StitchesStitchesStitchesStitches

StitchesStitchesStitchesStitches....

OK, not that I've got that out of my system, I can calm down a bit and do what I need to do to prepare for tomorrow. Its just as bad as preparing for a trip for goodness sake.

I am excited, can you tell?

There seems to be a few more bodies in the Stitches Road Trip tomorrow. YAY!

Nothing like socializing and getting down with your yarny self with those who understand your knitter-speak.

Party on knitters...

Look out world...here I come...

Thanks to AntiM, I am still not sitting on the couch with my chilled Thin Mints and tea. Instead I made myself into hero. Gah.

A busy night last night...

...things are all a-buzz in the Chaos lately.

Some of the reasons can't be revealed just yet, but they will soon...after Stitches.

Yes, I'm going to Stitches!!! Hitching a ride with the AmpuT early on Saturday morning.

I'll be looking for you No-Blog-Rachel!!!

We have all been very creative lately.

Even Ms Cow has gotten the "I need to make something NOW" bug.

We set off to JoAnn's Craft Superstore with our 40% off coupon yesterday at lunch.

You see, Ms Cow needs a Tea Set. Now, we've been to Japantown, Chinatown, every toy store in the area, have searched Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, everywhere...and no where...NO WHERE have we found a tea set sized for use by the Cows. We did find a teapot in Chinatown (which is a bit on the small side), but no tea cups were to be had anywhere! Now, if Cow and Ms Cow were sized the same as Barbie, this would be a non-issue...

Well, being frustrated by the whole situation and Ms Cow being the take charge crafter that she is...we decided to make our own.

So we needed clay.

Since when are there so many freakin types of clay?

Anyway, after much scrunching of brows, looks of dismay, feelings of despair, and knashing of teeth...we decided to get some Super Sculpey. Once we're done shaping it up, it will be baked in the oven and then we can paint it.

Here is Ms Cow with her first little ball of clay. This will soon become a tea cup.



We had lots of fun working with the Super Sculpey. It's very soft and pliable and won't dry out since it doesn't harden unless you bake it. So far so good. We'll keep you all posted on our progress.

Here's Ms Cow with her evenings worth of work:



Four tea cups, four saucers, a sugar bowl (with lid even!!!) and a creamer (with a spout!!!).

She's very clever and good with the clay our Ms Cow...

We won't be able to use the teapot we have with the cups we're making, it's too small for these Cow Sized cups. But, we can at least use it as a model for one we can make ourselves. Ms Cow really likes the shape of it.

Can't wait to make more things with this clay...it's fun!!!

Meanwhile, Ms Cow, Spencer, and I are preparing for Stitches...and the Kublacon!

Happiness is....

...a ride in the sunshine with a basket full of Girl Scout Cookies...and still making it home in time for my 2pm conference call. That was one quick ride...but it was worth it.



yeah, that's right...J hooked me up with some Thin Mints and Trefoils...I haven't had a supplier in years...

Thin Mints went straight into the fridge. I like them chilled with a cup of tea.

Just a few more minutes and it's cookie and tea time on the couch.

Sammie on Sunday Plus One Day

As promised, a delayed Sammie on Sunday photo...




She was half asleep and purring on my lap. Helping me warm up after my long day out in the rain.

I've entered our rides into the MapMyFitness log.

Round trip to BART (home station) => 5.97miles

Ride from Powell St BART to Bike Kitchen old location => .79 miles

Back and forth with 3 loads for the Critical Move => 6.81 miles

Ride from Bike Kitchen new location to 16th St BART => .89 miles

Over 14 miles...good grief...no wonder we were beat yesterday when we got home.

We're very glad we did it though as it gave us both a sense of accomplishment.

We were very productive and made ourselves useful the entire weekend. :)

I think I'm going to buy myself something little and purty at Stitches West on Saturday.

Spencer is watching some eBay auctions for bike parts...he deserves a part or two for his new bike.

