This seems to be the same Questionnaire as SP13 but it's an excuse to have a new post so I'll try to update...
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I like natural fibers. I don't like acrylics and I loathe novelty stuff. I don't like itchy or mohairy or spiderweb lacey stuff. I guess natural fibers still leaves it pretty wide open, right?
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a cardboard wine tube for my straights (which I almost never use anymore), a CD case thing for my circulars and the day-planner-looking-book-thingy for my KnitPicks Options. All set here!
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? My friend (and midwife) taught me to knit in Summer 2003 - I've been obsessed ever since! I guess I'm advanced.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Amazon wish list
Etsy wish list
5. What's your favorite scent? I don't use candles or home fragrance things. I love good bath stuff! I'm a big fan of light fragrance - pink grapefruit is a favorite. I like citrusy, or light floral, sandalwood is nice. Anything not too overpowering.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I'm still a sugar fiend! I don't like white chocolate or super-dark chocolate. Other then that, if it's sweet, I will eat.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I only knit. I don't spin (no desire to!). I have a dusty bin of cross-stitch stuff that I should really just get rid of as I haven't touched it since I learned to knit.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I'm all over the place here - blues, classic rock, country, alternative, bluegrass. I think the only thing I can't bear is techno or new age stuff - both genres grate on me as too boring and repetitive. I have an ipod. I discovered audiobooks last year and am a big fan!
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Another wide open venue. I'm not a fan of purple, orange or yellow but I'm not completely opposed to them either. I don't like pastels or white/cream yarn. I tend toward rich, deep tones (hues?).
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Husband I adore, 2 boys (8 and 6) who crack me up and a cat.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? All but ponchos.
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I don't really have a favorite thing to knit. I try it all. I found out I don't want to knit laceweight shawl things. I mostly knit things I'll wear (sweaters, socks, scarves, hats, mittens, etc.)
13. What are you knitting right now? How much time do you have? I generally have at least 15 things on needles but usually btw 3-5 active. Right now, I'm working on some socks for the Sock Summit.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Absolutely!
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I'd be lost without my metal KnitPicks Options. I wish they made a set of small, sock sized Options! I'm all set with needles.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, I have both.
17. How old is your oldest UFO? 4 years?
18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? My favorite holiday is Halloween. We celebrate a commercial xmas. We are not christians and I really don't want any religious stuff.
19. Is there anything that you collect? Yarn.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I just had a little fall down at the KnitPicks 40% off summer book sale! I keep meaning to get a subscription to Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting but haven't as of yet. I love the Ysolda Teague Vivian pattern. Also, I know my Rav queue is crazy long but I'm in the process of adding the WANT tag to the patterns I really crave!
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'm going to try to better my Fair Isle skills this year.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am!
Toe to heel - 10"; Ball of foot - 8"; Ankle (just above ankle bone)- 8.5"
23. When is your birthday? 4/13
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? yes - 5elementknitr
Still buried in hooks, Ruth!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Days I Want vs. Days I Have
My Perfect Day:
Sleep in until 8:30a.
Read my book until about 9a.
Eat breakfast (I love cereal, particularly Cocoa Puffs or Raisin Bran)
Watch a movie and knit.
Spend about an hour online catching up on emails and blogs.
Eat lunch.
Go swim for an hour (in my indoor pool, money being no object).
Get a massage (again, money's no object).
Knit some more.
Play a board game with Dave and the boys (who, up until this point, have been discreetly absent).
Eat dinner.
Watch TV/hangout with the family.
Put the boys to bed.
Sit out back with Dave while reading our books.
Long bath.
Bed at 10p.
My Actual Day:
Wake at 6a.
Go to basement and label bags for an hour (while playing some movie in the background on my laptop).
Put together hooks.
Come up at 8a and eat breakfast/make breakfast for the kids (at least I get my cereal!).
Go back to basement and work my "real" job while putting hooks together and doing laundry (and sneaking in some blog reads here and there).
Come up around noon and make lunch for me and the boys.
Go back to basement for more of the same.
Around 2p I run errands (coupla times a week) or work out for 20 minutes (loving the Gold's Gym Cardio Workout with the Wii!).
Go to garage and make hooks (drilling, cutting, sanding) until dinnertime. (So roughly 3p-6p).
Shower.
Make/eat dinner.
Watch some TV with the family while putting together more hooks.
Put the boys to bed.
Put more hooks together.
Bed somewhere btw 10p-11p.
I did take the boys to the public pool for an hour and a half yesterday!
I know I've been blogless for awhile but it's pretty boring around here with all the hook making. I have 2 FO's to share and hope to be able to share soon.
What's your perfect day?
Le sigh, Ruth!
P.S. Only 3 more days to enter my contests!
Sleep in until 8:30a.
Read my book until about 9a.
Eat breakfast (I love cereal, particularly Cocoa Puffs or Raisin Bran)
Watch a movie and knit.
Spend about an hour online catching up on emails and blogs.
Eat lunch.
Go swim for an hour (in my indoor pool, money being no object).
Get a massage (again, money's no object).
Knit some more.
Play a board game with Dave and the boys (who, up until this point, have been discreetly absent).
Eat dinner.
Watch TV/hangout with the family.
Put the boys to bed.
Sit out back with Dave while reading our books.
Long bath.
Bed at 10p.
My Actual Day:
Wake at 6a.
Go to basement and label bags for an hour (while playing some movie in the background on my laptop).
Put together hooks.
