Lilith Parker's Lair of Lunacy

Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!

2012-01-22T22:01:00.000-05:00

I try to keep this little knitting blog on topic most of the time, but every now and then something happens to make me break from the formula and rant about something else.

I have just returned from seeing Red Tails. If you have any inclination to see this movie, let me offer one word of advice: DON'T.

George Lucas keeps getting worse at writing dialogue as he ages. I had hoped, seeing as he's the executive producer, not the screenwriter, that it wouldn't be so bad, but within three lines it was obvious that he got his mitts on the script and completely ruined it. And not only that, but he tried to shoehorn an awkward love story into what is otherwise an action film. At least this time he didn't have the guy snogging a sibling, but it was still pretty contrived.

In an interview on The Daily Show, Lucas said he meant for Red Tails to be B-movie cheesy. I think what actually happened is that he tried to make it spectacular, failed utterly, and then realized he needed to lower everybody's expectations. Bruce Campbell is B-movie cheesy. Red Tails is just bad.

If you have any interest whatsoever in historical accuracy or even scene-to-scene continuity, don't even bother renting this one. The markings on the planes are wrong, the radios are wrong, the guns are wrong, machine gun rounds somehow cause massive explosions on the deck of a destroyer, it's apparently summer in Italy at the same time it's winter in Germany... almost every scene has something seriously wrong with it, and it's painful.

So do yourselves a favor and avoid this movie. Meanwhile, I'm going to drive out to Skywalker Ranch and smack George Lucas upside the head with several history books, a thesaurus, and a restraining order to keep him from making any more movies.

Downswing

2012-01-09T15:13:00.002-05:00

The confluence of cloudy days, a lull in the job search, and the depressive phase of my Bi-Polar symptoms means I've been struggling to pull myself out of bed for the last week or so. Despite my inability to do much else, though, I've been remarkably devoted to one new knitting project. It doesn't look like much right now, so I won't take a picture, but it's going to be a cute little top-down, raglan 3/4-sleeved, cropped cardigan.

The only trouble is that I'm using the Cascade 220 that I bought years and years ago with the intention of making a cabled hoodie (never got beyond the first sleeve), and at the time I was more concerned about my budget than about dye lots, so I only bought a skein or two... and this pattern requires closer to three.

So now, with the body nearly finished and not quite enough yarn to do even one sleeve, I'm realizing that yet another sweater is going to be set aside to hibernate. The last one was intended for Rhinebeck a few years back and was stuffed away at the bottom of the WIP basket out of boredom. Maybe this will be an excuse to finish the old one while the new one waits for me to have a yarn budget again.

A Suitable Hat

2011-12-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Whew! Now that Christmas is over, I finally have some time to relax and blog a bit. I spent the last two weeks working two different temp jobs, learning new things about my physical and mental limits, and even doing a little knitting.

Week One, I worked in a tile factory, sorting tiles and packing them in boxes. I loved the obsessive-compulsive side of it, but discovered that inhaling resin dust while trying to recover from a cold is a Bad Idea, and that what my doctor had thought was just Seasonal Affective features turns out to be the full-blown disorder, capable of landing me in the hospital if left unchecked. I managed to avoid the psych ward, but only just, which is why that job only lasted a week. It's okay, one of my coworkers decided that my car was "too blue," so I've saved her the trauma of having to see it every day.

Week Two, I was a driver's helper for UPS, running packages from the truck to houses all over Ludlow, which is a much bigger town than I thought. I had the best driver (friendly, funny, efficient, safe, and hard-working), met a lot of nice folks, and drooled over every styrofoam cooler with an Omaha Steaks invoice on the lid. Before I showed up for my first day, though, I needed to do some knitting.

The UPS dress code specifies that long hair must be pinned up so it doesn't touch the collar of the jacket, and that any hat must be a dark, netural color. I have turquoise hats, purple hats, baby-blue hats, but nothing in a dark, neutral color that's big enough to fit over a bun.

Thank goodness I'm a knitter, right?

So, naturally, I grabbed some dark brown yarn (Green Mountain Spinnery's Alpaca Elegance in Dark Roast) and cast on for a slightly-bigger-than-normal beanie. I picked Andrea Goutier's Hurricane Hat because it had visual interest without being complicated, I did some quick math to account for the fact that I was using DK instead of worsted, and I got the darned thing finished with about two hours to spare.

There it is on me (pardon the blur), and, so you can see the swirl, on my favorite stuffed animal (his name is Roger and he's an alligator):

We had a couple of nice days during the week, but a couple of icky ones, too (so the hat came in very handy), and I was reminded that I like snow much better than rain. Here are some shots from my last day on the job:

I only fell once, and it wasn't because of ice, it was just that I was exhausted on my last day and those concrete steps were a smidge taller than I thought they were.

Anywho, I survived, and I might even sign up to do it all again next year... but only if I can ride with the same driver. And next year, I'll already have the perfect hat!

Non-Post

2011-12-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking, "I should take pictures and post something!" Then I get home from work, fall over, and don't get up again until the alarm goes off the next morning. I've had two different temp jobs the last two weeks, and while they've both been fun, they've also been exhausting. That by itself would be plenty to keep me from posting, but I've also been sick since I got back from Toronto, and the struggle to breathe and swallow without pain or obstruction has kept me occupied. Now, to top things off, I have a tweaked shoulder and swollen hand (one from repetitive stress, the other from an overly friendly dog), so even knitting is proving difficult.

But now that I've had a full night's sleep and have the prospect of a full week when nobody's hiring, I can recover from the illness, ice the hand and shoulder, go grocery shopping, and get some work done around the house. I hope y'all are having lovely holidays, reconnecting with loved ones, and enjoying yourselves.

New Job!

2011-12-12T16:54:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten how simultaneously good and bad the first day of a new job feels after a stretch of unemployment. On the "bad" end of the spectrum are getting up at 4:30am and having muscles I didn't know existed ache in an evil, throbbing sort of way. On the "good" end are things like finally having a paycheck again, the satisfaction of a solid day's work, and the knowledge that those heretofore unknown muscles will soon be firm and sculpted.

I'm also very glad that my showerhead has a massage setting. I can't knit when I ache like this.

Bleep Bleep Bloop

2011-12-08T16:39:00.001-05:00

In addition to the World Cup t-shirt and the Team England t-shirt (because their logo is awesome) I brought home from Toronto, I also ended up with a cold. It's in the simultaneously-stuffy-and-runny-plus-croaking-throat phase, and it's making productivity difficult, what with the throbbing skull and constant sniffles.

Despite that, I picked up a wee little crochet project that I told myself I'd have finished by March... last March, that is. Better late than never, right? I did actually work up a proof of concept way back then, but never got around to doing the rest of the project.

The new ones will be slightly bigger to allow a rare earth magnet to fit in the base so the fella can stick them to the shelf in his cube.

Why yes, I am a dork! Thanks for noticing!

South of the Border

2011-12-05T20:39:00.001-05:00

The drive home was long and exhausting, but it's finally over. The recaps are up (if I haven't mentioned, the derby blog is here), the furnace is back on, and the cats are thrilled that we're back. Fit To Be Tied #2 is almost finished, several people at the World Cup commented on it, and I'm looking forward to wearing it at all of the cold-weather derby bouts we plan to catch next year.

For now, though, sleep. Well, food and sleep. Haven't eaten since that rest area on the Thruway five hours ago. Eep!

Vacation!

2011-12-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

So when does a hardcore knitter find herself in the Yarn Harlot's city and not make arrangements to meet up with said celebrity? When that hardcore knitter is an even harder-core roller derby fan, that's when.

We're here in scenic Toronto (well, parts of it are scenic... I suppose... if you squint... but then I never was much of a city person) for the Roller Derby World Cup, having a fantastic time, and spending something like fifteen hours a day getting to, watching, and getting back from some of the best roller derby bouts the world has ever seen. I'm knitting between bouts (my second Fit To Be Tied triangular scarf with the leftover yarn from my Can Can mitts... too exhausted to link, and y'all know how to use the little search box at the top of the page), interacting with other crafters (we were joined by our local derby girls today, one of whom is trying to muster the courage to teach herself knitting this winter), and generally enjoying myself despite being in a crowded venue with no natural light and no volume knob.

If you're wondering what I've been working on lately and haven't checked out my Flickr yet, go poke around (link's in the sidebar). There are some made-up-as-I-went-along mitts that are both handspun and hand dyed, there's my first Fit To Be Tied (in yummy alpaca left over from the Celtic Headband), and there's the Harlot's One Row Scarf in some Spunky Eclectic-dyed handspun, too.

You go see the pretties, I'm gonna have some noms and call it a night. Tomorrow: the finals!!!

Giving Thanks, November 30th

2011-11-30T12:45:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful that it's the end of the month.

It's time to get back to posts about knitting... after I get back from a much-needed vacation. And if any of you are going to the Roller Derby World Cup, see you there!

Giving Thanks, November 29th

2011-11-29T22:43:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful that I get to come home every night to curl up with my amazing boyfriend.

G'night!

Giving Thanks, November 27th and 28th

2011-11-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

Whoops! I guess I got so distracted yesterday that I forgot to post. I'll make up for it by being thankful for two things today!

Today, I am thankful for my experience in Small Claims Court, as stressful as it was at the time, 'cause it's going to come in handy soon. I am also thankful for the leftovers that are in my fridge, because their presence means I don't have to get groceries for a few more days.

One of the perks of adulthood: mashed potatoes for breakfast! Om nom nom!

Giving Thanks, November 26th

2011-11-26T17:46:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful that I got to spend a few hours with old friends.

Granted, it meant being a stone's throw from a place with some very bad memories, but enough time has passed that I was able to enjoy the visit without too much stress. It was great to reconnect with people I haven't seen in ages, get some knitting done, and add a few titles to my must-see movie list thanks to one friend's recommendations. All in all, a nice day, and nicer still to come home and curl up with the fella. Life is good.

Giving Thanks, November 25th

2011-11-25T15:50:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for leftovers.

And that they're in someone else's fridge. Temptation, begone!

...and we sat down to another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat...

Giving Thanks, November 24th

2011-11-24T08:28:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful that Amanda gave me the best sweet potato recipe ever.

It doesn't have marshmallows (thank goodness), but it does have a third of a cup of heavy cream, and lots of brown sugar. It's going to be hard not to just mash my face into the pan when I take it out of the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks, November 23rd

2011-11-23T11:56:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for snow that shows up when it should.

Halloween was too early, but Thanksgiving is just right. Now, for a cozy day of knitting, hot chocolate, cuddly cats, and movies. Tomorrow, baking!

Giving Thanks, November 22nd

2011-11-22T08:31:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my new family.

For the first time since my friend Amanda moved away, Thanksgiving is going to feel like a holiday. Nothing like wonderful people gathering together to make me feel less curmudgeonly.

Giving Thanks, November 21st

2011-11-21T07:56:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for the clarity that comes with time.

It's amazing what you realize when you've had time to move on and see things in a more realistic context. I've learned that bullies and abusers are really the most fragile, terrified people, but they'll never, ever admit it. I've learned that everybody lies, everybody has trouble remembering things, and that being human isn't something to be ashamed of. I've learned what true forgiveness and love feel like, and that the latter involves frequent reminders while the former doesn't. I've learned that I knew all along what "support" meant, and shouldn't have believed the lies. I've learned that family doesn't have to be a dirty word, and that I can love mine despite what they did to me. I've learned that I am, in fact, a good person, even though I've done some bad things.

And I've learned that I mirror the people around me, and need to surround myself with positive people in order to be a positive person. This is where that imaginary delete button comes in. Bad influences, begone!

Giving Thanks, November 20th

2011-11-20T16:44:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my boyfriend.

He cuddles me when I need it, and doesn't when I want to be left alone. He asks enough questions to show his interest, but doesn't interrogate me. He gets my jokes, and loves my geekiness. He says what I'm thinking, often precisely at the moment I say it, too. He is supportive without being pushy. He is forgiving and patient. He knows that we both need alone time and time with our friends, and that having that time apart lets us enjoy our time together that much more.

He is perfect for me, and I love him very much.

Now if only I could get him to not throw his clothes on the floor. ;-)

Giving Thanks, November 19th

2011-11-19T11:17:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for time to myself.

As much as I love to cuddle and do all manner of mundane things with my boyfriend, sometimes I need to just curl up with the cats and a mug of cocoa and zone out for a while. Today is one of those days, and, as if someone were listening to what's going on in my brain, the fella's shooting buddy moved their range time from this afternoon to this morning, so I have the big, sunny house all to myself for a few hours.

Maybe I'll finish that third Capucine.

Giving Thanks, November 18th

2011-11-18T11:47:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my stash.

As much of a pain as it's been to move so much yarn so many times in the last few years, I'm glad now that I went to the trouble. Always having materials to work with is a wonderful thing, especially when money's tight. Just last night I did a little stash diving to find yarn for yet another Capucine hat. I did rip out and re-knit the crown of the second one so it stays on my head now, but the colors in both that and the first one don't quite go with the other knitted things I like to wear. This one's going to be plain grey (recycled Goodwill sweater!) so it won't clash, and I've learned my lesson about trying to modify this particular pattern -- my head really is that big, and there really do need to be that many rows in the crown.

