Winding Woes

Has anybody else experienced big time tangle issues when using a 'high end' yarn? I set out today to wind some super luxurious cashmere into balls to make another pair of Log Cabin Socks (Note to self-post pictures!) for myself. Today being the first day we've seen snow this year and being that I'm stuck inside waiting for fish eggs that were supposed to be in my original order I was supposed to get Thursday which came minus one jar of said caviar and I'm the putz waiting for a delivery that UPS does not deliver on Saturdays.

ANYWAY....my nerves have about had it and I'm about to set fire to this cashmere yarn. I won't mention any names, I think you can figure out what yarn I'm talking about as I raved about it a few posts back. The yarn is nice, HOWEVER the experience is more than the end product to me...it begins with the hank, proceeds to the ball winding, then to the knitting and finally the end product. This super luxurious cashmere yarn is nothing I'll be blowing money on again, it's crap as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather be handling Red Hart yarn...yes, I said RED HART. This particular brand of cashmere is EXTREMELY overpriced and unabashedly over-rated to the Nth power.

At first, when I made fingerless mitts with this, I had the same problem but thought perhaps it was just a hank or two that was bad....Now I see it's not just a hank or two, it's the whole damn lot.

I'm going to attempt to make heads and tails of this knotted, tangled mess they have the audacity to call a hank. I'll tell ya what I call it...cashmere or no cashmere, this is what you call a Hunk O' Junk! I may or may not end up with ashes, depending on how long I can stall my nerves.

Can I get my Valium now?

2.04 PM ~ My nerves did get the better of me. This is what's left after I cut it up to confetti with some nice, sharp cooking shears. These shears go through yarn even cleaner than they cut throgh chicken bones. Too bad I'm going to the doctor in a little over a week or I'd go take some Serax and get in bed and read the rest of the day. If he does blood work and finds Serax in my blood, there's no way he'll ever give me Valium so I gotta be a good boy and suffer a little longer. I fear I've got a brain chemistry imbalance :-(

Morpheus says:

Knitting and podcasting and stuff

Hmm, lesse...I want new stuff! I should be happy since I now have an almost complete set of the Brittany needles I've coveted since last year and I'm real happy knitting with them but I think I want to try a pair of Lantern Moon needles just because they look nice. Not quite as nice as the Brittanys but nice! I also think these square needles look intriguing and I want to try a pair. Not sure they'd be all that comfortable? Just something new to try.

I've been busily knitting away on Patrick. I think maybe this photo will show the detail a bit better, it's just so enormous at this stage that it's difficult to get the centre panel of diamonds to show up. While knitting, I found myself all caught up with my favourite podcast, Cast-On.

I discovered I need to keep a notebook by my side LOL! Brenda has such great content that I'm quickly filling up the chart for Patrick with notes on new podcasts, songs she plays, or other stuff she mentions. One such podcast is Sticks & String. It's done by a guy named David Reidy from Australia. I have a couple of episodes before I'm caught up with him and he'll not be doing another episode until the end of January. Check his cast out....it's really very good!

Another podcast I found, I think via Brenda Dayne, is the first video podcast on knitting I've ever seen Let's Knit2gether This is so cool! You have to check it out. It's nice where knitting is a visual thing and you can see what is going on.


Right then, that's about it on the knitting front. I was startled awake about 2.30 AM by the start of a panic attack so I jumped out of bed, got a handle on it before it got a handle on me and I think I'm going to settle on the sofa now and watch one of my favourite movies for a bit.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Yule or whatever it is you celebrate :-)

Finished!

I got the back of Patrick done tonight, and what a feeling of accomplishment. I spent the day listening to Brenda Dayne while knitting. It feels like spending the afternoon with a good friend, she just has a very comforting way about her.

Anyway, this is the correct length...this yarn is supposed to shrink up considerably in length and you have to wash & dry it in a clothes dryer before sewing it together. Let's hope it does shrink up as it should else I'm gonna have to find me an 80's style girl who can pull it off with a pair of tights and a big, chunky belt.

I'm almost sorry I didn't make this in a wool instead of cotton. Perhaps one day I'll re-knit it in wool-I think it'd look wonderful in a heathered green.

Took nine and a quarter balls to make the back.

On another note, we went and had dinner with my cousin and her husband last evening. It was nice. I haven't seen them in 20 years and never really spent any time with them. It was great to spend time with them and talk. We need to do it more often. They live out in the middle of nowhere which was nice in a sense. You could see stars in the sky, they have deer that run around there, that's how rural it is. No street lights. Her husband took the four of us to see some Christmas lights which was nice. I haven't done that since I was a little boy with my grandparents.

The ride back home, though. OMG...I'm questioning moving now. Maybe it's too rural but it was pitch black, no street lights and we're driving having no clue where the hell we were going and I'm having to do deep breathing and think happy thoughts (roller coasters) to prevent myself from freaking out BIG TIME in the car. I told Chris maybe I can't do this....and that perhaps it may be that we're stuck in the city and I just find a doctor who just prescribes Valium without a problem. I really don't think I can handle that, as much as I want to get the hell out of here, I had a big problem last night. I dunno what the hell is wrong with me. I guess that dashes any romantic notions I had of finding a little cottage in the Scottish Highlands. :-(

ANYWAY....1 piece down, three more to go on Patrick. I wish the pattern showed up better in this photo. Maybe if I get one in the daylight rather than a flash. It's really striking when you see it in person.

Log Cabin Socks done

I finished them Monday or Tuesday. I'd post a picture but have to wait until the spousal unit gets them for Christmas and tries them on before I get a picture.

I'm tossing around the idea of making a pair for myself in Jade Sapphire Cashmere but I'm not sure I want to use the yarn for socks. I don't know WHAT I want to use it for. I made a pair of fingerless mittens, I just am not sure if I want to use cashmere for socks. My very first pair of socks are kinda ruined...the toe area has felted and gotten very stiff. I guess maybe I wear them too much.

Have been busily knitting on Patrick tho I'm getting nervous it's going to be too large. My nerves are shot so I'm not even going to think of that at the moment.

Does it feel like Christmas? It doesn't to me...not sure if that's my nerves or the fact it's too goddamned tropical? I dunno.

Not having a good night but then, that's pretty usual for me ROTFLMAO! I can't stomach this time we live in has moved from drugs to this holistic crap....but what can I do? I'd rather drugs....I'm jus sayin' :-)

Now Playing in iTunes ~ Future Memory by Heth & Jed

Ghostly apparitions and other such things

LOL! I've been playing with my camera and experimenting with double exposures again. It's been 5 years since I've really shot anything seriously so it's a huge learning curve again. I'm not totally pleased with these results but I'll get there again.

I've been wanting to try light up needles as they look interesting and fun but I'm not a fan of plastic to start with. Has anyone used them? I guess I'd do well to really get knitting again. This time last year I was knitting up a storm for Christmas. I had a mountain of hats and mittens and slippers and what not. Now I barely sit and knit. How do you mothers with kids do it? I just find by the time I get a grip on my stress, I just have no enthusiasm to knit even tho I want to. I can no longer sit on my sofa and knit in the evenings due to the noise level here. I just seem to get up, muddle through the day, and go to bed. If I can get through the day without smashing something, that's a good day.

Have started to look for a new place to live. I've decided I don't care what capital gains penalties I have to pay, it's not worth it to stay in this ghetto any longer. I spent a couple hours this morning on the Remax and Century 21 web sites looking at new homes and am not real encouraged :-( I'm hell bent on a Victorian and can't find any at all. But this stuff is like shopping at a vintage clothing store, you have to hit it on the right day so I've not totally given up hope.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to toast in the New Year. generally, tradition has it that I get a bottle of Dom Perignon for New Years but I've been unable to drink the past two months. The alcohol really wreaks hell on my nerves so I've not touched a drop. I'm hoping I'll still be able to drink the Dom.