Not just another pretty face...

...or should I say bike?

We're taking a break from Sammie Sunday...if I get my energy back, I'll post a photo of her tomorrow...

Today, Spencer and I participated in the Critical Move for The Bike Kitchen. Check out the "Latest News" section on the page...the 2/22 entry.

(Spencer and I discovered The Bike Kitchen in January. It's an awesome place with really cool people.)

Yes, you read it correctly. Moving The Bike Kitchen by bike. In the rain. By bike. Did I mention it was raining?!?

Oh man, what an experience. Spencer and I got up early this morning. Rode to BART in the rain (I remembered that I had rain ponchos - which helped - just a little). Rode to the old location - again in the rain.

And we made 3 trips together with the rest of the folks who also came to help. Spencer had his large messenger bag...and for the second trip, actually carried some tires over his shoulder. I had my metal baskets and bungee cords. :) OOOOh, on the last trip, Spencer even pulled a trailer with a small filing cabinet on it!!! And my pretty, girlie bike worked so hard today. She did great!!! She's not just another pretty bike...she can haul with the big bikes!

The hard core trailer pullers probably made quite a few more runs than we did, but after a point, there was nothing small left for us to carry.

There were lots of bikers there with trailers and these really cool bikes. The back carry thingy actually folds down and can carry quite a bit of stuff.

Since it was so rainy out, I didn't take my camera. There were plenty of other folks documenting the process though. One girl from a local high school - The Bike Kitchen is the subject of her senior photography project. A couple of guys from City College in SF - doing a documentary about the The Bike Kitchen. Several other video cameras and still cameras were around as well. Once they all post links and stuff, I'll link to them and then you'll be able to see all the folks who participated and you'll probably think we were all crazy to do this in the rain.

I have to admit that yes, we were, but Spence and I had a good time and so did everyone there. We met and talked to a lot of really nice people. (oh, and AmpuT, Spencer got to talk lots of bikebikebikebike...with everyone.) And we got interviewed a few times for the documentaries. I'm so proud of Spencer for following thru with this...he was the only kid there. And we were the only mother-son team there. One guy even called us rock stars since everyone wanted to talk to us.

Spencer and I won't be too difficult to spot. I had a bright orange rain poncho on, and Spencer had a blue rain poncho on...and everyone just kept taking our pictures...guess not too many parents hang with their kids?

Anyway...yesterday we helped a friend move to a new apartment...and today we did the Bike Kitchen thing.

Can I rest now?!?!?!?!

:)

Coolest commercial...

Spotted this over at U-handBlog




I would have joined in! Hee hee hee...

Took a chance...

...but kept the receipt.

Headed to Ross along with my shopping buddy Antonella tonight.

Bought two suits for interviews - brand name suits for good prices.

They are petite cut and awesome - no taking up the sleeves or hemming the jacket or the skirts!!!

But they don't quite fit.

Better get out on the bike more and pop in more of my many exercise DVD's.

I have hopes of fitting into them. One is one size too small, the other is two sizes too small. And yes, I did look for them in bigger sizes, but no luck.

I've kept the receipt and haven't cut off the tags yet, just in case real life interferes and I don't lose what I need to lose.

I want to at least get into the one that's one size too small - that's sooooo close.

Did I mention I don't have to take up the hems?

The cuts are modern, but not trendy or "young". Once they fit, they will outline my figure without being tight or revealing. Professional. Love them.

I just couldn't bring myself to buy a Mrs. Roper Moo-Moo suit from the woman's section. Just too much fabric and no shape at all.

I may be overweight, but I do have a figure and I like to see it. The right cut looks classy - it will show off your figure without putting too much emphasis on it. And these suits have the right cut for my short body.

I'm a woman, not a blob.

I will buy a "normal" size suit if I have to go bigger, but by God, I just don't want to...the tailor's bill would be enormous. They'd have to adjust the shoulders, sleeves and take in some on the waist of the jacket and probably the length, and then take up about 10-12 inches off the skirt or pants.