Come up at 8a and eat breakfast/make breakfast for the kids (at least I get my cereal!).
Go back to basement and work my "real" job while putting hooks together and doing laundry (and sneaking in some blog reads here and there).
Come up around noon and make lunch for me and the boys.
Go back to basement for more of the same.
Around 2p I run errands (coupla times a week) or work out for 20 minutes (loving the Gold's Gym Cardio Workout with the Wii!).
Go to garage and make hooks (drilling, cutting, sanding) until dinnertime. (So roughly 3p-6p).
Shower.
Make/eat dinner.
Watch some TV with the family while putting together more hooks.
Put the boys to bed.
Put more hooks together.
Bed somewhere btw 10p-11p.
I did take the boys to the public pool for an hour and a half yesterday!
I know I've been blogless for awhile but it's pretty boring around here with all the hook making. I have 2 FO's to share and hope to be able to share soon.
What's your perfect day?
Le sigh, Ruth!
P.S. Only 3 more days to enter my contests!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Z is for Zilch
I got nothin'.
Actually, I've got so much, I don't know where to begin which has me stumped.
I'm so tired I can't see straight. I've been getting up an hour earlier every day and going to bed 1/2 hr.- 1 hour later every night in order to get all my hooks done by my deadline. I figure I'll ship everything to Oregon for the Sock Summit and I want to ship by July 28th at the latest. That way, they'll get there in time and I can fly there with no worries.
That means I have to complete, roughly, 142 a day. Now, that doesn't mean I drill one, cut it, sand it, put it together, add a keyring and bag it. I'm trying to spend 2 hours a day making them (drill, cut, and/or sand) and 2 hours a day putting them together (jump rings, beads, keyrings, bagging). I've enslaved my husband and he puts on the keyrings and bags them.
But there's all this minutia that's killin' my time limits. Labeling bags. I have to label 7000 bags!! (5000 for the show, 2000 for another thing) Dave won't label bags. I got him to do it once but he was doing it wrong (improper placement which would result in the label popping off when the bag is opened) and when I pointed it out he acted like a typical guy (which he usually is so not) and got all butthurt and won't label anymore. sigh.
And stamping. As I said, I got my biz cards but forgot to put Stitch Savers anywhere on them. So I got a custom stamp and am stamping the back of 5000 cards. I can do a box of 250 in about 7 minutes. There's 20 boxes.
AND, I have to do all this while still paying attention to my "real" job as a recruiter for Medical Device Sales. Thankfully, this is in my basement and I have a headset, so I label bags and put together Stitch Savers while I'm on the phone.
And watching movies. When I'm up earlier, I'm watching movies (in the basement) to entertain me while I make labels and stuff. Endless movies. I was going to do some reviews but I've watched so many and so back-to-back that they're starting to run together in my head a bit.
Let's see, what else...
I'm going to lose most of this weekend's production time. Sunday, I have to take Davis to a birthday party from 2-4 and then we go to the Grandparents for Sunday dinner every week. So I have until about 1p to work. Saturday is Parker Days here and we're taking the kids to the carnival rides in the morning. Then I'm driving with my boothmate, Donna, to the Estes Park Wool Market Saturday afternoon. We're going to scout out booths and see how people set them up to get ideas for our own booth in August. (Anyone else going? If you are, email me and maybe we can meet in real life!) It's a long drive, so I suppose I'll be making labels on the way up.
Which leads me to my knitting. Or lack, thereof. I was knitting every day for awhile there and it was making me very happy! I haven't been able to do that now and it's making me irritated. Likewise, blogging. I have one FO which I'm saving for a future post and it's irritating me, too.
Likewise, reading. My planned reading has gone completely off the rails. I haven't even started the sequel (prequel?) to Mists of Avalon. I was actually planning on putting that on the back burner and getting started on The Hobbit. Haven't done it. I read The Last Lecture (which I spoke about a post or two ago). I finished The Shack (big post on that later. For now, suffice it to say I was going to call this post Z is for Zion. Be forewarned.) I'm reading this book called The Girl She Used To Be because I read the 3 Question interview Joshilyn Jackson did with the author (scroll down to April 15th). It's pretty good. At least I think it is. I started it 2 days ago and have only read the first chapter which is to say, 10 pages.
I'm losing my slave labor (Dave). As of Monday, he goes to work! Yay! He's been home for nearly a year and it's been nice having him around (he always cooks dinner and feeds the kids breakfast and lunch!). After working for 15 years of 12-14 hour days, it was good to see him have a break like this.
I wrote previously about how Citiwide dicked us around for nearly 4 weeks, then turned us down for the SBA loan Dave was trying to get to buy the landscaping business he was looking at. If you remember, they said we didn't have enough collateral, turns out the collateral we didn't have enough of was the fact that we rent. They require real estate to back up any SBA loan they give. As I said, they knew from day one that we didn't own our house. Stupid. Well, the biz broker usually works with a bank in Korea that specializes in "small" SBA loans (under a million dollars - ours is about $200,000) but with the economy dive, they aren't doing those loans anymore. So friend of biz broker told him to send us to Citiwide and we know what happened there. Then someone else told the biz broker to send us to US Bank. That guy was so much better! His name is Ryan and he told us that Citiwide doesn't even do our type of loan and shouldn't have wasted our time! With the economy, Citiwide is trying to get in on these smaller SBA loans because of the government incentives given for them but since Citiwide doesn't do any SBA loans without real estate as collateral.... they shouldn't have even been talking to us.
So! Long story short, (too late) - Dave got his loan! Yay!
