It's Wednesday again?

Wow. That happened fast. Whew.

1. The craft show went pretty well. I needed to have made WAY more fingerless mitts, but if you were at the show and didn't snag a pair, please contact me to have a custom pair made. I enjoyed talking to folks who had seen me at the spring show--some remembered me! I was also irrationally excited to look out over the crowd and see the very nice guy who won the hat I donated to the raffle wearing it with pride. It was very cool.

photo courtesy of Kristina Miller

2. I know I'm behind the times, but I just started watching The Office on DVD, and I am COMPLETELY HOOKED. As you probably well know, it's hilarious (except when it's too awkward), and quite clever. I skipped season one (because Big Man had already watched it without me cause I thought I didn't like it), but just watched the first episode of season 3 last night. Also, I am completely in love with Jim Halpert, and, by extension, John Krasinski assuming he is anything like Jim in real life. If he is, and I ever meet him...well, Big Man may find himself in a bit of a competition.

3. Unfortunately, he isn't writing anymore, but this blog is amazing. He's a paramedic in Boston, and I found his accounts of calls and daily life fascinating. You should definitely check it out for an inside look into a life most of us never see.

4. The Santa Anas have apparently started blowing again, and the weather is being weird. The temperature hasn't changed so much (it's still "cold"), but it's gone from being grey and blustery during the day to beautiful and sunny...and blustery. I know, I should shut my piehole, considering I live in a place that rarely gets frost, much less 10-foot drifts of snow.

5. I haven't bought any yarn or spinning fiber in literally a MONTH. That is kind of ridiculous for me. I feel like I should treat myself somehow, but at the same time, I feel like I would rather just knit on something that's purely for pleasure, like my vest, or Seester's Starsky. This week, though, I haven't done a lick of knitting or spinning. Too busy drooling over John Krasinski.

Almost forgot the randomness!

Whew, that was a close one. I nearly forgot!



1. CRAFT SHOW THIS SUNDAY! Come see me with some wonderful goodies as well as 65 other vendors at the North Park Craft Mafia's Holiday Hit List this Sunday, Dec 7th, from 12N-6PM. Click the link for more info. Come on over--IT'S FREE!

2. Big Man and I started back to the gym this week. We've been getting up at 5AM to go before work. Yeah, it's not so fun, but I already feel better in general and about myself, and I know it'll be so worth it.

3. I'm going to take a hiatus for a couple of months from the business. I'll still have listings up, and will still accept custom orders and be happy to ship your purchases--I just won't be listing or creating new things. I need a little time to myself to get me and my life back in the order I want it (which is why we've begun at the gym again), and to just *relax*. I may design some new patterns, or I may not! I know for sure, though, I'll be knitting this vest for myself!

photo from Interweave Knits--see the linky above

4. You may or may not remember, but my lovely friend Susan of Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm and Hudson Valley Fiber Farm won the Intel Tech Makeover contest, and she's got all sorts of new goodies to help with the business, including a Lamb-Cam! It's not operational yet, but I can't wait for live feeds from the barn of adorableness! See Susan's Etsy shop for photos of the beautiful babies from this spring. I've met them in person, and man, they're even cute as teenagers!

5. I'll be going to Vegas in January for a quick weekend celebration with the Big Man. We'll be treating ourselves some--any suggestions for restaurants or shows? We've been plenty of times, and know quite a few good ones, but I would be happy to hear what you like!

Pictures! Of Scarves!

Top row, L to R: Souffle Scarves, colors Currant, Pumpkin, Ginger, and Strawberry Cream

Bottom row, L to R: Cobweb Scarves, colors Fern, Stream, Storm, and Heather

See? Scarves! I've had them knitted for some time, but only today did a marathon photo session. Both styles are knitted on large needles, creating an airy fabric that traps warm air against your skin to keep you warm, but doesn't weigh you down with pounds of fiber.

The Souffle Scarves are knitted of brushed suri alpaca blended with a little bamboo and merino. What's that mean, you say? Well, suri alpaca is the rarer, silkier type of alpaca, and brushed makes it fluffy. You know those flannel sheets you love for the winter? Those are brushed cotton. Imagine silky-soft alpaca brushed in the same manner, and highlighted with smooth bamboo and snuggly merino! They really are as luxurious as they sound.

The Cobweb Scarves are knit of lustrous kid mohair. Mohair comes from angora goats, and "kid" refers to the fineness of the fiber, not necessarily the age of the animal (though as in many species, the baby coats of the goats are finer than those of the adults, hence the term kid mohair). This mohair yarn feels as though it has silk in it, but is actually kid mohair with a touch of nylon and merino wool (mainly as stabilizing components to hold the mohair fluff). It is even finer and lighter than the alpaca scarves, and would work equally well in Dallas or Duluth!

