29 September 2006

Sock-ret Pal Questionaire!

The basics:

How long have you been knitting?
Two years. Crocheting for three years continuously- but my Grammy taught me to crochet decades ago. I just took a break from it and started coming back to craftiness a few years ago.

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep?
I’m an... advanced beginner? I had my trial by fire this summer in socks. My blog follows my progression. I went from swearing I’d never make a sock “I could buy one cheaper- It would take too long- No patience- tiny needles” I had every excuse. Then, I got roped into the trek-along-knit along by a friend and spent three months creating a toe up, thigh high socks as my very first pair. Now, I’m mildly sock obsessed.


The measurements:

While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. Because this information is potentially traumatic, I’m going to preface it with. I’m sorry. I’m 6’2” tall. My feets, are not wee. *takes deep breath* My shoe size is. *ahem* 11.5 (us) I bet you can now see why I <3>

(fiber related) Favorites:

What colors do you love?
Pinks, oranges, Blues, purples, cranberry reds, jewel tones?

Do you prefer solids or variegated?
Depends on which works best with the pattern, generally I prefer my variations to be subtle unless youre dealing in self-patterning/ striping yarns.

What fibers do you most love to knit with?
Targhee! (that’s
Montana pride right there), Alpaca, wool, merino.

Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendors?
Mountain colors, trekking and Lisa Souza. I'm also beginning to be a big fan of KnitPicks (I’m not opposed, but have not yet used some of the more common brands like Regia- its actually on my ‘to-do’ list)

What projects do you most enjoy knitting?
Gloves and arm warmers. I’ve got a laundry list of things to make for others, then I get to start on a couple of sweaters for myself.

(fiber related) Dislikes:

What fibers can you not stand to knit with? To wear?
Anything scratchy and unflexible.

What colors would you never wear?
I can see even the most obnoxious colours as fun accent/ accessories. Ex- I mainly wear black, grey and denim. BUT bright pumpkin orange and hot pink are two of my favorite accent colours. However, yellow and I do not agree with each other on much.


The Tools:

Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood?
Yes! I think each of them can be useful in their own right. My favorites are my Birch Brittany-s. Depending on the stickiness of yarn I’m using, I go back and forth between them and metal. My glass namaste’s were the best at cotton.

Circs or Straights?
Depends on the project, mostly straights since that’s what I have. I tell myself I’m going to learn magic loop on circs, but I havn’t quite gotten there yet.

DPNs or Magic Loop?
DPNs fo’ sho’. See above. All that loopy stuff scares/ confuses me. How can I be so smart, and so inept?

Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like?
More stitch markers, something fancier (more attractive) than a rubber band to hold my dpns together. A stitch/ row counter would be nice. Heck, I keep my needles in an old oatmeal container.


The Extras:

Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link!
I have two! An Amazon Wishlist, and one of yarn/knitting stuffs.


Do you like sweet, sour or salty?
sour! I love sour things... like lemon and any of those "sour" candies. And, I feel chocolate is only useful when wrapped around peanut butter or caramel. Mmm caramel.


Do you have any allergies your pal should know about?
I’m all good on the allergy front- Unless you plan on mailing me a ferret. You can have one, you just can’t mail him/ her to me, even if I beg you to. I love ferrets, unfortunately I break out in hives and my eyes itch and swell shut.

Favorite scents? Scents you can't stand?
I love spicy scents. Burts Bees Milk and Honey lotion is about the most divine smell in skin care. Pine scents make me nauseous (unless its real, live standing in a pine forest air smell.) and... I don’t care for anything in the ‘gardenia’ vein. My sister calls them “old lady flowers smells” or patchouli, that one isn't my friend either.


Do you collect anything?
Godzilla! Garden gnomes! (I have thirteen) Smooshed pennies! Cavaleras (Mexican day of the dead skulls/ skeletons). Bats. (of the mammal variety) and rocks. I love funky, native rocks and bring them home from every place I travel.

When is your birthday?
March 20. Yep, Pisces/ Aries cusp, Gemini moon, Gemini rising. I’m pretty sure that all means that I can’t help but be half-crazy ;)

Do you spin? Dye your own yarn?
I spin on a drop spindle, and have dyed my own rovings, but not naked, already spun yarn. Of course, I’d be willing to give it a go!

Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better...
I’m obsessed with episodes of the classic twilight zone. My friends are smart enough not to disturb me during Dead Like Me, LOST, Prison Break, The 4400, the “new” Dr. Who and Grey’s Anatomy.

I listen to music. A lot. Hardcore, Indie, largely non- mainstream. I think Steve Albini is a god among mortals. Big Black and Shellac are definitely high on my list. Pleasure Forever and Queens of the Stoneage. Afghan Whigs, Mark Lanegan. I tend to tell people I like “dirty, hedonistic death rock” and “psycho stalker love songs”. I also enjoy learning/ experiencing new music.

