Sunday, January 29, 2012

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Ottoman Empire Strikes....

...A Pose!

I went to visit my Generous Friend last weekend.  Ms. Cow waved hello to a GIANT cargo ship on the ferry over.  We found an awesome vintage clothing shop, and quite a few others.  A good time was had by all.

A few cool things came home with us.


Two, yes TWO storage cube ottoman's!  A purpley one and a burgundy one.

The purple one is full of my movies (Viggo I, II, or III anyone?)  The burgundy one is full of yarny goodness.  Lots of yarny goodness.


The burgundy cubey seems to like posing.  Here it is with the last project off the Chaos needles.  Said project is currently blocking with a zillion and one pins.



And here it is posing with the yarn for the next 3 projects.  The big cake ball of yarny goodness in the back is currently being knitted up into a shawl.  The two darker cakes are destined to be socks.  The two lighter colored ones in the front will be another shawl.

When it's not posing, burgundy cubey is supporting my tired hand-knit covered tootsies.

The Chaos is happy to welcome the two cubeys into the mix.  Chair is happy for the company.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Poerty Corner

Oh. Mm. Gee.
I REALLY have to pee.
I wonder just how nasty
this BART station bathroom will be.



NOTE: And that, my dear readers, is my morning commute in a nutshell.

Monday, January 16, 2012

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

And now we come to the last and final SQUEE.

Now that the little lost box is safe at the House of Grandmother, we can move on...

Here we go, the last and final shipment of squee worthy yarn received last Wednesday.



From left to right:

Cherry Tree Hill Yarns:
Fingerpaints Supersock Self Striping color Middle Earth
Fingerpaints Supersock Self Stripes color Secret Garden
Fingerpaints DK Supersock Silk Self Striping color Black Cherry
Fingerpaints Supersock Self Stripes color Mulled Wine

Henry's Attic Yarns:
The Fantasy Collection Silk Sock color Hold Your Fire

Inca Tops Grupo Inca Yarns:
Alpaca Lace color Moss

And now the knitting of the current yarn continues while the new yarn ages gracefully in the stash.

Squee.

Friday, January 13, 2012

And so we come to the end of our Story...

...fortunately it is a VERY HAPPY ENDING!

Main occupant of the House of Grandmother just called to say that the lost little box has FINALLY found it's round-about way to her location.  It is safe and sound and will be opened once Auntie joins Grandmother tomorrow.

There is much rejoicing across the land.

THE END

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Round and round and round it goes...

...where it's delivered, nobody knows.

This is the strange but true story of a long journey made by a small little box filled with stitchy giftness - and a few pairs of really cool gloves.

It started out on January 4th, 2012 when the little box was packed, taped up tight, labeled with it's very own barcoded label, and dropped off at a California post office to start it's journey across the country.

On January 7th, the maker/sender of the stitchy giftness wondered where the little box was in it's journey.

With a checking of the tracking information, the strangeness began...

The mysterious Track and Confirm entity stated that the little box had gone out for delivery on January 6th in a place the maker/sender did not know.  This strange place was not the intended destination of the little box.

The little box was lost.

Maker/sender was confused.

First thing Monday January 9th, the phone calls to the Post Office began.

Maker/sender was told many times (5 at last count) that the little box was out for delivery, there is no problem.

When maker/sender explained that the little box was not in the city where it was intended to go, she was told as many times (that same 5) that she had probably addressed the little box incorrectly, so that is why it is lost in a strange city.

At which time the maker/sender shook her head in confusion and tried to explain.

The little box was addressed correctly because it's label was printed from the online account of the maker/sender.  The address was taken from the account's address book.  The maker/sender has sent stitchy giftness and many other items, cards, and letters to that address for 17 years.

So, no Ms Post Office person, the address does indeed exist, the occupant of the house has not moved to the strange city, and it actually WAS addressed correctly.

That address is the House of Grandmother.  It is a house of love and the spoiling of the grandson and the magical bottomless plates of Grandmotherly cooking goodness.  The Grandmother would NOT move without letting the grandson know the new location of the House of Grandmother.

Maker/sender was asked to leave names, addresses, phone numbers and was promised phone calls back.  She was given various phone numbers of postal locations she could call and check herself while she waited.

Maker/sender waited.  She called the numbers.  She was told time and time again that she had probably addressed the box incorrectly.  She received messages telling her again that she had probably put the wrong address on the little box.

But no one left a message saying the little box had been found.

One particular phone number was called repeatedly, but no one ever answered.  Maker/sender thought that was odd since it was in the middle of the day, and was curious as to why no one would answer the phone in the place where the little package had been sent.

After three days of no answers, and no one answering at the place that the little box had gone, maker/sender took matters in her own hands.

She googled the postal location of the lost box.  She found a new number and called it.  Once again, no one answered and the maker/sender was saddened.  She knew the little box was there, she just knew it!

She went back to the google listing, and went to the second page of articles and information.

With shock, she read article after article of how the postal location where the Track and Confirm Entity said the little box had gone was....closed!  The phone numbers that she had been either given or found were ringing in an empty building.  There was much knashing of teeth.

