Before I get into my tale of woe....quick positive update!
My Anne fall leaf lace shawl is done and blocked. Its is lovely and just the right size. I would put in a snazzy photo, if I had one. (If you had not guessed...I'm relatively lazy about taking pictures of my knitting. Maybe its because I don't own the camera I normally use) I plan on wearing it over the weekend, since the temperature may actually be closer to holiday weather then it has been (not that I'm complaining...no heater in use means no heating bill)
But..everything is not blocking and finished and happy. Oh no. I have a current project that will soon be a flaming car wreck on needles.
I have had two skeins of Anne waiting to be a Baltic sea stole for years. Its been on my "to-do" que for ages. So I finally buckle down and begin. The pattern calls for sport weight yarn, 900 yards, size 8 needle. I tried this equation with my lovely deep blue Anne. It was nice, but much too open for my liking, especially since I plan on using this for warmth. So I drop the needle size down two sizes and add 4 extra repeats to make up for the small width this change in size would cause. I have 1095 yards at my disposal. I thought, in a complete fit of insanity, that this would be enough. Hell, I'm 100 yards over what they call for and they never actually use the totals they quote....what could go wrong?
I'm only about three inches in and my first skein is a quarter gone. In the back of my head I know I do not have anywhere near enough yarn to do this. So when exactly do I give up and claim defeat? I'm delusional....I continue to knit thinking that yarn will magically appear and everything will be fine. Because that is what happens, right?
The ironic thing...I'm normally the most conservative knitter. If I feel that my yarn will not meet requirements, especially when yardage is concerned I rip out early. I have a good feeling for when things are going badly and normally do not have a problem with scraping an entire project for something else. But this time.....this time its different. I just refuse to admit this will not work. After casting on a dozen times, trying three different size of needles, carrying around the pattern and the yarn in my knitting bag for ages.....I just can't let it go without a fight!
....If someone would like to sneak into my house and hide this project from me before the swearing starts I will forever be grateful....
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
I'm an omen
...Total creepy kind of omen..
If you see me employed at a company run the other way. It means something bad will happen.
I was laid off an hour ago. The company I was working for had to lay off both of their employees. It seems the ship was sinking way faster then anyone had expected. So...I'm now unemployed, more then a bit freaked out about my bills, and hoping to god that something shows up soon. Christmas may have to be canceled this year.
And because I have impeccable timing, I still have presents being delivered to my old place of business. I can pick them up, but unfortunately they will be closed most of next week. Thank goodness I needed everything being shipped right away. This situation is making me especially tense. I also am having a problem with one of my orders...it seems they may have not shipped everything I had requested....again....tension. I'm going to obsess about it until tomorrow morning.
The only ray of light shining through all of this gloom?
I have all this time for knitting now!
...and knitted items will be nice...since paying my gas bill will need a miracle from god.
Hopefully something more cheerful later. I'm just so bummed right now.
If you see me employed at a company run the other way. It means something bad will happen.
I was laid off an hour ago. The company I was working for had to lay off both of their employees. It seems the ship was sinking way faster then anyone had expected. So...I'm now unemployed, more then a bit freaked out about my bills, and hoping to god that something shows up soon. Christmas may have to be canceled this year.
And because I have impeccable timing, I still have presents being delivered to my old place of business. I can pick them up, but unfortunately they will be closed most of next week. Thank goodness I needed everything being shipped right away. This situation is making me especially tense. I also am having a problem with one of my orders...it seems they may have not shipped everything I had requested....again....tension. I'm going to obsess about it until tomorrow morning.
The only ray of light shining through all of this gloom?
I have all this time for knitting now!
...and knitted items will be nice...since paying my gas bill will need a miracle from god.
Hopefully something more cheerful later. I'm just so bummed right now.
Friday, November 10, 2006
RIP Jack Palance
This is the second most sad death of the year. I nearly cried when I heard it.I love...well...loved this man! Being the nerdy person I am I grew up enamoured with Ripley's Believe it or Not. (and I cannot speak to you if you are too young to remember this amazing show!)
And his stint as Dracula....freakin awesome!
I always had a major crush on him!
Although...of his recent performances...my favorite was definately the horny artist in Bagdad Cafe.