Both of these scarf styles are available in other colors--just contact me for a custom order!

Other photos are hopefully forthcoming--we are actually beginning to have "winter" weather here in San Diego, meaning it's grey and cloudy and sometimes even raining! What this means for you (besides jealousy that our winter weather is still warm enough for jeans and a t-shirt during the day) is that good lighting for photo sessions is harder to come by. I'll try for shots of the Horizon Hats tomorrow!

It's "Friday"!

Except it's Wednesday, which is why this is a randomness post. But since I am fortunate enough to have the rest of the week off, it's Friday! Hurray!

1. While I wouldn't call it a Black Friday sale, as I can't slash prices but so much, I will be refunding 20% of the purchase total to anyone using the code "TOFURKEY" in the message to seller when they buy anything (except patterns) in my Etsy shop. This deal begins at 12:01AM PST Fri 11-28-08 and ends 11:59PM PST Sun 11-30-08. Anyone can use this code, but you have to write the code in the notes to seller in order to receive your refund. Pass on the word to friends and family! Don't you all need to buy some Christmas gifts? (hint hint)

2. On that note, I intend to list some lovely new things in the shop this weekend (hopefully Friday), including:

• the long-discussed mesh scarves knit from the world's softest kid mohair and suri alpaca
  
• a few more Horizon Hats
• possibly some new yarns
• some Delight mitts
• patterns for the Horizon hat and possibly the T-Shrug
  

3. I feel smart. Despite the fact that it's just Big Man and I for our Thanksgiving, I decided I wanted to do a big proper meal. I chose recipes (and had Big Man approve them), made up a full shopping list, did the shopping last night (forgetting only one item!), and will begin cooking tonight according to the schedule I've made up. We're having

• Honeyed Pecan & Pecorino Salad (with Parmesan instead, as I don't like sheep's milk cheeses)
• Pumpkin-Black Bean Soup with Cranberry Guacamole
• Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes
• vegetarian Sausage, Cranberry, & Apple Stuffing (but with all cornbread, cause it's better)
• Roasted Vegetable Cornucopias for the impressive dish

We're also having the el cheap-o brown and serve rolls because they're just so tasty. To top it all off, I'm making Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake and Caramel Bars. The Caramel Bars are Big Man's request--he will tolerate pumpkin, apple, and cranberry, but would rather have a big gooey pile of caramel any day. I'm wondering if my oven can handle it all...

4. Despite the fact that it's brilliantly sunny outside right now, last night (and hopefully tonight!) was cool and rainy. It was a wonderful change, and made waking up several times through last night ok, as I got to pet the cat and listen to the rain.

5. Having a wee car is not conducive to transporting a real tree home. While I will be visiting a tree lot for scraps so the house will smell good, we're bringing home this guy sometime in the next couple of weeks. My mom's Christmas present to us is to chip in on our buying ornaments and decorations, as we have none--the result of not having a Christmas of our own for 5 years now. After consultation with Big Man, we're leaning towards colors like this and silvers. Neither of us care for "traditional" Christmas colors, so bright and cheerful it is!

So...tired...

Well, it was lovely to see everyone. I'm very glad I went. I do, however, wish I had the Zack Morris tool for stopping time so I could've slept to my heart's content this weekend. By the time I arrived home last night around 11PM PST, I had slept approximately 90 minutes since 2AM PST that morning--that's approximately 21 hours awake, since the "sleep" was dozing on the plane. I was so tired I couldn't see straight, and felt like crying. Bless my sister for sending me home with her version of chocolate toffee cookies--they gave me the energy to do things like get off the plane and find my next gate. They are delicious, and you should try making them despite the apparent messiness involved.

Also, my frazzled brain completely forgot to take pictures of the wholesale yarns before they shipped out. I do have more roving in all the colorways, though, and will share those when I spin them. Sigh. I want a nap, and by nap I mean I want to go home and go to bed till tomorrow. Thank goodness it's a short week!

Oh, and I finished a few more pairs of mitts for the show and got approximately 7" of the back of Starsky knitted for the Seester. She seems to love it, and I'm happy with it. Needless to say, I did NOT knit anything on the way back, cause it would've had to be frogged due to mistakes, I'm sure.

Randomness

I remembered, I remembered! Cookies for me!