Anyway, better days are coming.....When, I'm not exactly sure but I have to believe in that.

R.I.P.

Well, at 8.30 tomorrow morning, I'll be at the vet putting my mom's cat to sleep. He is in end stage renal failure...he's gone way down the past week and the blood work came back today and the news is not good.

Aside from that, our oil company (that my dad has used since I was a teenager) has, as the Steve Miller song goes, taken the money and run. We are out a couple thousand dollars of oil money.

At this stage of the game, it appears I am never going to get the fucking relief that only Valium can give me. I have called a shrink today and I think I am going to start looking at the possibility of electroshock treatment. I want Valium but I think getting my brains scrambled will be more easily attainable. I'm not making light of it...this anxiety is BRUTAL and for some goddamned reason or other, the mere mention of the word Valium and cat claws come out and people go on the warpath. If one person could walk in my body for one week, they'd be singing a vastly different tune. But whatever...I'll be an interesting case of exactly what anxiety does to a person.

I suppose listening to Marillion is not the best idea at this time but hey-why not. I've got Clutching At Straws playing in iTunes.

Build a Bear (and knit for him too!)

Ok, we went out for supper last night with friends. While they went to a Christmas store, I spotted a Build A Bear and decided to go in and look around. I ended up making a bear and I want to introduce you to Morpheus, named after the Greek God of Dreams.

This is his little Christmas pajama set. I got him a scrub suit and a Santa outfit. I was just looking at all the clothes for them on the build a bear web site and I can tell this is going to be a dangerous thing for me...too many cute things for them...

BUT, I decided it might be fun to knit him an Aran sweater. Wouldn't take very long at all, I don't think.

I'm off to bed but wanted to introduce you to Morpheus. These shots were from this morning, the first when he wa still in bed and then after I got him up for breakfast. It's WAY past his bedtime now...

Post-Thanksgiving

{sigh} I don't know what to say anymore. Hmm..Thanksgiving was ok. I started out bad, I went nuclear earlier in the morning but I'm not going there again. Dinner was good, I anticipated it would be awful-we had issues with the turkey-well, the pan more specifically. But this is about knitting, isn't it...

Well...I'm knitting :-) I got one Log Cabin sock done. I'll post a picture as soon as I can get the spousal unit to model it. Kinda hard to get good pictures of it on my own leg. It's a real fun sock to do and it works up fast given that I'm so into Patrick and want to knit on that so much.

Oh yeah, I got a new camera. I got this beautiful Nikon camera on the 19th. I got tired of not having my own camera. Funny, usually I'm not keen on digital cameras, in fact, I am downright hostile towards them but I cannot praise this one enough. I absolutely love it. It takes gorgeous pictures and I feel more comfortable with it than that Minolta I had and ruined a few years ago (kicked over the tripod and it busted). This camera acts like any 35mm film SLR, I don't really feel like I'm using a digital camera. Since I've not shot pictures in almost 5 years, it's taking me a while to re-learn but I anticipate many happy years with this Nikon. And I always wanted a Nikon anyway. Now I just have to buy that infrared digital camera since Infrared is my real love in photography.

I shot this this evening with the new camera. I put the first Christmas decoration up after the Thanksgiving table was cleared. I love this, got it last year from the Bradford Exchange. I guess tomorrow I'll do more decorating. I was going to start tonight but I'm just too stuffed.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Playing in iTunes: No Ones Gonna Love You ~ SOS Band

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Brittany Needles!

I spent the vast majority of the weekend knitting on Patrick and listening to knitting podcasts. It's been a long time since I listened to them, even tho I kept downloading them, so there was a lot to catch up on. It was good to "spend that time" with Marie Irshad and Brenda Dayne, I missed hearing them. I bought a new iPod on Saturday, my old one needed a battery and I just wanted a new one that had the colour screen. The battery is supposed to last 14 hours between charges and I just recharged it today so that was a lot of catching up and I'm still not done :-)

Today I got the last of my goodies in the post. My Brittany needles. I'm happy although it's absolutely obscene the money I've spend on each pair. My grandmother would never let me hear the end of it but how can you say no to something you covet so strongly? I totally blame Men Who Knit and their first issue of their 'zine. If not for that, I'd never have even known about Brittany needles, nor seen these beautiful Victorian topped, hand turned needles so it's all their fault. Now I have sizes 5-8 and wasted no time at all in putting Patrick on them.

Yes that's a ball of Jade Sapphire I bought. I'm trying to figure out what to knit with it-scarf or what. I was looking to see what type of gauge I got with it. I guess with 3 55-gram hanks for a scarf. I should go easy on the cables. The vase was something I got for my mom once but I just can't recall what the flower arrangement was for. It came with the raffia tied round it. I thought the sentiment of that vase was perfect for storing the needles.

On that note, I'm headed off to bed now. It's time to pull the shade on today and turn the page.

Jade Sapphire, Patrick & Wood

I got some good stuff in the post today. It brightened my mood a bit. I got this Jade Sapphire cashmere - YAY! 2 hanks of Amethyst Haze and 4 hanks of Hydrangea. This is the 6 ply stuff, not the sock yarn. I figured I'd make fingerless gloves with the Amethyst given there's only 2 hanks of it. Trouble is, finding a nice pattern to suit the yarn. It has to be special for this beautiful yarn, no? Man does this feel nice!

I'll make a scarf with the Hydrenga, I loathe knitting scarves but I'll look through Barbara Walker's books to find a nice pattern to use. This stuff is going to be a big treat...THANK YOU KYRA!

If you look, you can see three wooden cable needles stuck in the yarn. I saw these in Knit Picks and had to order them. I'm a wood nut! I tried these on my current project but cotton yarn seems to stick to them, they'll be fine on cashmere and wool. Knit picks has some very cool stuff! I keep looking at their Bare yarn and dyes...I'm sort of getting tempted to try dying. Must finish my current project first.

This picture of my progress on Patrick is odd...I need to get it on two needles but didn't feel like knitting half a row. I should have an easier time as I also ordered 3 pairs of the Brittany needles I covet so much and those are a bit longer than normal needles. I have to really scrunch this up on my Clover bamboo needles when I'm done knitting for the day. Anyway, given this denim yarn is sport weight and I got my gauge on size 5 needles, I'm really surprised it's moving along as quickly as it is. Especially given the complexity of it. It really isn't bad at all once you get a rhythm going on it and I find I get lost in the knitting and hours pass before I realise I need to stop to eat or something LOL! I can't believe I'm knitting this...can't wait to wear it, but what a lot of weight it is for bamboo needles. Hope it doesn't break the Brittany's. I forgot how heavy cotton can get. It's been about 22 years since I last knit with cotton.

Do I need a title?

I can't think of one. My friend Kyra told me about a new podcast, Lime & Violet so I put the link there on my sidebar. I only have listened to one episode but it seems kinda fun. I like it.

Some stuff going on but I'm tired of complaining. I'm destined to be certifiable before I can move from this skanky slum I live in. I don't sleep much, I'm at wits end but I chug on. Let's just say after life hands you lemons, it then hands you steaming piles of dog shit. You know how in the winter there's....well....no need to go there.

I'm hoping I can have a clear enough head to do some knitting today. Kyra told me about some Jade Sapphire on e bay so I bought the whole lot...I have 5 hanks of the stuff heading my way. I should be happy but I'm too numb.

Anybody know how safe or authentic those places are on the web that offer Valium without a prescription?

