sometime in the next 17 days...son of a betch... =.= ). Instead it's a scrap blanket for my worsted weight yarn. I have quite a few balls left over and nothing I could knit that wouldn't look like a colorblind homeless woman threw together a winter set. So I'm making a blanket instead. But I'm not into blocks (this baby blanket is proving that), so instead I'll be knitting until I run out of a color, cast off, pick up random number of stitches on random side of said knitted piece, and continue with a new color. Repeat. I'm not sure what the blanket will end up looking like, or even when it will be finished. All I know is that I'll have some mindless knitting to fall back on when I'm avoiding other projects...kinda like I am doing now.
Actually, I'm not working on Leah's blanket because I conveniently left my bag with it at my mother's house. Yes, I did it on purpose. Do I feel bad about it? Not.one.tiny.bit. I'm just not happy wit the damned thing...and when I'm not happy with something I tend to put it off instead of confronting it head on...which would explain my strange relationship with my MIL. But I digress.
I did however sew three panels together, said screw it to the way two were knitted up and decided to improvise, cast on a 6th panel, and rectangle the whole thing out a bit more.Maybe I won't hate it as much once the damned thing is done...yeah....
Monday, January 2, 2012
I suck at this blanket thing
So I thought if I got started on Cierra's baby blanket as soon as she told me she was pregnant, I would have all the time I need to get a blanket done. After all, at nine blocks total I could make one block every month and be done with it. Yeah...that so totally didn't happen. Leah is going to be here in a month (give or take) and I've only completely 4 blocks. Maybe I can give the blanket to the kid as a going-away-to-college present...hmm.
I also found out recently that our mutual friend Heather is pregnant as well. =.=
During Cierra's baby shower I gave her a set of felted baby booties (the only baby related item I had laying around the house) and while everyone oohed and aahed about how cute they were, Heather piped up with "you'll knit for me too, right?" when Cierra proudly explained that all my baby shower gifts for her were in various stages of WIP. Son.Of.A.Bitch....So that's another blanket for Heather, and various small items me thinks. Thankfully I already have a pattern picked out, and know what colors to use, purple and white, so that might make the blanket finish-able (is that a word?) by her due date...I doubt it.
I also found out recently that our mutual friend Heather is pregnant as well. =.=
During Cierra's baby shower I gave her a set of felted baby booties (the only baby related item I had laying around the house) and while everyone oohed and aahed about how cute they were, Heather piped up with "you'll knit for me too, right?" when Cierra proudly explained that all my baby shower gifts for her were in various stages of WIP. Son.Of.A.Bitch....So that's another blanket for Heather, and various small items me thinks. Thankfully I already have a pattern picked out, and know what colors to use, purple and white, so that might make the blanket finish-able (is that a word?) by her due date...I doubt it.
Of 2011 and New Years Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone!
2011 was, for the most part, a good year. I managed to find a little bit of work, met some great new people from following a local cover band around, lost pounds and inches that I've been battling with for years, and my paperwork was finally set in motion and for the most part approved. For those of you who don't know, I'm a German citizen, and we recently put in my paperwork for adjustment of status, so that I can be a permanent resident. It's pretty nerve racking to be honest. But most of the paperwork we sent in has been approved (rather fast too in my opinion), and I have an interview set for the 11th of January.
As for 2012 resolutions, the only one I really have is to really work out this year. I go to the "gym" to work out 3 times a week, but sometimes I can't be bothered so it's more like twice a week, or sometimes not at all. My running endeavors have pretty much stopped too, mostly because of the rain we've been having but also because I'm horribly lazy. So my resolution for this year is to go work out 3 times a week, and to go running 3 times a week like I'm supposed to. I saw results before when I did it, and darn it I want to see more. Oh, and to work on my Etsy shop...whenever that might be. xD
So tell me, what are your new years resolutions?
2011 was, for the most part, a good year. I managed to find a little bit of work, met some great new people from following a local cover band around, lost pounds and inches that I've been battling with for years, and my paperwork was finally set in motion and for the most part approved. For those of you who don't know, I'm a German citizen, and we recently put in my paperwork for adjustment of status, so that I can be a permanent resident. It's pretty nerve racking to be honest. But most of the paperwork we sent in has been approved (rather fast too in my opinion), and I have an interview set for the 11th of January.
As for 2012 resolutions, the only one I really have is to really work out this year. I go to the "gym" to work out 3 times a week, but sometimes I can't be bothered so it's more like twice a week, or sometimes not at all. My running endeavors have pretty much stopped too, mostly because of the rain we've been having but also because I'm horribly lazy. So my resolution for this year is to go work out 3 times a week, and to go running 3 times a week like I'm supposed to. I saw results before when I did it, and darn it I want to see more. Oh, and to work on my Etsy shop...whenever that might be. xD
So tell me, what are your new years resolutions?
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