A bit more googling and maker/sender found out all mail that used to be sent to the closed location now went through another location - low and behold, there was another phone number.

With a knot in her stomach, maker/sender called the number.  It was answered after two rings.  Maker/sender was elated. The nice Mr. Postal Man on the other end listened to the sad story of the lost little box.  He asked her to wait while he went in search of the little box.

When he returned, he told her that the little box was not there in the office, although it had been before.  He told maker/sender that the little box had been sent back to the main sorting office in the city where the House of Grandmother is located.

Maker/sender was very thankful to Mr. Postal Man.

When she checked the Track and Confirm Entity tonight, the lost little box had found it's way back to the main sorting facility and had been scanned as being located there.

Maker/sender wonders where the little lost box will go now.

...to be continued...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Squeeeee... UPDATED

01/11/2012     5:27 A.M.    Out For Delivery


Bring it UPS!

UPDATE:  The squee-able items have arrived.  I'll try and post pictures and have a final big SQUEEEE by the end of the week.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Squee...

OK, we're just warming up with the squee here...



Behold the first shipment.  These two were ordered after the first wave, yet they arrived first.  Go figure.  These are earmarked for a Honey Project.  These are the only ones that will be remotely connected to a project and/or a person.  The rest will just be shown and you can all ooh and ahh my stash enhancements from afar.  While I sit on my Chair and squish and squee.

No, there is no craziness in the Chaos.

Really.  There isn't any.  Craziness.

The rest of the yarny goodness should be here tomorrow.

Unless UPS tracking is lying.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Back on...

Going au naturale (grey) is back on again.  I'm holding off on the hair coloring.

Mainly because I really don't feel like doing it myself - and I don't feel like sitting in a salon chair for 3 hours (or more) getting it done.

We'll see how long this lasts as there is a box of color in my medicine cabinet.  I could just flip out one night and decide to crack it open and have at it.

If this was Vegas, I'd say the odds are 50-50.

It's actually been an eye opener to see my natural color.  I've been using a brown a shade or two lighter.  Guess it's a shock because I haven't actually seen it in about 17 years.

Sunday, January 08, 2012

The calm before the SQUEEEEEE

After many sortings and cullings of the yarny stash, I am left with not very much.  That is both good and bad.

The good:  Less to have hanging around the Chaos.  Less that needs knitting  up (wait a minute, that means less knitting - that is not good).

The bad: The hole left in the stash that is begging to be filled.

What's a knitter to do?

Enter an email from Cherry Tree Hill yarn.  Just my favorite merino sock yarn ever.

Yeah, you know where this is going...

"Don't forget about our Annual New Year's Eve Sale - 50-60% off select yarn!"

Yeah, so now you REALLY know where this is going.

Let's start here:

The stash got sorted and put all in one place (except the needles, I don't know why - that has been corrected).

Knitting patterns were gone through, matched with yarns and set into two containers that now sit next to the Chair.  A long list was made.


12in cube box of yarn and my knitting bag.  Full to the brim with yarny goodness and looking happy.

There is also my poor Juliet sweater...



...which now seems like it would fit. Whatever.

The only way I'll ever know if it will fit properly or not is when I finish it and put it on.

Whatever.

2012 will be filled with knitting.  Not going to show you my list of projects because 90% of what I'm knitting will be gifted.  Most of the people I knit for know they will be getting something - they don't need to know exactly what though. :)

The projects are all small, except for the Juliet sweater.  I think I have enough yarn to do one project per month for about 1.5 years, maybe more.

Even so, on New Year's Eve while Times Square was counting down, I was online shopping.  It was oh so darn easy.  Especially since it was not quite 9pm here in California. :)

The yarn was purty and it easily fell into my cart.  I have never in my life bought so much yarn at once (even though there is not that much of it) and spent so much money on it.  It was on sale and I had put back some of my Xmas gift money.  I had a strict limit, and I stuck to it.

It will arrive about Wednesday-ish.

Much squeeee-ing and squishing and general ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing and more squishing will then occur.

After all that is over with, I will post photos of my latest stash enhancing exploits.

Then the new additions will be put into their own 12in cube box and put up on the shelf.

If things go as planned, I'll be ready to knit on all that Next January.

Even if I'm not, I'm pretty sure I'm set for yarnage for the next two years, probably more.

Coming soon to a Chaos near you: 10 skeins of more yarny goodness.

I've definitely spoiled myself with my gift money. 

Thanks Mom for aiding and abetting my yarny deliquency.

The first item made from the new stash has your name on it. :)

Thursday, January 05, 2012

2nd verse

Rinkety tinkety tink
This knitter is pushed to the brink
She's tired of tinking
Her mojo is sinking
Rinkety tinkety tink

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Chickened out already...

Remember the other day when I said I was thinking of going grey?

Well, yeah.

Not gonna happen.

My roots are rather long right now, and I was messing with my hair and pulled it back off my face.

The color of my grey does not go well with my skin tone.

I have come to that conclusion several times over the last few years.

About every 6 months actually.

Guess I keep forgetting.

D'oh.