Social distance and yarncakes

Ever had a day where you just don't want to do anything but laze about and enjoy the day? Today is one of those days. Crisp and cool, the clouds are just right, And empty needles just begging for a new project.
Unfortunately there are also a pile of dishes begging to be washed as well. Not to mention the roll of decimated TP the cats have strewn through the dining room. No lazing today. But like I said I did finish all my projects. I do have one thing on my 3.5 circs, a mini cozy from some free yarn I got last year with my chenille. It's a shimmery silver grey fibre of unknown breed. I'm guessing acrylic, but man does that stuff felt if you get briers stuck to it. My favorite thing about it besides the shimmeryness is that it came in cake form. I love yarn cakes. They're so cute and compact, they don't come apart nearly as badly as skeins or balls. I'd like to find out how to cake a skein, so if anyone out there knows how, feel free to share.
I want to start up an atheist/agnostic group meetup locally, but I don't want to be disappointed like I was with the fibre group. I don't think I can take another epic fail in the social dept. I get tired of being let down by people and my belief that they care. The more I interact in the wild the more I pull inward and isolate myself. I think my expectations are perhaps a bit high of people in general. I expect them to be like me, and majorativly they are not. At least not here in my real life area. Plus people want interaction, sometimes I don't want to make an effort to call/visit every week. Sometimes I crave the quiet. Most people see that as I don't want to interact at all, and I seem distant. SO I don't form bonds as easily as a more invasive person. I'm always on the borders, skirting the edge of socialness And not. I don't like to dive in and get dirty, At least not right away. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but then again I may be wrong.

Mother's Day

Mothers day booty, from a hubby who doesn't shop yarn:

Susan Bates 7 and 10 inch Double Point Needles 4 7in. double point
Plymouth Encore Sock DK 7518 skein 1
Plymouth Encore Sock DK 7521 skein 1
Plymouth Sockotta 617 ball 1
From of course :WEBS
The Only yarn store the Goddess frequents.
Hubby Got too confused looking at all the yarny goodness ANd so told me to pick what I wanted. Being budget conscious I desperately pried my eyes away from the fabulous

SHibui sock
and Plymoth happy feet
That's a bit over my current limit., Plus two pair as apposed to 4 AND needles, nuhuh. 'SPecially after going to Bonsai for supper with the Whole family. All in all A good mother's day.

Tuesday Morning

I got my order of yarn in yesterday about 1:30 pm. Isn't it pretty:) I Love the susan bates cable stitch holder too. I like how it's more fish hook shaped than the more bowed in dpn look of the regular ones. It keeps the stitches on better. I'll post more later as I'm off to watch "Horton Hears A Who" with the Kindergarten class. Oi

Working on the Yard

I don't know what happened to my unfortunate bag of sugar as is traveled it's way to my kitchen. somewhere between here and the factory it must have gotten doused whith ( I can only hope) alot of water. I just about need a sifter cement pounder to break it up. Normally I would have noticed these things and avoided the bag 'o funk, but really in a 9am no-coffee-in my-system sugar run, shit happens. After a smell test, precautionary lick test complete with flashes from "Steve don't eat it" and a dog check (hey if he licks it its OK to eat) I am fairly sure it's just had a run in with water.
I have researched my caladiums and found that I don't get to plant them until May, which sucks because of course by may I won't know where the bag went to and I will more than likely have calads running wild in my heating closet. I do have alot more of Girly's pansy seeds I may plant in the meantime in the area for them so It doesn't look so terribly bare. I'm sure my neighbours will appreiciate that my yard doesn't so much look like a hippy armpit any more. Every one else here keeps their yards impeccable in the winter months. I however like to let it rest. My laziness has resulted in the sweetest black dirt in the back yard, but not somuch in the front. but hey It's got growth now at least. when I moved here 4 1/2 yrs ago there was nothing but mud and sand. 4 years of not rakeing the leaves, and chucking pears for the dog finally paid off.
after a bout of raking some branches up that fell out of the paer tree and some I whacked off the bushes of mystery I figured I'd take a nice break and listen to some music. It would have been nice. If PG hadn't misplaced my flipper switch. Over the winter I complained that I kept getting shocked every time I got out of the car.I guess I thought he'd FIX it. Instead He found that the amp wire was arching off the door and that was what kept zapping me. His answer was to ripp the durn flipper out, thereby keeping it from arcing off the door, but also keeping ME from cranking the tunes to deafiningly loud levels. Now I have my wired up sub, and no flipper to turn it on with. poop.
SO now instead I am killing time until the crafters get-together @ 2pm at the library. I should be going to a baby shower that I made booties for. But PG is barfy and I don't want to be too far from him incase he needs something. And unless there is yarn, coffee, or some other shiny important thing I don't drive farther than 20 minutes away alone. I get REALLY bored, and start to nod off. I have tried K-while driving twice on these sort of trips out of desparation to keep moving. tip: loop your hands through the steering wheel and put the yarn around the back so as not to get tangled up and so you can still steer. Naturally you can't CABLE or make anything fancy or you defeat the purpose of NOT killing anyone. If you can do it with out looking, it'l work. Wait why am I telling this? really don't knit and drive. it's not safe. which Is why I don't do it anymore. But I Have tried it, for the learning experince. One should always try new things. It inhances the mind right?