Giving Thanks, November 17th

2011-11-17T10:09:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for the delete button.

Sometimes, you just need things out of your life. Credit card offers? Delete. Fake Facebook friend requests? Delete. Male enhancement drug adverts? Delete. Messages from people who don't understand that no means no? Delete.

If only the rest of life had delete buttons... think how much simpler it would be! Unwanted advice from that pesky friend who thinks he knows everything? Delete! Awkward supermarket convo with someone you unfriended a year ago? Delete! Painful memories that always pop up at the worst possible time? Delete!

Someone should write an app for that.

Giving Thanks, November 16th

2011-11-16T20:10:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for automated phone answering systems that allow me to talk to a human being when I need to.

'Cause there's no menu option for, "I can't give you the paperwork by the day you expect it because I won't have it by the day you expect it. Alter your expectations."

And to the people who design automated phone answering systems that don't allow people to talk to human beings when necessary? Karma can be rough.

Giving Thanks, November 15th

2011-11-15T21:19:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for temp agencies.

Now if the one here were just better staffed so I didn't have to spend 20 minutes on hold every time I called...

Giving Thanks, November 14th

2011-11-14T17:18:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful to have a yarn store nearby that has a knit night.

Sometimes, I just need to hang with knitters. Y'all understand, I'm sure.

Giving Thanks, November 13th

2011-11-13T17:35:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my health.

It seems like an odd thing to be thankful for today, considering I had an especially painful bit of food poisoning around 2am, but getting through things like that reminds me of how rarely I get seriously sick. Sure, I have chronic pain, a host of mental health issues, and hyper-sensitive digestion, but they seldom lay me up for more than a day at a time. I get a cold maybe once a year, haven't had the flu since high school (and haven't had a flu shot in almost as long), and have learned the warning signs and preventative measures for the one thing that could put me in the hospital if not caught early.

And y'know what? I don't use any of that antibacterial/antimicrobial goop, I wash my hands with indy/handmade soap when they're dirty, and I don't eat anything special to protect myself from illness. I accept germs as part of life, and let my immune system do its job.

But I've just learned that Friendly's "Graham Central Station" ice cream and leftover fettucine alfredo do not combine well in my tummy. Ouchies.

Giving Thanks, November 12th

2011-11-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for New England weather.

I know, given the crazy storms and such that have hit the region this year, it's an odd thing to be thankful for. I'm not saying that I'm glad we've had to endure post-apocalyptic living conditions several times this year. That was horrible, and we still haven't really recovered. What I am saying is that I enjoy waking up in the morning and not knowing for sure what each day is going to be like.

Earlier this week it was in the 60s and sunny. Yesterday we had flurries (or a blizzard, depending on how you see such things). It's the time of year when we layer clothes (because the day can go from puffy coat to t-shirt temperature by lunchtime, then back again come dinnertime), make sure there are gloves in every coat pocket and an ice scraper (and shovel, and blanket, and extra washer fluid) in every car, and bring an umbrella everywhere in case of precipitation that's rather more liquid than solid.

Because I don't check the weather report unless it's by accident or I'm planning a long trip, I get to be surprised every day. It's one of those little things that I find so pleasurable about living in New England.

Giving Thanks, November 11th

2011-11-11T11:34:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for our armed services.

Setting aside matters of budgets and policy, I appreciate the men and women who protect and serve our country. Thank you all for your sacrifice.

Giving Thanks, November 10th

2011-11-10T09:23:00.003-05:00

Today, I am thankful for roller derby.

Back when he was still living in San Antonio, David was one of the photographers for his local roller derby league, and while he never took me to a bout, his pictures and stories planted a seed in my mind.

Years later, I was looking for people to see and places to go, and discovered a hardcore derby fan who told me all about the local leagues. We went to a bout, and I was hooked, both on derby and on him. We've done five-hour round trips to our home teams' away games, we've booked a vacation to Toronto in December for the first ever Roller Derby World Cup, and there's a dedicated section of our closet exclusively for derby shirts.

You've all met football or hockey superfans, well, I'm a roller derby superfan. I dress up for bouts and have signs devoted to my favorite skaters/teams... the signs may or may not have glitter on them. (They totally do!)

And, lest we forget that this is a knitting blog, I have knit derby-related projects, too! Some of the early bouts this year were really cold, so I whipped up some legwarmers in my favorite team's colors (another excellent use for Red Heart, btw), and I started a matching mohawk hat with jammer stars on the side, but haven't gotten around to making the final star yet (they're appliquéd because my obsessive side doesn't like what duplicate stitch does to the proportions of a five-pointed star). The fella even got me a book of derby-related patterns written by roller girls (how awesome is that?), but it's out on loan to a friend who's currently an NSO (that's Non-Skating Official) for her local league.

While I have no interest in skating, I'm thrilled to have this amazing sport in the area, and very excited about the World Cup. And as much as I'd like to say I knit at bouts... I'm usually way too wrapped up in the game to even remember that I brought my knitting with me!

Giving Thanks, November 9th

2011-11-09T10:18:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for my family.

My family is always on my mind this time of year. Friday is the anniversary of the day my mother moved out and filed for divorce, and though it's been thirteen years, I can still remember how I felt that day. Even though I've maintained relationships with both parents and see them regularly, I still struggle with the fear and anger and worthlessness that peaked in that family therapy session when Mom made the announcement.

As I've grown up and spent a lot of time working on my own issues, I've realized things about my family's issues that allow me to have relationships with them without sacrificing my own health. I know, for example, that my mother will only contact me if she wants me to do something for her. That doesn't mean that she doesn't care what's going on in my life, just that she doesn't know how to feel comfortable asking how I'm doing without making some other, more practical request at the same time.

I know that my sister, who is so much like our mother that she can't actually have a relationship with her, got all of the drive and motivation that I lack. She works hard, studies like crazy, and gets stellar grades in some seriously tough classes because she has a plan for her future, and she's not going to let anything get in her way. Our relationship is strained at times because we see the world in such different ways (her cynicism is as beneficial to her as my optimism is to me), but I know that when the chips are down, we come through for each other.

I know that my father and I will never have a loving relationship, but that doesn't stop us from trading jokes and keeping each other updated on the mundane goings-on in our lives. The abuse he suffered as a child was passed on to me, and while I know he never intended to hurt me and probably doesn't even understand that he did, that pain stands in the way of me truly accepting him as a father. Still, he's appreciative when I make his favorite meals, and he's financially supported me far beyond what most parents would consider reasonable, so I do value his presence in my life.

Despite my family's dysfunctionality, I'm thankful to have them. They've taught me a lot, even if most of it is how not to be, and I keep learning new things about myself because of them. They're nowhere near perfect, but they're mine.

Giving Thanks, November 8th

2011-11-08T19:55:00.002-05:00

Today, I am thankful for frogging.

Because some projects just need to be ripped out.

Giving Thanks, November 7th

2011-11-07T08:16:00.001-05:00

Today I am thankful for Aleve, without which I would not have been able to get out of bed this morning.

Still can't do much now that I'm out of bed, but hey, I made it this far, and that's awesome.

Giving Thanks, November 6th

2011-11-06T11:40:00.003-05:00

Today, I am thankful for what my mother taught me about cooking.

My mother isn't the best cook in the world. She tends to be scared of both flavor (except curry) and disease, so she boils everything beyond recognition and doesn't use seasoning. That said, she did teach me a lot about how to put a meal together, and what staples to always have in the pantry to get me through lean financial times.

Her meal guidelines look a lot like the old food pyramid: start with a grain (pasta, rice, bread), add a serving of protein (usually some form of meat), then pick one green vegetable and one red/orange/yellow vegetable, and maybe a little something sweet for dessert. Following this plan, my pantry always has a variety of grains (pasta, rice, and couscous) and some shelf-stable protein (lentils, canned tuna), my freezer is stocked with veggies (Hannaford's fiesta blend is becoming one of my favorites) and meat (sausage freezes well), and there's always enough flour/sugar/baking powder to bake up something tasty.

And for the flavor and techniques, well, that's why I used to watch a lot of cooking shows before I went TV-free. Alton Brown taught me the science, Graham Kerr (both as the Galloping Gourmet and in his more recent, health-conscious work) taught me the flavors, Jamie Oliver taught me to relax and have fun, and Anthony Bourdain taught me how to appreciate the meal as an experience.

Oh, and Gordon Ramsay taught me that some people are just jerks and should be ignored, but that has very little to do with cooking.

I suppose I could summarize my mother's food-related lessons like this: plan your meals a week at a time, use as few pots as possible (because the dishwasher only holds so much), make it balanced, and always have something to fall back on. After all, you never know when the power's going to go out (in which case, having a gas stove helps, but so does having a couple cans of tuna and a manual can opener), that pound of beef you were counting on is going to turn out to be freezer-burnt (I think Mom has venison in her freezer from two presidents ago, so this is more of a risk for her than for normal people), or you're suddenly going to have hungry family members pouring in from distaster-stricken areas (as happened a week ago, and boy, was I glad to have put a few pounds pulled pork in the crock pot that morning).

Speaking of food, it's about time to go grocery shopping. What staples do you keep in your pantry for emergencies?

Giving Thanks, November 5th

2011-11-05T09:18:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for Red Heart Super Saver.

Blasphemy, I know, but when I need a basic worsted weight yarn to test out a pattern that I'm probably going to rip out an hour later anyway, my first dive is into the bin labeled "acrylic." Last night, for example, I was considering my costume for tonight's roller derby bout, and was leaning toward something steampunk, but I lacked spats suitable for the boots I wanted to wear. I grabbed a ball of Red Heart and some needles, sketched out my plan, did a cheater-swatch, did some math, and cast on. I only got a few inches into it before I realized that a) my swatch/math had been wrong, b) there was no way I could get a pair of spats done by the appointed time, and c) I was, by that point, leaning more toward a renfaire-style costume anyway.

Still, the Red Heart came in very handy, and suffered the frogging with no ill effect. If I'd completed the project, those would have been the hardest-wearing spats a gal could hope for, and I could just toss them in the laundry if they got muddy. So while I won't be casting on for an acrylic sweater any time soon, Red Heart Super Saver does have its uses, and I'm glad it exists.

Giving Thanks, November 4th

2011-11-04T07:04:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for the internet.

Despite the trolls and stalkers, despite the wackos who have entire websites devoted to their tinfoil hat construction techniques, despite the fact that anonymity lets people feel free to say things they probably wouldn't say to somebody's face, I still love the internet.

I can check in with friends and family at a moment's notice, without having to use the phone (which doesn't seem like a scary thing until you have a hearing disability) or wait for a letter to arrive. I can research almost anything without having to wait for inter-library loan to come up with the one obscure text I'm looking for. I can limit my exposure to things like Lindsay Lohan's legal troubles, my abusive stalker's unsolicited emails, and anything relating to Michelle Bachman's hair, making my surfing experience that much more pleasurable.

And the best thing about the internet?

It has Ravelry.

'Nuff said.

Giving Thanks, November 3rd

2011-11-03T20:36:00.002-05:00

Better late than never, eh? I was so excited at the prospect of insulating our windows this morning (yes, really, I'm weird like that) that I completely spaced on the whole blog thing and didn't remember until I was headed out for the afternoon, which brings me to my purpose:

Today, I am thankful for my friends.

One of the benefits of being unemployed is that I suddenly have time to go visit all of the far-flung friends I've missed while I was busy with work. This evening I caught up with a friend who I haven't seen since the last time there was snow on the ground (hey, now, no Vermont jokes, we do have summer up here) because she lives an hour and a half away, and most of the road to get to her place washed away during Irene. The plan was to fill each other in on the last two seasons of activity, cook dinner, and veg in front of the telly for a bit (I even brought knitting to work on).

The best laid plans, and all that...

Shortly after my arrival, one of her far-flung friends called to say he and company were in town, and would a group trip to the local diner work for us? Well, naturally! So we had some delightful company, the best mac-n-cheese a restaurant can provide, and rousing conversation about pens, firearms, Utilikilts, Angry Birds, and bar cats, among other things. Despite the change of plans, it was still precisely the type of cozy evening I'd been craving, and I'm very glad that I finally had the opportunity for it.

Speaking of friends, if any of you had given me your contact info, or if you hadn't but want me to have it, please drop me an email. My cellphone went for a swim the other day and my SIM card shorted out, so I need to rebuild my personal phonebook. My provider tells me I can transfer my old number to the new phone and card (task #1 tomorrow morning), so you won't have to change my info in your records, but I'd love to be able to call all of you fine folks once again.

And this time, I'm duplicating every record on paper. Modern tech is great, but ancient tech is far more reliable.

Night, all. Dream yarny dreams.

Giving Thanks, November 2nd

2011-11-02T08:09:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful for Vermont Public Radio.

I don't have television, I don't read the news online, and I don't read the paper. Instead, I have the local TV station on my Facebook feed for hyper-local news, and I listen to VPR for everything else. My imagination is fertile enough that I can picture the places and situations I hear about on the radio without having video or pictures thrown at me, and because the stories on VPR come from a variety of sources, I feel better informed and don't get bored with the same news loop being replayed every 15 minutes.