It'll be easier to lose 10 lbs. (hopefully more) - and that can only help my health and self confidence. Which will definitely help me when I go for the inevitable interviews.

It's been so long since I've been in the job search market that I'll take all the help in the self confidence department I can get. I'm not as young as I used to be and the competition now will be fierce.

Sigh.

Sammie Sunday - Valentine's Edition

What does one do on Valentine's Day when your Honey is far away?

Chat online for a few moments...miss him very much, drag yourself and your son to an indoor soccer game with a friend...



(Ms Cow hanging out in The Precious with Honey's Socks - the boys won btw)

and then console yourself with knitting and tea while your boy child ignores you as he plays on the Xbox.

Since the cat misses your Honey too, make sure she plays knitting along with you.

Sammie reading out the pattern to make sure I don't screw up - cos I do that a lot.



Let's take a break and have some tea...yes, she actually does drink it...



The fruits of our labor. The beginnings of Honey's Socks. (he already knows I'm knitting them and he's seen this photo, so it's ok to publish)





FINISHED OBJECT ALERT!!!!

Oh, and I've decided that the Quick as a Flash Crocheted Blanket is D.O.N.E. Spence and I went to JoAnn's today to get more yarn and they didn't have it. Came back home, looked online, and their website didn't have it. Ask anyone at the store and they won't know when, or even if they will get any more in... Was going to call and special order, but that takes 3 weeks and I'm just about over this blanket - unless I had gotten more yarn like RIGHT NOW.

It's 70" X 60". Not as big as a bed, but pretty damn close enough and way big enough to wrap yourself up on the couch. D.O.N.E.

I'll post an FO photo when I get around to taking one. Someday.

Quick Update in a Flash

Finished off the last of the first two mondo skeins of Sensations Boucle. The Blanket is only half done.

The decision has been made to buy two more.

That is all.

WIP - the Quick as a Flash Blanket for Spencer

Thought I'd fill you all in on my hookin' progress...




It's going so fast, Kitty almost got whiplash!!!!

It's going so fast that since I took this photo, just on Tuesday night I think...it's grown about a foot. Or so. And I'm almost out of yarn.

So you know what that means. A trip to Jo-Ann's is in order very soon - I predict the day after payday. hahaha

Anyway, I'm almost done with the first two balls of the Jo-Ann's Sensations Rainbow Boucle that I am using. I haven't decided on how much more I'm going to get. I'll either get just one more and work double stranded from both ends of the ball - which is the knitting version of burning one candle at both ends - a surefire way to get totally tangled! Or, I'll get two more giant balls and pull from center on both. At the same time. Cos that what you do when you hold two strands together.

Quizz later.

I guess I'll figure that all out once I've come to the end of what I've got now - see where I am with the length.

There is no pattern for this blanket. I'm holding two strands together and using a very large crochet hook. I made a base chain until it was as wide as my double bed and now I'm just single crocheting every row (with a double crochet row thrown in here and there) until I think it's big enough. :)

What I do know is that it's very soft and squishy and warm. :)


Oh, and I've cast on for Honey's socks. Again.

FO - Uncle Argyle Scarf

From Son of Stitch 'N Bitch

TAAAAADAAAAAAAA!!! Photos of Spencer modeling at the bus stop on the way home.






Details on Ravelry - yes, I've actually updated Ravelry with a project! Wonders never cease...I'll be adding more as I find photos and notes of other projects already completed. I'm going to try and keep up with adding things as I start them - it's not as time consuming or hard as I thought it would be...

For those not on Ravelry, here's the quick and dirty.

Yarn used was Knit Picks Swish DK in Cinnamon (brown) and Skyborne (blue) colors. Three balls of each. Size 5 bamboo straights.

This sucker is 6" wide x 84" inches long.