He will be sadly missed.
I feel like some part of my childhood is now gone.
Monday, November 06, 2006
You left me in Stitches!
Heaven is obscene amounts of yarn.
Yarn from floor to ceiling.
I either seemed to be underwhelmed or overwhelmed at big knitting events. This years Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival left me wanting more. I didn't see enough to really make my head spin.
I went to Stitches East in Baltimore this past weekend. Even though it didn't leave me with the feeling of amazement it left me with the first time I attended one, I was impressed overall. I think the highlight for me was finally getting my hands on a Lexie Barnes bag. I have been in desperate need of something in the Hermosa pattern for ages and ages. (black and white skull motif. It kind of looks like a cross between Day of the Dead sugar skulls and a doilie) I didn't just get a giant knitting bag (it was discounted because the pattern was printed upside down, it doesn't even look that odd even with the mistake!) But I also purchased three discounted project bags. I bought one for actual projects, one for paperback books (I hate ruining books in the bottom of my bag) and the third as a small makeup bag. I look like a walking advertisement for her company, and I love it! There is no one nicer who I would like to support with my purchases. I was able to speak to Lexie at length and look forward to one day going to see her showroom.
For the past year I've definately been burned out on the whole knitting scene. Besides knitting with those girls I'm close to (and you know who you are) I could have just cared less about everything else having to do with knitting. Even yarn didn't have the same appeal for me. But a magical thing happened at Stitches. I actually met like-minded people. I met company and store owners who were actually.....gasp....NICE! They liked talking to me, not because I spent $100's of dollars on their merchandise, but because we had similar ideals and they were actually NICE! (I need to say it twice because i'm so shocked) It gave me a new enthusiasm about knitting that I had not had in awhile. Not everywhere is Philly. New England, Upstate NY, Oregon, places chock full of nice laid back people. and lordy lordy....do they know their fiber!
And since i'm sure everyone wants to see what I actually got, pictures will come soon. I PROMISE! you can beat me with a stick if I forget again!
(well....i don't do it mainly because of laziness....not really because of memory)
i really need to get rid of this need for work so I can use as much time as possbile on my projects! up with knitting, down with work!
Yarn from floor to ceiling.
I either seemed to be underwhelmed or overwhelmed at big knitting events. This years Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival left me wanting more. I didn't see enough to really make my head spin.
I went to Stitches East in Baltimore this past weekend. Even though it didn't leave me with the feeling of amazement it left me with the first time I attended one, I was impressed overall. I think the highlight for me was finally getting my hands on a Lexie Barnes bag. I have been in desperate need of something in the Hermosa pattern for ages and ages. (black and white skull motif. It kind of looks like a cross between Day of the Dead sugar skulls and a doilie) I didn't just get a giant knitting bag (it was discounted because the pattern was printed upside down, it doesn't even look that odd even with the mistake!) But I also purchased three discounted project bags. I bought one for actual projects, one for paperback books (I hate ruining books in the bottom of my bag) and the third as a small makeup bag. I look like a walking advertisement for her company, and I love it! There is no one nicer who I would like to support with my purchases. I was able to speak to Lexie at length and look forward to one day going to see her showroom.
For the past year I've definately been burned out on the whole knitting scene. Besides knitting with those girls I'm close to (and you know who you are) I could have just cared less about everything else having to do with knitting. Even yarn didn't have the same appeal for me. But a magical thing happened at Stitches. I actually met like-minded people. I met company and store owners who were actually.....gasp....NICE! They liked talking to me, not because I spent $100's of dollars on their merchandise, but because we had similar ideals and they were actually NICE! (I need to say it twice because i'm so shocked) It gave me a new enthusiasm about knitting that I had not had in awhile. Not everywhere is Philly. New England, Upstate NY, Oregon, places chock full of nice laid back people. and lordy lordy....do they know their fiber!
And since i'm sure everyone wants to see what I actually got, pictures will come soon. I PROMISE! you can beat me with a stick if I forget again!
(well....i don't do it mainly because of laziness....not really because of memory)
i really need to get rid of this need for work so I can use as much time as possbile on my projects! up with knitting, down with work!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Fake Meat is better then knitting!
Wait....did I get your attention?