1. I'm going home this weekend (back east). I'm going to freeze--I think the highest high is 43, and the lowest low is 24. Yes, 24 degrees farenheit. I don't have a winter coat anymore, and mom and sis are both smaller than me, so not so good for borrowing. As it's for a whole 36 hours or so, I'm just going to test the warmth of my own knitting. I am, however, considering seeing if I can use superbulky yarn to knit a sweater on the plane.

2. I killed my computer. There was a "planned outage" in the wee hours of Sat/Sun (thanks SDGE), and I forgot to unplug the damn thing. Big Man and I are hoping it's just the "ignition" (not the computery term), but a computer tech-y friend says he thinks it's the motherboard. However, said computer friend has a days old baby in the house, so I'm gonna forgive him for not inspecting it in person! Big Man is going to get the ignition and install it, and I'm crossing my fingers for it to be operational by the time I get back Sunday. I am ever so thankful that Big Man has a laptop through work, and that we have a wireless router. I am, sadly, completely dependent on the internet.

3. I am currently writing and posting patterns as fast as I can translate them from the chickenscratch in my pattern journal. So far, it's just the Delight mitts and the Pocket Scarf, but I'm hurrying. I plan to add the Horizon hat soon, as well as the T-Shrug and the Practical Wrap. I'm listing them on both Ravelry and Etsy, so look me up!

4. I am officially open for wholesale business with some of my handspun yarns. Feel free to contact me for a price list and terms!

5. I know I stink because there hasn't been a fibery post in some time. Well, not one with pictures, which is what counts. However, I am sending out a little wholesale order of my Squish thread-plied yarns before I leave Friday, and will snap some pictures (even if they're shot in the cruddy fluorescent light of my kitchen) before I wrap them up. That said, there will be nothing this weekend, because I'll be whirling my way to the east coast and back--but hopefully I'll get some good stuff knitted while I'm gone!

Wednesday Randomness

For the last, oh, 7 or 8 weeks, I've intended to do a Wednesday post about a few random things. Well, you know what they say about good intentions...oh. You don't? Well, they say the road to hell is paved with them. I would think, though, that if there were a road to hell, people would know about it and avoid it.

1. Using a leaf blower to push excess water out of the pathway is ridiculous. I'm looking at you, landscaper at Big Man's office.

2. There are an increasingly large number of people running the red light at the main intersection on my walk to work. It's rather amazing really. I have to admit, I enjoy (when there is not danger to my life and limbs) beginning my walk out into the intersection and making them wait and feel silly.

3. On a related note, on the drive into work a few weeks ago, we saw a guy smoking pot out of a "pipe" made from an aluminum can. This is unhealthy--you know, in case you weren't sure. Also, it is bad to do it while driving, as this fool was. Consider this a public service announcement--don't smoke pot out of an aluminum can while driving, m'kaaaaay?

4. It is supposed to reach temperatures near 80 again this week. That is just wrong, Mother Nature. I know I live in San Diego, but really? It's going on Thanksgiving. Stop with the hot.

5. I'm doing a craft show in a few weeks! It's the North Park Craft Mafia's Holiday Hit List, and it's Sunday Dec 7th. Click here for more info! I'm going to bring plenty of handspun yarn, of course, but also loads of accessories like scarves, mitts, hats, neckwarmers, and cuffs. I think more people will buy accessories for quick Christmas gifts than they would yarn, don't you?

Another kitty update (pictures!)

I found Ms Tortie (now named Henna) on Petfinder (through the SPCA shelter). Check out her listing, and her adorable mug!

Isn't she GORGEOUS?!? Look at those green eyes.

I think she's saying "take me home! I'm out of my annoying teen years, and I'd be an excellent cat for someone who doesn't want tooooo much energy in their kitty, and who would enjoy chilling with me on the couch watching movies!"

Won't you consider giving this adorable, small, sweet, quiet kitty a loving home? She'd do best in homes with older children or no children, and would be a wonderful companion. She's only about a year old, so you would get to enjoy many lovely years with her.




I must say the quiet thing is high on my list right now--my little jerk...erm, cat started waking me up at 3:30 this morning. Why yes, I will be napping this afternoon.

Even if it's Mickey Mouse...

Go cast your vote. It doesn't matter who you're voting for, just go do eet! I'm out the door right now myself to go wait in the rain (yes Virginia, there is rain in San Diego) for my crack at the ballot. This is the third presidential election I'm old enough for. It's still amazing to me that I get a say in who runs not only my local school board, but in who becomes one of the most powerful politicians in the world. Wow.

See--pictures!

I promised you pictures, and here they are. These are some more FunkYarns I spun last weekend (I think), as well as a pair of Squish thread-plied merinos. As usual, FunkYarn batts were made by Hobbledehoy, and the merino was dyed by FatCatKnits. There are more after these, so keep scrolling!

