Oh yeah, one more thing...

I've decided that I shouldn't care how many WIPs I have at one time, as long as I am enjoying myself. I mean, an FO feels really good and people recognize it and compliment, blah blah blah...but that's not what this is about in the end. It is about sanity.

Sweet, elusive, sani-tay.

So, I started another project last night. A giant granny square blanket for my grandma. :)

New Resolve

((FYI--this is a repost of a blog I wrote on myspace))

Well, my promise to write something (anything) every day has turned out to be relatively successful. Although, I have skipped a few days here and there, I have pretty much stuck to it. I think it also helps to be kind to myself when I don't find the time to write.

Be kind to yourself!

But, this little experiment has got me thinking. There are a few other things I'd like to work on as well. So, here are my new "everyday" promises to myself.

1. Write something (continuing on)
2. Do some yoga (even if I only get into balasana for 30 seconds, IT COUNTS).
3. Walking meditation (this one's for you, Max)...Matilda can join me. She'll like the time outside.
4. Read something

Now, this might seem like a lot...and it is...but keep in mind that there is no minimum on these and if I don't do it at all one day, I have vowed not to tear out my heart in self-disgust. The whole point here is to LOVE myself so that I can feel peace and love for others. Lately, I've been struggling with that as images of the disgusting things we humans do to one another have been flashing in my head. Indeed, I have wished for some terrible things to happen and I don't like it. Anger is a form of unhappiness...a form of suffering...both for me and those I feel it towards.

Yeah...I get sort of spacey sometimes...lol

Twisting Wool

I have some FOs.

The first is the result of my first time navajo plying. I came out with two mini skeins of about 50 yards each. I have a lot of this roving left over, but I wanted to work on more exciting spindling projects. :) Still, I love this stuff.


The second is a Superwash Merino, Ingeo, Lincoln, and Firestar blend from Dragoncraft. I got this fiber as a freebie with my Dragoncraft spindle (the pretty orange one--eep). I was pleasantly surprised by how much fiber I was given for free! I managed to get 120 yards out of it as a singles, which is how I'm keeping it. It was a different experience spinning with this roving because it sort of lended itself to being kind of unpredictable. There were little bumps and clumps here and there and it really added to the organic feeling of the roving. Plus, there were sparklies in it. Gotta love the sparklies!


I also have a picture of my new spindling Wip:


It's handpainted BFL from this shop.

I'm having a great time with the spinning lately. I might even like it more than knitting at the moment. However, I will happily tell you that I think I have the knitting mojo back! I picked up a pair of socks I started working on a while ago. They are Just a pair of toe-up socks that I’m working on. I started with a linen stitch toe and am planning a simple stockinette foot and leg with scattered purl rows. I’m planning on arranging them randomly…just whenever I feel like purling. :)


I haven't knit a pair of socks since FOREVER ago. I forgot how much fun/addictive they can be!

Yay for knitting!

What's Up?

Last night, Max had a brilliant idea to make root beer floats. I must say, my first reaction was along the lines of "Whaaaaaaat." I'm so glad we did. Yummy, yummy. However, I now have around 7 cans of root beer to drink. :/ So much for healthy! But really, we hardly ever drink anything carbonated. So, one week full of root beer shouldn't kill us, especially since we don't eat the fast food (despite my affections for it).

While I'm on the subject of food, I'll share some:


This was so freakin' good. It's japanese eggplant (nasu-the skinny eggplant), maitake (mushroom), and kale (leafy veggie like spinich only it might be even better!). I sauteed the ingredients in olive oil with a bit of sea salt and cracked black pepper. It was one of those experimental dishes that turned out to be wonderful. Just thinking of it makes me hungry. Luckily, I have enough left over veggies to make more. This dish will be made again this week, I'm sure. :)

I've been spinning a lot lately. I have a new spindling FO to show the blogosphere, but I don't have it washed or photographed yet. I've started a new spindling project that I will also show once it is photographed. I've been lazy with the photos lately. :/

Today, my goal is to fix the neckline on my cosplay dress. I'm pretty ticked that this has turned out to be such a hassle when I used a pattern. I mean, it isn't that difficult, but if I wanted to do all of this work, I would have just drafted the pattern myself. :/ At any rate, this cosplay might not happen as it is because I have a feeling my wig won't arrive in time for Saturday's festivities. Oh yeah, if all goes well, I will be cosplaying Emily the Strange on Saturday at Wizard World. I needed an exuse to cosplay her and since she has her own comic book and is kind of a so-called "counter" culture icon I figured Wizard World would be as good a place as any. :) Buuuuut, there is still a huge chance that it won't happen. The stars might not align for me. :/ Keep your fingers crossed!

A Few Things

Wednesday night I went to a writers' meetup in Naperville. I don't know how I feel about it, actually. I'm pretty sure I'll attend a few more meetings, but I'm really not sure if the whole writers' group thing is right for me...right now.