That's about it for now. So much for Zilch, right? And so ends this year's version of Alphabet Soup. Last year, I finished in March! I'll try to do better again next year.
Suck it Citiwide, Ruth!
Actually, I've got so much, I don't know where to begin which has me stumped.
I'm so tired I can't see straight. I've been getting up an hour earlier every day and going to bed 1/2 hr.- 1 hour later every night in order to get all my hooks done by my deadline. I figure I'll ship everything to Oregon for the Sock Summit and I want to ship by July 28th at the latest. That way, they'll get there in time and I can fly there with no worries.
That means I have to complete, roughly, 142 a day. Now, that doesn't mean I drill one, cut it, sand it, put it together, add a keyring and bag it. I'm trying to spend 2 hours a day making them (drill, cut, and/or sand) and 2 hours a day putting them together (jump rings, beads, keyrings, bagging). I've enslaved my husband and he puts on the keyrings and bags them.
But there's all this minutia that's killin' my time limits. Labeling bags. I have to label 7000 bags!! (5000 for the show, 2000 for another thing) Dave won't label bags. I got him to do it once but he was doing it wrong (improper placement which would result in the label popping off when the bag is opened) and when I pointed it out he acted like a typical guy (which he usually is so not) and got all butthurt and won't label anymore. sigh.
And stamping. As I said, I got my biz cards but forgot to put Stitch Savers anywhere on them. So I got a custom stamp and am stamping the back of 5000 cards. I can do a box of 250 in about 7 minutes. There's 20 boxes.
AND, I have to do all this while still paying attention to my "real" job as a recruiter for Medical Device Sales. Thankfully, this is in my basement and I have a headset, so I label bags and put together Stitch Savers while I'm on the phone.
And watching movies. When I'm up earlier, I'm watching movies (in the basement) to entertain me while I make labels and stuff. Endless movies. I was going to do some reviews but I've watched so many and so back-to-back that they're starting to run together in my head a bit.
Let's see, what else...
I'm going to lose most of this weekend's production time. Sunday, I have to take Davis to a birthday party from 2-4 and then we go to the Grandparents for Sunday dinner every week. So I have until about 1p to work. Saturday is Parker Days here and we're taking the kids to the carnival rides in the morning. Then I'm driving with my boothmate, Donna, to the Estes Park Wool Market Saturday afternoon. We're going to scout out booths and see how people set them up to get ideas for our own booth in August. (Anyone else going? If you are, email me and maybe we can meet in real life!) It's a long drive, so I suppose I'll be making labels on the way up.
Which leads me to my knitting. Or lack, thereof. I was knitting every day for awhile there and it was making me very happy! I haven't been able to do that now and it's making me irritated. Likewise, blogging. I have one FO which I'm saving for a future post and it's irritating me, too.
Likewise, reading. My planned reading has gone completely off the rails. I haven't even started the sequel (prequel?) to Mists of Avalon. I was actually planning on putting that on the back burner and getting started on The Hobbit. Haven't done it. I read The Last Lecture (which I spoke about a post or two ago). I finished The Shack (big post on that later. For now, suffice it to say I was going to call this post Z is for Zion. Be forewarned.) I'm reading this book called The Girl She Used To Be because I read the 3 Question interview Joshilyn Jackson did with the author (scroll down to April 15th). It's pretty good. At least I think it is. I started it 2 days ago and have only read the first chapter which is to say, 10 pages.
I'm losing my slave labor (Dave). As of Monday, he goes to work! Yay! He's been home for nearly a year and it's been nice having him around (he always cooks dinner and feeds the kids breakfast and lunch!). After working for 15 years of 12-14 hour days, it was good to see him have a break like this.
I wrote previously about how Citiwide dicked us around for nearly 4 weeks, then turned us down for the SBA loan Dave was trying to get to buy the landscaping business he was looking at. If you remember, they said we didn't have enough collateral, turns out the collateral we didn't have enough of was the fact that we rent. They require real estate to back up any SBA loan they give. As I said, they knew from day one that we didn't own our house. Stupid. Well, the biz broker usually works with a bank in Korea that specializes in "small" SBA loans (under a million dollars - ours is about $200,000) but with the economy dive, they aren't doing those loans anymore. So friend of biz broker told him to send us to Citiwide and we know what happened there. Then someone else told the biz broker to send us to US Bank. That guy was so much better! His name is Ryan and he told us that Citiwide doesn't even do our type of loan and shouldn't have wasted our time! With the economy, Citiwide is trying to get in on these smaller SBA loans because of the government incentives given for them but since Citiwide doesn't do any SBA loans without real estate as collateral.... they shouldn't have even been talking to us.
So! Long story short, (too late) - Dave got his loan! Yay!
That's about it for now. So much for Zilch, right? And so ends this year's version of Alphabet Soup. Last year, I finished in March! I'll try to do better again next year.
Suck it Citiwide, Ruth!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Y is for YAY!
Another day of scattered randomness....
Why yes, that is me in the latest issue of Knit.1! Well, you know, not me personally but if you look at page ten you'll see something I'm rather fond of. You'll have to squint. It's #4 on the page. It's difficult to see and they put scoutswag.com instead of 5elementknitr.etsy.com and called it a crochet hook keychain instead of a Stitch Saver but I don't even care - I'm so happy and proud of it! It's stupid how excited I am to be in that magazine!! YAY!