I was thinking Mind Eraser for this one--it's a shooter drink made of Rumpleminze mint schnapps, Jaegermeister, and 151. It seemed appropriate. And no, the drink isn't *quite* as bad as you think.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Any suggestions for names?

Earth Wind and Sky--longer than normal, and not *quite* the name of the band, but...

Sheena is.... (a punk rocker)

I'm thinking about keeping this one, ostensibly to knit up an example of a pattern to show LYSs when I convince them to buy my yarn. Plus, I just really like it.

Sunshine of Your Love?

I already did one called Twilight--what should this colorway be called?

Here's a first for me--my first corespun! It's done out of the September installment of the FatCatKnits monthly merino club, and I looooove it. I only used 2oz of the wool in this, and can't quite decide if I want to do another 2oz of corespun (which means I need to buy more core thread), or if I want to do an equivalent weight of another type of yarn so they can be used together in the same project for visual texture. There are also 1/2oz of matching dyed locks to use somewhere too. Then, too, there's the question of if I'm keeping it or if I can bear to part with it :).

I decided to call it Lily Pond. Ginny, I won't mind if you make this a regular offering!

It is by far the softest and loftiest yarn I've ever made. I really enjoy corespinning, and if I can figure out a way to do it without doing all the prep of the fiber, I will do it all the time. After the prep, I think it's even faster than regular spinning, plus you're only running the fiber through the wheel once, saving time that way too.

We also watched Frida tonight. It was EXCELLENT. The movie was beautiful, in scenery and cinematography, and the story very well told. Salma Hayek was, of course, fabulous and sexy, and the other actors were terribly intriguing. You should go rent it if you haven't already.

brain is mush.

I have just spent several hours compiling a list of yarn shops to whom I can mail a promotional postcard. I have 249 shops right now, and 250 postcards. I think I'm stopping for the evening. My eyes are bleary, my shoulders sore, my elbows angry (leaning on the desk), and I can't think straight anymore. I also spent a little while making some photos pretty so I can post them for you tomorrow. They're yarn, of course. On the plus side, the monkeybutt (aka cat) has been sleeping in her bed on the table next to me, and has been quite adorable (she even snored) the entire time, making it a bit nicer.

Also, I have been meaning for several weeks to begin a random Wednesday entry tradition. Perhaps a list of things I see on my walk to work, or various things I'm thinking about, or who knows what. However, I have forgotten every. single. Wednesday. for about 6 weeks now. I even try to remember and just do it on Thursday to no avail. I can't imagine what my brain/memory will be like when I'm 40 or more if it's this bad at 28!

Pictures tomorrow, I promise. Oh, and Seester--I did a swatch for your Starsky, and I think it's nearly perfect. I'll begin on it sometime...possibly after the craft show.

Mr B&W

Well, I again can't say just what I'm thinking. But the very nice lady at the shelter told me they euthanized Mr B&W for being "deemed unsocial in the behavior evaluation". I do not understand it, and I am very sad and angry. Fill in your favorite cursewords--I can suggest some if you need help, as well as share some tears.

I'm not angry at the shelter, just the situation. I know he was a sweet boy. Well, if you'd like to adopt Ms Tortie, here's the info again:

She is sweet as sugar, and animal number 33104 if you want to head over and drop the $75 for the adoption fees and take home this adorable munchkin. Seriously, she was the quietest, sweetest, calmest kitty I've ever had in a carrier, and a head-butting fiend before I put her in. Give the North County Humane Society & SPCA shelter at 760-757-4357 and ask about animal 33104.

Kitty update

I called just now on the shelter kitties, and Ms Tortie is only about a year old and doing well and ready for adoption She is sweet as sugar, and animal number 33104 if you want to head over and drop the $75 for the adoption fees and take home this adorable munchkin. Seriously, she was the quietest, sweetest, calmest kitty I've ever had in a carrier, and a head-butting fiend before I put her in. Give the North County Humane Society & SPCA shelter at 760-757-4357 and ask about animal 33104. They've given her a name now, but I can't remember it. Something-ee, I think--maybe Callie?

Mr B&W, however, has been euthanized. The very kind lady on the phone said there wasn't a reason marked in the computer, but the vet was at the shelter today, and the nice lady will be calling me back with more info. The shelter only euthanizes for illness or aggression. Now, I'm hoping that the foolishness I was told earlier in the week about "not being able to get near them" is not the reason. I will be angry if it is. He was a little antsy in the carrier, but sweet sweet sweet overall, and even friendly in the carrier, just scared. They marked him as a kitten, age unknown.
He was scruffy enough when I snagged him that I thought he was middle-aged, maybe with some kidney disease--certainly didn't think he was a kitten. Now, I'm not hoping that the shelter (and any loose animals at my complex) were exposed to an FIV or FeLeuk kitty, but I wonder if maybe that accounted for his scruffiness.