I finally ripped my Icarus Shawl...and I actually decided that it was hopeless to try to just go back to where I tore it up in the first place and pick up the stitches...after a good half hour of trying... So, I'm starting it all over again. :( Maybe tonight. Hopefully tonight, but maybe not. It all depends on when I am able to finally GET OVER IT. lol

I did finish a little mitt I've been working on, though, of my own design:


I may eventually publish a pattern for these, once I figure out how to explain the pick-up technique I used to create the gathered look. I don't begin to know how at the moment. Hopefully, I will make another soon because I look kind of funny walking around with one mitt on... These were Lolita inspired and the one mitt I have at the moment lives up to my expectations of what I wanted the pair to look like. :) Not everything has to end in disaster.

Speaking of disasters, I don't know if I mentioned this in a previous post or not, but I have been working on a dress that is part of a costume. I used a store-bought pattern and cut out the appropriate pieces according to their specified bust measurements. Then, I took the next step and started sewing. The thing is huge. I'm a 34 bust, which is the size I thought I was using, and this thing looked huge enough for 44 inch bust. No joke. How does 44 translate to 34? Beats me. So, I have had to take it in from just about every angle to make it fit SOMEWHAT satisfactorily. Can we say "Ugh?" It's still a little bit odd looking in places, but it will suit my needs. I am going to modify the neckline all the way around because it now looks funny with all my necessary alterations on the body, armholes, shoulders, what have you. I considered changing it to begin with anyway...just because I wanted the neckline to be slightly lower and more curved...so, I'm not really upset or put off by having no choice but to do it now. I'm also skipping the interfacing. I hate that stuff and It isn't really necessary for me. I'll just hem it all up (maybe a rolled hem?) around the neckline and it will look just as good as my past attempts at interfacing...really. lol

Well, I need to cut this short (short? haha, that's funny) because I am quite busy at the moment. I have about 7 loads of laundry to do because we haven't had quarters for the machines and I kept forgetting to get some. Oh, and I hate laundry and wait until the last possible moment to throw in a load. I might be a housewife, but I'm not good at chores. lol That's why housewives love having children, maybe. Don't worry, mom, that's probably a long way off. ;)

"A Lot Goes On"

Well, friends, I'm back so to speak. I haven't been doing much knitting, but at least I am feeling things calm down. Soon the universe will line up the way I like it and I can feel good about knitting, spinning, and tea drinking again.

Well, the tea drinking always felt good. Right now my obsession is Ume Konbucha, which is a powdered tea made from kelp, umeboshi, and salt. It's not an everyday kind of tea, but kind of fun to share with friends as it is a bit of a shock to the tastebuds. For most people "salty" and "tea" don't mix, that's all. :) Supposedly, it's good for you...seaweed and all...

I've been a bit adventurous with my spinning as well, which means I've tried a new technique. Navajo plying. It was one of those things that I couldn't figure out when I was thinking about it, but once I just said "screw it" and gave it a try, I immediately understood. It's not anywhere near perfect I'm sure, but here is the result of my first attempt:


That's only about 42 yards. I have a singles left over that will probably create about the same length of navajo plied yarn, plus roving that I never got around to spinning up. I will eventually.

I got a new spindle:


oooh, purty...

And no, I haven't been knitting very much at all lately. I ripped back my mother's shirt and have been trying to focus on it. However, instead of working on it (which I realized I hated doing) I didn't work on anything at all, not even other projects. I still need to rip back my Icarus to the place where it snagged and ripped about 10 rows down. That is my knitting goal for this week. Ripping Icarus. Poor Icarus, always facing certain doom. My hero.

Also, a little birdie told me (that's you, Captain!) that there will be a World Wide Knit in Public Day event in Chicago this Saturday. I had no idea there was such a thing and I will not be able to resist! This is my real motivation for ripping the Icarus. I really want to be able to work on it on Saturday! It's quite an easy pattern and I'll be able to "socialize" (hah!) while not screwing it all up. lol. I'm going to try to sucker some of my "non-knitting-but-with-a-desire-to-learn" friends into coming too. There might be Rum??

Speaking of ripping, we ripped out our carpet and now have nice wood-lookin' laminate flooring. Already, the air feels much cleaner. Today, I have to put everything back in it's place. Just looking at my progress so far, I can see that this will take a lifetime. Ugh, and I have to clean in the process. But all is well, because I have snazzy new floors and a smile on my face!

It's not only the floors that has me smiling. Someone got accepted into a master's program!!!! I can't wait to register for my first classes (July 23 is registration, I believe), although paying for them will be interesting. Soon, I will be well on my way to a dazzling career in Library and Information Science! Woot! My goal is to work with rare collections, possibly/preferably in a museum. Sigh...that would be heaven...

Falling Apart

I tend to do that from time to time. I hope things turn around before life gets the best of me!!

Peace and love and all that good stuff. :)