Got the classes I wanted at Sock Summit '09 - YAY! Holy Jeebus, how crazy was that sign-up, right? Anyone else get caught up in the madness that was SS09 sign-ups? Since Donna and I are sharing a booth, we decided to take some classes while we were there. I'm in the Friday AM Cross Your Cables and Dot Your Purls class. In the frenzy, I'm also in the Sunday AM one. AND in the Sunday AM 9a Podcasting 101 class (from the registration page, it looks like I'm getting a private class there as I'm the only one signed up for that hour - cool!). Thursday 10a Favorite Toe-up Bind-Offs? Yes please! I'll be there! Donna only wanted two classes and she got them - Sat. 10a KnitteRX, and Sunday 11a Podcast 101 (can anyone guess what Donna and I have been thinking about doing?).
Actually, she couldn't get in and I got lucky enough to make it in, so I signed up for all our classes and she'll just have to pretend to be me for a couple of hours. I also got our Opening Reception and Sock Hop tickets. We didn't get Luminary Panel tix because we thought, as vendors, we wouldn't be able to make that but turns out we can, so we're going to get those tix soon.
For those going, did you get classes? Which ones? Were they the ones you wanted? The Rav SS09 board was exploding Tues. morning, people feelin' all butt hurt and stuff. I know it's easy for me to say as I got what I wanted but people were sounding actually bitter about the whole thing and I kept thinking, "People. It's only knitting. Calm down!". One woman said she wasn't even going to go even though she had already bought a $200 non-refundable plane ticket way before they posted the classes. I think that's just stupid. She said she couldn't justify the ticket just to go shopping at the marketplace. Well, I say (here) that she shouldn't have purchased a non-refundable ticket for something that wasn't set in stone yet! On the Rav board I said, "Come anyway! You already have the ticket and it could be a mini-vacation. There's SO much to do and see in Portland (I hear) and there's the marketplace and the LYS's and the town is going to be filthy with other knitters - it'll be fun!" And so I say the same to those that read this, who were planning on coming and didn't get the classes they wanted. Please, if you were planning to, come anyway!
With the frenzy that was class sign-up, I got super nervous about being a vendor. I actually had a bit of a panic attack and Donna was kind enough to talk me down from the ledge. I have a LOT of work to do and not much time to do it. I've been getting up an hour earlier every day to work on my stuff.
One of the things I've already messed up are my biz cards. I bought 5000 biz cards from VistaPrint ($80 incl. shipping!), and it only occurred to me yesterday (when I got the "we're shippin' 'em" email) that I hadn't put Stitch Savers ANYWHERE on the damn cards! I've got 5elementknitr on there like 4 times (name, email, etsy, blog) and not once is there mention of what it is I make. I'm such a dolt!
I made the SAME exact mistake 12 years ago when I had my first biz cards made up after I got my massage license. Name, number, cute logo - I was so proud of them! I showed them to my friend John and he said, "Great, but what do you do?" I said, "What do you mean?? We went to school together, you know I do massage!" "Yeah," he said, "I know that but how would a stranger know?" Oh. Yea. No mention of massage therapy.
So now I'm going to get a stamp for the back of the cards and for the receipts.
sigh. (no YAY here!)
(As a side note, if you order online from VistaPrint, be very careful what you check/uncheck in the process. A lot of vendors have said VistaPrint start charging your credit card $15 a month if you check the wrong thing (and apparently they just get the money for fun, there seems to be no tangible reason for the charge!). I've always ordered over the phone so it's not been a problem for me.)
Got the latest installment of STR's Notorious Sock Knitters sock club. 3 for 3 - I'm loving these colorways and the patterns! YAY!
2 posts, 2 days in a row???
YAY me, Ruth!
Why yes, that is me in the latest issue of Knit.1! Well, you know, not me personally but if you look at page ten you'll see something I'm rather fond of. You'll have to squint. It's #4 on the page. It's difficult to see and they put scoutswag.com instead of 5elementknitr.etsy.com and called it a crochet hook keychain instead of a Stitch Saver but I don't even care - I'm so happy and proud of it! It's stupid how excited I am to be in that magazine!! YAY!
Got the classes I wanted at Sock Summit '09 - YAY! Holy Jeebus, how crazy was that sign-up, right? Anyone else get caught up in the madness that was SS09 sign-ups? Since Donna and I are sharing a booth, we decided to take some classes while we were there. I'm in the Friday AM Cross Your Cables and Dot Your Purls class. In the frenzy, I'm also in the Sunday AM one. AND in the Sunday AM 9a Podcasting 101 class (from the registration page, it looks like I'm getting a private class there as I'm the only one signed up for that hour - cool!). Thursday 10a Favorite Toe-up Bind-Offs? Yes please! I'll be there! Donna only wanted two classes and she got them - Sat. 10a KnitteRX, and Sunday 11a Podcast 101 (can anyone guess what Donna and I have been thinking about doing?).
Actually, she couldn't get in and I got lucky enough to make it in, so I signed up for all our classes and she'll just have to pretend to be me for a couple of hours. I also got our Opening Reception and Sock Hop tickets. We didn't get Luminary Panel tix because we thought, as vendors, we wouldn't be able to make that but turns out we can, so we're going to get those tix soon.