If the nice shelter lady hasn't called me back by 4:30, I'll call her again. When I find out what happened, I'll tell you here as an edit in this post.

What a long, strange weekend it's been...

There's no particular reason for it, but this weekend has seemed very surreal, almost like it didn't happen. Nothing special occurred, and nothing weird happened. But it was just a very very odd feeling weekend. I'd like a do-over please.

I took an impromptu nap today, as I was quite tired. It probably ranks as the worst nap ever, because I was dreaming about being so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open as I was napping. It stunk.

I did get some spinning done, though--6 more FunkYarns, and a couple of thread plied merinos. I'll have pictures after Tuesday, I think--I'll have the car that day, and can snap some photos at work on my break. I think I may try to go corespin the September installment of the FatCatKnit's 4oz merino monthly fiber club. I'm a bit behind, as October's installment is staring at me, begging to be a supercoil yarn.

CAT UPDATE
I've been trying to call for an update on the kitties. However, the last few times I've called, I've been transferred to the shelter's message system, and my calls haven't been returned. I don't fault them for this--I'd rather they helped the critters than return my calls. However, this means I have no further info for you, other than the kitties became available for adoption as of the 23rd. If you're interested, or perhaps would like some more information, please call the North County Humane Society & SPCA shelter at 760-757-4357 and ask about animals 33104 and 33105. Oh, and let me know what you find out!

What a day...

Whew! Well, the Seester is gone--we had a lovely time, and now she unfortunately has to sit on four different flights to get back across the country. That's the price you pay for wanting to fly a specific day and using the fewest number of frequent flier miles possible to pay for the ticket.

However, we had quite the day yesterday. I took off work, and we had no particular plans other than to run a few errands (take the cat for a dental, get some passport photos taken, minor things). Well, as it turns out, the [foul names redacted for those readers who would be offended] who lived down the way were evicted on Weds or Thurs, and abandoned their two cats. Yes, that's right, simply moved out and left them there. Maintenance shooed them outside before closing down the apartment to fumigate, so these kitties were outside with no obvious source of food or water for at least 24 hours by the time I saw them Fri morning (thankfully, the weather wasn't too cold or too hot). As Big Man and I took our monkey to the car so I could drop her off for her dental, the black and white kitty (Mr B&W) came trotting up to us mewling pitifully. I had to leave, but resolved to get some cat food on my way back.

Upon my return, I stood at the porch and opened the bag of cat food, and Mr B&W trotted right over (he had been laying on a pile of rags on the porch), and his buddy Ms Tortie came running from behind some AC units where she was hiding. Since I didn't know what shelter I'd be able to take them to yet (they weren't open), I poured some bowlsful of food and water, and went home. They were very excited to have access to food and water again, and were headbutting me and purring and rubbing on my legs as I was pouring.

Once we determined which shelter served my area, I called and chatted with the wonderful staff. They do not euthanize for space reasons, and I could call and check on the kitties any time. If the kitties were being considered for euthaniasia for ANY reason, the shelter would call me before anything happened. Nerves settled, the Seester and I went to buy some cardboard carriers (which are surprisingly expensive!), and set out to catch the cats.

Not surprisingly, the little darlings were happy to let us pick them up, and only slightly less happy to be put in the carriers. They are absolute dolls, and I cannot begin to comprehend how someone could do that to an animal, much less animals as sweet as these little guys. The shelter suggested that, should I see any of the owners around, I should tell them to come to the shelter and sign the cats over so they could be adopted out faster. However, I'm no so sure I could say anything so civil to these people now, nor am I sure I should say anything so civil. I'm remaining polite here, but be assured my blood has boiled and I have cried like a baby and generally want to hurt these....people. Even sadder, the woman turning over a cat at the window next to us was going through the same thing--her neighbor moved, and took one cat and left the other behind.

I'll keep you guys updated as best I can on how the little guys are doing. I would have kept them, but Big Man and I didn't think that would be fair to our monkey given that she's been Queen #1 for going on 8 years now, and she's nearly 16. But otherwise...you would be seeing pictures of my new adorable kitties.