Listening to VPR is also a coping mechanism for me. Being slightly obsessive-compulsive means that there's constant chatter going in my head (along with constant music), and if I don't have something engaging to listen to, I get stuck thinking the same things over and over again. Most commercial radio stations only make this worse, because they play the same songs over and over again (especially the stations that restrict themselves to a particular era) and the DJs and commercials are so inane as to drop my attention instantly.

There's a reason I set my computer's MP3 player to shuffle through three thousand tracks, and why my music collection is so varied. I never know what I'm going to be in the mood for, and I don't want to hear the same song twice in a week.

That's another wonderful thing about VPR -- it has separate frequencies devoted exclusively to classical music, and some of the shows focus on genres I don't know very well (like pipe organ music) or test listeners by merging one composer's tune with another's style, which is great exercise for the brain. Coming from the land of WFCR, which mixes news and classical, it's wonderful to be able to decide which I'd rather listen to at any time of day.

Which reminds me, it's time to break out the RCA cables, get my hi-fi set up, and decide where the speakers are going to go in the craft room. Then I'll see if my little radio receiver gets a clear signal out here in the boonies.

Giving Thanks, November 1st

2011-11-01T07:06:00.002-05:00

Every morning this month, as I sit at my desk eating my breakfast yogurt, I'm going to think about all the things for which I am thankful, and I'm going to share one of those things here on the blog. I tend to think too much about the problems in my life and too little about the benefits, so this will be good practice for me, and maybe it will even inspire someone out there to do something similar.

Today, I am thankful for uninterrupted sleep.

My job and I have just parted ways, and as soon as it was official, I found myself finally able to relax. I hadn't realized just how tense I'd been, and how scared I was to go to work every morning. Just a week ago I was having trouble falling asleep. I would wake up a few times a night in a panic about work, and struggle to get back to sleep amid the chatter in my mind. Now, my sleep is peaceful, I wake up rested and optimistic about the day, and I feel very productive (which is good, because job hunting takes a LOT of work!).

Like Martha says, sleep: it's a good thing!

What are you thankful for today?

Rhinebeck, the Move, and Everything

2011-10-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

Holy neglected blog, Batman! In my defense, I've been working and moving house and visiting friends and going to Rhinebeck and knitting, so I haven't had a lot of time for blogging. Now it's time to catch y'all up! Grab a cuppa before you start, 'cause this is gonna take a while.

Moving!

I'm almost finished (or at least that's what I'm telling myself -- five moves worth of culling and leaving things behind, and I still have way too much stuff that I don't want to give up) moving from my cozy urban (for Vermont) attic apartment to a roomy house that, while not far from the beaten path, is remote enough to be on a rural postal route. The fella and I are blending our households, which means twice as much stuff, twice as many cats, and a closet devoted exclusively to high heels and firearms (heels mine, guns his). We also have a room for crafts (with a door!) that's off-limits to the cats, meaning both the fiber and the model airplanes can frolic in the open without fear of feline intervention. We're very, very happy with the new place, and looking forward to being completely moved in so we can start enjoying our weekends again.

Rhinebeck!

In the Spring, I thought I might be going to Rhinebeck this year. By the summer, I was worried I wouldn't be able to afford it. A few weeks ago, though, I realized that the stars were aligning in just the right way so I could make the trip and even have a little fun money, so I got in touch with my bestest fiber buddy, Jenny, and we made plans. I came down Saturday night, catching-up was done, hilarity was had, Red vs Blue was watched, and then Sunday morning she and Angie and I went off to the festival. Sheep were pet, fiber was fondled, friends were hugged, money was exchanged for pretties, and the bestest diner food ever was nommed at the Eveready Diner (now within sight of the fairgrounds!!!)... just another Rhinebeck, y'know? I came home with a hand-thrown mug from Brier Street Pottery, four bars of soap from Simpler Thyme, four ounces of undyed Pollworth/silk from The Sheep Shed (which I want Dan from Gnomespun to dye for me), and a bag of maple cotton candy. It was a good Rhinebeck, spent with excellent people, and I'm looking forward to next year.

Knitting!

One of the joys of having a job with an official lunch break is that I get way more knitting done than I used to. The Rose of England shawl was my lunch knitting project for a while, but I've needed some instant-gratification projects to balance out its monotony lately, so... there have been hats.

This is the Druidess Beret by Anna Bright, knit up in Green Mountain Spinnery's Alpaca Elegance in Ceylon. Sadly, the finished hat doesn't look especially flattering on me, but it was lots of fun to knit.

A Ravelry friend mentioned having made this hat for a swap, and I fell in love with the pattern instantly, so I made one...

...and then I made another! The second one I tried to modify a bit, and it didn't work out the way I wanted, so I'm thinking about ripping back and trying again, since I like the yarn combo so much. The first Capucine (by Adela Illichmanova) is three fingering-weight wools from two different commercially-made sweaters (yay, recycling!) held together. The second is a combination of my handspun (Sheep Shed merino/tencel in "Dusk" chain-plied to worsted weight) and Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair in Raspberry (I think it was extra-light and I doubled it). I may make a few more of these before the first snow, if I can find/spin the right yarn.

Okay, not a hat, but still something to keep me toasty as the weather gets chilly. This is just a bias-knit piece that I cast on and knit without thinking about it. The buttons were an afterthought to make the seam look more like a design element than an eyesore. It's two strands of Malabrigo worsted held together: white with teal and white with purple. The teal is left over from my Mother of Invention hat and the purple is left over from the tassel hat I made for David (Sweater Project) a while back.

There's also a scarf that I made over Rhinebeck weekend from some handspun BFL (from Spunky Eclectic) using the Harlot's One Row Scarf pattern, but I haven't gotten around to taking pics yet.

*whew!* Okay, now that we're all caught up, I'm going to wander off for another month and leave y'all in suspense about the scarf. I'm evil like that. Happy knitting!

KnitMeme

2011-09-18T09:33:00.003-05:00

I've seen this making the rounds on Ravelry and some blogs lately, and since I'm too sleep-deprived for a real post (not to mention distracted by the free live stream of the WFTDA East Region Playoffs), doing this meme seems like a good idea.

Bold means I've done it, italics means I want to. Here we go...

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn (well, 50 camel/50 tussah)
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down (gloves, actually)
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater (it's almost finished! really!)
Drop stitch patterns (swatched, meh)
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garment
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Participate in an exchange
Scarf
American/English knitting
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching someone how to knit (I suck at this. Srsly.)
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards (getting there...)
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Free-form knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Pillows (halfway there...)
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public
Russian join
Knit a hoodie (started one, never got past the sleeve)
Follow a chart
magic loop knitting (eww)

Wow. So does that mean I'm not a beginner anymore? ;)

PS. The red was too dreary, so I switched to a happy green. I think I'm done with the tinkering for a while. Maybe.

Stripes!

2011-09-08T10:29:00.001-05:00

It was time for a change, y'all. I hope it's not to jarring. Tell me what you think! Unless you hate it, in which case I don't want to know.

(Kidding! Tell me anyway!)

Srsly, d00d...

2011-09-08T06:53:00.003-05:00

After such a heavy post, it's time for a little lightness. But it's me, and I'm having a bad week, so it's grumpy lightness. You've been warned.

Dear Google,

Okay, so what's with the constant redesigning of the iGoogle page? First you turned a perfectly usable toolbar from white to black, which forced me to change my theme to something that I really don't like, but that doesn't look terrible with the new color. Then, you altered the GMail gadget's looks, but... only in Chrome. The Firefox version is still neat and trim, but the Chrome version, which I use on my laptop, is chunky and hideous. Now you've turned a neutral grey button into a BRIGHT BLUE one that doesn't work with *any* theme, and the whole mess is off-center, presumably to piss off those of us who are just a wee bit obsessive-compulsive.

So what's the deal? Is the design team off its Ritalin? Are you trying to keep things "fresh" and "dynamic" like the marketing guys told you to, forgetting that one should usually do exactly the opposite of what the marketing guys say? Are you deliberately trying to tank your company by pissing people off to the point where they stop using your service?

Whatever the reason, could you please just stop it? I'd like to have a few months to get used to a look before you go screwing it up again. Please?

Sincerely,
Grumpy Girl

The Aftermath

2011-08-29T18:02:00.002-05:00

Irene was down to being a tropical storm by the time she got to New England, but that didn't stop her from doing a TON of damage. I'm one of the lucky ones -- never lost power, no flooding, no wind damage. But based on the pictures I'm seeing and the people I'm hearing from, I'm in the minority.

The route to the fella's house was closed in at least three places this morning, two have since been cleared, but the last one I know of (the Agency of Transportation isn't keeping their map updated, so there may be more) is a major washout on a divided highway, and unlikely to be fixed any time soon.

Many of Vermont's picturesque covered bridges are gone or in pieces. Several towns are cut off from everything, including emergency services. Even the emergency services headquarters had to move mid-storm because of flooding. Crops are ruined, houses are falling apart, roads are gone, cars and propane tanks and decks are floating downriver, and several people have drowned because they got too close to the flooding.

The Red Cross and FEMA are out there along with local emergency personnel trying to put the state back together, but it's going to take a long time. Just getting a couple of temporary roads built so emergency services and utility repair crews can get to our now-isolated towns will take a week. There are volunteer groups offering to hike into places where vehicles can't go to deliver supplies or walk people out.

It's a mess. If you're able, please donate to the Red Cross in Vermont.

Stormy Weather

2011-08-28T08:35:00.002-05:00

Irene's been drenching this part of Vermont for about twelve hours now. It's steady, uneventful, monsoon-type rain, as opposed to the more variable showers or thunderstorms we're used to.

In other words, it's dull. I'm almost looking forward to the tropical storm winds just to mix things up a little, even though it means we'll probably lose power. While we're still getting juice, though, I'm enjoying its benefits. The kettle's on, Pandora's pumping wartime tunes to my studio, and I'm knitting by the warm glow of CFLs.

Rose of England, because of the absurd number of stitches per row near the end, both feels like it's almost finished, and like I still have ages to go. I'm eight rows from the end, not counting the crocheted edging, but those eight rows contain a little over ten thousand stitches. That's almost an eighth of the total stitch count for the project.

I keep telling myself that the end result will be so awe-inspiring that it'll be worth the frustration of the end being so near and yet so far. I'm not sure I believe it, but I'm trying.

Tommy Dorsey is helping.

Gonna Rip It Up...

2011-07-17T16:35:00.002-05:00

Remember how last year I started an ambitious lace project, a circular shawl called Rose of England? It was in hibernation for a while, since the rows were getting long (~1200 sts each) and I was never in one place long enough to remember where I was, let alone make any progress, but I hauled it back out recently and have been giving it a lot of attention. I had done about half a dozen post-hibernation rows as of last week, when I hit a snag. Starting a new pattern row, I got into the third of 40 repeats in that row and realized that in the previous pattern row, I'd screwed up over half the repeats in a way that couldn't be fixed on the fly.

I had to rip back. Two rows. Almost 3000 stitches, total.

Did I mention this is fairly complex lace? (For those of you who've made it, I was in Part G where the leaves start branching out.) There are YOs and SL2, PSSOs and all manner of other holes and bunches (no nupps, thank goodness), and I'd spent hours wrestling with the last mistake I made (somehow removing an entire repeat in a netting-like section and not realizing it until the next chunk of solid patterning started), so I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about having to fix this one.

Over the course of two or three lunch breaks, I meticulously picked up stitches with the same needle that was in the rest of the piece (because I only have one US#2 that long), working my way around, dropping stitches off one end of the circ after I had picked up below the error. And y'know what?

It worked perfectly.

I was terrified as I unraveled the two dropped rows, hoping I'd managed to catch every stitch at the correct point in the pattern, but it turns out I've been at this knitting thing long enough that I do, miraculously, know what I'm doing.

Since then, I've re-knit those two rows (paying close attention to the pattern this time), and am back where I was, ready to continue. Only another two dozen rows until this sucker is finished!

I'm trying very hard to forget that two dozen rows works out to something like 30K stitches. It's not working, but I'm still trying.

Blocking Bolero

2011-06-30T18:10:00.002-05:00

It figures that I have to be seriously under the weather for a day or two in order to post about knitting. Boo, sick, but yay, blogging!

Leading up to New Hampshire Sheep & Wool in May, I knew I'd be working the event and knew I wanted to show off some knitting, so I started a quick-and-easy project thinking I'd have plenty of time to get it done. As with everything I've ever tried to do on a deadline, I heard that whooshing sound Douglas Adams used to talk about, and had to pull a backup plan out of the closet. I ended up wearing my Tangerine shawl over black (looked awesome, if I do say so myself) and working on the other project at the show. That other project was bound off a few days later, and then hibernated until I had the time to block it (and babysit to make sure the cats didn't kill it while it dried), which ended up being today.

This is the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher, and it's probably going to be my new favorite thing to throw on over a tank top on chilly summer evenings.

It's aaaaaaalmost dry, and I'll probably seam it tonight before I pass out. Kira, the troublemaker, spent the day investigating the blocking process, and finally got the hint (with help of squirt bottle) that she could be next to the project but not on it, so I forgave her when she shifted in her sleep and crossed the boundary a little.