For those going, did you get classes? Which ones? Were they the ones you wanted? The Rav SS09 board was exploding Tues. morning, people feelin' all butt hurt and stuff. I know it's easy for me to say as I got what I wanted but people were sounding actually bitter about the whole thing and I kept thinking, "People. It's only knitting. Calm down!". One woman said she wasn't even going to go even though she had already bought a $200 non-refundable plane ticket way before they posted the classes. I think that's just stupid. She said she couldn't justify the ticket just to go shopping at the marketplace. Well, I say (here) that she shouldn't have purchased a non-refundable ticket for something that wasn't set in stone yet! On the Rav board I said, "Come anyway! You already have the ticket and it could be a mini-vacation. There's SO much to do and see in Portland (I hear) and there's the marketplace and the LYS's and the town is going to be filthy with other knitters - it'll be fun!" And so I say the same to those that read this, who were planning on coming and didn't get the classes they wanted. Please, if you were planning to, come anyway!
With the frenzy that was class sign-up, I got super nervous about being a vendor. I actually had a bit of a panic attack and Donna was kind enough to talk me down from the ledge. I have a LOT of work to do and not much time to do it. I've been getting up an hour earlier every day to work on my stuff.
One of the things I've already messed up are my biz cards. I bought 5000 biz cards from VistaPrint ($80 incl. shipping!), and it only occurred to me yesterday (when I got the "we're shippin' 'em" email) that I hadn't put Stitch Savers ANYWHERE on the damn cards! I've got 5elementknitr on there like 4 times (name, email, etsy, blog) and not once is there mention of what it is I make. I'm such a dolt!
I made the SAME exact mistake 12 years ago when I had my first biz cards made up after I got my massage license. Name, number, cute logo - I was so proud of them! I showed them to my friend John and he said, "Great, but what do you do?" I said, "What do you mean?? We went to school together, you know I do massage!" "Yeah," he said, "I know that but how would a stranger know?" Oh. Yea. No mention of massage therapy.
So now I'm going to get a stamp for the back of the cards and for the receipts.
sigh. (no YAY here!)
(As a side note, if you order online from VistaPrint, be very careful what you check/uncheck in the process. A lot of vendors have said VistaPrint start charging your credit card $15 a month if you check the wrong thing (and apparently they just get the money for fun, there seems to be no tangible reason for the charge!). I've always ordered over the phone so it's not been a problem for me.)
Got the latest installment of STR's Notorious Sock Knitters sock club. 3 for 3 - I'm loving these colorways and the patterns! YAY!
2 posts, 2 days in a row???
YAY me, Ruth!
X is for Xenia
This will be a random Thursday post...
Another day, another hank of yarn. Splee! I got the latest shipment from Nefarious Yarns over a week ago. I'm posting the pic's at the end of this post, so if you are in the Club and don't have yours yet, be warned...
Yarn: Lonesome Stone's Fraser Flats
I used one whole skein and about a tenth of the second skein. I'll definitely be making this little gem of a shrug for myself someday!
Yesterday was Davis' last day of Kindergarten. sigh. They had a little class party and there was a slide show of the kids and most of the moms were tearing up at the music combined with the slide show. My little guy is going to be in first grade! Dave commented the other day, "Remember when they were babies and they started to lose that baby face and get that little boy face?"
Me: Sadly, yes.
Speaking of crying,
I also finished The Mists of Avalon. I think my limit on interest in a book is around the 600 page point. I loved this book, it was so amazing and so well written! BUT it was 875 pages! And around 600 I was thinking, "OK, I get it. They all love someone else they can't have and they've all been manipulated by their elders and, in turn are manipulating those around them." For me, it was sort of like watching the Sopranos series - it was an excellent, compelling story told with a type of writing I can only dream of doing but in the end, no single character was particularly likeable. They all became distinctly unlikeable as the book progressed but I couldn't stop reading it! And when it's all said and done, I just felt sad for every character involved. Except Gwenyfhar (that's Gweneviere to you and me, Rusty) - hated that bitch. She lived her life in a state of constant fear and spread her mental illness to those around her. On the other hand, the only reason she had those fears was because of the stupid way she was raised.
I think my favorite part of this book was how the author approached religion and how it was changing at the time period of the book. Very cool and endlessly fascinating to me!
I don't know if I'll plunge into The Forest House next or skip it and move on to the Hobbit. I found out that Forest House isn't even a true sequel - it's a prequel and doesn't seem to have much to do with anyone in The Mists. In my quest for sequels (and since I'm a bit behind - should've finished Mists and Forest by now!), I may save it for later and see if I have time at the end of the year.
Also, I needed a break from the Middle Ages and before I plunged into Middle Earth, so I read that Last Lecture book and am taking another small detour.
I'm reading The Shack now. Those who know my views on religion might be a bit shocked. I've been assured this is an interesting take on God and am curious about it. I've just finished the first chapter and I'm already annoyed. I think it's annoyance of my own contrivance. The guy got his little note (if you're unfamiliar with the synopsis of this book, check the link) and just fell and whacked his head a good one in the driveway. Then went into his house with a possible concussion. So. If this book ends with the "it was all just a dream" due to a concussion with the added banality of him receiving the note before the head injury so then "but who knows, maybe..." kind of thing..... I'm going to have to slap someone. Hard.
I've got 5 WIP's and my usual 15 UFO's on needles. I heard the difference being a WIP is something you are actively working on and a UFO is something that's been stalled for more then a month.
There's a big spider crawling towards me across the ceiling and now down the wall behind my desk. I have a deal with spiders - if they are outside or out of my reach, their fine. This one's about to die. He's dead.
OK... as promised, here's the pic's of my new yarn pron....
Warming up to the yellow, Ruth!