Chugging along

I got to work on Patrick again yesterday, I've got about halfway through the second repeat of the chart. It surprises me, I got the gauge on size 5 needles but it is moving along much faster than I thought it would, despite the complexity of it. I have a bunch of shit to do this morning but plan to shut the world off by 11 and knit the rest of the day. I just can't deal with reality for long stretches anymore.

Speaking of, does anyone know if Purlsoho is having problems? I've been trying since yesterday to order some Jade Sapphire yarn. I created an account but it just sits there, trying to log me in and nothing happens. I don't even get a "connection timed out" box popping up. I could put my sorry ass on an Amtrak train and go get it myself faster than I could on the internet. Not a bad idea actually except my nerves cannot handle such a harried day

Patrick

First I want to thank you for the well wishes on the death of my grandfather. It's been difficult in the sense that the family is now just about gone, I only have my dad left. Holidays haven't been the same since my mom had her stroke and died 4 years ago and now it's only a reminder than I'm one step away from being alone in the world. I haven't been the same man since my mom died and this year has been hell, the past month or so has been unbearable. No wonder I've been driving everyone around me absolutely mad with my constant cries for Valium. I don't know how else to describe what I feel other than it's a constant state of anguish that I just need the edge taken off but it won't happen without Valium. It's a band aide, I know that....but my idea is if I could get a goddamned doctor to give it to me for a short time to bridge the gap so I can get from the state of constant turmoil I'm now in to a sense of normalcy but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I'm well on my way to a stroke or heart attack myself if this keeps up, I cannot continue this way. It hit me in bed the other night why Valium is not given anymore and risk of addiction is NOT the reason.

ANYWAY.....enough of my inane rambling. THIS is what I've been working on, or trying to. It's a sweater from Rowan's now discontinued book, Denim. Let me say right now this is the most complex sweater I think I've ever attempted. There is so much movement with the cables that you can't let your guard down for a second. It's a great challenge. It took me a while to get going-it's a bitch to establish but it's really cool. I love the "ribbing", think that is just awesome. I'm hoping that once it's washed and assembled it'll tighten up a bit. This is one reason I don't like working with cotton yarn, your tension has to be spot on or every little variance shows-cotton, I find, is very unforgiving that way.

This is 38 rows, there's 60 to the repeat. I guess this means I won't get to make my black, cashmere turtleneck this winter. Oh well...there's always next year I guess...if I'm not in an asylum by then.

Mucking About

My grandfather died on Monday so I've been relatively low-key. I AM Knitting, a very complex cable pattern for a Rowan sweater. When I make some progress I will post pictures. I think it may be the most involved sweater I've ever attempted. In meantime, I was over at Samantha's blog and saw this and thought I'd steal it (Sorry Sam, you dont mind?!)., It looked fun...

1. FIRST NAME? Jerry
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not that I'm aware of
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB? Yeah, I'm a stay at home house husband :-) I love it!
4. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Friday.....the older I get the more I find I cry at the drop of a hat.
5. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I did before the damn computer became so much a part of life. I need to work on my handwriting again.
6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCHMEAT? I generally don't eat that stuff. I have tunafish or grilled cheese or Lean Cuisine Panini's (yes, I'm on a diet)
7. KIDS? does my cat count?
8. WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'm not sure, I can be a moody prat LOL!
9. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Besides this blog, I sometimes keep a journal, yes.
10. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes and it sometimes gets me in trouble if it's in e mail and the person can't tell for sure if I'm being serious or not.
11. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
12. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Once in 1989 was more than enough for me thanks...
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Oatmeal.
14. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes.
15. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? For me not to be in a rubber room by now, I think so but some Valium sure would help!
16. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR? French Vanilla-OR Banana Boat (???) Dippin' Dots
17. SHOE SIZE? 9 1/2
18. RED OR PINK? Red
19. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I am WAY too high strung, stressed out and have a very short temper-it goes back to that valium thing again.
20. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom.
21. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I dunno-I just copied this from Samantha's blog :-)
22. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? blue surgical scrub pants and a white sweat shirt, I just got out of bed.
23. LAST THING YOU ATE? Sesame toast, a small wheel of mini Gouda cheese and a tangy salad pepper.
24. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing at all, it's dead quiet.
25. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Purple
26. FAVOURITE SMELL? the smell after a rain storm
27. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? I think my cousin Paula.
28. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes, I'm an eye man all the way.
29. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? You mean that I stole this from? LOL! Yes
30. FAVOURITE DRINK? (non-alcoholic) Tea (alcoholic) Absinthe
31. FAVOURITE SPORT? Baseball (NY Yankees) and Football (NY GIANTS) because it reminds me of my mom's-I'll ALWAYS be a New Yorker at heart
32. HAIR COLOUR? Blond with blue and purple streaks currently. Hey, I went to see Cirque du Soleil and I like to stand out-sue me LOL!
33. EYE COLOUR? Brown, Grey if I wear my contacts
34. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Only to change my eye colour right now but probably will need them soon.
35. FAVOURITE FOOD? Japanese or Thai
36. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? HORROR movies...I didn't like the "scary movie" revival-they weren't all that scary.
37. BOXERS or BRIEFS? Hmm, you're getting personal ;-) Briefs-I'm an old fashioned guy
38. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? White sweat shirt, you just asked me that, are you daft?
39. HUGS OR KISSES? both at the same time!!
40. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? The men in the white coats that are coming to take me away ha ha, he he, ho, ho LOL!
41. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
42. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco-the movie was infinitely better.
43. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The Apple Logo...I'm an Apple Computer whore. There's Apple logos all over the place here.
44. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Probably Charmed while I ate supper.
46. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Stones-I like the Beatles too but the Stones.
47. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU BEEN FROM HOME? Oh hell, someplace in Mexico where our ship docked before the return leg of our Cruise 6 years ago.
48. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Special talent? That I can be very annoying? Especially when I'm driving everyone nuts crying for some Valium...
49. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? March 1968 in Massachusetts

Aran Block

Let's see if I can get this photo to upload today. Having unraveled my Aran cardigan I knit last fall, I used some of the wool to work on a pillow. I was unable to get one of the fronts undone without having to cut into it so I think all around I'll just get more wool and knit it fresh. Maybe I can muster a vest out of what's left.

ANY-WHO....This block from the Great American Aran Afghan has always been sorta special to me. I don't know why but it's the block that most strongly called to me. I love the idea of an Aran sweater in miniature sewn to a block.What a cool idea. On the reverse of the pillow, I'm knitting another of the blocks. I just can't seem to bring myself to knit a plain stocking stitch block. How {YAWN} dull.

There's some other stuff I've wanted to link to but will have to wait. I can't recall all of it off the top of my head so I'll save it for next post.

Miss the 80's

Am I the only one who misses the awesome bohemian, glossy, slick, fashion-conscious, beautiful 80's? I get reflective every so often as I just haven't been happy since the 80's ended. I don't seem to fit in in these politically correct times and don't really want to. There hasn't been a decade yet that has matched the fun and freedom we had in the 80's. At least, that's true for me .

In any event, back to knitting. I'll be posting a pic of the back of the pillow block I'm working on. In meantime, here's a picture of Toyah Wilcox and the front of my pillow. Long live the 80's!

PS...apparently, the Aran block doesn't want to upload. I'll have to see what the problem is .

For Moon

I dunno why, when I saw this guy, I thought of my friend Moon. Isn't he the best Moon? I have to admit, I'm glad the latex is painted green, if it were flesh coloured, it would be just too creepy. I'm used to him now but when I bought him, he was scary. His eye follow you when you walk and..well...he just awesome :-) Click on him to make him bigger to get a better idea of just how creepy he is. When you walk by him, you always get the feeling you're going to feel a bony hand reach out & grab your ankle. His hands are hidden under the leaves.

