Happiness Is a Harlot At the Dinner Table

Sorry this took so long. I've been trying to turn "OMGSQUEEEE!!!" into something more interesting, and it's been a little difficult. I hope this comes out well.

I'd been thinking about driving down to Madison on my own, but decided that, in the interests of saving gas and not having to pay attention to directions, I'd get a ride with my friend Jenny (who has a great account of our evening here) and her hubby. Also along for the ride was Melissa. We completely forgot that our other friend, Aaron, was going to wait for us at Starbucks instead of Jenny's apartment, so, thinking he had encountered scheduling issues and not been able to call us, we left without him. We didn't realize our mistake until he called us 20 minutes later to say that he'd given up and gone home. We felt really terrible. Sorry, Aaron.

Google gave us the most direct, but definitely not the fastest route to the bookstore, and we ended up arriving half an hour late, halfway through Stephanie's talk. There were no chairs left, and no place to sit on the floor except tucked around the corner where we couldn't see Stephanie. We could hear her just fine, though, so we didn't completely miss out. After the talk, while the book-signing line formed, I got to chat with some of the New Haven SnB ladies and see Sunflowerfairy's shawl. I was wearing my first Askew (Kimberly got pics of it here and here) and got a bunch of compliments on it.

Jenny had run into some people she knew, so our group in the signing line had grown to eight. We let people pass us because we were busy chatting, and ended up being the last ones in line. This meant that we were hanging around when Stephanie mentioned that she wanted to have dinner before heading back to her hotel. One of the locals in our group suggested the pizza place a few doors down, so we all headed over there while Stephanie finished up at the bookstore. She pulled up a chair at our table a few minutes later, and we spent a wonderful hour chatting with her and enjoying our pizza.

Let me say that again. We had dinner with the Yarn Harlot!

That was our mantra for the rest of the night. She went back to her hotel, we filled up the gas tank and got on the highway. We were so excited about having hung out with her that we missed our exit, and we were halfway to Rhode Island before we figured it out. We finally made it home after midnight, tired and happy.

My pics are here. What a night. :)

Next time: my hatred of seed stitch, my rather surprising self-control, and finally the pics of Askew and Nicole that David took when I was in Texas.

ETA: When things were wrapping up at the bookstore, I leaned over to Stephanie and told her that David from Sweater Project said hi. She said, "oh! Are you Lilith?" I just about died. The Yarn Harlot knew my name. I was kind of floating from there on out.

OMG OMG OMG OMG

I tried to Kinnear her. I got busted. But what a shot, eh?

More pictures and tales later. Must find a way off this cloud so I can sleep!

Next Chapter

Single again. No takebacks. I'm forcing myself to be angry so I'll stop crying. The fates seem to be doing their part to distract me by throwing boys at me... two of my favorite exes and two new guys have started giving me lots of attention.* One of the new guys is a classmate, and having him around is helping my mood a bit.

Not much new to report on the knitting front. I was hanging out with the new classmate-friend the other night, working on the Supersockesock, and I caught him and his mother staring at my hands while I was working. It seems that doing stockinette on #1 circs while watching TV is mesmerizing to those who have never seen it.

I'm off to get a present for a friend and (hopefully) finish the Supersockesock so I can put those gorram Crystal Palace circs in the back of a dark drawer, never to see the light of day until I move out of this house.


*The exes, unprompted, have been telling me how amazing I was when they dated me, and the new boys are telling me how amazing I am now. It's marvelous for the ego. I won't be falling in love again for a while... David isn't that easy to replace or get over... but it's nice to be told that, even though I wasn't right for David, there are plenty of people who wish they had me.

Overdue Prize

Remember when AllergicMom won that contest I ran back in March? Well, I finally got around to sending out her prize before I left for vacation. I'm such a bad contest-runner-person. I sent her six stitch markers and a bonus necklace (to alleviate my guilt about procrastinating for four months). I forgot to take a pic before I sent them out, but she took a pic when she got them and posted it here. The designs on the markers are: Dr. Who's TARDIS, a dragon, the Babylon 5 logo, the Rebel insignia from Star Wars, Pisces fish, and the ring from Lord of the Rings. I'm glad you like them, AM!

Sorry I've been kind of quiet lately. I've been depressed about a bunch of things, and I'm just starting to find my balance again. I have pics of Askew and Nicole to share with you, and I've started Clessidra with another unraveled Goodwill sweater. I'll try to remember to post the pics later this week.

If anyone's going to be at RJ Julia's on Friday to see the Harlot, I'll probably see you there. I'm going to be running an errand in Vermont most of the day, but I'll try my best to be back in time.

Help For Hot Hands

If you listened to the podcast, you know that I made some potholders for David while I was in Texas.



Here's the pattern!

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Abbreviations:

ch - chain stitch
dc - double crochet
fpdc - front-post double crochet
sl st - slip stitch

Note: stitches defined at Crochet Pattern Central

Yarn: 1 ball Sugar & Creme 4-ply cotton
Hook: US H/8

Here we go!

Row 1: Ch 32, dc into 2nd ch from hook, dc across, turn.
Row 2: Ch 2, fpdc into 2nd dc, *dc, fpdc, repeat from * across, dc into last ch from previous row, turn.
Row 3: Ch 2, *dc, fpdc, repeat from * across, dc into last chain from previous row, turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the potholder is just about square.

Finishing Row and Loop: Ch 2, dc across, dc into last chain from previous row, ch 20, sl st into last dc, pull end of yarn through loop.

Weave in ends.

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For those of you who like charts, this is a slightly expanded (because it looks better this way) look at the stitch pattern.

Show Notes

Photos and Video:

my fireworks video
David's photos
my photos
ants
the Yip Yips

Food:

ravioli and risotto cakes
"Taste of Hunt" cookbook
Central Market

Shopping:

Ikea in Round Rock, TX:
Heimdal bed
kitchen shears (actually $9.99, not $2.99)
butt crab

Ace Mart:
work table
big martini glass

Places to Go:

Lake LBJ
San Antonio Zoo
The Yarn Barn

Movies:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Fountain
Transformers
Mirrormask

Misc:

Greenspeed Trikes

See Y'all Next At:

Rhinebeck

Home Again, Home Again

I don't want to be here. Almost as soon as I got off the plane in Connecticut, I felt uncomfortable. It feels wrong to be with my father and sister, it feels wrong to be in this cluttered house, and it feels wrong to be in bed alone.

I want to go back.

We recorded a podcast before David took me to the airport, and I wrote up show notes this afternoon, so he should be posting it soon. There are pics on my Flickr for you to look at in the meantime.

Teaser

This is about the dozenth time I've tried to write this entry, and either we've done so much that I can't sort it out yet, or David has me completely under his spell. Either way, I'm having a lot of fun, I'm insanely happy, and I don't want to go home. I haven't done much knitting and haven't bought any yarn, but there are still a few days before I have to get on a plane and go home. I think we're going to record a podcast, so that'll tell you more about the vacation. Things you'll hear about include: burros, butt crabs, lots and lots of driving, the zoo, and, of course, how the public reacted to David's kilts. Stay tuned!

Bags Packed, Flags Flown, Shoes Blacked, Wings Sewn On

Askew #1 is finished. Askew #2 is half-finished. Nicole is not finished because I'm not happy with her, so I'll finish her when I get to Texas. I'm mostly packed, my tummy is all fluttery, and my right leg will not stop bouncing.

Speaking of packing, Speedy Space Maker bags rock! I've packed much lighter than usual for this trip, but there's still a lot of stuff for such a small suitcase. The bags help make everything fit, and they're safe to use around pets who are terrified of the vacuum cleaner.

I'll probably post once or twice while I'm in Texas, and David and I might even record another podcast. I'll be back very, very late on the 15th.

I leave for the airport in about an hour. Time to get dressed, brush my hair, and go over my checklist to make sure I have everything I need. Squeee!


* The title of this post is a line from a song in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."

Yarncakes!

I am my family's tech support. In exchange for attempting to fix my mother's computer yesterday, I got temporary custody of her ball winder. This is what I did last night:



I haven't finished Nicole. I haven't finished either Askew. I haven't finished the lace tank top. I leave in four days.

Don't Panic.