Another day, another hank of yarn. Splee! I got the latest shipment from Nefarious Yarns over a week ago. I'm posting the pic's at the end of this post, so if you are in the Club and don't have yours yet, be warned...
I also an FO to share! I know. Don't fall down, I do knit and, occasionally, even finish stuff!
Notes:
Notes:
Pattern: Retro Redux Shrug from the book Lace Style
Modeled by the ever-lovely Donna, this project was fairly easy and quick. My mom picked out the pattern before I took her on a yarn crawl. It gets a bit tedious around the middle but it’s so fast that the tedium is short-lived.
Modeled by the ever-lovely Donna, this project was fairly easy and quick. My mom picked out the pattern before I took her on a yarn crawl. It gets a bit tedious around the middle but it’s so fast that the tedium is short-lived.
Yarn: Lonesome Stone's Fraser Flats
The yarn was a huge disappointment. It’s some of the yarn my mom picked out (and bought) when I took her on a yarn crawl in 11/2007. First off, I think the color is hideous! It’s like an Easter egg threw up. Also, in the first skein of Fraser Flats, there were SO many cheater knots, I stopped counting at 20. Over 20 in 325 yards. I’ll never buy this stuff! The yarn is 2 singles plied together (she says with no spinning knowledge) and most of the cheater knots were just in one single or the other. The riotous color combined with the lacy stitch pattern, I didn’t bother cutting/rejoining around the knots. You can’t see any of them!
I used one whole skein and about a tenth of the second skein. I'll definitely be making this little gem of a shrug for myself someday!
I actually finished this around Mother's Day but wanted to wait to post about it as my mom stops in occasionally.
Yesterday was Davis' last day of Kindergarten. sigh. They had a little class party and there was a slide show of the kids and most of the moms were tearing up at the music combined with the slide show. My little guy is going to be in first grade! Dave commented the other day, "Remember when they were babies and they started to lose that baby face and get that little boy face?"
Me: Sadly, yes.
Dave: Have you noticed that T doesn't really have that little boy face anymore?
Me: I know! (starts tearing up)
Dave: They'll be moving out soon... (laughs while I'm punching him for making me cry)
Speaking of crying,
I read The Last Lecture. Cranked it out in a day. Which means I spent most of that day (last Sunday) bawling. Great book but, damn, it makes me cry!
I also finished The Mists of Avalon. I think my limit on interest in a book is around the 600 page point. I loved this book, it was so amazing and so well written! BUT it was 875 pages! And around 600 I was thinking, "OK, I get it. They all love someone else they can't have and they've all been manipulated by their elders and, in turn are manipulating those around them." For me, it was sort of like watching the Sopranos series - it was an excellent, compelling story told with a type of writing I can only dream of doing but in the end, no single character was particularly likeable. They all became distinctly unlikeable as the book progressed but I couldn't stop reading it! And when it's all said and done, I just felt sad for every character involved. Except Gwenyfhar (that's Gweneviere to you and me, Rusty) - hated that bitch. She lived her life in a state of constant fear and spread her mental illness to those around her. On the other hand, the only reason she had those fears was because of the stupid way she was raised.
I think my favorite part of this book was how the author approached religion and how it was changing at the time period of the book. Very cool and endlessly fascinating to me!
I don't know if I'll plunge into The Forest House next or skip it and move on to the Hobbit. I found out that Forest House isn't even a true sequel - it's a prequel and doesn't seem to have much to do with anyone in The Mists. In my quest for sequels (and since I'm a bit behind - should've finished Mists and Forest by now!), I may save it for later and see if I have time at the end of the year.
Also, I needed a break from the Middle Ages and before I plunged into Middle Earth, so I read that Last Lecture book and am taking another small detour.
I'm reading The Shack now. Those who know my views on religion might be a bit shocked. I've been assured this is an interesting take on God and am curious about it. I've just finished the first chapter and I'm already annoyed. I think it's annoyance of my own contrivance. The guy got his little note (if you're unfamiliar with the synopsis of this book, check the link) and just fell and whacked his head a good one in the driveway. Then went into his house with a possible concussion. So. If this book ends with the "it was all just a dream" due to a concussion with the added banality of him receiving the note before the head injury so then "but who knows, maybe..." kind of thing..... I'm going to have to slap someone. Hard.
I've got 5 WIP's and my usual 15 UFO's on needles. I heard the difference being a WIP is something you are actively working on and a UFO is something that's been stalled for more then a month.
There's a big spider crawling towards me across the ceiling and now down the wall behind my desk. I have a deal with spiders - if they are outside or out of my reach, their fine. This one's about to die. He's dead.
OK... as promised, here's the pic's of my new yarn pron....
Isn't it gorgeous!? It's called Xenia after the killer femme fatale from the movie Goldeneye. I usually don't like yellow. At all. But this stuff is so pretty!
Warming up to the yellow, Ruth!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
W is for Will
I'm likin' the Ravelry. I know some people have had serious problems with it but I tend to stay away from most of the groups I'm in and thus am able to avoid quite a bit of drama. I do participate in a few - I think 3 or 4 of the 40+ where I'm a member. I mostly join the groups as a way to show the things I'm interested in. I never read the weekly newsletter the Rav staff post.
A friend told me that this newsletter has an obituary column. I looked at it. Once. It told of a young woman losing her fight with cancer. That was enough for me. It was so depressing.
HOWEVER.....
That didn't stop me from acting like a greedy, callow, shameless wool pig and taking a peak at her Ravelry stash page.
I know.
I suck.
but I couldn't help wondering what would happen to her yarn! It was some pretty good stuff, too.