My favorite fiction is “The Velveteen Rabbit” and “Swan Song” by Robert R McCammon. I enjoy Caitlin R. Kiernan and Poppy Z Brite. I tend to mostly read non-fiction though these days, and its usually some sort of tale regarding people going out into the wild and either surviving, dying or learning some great truth to share. (John Muir, Luna Leopold, Everett Ruess, Chris McCandless, William Bonney )

Obviously, I talk a lot. If I missed anything, or you want more details. Smack me with a comment. I’ll go on and on and on…

25 September 2006

addendum

As soon as I get this camera thing straightened out- I'll be posting some fiber/ knitting/ swap posts... pictures make everything better.

While I'm at it...

two more things that annoy me.


- the scissor sisters.
holy freakin' just die already

- those pepto bismol break dancers

see.
this is why i *don't* watch tv.

ok, this and reality tv.
ugh.

horrible woman

sweet karst on a cracker!!

lots of my friends think rachel ray is all kinds of awesome.

she has some new show now, and i woke up with the tv on this channel after last night's alias fiasco. (im still annoyed btw)

anyway, she is prattling on about gift giving and apparently for no brainer guy gifts she gives things like high ball glasses and "natural coasters". She waves it in the air and says "natural coasters are great. i dunno what its made of.. rock... wood.. i dunno? anyway, petrified something or other.." and moves on.

petrified something or other?

ITS AGATE.

maybe i'm still annoyed about my lack of alias. I need to know what happened after last week's episode. akdh; hvch !!

/ geologic rant

also
agate is montana's state rock. if this woman didn't grate on my nerves before, she sure as heck would now.

24 September 2006

sometimes, i watch television

I have a fabulous, set, sunday night ritual.
1030-1130 is CSI, the vegas one.
1130-1230 is Alias.. I'm catching up on all the ones I missed. I'm a loser that only saw like three episodes until I started watching halfway through season four. Right now, I'm in the midst of the storyline about Julia Thorne and Sid's missing two years. And, apparently the hand belongs to the allegedly slain diplomat. damnit.

NEITHER FUCKING ONE IS ON
CSI MIAMI?
MISSING?

WHAT THE SAM BEAN FLUFF THIS SHIT IS RIDIC

22 September 2006

ratty mcbratty

My little Chubbz has gone from being a fatty... to being a 3.5ish year old skinny. Further inspection with the assistance of Alicia, shows that she does in fact, have a cut on her neck, and a tumor growing in her left hind leg. Based on her age, she prlly wouldn't survive surgery. The plan is to keep her neck from getting infected, and to spoil her rotten until she begins to suffer (which is questionable.. she has started to make a terrible noise when she breathes while sleeping. like snoring but.. not)

Needless to say, I think sweet, friendly little Chubbz won't be with us much longer. She's lived a long, happy life. The rest of it is going to be as happy and painless as I can make it. As much as I know she's lived a good life, I still wish it wasn't drawing to a close now, when I'm feeling pretty much less than awesome about a lot of things.

16 September 2006

we's bein tornado'd!

from an actual text message:
"get your braided kid and your dog in the basket and hide"

"I just didn't want you to be in a real emergency and not have time to snatch the kid even if you had to yank her by the braids and hide in the closet with the wee shoe chewer"

aaaaaand
eliza ([info]moderngypsy) called and sang the lollypop guild song into my voice mail.

you betcher ass I saved it.

aim convo:
amanda (9:32:15 PM): eliza called and left me a voicemail 'we represent the lollipop guild, the lollypop guild.." so on and so forth
jaime (9:32:38 PM): I am saying you got the bike, the kid with the braids, and the woofer

11 September 2006

if rainy days could always mean boxes of yarn in the mail

I had not one, but two boxes arrive this week from KnitPicks. Oh glorious day!

One, is a box I've been waiting for somewhat impatiently. I opted to ship my package to work, instead of home. Of course in doing so I was sloppy with the postal code and my box went on a circuitous route only to end up back at KnitPicks instead of here waiting for me to fondle its contents. Unfortunately for me (and my secret pal) that MIA box contained the two key components in my Whose Lace is it Anyway? swap. Tis my first swap and I boogered it up. Go Me!!

Well its here now, although already packed along with some other items and prepared to hit the post on Monday, and its lovely! Aside from my missing swap components, the box contained Merino Style that I want to use for a pair of Knucks (for a birthday that is now in.. 15 days, halfway across the country) and Swish superwash for a pair of Pedicure socks. I have determined that I am a fan of the Alpaca Cloud (for my swappee), and the pattern I ordered for her. It was really hard for me to package them up and prepare them for travel.

It's ok though. I think I am going to survive. I opened box number two... three skeins of Alpaca Cloud.. in Tidepool.. WHICH IS FREAKIN' LOVELY AND AMAZING AS ALL HELL!! and... one of those new super fantastic looking chart keepers that snaps up like an easel!! Seems my incoming swap pal is from Australia (still don't know who she is) and she sent *me* some KnitPick spoilings as well! She warned me to be on the lookout for a second package coming from across the sea as well. I'm wicked excited for all of this. I love my loot so far, and I hope my pal loves her loot as well. Its a first-time swap for the both of us.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs though, that with all of this yarny goodness, my card reader is no where to be seen. Of course, its cord is hanging out of the back of my computer. Which means one of two things, but most likely a combination.

My puppy ate it. Or my stash did. I think it might have fallen into the living room stash, as I can't find it, I believe Prof. Bosley may have liberated it for his own utilization. (he made off with it once before, going so far as to gnaw on the card that was in the slot).

Pictures will follow. I assure you.

05 September 2006

last week, in knitting

I managed to finish sock #1, of my trek-a-long, knit-a-long, toe up, thigh high. First sock ever! and done almost entirely without a legit pattern. I spent a lot of quality time with a measuring tape, and more time frogging than I'd like to admit. But, I did it. Which makes victory even sweeter. I made it. I am pleased with myself, and have done the appropriate "superior dance" (how's that for an oooooold SNL reference?).

In other knitting news, I'm nearing completion on my first set of Knucks. These are a commision for a friend who bought all the supplies. I just need to finish them, and embroider them once he determines the text.




And finally, even though its not it's turn yet, I broke down and started swatching for my Voodoos.. in the Twizzle yarn, by Mountain Colors, that I brought back from Montana with me. I reaaaaalllly want to start playing with my Montana yarn.

an alaskan volcano erupts



http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060607.html


An Alaskan Volcano Erupts
Credit: J. N. Williams, International Space Station 13 Crew, NASA

Explanation: What is happening to that volcano? It's erupting! The first person to note that the Aleutian Cleveland Volcano was spewing ash was astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams aboard the International Space Station. Looking down on the Alaskan Aleutian Islands two weeks ago, Williams noted, photographed, and reported a spectacular ash plume emanating from the Cleveland Volcano. Starting just before this image was taken, the Cleveland Volcano underwent a short eruption lasting only about two hours. The Cleveland stratovolcano is one of the most active in the Aleutian Island chain. The volcano is fueled by magma displaced by the subduction of the northwest-moving tectonic Pacific Plate under the tectonic North America Plate.





This is a spectacular photograph.

04 September 2006

RIP Steve Irwin

Anyone else remember his fedex commercial?

Hthe gets bit by a snake that he had just proclaimed as highly venomous, and says its ok because fedex brought his anti-venom all the way from america..

because "if youre not sure, youre dead!"

Then off set you hear someone say its not there, they used a different carrier...

Irwin who says "crikey" then drops dead?

One of the funniest commercials i've ever seen.

then the man dies of typically non-lethal venom because it nailed him right in the heart.

Irwin's Commercial

He was a crazy bastard, but died doing what he loved.

01 September 2006

Yarn/ Fiber Related Wish List

For assorted reasons (swaps, pressing family and friends) I have been called on to make a list of some knitting things I'm after, yet aren't available for posting on my Amazon list (like yarn). So, here ya are, if'n you're interested.

Patterns
Anna over at My Fashionable Life has created some nifty patterns. Among them are a pack of three sock patterns. I'm plotting the Badcaul. I may even be fiending. She has it combined with two other patterns- Nautilus and Giotto, both are lovely and I think all three are something like $8 american.

Lisa Souza Sock Yarns!

Paint: slate, graphite, mars quake, limenviolet
Heathered Solid: black/purple

Trekking XXL (which can be found in many LYS or "snobby yarn stores")
colours 105, 102, 104, 109

Mountain Colors (which can be found in many LYS or "snobby yarn stores") Mountain Goat- 1- granite, 1- crazy woman
Bearfoot- 1- huckleberry

Brittany Birch DPNs
(sets of five)
sizes:
2, 3, 5, 7, 9


KnitPicks
Sells all sorts of wonderful goodness for super prices. Needles and yarn oh my!

Nickle DPNs

sizes:
0,1

swish superwash
1- ballerina
1- bordeaux
1- dark navy
1- baby blue

Merino Style
2- Hollyberry
2- Storm

Essential
2- Ash
2- Dusk

Memories
2- Yukon


wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!