I'm knitting an Aran sweater pillow block :-) I'll post details a bit later.

Cable jacket

I finished this morning on this. I had to rip it out and re-knit it as it was WAY oversized and stretched to the floor. Came out MUCH better the second time around.

I'm on the fence as to weather or not I like the yarn. I can tell you it will snag on ANYTHING you have on your body. Earrings, rings, anything around your neck. There's some pulls in mine already, damnit! It's a very spongy icord type yarn. I'm not sure I'd use this yarn again although it comes in gorgeous colours.

Take note of the buttons....I got a hankering to try polymer clay stuff after seeing some absolutely gorgeous jewellery on the Carol Duvall show. I found out it's not all that easy to do the cane work but I did sculpt a cute little penguin, skull and decided I wanted to try making my own buttons so that's what I did.

I combined metallic gold and hazelnut Sculpey clay and got a swirl going that I liked. I then cut 1" circles from it and painted them with mica powders that matched the colours in the yarn pretty close. Baked them and and I just sewed them on this morning.

I love the jacket, and the weather has been chilly enough in the mornings that I got to wear it out this morning :-)

Progress Pic

Here's a picture of the left front of the jacket. It's knit with Artful Yarn's new offering, Reality. I'm coming along with this but I was very disappointed with this when I got it Friday.

The yarn looks like a nice fall palette, doesn't it? It is light as a feather. When I saw the ad for this yarn and jacket in IK, I thought "This is an awesome fall jacket. Perfect for crisp afternoons or evenings." Well, it's more along the lines of the perfect 'jacket' for a summer walk on the beach when an East wind is blowing. I'm not going to get as much wear out of this as I thought. Unless it's so airy, it'll insulate me, I dunno.

I got gauge on size 11 needles so this is knitting up like greased lightening. The colours are beautiful, eh?

Getting back into the swing of things

I guess with the approach of fall, the knitting bug is starting to bite me again. I'm beginning to feel all autumnal and it feels nice!

Lesse, the past two days I've spent ripping back the Aran cardigan I did last winter. I decided that I didn't knit it to sit on a foot locker only to look at and say "Look at how pretty it is!" I knit it to wear it and it's too tight so.....RIBBIT! Most of the yarn is washed and drying now. I'll re-knit it at some point this fall/winter. incidentally, Bacardi Silver Big Apple is a great drink while ripping a sweater! YUM!

Between the latest Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting mag, there's enough I want to do that I'm positive I'll never get to. The cover sweater on Vogue's fall issue is one I think I'll do...if I crop it to waist length, it shouldn't be too foo-foo for a guy to wear.


There's a sweater jacket in an ad for Artful yarns in the latest IK mag that I am going to make. At the moment I'm waiting for my friendly UPS man to bring the yarn. I ordered it yesterday and is due at my door within the next hour. The yarn looks really cool. I'll post a picture when I get it and have a decent bit knit up.

New Zoo Review anybody?

You remember the show New Zoo Review? I was going through a bunch of sutff on You Tube that a buddy of mine kept reminding me of and my friend Kyra reminded me of New Zoo Review. I found this and thought y'all would get a kick out of it. LOL!

10 Questions

it's still too hot to really knit so I thoguht this might be fun. If you've seen the A&E Show Inside The Actor's Studio, at the end James asks his guest a series of 10 questions. I thought it might be fun to do them here since I'll nver be sitting on that stage to be asked. Here are my answers.

01. What is your favorite word?
Silmarillion-it just sort of flows off your tongue like mercury

02. What is your least favorite word?
No

03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Gloomy, dark, days. Thunderstorms really turn me on both spiritually and emotionally. Birds flying, butterflies and dragonflies. Nature based things turn me on.

04. What turns you off?
Negativity, complacency, laziness, lying, cheating, giving up.


05. What is your favorite curse word?
Motherfucker

06. What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of a brook or stream, thunder, the sound of ocean waves breaking.


07. What sound or noise do you hate?
That infernal reverse beeping of trucks backing up, loading docks banging, jack hammers, that sort of thing.

08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I had always wanted to be a rock star before rock & roll died. Acting was high on my list as well at one time.

09. What profession would you not like to do?
Garbage collection

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
I can't honestly answer this as I don't subscribe to the belief of "heaven" or god per-se.

Knitting and Cars

I just got the new issue of Interweave Knits today in the post. Man I wish it weren't so beastly hot....made me want to start knitting up a storm. LOTS of stuff in there I love and will hope to do this cool season.

There's some great lace shawls in there that I'd love to knit....to throw over the back of a sofa but that will have to wait. My cat would destroy lace in an instant. She's having a helluva good time for herself clawing up this sofa.

Didja ever want something so badly and you realise that you can't logically do it for one reason or another? I've had an on again/off again love affair with this car, an Excalibur Phaeton. I'd give my eye teeth for a mid 70's model. I watched Roller Boogie last night and my girl Linda Blair drives one in the movie. That's what started me on my love affair of it back in 1980.

I'm at a position now where I can afford one and want one BADLY!!!! but due to my location, I can't buy one. Fir starters, I now drive a 2003 Jaguar and love it to death but have been having major problems with the tires, namely I have to check my air pressure daily as they go flat. This is thanks to the dumpy area I live in and this city as a whole is not much better. The roads are filled with broken glass and I've never in my life seen so many potholes. It makes me sorry I wasted money on a Jaguar while living here as it is being destroyed. I'm now a Jaguar fan for life and can't see myself driving anything else-it is-bar NONE the best car I've ever driven and will continue buying/driving them but the Excalibur would be an awesome second car but there's not a cold chance in 7 hells I'd buy one while I'm living here. BOO HOO! I wanna move to Malibu CA. so I can enjoy both cars!

How much longer before knitting season starts again?

Keeping Busy

Not a whole lot going on that's of any interest Just not having a good time and need to make some changes but can't afford to move at the moment. Enough of my misery....

I know it's not knitting but since it's been so hot, especially when you cant open your windows, I've been doing cross stitch. I should have had this finished last winter and framed and hanging on my wall but I got a bit sidetracked LOL! I'm about half way done with this. The chart for this was 6 or 7 pages-currently the biggest I've done so far although nothing like what I will undertake with another dragon. I've got a whole bunch of other dragons left to cross stitch!

Hope you all are having fun and enjoying your summer! :-)

Happy Solstice

Can't believe it's the summer Solstice already. Hope you have a happy one!

Hey, I actually KNIT something

Moving right along on the things my mom had started and never completed, is this ribbon cropped top. It is supposed to have sleeves but I thought it made it look a bit too foo-foo for a guy to wear so I left them off so it's more like a muscle shirt.

It's made of cotton 'ribbon', Unger Streamers was what it's called. I'm not sure if it's made anymore as this dates back to 1995. I don't know why my mother never finished this, it would have been perfect for her. And it was very easy to know, just straight knit, garter st. on the bottom and collar and being done on size 17 needles, it works up like greased lightning.

I can't believe I'm posting these pictures-I look like shit. Excuse the two-tone hair, I'm in desperate need of a rock & roll treatment (bleaching the roots) which I'm doing Thursday, just in time for our trip to Great Adventure on Friday for the coaster event on Saturday. I don't know how many of you are Six Flags fans but from all I've heard this year, I'm very disappointed and I've not even gotten there yet. Wheels came off one coaster shutting one side down, a restraint unlocked on another shutting it down-we're taking bets on if any coasters will actually be open to ride. The season is getting off on the wrong foot this year and that ain't good.

I'm wishing Chris would get home from work early, I'd like to go out for a Margarita tonight.