I know.
I suck.
Then it occurred to me that Dave would have no idea the value/worth of my yarn should something happen to me. Whether I went quick and unexpected (I avoid stepping in front of buses whenever possible but I usually have my head in the clouds and am not prone to paying attention) or slow and terrible for everyone (I'm hoping for the bus to show up), he would have no clue as to the worth of those 10 HUGE plastic bins in the basement. This is mostly because I keep him in the dark as to my addiction and it's costs (Hi, my name is Ruth and I'm a knitter.... hi Ruth).
So.
I propose we all make yarn wills. Now. I'm even going to make it a contest. Seems I let my 2 year blogiversary go by without so much as a 'by your leave' and I'll remedy that here. I'm even making it two constests!
Contest The First...
I want us all to make Yarn Wills. I want us to do it now and spread the word to all knitters. I suggested to the Rav staff to have another section on our Rav pages to make this easy. Maybe while filling out our stash info, there'd be another box to put in a value per skein should something happen to us. It would be a secret and would only be made available to public eyes should our names ever hit the obituary section (that way vultures like me wouldn't be hitting us up to sell our stuff when we're still breathing, y'know?). They filed it in the suggestion box and I never heard anymore about it.
So here's the contest. Make a Yarn Will. It doesn't even need to be all that specific - who gets first dibs, what to sell your remaining stuff for and what goes to charity. Also, you might want to either make it a special box on the sidebar of your blog or print a hard copy and keep it with the rest of your important papers so people know about it. Come back here and link to your Yarn Will (in the comments).
Spread the word - I think if anyone out there has more then 10 balls of yarn in their possession, they should have a Yarn Will. If anyone links their Yarn Will here (in the comments) and says they were sent by you, you'll get another entry. For this contest you don't have to be on Rav or even have a blog! If you don't have a blog, then type it out and email me a copy (email is under my pic) - just don't forget to make a hard copy for yourself and put it in a fireproof box with the rest of your important papers. I've also started a Rav group about this. I think it's very important and it would help out our families when they'll need some help dealing with our S.A.B.L.E.'s. when our S.A.B.L.E.'s actually outlive us.
Contest the Second...
We need a button! If you make a button for blogs and/or a banner for the Ravelry group (it's here), email it to me (addy is under my picture). Please put Contest in the subject line of the email so I don't accidentally lose it to junk mail. Donna is co-moderating with me in the Ravelry group so we'll be the judges.
The prize? Yarn! Of course! I have a lovely skein of sock yarn I'm going to let go of - I haven't decided which one but I will likely take a color suggestion from the winner. Also a Stitch Saver or two (also, of course!). I'll see how many entries I get. If it's over 50, I'll pull another skein or two of something from the mountain.
I know it's weird to contemplate one's own death (and weirder yet, to plan for it) so I'll go first....
First and foremost, this will takes precedent over any previous yarn wills I may have scrawled out either here on the blog or in a notebook somewhere!
Lisa Litton (skirtfiend on Rav) gets first dibs on my yarn. She is the one who taught me to knit! Then Rachel and Donna get a crack at it. Hopefully between those two and their organizing skills, they can set up a good sale for the rest of it!
Here's some guidelines to pricing....
Sock Bin - $20/skein ($10 for small skeins)
The Good Stuff Bin - $8/skein
Cotton Bin - $5/skein ($10/skein for anything over 200 yards)
Wool Bin - $6/skein ($10/skein for anything over 300 yards)
Novelty Bin - $1/skein
Acrylic Bin - $2/skein
Gift Knitting Bin - $7/skein
Kitchen Cotton Bin - $1/skein
Laceweight Bin - $10/skein
WIP Bin - That's a tough one.... I'll let them sort it out whether to frog and sell or donate.
Books - $10 each
Magazines - $3 each
Needles - if any get past the first dibs girls - $10 each for addi's, $5 each for any bamboo, the sets will go to the dibs girls
Whatever doesn't sell, donate!
OK! See how easy that was? Now it's your turn....
Contest deadline - 4th of July should give us plenty of time, right?
Hoping to outlive the S.A.B.L.E., Ruth!
P.S. For newbies, S.A.B.L.E. stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.
A friend told me that this newsletter has an obituary column. I looked at it. Once. It told of a young woman losing her fight with cancer. That was enough for me. It was so depressing.
HOWEVER.....
That didn't stop me from acting like a greedy, callow, shameless wool pig and taking a peak at her Ravelry stash page.
I know.
I suck.
but I couldn't help wondering what would happen to her yarn! It was some pretty good stuff, too.
I know.
I suck.
Then it occurred to me that Dave would have no idea the value/worth of my yarn should something happen to me. Whether I went quick and unexpected (I avoid stepping in front of buses whenever possible but I usually have my head in the clouds and am not prone to paying attention) or slow and terrible for everyone (I'm hoping for the bus to show up), he would have no clue as to the worth of those 10 HUGE plastic bins in the basement. This is mostly because I keep him in the dark as to my addiction and it's costs (Hi, my name is Ruth and I'm a knitter.... hi Ruth).
So.
I propose we all make yarn wills. Now. I'm even going to make it a contest. Seems I let my 2 year blogiversary go by without so much as a 'by your leave' and I'll remedy that here. I'm even making it two constests!
Contest The First...