If you live anywhere near me, and would be interested in either of these low-key, sweet as sugar, adorable cats, please contact North County Humane Society at 760-757-4357, and inquire about animals 33104 and 33105. They are both approximately 8-9lbs each, and seem to be in relatively good health. Ms Tortie is very quiet and a little shy, but very loving, and Mr B&W (I think he's a neutered male) is more talkative and a bit more outgoing. Both seem to be quite laidback and are at ease with being handled, even by strangers.
They are on a 6 day waiting period right now so the...people who owned them previously have a chance to "find" them. However, they'll be available for adoption immediately after that, and you may even able to place a hold on them now, should you care to do so.

The Seester

She's here! I just dropped her off at the house--she's going to nap while I go back to work, and then we're going for amazing pizza later. We're not doing anything special (unless you count a Jimmy Buffett concert!) and it should be lovely. Don't think for a minute, though, that this means I won't be doing fibery stuff--in fact, I've promised her a Starsky (she's paying for the yarn--how could I resist?), and I'm also making her a little cropped cardigan. She works in DC, and I think of it as free advertising (and, you know, she's my sister). Um, not all while she's here, of course--she has to approve the Starsky yarn first, plus I'm not that fast!

Here's a picture from the last time she visited, two years ago...

Hurray, my first game of tag! Charlene, jewelry designer extraordinaire, has tagged me in this particular game.

Here be the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

While I don't know if I know seven people to tag, I'll follow the rest of the rules to a T.

1. I cannot wait for the day when I no longer have to go to work. I don't mind hard work; I just don't want to do it for someone else!
2. When I was wee, I liked dipping graham crackers in red kool-aid. It's not as good now, but I don't know if it's me or the kool-aid.
3. Even though I know it hasn't changed, and won't ever change, I check the packages of mellowcreme pumpkins every year at Halloween to see if they stopped using gelatin in them yet. Sometimes I check them twice in the same season.


4. I love learning, but dislike going to school. After being in school for 20 of my 28 years, I am absolutely sworn off ever going back to school. However, I may make an exception for Yarn School.
5. Despite it happening every year, I get agitated when I can't wear proper autumn clothing in the autumn here in San Diego. I should be able to wear sweaters in October, fer pete's sake! For the last few days, it's been over 80 degrees. That's just not right.
6. I want to live in a zillion different places, including (but not limited to) Seattle, London, Australia, Belize, Italy...and yet, I like the idea of settling down somewhere for the rest of my days. Sometimes.
7. I secretly worry that if I ever have my own fiber studio (whether it's a big room in my house or a separate "playhouse" out back), I'll never come out again, particularly if someone brings me delicious baked goods so I don't have to go into the kitchen!

Let's see, who should I tag...

• Liz, maker of amazing batts and wonderfully wacky yarns at Hobbledehoy

• Susan, shepherdess and all-around awesome gal at Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm

• Velma, amazing spinner and funny gal at COLORBOMB Creations

• Kyra, maker of excellent spinner's accessories including brilliant lazy kates at Chiwawa

• Becky, dyer of beautiful roving and maker of ingenious spindle boxes at Middle Kingdom Fiber

• Abby, dyer and spinner of glorious yarns filled with imagination at Folktale Fibers

• the ever-funny and witty SaintGothric--I'm sure you can find her on LSG too!

Tag, you're it!

Terrible beauty

While I'm fairly certain (which is only somewhat, as there's never any way of knowing for sure) that we won't be in any danger here, there are some folks catching hell on earth a few miles north of me.



I just took these while standing in my apartment complex parking lot. They're not retouched in any way, and were shot with approximately a 1.6 second exposure.

I'm told by newspaper websites that the fire is completely on Camp Pendleton, which is 6 miles north of me as the fire burns. However, while I admit I'm no expert on estimating distances, this seems awfully close--perhaps my judgement is just aggravated by fear of the unknown and anxiety. Be assured, the breeze was blowing steadily against my back as I took these--if it holds steady, good news for those of us in my town, bad news for folks in places north of me. A wonderful man is detailing things over at his blog, so please check it out for more info than you can find on either the San Diego Union-Tribune or the North County Times websites.

I've been busy...

See?

Superwash merino, 8oz

FatCatKnits, colorway Sentinel

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Malibu

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Modesty

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Rocket

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Blossom

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Frenzy

Superwash merino, 8oz
FatCatKnits, colorway Atoll

merino, humane angora, soysilk, sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

merino, bamboo, sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

merino, organic cotton, lemon sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

merino, flax, recycled denim, sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

merino, camel down, sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

merino, alpaca, soysilk, sparkle, 3oz
Hobbledehoy

These should be in the shop soon (like this week and next, just not all at once!), so keep an eye out!