Let me tell you...that's a shitload of double knit!!!!

As much as I loved working this pattern, I really don't think I'll ever do it again. It was a bit too much - it was tough going thru the middle, but once I got over that, I cranked on it 'til it was done. I will do double knit again, just in something smaller. A lot smaller! :)

The pattern was easy to follow once I got the hang of reading the chart (first time using a chart!) and switching colors back and forth.

Spence loves it - it's warm and the 100% Merino is very soft on his skin - we are both wool sensitives, but we can handle Merino wool.

Ze Scarf, she is done...oooh la la

I am happy to report that I finished Spencer's Argyle scarf last night...well...technically this morning as it was 2am before I finally sent myself off to bed (I actually finished just before 1:30am, but by the time I finally stopped admiring it and went off to bed, well...).

I just couldn't NOT finish it last night, I was sooooo close.

So I just sucked it up and stayed up until it was done.

Not like that was all that difficult as I am quite the night owl - my usual bedtime is midnight.

I am so proud of what I have done. First time attempting double knitting! First time attempting an argyle pattern! First scarf made out of wool for Spencer!

I did it!!! No pictures just yet as I will not present it to him until tomorrow afternoon. I promise photographic evidence of the scarf tomorrow night with Spencer modeling!

He is so excited to get it.

Major Mom points earned. MAJOR.

He's even texted me: "I LUV YOU MOM - THANKS FOR MAKING THE SCARF"

It was worth all the late nights and working thru all those firsts to make it (the going got rough there in the middle). He def loves it and hasn't even seen the finished product yet. That is all a knitter can hope for...that their handmade gift and the work it took to make it is appreciated.

Sniff.

Sammie Sunday and the Unhappy Hooker

These were taken last night about 1am-ish, so yeah, technically it was Sunday!

Here we have Ms Sammie "helping" again...but hey, you're not supposed to sit inside the project bag!!!



Yeah, this is what made the "Hooker" unhappy. I was trying to crochet and there she is INSIDE my project bag, with her bad, white, fluffy self daring me to pull out more yarn.



Well, we all know how this ended...she was banished from the bag so I could work more on a blanket project. It's a double-stranded (two yarns held together, nothing fancy) and crocheted using a GINORMOUS hook. That thing is mondo gigantic. I love it. The blanket is as wide as my double-sized bed and already about 7 or 8 inches along. Love giant hooks, love giant stitches, love how quickly this blanket is going.

Another thing to make the "Hooker" unhappy...I've frogged the Random Acts of Acrylic blanket. I'm just not doing something correctly along the left edge. The right edge is perfect, but the left edge is just totally W-R-O-N-G! Have to take another look at the how-to's and then try again. This time on something smaller as that blanket would have taken FOREVER to finish. I still want to make a blanket though with all that acrylic and I still want to do the Tunisian crochet. I'm thinking squares of it put together...like a Granny Square blanket. Maybe strips. Dunno. We'll see.

In the meantime, I've started on the giant stitch crochet blanket, and the few acrylic balls I was using for the Tunisian crochet project are sitting at the bottom of my argyle scarf project bag, thinking about what they want to be.

Oh, and the scarf?

28 pattern repeats my friends. YAY ME!!! Depending on how you look at it...I could have either 4 or 6 left. Four would get me to the estimated 32 I needed for "perfect length". Six will get me (or should get me) to the end of this current set of yarn balls (2 more repeats or 28 more rows, that's nuttin', right?). Right now, I'm so excited about actually working on such a cool pattern again (and it is despite my recent whining), that I just might work it til the ends of the balls. I hope to have it finished by the time Spencer comes back from spending time at his Dad's - Wednesday. I can do it!!!!

My Straight A Boy needs his warm scarf - especially since we've got a cold front or two headed our way!

Calgon...take me away...Seriously! Please, take me away...

To say that I am very happy it's Friday is an understatement.

This week has been rough.