Tales of Yarn

It's been a week of yarny goodness. My birthday on monday with my friends and cake and a kick butt stash bag from Sally. Then making booties for another friend's baby on Tuesday, Wednesday Girly and I went to a great antiques(and not so antique) shop and I got some tapestry yarn to make a rug with for girly's room, it's great for felting because it's 100% virgin wool. Then thursday Sal Girly and I went to the island to scope an LYS when was wonderfull. First we fortunatly lucked up and went the wrong direction and stumbled onto thier NEW location which was NOT on the map I googled. they weren't open yet so we had a blast at the ACE garden centre looking at the flowers and getting some agnes bushes for Sally's yard and I got some low lying plants to go around the bottom of my pear tree. Where the soil is like heaven. probably the only spot in my yard I can say that about. We also got some Ivy and pansies for Girly to plant. Didn't want to leave, but the prospect of a juicy yarn store was too much to pass up.Girly took some pictures of her favorites:
They had CHEERY TREE HILL for pete's sake, and gobs of Noro Today I got my reciept from WEBS and a handy litle tracker from UPS so I can see where my yarn is. I should be getting it Either tomorrow or monday. Monday would be good for me, PG won't be home, and the Kntting posse will be here for monday morning Knit in, since Sally's house will be sleep central and we don't want to disturb anyone. oh yes, there will be much cleaning and raking here over the weekend. I was out back doing the weeding and prep for the caladium bulbs...Those in the Picture BTW are NOT mine, they are off the holland bulbs site. (the brand I got) I can only hope mine turn out that well.
ANd I pissed off some little blackish creature I think It was a salamander, but when large shiny things run at me I kinda glaze over and run screaming. I poked around back there but I coudn't find it again so I ran the weed eater for a bit around the general area to make SURE I scared him off. I don't think he'll be back for a while. Now I am off to check that I am palnting the bulbs correctly, I will take some pictures ...If they don't die.

Yarn addict

I told my husband he was a spammbaiter addict last night....Ironically with a sock in my hands, a cable needle in my mouth, and two bags filled with yarn spilling out around me. Oh yes, I did. " Are you sure you want to talk to ME about addiction?" he incredulously asked doing the little finger swirly around my general area. "maybe not so much" But of course he let me win since it WAS: my birthday:DI don't think I would have won had he seen my purchase today from WEBS.. What, I got $80 ish for my birthday in cheque, Why not spen it on yarn and stuff....Okay MOSTLY yarn, but I did get some circs and a cable needle too. I usually can only dream of WEBS closeouts, today that dream is MINE!!in these and other fabulous colours

I got a cone of laceweight to make some nice summer projects And later paint, and some tweed sock yarn too, Sadly they were out of the really great navy blue, which is a favourite colour of mine, so I got a white flecked one that wil suit my cableing better.
Do you drop the (e) in cableing or not? I never know. English was always my better class so I'll go with the (e) for now. I know by my typing you can't really TELL I'm good with english, But really I am, my hand eye stuff just isn't that great, and I have a tendency to have typing dyslexia I've noticed.
I think though that I will always have my add/random thought screaming to get out problem though. such as above. Back to the yarn, Ah yes. I have come to accept that I will more than likely have at some point over the summer a hot sticky woollen project on my lap. Mainly because I love the feel of wool. I love the light scratchyness, the fluffy, and the just overall feel of the stuff. I don't think I can go a whole summer with out SOMETHING woolen. But I'm trying to save up all my non wool to use for the summer. Bob knows I won't have my socks done by then.