The edges of the bolero are bowed out like that because I didn't like how closed the lace looked when the edges were straight. The little bit of extra length will be on the "sleeves" and should keep my arms a smidge warmer.

I've also finished (but not blocked) a scarf/wrap thing that I'll tell you all about... some other time. Meanwhile, I'm hoping I'll feel well enough to go back to work tomorrow, and then Saturday the fella and I are off to a Tour de Fleece kickoff party, even though I'm not doing the competition. Any excuse to see my CT SnB buddies!

Food Fury

2011-06-19T18:42:00.001-05:00

Warning: There is no knitting content in this post. I'm furious about something else, and want to share my fury with all of you in the hope that it may inspire change.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is am amazing movement. With childhood obesity reaching epidemic proportions, along with childhood diabetes and other diet-related chronic illnesses, there needs to be a paradigm shift in how we feed our children, both at school and at home. Educating students, parents, and staff face-to-face in the schools is a great way to make that change happen. Filming that education and broadcasting it on national television is another excellent way to make it happen. Re-learning how to feed our children (and the rest of us) is an obvious, critical step toward improving the health of our country.

So why in hell are school districts making this impossible?

School boards are trying to prevent Jamie from coming into their schools and making changes because they fear bad publicity. They're afraid of Jamie pointing out that the average American school lunch is packed with empty calories and preservatives, and utterly lacking in the nutrients necessary for healthy bodies. They're afraid that if Jamie broadcasts anything negative about their school lunch programs, that parents will stop having their children buy lunches at school, and revenues will fall.

This. Is. Bullshit.

There are schools that are providing healthy, locally-grown, freshly-prepared food for their students, and doing it in a cost-effective way. There are schools that are educating students and parents about nutrition so the diet changes extend to the home kitchen. There are families whose lives have been improved dramatically for the better thanks to Jamie and his show.

It can be done. It is being done, but it's also being opposed, and that's what scares me. As long as there are people actively inhibiting such a beneficial project, we, as a society, have more work to do.

Start here. Sign the petition, find out what you can do on a local level, and make this change happen. Watch episodes on Hulu to see exactly what Jamie is doing, and get ideas that you can use at your school and at home.

Don't wait for someone else to raise the subject, and don't let the school board tell you that it can't be done, that it's too expensive, or that the pre-processed, long-distance, preservative-laden food they're serving is healthy enough.

Nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese (a percentage which is almost identical in Vermont, by the way -- we're not as healthy a state as we think), and the kids who are in grade school now will add to that statistic in the next dozen years. Change the eating habits of our children today, and the adults of tomorrow will be healthier. Simple as that.

I'm gonna go try to calm down now.

Beatrix (after the Queen, not the lady who wrote about bunnies)

2011-05-05T20:24:00.002-05:00

So, I have a new job. After a year with the Spinnery, things just weren't working out, so I decided to move on. A perfect opportunity fell into place just when I needed it, and I finally have a job that makes me happy, pays the bills, and doesn't send me home covered in machine oil. It does occasionally send me home with blisters, but that's because I got so darned excited about learning a new task that I didn't stop when things started hurting.

The groovy folks I work for now are, naturally, fiber people. They've been doing some cleaning/destashing lately, which has led to me expanding my collection of fiber tools. I've been given a Kundert spindle, a lignum vitae crochet hook, and... drumroll, please...

...this! Her name is Beatrix (because all of my wheels must have names beginning with B... for no particular reason), and I haven't done anything but clean off the dust so far. The footman is a replacement and needs some tweaking, and the pedal isn't going to see much use before it needs to be replaced, but aside from that, this wheel is in very good shape, and I almost don't care how it spins because it's so pretty.

I've been doing some knitting and crocheting, but haven't managed to take pics of the projects yet. Maybe soon... maybe.

Fortuna

2011-04-04T08:20:00.005-05:00

Tidying up after dinner, I'm about to pick up my knitting when he pulls our fortune cookies out of the take-away bag and hands one to me. Fortune cookies have been good to me over the last year or two (they may not deliver the good things they promise, but the promise makes me feel better), so I'm especially curious to see what this cookie has to say. He looks at his, and remarks, "I think I got yours."

So I show him mine.

Then we can't breathe for about two minutes because we're laughing so hard.

When we finally recover, I pick up the WIP of the day and get a few rows done. This is going to be a hooded mantle with liripipe (that is, a long hood with an even longer tail), and it's made from some rejected yarn from work. We'd been having trouble keeping the drive gear on the spinning frame engaged, and if said gear drops out, the yarn keeps getting twisted but doesn't wind onto the bobbins, so we have to either break every end and tie lots of knots, or re-start with fresh bobbins. This particular mishap was maybe 30 yards into a new bobbin, so I made lots of little balls of yarn and re-started the set. That yarn would have been thrown in our reject box, but I knew I could do something cool with it, so I took it home. This is what it looks like now:

The center of the hood is going to be steeked (my first time... yikes!), and there will be cabled borders both around the face and around the hem.

It's very dense and should fit snugly. I've designed it to protect me from the various meteorological anomolies that pop up during faire season, like cloudbursts and blizzards, so I've knit it with two strands of Sylvan Spirit (a DK-weight yarn) on my US#7 ebony needles. It's practically armor.

I'm going to take my quiet and unobtrusive nature and go back to my knitting.

Time For A Change

2011-02-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

Holy cow, I've been neglecting this poor blog, haven't I? I keep telling myself I'll find time to post, and then life gets in the way. I think it's about time that I resign myself to the idea that I'm never going to get back to regular posts... when I have a few minutes and a few pictures, I'll put something up, but I can't promise anything close to a schedule anymore. It's probably just as well -- even in the depths of Vermont's Snowpocalypse, I'm getting out of the house pretty frequently and having something close to a normal life, and if fewer blog posts is the price I pay for that normalcy, I'm okay with it.

Knitting has been happening in small amounts, but it's either secret projects or things that will look cool when they're finished but currently just resemble lumpy blobs of string, so I can't share much with you. I've also been very bad about taking pictures of things, but I think I cured that dry spell by shooting a roller derby game last Saturday, so keep an eye on my Flickr in the next few weeks. There might (just might) be some knitting to be seen.

Hope y'all are enjoying the chilly season as much as I am. It's perfect knitting weather!

Pick Me Up, Love, Every Day

2010-11-12T21:39:00.002-05:00

On my way home from work this afternoon, I swung by the bank a few blocks away to deposit a check, only to discover that the bank was closed -- even the ATM was dark. There was a sign on the door, but I wasn't motivated enough to get out of the car to go read it, so I headed home. On the way, I spotted a police roadblock that seemed to be clouded with smoke. I figured I'd go home and use my fancy new DSL to check the local news websites to learn what had happened. As I got out of the car, I noticed that my stairway light was off, and wondered why my neighbors would turn it off, since it was a full floor above them and shouldn't bother them.

As I reached my door, I had that unpleasant eureka moment where all of the dots connected -- my neighbors hadn't turned off my light, the power was out, and whatever the police were dealing with was probably the cause.

Well, feh.

I set down my bag and groceries, turned around, and went for a walk to see if I could determine what the problem was. Apparently they'd cleaned up the worst of it by the time I got there, because I couldn't see anything, so I came home again and hunted for my candles.

I made dinner (tuna sandwich), read the mail and the paper, shuffled some boxes around to make room for the things I'll be bringing home over the weekend, and just as I was running out of stuff to do by candlelight, the power came back on.

Now, I may have mentioned that my new place has certain perks that my Summer lodgings lacked, and while I've been enjoying the bigger-than-a-breadbox shower, full-sized fridge (with freezer!!), and stove (that gets hot enough to boil water!) already, I hadn't yet used the oven. So tonight, I baked.

Here you see the combined fruit of my kitchen's wonderful appliances: apple-cinnamon muffins (Jiffy mixes aren't half bad, but don't make much), boiled water for a cuppa, orange-chocolate cake (vegan!), and ice cream (solidly frozen, not mushy).

I'm in heaven, I tell ya. Being able to make the whole apartment smell like chocolate totally makes up for the stairwell smelling like the neighbor's cigarettes.

I was expecting my beau to be here to enjoy these goodies with me tonight, but apparently a drunk driver ran somebody down right outside his house, causing the police to shut down the area, so he can't get out until morning. It seems the crazies are out all over the place.

So yeah, every day is an adventure. I'm going to have one more cup of licorice tea to help with this head cold I've acquired, and then I'm going to tuck myself in for the night. I'm aiming to carve out some time on Monday to post about more knitterly things, so, as usual, stay tuned!

Checking In

2010-11-10T10:55:00.002-05:00

Hi, there! I moved out of the chilly caboose and into a cozy apartment, and then had to wait a week and a half for my phone and internet to be turned on, which is why I haven't posted in a while.

Coming soon: pics of new place and new pets, a not-contest with prizes, and... not much knitting. As usual. Stay tuned!

Minding the Store

2010-10-14T20:34:00.002-05:00

Thank you all for your messages of sympathy and condolence. I'm doing my best to find a balance between mourning and living, and I seem to be doing okay. I am eternally thankful for the vast and strong network of friends I have made, both online and in real life, who help me through tough times like this. You remind me that life goes on, and not even harsh words from small minds can take away the wonderful memories of the time I shared with my girl. Thank you again.

Life does go on, plans get made, and sometimes plans get un-made. For example, this Saturday, instead of going to Rhinebeck, I'm going to be working at the Spinnery. On Sunday I'll be curled up with my beau, enjoying some peace and quiet, and playing with the newest members of my household. (More about them another day.)

I thought I would be disappointed not being able to go to Rhinebeck this year, but I'm actually okay with it. First off, I have no money to spend on yarn, or even the gas to get from here to there -- just getting groceries is a stretch these days. Secondly, my full-time job is making yarn, which means my spare time... what little of it I have... is spent doing non-yarny things, because there is, as it turns out, such a thing as fiber overload.

So, to all of you happy fiberholics headed to Duchess County this weekend, have a great time, have a deep-fried artichoke (but not a deep fried pickle), take pics of the punkin' chuckin' contest, and remember to look at everything twice before you decide what to buy...

...unless it's something that's really screaming at you. Then buy it on the spot. ;-)

In Loving Memory

2010-10-01T07:31:00.001-05:00

My beloved greyhound, Sassafrass, passed away yesterday. She had been having health issues for a while, but the decision to end her pain yesterday was the result of bone cancer that wasn't discovered until yesterday's x-ray. It was so far advanced and causing her so much pain that, even with amputation, meds, and chemo, she would only have had a few weeks at best, so it was time.

Sassafrass was 13-and-a-half years old, a retired racing greyhound who never officially made it to the track, and she came into my life just before her second birthday. She was especially fond of peanut butter and ear skritches, and not so keen on fireworks or things flying through the air near her. She recognized other sighthounds and was friendly with them, but was much more of a people person than a dog person. She never could figure out why blankets didn't behave like dirt when she tried to dig in them. She will be loved and missed and never forgotten.

Goodbye, babygirl. I love you.

Roll Or Bowl A Ball, A Penny A Pitch

2010-08-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

My beau spent a week and a half at Pennsic, arguably the biggest living history encampment in the Northeast. I couldn't afford to go this year, so he sent me pictures as the event progressed, and he brought home a present for me.

It's a yarn bowl! It keeps one's balls of yarn from running rampant while in use. I love it!

Pretty, huh? I love functional things that also have an element of beauty to them.

Speaking of beauty, I've been knitting and finishing! The alpaca neckwarmer I knit up a while back finally has buttons:

There's also a project that I've had up on Ravelry for a while but haven't mentioned here, the Merry Little Bag. Last year at Birka I bought some yarn from The Merry Little Lamb, and it finally decided that it wanted to be a felted colorwork bag. The pieces are made but not assembled yet, as I'm still trying to decide how to assemble them.

Then there's some more colorwork that I think will be a pillow (the bit on the left):

I've started another panel that reverses the colors, and that will be the other side of the pillow. The yarn is rejects from work -- some Mountain Mohair that's too thin, and some custom yarn that became impregnated with rubber bits from the carding aprons. They both work just fine for this particular project.

I picked up some more free waste roving at work today, which has me itching to spin, but I've promised myself that I'll finish the curtains I promised a friend months ago before I start anything new. I've also been informed that, after over four months of working at the Spinnery, I'm finally due for my three-month review. I would tell y'all what I'm hoping for from that meeting, but I don't want to jinx it, so you'll just have to stay tuned and see what happens.

Happy knitting!

Feed Me, Seymour!!!

2010-08-04T18:17:00.000-05:00

Either I work in the Little Shop of Horrors, or... well, it's just another day at Green Mountain Spinnery. Something got stuck or clogged, and Laurie crawled in to pull it out. As he keeps saying, you'll never get rich at the Spinnery, but you'll have a lot of fun.

Speaking of fun, I wanted to make something romantic but quirky for my beau, and I settled on giving him my heart... my vaguely anatomically-correct heart, that is!

The pattern is from Knitty Winter 2008, the yarn is Ella Rae Classic, and the veins and valve-ends are needle felted.