I've had the sinus issues from hell, headaches included...oh the aching head...Sigh.

Work has been hard to do and just plain hard...just can't get all that excited when you've got one foot out the door, know what I mean? Especially when you'll be working your fingers to the bone until the other foot makes it out the door. Sigh.

My favorite hair stylist has fallen off the face of the earth. Short version, I have been very bad and haven't been for a haircut since last March. Decided I should get my hair done all nice for the impending interviews. No salon, no Chris, no forwarding info left on the window. All long gone. Sigh.

Another friend got laid off today. And more friends fearing the worst. Sigh.

Every mainenance worker that ever lived, has been right outside my apartment window today. It's usually quite noisy round these parts during the day. But today has taken the cake. We've had tree dudes here this week with chainsaws trimming the big pines scattered throughout the complex. Today they have been right outside my window. All day.




I have been listening to saws and the chipper thing. All. Day. Long. SIGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH.

Not to mention, the carpet cleaners with their noisy van. Oh and the complex is having the pool resurfaced. Yeah, that truck makes a shitload of noise too. Sigh.

Oh, and the ever present Leaf Blower Dudes. Rain or shine those asses are here with their stupid leaf blowers. Haven't you blown everything away... YET?!??!?!?!

SIGH.

OH...AND HAVEN'T ANY OF YOU NOTICED IT'S FREAKIN' RAINING?!?!?!?!?! HELLO! RAINING!!!!!!

Yes, the headache is getting worse. And I can't even go lay down and relax cos I'm on the corner and one side is the pool and carpet trucks, the other is the chipper, saws, and blowers.

So yeah, Calgon...come take me away from the madness!!!

Oh and the cat slept thru it all! The NERVE!!!!

Gah.

Knitting on the argyle scarf continues...still...23 of 30 or so repeats done. Remember when I first started and said I needed to do 16 repeats? Yeah, Donna and her brilliant Maths strike again.

Shouldn't be allowed to play with pointy sticks. Really, I shouldn't.

I'm trying to see the bright side here...more than half way done. Not working. Sigh. and GAH.

Distracted

Your Moon is in Taurus (from MSN Astrology)

On the day you were born, the Moon was in Taurus. A sensuous nature, a calm temperament, and a mellow spirit are some of the wonderful gifts that the Moon in earthy Taurus bestows upon you. Emotionally, you are very serene, and your feelings don't fluctuate like a roller coaster ride. You bring a steady influence to your relationships, and your friends and lovers know they can count on your loyalty.

Sammie Sunday, Superbowl Edition

Not.

Sammie doesn't like football.

But it seems that she may indeed like my latest project.

Here she is giving it a preliminary inspection.



I call it "Random Acts of Acrylic"




I picked up a Tunisian Crochet hook at the January Sock Club gathering/shopping meet-up and am using random balls of all the acrylic I've managed to find so far stashed in boxes all over the apartment.

This Tunisian Crochet technique uses 3 different colors at once. You can read more about it here.


Anyway, I've got about 50 billion or so random balls of acrylic in a big bag (showed you all only 45 of them on my birthday this past summer, remember?). Once I run out of a color, I pick one out of the Big Bag. So far so good, as this is turning out a lot better than I expected. It's very colorful, and well, Random! I should have enough acrylic balls to make either one humongous blanket or several small ones. Not sure which just yet. All I know is, it's easy and definitely mindless - very good to work on after I've been working on my harder project (the Argyle Scarf).

Right now, this one seems to be about a lap size blankie (I just made a base chain and kept going until I got tired of making one - don't know how many stitches cos I didn't count). Can always pick up stitches along one (or both) side(s) once I get it to length if I'm not happy with the width. And like the tutorial says, it does curl a lot, so I'll be crocheting some sort of edging round the whole shebang once I get it to where I want it.

I don't expect this one to be completed until next winter as I plan to work on it whenever I feel the spirit move me...very randomly...hee hee hee...