Indulge me...I'm venting :-/

Allow me to indulge...I'm sat here at my desk listening to a thunderstorm on CD...how that for pathetic? LOL! There's not a storm in sight tho we've had enough rain to make me contemplate trading in my Jaguar for a canoe.

When you're stuck someplace, how do you deal with it? I'm stuck living in this shithole I live in and at the moment, cannot do much about it. It is a very heavily industrialised area that I live in. Surrounded by factories-it's not a proper neighbourhood. I've made some pretty stupid decisions in my life but moving down here has to be the biggest one of all time. WHAT was I thinking? I think a lot of it has to do with the fact we moved in here and three days later, my mom had her stroke and I lost her a year after that. This is not how it was supposed to be. This is also "the wrong side of the tracks"...I grew up in an upper middle class family/neighbourhood....that is not at all what this area is even remotely about.

I cannot leave this house now for several reasons. My grandfather owns this house-I'm next in line for it which I'm not looking forward to. It's a shithole. But that's beside the point. He will sell this house and he's hell bent on handing out riches to family members that wouldn't know him if they tripped over him in the street. This was a major hot point for my grandmother when she was alive-he's all too anxious to hand out money to anybody and my grandmother would go ballistic. I'll be goddamned if he's going to hand out my inheritance to assholes who don't know who he is. Family or not.


Deal was I'd keep up he property and he wouldn't charge me/us rent. Well, I've not kept up the property-I have been so down about this area that I don't give a toss what anything looks like. I've let the yard grow like a jungle as I was treated to a wild pet of sorts. I had a Coyote in the yard which both delighted and saddened me. I've not seen him in almost a month and a half so apparently, even the Coyote has had the good sense to bugger off-I wish I could. I refused to call authorities in because they would have shot it and I will NOT tolerate that. My only concern was the Coyote was safe. I hope he is. He was beautiful...so fluffy looking-I only wish I could have gone out to sit with him. Perhaps if he stayed I may have been able to. There was a time I was able to get squirrels and crows to eat from my hand. Why not sit with a Coyote.

This also happened to coincide with my return to the Craft....I wondered if it was an omen of some sort...maybe my totem animal. I've begun to study the old religion in good faith now. I got tired of being a dabbler, a "winter Witch". I have had a very, very strong calling of late so I decided now is the time. Maybe it's my age, I dunno but it feels right, more-so than ever before. I have some very definite plans-one of which is I want my death to be different. I really wanted a High Priestess to preside over my mom's death but I've not been involved in a coven in over 10 years so how would I do that?I kept it as low key as I could, I had a deacon (sorry, I have no idea what a deacon is) come to the funeral home and I left the room while he did his thing. It is nothing at all in tune with my beliefs of ideas. Would have been great fun to see the reaction if I could have sent my mom off like I wanted to and had a Witch there. I've always been the black sheep of the family anyway. But I want none of that for my time when it comes. I most definitely want a High Priestess to send me off to the Summerlands when it is my time.

Anyway, I guess in short I just needed to vent. I'm not having a very good time here and I feel it's not doing my health any good. I've always been a Type-A personality but my stress level since moving here has been astronomical. I do quite a bit of meditating to help calm me, my religion and the Goddess gives me a great amount of solace as well. Just kinda sucks that any relaxing realm I enter is via visualisation...I no longer have a yard to chill out. My dad made a sanctuary in the yard when I was living home...water fountain, large gargoyle (I swear that Gargoyle was alive...I saw it move several times)-landscape lighting. Not only was it a space to calm the nerves, it was wonderful to to go out at night and worship the goddess...often being joined by passing skunks. I never knew how much I'd miss that. Took so much for granted.

Here I am

I'm here...I'm here. I didn't slip into a black hole and disappear :-0 I'm not sure what to say...I haven't been knitting :-( I helped my dad wallpaper his living room. Seems strange because the room had panel all around. Not dark but my dad said it was to him and he hated it. Having grown up in that house and seeing it with bare wood floors and wallpaper seems odd now but it's nice.

That made me want to wallpaper my bathroom here, I did funky painting with a sea sponge and don't really like it but I'm not keen on spending more money in this house so it'll stay as it is.

Chris and I are going to NJ to an event Great Adventure calls Coaster Celebration. We get an hour in the morning (8.30 to 9.30) to ride and stay on them without having to get off and get back in line, we'll then have the rest of the day to do what we want and then again from 11.30 to 12.30 will get another hour to ride and stay on different coasters in another section of the park. This will be interesting to see how it goes, 14 hours in a park that's a long day.

My friend Kyra sent me some yarn that when knitted up, is supposed to look like the American flag...red white and blue. I don't know what I'm waiting for-I was planning to start those the evening I got the yarn.

So that's all I'm up to. Nice to be missed :-) I wondered if you guys would forget about me :-(

Beltaine

I just wanted to wish those of you that follow the left hand path a Happy Beltaine :-)


B*B

A Meme

Lissa over at Am Knot did this and I liked it so I tought I'd steal it and do it too. Hope she doen'st mind


FAVOURITES

TV show: Charmed, X Files reruns, Family Guy (Stewie rocks!), Bev Hills 90210 reruns-yes I was a fan of the original run (Did I just admit that?) and I still love it.
Flower: Foxglove
Alcohol: Absinthe
Movie: Oh god, this could end up 6 miles long. The Exorcist, SAW 2, Harry Potter series, Full Meal Jacket to name a few
Color: Purple
Sport: Ski Jumping (I'd say roller coastering but I don't think that's a real sport??? LOL!)
Actor: Keanu Reeves, Dean Winters, Christopher Meloni,
Music: Generally 80's style heavy metal but anything really so long as it's not rap/hip hop.
Season: Fall
Book: Anything by Richard Laymon.

1 0 F A C T S

Birthplace: I wish New York City but Boston, MA.
Hometown: I tell people New York City but a small suburb just N. of Boston.
Height: 5'10"
Hair color: Blond, and not blond enough
Hair length: approaching the middle of my back
Hair style: a mess usually ROTFLOL! Plain...no more perms or I'd have hay on top of my head.
Eye color: brown unless I wear contacts in which case they'd be grey-or shimmery like moonlight for special f/x
Skin color: White...actually, I'm sorta heavily tattooed so I guess I'm what you'd call coloured.
Shoe size: 9 1/2 I guess. In dress shoes, all differnet sizes (designer shoes are not always the most confortable so I get various sizes dependng on the shoe)
Citizenship: US of A

1 0 T H I S O R T H A T S

Love or lust?: Love
Hard liquor or beer?: Hard Liquor
Night or day?: Day
Hook-ups or relationship?: Relationships
T.V. or internet?: TV
Wild night out or romantic night in? A night in. I'm getting very boring as I get older LOL!
Saturday or Sunday?: Sunday
Colored or black and white picture?: black & white...especially if it's infrared
Phone or in person?: Either
Bill Pullman or Bill Paxton?: Can I say both? Would that make me a pig?