I brought it to him in a cooler packed with ice. He loved it!

Also, as promised, the handspun FO. Here's the Northumbria Cowl from the Fall 2010 issue of Knitscene. I discovered once it was blocked that the dye in the silk bled onto the white in places, but I think I'm okay with it. When the weather isn't 90°F and humid, maybe I'll model it.

I have the sudden craving to knit up a model of Audrey II, for some reason. Hmm...

Walk Right In, It's Around The Back...

2010-07-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

Shortly after I got to work this morning, a crew of high school students descended on the Spinnery to do some landscaping work. The funny part is that they showed up in a VW Microbus with shovels and rakes and implements of destruction. Guess what song was stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

I've been knitting! Really! But I haven't taken pictures yet. I was flipping through the latest Knitscene at work when I saw the Northumbria Cowl and was so taken with the super-simple stitch pattern that I just had to cast on. It's nearly finished (ran out of handspun halfway through the bind-off, so I have to tink back a row), and it's pretty cute. I'll tell you what I plan on making to go with it when I post the pictures.

My last trip to visit my beau involved a romantic stroll through one of Boston's old cemeteries, so while I procrastinate taking pics of my knitting, let me show you these instead: Flickr set: Cemetery.

Next in the crafting queue is one of Voodoo Maggie's Baby Dragons, which, assuming I enjoy making the first one, will likely be made in bulk as presents for everyone I know, because everyone needs this level of cuteness. Srsly.

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of sorts... one of my friends lost a beloved goatling but gained a cria... I misplaced my driver's license somewhere between Tampa and here, but got a new one (which I needed anyway) this morning... my car's brake pads needed replacing, and I didn't have the $220 the garage wanted, but I have a friend who's a mechanic, so that was taken care of for the cost of parts and a few six-packs of Coke... my dog was in the hospital for almost a week with heat stroke, and came out of it better than the vet expected, though her arthritis seems to be worse... my fridge died, but I got a loaner to last until payday when I'll buy a new one (and deduct it from the rent)... and the abusive ex's repeated attempts to harass me without technically violating the restraining order are making me laugh more than anything else (you'd think someone who claims he wants to get away from me would actually, y'know, get away from me eventually -- btw, if you get an email/call/whatever from him, please forward it to me so I can forward it to the judge).

So, life goes on, and things improve. How are all of you?

She Moved Through The Fair

2010-07-11T21:16:00.001-05:00

What's Lilith up to, you ask? Being busy, she replies! Trips to Boston and Florida, encounters with drunken pirates, shy manatees, and haunted stones, and the excellent company of friends new and old have all been keeping me from my knitting, with no objection from me. So instead of showing you the one project I've managed to work on in the last month ('cause it's still not finished), I'll show you some highlights from my trips.

Sylshessa and me at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

Roscoe the bird, also at the zoo

a playful manatee at the zoo

the vivid carpeting at the Rodeway Inn in Tampa

a unique jerkin from Potted Fox Studios

a haunted place in Brattleboro

Oh, and for those of you who don't follow me on LJ or Facebook, I got that restraining order I was hoping for. The judge found, as a matter of legal fact, that the ex had stalked me, so she issued a final order for six months. It's nice to feel safe, finally.

By Any Other Name

2010-06-22T15:52:00.000-05:00

So there I am at work, loading bobbins onto the plying machine, and I hear the bell that indicates there's someone in the retail shop. I go out to greet the person, and she has a vase of flowers in her hands... for me.

The fellow I'm seeing wanted to make me smile, you see. And he did. I've been smiling for hours!

Thank you, darling.

Hulk Smash?

2010-06-05T18:16:00.000-05:00

I was going to work four hours this afternoon and then head down to CT for the weekend. However, the coworker scheduled for the first half of the day is down with the flu, so I got a call at 9 this morning asking if I could work the whole day instead. Oh, sure! Scramble to get dressed, make lunch, throw stuff in a bag, and get out the door on time, and I made it. Having expected to spend four hours doing other things before being at work, I was a little out of sorts, and naturally, the first thing I did was injure myself.

It doesn't look like much, but it hurts like the dickens. I was lifting the ramp of the steamer (a big plywood box), and my hand got caught between the ramp and a plastic file crate. Now I know where we keep the bandages at work!

There has been some knitting and sewing (pics eventually), some moving-of-stuff, not nearly enough sorting and clearing, and lots of time spent with dear friends in the last few weeks. Life is getting better, I'm singing and laughing more, and generally feeling happier. I even managed to get to an awesome Dave Matthews concert, where I took some crappy pictures with my phone from my "seat" (read: standing room only) in the pit.

And because it's spring, there are babies everywhere, including at my friend's farm. Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?

I'll be in CT tomorrow, and my original reason for coming down has disappeared, so I'll have some time around lunch to hang out with anyone who feels like calling me. Happy knitting!

The Birds

2010-05-25T06:57:00.001-05:00

It's probably a good thing that I haven't seen a certain Hitchcock film, as I've been having some close encounters with my feathered friends lately, and I don't need more reason to be freaked out.

First, there's a pair of what I think are flycatchers that have built a lovely little daub-and-moss nest on top of the security light just outside my front door. I like these birds, and they're very cute, but they're also somewhat territorial, and every time I leave, I have to pass right under their nest. They don't like this at all. They hover a few feet from my head and snap their wings at me, then pop off to the nearest tree and angrily chirp at me until I get in my car and go. I wish I could relocate them to make life a little less stressful for both of us.

Then this morning, around 6:45, I heard some tapping on my window. Initially my heart jumped to my throat and I reached for the phone because the ex has been stalking me, but when I sat up and looked out the window, there was a little bird sitting on the sill, staring at me. I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't see it clearly, and as soon as I moved again, it flew away, but it definitely made eye contact.

So that was an interesting way to wake up. Now, because I'm not completely awake and exhausted all of my nervous energy telling you about the birds, I'm going to wrap up this post with some long-awaited pictures. Enjoy!

neckwarmer made with yarn spun from alpaca fiber purchased at CT S&W

fiber purchased at CT S&W

14th-century-style hood made back in January and finally blocked the other day

Jaggerspun 2/20 Cobalt heather

yarn spun from the mystery fleece I picked up at work

More pics next time!

Down With The Sickness

2010-05-13T19:51:00.002-05:00

My father has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. He also has irregular cells in his stomach that might be lymphoma, a common side-effect of Celiac Disease that has gone untreated for years. He must remove gluten from his diet, which effectively means my sister, who lives with him and cooks for him, must remove gluten from her diet, as well. They'll check the irregular cells in two months (after he's been gluten-free for a while) to see if they're lymphoma or not.

This disease is genetic. There is an inaccurate blood test, and symptoms can be so mild as to go unnoticed. If you remember how to do a Punnett square, parent 1 is nn (Celiac Disease is recessive), parent 2 could be anything (nn, NN, Nn), and my chance of having this is all over the map. I'm calling the doctor tomorrow to schedule the blood test, and I may be altering my diet just in case... I probably won't go comepletely gluten-free, but I'll limit my intake.

Just when I think life is calming down a little, I get slapped with something like this. I need a hug.

The Sting

2010-05-08T08:28:00.001-05:00

So there I was, yesterday morning, getting dressed. I pulled a folded pair of jeans off the shelf, shook them out, and stuck my leg in. I felt a familiar pinch at the back of my knee, threw the jeans on the floor, and watched a stunned-looking wasp stumble out of them.

Anyone know of a natural wasp repellant? I don't want to bug bomb all of my stuff, but I'm really getting sick of getting stung. This is the third time in a year. Grr.

The other day, one of the ladies in one of my knitting groups brought a few cones of yarn she'd found at the local recycling center. Two black cones didn't interest me, but the peacock-blue laceweight did, especially when I checked the label inside the cone -- Jaggerspun Heather! It's their 2/20 in Cobalt, and it will make a beautiful, lacy something... someday.

Before I find a project for that, though, I need to make a gift for my best friend, who's getting married in July. I've settled on a ring pillow, covered in light purple satin with a white knitted lace overlay. I just need to settle on a lace pattern.

Now if I can just find motivation to do anything on this dreary, rainy Saturday. Tomorrow I'll be at NH Sheep & Wool, and I'm really looking forward to it, making today even harder to get through. Maybe I'll knit a little before I go to work.

Come Sail Away

2010-04-27T14:45:00.002-05:00

There is a lightswitch at work with a label below it that reads, "FORCE OF GRAVITY -- DO NOT TURN OFF."

I love my job.

Exhausting Weekend

2010-04-26T16:42:00.002-05:00

One of the perks of working at Green Mountain Spinnery is occasionally bringing home free fiber. Today Laurie, the fellow who runs the carder, brought over a pound of "waste" wool and told us it was up for grabs. One of my coworkers and I decided to split it -- I took about 3 ounces, and she got the rest. It's white and fluffy, fresh from the carder, but it isn't the same blend as any of our stock yarns and wasn't part of any of our custom orders, so if we didn't take it, it would be used to clean dark fibers out of the carder before the next run of white, and would be ruined. It was too nice for that. I'm not sure what I'll do with it... maybe play with some food coloring or other dyes and then make a little hat or something.

On Saturday I went to CT Sheep & Wool, hung out with more friends than I expected to see, and allowed myself some very modest fiber acquisition. Sunday I moved the last of my things out of Erik's house. While both days went relatively well, the one-two punch has left me exhausted, bruised, and blistered. I really didn't want to go to work this morning, but I'm glad I did. I think I need to stay off my feet for a few hours, though... owwie.

I'll take pictures of the new fiber as soon as I dig out my camera and find an uncluttered spot to take a picture.

Getting Better

2010-04-15T19:45:00.002-05:00

My first day at the Spinnery was good. I came home smelling of lanolin, wondering how a cooperative can possibly make timely decisions, and eager to go back tomorrow. I spent most of the day twisting and labeling skeins, with brief interruptions to ball three skeins for a customer and pose for an impromptu photo shoot ("You look about the right size. Here, put on this sweater and come outside."). The people are great, the work appeals to me, and I get to inhale wool fumes all day. This job is a good fit for me. I hope it lasts.

Well, that sucked.

2010-04-14T17:36:00.002-05:00

I broke up with Erik last month. He didn't take it well, and things were getting a little dicey as I was scrambling to find a new place to live, going to job interviews, and dealing with daily harassment about the living situation, financial issues, and random other crap.

On Sunday the 4th, I came back from a weekend with my family, and the harassment began anew the moment I walked in the door. After 20 minutes of begging him to leave me alone with no positive result, I called 911. The Troopers who responded suggested that I pack a bag and go somewhere else for the night, and as soon as they left, that's exactly what I did. The next day, I went back with the intention of talking about the financial issues and even handing him a check, but he stopped me before I even got in the house and told me I had to leave because he'd filed a restraining order. He said it was because I "escalated" the situation by calling 911 the day before.

I dealt as best I could for a day or two, relying on family and friends for clothing and a place to stay. I made arrangements with the State Police to go get some of my things (more clothes, some food, the crock pot, one of the spinning wheels, etc.) and prepared for the hearing, scheduled for this morning.

Turns out that courts overbook dockets the way airlines overbook flights, counting on a certain number of people not showing up. They didn't count on so many showing up this morning, so they had to prioritize the cases they heard and continue (postpone) the rest... including mine. The new date is May 5th. As soon as that was decided, I made arrangements to pick up a few more things (computer, cookware, etc.) this afternoon, and I am now set up with the bare essentials (plus some knitting) in my cozy new place.

Erik is making noise like he wants to drop the restraining order, which would make everybody's life a whole lot easier, but I'm not counting on him following through. I'd love for him to prove me wrong, though. He seems to think I was "kind" today when I came to get my computer, and while I'm not sure what he's smoking, I'm not going to argue. I just want to collect the rest of my things (which will require a large U-Haul and several helpers), get on with my life, and see where things stand in, I dunno, six months or something. There is no way I'd date him again, since we seem to bring out the absolute worst in each other, but I'd consider being on speaking terms if he can show me the respect I deserve.

For now, though, I just want to get on with my life. I've been hired by Green Mountain Spinnery to work in production, and I start tomorrow at 9:30! The wage isn't much more than minimum, but the fiber discount is 50%, so I may have trouble not spending my paycheck on yarn.

My fortune cookie tells me, "soon you will be sitting on top of the world." The one before this told me, "you look pretty," and I'm beginning to think that Chinese food should be mandatory when I'm depressed. Those little slips of paper wrapped in sweet cookie are wonderfully uplifting.

Back to knitblogging any day now, I swear.

Oh, I'm planning on being at CT S&W on the 24th. Who wants to meet me there or ride along from anywhere along 91?

Low Point

2010-03-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

We were out of power for about two days, took a few years off the life of the fridge by running it off the truck's inverter, and were surprisingly productive. Now the snow is melting, mud season is starting, and I should be feeling better. Sadly, I'm not.

Depression has been weighing me down a lot lately, nudging me to sleep more, knit less, and spend way too much time reading threads on Ravelry. The causes and triggers are numerous; things like my birthday, my one-year anniversary on unemployment, and ongoing relationship issues all fuel this feeling of hopelessness that's so difficult to conquer. I keep trying to do things to break out of the cage, but they never quite work the way I hope they will.

For example, I started looking at colleges, because I regret not having the discipline to get my degree years ago, and I found a place that I fell in love with as soon as I set foot on campus. It's beautiful, it's small, it's relatively inexpensive (for a private school), but I still can't afford it, because student loans don't pay my car insurance or storage unit fees, and I'm not confident that I can do full-time school plus a part-time job and survive with my sanity intact. I did full-time job and part-time school for a few months back in '07, but that was trade school, which meant no homework or studying.

So, once again, I've fallen in love with an idea that probably isn't feasable. But how could I not fall in love with a place like this?

In an effort to give myself some confidence, I've started an ambitious project: Marianne Kinzel's Rose of England Design.

I know it doesn't look like much yet (that's part A... for those unfamiliar with the design, the large version ends with part M and is supposed to be 72" in diameter), but I only started yesterday. Maybe I'll have it done for Rhinebeck!

In the meantime, I'm going to write a cover letter for a job that intimidates me, re-write a college entrance essay, and do some sewing. Happy thoughts appreciated.

Buried

2010-02-24T16:04:00.003-05:00

We're buried under more than two feet of snow and have been without power since 7 this morning. The nice lady at the power company told us that we might get power back tomorrow, but since most of southern Vermont is out, it may be into the weekend before we're hooked up again.

Wish us luck.

New Year, New FOs!

2010-01-11T18:04:00.002-05:00

Hi there, 2010. I'm still unemployed, still broke, still trying to figure out what to do with my life, still living in Vermont (which is the first good thing on this list), and still knitting. I've been mightily stressed lately, and rather than make things for myself that will be forever associated with that stress, I've made a gift for my friend Allison's impending little one (ETA: about six weeks from now).

I've also made a wee feather-and-fan hat to go with it, but I haven't taken a picture yet. The yarn is one skein of Fiesta La Luz (100% silk) that I got on clearance at Webs a few years ago, the buttons are vintage mother of pearl from my late grandmother's stash, and the pattern is Victoria Jane. The hat pattern is Lacy Baby Hat.

I also finished a long-awaited project, for which I must now write the long-awaited pattern: version 2 of my Greenery Hat!

The most common complaints I heard about the first Greenery Hat were that it was too tight and too tall. Version 2 addresses both of those problems. See?

Writing the pattern is taking some time, since I lost my notes somewhere between Connecticut and Vermont, so I'm having to reverse-engineer my own pattern. I'm not even going to hazard a guess at when it'll be finished... like the late, great Douglas Adams, I'm all too familiar with that whooshing sound deadlines make as they zoom past. That said, I know some of you have been waiting for this pattern since 2007, so I'm going to put it as high on my priority list as I can without sacrificing food and rent.

Time for me to head off to the diner for SnB. Happy knitting in the new year!

Done Like Turkey

2009-12-27T18:47:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to say that, after years of suffering from a terrible case of startitis, I have finally begun a trend of actually finishing my knitting projects. As a result, I have lots of pics. As always, click to embiggen.

Remember the LemonEgg shawl that I started something like two and a half years ago? Well, it's finally finished!

It's warm and cozy and... yellow. What else can I say?

I also made two Christmas stockings, both decorated with needle felting. One was for Erik:

...and one was for Sassafrass, my greyhound:

Sassy is usually seen with her tongue hanging out these days, so, at Erik's suggestion, I added a tongue to her stocking.

The Open Knotwork Lace scarf I started in April of last year is finished!

The pooling is wonky, but it's KnitPicks, so I'm not surprised.

I made a Malabrigo hat...

...with a hole for my ponytail!

And I crocheted a snowflake that I then starched and used as a tree topper.

I'm trying to pull out something from the UFO box every time I finish a project and work at least a few rows on whatever it is, so maybe you'll see some other long-neglected projects pop up here as FOs.

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas, Solstice, Festivus, or other holiday of your choice, and have a fantastic new year!

Better Late Than Never

2009-11-20T20:42:00.001-05:00

Wow, it's been a month since I last posted. I'm sorry! I know y'all are sick of reading about how busy my life is, so I'll just make with a post, okay?

FO! These are CanCans from Twisted Loops, and they're one of the fastest projects I've ever done. I had some issues with the twisted stitches... one direction wouldn't twist properly, and I couldn't figure out whether it was me or the pattern. After two failed attempts I gave up and worked them as cables, and everything came out fine.

I'd love to tell you about my other FO, one that I've been working on since April of last year, but my shared connection is being commandeered for a game download, so I can't upload the pictures to Flickr. I'll try to remember to get them up later tonight and post about it tomorrow.

Dinner time! Remind me to gush about my new slow cooker in the next few weeks.

The Rhinebeck Report

2009-10-18T20:02:00.001-05:00

I have loved Rhinebeck every year I've gone... until this one. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the fact that I went by myself and didn't see any of my friends, maybe it was that I only went on Sunday this time, maybe it was the feeling that none of the vendors had The Perfect Item that called out to me from across the fairgrounds, but whatever it was, Rhinebeck was just no fun for me this year.

The weather was crap. It was overcast when I left Vermont, drizzled through most of Massachusetts, flurried a little on the Western side of the Berkshires, and was a light, steady, dreary sprinkle the rest of the day. The only highlight was on my return trip when I crossed Hogback Mountain and found that at the highest elevations it had snowed just enough to stick to the trees but not the ground... a beautiful frosting on autumn foliage. The temperature was in the high 30s, the breeze at the fairgrounds was just strong enough to be annoying, and the amount and type of clothing that had been more than sufficient in years past proved less than adequate today.

Every year I have found at least one person to hang out with, whether it was my partner or an SnB buddy, and even though I experience the festival in a different way when I'm not alone, it's usually been a good thing that I had someone to interact with. This year, when the RV plans fell through and my partner caught a nasty cold, I decided to go by myself. I figured I'd run into a friend or two at the festival, which turned out to be a silly assumption. I saw two faces I recognized, both tangential friends I wasn't comfortable glomming onto for the day, and that was it. I was looking out for a bunch of folks, but didn't find them, and was very sad that I, who usually consider myself something of a loner in a positive way, was... lonely.

I don't know if the vendors didn't bring as much of the good stuff this year, or that my Sunday-only trip meant all the good stuff was already gone, but nothing really jumped out at me this year. This doesn't mean I didn't buy a few things, of course. It is, after all, Rhinebeck, and even with my crappy financial situation I managed to budget a little bit for a fibery splurge that will get me through to next summer.

On the left are two Merino braids from Stony Mountain Fibers, one peach, one violet (my mother loves this blend of colors, saying it reminds her of asters, and that's now what I think of every time I see it). On the right are an evergreen Corriedale hank and an autumn-colored Merino-Tencel mini-hank from Mountain View Farm, whose Corriedale has jumped off the rack at me before. (And speaking of that two-year-old Corriedale, it's still in Jenny's studio waiting to be spun. Hmm.)

I spent only three hours at the festival. I walked the barns twice, got an artichoke without having to spend more than five minutes in line, burned my tongue on some exceptionally tasty hot chocolate, watched the Punkin Chuckers warm up, and couldn't quite find the motivation to stick around any longer, so I was off the grounds and on my way back to Vermont a little after 1pm, which has to be a record.

So has this soured me against Rhinebeck? No, of course not. One mediocre experience is not enough to make me stop attending one of the best fiber events in the Northeast. I will be back next year with the same excitement and anticipation that I've had in years past, and I trust the festival to maintain its reputation.

But it had better be sunny next year. Just sayin'.

Third Time's The Charm?

2009-10-17T09:37:00.001-05:00

I didn't even come close to getting enough sleep to make the drive to Rhinebeck today, so it looks like I'll be going on Sunday after all. See y'all there!

Plans Adjusted

2009-10-13T16:17:00.002-05:00

So... that RV trip to Rhinebeck that I was so excited about? Not happening. Between last-minute schedule conflicts and illnesses, it was down to just two of us, which wasn't cost-effective. So instead of the fantastic multi-day extravaganza I was planning, I am only going to be going to the festival on Saturday (sorry, SFF!!!) and then resting on Sunday. I've been doing a lot of multi-hour car trips lately, and between the cost of gas and the stress on my back and legs, I need to cut back.

For those of you going to the festival on Saturday, keep an eye out for my neon pink vest and come say hi.

Pics of recent knitting to come soon!

Cables and Can Cans

2009-09-25T15:04:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, I've actually found some time to knit lately! Granted, one moderately simple scarf took me six months to complete, but the project I cast on as soon as I finished it is going to be finished by Rhinebeck, so I think that makes up for my sloth.

The FO:

This is the Reversible Cable Scarf from Nettie Knits, done on US#9 needles with a worsted-ish acrylic-cotton blend that had its first life as an Old Navy sweater.

On the needles now are Can Cans, a pair of cute mitts from Twisted Loops. This picture was taken as I started the first mitt... eventually I'll get around to pulling out the camera and showing you the finished first mitt and nearly-finished second one.

I tried doing the twisted stitches as written, but had issues (one of the twists wouldn't twist, and it's a critical feature of the design), so I ripped back and tried again treating them as cables. End result: happiness without headaches! I'm planning on wearing these at Rhinebeck, since I need something to show off, and the sweater I'd planned for last year is sitting in my WIP basket waiting for me to fall back in love with it enough to give it a second sleeve.

For those of you going to Rhinebeck, I would be thrilled if you said hi to me instead of waiting for me to notice you, because I have a terrible memory for faces and tend to be in OMGWTFFIBER mode as soon as I hit the fairgrounds. I will be wearing various shades of brown under a neon pink vest. I will be around all weekend, and instead of going through the stress of driving out and back both days by myself, I'm hooking up with a fellow Raveler from Maine who's bringing an RV for the weekend.

Tomorrow I'm off to New York for a great-uncle's funeral, Sunday is a visit to a friend in Burlington, and Monday I have to call managers at various stores and beg them to hire me so I don't have to move back to Connecticut. Why is life always so busy?

Insomnia

2009-09-09T01:54:00.000-05:00

It's so late it's early, and I can't seem to be able to sleep, so what do I do? Blog, of course! It's been almost a month since I told y'all what I've been up to, which means yet another apology for not posting as often as I should. Sorry, folks.

I've got a good excuse, though: I was busy breaking up with Erik, trying to stay on good terms, realizing he was just going to keep taking his unhappiness out on me, and finally being forced to threaten him with a restraining order if he didn't leave me alone. It seems like every time I break up with someone in an especially painful way, fate has a way of nudging other people into my path who will make me feel appreciated and healthy again, and this time is no exception. An old flame has reappeared, offering proof of his changed ways and asking for a second chance, and I'm inclined to let him have it... but I'm taking things very slowly, since I'm in rebound territory and don't want to screw up my life by running to the next available bed. I have learned a thing or two in the last year, and I'm not going to repeat past mistakes. My therapist is mighty proud of me.

On the fiber front, there's... not much to talk about. I now have two fledgling knitting groups in these parts: Mondays from 6:30 to 8 at the Townshend Dam Diner, and Thursdays from 7 to 9 at Boccelli's on the Canal in Bellows Falls. I've been lazy about promoting these groups, so membership is minimal, but I'm hoping to whip up some flyers just as soon as I get a handle on all this free time I'm supposed to have.

My not-job learning woodturning is splendid, and some of the skills I've learned are going to be applied to a business I'm thinking of starting. I'm hoping to create a variety of wooden doodads (pendants, coasters, etc.) decorated with pyrography to sell at renaissance faires. I'll let y'all know when I have some products to offer... there might even be some fiber-related stuff! I haven't found another welding job yet, and I'm into the extension of my unemployment benefits, which means I have just a few months left before I get desperate and submit an application at the video store.

I'm going to try to go back to bed (if I can evict the dog from my spot), but I'll leave you with some pictures I took this afternoon.

(This one has notes that you can see if you click through to Flickr!)

Trimmed Brunette and Oiled Redhead

2009-08-14T15:10:00.001-05:00

I know my Flickr stalkers and Facebook peeps have already seen these, but for the rest of you, here's what I look like now that my hair is a whopping twenty inches shorter:

Cute, eh? The shirt was designed by my SnB buddy Aaron, and is a reference to a reference (yes, a reference to a reference, that's not a typo) to a video game that I've never played. I just like pie.

...I'm sure there's something else I wanted to tell y'all about, but I have Candide on the turntable, and it's distracting me. Wherefore and hence, therefore and ergo...

*ahem*

Oh, right! I was poking around in my storage unit the other day, and was dismayed to discover a thin-to-moderate layer of mold coating quite a few of my possessions, including Brigid, my beloved walking wheel. I pulled her out and brought her to Erik's, where I cleaned her up and have been giving her a new coat of linseed oil every few days. The wood is beginning to look a little less old, and much more colorful... turns out this wheel is more of a redhead than I thought she was.

The oil is showing me that her various parts may be different types of wood, which fits with the evidence I saw when I first got her that she'd been re-spoked. The spokes have a definite redness, while the hoop seems to be much more yellow, and the table and legs seem to be somewhere in the middle.