And to end, A nice Quote from Sojourner Truth: If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again!

Fun Fur

So here I am today looking at sock yarn porn.
I'm also doing Guinea Pig laundry, but that is not so much fun to talk about. I saw a custom job this lady did in tiffany blue and chocolate for a Ravelry chick. Positively drool worthy. Blue and brown are my yum colours. I want to get a lot of sock yarn. A LOT. But then again I also want to get a sheep to make my own, so take that for what it's worth. My cape in in slow progress right now, I am at the cruciale point where I could make or break my goal by putting too much yarn into one area and not having enough for the rest. Champ likes the lambs pride so I know there will be the inevitable "extra blend" into the yarn, from his loving it when Mummy is not looking. Sometimes I walk in from a trip or from putting out the trash to find him curled up in the floor with yarn woven between and around his paws. I have yet to catch him in the act of unskeining the yarn, All I know is that somehow he does it. I'm waiting for the day I come home and see he has grown opposable thumbs and is knitting a doggie scarf in the floor. And the way my carpet looks I am heavily debating making my own Cavy/Feline blend of yarn. I could really make a profit. It would feel somewhat like a nice angora/mohair, And would felt beautifully. Trust me, I've seen the hairballs.


WOOHOO!! I took a break to steam , and the mail lady came. I am sooo happy when I have the mail lady and not the man. HE sucks. He comes at 4ish maybe if he feels like it. And he only delivers bills. He really sucks. The mail lady however, always comes promptly at 1 pm, if it's raining, or bad weather 1 30. And SHE always brings the good stuff.I fnally got my package from my MUM in Austrailia. It's for both Girly's and My birthday, we've got St. Patty in between our birthdays. She's sent it twice now. Girly got an adorable poodle purse and some Ozzie kidsmeal toys. ANd Mum , the dear sent me a faux snakeskin purse, a newsboy cap, in black, and a matching black tee with pink lettering. that screams in bold caps :

Thanks Mum:)

Deliciousness, and Cat brain

I love a good ball of yarn. My Auntie(adopted by marriage) from Boston does too. Lucky gal has a woolco. and everything. She came up from Orlando on her way home and called me to let me know she was bringing a bit of yarn fo a care package. She too is a lover of needlework; a hooker herself for many years. She has accumulated much yarn over the years, and even is lucky enough to have had a friend in the yarn shoppe business who gave her the hook up on alot of high end yarns. So SUV brimming over she met us uptown to visit her Sweetie pie(Girly), and drop off the "bit of yarn" for me. She tried to drop off more but PG drew the line here: Holy woolens batman! I haven't even gone through it all yet. I'm saving it to play with at Sally's later with the Ladies. But there is some SERIOUS yarn happening in there. Some of this stuff has seen more travel than I have. All I can say is: I love you Auntie Carmen

In other less yarny news, My cat STILL hasn't shown up home. It's been two weeks since she made off. She's about 16-17 yrs old, and has minimal eyesight and some kidney problems. I'm thinking she snick off to do her final kitty business. Which really sucks as I could at least know for sure if she were home and did it. She' rarely runs off, and for no more than a week on walkabout. I had taken to just giving her free roam of the yard when ever she wanted it, since she didn't ever leave the yard and small wooded area beside it. And she Allways comes in for the night to sleep on my head. Now Puss (Girly's cat) has taken over bedtime head warming/nightmare inducing duties. I don't really know What it is about cats, but when they sleep on my head I with out fail have some of the most Horrid nightmares. Last night's was the most dreaded : teeth-falling-out-nightmare in which my teeth for no apparent reason all fall out. This dream is worse for me than the half finished-bridge of death and zombies-pretending-to-be-Hubby dreams combined, I have only two really bad fears: careening off a bridge while driving, and my freakin TEETH falling OUT. Though practically speaking it wouldn't be so bad. No more flossing and having to take aspirin after because the pain of that evil little string permeates to my BRAIN, ANd if I need a whitening I can just pop the ol dentures in some bleach water. :P But seriously I think that's the most aweful icky nightmare ever. I think what it is it the cat heat warms my brain up too much and sorta cooks it like a fever. You see these cats don't jut sleep on the pilow by my head, they WRAP themselves tummy closest around my head so I get all the purry, hair flying,warmness of a cat hat.
I'm hoping Miss Kitty is just on an extended walk about, and not the long walk from which you do not return. I'd like to have a few more years with her, weeing on the bath mat aside, She's a pretty kick ass cat. You'd have to be to attack mastiffs and other large breeds the way she does. This cat can (and has) make Staffies tuck tail and run. (pit bulls to the average joe)
I'm hoping that she's going to surprise me an pop up in a coupla days hungry and a bit less tubb to resume her head warming. lets just hope.

Abbreviations

In knitting and crochet there are ALOT of abbreviations. I have a habit of saying them in my head as I go to remember what comes next. Only I do it in a different way. ktbl= ktable, k2tog/p2tog= k Tog or p Tog(sounds like Dog) for k3tog and up I just think # and Tog.
slp(slip as if to purl)= spell, yes I know it's a bit backwards but if you say purl fast it's sounds like pell(at least here in the south)
st st I just cut down to SS
Giving them names helps me think faster than thinking letters. Of course the simple ones I keep the same, like K, P, beg,co, Bo, cab.
Right now I'm copying a pattern for goblet socks. And Oh my gosh it's a pain. It's not a wordy pattern which would make it easy to copy down in a notepad. It's one of those graph patterns that take forever to copy if you don't use graph paper. I'm the type of person where I can't visualise symbols as words. I NEED words to burn them into my brain long enough to write it down. Little circles and slashies do nothing for my noggin. I have a photographing memory with numbers and words, just not with graph stuffs, I think that was my biggest trouble in higher math, squiggles and pi signs don't stick well. So I sketched out the grph on a pad and am going to have to translate it to words so I can get it when I'm knitting it. Oh the sacrifices I will make to churn out a pair of socks. I want to wait to make them until I can get I nice wine coloured yarn, which I think would do them very well, or perhaps a golden and brown colourway...or gold and red and brown... I have some great yellow and green that I want to do a scaly dragon-esque or parrot like pattern with, but so far I haven't found THE ONE PATTERN that makes me say' WOW I could see that as the animal.' My cotton socks remind me of mermaids and the sea, I like that. I really enjoy a pattern that gives an image along with it. Not only is it functional, but also artistic as well. Something that will capture your attention and take you away to a magical place in your head.

Funny Fibers

I've been knitting like mad for the last coupla days, So I thought I'd take a break and share some of my favprite knit/crochet on the web funnies the first one is a poem made by a Fellow Ravelry-er's Dad it's number 15:http://www.guppyart.com/hammer/
A boobie pillow with link to the pattern:
And a lovely thong from cafepress:

I am rather please to know that we will be getting some new additions to our Tangled Skein Fibre group in the next few sessions. A few ladies I've met online have agreed to stop in for a few lessons, and one of my favorite Ravelers may be joining us soon with her many talents in the ways of the wool. I am allways Pumped up adn happy on thursdays becasue I know however sucky my day might be I have my blessed night amongst fellow knitters and crocheters. So far my day is going rather typically for a thursday: peeling the dust off the fans, going walkies with the dog who thinks he MUST wee on EVERY sign we pass, madly scrubbing foreign gunk from my fridge, And discovering things I never knew about things in my house.: Did you know there is a drianage pan under your fridge? Yep a little plastic pan where whatever condensation may leak out can happily drip in safety. Well, At least If you KNOW it's there and clean it properly. This is something NOT taught in home ec. or by your mother apparently. And while on the note of fridges, why the heck can't they give you just a teensy bit more lee way on the icemaker and power cord on the darn things? I haven't seen the floor under there since 3 yrs ago when I decided to clean behind it and got trapped in the tiny nook that I made. And I am NOT a big person, so this thing by normal standards is freaking impossible to get to for you average person. I would show pictures but really, that is a place no ONE would want to see. Kinda like Certain actress/singers personal bits.... scummy, hairy and possibly filled with biologial warfare-esque bacteria.

Finis Shrug

Finally I fininshed Girly's shrug.I had A bit of trouble on the seaming but I decided on a nice slip stitch and it did the job. SHe loves it. Now she's wanting a hodded scarf to match just like Mommy's. Which would require another trip to the yarn shoppe. ONt a good Idea right now since when I went to get the finishing yarn for the shrug last time I got this as well:

I am going to make me a pair ... Err TRY to make me a pair of lacy scalloped socks. It's Lily Sugar and cream 100% cotton Midnight magic that I reduced to 2 ply instead of it's bulkier 4ply. Not something I reccomend unless you have a hair tie, and the patience to stand up and untwirl all day. I wanted these socks bad enough to do it. and I will do it again after I finish these on More Lily's in Summer splash. Which is a green, yellow and blue. Why would I do this? I have never had a kick ass pair of socks, always the bland white or black ones that never matter if you lose one in the wash. Hey , you have a whole bag full more of them. Yes I want a kick ass pair of socks, ones I would not be ashamed to wear in sandals, or to take off shoes in public to show off. Socks that make you feel sexy.
Ok maybe I'm pushing it there, maybe a matching pair of panties? Those I would not show in public, but I may brag that I made them as a combo package in the right circles.

Please Ma'am don't roll in our yarn!

Oh if only I could find a LYS who would let me sample their yarns, play with it, Knit a few rows, see how it pads up to my tastes before purchase. Instead I go to the place, am overwhelmed with colour and texture and go on a squeezing face rubbing frenzy making the other shoppers stare in puzzlement "what is this crazy doing?" You see I have a VERY picky kid, who will only wear certain textures of clothing, and If it's just the least itchy in store I won't buy it, and move on to the not itchy stuff, only to find that once I get it home on my needles its firm and coarse, beh.

I am A beginning knitter, and as such I am only JUST learning merino, alpaca, baby alpaca, goat and bunny, 1st cut, 2nd cut, 3rd cut quality and the weight to yards to how long once I actually knit it type stuff. SO I go and but a pound of alpaca( 3rd) and it looks all yummy and light only to find once I knit it up and get it on I have hairs flying off up my nose, and it's hotter than A night at the playboy mansion. the differing qualities of synthetic is also a puzzle, I can buy a solid colour and a multi of the same brand only to find the solid is feather soft and the multi(which of course I bought for kiddo) is as coarse as a metal soap pad. SO now i have a nice plum pudding hat shaped pot-scrubber:) Oh yes the perils involved with newbie knitting. Though I have found I am extremely fast at my new hobby I can knit up a good sized scarf in two days:) and crochet one in one day or two nights of TV watching with the Physics Guy(hubbs). I think things are going good, I dream about knitting things, which is a bit odd and a letdown to wake up and realize I did not in fact knit my DREAM Sweater. I also have set up a local fiber group we are a meager pack, but a fun one. naturally we're set up in a local coffee house because coffee and knitters go together like well, worsted and a set of 5.5's. we've had a few beginners who come and try only to never return , our regulars and even once a real MAN-Who-knits! which I love and authenticity's us as a real fiber group.

Other than my knitting I am also a SAHM, I have a five yr old girly, and one Chilean Rose tarantula, One German shepherd Dog, two cats and 6<4> Guinea pigs. oh yes, so please save the SAHM is not a job for someone who doesn't have to feed 12 people on a daily basis plus 1 monthly week of feeding for Lachesis(tar) Not to mention the cleaning up after said creatures. I may also let you in on the joys of my attempted gardening once spring rolls around in a few weeks(gotta love Georgia). I have a meager plot, but at the very least I well have enough greens and pears to make you never want to see them again, much less eat them once the season is gone. Since this is my first actual blog I will leave it at this. I don't want it to be too long and bore you. Here's a little bit of my work So far