I want us all to make Yarn Wills. I want us to do it now and spread the word to all knitters. I suggested to the Rav staff to have another section on our Rav pages to make this easy. Maybe while filling out our stash info, there'd be another box to put in a value per skein should something happen to us. It would be a secret and would only be made available to public eyes should our names ever hit the obituary section (that way vultures like me wouldn't be hitting us up to sell our stuff when we're still breathing, y'know?). They filed it in the suggestion box and I never heard anymore about it.
So here's the contest. Make a Yarn Will. It doesn't even need to be all that specific - who gets first dibs, what to sell your remaining stuff for and what goes to charity. Also, you might want to either make it a special box on the sidebar of your blog or print a hard copy and keep it with the rest of your important papers so people know about it. Come back here and link to your Yarn Will (in the comments).
Spread the word - I think if anyone out there has more then 10 balls of yarn in their possession, they should have a Yarn Will. If anyone links their Yarn Will here (in the comments) and says they were sent by you, you'll get another entry. For this contest you don't have to be on Rav or even have a blog! If you don't have a blog, then type it out and email me a copy (email is under my pic) - just don't forget to make a hard copy for yourself and put it in a fireproof box with the rest of your important papers. I've also started a Rav group about this. I think it's very important and it would help out our families when they'll need some help dealing with our S.A.B.L.E.'s. when our S.A.B.L.E.'s actually outlive us.
Contest the Second...
We need a button! If you make a button for blogs and/or a banner for the Ravelry group (it's here), email it to me (addy is under my picture). Please put Contest in the subject line of the email so I don't accidentally lose it to junk mail. Donna is co-moderating with me in the Ravelry group so we'll be the judges.
The prize? Yarn! Of course! I have a lovely skein of sock yarn I'm going to let go of - I haven't decided which one but I will likely take a color suggestion from the winner. Also a Stitch Saver or two (also, of course!). I'll see how many entries I get. If it's over 50, I'll pull another skein or two of something from the mountain.
I know it's weird to contemplate one's own death (and weirder yet, to plan for it) so I'll go first....
First and foremost, this will takes precedent over any previous yarn wills I may have scrawled out either here on the blog or in a notebook somewhere!
Lisa Litton (skirtfiend on Rav) gets first dibs on my yarn. She is the one who taught me to knit! Then Rachel and Donna get a crack at it. Hopefully between those two and their organizing skills, they can set up a good sale for the rest of it!
Here's some guidelines to pricing....
Sock Bin - $20/skein ($10 for small skeins)
The Good Stuff Bin - $8/skein
Cotton Bin - $5/skein ($10/skein for anything over 200 yards)
Wool Bin - $6/skein ($10/skein for anything over 300 yards)
Novelty Bin - $1/skein
Acrylic Bin - $2/skein
Gift Knitting Bin - $7/skein
Kitchen Cotton Bin - $1/skein
Laceweight Bin - $10/skein
WIP Bin - That's a tough one.... I'll let them sort it out whether to frog and sell or donate.
Books - $10 each
Magazines - $3 each
Needles - if any get past the first dibs girls - $10 each for addi's, $5 each for any bamboo, the sets will go to the dibs girls
Whatever doesn't sell, donate!
OK! See how easy that was? Now it's your turn....
Contest deadline - 4th of July should give us plenty of time, right?
Hoping to outlive the S.A.B.L.E., Ruth!
P.S. For newbies, S.A.B.L.E. stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
V is for Veracity
Veracity - habitual observance of truth in speech or statement; truthfulness
To thine own self, be true - Shakespeare
Thinking about the quote I just heard. ""Take the advice you always give others"....hum, now there's something to chew on...and not as easy as it may sound." - Garnet Adair
Garnet was one of my massage teachers at DIHA and she recently wrote the above on her Facebook Wall.
V is also for Video, Ruth!
To thine own self, be true - Shakespeare
Thinking about the quote I just heard. ""Take the advice you always give others"....hum, now there's something to chew on...and not as easy as it may sound." - Garnet Adair
Garnet was one of my massage teachers at DIHA and she recently wrote the above on her Facebook Wall.
Sorry I've been lax in blogging lately. Things around here are not so great. My business that is supposedly recession proof, turns out not so much.
I don't think I ever told you guys but my husband sold his FedEx route last July. It was a very good thing selling that business. Dave thought he was buying a business but turns out he was buying a job and a really crappy one at that. It paid quite well and it moved us to where we want to live but it sucked ASS! So he sold it.
He's been looking to buy a different business ever since. Nothing seemed to be a good fit. Finally, he found one that would work for us! It's a landscaping business that does amazingly well for itself and he wouldn't be in the sun killing himself with it. Strictly supervisory.
We applied for the SBA and after a month of telling us there's no way we wouldn't get it.... We didn't get it. We found out yesterday. They told us we didn't have enough collateral. What a bunch of bullshit! AND it seems like the collateral issue would be the second thing they'd check (after checking Dave's excellent credit rating) instead of dicking us around for a month.
So now we are in the position of having to dip into the sale-of-his-route money to live on.
I always tell people things will get better. I usually believe it whole-heartedly myself! And I guess I still do. I know that there's always light at the end of the tunnel but as of yesterday, our tunnel just got longer. Too long.
It's all very scary and nerve-wracking. Neither one of us have slept in weeks. The deal isn't completely quashed, there's other options but it seems like it's pretty much out of our reach now.
Sucks.
V is also for Verticordious. That was my word of the day yesterday, it means "turning the heart". I saw this over at kmkat's awhile back - it's 12 minutes and completely worth your time. I give you.....V is also for Video, Ruth!
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