A personal best

You may have noticed from reading this blog that I'm a bit of a dork. No, it's true, it's true. I know it seems hard to believe, but there it is.

One thing that proves my dorkiness is that at which I've bested myself tonight. I enjoy watching movies while I spin or knit--not so dorky or unusual. What is dorky (and possibly unusual) is that I like to play a degrees of separation game when I do it: if Actor A is in Movie X, and in Movie Y, then I watch Movie Y after Movie X to keep it continuous. Sure, Movie Z is good too, but Actor J is in it, not Actor A, so it's not next in line. (See, I told you.)

Well, I achieved a new high at this game tonight. I matched movies that share FOUR of the same actors!! Yes, I know, it's rather amazing. In this game, Nanny McPhee and Love Actually are sort of like being able to spell quizzicality in Scrabble. Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Thomas Sangster, and Adam Godley are all in both movies. I felt like a bit of a genius when I realized it, especially since this isn't necessarily a case of a director liking to use the same actors in all his films (Quentin Tarantino, anyone?).
(As a side note, I began the game earlier in the day with A Midsummer Night's Dream/Rupert Everett, and then progressed to The Importance of Being Earnest/Colin Firth, which led me to Nanny McPhee, etc.)

CAUTION: dorkiness alert!!
From here, I could go in several directions: Calendar Girls/Celia Imrie, which is a bit of a dead end given my movie collection; Pirates of the Caribbean/Keira Knightley/Bill Nighy, which would last ages, as we have all three movies; Batman Begins/Liam Neeson, except we obviously don't have The Dark Knight yet and I like to watch series of things; Dogma/Galaxy Quest/Alan Rickman (don't have Sweeney Todd yet) or Tombstone/Bandits/Bad Santa/Billy Bob Thornton, but those would kill the British vibe...you can see that I have many choices. It's a rough life, but I muddle though somehow.
END dorkiness

Also, as you may have noticed, I'm on a bit of a British movie kick right now. I would be thrilled to move to England immediately, however unlikely that is. Short of that, can you recommend some more good British films? Nothing too sad, please--I don't like crying into my wool.

(and I apologize for all the linkages--I just like to keep my readers informed--all two of them!)

Coming soon...

To an Etsy shop near you! (aka, my shop):

• loads of new FunkYarns - I got a huge wonderful shipment from Liz, and am spinning them up as we...ok, not as we speak, but that's what's on my wheel right now! Current FunkYarns may be seen here, here, and here
• luxurious mesh scarves, some knit of soft-as-clouds brushed suri alpaca and some of light-as-a-feather and smooth-as-silk kid mohair, in all the best colors for the season--sweet potato, ginger root, ethereal teal, claret red, misty green, and more...
• loads of superwash yarns, as I realized I have more superwash wool right now than I know what to do with! Look for big 8oz two plies and possibly some thread plied like these
• assuming I finish those mesh scarves quickly, there will also be plenty of fingerless mitts and Horizon hats in all sorts of color combos (I'm happy to take requests!)
• and this yarn, once I get in gear and list it:

you should definitely click to huge-ify the picture...

That's Ginny's handdyed 60/40 merino/bamboo right there, and it's astoundingly soft and silky and squishy and shiny and all those other "s" words that describe a big 7oz pile of wonderful. Although, candystripe starts with a "c", and that describes this yarn too...hmmm.

Of course, I have to decide to actually list it. You see, I am rather in love with this yarn, and may not be able to part with it...


oh, and a picture of the dang cat, since you haven't had one lately:

Lions, but no tigers or bears...

I know I haven't posted lately--for this, I do apologize. But there's some good stuff coming up, starting with today's post.

Last weekend Big Man and I went to theWild Animal Park, or WAP as we affectionately call it. We're members, so though we pay an annual fee, we pay nothing to get in and parking is free--a pretty sweet deal since we live about 30 minutes from the park.

We often go first thing on a weekend morning to avoid the crowds. Since we can come back any time, we often only do one or two things and leave before it's gets packed. This visit was spent at Lion Camp and taking the train ride.

Big Man looooves taking pictures, and really likes the fact that Lion Camp often allows him to get such great shots. As we walked up, we thought they had added a recording of a lion roaring to the exhibit. Nope, it was the young male showing off! He sounded amazing, and hung around doing feline-type things. He's about 2 years old, and I can't remember his name, of course. He was enjoying some time to himself in the exhibit. He kept roaring, but never did it anytime we were close enough to shoot a video. It's an amazing sound, and one that you can hear for quite some distance. BTW, if you ever get the chance, we also highly recommend doing the Roar and Snore sleepover at the WAP - it's so cool, even for jaded visitors like us!