1 0 H A V E Y O U E V E R S

Have you ever been caught sneaking out? Yes, an Ozzy Osbourne concert when I was 14 and did I catch hell when I returned home.
Have you ever done something you regret?: Yes
Have you ever been on a house boat?: Not that I'm aware of
Have you ever unintentionally injured a small child?: No
Have you ever been charged with sexual assault?: Eww, No
Have you ever had your revenge?: I leave that up to Karma. I don't want to come back to pay it off.
Have you ever finished an entire jaw breaker?: No, I lost my taste for candy after biting in to a Blow Pop and it pulled a brace off one of my teeth. My orthodontist was not amused.
Have you ever stayed up all night til the sun came up: Oh many, many times when I was a teen and in my 20's.
Have you ever been caught by your parents with a hickey? Yes, kinda hard for a guy to blame it on a curling iron
Have you ever been caught by your parents doing anything more than making out?: Oh, umm, Yes...and my dad learnt to knock after that LOL! (I was 19)

10 A R E Y O U S

Are you missing someone right now?: Sort of
Are you happy? I will be when I get my behind on a roller coaster finally.
Are you interested in taking a free stress test?: No, I fear the result. My stress is very high as it is.
Are you bored? No
Are you German?: I may have been in a past life
Are you Italian?: This goes back to the reincarnation thing above
Are you French?: Again, the reincarnation thing...perhaps in a prior life.
Are you loyal to the smelly European countries of your ancestors?: Smelly country of ancestors? Have you been around some college kids? Tower Records in Boston used to be good for clearing out your sinuses when the college kids shopped.
Are your parents still married?: No, my mom died 3 years ago and they divorced when I was 15 anyway.
Are you into someone right now?: Yes-I have a partner and a dream partner. Is that an Incubus?

Moving Right Along

I sat on my sofa this morning with a cup of coffee and my afghan. I finished it whilst watching Charmed. Now that that is out of the way, it's time to make some decisions.

I have that Perry Ellis cable sampler from Vogue Knitting magazine that I'm maybe a quarter of the way done with. However, I have been so inspired by the Barbara Walker cable books that I'm thinking perhaps it's time to rip that cable sampler out and use the wool to design my own sweater. I'd probably enjoy it more and it'll be a new challenge. I'm already knitting this cable sampler for the third time and am tired of it even tho it is a gorgeous sweater.

That said, I had joined the Socks The Rock club and have the first kit I could knit. Just not sure if I want to do another pair of socks just yet. They're fast, fun and easy but designing my own sweater seems a bit more interesting at the moment.

Rowan has a book out, Denim, that my friend Kyra (her link is over there on the right- Knitmeister) had started knitting a sweater from, Patrick is the name of the sweater. It's a gorgeous cable crew neck. I'd love to knit that as well.

I suppose in between I'll start to heavily fringe that striped afghan I did.

Not that I need another afghan but I've had visions of a knotted granny square afghan done in shades of purple. Somewhere along the line I stumbled upon a web site that had crochet granny squares but they were a Celtic Knot style. Has anybody else seen them? I'd say it was around February I saw it. I don't think it was The Crochet Dude...I think it was a woman who did them. I'm not sure if she had a pattern for them yet or not.

I'm Here...I'm Here

Hell....I hadn't realised how much time had gone by since my last post. I got wrapped up in finishing the hall and then got into some spring cleaning which led into taking my car in for it's 3 year maintenance check and getting wrapped up in the opening of Great Adventure.

Let's see, I finished the crochet afghan I posted several entries ago. Now I found another afghan. This is knit in garter stitch and is basically a way to use up scraps. I started this one over 20 years ago, found it in my mom's attic so she must have worked on it some and now I"m finishing it up. This seems to be the season for me to finish things. I have to say I absolutely detest using the circular needles on this for some reason. I've never disliked circulars but on this one, for some reason I do.

I dyed some curtains purple and now am not sure I like them. Chris does, I think I may end up stripping the colour. I got a little carried away after watching Purple Rain a week or so ago.

I've not started any new projects, nor have I finished the spider pillow. I need to get another skein of fisherman wool for that. I don't think I'm going to have enough for the back.


I wanted to jot a quick entry to let you all know I'm still alive LOL! I have some catching up to do but right now I've got some more stuff to organise here.

Needles & Spiders & Paint...(sigh)

Hmm, where to start? Ok, I finally broke down and got those Brittany needles off ebay. I still can't believe I paid 60 bucks for a single pair of needles but I love the tops of these so much. They are exquisite! Even better than the current ones they make. What I don't understand is they told me in a recent e mail that they may produce this Victorian top again in the far future. (scratching my head) Why the far future? They are currently making crochet hooks with this top, would seem to me knitting needles would be no big deal...they all start out teh same way, just one gets a hook at the end and one gets tapered. It's not as if it's any big deal they need to set up for. And I think it looks superb in Birch wood.

Here's an idea, if anybody else feels as strongly about these as I do (and they do make a handsome addition to any knitters collection of needles!) write to Brittany and tell them you want the Victorian tops back in Birch. Maybe if they get enough letters, they'll produce them again. I could see it if they weren't doing that top at all but they are cranking it out on crochet hooks.

Yes, this is another spider I did for going on a pillow. I'm in the process of working on the back but haven't done any knitting in a while. I can see there's probably going to be spiders all over my house before long LOL!

If any of you got Barbara Walkers book with the spider, please check it out. I had to send mine back to them for replacement. I was missing half the book. Mine went up to the mosaic charts then started back in with page 99 so something went wonky. Hopefully it was only my book.

Still scraping the ceiling but it's in the final stages, not much more to do.

Seems I had a lot more to say but I can't recall any of it now so I guess I'll go work on the ceiling. Please click on the link & write to Brittany! :-)

Home Improvement?

Not too sure about that, a small job turned into a larger job which is turning into an even larger one than that. Long story short, I've not been ignoring you guys or my blog but I started to scrape my upstairs hall ceiling as it was cracking. What started out to be a small touch up turned into me now scraping every ounce of this crap down to the substrate. Along the way I'll need to spackle the bits of ceiling that are crumbling. UGH! You can see here what I'm doing. I've got serious thoughts on leaving it as is and saying it's Abandoned Asylum chic. What do you think? Yeah...me neither, besides I'll loose money when I sell this hell hole. (Pictures seem to be giving Blogger a problem at the moment)

Right then....

I've not got any knitting done since I stated this last week around this time. My only saving grace was the past two nights, Travel Channel and National Geographic channel respectively had on shows about roller coasters. And the season starts next week. Great Adventure opens next Friday the Chris and I won't be going this early. I've set a goal for this summer..to conquer my fear of 200+ foot drops....that means Nitro, although that's stupid as I've been on Chiller, tho that starts out flat and the end you go up a 200 foot spike only to drop down and do it all again backwards. To be fair, the spike is at such a severe angle that you cannot see the ground below you. You can only see the sky when you're at the top of the spike. I think I also need to really try to get my fear in check and do Kingda Ka. Chris and I stood and watched it for about an our last year but for some reason, this year just seems like it's the year for me to do all this stuff....I just turned 38, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do these new fangled rides. I'll do any roller coaster on earth under 200 feet...I don't care how many drops it has, how many loops it has...it's all good but I've had a phobia about those over 200 feet and this is my year I think to conquer and move on :-)

My Sentiments Exactly...

While not knitting related, this struck a chord in me. It was in the paper this morning and pretty much sums up my feelings.

For Moon & Jason-Bats & Spiders :-)

I have to remember to comment to my comments more. I didn't mean to keep anybody is suspense LOL! Here's the bat & the spider.

The bat is a lot of fun...very easy to do and shows up quite well. It would look sharp somewhere on a sweater...don't you think....or I'm thinking some type of table wear....I'm just kooky for bats....especially since they used to enter my house frequently when I lived with my dad. But that can turn into a whole nother post, suffice to say I'm an honest to goodness bat fan. I think they're cute and they are amazing to watch.

The spider....this was not hard but requires a lot of concentration. You're twisting stitches every which way. It is amazing to watch take shape and I thin she uses every knitting technique known to mankind in the 53 rows it takes to complete it LOL! Unfortunately, it doesn't show up all that well in this photo. I think maybe the yarn is too busy for it...trust me, look at it and you can see it's shape.

It is QUITE large. 9 inches...oh my! LOL! This simply MUST be used in a sweater. I need to design a spider sweater. It's too cool a design.

Crochet

Time for a change of pace. I found this afghan in my mom's attic around Christmas time. This has to be at least 20 years old, most likely older. I remember her working on this. Ironically, it matches my bedroom walls. So I've been working on it off and on in between knitting projects. Last week I also ordered a Brittany crochet hook. It has the top on it like their old knitting needles that I'll never own a set of :-( If the crochet hook is birch, I don't understand why they don't continue to make the knitting needles with that top on them. I remember reading somewhere that said they discontinued them due to breakage. Crochet hooks don't break? They could put a disclaimer on the knitting needles saying they are for decorative purposes only so if you break them, they don't have to replace them. That's fair, no? I'd go along with that.

I wish I knew how to add pictures aside from just the top of a post...I'd post pictures of the Barbara Walker spider and the bat. I'll save that for tomorrow to. Now, I'm going back to my afghan.

Bats and Spiders and Turtles, oh my!

Chris and I went to Boston yesterday and after stopping in several stores, I found and bought Barbara Walker's 3rd Treasury of knitting patterns. I thought they were out of print since a quick search on Amazon showed only used copies available. When I got home and started looking through it, lots of ideas started going through my mind. I think I need to come up with a pattern for my own sweater. I have to use the spider, it's gorgeous. I also quite like the bat. There's a lot of really beautiful cable patterns. I'll need to ask for the other 3 volumes for Yule or something.

I had started to knit the bat last night to see what it looked like in DK weight yarn but 3/4 of the way through it I was interrupted by a phone call and after 2 hours on a cell-phone-call-from-hell I can't figure out where I am this morning. Trust me, what I did looks cool. It will end up being used in some sweater.

ANYHOO....I picked Koyaanisqatsi up last weekend and forgot how incredible it was. I don't think I appreciated it enough as a teen but seeing it now, through older and more jaded eyes, it's an experience. If nothing else, the soundtrack is great to knit by :-) Yesterday, I got the final chapter in the trilogy, Naqoyqatsi. It's good but I don't like it as much

No pictures this time....

iPod Music

I was over on Ginx's blog last night and saw this and thought I'd do it too. It's been forever since I did any type of meme. So here goes.

"Open iTunes or Windows Media Player to answer
the following. Go to your library. Answer, no matter
how embarrassing it is."

How many songs? 1446

Sort by artist
First artist: 3 Doors Down (Kryptonite)
Last artist: ZZ Top (Leggs)


Sort by song title
First Song: 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden
Last Song: Youth Gone Wild by Skid Row

Sort by time
Shortest Song: "Evil" (0.2 seconds) (not really a song but a stinger)
Longest Song: Freebird live (10.35) by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Sort by album
First Album: ...Twice Shy by Great White
Last Album: WOW by Wendy O. Williams

First song that comes up on shuffle: Forever Free by W.A.S.P.


Most Played Song: Nightingale ( a.k.a Freya Falconing on her site) by my friend Lylith
And these are the first 10 songs that iTunes chose for me today:

1. Where's California ~ Teena Marie
2. Too Late For Love ~ Def Leppard
3. Unchained Melody ~ Righteous Bros.
4. Close My Eyes Forever ~ Lita Ford & Ozzy Osbourne
5. Queen of the Broken Hearts ~ Loverboy (Hey! I forgot about them!)
6. Someday ~ Nickelback
7. Dream Weaver ~ Gary Wright
8. You've Got Another Thing Comin' ~ Judas Priest
9. Learning To Fly ~ Pink Floyd
10. I Don't Believe In Love ~ Queensryche

Lotsa Goodies

Chris and I spent the day walking round Boston on Saturday. I wanted to look for some solid sock yarn to try out these socks. Scroll down until you see Conservative Socks. That is the black/purple/orange thing you see in the photo. I really like the design, it's unique but it looking like it's turning out enormous. Anybody wanna wear it with me? I got the gauge so we'll see...it might just be that the yarn is solid so my eye is seeing an unbroken piece of fabric where the other yarns I've used were variegated.

I also got two pair of Brittany needles. These are nice but they aren't the ones I want. The black walnut are just too expensive. I think I mentioned seeing them on eBay but the "Buy It Now" option was $65. and I'm not paying 65 bucks for a pair of knitting needles. And a new (to me) Mountain Colour yarn, Wildflower. I guess these will be socks too-just need to find a nice pattern for it. I'm tired of the universal sock pattern and not sure I want to do another pair of jaywalkers.

The Great American Aran Afghan is absolutely delicious to look through. I want to make this but with summer approaching, I'll hold off till fall. I may make a pillow of one.

On that note, is anyone familiar with Barbara Walker's books? I saw a block of a spider, I'm not sure if there was a web or not but I definitely remember seeing a 3-D spider. I cant remember what blog I saw it on but the person said it was Barbara Walker block. Does anyone know what book it is in? I looked through two on Saturday and didn't see it. I loved that spider! Would like to get the book it's in. Actually, the two books I did see I wanted to get but couldn't splurge on them.

Knock Knock....

Anybody remember me? I guess with the Olympics over, it's time to get back to normal. But damn what a let down...nothing exciting to watch on tv anymore. Aside from the skating, I really enjoyed these games. I think the new scoring system sucks and is ruining the artistry of figure skating. What Surya Bonaly was highly criticised for 12 years ago or so is now what skating is all about. SO many falls, it looks sloppy now. Oh well...that's just my opinion of it. I enjoyed the other games far more although I did love the skating exhibition. And I started to get into curling....it's really a lot more interesting than I thought. And through it all, I still really want to try luge! Now comes the countdown until Vancouver.

I didn't join the knitting Olympics although I did start another pair of Jaywalkers using some green yarn. I've been itching for green socks and I love this colourway. I'm on the gusset of the second sock now. There's a pair of socks that are rather unique looking that I need to find some solid sock yarn for...I think I'd like to tackle those next.

On these green socks, I thought I'd try something different and went with the Eye of Partridge heel flap. I think it doesn't show up too well in a variegated yarn. It looks a bit different, more dense but you can't really see the honeycomb effect too well.

Man, wasn't the Flying Tomato great? I love Shaun White!


That's really all that's gone on since my last post. My display shit the bed last Friday so I had to go buy another one. Really didn't need that added expense but I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So you can see I lead a rather dull day to day existence ROTFLOL! The Olympics come on and life stops. I don't answer my phone, I don't answer the door, I don't want interruptions. I told Chris if anybody rings me, tell them I've died. LOL! This dude loves his winter games!

Hope you all are well and I promise to catch up and stay caught up now. And now...for my sock....well, actually, it's up there on top.

Listening to: I Can't Stand It ~ Lita Ford

Entrelac at the Olympics

I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog lately. I guess I get so wrapped up in the Olympics. I had to make an appointment with my tax preparer who is taking me on Saturday afternoon. I even told him to please hold on,I had to check to see what games were on the Olympics before I could commit to that time LOL! He was not amused, judging by his tone. Hey I'm sorry, these only happen once every 4 years.

Speaking of the games, I"m sort of mixed about them. I'm seeing no medal ceremonies like in years past, the figure skating seems to be all jumbled up, more so than I ever remember, they're not really talking to many of the skaters. Not that I'm only tuning in for the skating, I love almost all of them. I'm jus as rabid, if not more-so on the luge and ski jumping.

And have you gotten a look at the medals? I just saw my first one last evening. Man they look cheap. The look like spray painted CD's. Nagano Japan medals were beautiful, these look cheesy-just like Johnny Weir does LOL! God I hate him.

So contrary to how it sounds, I am really enjoying them. I'm sure I'll sleep for a week and a half when its over. I'm not used to staying up until 11.30 or later. I'm usually in bed by 9 or 9.30 the latest so my ass is dragging by the time I'm hauling it to bed.