Any woodworking folks out there want to guess what the various bits are made of? I can spot walnut most of the time, but most other local woods all look the same to me. Keep in mind that Brigid may have been made in Virginia or thereabouts, but she was in Massachusetts when I met her, and I'm not sure at what point during her journey she picked up new parts.

And while I'm soliciting information, are any of you familiar enough with bird species to tell me what this is? (Click to embiggen.)

It looks like a peregrine falcon to me, but I'm no ornithologist, and everything I've heard about peregrines in the last decade relates to them living in cities, not rural Vermont.

Catch-Up

2009-06-24T16:50:00.000-05:00

Hi, there. Been a while, huh? There hasn't been much knitting here at the Lair of Lunacy, but there has been some spinning, some moving, lots of drama, and even a little chopping. Let me give you the photo tour of the last few months.

I went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair in Cummington and hung out with Jenny and Debbie. We saw a Llama Bus:

And while I didn't intend to walk away with fiber, I ended up with two braids:

That's some BFL from Spunky Eclectic and some alpaca/superwash merino from Abi's Web. The Spunky BFL almost immediately turned into this:

I also went to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival, and didn't buy any fiber. However, I had an amazing dinner afterwards with Jenny and Matt at a restaurant you need a treasure map to find, but is totally worth the effort. (That's Concord Grille at Eagle Square.)

Then, the drama. Things with Erik got to the point where I couldn't live with him anymore, so I mustered the troops and moved into my own place:

A caboose! On tracks and everything! My greyhound loves it.

I'm getting used to living on my own, discovering the joys and pains of paying bills, doing dishes by hand, and visiting the laundromat every week.

Despite living apart, Erik and I are trying to maintain a relationship, and that means going to events together. We set up Erik's merchant tent at Sommer Draw:

And I made a gambeson (the red jacket) to protect him when he competed in the second annual Traditional Chinese Sword League's full-contact tournament:

And finally, something I've been thinking of doing for months and months: I've been growing my hair out for several years, and have grown tired of the upkeep involved in having yard-long tresses, so...

I'll try to get some good shots of the new 'do soon. I'll also try to make time for more knitting and spinning so y'all have something to look at.

Sunny, Soapy Saturday

2009-04-26T15:16:00.001-05:00

Saturday saw more activity around here than there's been in a while. The day before, I'd stopped at the hardware store to pick up an inflatable pool so Erik could soak a bunch of tatami mats for the cutting portion of Saturday's sword seminar. This is what they looked like shortly before we drained the pool and loaded the mats into his truck:

Up close:

Once he was out the door, I took a quick shower and headed out to meet up with my friend Alix so we could go down to Connecticut for its sheep and wool festival. I saw most of my SnB peeps, ate a lamb-burger that didn't quite agree with me, and... bought no fober at all. But I did buy soap. Lots of it. See?

There was actually one more bar, but I gave it to my mother as a thank-you for stopping by. The three on top are from Sleepy Moon Soaps, and the bottom one is from Hampden Hills Alpacas.

On the way home, Alix and I decided to pop into Webs, partly to enjoy the yarn and partly to enjoy the air conditioning. I picked up two balls of super-cheap sock yarn, both by Plymouth.

I'm fighting the urge to rip out something else (like the long-hibernating Clessidra) to cast on with the brown Sockin' Sox. I realized as I was standing in line that this colorway is one I would have turned up my nose at a few years ago. My taste in color has changed quite a bit lately.

Off to enjoy the warm weather. And not get sunburned more than I did yesterday. Owwie.

Spring Spinning

2009-04-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

Life hasn't been giving me much crafting time this month, but I haven managed to squeeze in some spinning. Remember that grey alpaca-silk fiber I got at Rhinebeck? I spun that up, forcing myself to go a little thicker with the single than I usually do, and I plied it last week. Here's the result:

click to embiggen

It's delightfully soft, though not as consistent as I'd like in terms of diameter, and I ended up with a little under 100 yards of it (from just under 4 ounces of fiber). I think it's going to be given to a friend at the next SnB.

That's about it, I'm afraid. A few projects are slowly coming along, but nothing is terribly exciting or photogenic. The peepers are making noise in the woods, the salamanders are mating in the pond, and the frogs are laying globs of eggs in the cattails. The last plow pile has just about melted, it's getting into the 60s during the day while dropping to below freezing at night, and the grass is idly considering springing to life in a few select patches.

Oh, and my car's check engine light came on this afternoon. Bugger.

Lambs Are White And Fluffy, Right?

2009-03-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

Spring arrived on Friday, and with the temperatures getting up into the 40s and 50s and the snow melting, I actually thought we were done with winter for a while. Then on Sunday, Mother Nature decided to remind us that this is Vermont, and winter isn't over until she says so.

click to embiggen

That's snow. And blue skies. And temperatures above freezing. It was just a 20-minute flurry, but it was enough to improve my day dramatically.

In other news, I have new knitting needles!

One of the new members of that SnB I started is Linda of Grafton Fibers. We got to talking about knitting and spinning and such, and she invited me over to the workshop where she cards batts and her husband Tom turns wood. While I was there, I drooled over their knitting needles, and Tom pulled a set out of the reject pile and put them in my hands. The reason they didn't pass quality control is that a little chip came out of the side of one of the needles, so when it was sanded smooth the needle was no longer the correct diameter in that spot. It's far enough back that it doesn't affect the gauge, so... free needles! They already have a project on them: a grey acrylic-cotton reversible cabled scarf that's coming out beautifully.

Off to get some work done before SnB tonight.

Camel Cowl

2009-03-10T12:56:00.000-05:00

I'm in love with this yarn. Erik rolls his eyes every time I hold it up to show him how pretty it is, but he obligingly pets it and agrees with me. There's a certain amount of pride in it for him, too, since he was the one who picked up the braid of roving and said, "you should get this."

I flipped through some lace patterns and settled on one from Interweave/Harmony's Lace & Eyelets. Unlike the last stitch pattern I tried from that book, this one actually worked without editing, and the gauge looks beautiful when worked on my US#7 ebony circs, so in no time I was off and running with this cowl.

I even got the opportunity to show it off to someone other than Erik! The closest SnBs are half an hour from me, and both in yarn stores that will tempt my budget to a painful degree, so I decided to start one a little closer and in a less tempting environment. We had our first gathering last night! Granted, it was just me and one other person (salut, Alix!), but we're going to see what we can do to attract more folks. We're thinking of calling ourselves the Dam Knitters, since we meet at the Townshend Dam Diner (Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8). If you're in the area, feel free to stop by.

Chocolate Caramel

2009-03-04T12:34:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I broke out some of the yummiest fiber I had on hand to help cheer myself up. What with me both being unemployed and getting older, the fiber to break me out of this funk needed to be something pretty special: the brown camel-tussah blend I got from Spirit Trail Fiberworks at Rhinebeck. After two and a half days of spinning and plying on Babette, and a quick wash and long dry, I ended up with this.

It's about 400 yards of 3-ply sport or DK weight (which seems to be my standard now), and it is so soft. Soooooo soft. I've decided to name it Chocolate Caramel, because that's what it made me crave while I was spinning it. Now I need to figure out what to do with it. I'm thinking lace armwarmers or a scarf... I'd like it to be lace to show off the halo, but I can't wear it directly on my skin because camels are mammals (say that a few times and see if you're not giggling) and mammal fiber irritates my skin. Any other ideas? (No socks or hats please.)

In knitting news, I'm still plugging away on Erik's scarf (serious black hole action there), I finished the first Trekking sock (which makes three single socks waiting for mates now), and I've been doing a row here and there on the two-at-once clown socks I started a while back. They're getting close to heel-turning time, and I'm a little scared of attempting two short-row heels on one set of DPNs.

Time to go get some non-knitting work done so I can justify plopping myself in front of the DVD player to knit this evening.

It's In The Bag

2009-03-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday, and Erik got me the one thing I asked for: a 1000 Knitters Project tote bag.

I decided I had to have it when I was browsing through Franklin's shop and noticed the pictures on the back of it (version two, for those of you browsing over there now).

See that? No? Okay, look closer...

(click to embiggen)

It's me! There are a few other famous faces on this one, too, which makes it even cooler.

I've already loaded the tote up with enough knitting and spinning projects to keep me busy for a few hours while I experience for the first time the quaint Vermont tradition called Town Meeting. Sure, we had town meetings in Connecticut, but most folks didn't much care, and I don't think I ever went. In Vermont, though, people care, so I'm off to see what all the fuss is about. And maybe finish the scarf I intended to give Erik for Christmas.

Take My Locks... Please!

2009-02-19T20:10:00.002-05:00

Note to self: rave about the wonders of hand-stitched eyelets on garb all you like... you still hate actually sewing the bloody things, especially on an arming pourpoint, where there are something like three dozen of the little buggers.

And now, on with our not-so-regularly-scheduled blog post.

I've been knitting a little. Very little. I've also been spinning a little. Very little. Erik's green scarf is probably 2/3 finished, the first Trekking sock is into the ankle ribbing (toe-up, so almost finished), the second delft mitten has gone dormant a few rows into the hand, and there's been a little bit of both wheel (charcoal alpaca-silk) and spindle (green finn-cross) spinning here and there.

My focus for the last week has been on not being depressed (not going so well), trying to figure out the unemployment system (I'm getting benefits from Connecticut even though I was laid off in New Hampshire), and making as much space as possible in my itty bitty room so I can empty everything out of the storage unit that's costing me $40 a month that I really can't spare anymore.

In the course of my cleaning I came across a bag of dyed locks that I will probably never use, and I've decided to give it away. It was part of the estate stash that included Brigid, and there's a fair amount of VM in it, but there's plenty of good fiber in there. It's six or seven pounds (yes, pounds) of maroon, purple, blue, and green mohair locks that I'm sure will make someone out there very happy.

click to embiggen

If you'd like it, in whole or in part, drop me an email (lilithparker at gmail dot com) and/or meet me at Webs between 1 and 3 this Saturday, the 21st. If you'd only like a little, bring your own bag.

I'm off to write cover letters, which are my least favorite part of the job-hunting experience. Grumblefish.

Edit: The locks have gone to good homes, so are no longer available. Thank you for the interest!

Another One Bites The Dust

2009-02-12T18:38:00.000-05:00

I got some bad news today. Things have been really (really) slow at work lately, so much so that they put all of the production staff (including us welders) on a four-day week late last month. Today my boss took the next step in cost-cutting and laid someone off. Unfortunately, that someone was me.

I think it's time to kick a dormant self-employment plan into action while I look for another welding job. Wish me luck.

Market Day at Birka

2009-02-01T13:37:00.001-05:00

The lack of blogging in the last few weeks has been due in part to being busy preparing for Birka, my first SCA event ever. Erik is a merchant at such events, selling his armor and leather goods, and he invited me along to be his assistant. So Saturday morning we got up even earlier than usual and drove off to New Hampshire to see if we could make some money.

The good news is that our cash box was heavier than we expected by the time we packed up. The bad news (for my personal wallet, anyway), was that I found a few things at other tables that I just had to bring home. Beautiful things. Fibery things. Things that I think y'all might want to see.

First, I found a fellow who, though he lacks a website, makes up for it by having the delightfully unwieldy SCA name of Thelonius Hieronymous Erasmus Eostrebunni, and by selling some really neat turned wood items, including hand spindles. Feast your eyes upon the pretty:

It's walnut, one piece, and he has no idea how he managed to do the pretty swirly thing around the center of the whorl. It's surprisingly lightweight for its size, and spins very, very nicely.

Now, I'd brought one of my other spindles and some silk to work on during the day, but ran out of fiber mid-afternoon. Take a quick peek at that before I tell you what else I bought.

The color is a little more blue than the last batch of silk I worked with, but I think it might coordinate well if I work the two in stripes. Anywho, back to Birka. I'd run out of silk, and didn't feel like plying it (I had major stickiness issues with the last batch when I tried to wind it around my hand for plying, so I need to find a better way to deal with it), but I had this brand new spindle... I just needed fiber. Enter Kris Krafts with her Finn-cross roving:

I'm usually more of a merino fan because I'm sensitive to scratchy wool, but the Finn-cross is just soft enough that it tempted me more than the merino and the soysilk she had on the table. It helped that this wool was from her own sheep... I love supporting small farms. As you can see, I started spinning right away, and came home with a small cop of laceweight single.

As I was on my way back from buying the roving, I stopped by The Merry Little Lamb, where two hanks of their natural-dyed handspun called out to me.

They're begging to be made into a pair of striped socks, I think. The purple is a little richer than my camera wants to show, but I think this picture comes close:

While I was talking to the wood-turner, he told me about an event next month in Millbrook, NY: Hrim Schola. It's specifically for fiber people, and by the look of last year's classes, I'd really enjoy it. The only problem is that it's a three-hour drive from here, and I have no idea if it's going to be big enough to be worth the trip. If any of you are SCAdians or know SCAdians who are familiar with this event, please let me know what the turnout and merchants are like.

I'm going to go back to relaxing now... yesterday was really long, and my brain needs a wee vacation before I go back to work tomorrow.

Sock It To Me

2009-01-18T18:04:00.000-05:00

Another FO!