I know...i speak blasphemous things. Fake meat, although very good indeed, is not better then knitting. It does, however, make me unspeakablely happy. And one item in particular is making my taste buds sing!
Fake roast beef. Fake freakin roast beef!!! With mayo and cheese on a sandwich is heavenly. It is produced by our new favorite company of vegetarian delights Yves! And supposedly the roast beef is only available in Canada. But magically, like an act of god, it appears weekly in our local Shop Rite. If it ever does disappear I will move to Canada immediately to live as close as possible to this heavenly food.
Other then obsessing over my sandwich for lunch, everything has been non-knitting. October sucks up an obscene amount of time, but oddly enough at the end I never feel like I accomplished anything. I did all the festive Halloween things I wanted to do, but it never seems like enough. I immediately start planning for next years lunacy. And Halloween always seems like a quiet little gasp at the end. I usually stay in, watch the same movies and specials I watch every year, and fall asleep at a reasonable time.
I think trick or treating should be available for adults. Especially those of us who don't want to wake up with a hang over the next day. A slight sugar headache sounds like a much easier way of dealing with past festivites.
The future: Stitches East is this weekend. I'll be attending on Friday, since every booth seems to be sold out before Saturday. I have a pitiful amount of money I can spend, so I will have to be on my best behavior. Thankfully i feel very blase about yarn and knitting right now. I mean, I like working on my current projects, but i'm not in that frenzied state of mind that could get me into trouble at such an event. I think its because I'm not yet fully aware that Novemeber is here. I can see it on my calendar on my watch, but my brain is still in some sort of weird denail over the whole thing.
Oh...and I haven't finished CRAP in weeks. My projects seem to be moving along like iceburgs, and I'm lucky if i get two gigantic rows in a night.
Tiny knitting seemed to go a lot faster when I actually had time to devote to it!
If you see me at Stitches please say hi. I have chin length reddish hair, a bag that says "will knit for tattoos", and a surly expression on most of the time. I'm a kitten though...no that much surliness. Although, my friends could tell you, please do not get between me and Schaefer yarns Anne.....it could get ugly!
...god that was a good sandwich...
I know...i speak blasphemous things. Fake meat, although very good indeed, is not better then knitting. It does, however, make me unspeakablely happy. And one item in particular is making my taste buds sing!
Fake roast beef. Fake freakin roast beef!!! With mayo and cheese on a sandwich is heavenly. It is produced by our new favorite company of vegetarian delights Yves! And supposedly the roast beef is only available in Canada. But magically, like an act of god, it appears weekly in our local Shop Rite. If it ever does disappear I will move to Canada immediately to live as close as possible to this heavenly food.
Other then obsessing over my sandwich for lunch, everything has been non-knitting. October sucks up an obscene amount of time, but oddly enough at the end I never feel like I accomplished anything. I did all the festive Halloween things I wanted to do, but it never seems like enough. I immediately start planning for next years lunacy. And Halloween always seems like a quiet little gasp at the end. I usually stay in, watch the same movies and specials I watch every year, and fall asleep at a reasonable time.
I think trick or treating should be available for adults. Especially those of us who don't want to wake up with a hang over the next day. A slight sugar headache sounds like a much easier way of dealing with past festivites.
The future: Stitches East is this weekend. I'll be attending on Friday, since every booth seems to be sold out before Saturday. I have a pitiful amount of money I can spend, so I will have to be on my best behavior. Thankfully i feel very blase about yarn and knitting right now. I mean, I like working on my current projects, but i'm not in that frenzied state of mind that could get me into trouble at such an event. I think its because I'm not yet fully aware that Novemeber is here. I can see it on my calendar on my watch, but my brain is still in some sort of weird denail over the whole thing.
Oh...and I haven't finished CRAP in weeks. My projects seem to be moving along like iceburgs, and I'm lucky if i get two gigantic rows in a night.
Tiny knitting seemed to go a lot faster when I actually had time to devote to it!
If you see me at Stitches please say hi. I have chin length reddish hair, a bag that says "will knit for tattoos", and a surly expression on most of the time. I'm a kitten though...no that much surliness. Although, my friends could tell you, please do not get between me and Schaefer yarns Anne.....it could get ugly!
...god that was a good sandwich...
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