I've been knitting an entrelac scarf off and on while the games have been going on. I did this in the mid 80's but it seemed easier and neater then for some reason. I should try switching needles, I've not done this on addi turbos before and that may be why. There's a sweater in an old issue of Knitters that has an entrelac yoke . It looks beautiful, the body is brown & the entrelac pattern is graduating shades of brown from dark to almost white. I'm debating weather to attempt it...it's not a 'real' pattern but is based on EZ's percentage system. I'll keep reading through it to see if I can figure out and if I can do it. I hope I can, it's a very handsome sweater.

Fine eyelash scarf, available at Saks

Modeling the scarf is Midnight....my ever-patient familiar. She had enough when I tried to turn the scarf into a babooshka, she was having none of that LOL!

This was Bernat Boa I had left over from an afghan. I dunno why I decided t make a scarf out of it, I suppose to see what it looked like...I'd certainly not wear it but it is the perfect size for Midnite. Parhaps she can wear it next winter, assuming we have a winter next year. The colour works well against her fur, yes?

I am the King of Boring Subject Lines

So why even try to come up with them? ROTFLOL! I guess I'm just not that clever anymore LOL!

Anyway, this morning I was surfing round and found Sock Bug. I got all excited only to discover that they seem to be done on two needles. Hmm....I won't do socks on two needles, I'll have to figure out how to do them on 4. I don't think it should be terribly difficult?

I saw this while having my coffee and it didn't sit well with me. Then I thought back to all the rumours of how e mail would no longer be free and we'd be charged for it. I guess I won't worry about this until it happens but corporate greed doesn't surprise me. Funny thing is, I remember the internet before there ever was such a thing as the WWW and a friend of mine went off the deep end when the WWW started creeping in. He was staunchly opposed to it saying the internet was never designed to be that way. He was a big fan of the old http://and the 6 mile long url of archaic addresses.

Enough of that crap...this has nothing to do with knitting.

Everybody getting excited over the Olympics? This will be the first once I've seen since the '94 games in Norway and I can't wait. Of course, it makes me want to run right out and try the luge and bobsledding and figure skating and ski jumping. I guess I get pretty close to ski jumping...kinda-sorta...with the roller coasters in the summer. Naaaa, I guess not really . Oh well...

Socks Done

Hell's bells I have the worst subject lines. I should have my buddy A come up with some for me. He always has interesting e mail subject lines.

I've just spent the past six hour scrubbing woodwork down and doing 60 loads of laundry. I'm tired now so I thought I'd post to my blog and then go do a bit of knitting.

Anyhoo....the Jaywalker socks are done, I finished those Friday evening. I really love these. They don't slouch down at all so let's hear it for bias knitting! I had attempted to start the Friday Harbour socks from Nancy Bush, however the cuff was not working out..couldn't get the second needle to work out properly so I pulled it out and put the yarn away. I decided to get the cable sampler sweater I had begun yet again and work on that. So that's what I've been doing since yesterday.

My mind must be getting old because I'm up to the sleeve shaping (it's a dolman sleeve) and it's taking me a while to figure out which way to work the charts as I cast on at the start of each row. It's funny, the first time I knit this I did it in the colour blocking it was designed in and was really excited. Now, I'm really not that excited about it. I guess I've done it too much. It's a good looking sweater, I just could care less LOL! If it works out this time, fine (I'll be shocked but happy). If not, I'm just throwing all the yarn out, not even going to attempt to save it. I've had it with this sweater.

I was stupid, I said this would have been brilliant in natural fisherman wool and I end up buying charcoal yarn for it 3 or 4 years ago. The original colours were stunning...all muted gem tones. Green, purple, blue and aqua. I do wish Aarlan yarn were still available as I still think even the yarn I have for this is too soft. I am using Jaeger Matchmaker yarn...Aarlan Royale is what it was designed in. My substitute doesn't look like it has the hand of the Aarlan but oh well LOL!

Jaywalking

Today was a good day. Chatted with Kae a bit in the early afternoon (Thanks Kae, that was fun!) and then got down to business and playing with my new toy. I got a yarn swift and ball winder this morning.


This thing is so much fun I could wind yarn all day. I think it's definitely time I start trying to dye some yarn now. Anyway, I wound some alpaca I had left over from the fingerless mittens, this yarn here from an afghan, a skein of Cherry Hill Tree sock yarn and that was it for today. I wish I had waited to wind the Socks That Rockyarn but I was too impatient and wound that the old fashioned way over two chair backs. The colourway, Fire On The Mountain was too hot for me not to dive right in.

Here is my Jaywalker sock so far.


I'm loving this. The colour is awesome and the zig zag pattern is way cool. The only thing I hate dislike about these is they are knit on size 1 dpn. The needles are so thin they feel like they're going to snap at any moment. They also make it harder to work the heel flap as the stitches want to slide off instead of slip over to the other needle. But I think these socks are well worth it. Can't wait to wear these.

Man I wish my gram was alive, I think she'd have a different opinion on socks now a days than the pair she did that got tossed aside.

Rockin' socks, wristband & hacking on a Friday

I guess I'm making up for lost time that I wasn't posting :)

First of all, I got the Socks That Rock yarn in the post today. I didn't expect it this quickly but I'm going to wind it and you know what I'll be doing tonight. Fire On The Mountain is the colourway. Also sandwiched between them is the wristband with that yarn I posted about yesterday. I can see why they discontinued it-you have to stop, drop and untangle every couple rows or it knots up.


I need to get me a yarn swift and ball winder. I do this the old fashioned way, with my feet LOL! Or sometimes on the backs of two chairs to hold the skein taught.

I'm freaking out-not sure if I'm being scammed or just over reacting to SPAM. I rarely go into my photography site anymore as I've not taken pictures in a long time. Long story short, in my web mail for my site, there's a note from someone on eBay asking about an item I'm selling. It looks official but I have never sold anything there and I would certainly not use my web site to do so...nowhere in the note was my registered eBay name. The thing that is spooking me is the note was addressed to me at my web site, infrared visions.com That seems a little too coincidental, no? I've since turned mail off for that web site and I spent hours yesterday changing all my passwords. Ordered my credit report this morning and nothing is wonky there. I sent a copy of the e mail I got to ebay to see if they can figure out what is going on.

No, I did not reply to the e mail, I've been phished often enough, especially by fake Pay Pal e mails that I don't reply to them period.

Which leads me to say sometimes technology sucks!

I feel better now that I got that off my chest LOL! Now it's time for lunch, then winding this yummy yarn.

Listening to AC/DC ~ For Those About To Rock

Aran Afghans

Ok folks, here 'tis. One shot of the afghan and one of the Inspector making sure it's up to snuff. OH...BTW-this is Midnite..making her official Blog debut. Don't tell her she's cute...she's already got an ego the size of Texas.


Listening to I Don't Believe In Love ~ Queensryche

New Find

First, I want to thank you all for the great comments on the seed stitch jacket. I can't remember when I made it but I'm almost 100% positive it was something my mom saw in a Herrschners catalogue and I got it to make for her. It had to be sometime in the early 90's, maybe 93 or so. I wonder if I still have the pattern for it?

Last night while we were sitting on the sofa watching Murder She Wrote, I found this in my stash, Lion Brand Sensations. I can't find it in their catalogue so I guess it's not being made anymore. It feels soft a lot like suede. There's only 87 yards per skein and I'm wondering what I can use it for. It's a worsted weight. I was thinking a funky pair of fingerless mittens but I'm not sure it'd be comfortable. Any ideas?

Being up at these odd hours, I went and got myself sorted. What else is there to do at 5 AM? LOL!



be sorted @ nimbo.net