And another new project started, because while I have two mate-less socks waiting for their partners to be cast on, this ball of Trekking called louder than they did.

Not much else is happening in the knitting category, and even less will happen over the next week or two as I dust off the sewing machine and kick garb-making into high gear for an event at the end of the month. I have three garments to complete in the time I would normally take just to design one, so it's going to be interesting.

OMGWTFFO?!??!!!

2008-12-25T18:10:00.001-05:00

See, once in a while I do actually finish something. I bet y'all forgot about the LemonEgg shrug ages ago... and honestly, so did I until I was packing for the move and trying to decide what projects to work on this month and what could go to storage for a while. This had an hour or two of work left on it, so I put it in the "work" pile and finished it in front of the fire this evening. It fits well, aside from the sleeves being about two inches shorter than I wanted them to be. Still, it keeps my arms warm, so I'll probably wear it a fair bit this winter.

Now, back to the scarf I'd planned on giving to the boy today... except it's only half-finished. Whoops. Note to self: a scarf knit on size 4 needles goes much more slowly than you think it will.

Delft

2008-12-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

I know this is going to amaze all of you (it sure as heck amazes me), but... I do still knit. Look, I have proof!

Okay, I admit that I finished this at SnB a month or two ago, but the stuff I've actually been knitting is not quite so exciting or photogenic. So I'm showing off the mitten instead.

Look how pretty! And I designed it with the cunning use of graph paper! Pretty spiffy, eh? Now if I can just get its mate finished before the weather gets warm again...

Oh, wait, I'm living in Vermont now. No rush. ;)

Yeah, I'm reading all of the CT blogs about how y'all got a whopping 8 or 10 or 12 inches of snow over the weekend... we got about 20 inches up here. It's up to my knees. The boy says I'm becoming a snow snob. This will not surprise some of you at all.

Off to work on mitten #2. Any interest in me writing up a pattern? If enough people want it, I'll post it for free on Ravelry as soon as I finish writing it. Let me know!

Wrapped, But Not Presents

2008-12-17T14:20:00.002-05:00

I've been living in Vermont for about two weeks now, and life has kind of been kicking my butt. I haven't been sleeping well (my body is having trouble getting used to sleeping next to the boy on work nights), my computer crapped out and had to be replaced, and this morning I crashed my beloved PT Cruiser into a tree.

Before y'all get worried, I'm okay, no physical injuries to report. My car, however... well, let me tell you the story.

I made the mistake of trying to take the hilly-and-curvy-but-usually-faster road to work this morning, thinking that Vermont snow was just like Connecticut snow and that my car could handle it with no problem. Boy, was I wrong. I was going up a hill, lost momentum, allowed the car to gently slide (sideways-like) into a downhill-facing position, gingerly made my way back down the hill... and lost control (at 15 freakin' miles an hour, mind you) around a turn. I had just enough time to think, "crap, I'm gonna hit that tree," before the crunch. It's a darned good thing the tree was there, too, 'cause if it hadn't been, I would have gone over a 10-foot embankment and landed in a stream.

There are areas totalling about half a mile along my 20-mile route where my cell phone gets reception, and I was lucky enough to be in one of them when this happened, so I placed a surprisingly non-frantic call to the boyfriend and got out to survey the damage. The plastic bumper was ruined, the grille was damaged, and there was a strong smell of antifreeze, but nothing seemed to be leaking or burning, and the hood itself wasn't bent.

One of the cool things about Vermont is that when folks see someone stuck, they pull over to see what they can do. No sooner had I stepped out of my car than a very nice woman pulled up and asked if I was okay, expressing her regret that she lacked chains with which to pull my car off the tree. Once she established that I couldn't back the car away from the tree, but that I had the boyfriend standing by at home, ready to come rescue me with his pickup truck, she wished me luck and went on her way. A moment later I got to meet one of the hardworking West Dummerston plow drivers, who put down some salt just uphill from where my car was stuck so the boy's truck would have an easier time gripping the road when he pulled me out.

Before the boy could arrive, though, another friendly local with a pickup truck stopped and offered to unwrap my car from its tree, and I decided to take him up on it. As he was hooking up the chains, yet another friendly local pulled over to see if he could assist, and between the three of us we managed to get my car back on the road. I headed downhill to a spot where I could safely pull off to the side and get a better look at what got squished, and as I began the inspection, the boy pulled up. We determined that the bumper and grille were beyond repair, and the radiator was probably in bad shape, but the car was still driveable at that point.

You know conditions are bad when not only does the little PT Cruiser lose traction going up a hill on the dirt road that leads to our house, but so does the 4WD Silverado trying to pull the PT Cruiser. We finally gave up trying to get my car home and left it in the parking area at the bottom of the road. I had noticed that the temperature gauge had shot up and the gas gauge had shot down, so I didn't really want to drive the poor car anymore. Then began the phone calls.

Work, half a dozen mechanics, Dad, insurance, work again, and finally I was able to put the phone down and try to relax. The auto body shop sent its tow truck to retrieve the car, the insurance covers all but a $200 deductible and a rental (the boy's letting me use his truck for the duration), and the snow that caused all of this trouble is bloody beautiful.

I'm going to go take pictures of the snow now. And knit. There has been a painful dearth of knitting the last few weeks, and my hands are itching for some fibery fun.

Movin' On Up

2008-12-02T20:45:00.003-05:00

A note to those looking for the Greenery Hat pattern: both my webhost and my computer crapped out at about the same time, meaning even I don't have a copy of the pattern right now. As soon as I get my new computer up and running and transfer files from the old hard drive, I'll be listing the pattern as a free Ravelry download. Thank you for being patient. If any of you who already have the pattern would like to help out the folks who need it, feel free to email a copy to me (lilithparker at gmail dot com) and I'll post it ASAP. Thanks!

Edit: Mary saved my bacon! The Greenery Hat is now a free Ravelry download here!

So yeah, this moving thing. Oof. I have five and a half days to move my entire life from Connecticut to Vermont. It's going to be interesting, for sure. A lot of clothes and books will be going to Goodwill, and a lot of yarn and fiber will be sealed up to live in a storage unit for a few months.

For the curious among you (hi, Cheryl!), I'll be living near Newfane, VT, and working in Keene, NH. The new job is full-time, pays better than my current job, and is with a cozy little company that's been around since 1932. It's also just down the road from both JoAnns and Michael's, meaning it'll be a daily struggle not to shop for cheap yarn and fabric on my lunch break.

Oh, and check out proof that I still knit:

Cunning, ain't it?

So yeah, this is my last night in Connecticut. Tomorrow I have a half-day at work, and then the packing and moving begins. Wish me luck.

Big News!

2008-11-18T18:39:00.002-05:00

So... I've been looking to get out of Connecticut for a while now, and circumstances have finally arranged themselves in such a way that it's really going to happen. Tomorrow morning I will give notice at my current job. Two weeks from tomorrow I will start moving a bunch of stuff up to the boyfriend's place. Three weeks from yesterday I will start my new job in New Hampshire, making more than I do at my current job, but doing less stressful work.

This Thursday may be my last SnB in Connecticut, and I'd like to see as many of you as I can. Sunflowerfairy, that means you, too. ;)

Life is good.

Shhh!

2008-11-11T05:41:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Sadly, this trend will likely continue for a few more weeks, maybe to the end of the year. I have been knitting and spinning, and I even went to Webs the other day. I've just been so busy with other projects that I haven't had time or energy to sit down at the keyboard and put thoughts together. Here are some highlights from the last few weeks:

· I have begun spinning the grey ("black") alpaca-silk from the Rhine-stash. Holy Mother of Mohair, it's dreamy stuff. I want each and every one of you to be able to feel it... so get over here. ;)

· The boy decided that he would probably be okay wearing a Jayne hat (Ravelry link) in public, so I'm making my very first one... with no pattern. Watching me curse at the yarn for not naturally forming itself into the number of stitches I wanted it to (as opposed to the number of stitches I actually worked it into), the boy questioned my assertion that I knit to relieve stress, but he didn't question too loudly because I was waving those #5 circs around in a somewhat erratic manner and I'm fairly sure he didn't want to do anything that would get him pierced.

· So yeah, I went to Webs, picked out yarn and needles for the Jayne hat and for sweater cuffs that my mother wants fixed (the sweater, a thrift store find, is falling to bits at the cuffs, so I offered to knit new cuffs from a coordinating yarn), and thought I was finished... except for that ten-minute wait while I had the cuff yarn wound off the cone it was on. That's when my $30 purchase suddenly jumped to $80 as a skein of white Malabrigo and The Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning fell into my basket. I usually have more self-control than that, but... well, I hadn't splurged in a while, and the Malabrigo was soooooo soft. Y'all understand, I'm sure.

· I'm also trying to ply some silk that's being a pain in the rump, so I'm letting it sit in time-out for a while. It's beautiful, and will become lovely lace, but for now it just needs to sit and think about its behavior and decide how many more ulcers it wants to give me.

· I really do knit and spin to relieve stress, I swear!

And now it's time for work. I'll try to get another post in, maybe even with pictures, before the end of the month. Hopefully.

Back from the 'Beck

2008-10-20T19:58:00.000-05:00

Rhinebeck. Was. Awesome. I got a hug from Franklin when I bought his book:

I got to swoon over my beloved boyfriend as he read said book (and not only enjoyed it, but got a lot of the references):

I got to hang out with my friends from SnB:

I got to see lots of sheep:

I got to watch the Punkin Chuckin contest:

And I came home with three beautiful purchases (glass shawl pin, brown camel/tussah, grey alpaca/silk):

It was a busy weekend, but I got to spend it with people I like, petting happy sheep and drooling over fibery goodness of all sorts. I am a happy girl. Tired as heck, but happy.

Worlds Collide

2008-10-17T04:37:00.000-05:00

I woke up yesterday feeling like crap, so I called out of work and went back to bed for a few hours. After catching up on my sleep and doing some long-neglected chores around the house, I felt considerably better, so I went to SnB. I walked in, set down my bag, said hello to everyone, and as I turned to go to the counter to order my drink, one of my coworkers walked into the coffeeshop.

That was weird, let me tell ya. Apparently he comes to the coffeeshop most Thursday nights, but we didn't recognize each other when we met at work. Freaky, eh?

So there's this fiber festival this weekend. *wink* I'll probably be there both days, beloved boyfriend in tow. I'll be at the Ravelry meetup at noon on Saturday, the Punkin Chuckin at noon on Sunday, and probably wandering around with a slightly drunken look from all the wool fumes the rest of the time. If you see me (and by now y'all know what I look like, so there's no excuse), please come up and say hi. I'll let you pet the silk I'm spinning!

Too Tired To Title

2008-10-15T04:51:00.000-05:00

So that new job of mine? Has me freakin' exhausted all the time. Too exhausted to knit, which means the brown sweater is not going to be finished for Rhinebeck. *sigh*

I've been spinning a lot, though some of the fiber I've been working on is actually hurting me. Part of the Brigid stash was what feels like llama, and while the yarn is going to be dreamy, it's a pain to draft. As in, my thumb is bruised because I've been holding the fiber so tightly. So I've been spending more time with one of my hand spindles, working on what I think is a silk blend that was part of the same stash. I'll get pictures eventually... maybe this afternoon if I can still stand and think after work.

Aside from the fatigue, life is pretty good right now. I occasionally get this nagging feeling that I've lost something, and when I think about it, it turns out to be all that free time I used to have, and the energy to use it. That makes me a little sad. On the other hand, I'm slowly but surely padding my checking account with this gainful employment of mine, so I'm feeling less like a layabout and more like a productive member of society. A tired member of society, but a productive one.

Now if I could just find the energy to knit. Christmas is right around the corner, after all.

Fall Foliage And Fiber Fun

2008-10-06T05:52:00.000-05:00

Scenes from the last week:

The leaves are changing colors and fluttering to the ground, the boy has put away his AC unit, and I'm going to Ikea this week to get us a thick comforter. Autumn is here. And I've been spinning! Part of the Brigid stash was about 8 ounces of Louet's "Mystery Fiber" (a very nice wool) which I spun and then chain-plied to make about 620 yards of sport/DK weight softness.

Work starts for real today. Off I go!

Delayed

2008-09-30T09:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday was just paperwork and peeing in a cup. They'll call me in about a week (once the results of the drug test and background check come back) to give me my actual start date. I'm going to spend the rest of the week in Vermont teaching the boy how to sew.

The sweater I've been knitting is a sleeve and some ribbing away from being finished, and something tells me it won't make the Rhinebeck deadline... but who needs a sweater when you have a cute boyfriend to show off, right? ;)

Finally!

2008-09-27T11:54:00.002-05:00

"Hi, this is Lilith Parker. You interviewed me on Monday, and I was wondering if you'd made a decision yet."
"Oh yeah, we've decided to hire you. Come in on Monday and we'll start the paperwork."

Gotta love such a nonchalant job offer, huh? So yeah, I'm a TIG welder again! Back to getting up at 5am and eating three times more than I'm used to. Oh, and having money again will be nice. Things were starting to get a little tight around here.

Less time for knitting and spinning, though. Oh well. I'm employed!!!