Isn't he gorgeous!

pawing at the ground--perhaps something moved?

I think this is actually a method of smelling something better. Complete hypothesis, but given his other actions, it seemed similar to a flehmen response.

Scratching away

Either smelling something or the end of a meow. I just thought it was funny.

eating the grass

chilling on his Land Rover (it's part of the exhibit)

And, if you can stand a few more pictures, here's some non-lion photos! The first is one of my favorite critters--though I have no particular reason for them to be a favorite--red river hogs! The second is for the Seester--she loves these guys :)

I'm pretty sure this is one of the babies from this spring. Bebeh red river hogs are cuter than almost anything, and that includes kittens.

They sit like this all. the. time. (It's a ring-tailed lemur, in case you were wondering)

It's that time again!

Baby shower! I'm attending one next weekend for a good friend (who I'm 99% certain doesn't read this blog!), and I've been knitting my hands off to get ready for it. (This is the reason there haven't been too many yarns to post...that, and I'm still working on the dang merino/bamboo from last post!)

I dug into my stash, and found the Valley Yarns Superwash worsted weight wool I bought in every available shade of purple and pink. I have no real idea why I bought them originally, but it turns out that they were perfect for this project (with the exception of the hot pink and the light maroon--they just didn't fit in). I had an extra ball of the grape juice purple, so I decided the hat and the trim of the jacket would be made of that, and the rest would stripe. The hat is just a basic hat recipe with a ruffle thrown in on the edge (and some k2tog/yo eyelets). For the jacket, I used a modified version of a pattern from the Knitting Pattern-A-Day calendar and US7 needles. Boy, did it take longer than I expected, but I'm pretty happy with it.

It's not as bulbous as the picture makes it look. The cord is actually a 4 strand braid because I-cord in more than one color was too thick for the eyelets.

I have used snaps in the past for baby jackets, but I think I'll go to the store and get a lovely pink zipper. Wish me luck--I've never done a zipper before!

Don't you love how stripes make things look much more impressive? :)
I have no idea what size they are. I'm not that familiar with kids' clothing. I can tell it's bigger than newborn, because newborns are minuscule. I guess I'll just say I made it to fit her this winter "sometime" since she's being born in October. That should cover the bases, right?

For my fellow language nerds...

As seen in a Ravatar:

ENGLISH: a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages, and rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.

It gave me a laugh; hopefully you enjoy it too!

I'm a lying, cheating, no good...

I lied: no blog post on the weekend, but you're getting a good one today! Please forgive me.

I cheated: I generally get 98% of my roving from Ginny of FatCatKnits. However, I cheated and got some Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino after hearing so many lovely things about it on Ravelry. It arrived today--these are Wild Horses, She's Like a Rainbow, and Crocodile Walk (l to r). I'm excited to spin these bad boys up!
But it'll have to wait till I finish this roving of Ginny's:

It's 60/40 merino/bamboo in Summer Garden. I'm really enjoying this blend (heck, I'm even happy spinning it fine, which says something coming from me!), and urge everyone to check it out. Ginny creates excellent colorways, and is always happy to take on custom orders.

I cheated again: I have *always* gotten my cold process Etsy soap from Hiromi of (you guessed it) Soap. But I was drawn in by the basil scent from Southern Vermont Soap and got a sampler pack from her.
They all smell amazing (though honestly, I don't know if I'll get a bigger piece of the basil--it smells *exactly* like basil, and I don't think Big Man, who doesn't like basil, could handle it!) and are generous enough to be mini-bars, not samples. To be fair, I also have some soap samples of some of Hiromi's new scents coming with my latest order of deodorant from her!

I'm no good: I participated in a swap on the Novelty and Art Yarn Spinners forum on Ravelry, in which we each sent packages to another person containing a picture of something, 3 words to spin by, and 5 things to incorporate into the finished yarn. I received my package with the following components:

and turned them into this:Note the piggy isn't in the yarn. I couldn't begin to imagine how to use him, so he's in there in spirit: notice the yarn is an overtwisted single, with curlicues like a pig's tail. (Brilliant, aren't I?)

I'm no good about this because we were supposed to post our finished yarns by the end of August. I finished this a few weeks ago, and haven't posted it yet. I'm a jerk.

I have so many fibery things I want to work on right now, including this cap with this handspun from AliceofKansas (for me!), a baby shower gift (coming up fast, eek!), some mesh scarves for the shop out of the softest kid mohair and brushed suri alpaca you could imagine, a lace shawl kit to develop (more on that later!), and a secret project involving things like this: